I would like to thank the fine folks at M&R Orchards in Tilsonburg, ON for letting us use there gorgeous orchard for this shoot.

A special thank you to Twin Pine Orchard & Cider House for giving us the run of the place

I’ve done a few searches on the superstitions of rain on your wedding and it seems there is good luck and bad luck to be had if the clouds open up on your big day. You can believe what you will, but when it comes to Andrea and Brandon I see nothing but good luck in their future.

I pride myself in being a good judge of character and I believe I have a knack for reading people. From the first time I met Andrea and Brandon to shoot their engagement session up in Guelph Ontario, I could see they were pretty much devoted to each other. So rain be damned, it may have been dark outside, but when Andrea showed up at the doors to the church, all I could see was the huge, beaming smile of her husband to shortly be.

Yesterday I got the best of two worlds. I love doing personal work. The lack of pressure and the complete acceptance of the possibility of failure really helps you to truly play and be as creative as you like. Now combine that with former clients (who are awesome by the way) acting as you models and you have a winning combination.

Kaitlyn and Brendan drove down to London from Toronto just so we could go play in the woods. I really could not have asked for a better pair of models. Even though the ground was kind of muddy, the wind was cold and the skies were overcast, these two were troopers all the while looking great!

A special shout out to Joy Klapko for doing such good work on Kaitlyn’s hair and make up.

I first met Holly (a very talented poet) when I shot her for my Real London portrait project. We hit it off and what is usually an hour session turned into about 3 hours with us just chatting it up. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I found out Holly had nabbed herself a new girlfriend and I just had to offer to shoot the budding new couple.

About a month before Marc and Maria’s wedding day I received an email from Maria with a little explanation about their untraditional wedding.

“We’ve had some questions about the ceremony, and thought we should provide a bit more of an explanation of what we’re doing. Basically, neither of us are religious, so we will be creating our own ceremony. We are using a Quaker-style ceremony as a basis, as the emphasis of this type of ceremony is friends and family coming together as a community to support the couple, and this idea resonates with us.

We will exchange our vows at the beginning of the ceremony, after which there will be a period where anyone may stand and speak if they wish. Messages may be prepared or unprepared, literal or metaphorical, and about anything appropriate to the joy and solemnity of the occasion—love, family, marriage, life, or what you will (save the toasts for dinner!). While messages are welcome, some moments of silence are to be expected and will be a time for reflection. This period will last anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on how many people choose to speak.

To end the ceremony, we will exchange rings, sign a certificate (which will have spaces for everyone in attendance to sign), and include everyone in a champagne toast.”

I found this kind of refreshing, a couple making their day their very own…..even down to the ceremony.

I took a drive up to the Pinery in Grand Bend with Katie and Everett for their engagement session last weekend. At first Mother Nature was teasing use with sun, then dark scary looking clouds, then sun again. We thought we were going to luck out, but as soon as we park our cars it started raining.

Being the troopers they are, the rain didn’t bother Katie or Everett and we soldiered our way into the woods to start the fun. As it turned out Mother Nature was just playing with us and after a few minutes the rain stopped and the clouds moved on leaving us with a little sun for our time on the beach.

Yesterday I drove up to Toronto to meet with a few photographers I’ve been chatting with online but have never had the chance to meet in person. Two of those photographers were Sara and Dylan, the two outstanding talents behind Sarah K. Bynre Photography. When I read on Twitter that they were going to be in Toronto from Boise Idaho to shoot a wedding, I had to make the drive. You see, Dylan and Sara were on my list of “internet friends I really want to shoot” so I was not going to miss a chance to meet them and get them in front of my camera.

You really need to check out Sara and Dylan’s amazing work on their blog and if you want to keep up on their little adventures you can follow them on Twitter here and here

Quick Fact: There are a lot of photographers who hate having their picture taken. I know, it sounds really hypocritical doesn’t it, but I understand because I’m one of them.

To help curb this lopsided behaviour of mine I decided to get together with fellow photographer Nova Markina and go shot for shot in a portrait session trade off. As you can see I had the easier job in our little arrangement. I must say, considering how hesitant I was to be on the business end of Nova’s camera, I really did have a lot of fun. You really should go check out Nova’s work even if you don’t want to see my ugly mug.