Grace and I wish you and yours a very happy, safe and healthy Holiday Season!
December 24, 2011
December 21, 2011
Christmas Portraits – Getting together with Great Friends – Wedding and Portrait Photographer Parry Sound – Cambridge
The holiday season is a great time for getting together with family and friends and a few weeks back Grace and I had a wonderful evening with some very good friends. While we were prepping for the evening Grace suggested that I should ask if our friends would like to do a mini studio portrait session while they were here. I was hesitant. I think my initial response was something like …”I don’t think so. I don’t want them to be afraid to visit us!” Having said that I reconsidered and told Grace that if she and the girls wanted to do it I would be happy to oblige. After the girls (many of our friends are female!) arrived and we had relaxed with some h’ordourves and a couple of Astrid’s famous Mojitos, Grace gave the gals a tour of our recently renovated digs, including the studio. Much to my surprise the gals were all keen to have go at a mini studio portrait session. Not wanting to high jack the evening I worked quickly and did several images of each of the gals in rapid succession using a favorite backdrop from Serendipity backgrounds, one of the new, bright red, swivel chairs from the consult section of the studio, and a couple of Paul Buff Alien Bees with accompanying diffusers and grids. Just as we were finishing up, Grace called out the dinner was being served and we continued on with a great evening of food, fun and friendship. Life truly, truly, is good and having some absolutely wonderful friends is a big part of that!
A few of the images from our mini portrait session are posted below.
Grace and I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season and are able to enjoy it with friends and family.
December 14, 2011
Blenkarn-Campell Family Portriats on Georgian Bay – Parry Sound-Cambridge Photographer
It was early on Thanksgiving Saturday when I meet up with the Campbell family at Desmasdon’s Boat Works in Pointe au Baril. After some introductions we boarded one of Desmasdon’s Georgian Bay worthy watercraft and headed out to the Blenkhorn Family cottages on a beautiful Island just beyond the Pointe au Baril lighthouse. There we met up with Tonya, Andy and their two boys and Shelagh and David, Andy and Wendy’s parents. Tanya and Wendy had organized the photo session as a gift to the Shelagh and David a few months earlier. After David gave me a quick tour of their piece of paradise we picked out several sites for our session and I started working with Tonya, Andy and their boys while the others were in the last stages of getting ready.
Although we had started early the day quickly become exceptionally warm and bright of mid October on the Bay. We used several spots on the property and ended the session with an image the grandkids perched on the branches of one of the huge white pines behind the cottage.
Tanya and Andy have operated Desmond’s Boat Works for several years and have a great selection of wonderful watercraft perfectly suited to Georgian Bay. Check them out if you’re in the market for a new or lightly used boat.
December 7, 2011
Brad & Laura – A Muskoka Engagement – Parry Sound – Cambridge Wedding Photographer
It was a bright, warm, afternoon, the Monday of Thanksgiving weekend, when I met up with Brad and Laura at Muskoka Bible Centre near Port Sydney, in the heart of Muskoka, for their engagement session.
Muskoka Bible Centre has a special place in Brad and Laura’s hearts as they met while working there a few summers earlier. I have photographed at many Muskoka locations but I had never been to the MBC before, so I arrived about an hour early and scouted out the property before Brad and Laura arrived. There had been a large conference at the centre over the long weekend and the day was unusually bright for mid-October, so I was keen to find a range of shooting sites that offered a combination of interesting backdrops, as well as a bit of privacy and shelter from the sun.
Brad, Laura and I had not met in person before. They had booked me a few months earlier and we had handled all the details via e-mail and phone so when they arrived we spent a bit of time talking about how they met at the centre and how that made it a good fit for their engagement photo session.
I started off slowly, letting Brad and Laura get comfortable in front of the lens and before long they were obviously at ease. We worked our way through several of the spots I had scouted out and were winding down our session when Brad and Laura told me about a spot where they had their first date. I asked then to show me the spot. They took me down an old trail towards the back of the property to a lovely glade of tall, majestic, pines and hemlocks overlooking a beautiful marsh. While we were doing a number of shots there Brad and Laura told me about the very romantic picknic they had at that very spot. Watching the excitement in their eyes as they told me about that first date I understood why the MBC had a special spot in their hearts.
I am looking forward to working with this great couple again next August at their wedding north of Burks Falls.
November 30, 2011
The Bowie Family – Mckeller Lake – Cottage portraits – Parry Sound, Cambridge Photographer
Family Portrait sessions are always a lot of fun and the session I did with the Bowie’s at their cottage property on Mckeller Lake in October was no exception.
Jaylyn had contacted me several months earlier and we made arrangement to do a session with her two brothers, mom, dad, and grandmother on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. I had already scheduled another session for earlier that same day, with a large family group on an island several km out from Pointe au Baril, so we arranged to do the Bowie family shoot in the early afternoon.
We started with Gran and as I was setting up the shot with her she told me the last time she had a professional photograph taken was when she was married, so she was more than a bit nervous. While I asked her about her wedding photos I could see her begin to relaxed so I kept talking with her while shooting to try to keep her at ease. It seemed to work and soon Jaylyn and her brothers joined in for some shots with Gram. Then we moved on, adding mom and dad into the mix before moving into singles.
After we had worked the shoreline getting some shots of mom, dad, Jayln and her brothers we decided to head down the road to a small dam that Jaylnn and her mom had scouted out earlier. It offered a some interesting backdrop options and we did another series of images there, including some of Jayln and her partner.
On a recent trip from Cambridge to do some portrait sessions in the Parry Sound area I stopped of in Aurora to meet with mom and deliver several enlargements and an extra large, specially mounted print, of mom, dad, and the three adult children. Mom tells me she intends put it in the cottage living room.
November 25, 2011
Debbie & Steve, Sherman Falls Engagement – Cambridge, Parry Sound Wedding Photographer
Debbie and Steve are big time hikers so Sherman Falls on the Niagara Escarpment in Ancaster/Dundas was a great fit for their engagement portraits. I had not been to the falls before I met Debbie and Steve, but I have been back there twice since we did their engagement session in October. Sherman Falls is sometimes known as Angel, or Fairy Falls, all fitting names for this amazing site.
I continue to be surprised by the wonderful selection of beautiful natural areas nestled among the urban environment of the southern Ontario. Who knew that Hamilton was the “Waterfall capital of the world”??? I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are 126 waterfalls within a short distance of Steeltown. I plan on exploring many of them over the next few months, but I am thinking that Sherman Falls will remain one of my favorites.
Debbie and Steve were anxious about being under the lens so we took our time and did several warm up shots. Before long Deb and Steve were relaxed and had fun focusing on each other.
I used several of Deb and Steve’s top pics from our session for a custom sign in book I created for them. They chose a deep blue cover, to fit in with their wedding colors. I am looking forward to working with this couple again, next year, at Christie’s Mills Resort and Spa in Port Severn.
November 15, 2011
Ann and Darcy are Married at Historic Ellis Pioneer Chapel – Cambridge – Parry Sound Wedding Photographer
It was perfect fall day when Ann and Darcy said their vows in Ellis Pioneer Chapel early in October. The chapel was a great fit for Ann and Darcy. They both love travel and historic settings.
I got to know this pair pretty well this past year. We did their engagement shoot many months earlier when we used some of Cambridge’s historic settings in Hespeler and Galt as a backdrop. We used Ann and Darcy’s favorites from that session for their custom designed sign in book.
Darcy is a real romantic. He actually proposed to Ann in the middle of London Bridge (Yes, The London Bridge in England!), in the middle of a rain storm, no less!
Another great fit for this pair was the old ruins out at Savanah Golf Links on Old Cheese Factory Road, near Cambridge. But I’m getting a bit ahead.
The day of the wedding I caught up with Ann and the gals at Ann’s parents’ place in Hespeler, as the girls were getting ready. Ann’s mom had done a super job of preparing the master bed room and living room and we used them to get some great shots of Ann, her folks and the gals. Then we were off to historic Ellis Chapel in Pushlinch Township. Built in 1861 this old stone church, with wide plank floors, large, windows and nice grounds is a great spot for weddings. After the service we did the family shots on the chapel grounds and then headed over to Sopher park, in Cambridge for the wedding party shots. While Sopher park has some great gardens we opted to do most of the images using some of the more rustic settings and worked our way along the creek bed to that back end of the park where we had scouted out some interesting spots a few weeks earlier.
The reception location was another great fit for this couple. Savanah Golf Links sits on a large, beautiful piece of rolling, property near Cambridge. We had made arrangements to do the couple alone shots at the old stone ruins on the property and as cocktails were well underway Ann, Darcy and I were escorted over to ruins the by Savanah’s Golf Marshal. As the sun settled low in the sky Ann, Darcy and I had a blast creating some special images using the old stone ruins as a backdrop.
We finished things off with photo coverage with the Grand Entrance, the couples’s first dance, and some images of the speeches and folks enjoying themselves, as the evening sun disappeared behind the old ruins. A great ending to a perfect day.
November 8, 2011
Alisa and Ben’s awesome family – Family Portraits – Cambridge – Parry Sound Photographer
Alisa, Ben, Fiona, and Luca visited my Cambridge studio early in October for a family portrait session. Alisa is off on mat leave from her RN position at one of our local hospitals and the gals on her floor had given her a portrait session gift certificate shortly before wee Luca was born a few months ago.
Fiona is two and Luca was just a bit over two months when we did the session. Two year olds can be a challenge for many professional photographers. I find the best approach is to gently work into the session taking advantage of opportunities for creative shots as they happen rather than trying to stay with a rigid approach.
Fiona took a while to warm up to the studio lights and getting the ok from mom to give her a sucker helped ease things along. The studio portion of the shoot allowed me to try out another of my backdrops from Serendipity backgrounds. I think this one, called “glimmer “, is going to work really well for children and Christmas portraits.
We also did and outdoor session at a nearby conservation area. This worked out well as Fiona enjoyed exploring the area and we got some nice images to round out the session.
November 2, 2011
Amy and Jon Married at Kellerman’s – Parry Sound Photographer
Amy and Jon had a beautiful day for their September wedding at Kellerman’s resort near Parry Sound. The fall colors were near their peak and the weather co-operated with a wonderfully cool but sunny day.
Amy and the gals got ready in one of the resort’s cottages while the guys did the same at another nearby cottage. The ceremony was on the large sand beach overlooking Otter lake, making for a great setting. We did the family images immediately following the ceremony and then went to the far end of the resort property to some spots we had scouted out when we did a walkabout of the area a few weeks before.
We were able to get some great images that captured the northern feel that Amy and Jon were looking for and then headed back to the cocktail party, which was well underway.
I stayed late into the night covering the dinner, speeches, and dancing. I was able to sneak Amy and Jon away from the dinner just as dusk had settled in and we got some images of them on the dock in those precious 5 minutes of special light, just after the sun had set.
DJ Dave from Encore DJ Entertainment did a great job of keeping everyone up dancing. After darkness had settled in Amy, Jon and I skipped out again for a few minutes for some late night, outside shots. When I left late that night after covering the bouquet toss and garter removal, the party was still going strong and it was clear that the dancing was going to continue well into the night.
October 26, 2011
A whole bunch of ORRs – Family Portraits – Parry Sound Photographer
A few weeks ago I did a short post on the Orr-Barton family photo session I did in August at the Orr family cottage on Otter Lake. Today I have posted a few shots from the session. I always enjoy doing portraits of extended families. In today’s world with families often living great distances apart it is always a special time when they all get together and enjoy each others company.
Whenever possible at these types of extended family shoots I like to try to get a wide range of images, including Mom and Dad senior, Mom and Dad with their adult children, the various sub-family groups, the grand kids, as a group, the grand kids with grandma and grandpa and as groups of brothers and sisters…
Some more images from the Orr family shoot are included below.
