Parry Sound | Bayshore Photography

November 25, 2011

Debbie & Steve, Sherman Falls Engagement – Cambridge, Parry Sound Wedding Photographer

Filed under: Engagement — Tags: Cambridge, Engagement, Niagra Escarpment, Parry Sound — johnbrisbane @ 7:02 pm

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 2, 2011

Amy and Jon Married at Kellerman’s – Parry Sound Photographer

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: Muskoka Wedding, Parry Sound, Wedding Photography — johnbrisbane @ 6:47 am

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

Filed under: Portraits — Tags: Parry Sound, Portraits — johnbrisbane @ 4:46 pm

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.

October 19, 2011

Stephanie and Mathew – Married at the cottage – Parry Sound Photographer

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: Parry Sound, Wedding Photography — johnbrisbane @ 11:05 am

Stephanie and Mathew live and work in Southwestern Ontario but as often as possible they make the trip up to the family cottage on Lake Isabella, near Orrville and Parry Sound, ON. This couple’s attraction to the Parry Sound area made their choice of a venue for their September wedding easy… The family cottage.

When I arrived the final touches were being made to the reception tent decorations and black and white Japanese style lanterns were hanging in the pines that surrounded the cottage. I found a nice spot in the pines for some shots of Stephanie’s dress and then focused on some images of the rings, garter and flowers as the gals helped Stephanie into her gown. Mathew chose a new pair of black and white converse running shoes for his wedding day footwear and Steph surprised him when she lifted her gown and showed off her matching pair of runners.

The ceremony took place on a deck overlooking the lake and as guests enjoyed cocktails we worked our way along the shoreline getting shots of Stephanie, Mathew and their parents and wedding party. Even though we had some pretty cool weather for several days before the wedding Steph and Mathew were quick to toss off their sneakers when I asked them if they would like to do some in water shots.

October 11, 2011

Family Portraits on the Dock – Otter Lake – Parry Sound Photographer

Filed under: Portraits — Tags: Parry Sound, Portraits — johnbrisbane @ 10:37 pm

Each year I do several portrait sessions for families. This past August, one of these was for the Orr family at Mom and Dad’s cottage on Otter Lake, south of Parry Sound.

Mr. and Mrs. Orr senior have had the family cottage on Otter Lake for many years and it has proven to be a great gathering place for their children and grandchildren each summer.

These are always fun sessions and I always try to get several shots of the large group and then images of each of the separate family groups, including mom and dad, alone, with their children, as well as of the children alone.

Below are one of the images of the whole extended family on the dock, and a then a few of the Orr/Barton family segment of the Orr clan.

October 4, 2011

Seanna and Andrew – Three Year Later – Parry Sound Photographer

Filed under: Baby and Child photography,Portraits — Tags: Baby and Child photography, Parry Sound, Portraits — johnbrisbane @ 7:36 pm

It was a real treat to meet up with Seanna and Andrew, three years after photographing their wedding in 2008. This time we were doing family portraits and now Seanna and Andrew have two wonderful, lively, young sons.

We did the portrait’s at Seanna’s parent’s cottage near Whitestone, ON. This was the same place where I had photographed Seanna three years earlier, when she was getting dressed for her marriage to Andrew, at Whitestone Lake Resort. The swing Seanna is sitting on, with her two young sons in one of the shots below, is the same one she was sitting on in her wedding dress three years earlier.

My strategy with the two energetic young boys was to let them enjoy being boys, grabbing shots as things progressed. We had balloons, bubbles, Team Canada Hockey shirts, and suckers. We used them all at various stages of the shoot.

I had thrown my hip waders in the car as I headed out the morning of the shoot as I recalled there was a dock that might afford some good shots, but only if I could get out into the water. As things turned out this proved useful and we got some great images of the boys on the dock, one of which I have included in this post.

September 27, 2011

Shannon and Jim are Getting Married!!! Parry Sound Wedding Photographer

Filed under: Engagement — Tags: Engagement, Parry Sound, Wedding Photography — johnbrisbane @ 6:37 pm

Shannon and Jim are getting married in Mexico in November and they had me do their engagement photos this past August at Shannon’s parents cottage on Lake Kapikog near Mactier, ON. While Jim was changing, Shannon gave me a tour of the property and I spotted several areas that I felt would make good settings for our session.

Once Jim caught up with us we started out with a few warm up shots and before long Jim and Shannon got right into the swing of things, relaxing, having fun, and focusing on each other. We ended the session with Shannon and Jim enjoying a couple of Corona’s while sitting in Muskoka chairs on the dock – A great warm up for Mexico!!!

After our shoot Shannon and Jim opted to purchase one of my custom designed sign in books to take to Mexico with them. I used about 14 of their favorite images from our session when I designed the book. I just shipped the book out to Shannon earlier today.

A few of the images from our session are below. This winter I will post some copies of Shannon and Jim’s custom sign in book as well as some others I have done over the past year.

September 20, 2011

Heather and Peter’s Lovely Cottage Wedding – Parry Sound Wedding Photographer

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: Parry Sound, Wedding Photography — johnbrisbane @ 7:17 pm

Heather and Peter live and work in Calgary, Alberta, but they choose Heather’s parent’s cottage on LeBrash Lake, near Parry Sound Ontario for their wedding in early August.

The day was warm and sunny, and last minute decorating of the tent was still underway as I arrived at the cottage. The gang from “Now thats Catering” were busy working their magic and guests were gradually drifting in. I got busy with some shots of the dress, rings and other key components of the day and then joined Heather, Peter and the rest as they began working on their finishing touches.

After a wonderful outdoor ceremony we got the family images underway and then made our way through the woods to the lake shore, doing a range of wedding party and newly married couple images as we went. A short boat ride took Heather, Peter and I to a secluded part of the lake were we captured a wide range of images of Heather and Peter, alone, as a married couple images.

Following cocktails and some socializing with family and friends the couple enjoyed an incredible reception dinner. As I left, the tent was filled with laughter, which I am sure continued well into the night.

September 6, 2011

Leanne & Rick – A Georgian Bay Wedding – Parry Sound Wedding Photographer

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: Georgian Bay Wedding, Parry Sound, Wedding Photography — johnbrisbane @ 11:21 pm

Growing up in Parry Sound, Leanne found that water, canoeing and kayaking became a huge part of her life. So, when she and Rick decided to get married it was only natural that the wedding would be near water. The perfect location proved to be the Stanley family cottage, which sits on a wonderful part of Georgian Bay, just north of Snug Harbour overlooking part of Franklin Island.

On a bright, hot, July day I joined up with Leanne as she was getting ready at a long time family friend’s house not far from her folks cottage. We captured a range of shots of Leanne, her mom, and the girls getting ready and then, as Leanne has been part of the Canadian championship dragon boat and outrigger canoe teams for several years, we made sure to get some shots of her by a canoe with Georgian Bay in the background.

Leanne and her gals arrived at the wedding site by pontoon boat and her father walked her up the long rocky pathway from the dock to the ceremony site which provided a dramatic, sweeping view of the Bay.

After the ceremony and family photos we did a large group shot of everyone who attended the wedding. While this can sometimes take some time to set up, it worked out well for us this day, as everyone moved into quickly into position and I was able to get some height by perching on a nearby rock outcrop and shooting to get the Bay in the background.

As the guest enjoyed cocktails Leanne, Rick (an athelete in his own right, with several triathlons under his belt), the wedding party and I hiked up and along some of the nearby rugged Georgian Bay shoreline for a range of images. In the close up image of the rings, you’ll notice that this pair had some very special rings. Leanne’s wedding band was custom made with wave designs encircling it while Rick’s ring has some Hawaiian wood built into it. Leanne had been competing in Hawaii and brought the wood back from there specifically to have it built into Rick’s ring.

Following a great meal catered by “Now that’s Catering” Rick and Leanne had their first dance on the deck overlooking the Bay just as the sun was starting to settle low in the sky.

August 30, 2011

The World is a better place now that baby Cadence has arrived !!! – Parry Sound Photographer, Cambridge Photographer

Filed under: Baby and Child photography,maternity photography,Portraits — Tags: Baby and Child photography, Kitchener Waterloo, maternity photography, Parry Sound, Portraits — johnbrisbane @ 5:48 pm

Baby Cadence was 9 week old when she visited my Cambridge studio with her mom and dad this July. Earlier this spring I had done a series of maternity images for Mel and Kevin and now they had returned with Cadence. We had an awesome session, and Cadence modeled like a pro. No accidents and only one moment of tears!! Cadence seemed really taken be the studio lighting and seemed to get a kick out of making all of us laugh as we made our way through the shoot.

I first met Mel and Kevin in 2008 when I photographed their wedding at Delta Rocky Crest Resort, just south of Parry Sound. It was a real treat to be able to photograph them again this spring, just weeks before Cadence was due, and then again in July. This time with their absolutely priceless young daughter. It is hard to put into words the feeling of joy that I get when I am able to be a part of documenting my clients lives as they progress though the various stages.

It was also great to get comments like the ones below that Mel sent me after she saw the images.

”Wow! Once again you have outdone yourself. The pictures are amazing. Absolutely beautiful!!”

Feed back like that is yet another reason why I love my job!

A few shots from our maternity session are include below along with some of the images we created of Cadence, at nine weeks of age.