Category Archives: My life

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BEHIND THE SCENES IN 2011 - TRAVEL EDITION

So, here it is, the last of the images that shows us and what we got up to last year.  2011 was a fabulous season and was full of a lot of work.  And we found ourselves needing a break at different points in the year.  Here are just some of the places we went to in order to get away from it all and rest up and maybe take some pics and get the creative juices flowing again but WITH NO WORK INVOLVED AT ALL :).  Our first trip was last winter, in early January to Tofino (love Tofino, could go all the time if I could) where we decided to take a bit more of our gear than usual to take more landscape and fine art shots for fun.  Another stop last year was to Hawaii with my family and then in the middle of wedding season, after 8 weeks straight of beautiful weddings we were able to escape to Cannon beach Oregon for a mini break by the sea (And no tax - so awesome).  Enjoy some of the pretty places we visited (and I mean some, we traveled a bit more but ended up not taking any pics on those trips - just too tired)…

TOFINO, BRITISH COLUMBIA…

HAWAII - THE ISLAND OF OAHU…

CANNON BEACH, OREGON…

BEHIND THE SCENES IN 2011 - WEDDING EDITION - Vancouver Wedding Photographer

Both Scott and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to photograph so many wonderful people on what is one of the most important days of their lives.  And we just love being able to be a part of so many wonderful peoples lives - period.  We are grateful that our couples trust us to have us with them for pretty much their entire day.  Often, we are with the bride & groom more than some of their family and friends and as much as their wedding party is.  So here, we thought we’d give you a little peak into some of the action, fun and craziness that we bring with us.  Remember I tell all of our couples that the most important thing for us is that they have a great day.  If they are having a fabulous time than the pictures will reflect that.  So we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Here we go, the start of the day often begins with a phone call from lobby to suite to make sure the bride is ready for us (and really, to make sure someone lets us up to the room).  Then when it’s time to take portraits, I often wish I was a little taller or that someone didn’t build a safety rail right where I want to stand to take the shot :P

Sometimes, when we’re photographing details, the best angles are in really weird places.  Honestly not quite sure what I was photographing here, probably the reflection of the dress.  This also tends to be one of my fav places to shoot from if people are using the mirror for make - up.  I’ve been in a lot of bath tubs in my career :P

I’m also happy to lend a helping hand to ensure that the bride’s hair stays out of her make-up and lipstick during touch-ups.

Once the makeup is ready to go it’s time to get all the beautiful ladies together for a happy shot - always one of my fave shots of the ladies.

And sometimes during family shots I help out the other family members to make sure they get their own.  (and side note, my camera is the size of my head - yikes)

Oh, and ocassionally, okay, often, I fall in love with the bridesmaids shoes and offer to take them home with me if that makes things easier for them :P  hee hee.  Or, I just make sure no one forgets them.

I’ve never had a fear of heights although standing on this little balcony did make me a teensy bit nervous.  But, it was a beautiful angle and I had to get the shot.

I love being able to be a part of different cultures and seeing different religions and ceremonies.  It was super fun to wear this beautiful scarf at Rajni and Brandon’s wedding.

And, it doesn’t just happen at engagement sessions.  At weddings we also ask our couples if they’re brave enough to climb things for great shots.  Or we just get the grooms to carry and lift their lovely brides.

Some of our couples are really brave.  Love this.  These are from Jeff and Jenny’s beautiful day after shoot - still to come on the blog.  The water felt nice and don’t worry, no dresses were harmed in the making of this shot.

And every so often we get really gussied up for a fancy occasion.  I wore a dress AND HEELS for Heather and Trevor’s black tie wedding.  And yes, my feet were killing me afterwards.

Scott got all gussied up for the wedding too - hubba hubba in the suit.  Although this is a lighting test shot and posing for them may not be his favourite part of the job.

He’s much happier when he’s taking pictures and having a good time.  This is way more of his personality.

He also wants to ensure that the bride always looks fabulous and her absolute best :P

Scott respects many cultures and religions too and tries to blend in with the crowd

I love this shot.  Scott wanted to make sure that Nick had a full beer while toasting tables.  So just when he ran out, he made sure to give Nick a full one.  That looks like one happy groom to me.

He works hard to find the best angles too, balancing on logs and everything.

Okay, so he might not hate posing for test shots all the time

This is us.  We love what we do and we love to have a great time doing it.  We get to work with wonderful couples who have great senses of humour and, at least they tell us, have a fun, easy and wonderful time taking pictures with us.  This might help you to understand why.

Can’t wait for the 2012 season to see what it brings.

A MUCH NEEDED REST + A LOOK AHEAD

This is just a quick note to say that we are going to be out of the office until Wednesday August 10th as we are in need of a restful break.  We’ve been super busy shooting up a storm for the last 6 weeks straight and are taking the opportunity to relax and restore.  So we’ll see you once we’re back.  Although I’m giving you a heads up that we’re back and then we’re running away again to celebrate our upcoming anniversary :)

Here’s a pic to celebrate this trip - we’re headed somewhere coastal.

Also, here are some teaser shots to give you an idea of what’s to come on the blog.  We’ve got more too in the works - these are just a few peeks at what we’ve been up to and the fabulous people we’ve been working with.

SUMMER - FINALLY!!!

Well, today is the first day of summer - YAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!  The morning started off a bit cloudy but the sun is finally out and it is so nice to see it.  I felt like I was going to start singing that children’s song, you know the one, “Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun Please shine down on me…”  Oh, Crap, now I think I may have that song stuck in my head.  Which is fine as long as the sun stays :P  We’re celebrating in the studio with peonies - well I think I’m celebrating, I think Scott is too busy sneezing - darn allergies :(  But I just L-O-V-E Peonies so we’ll keep them as long as they want to stay.  Enjoy the sun folks.  We’ve got lots of pretty pics coming soon.

Day 9 in Paradise - OAHU, HAWAII

Our last morning in Waikiki *sigh* still makes me sad :(  We had a little bit of time by the pool (before we got rained on) and then had a quick lunch before heading for the airport and back home.  Here are just a few last shots from the hotel.  Just LOVE the colour of the water!

Uh, yeah, it rains sometimes there.  But luckily, NOT like Vancouver, these clouds disappear in about 15 minutes.

And one last look at our view from our Hotel room at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  Fun place to stay.

Day 8 in Paradise - OAHU, HAWAII

On our last full day in Hawaii we decided to head back up to Oahu’s North Shore and go horseback riding on the beach at the Turtle Bay Resort and this turned out to be an AWESOME idea and I would totally recommend it.  The weather was a bit iffy and though we had some major major traffic issues early in the morning to get there it was totally worth it.  I love horses.  I always have, ever since I was little and went to England and Ireland with my dad - fell in love.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to go riding but this was really great.  We drove down the windward side of the island back to Waikiki and ended the day poolside.  *sigh* doesn’t get much better than that.

Oh, and on the way back to the hotel we spotted a lot of people in Ala Moana Park, then we noticed, they were filming Hawaii five-O there.  So I was frantically trying to get out my camera and had to stick my camera out the window and shoot blind to take the photo.  Turns out, I caught the two main characters in the shot.  We actually saw the episode with this scene in it last Monday - kinda fun.

Oh, and I can’t wait to see Water for Elephants.  The book was a good read.

Day 7 in Paradise - OAHU, HAWAII

Day 7 was another roadtrip day.  This time we went to the Leeward side of the island.  Which meant more sunshine - yippeeeee!  We went to the Ko’olina lagoons at the Ko’olina resort which was a nice little place to snorkel and a fabulous place to lay in the sun and listen to the palm trees and ocean.  I love those little grass umbrellas too *sigh*

After swimming we headed up the Leeward side which I found incredibly breathtaking.  The sheer cliffs were amazing and really really makes me want to go to Kauai.  Anyone getting married on Kauai? :)

Enjoy this little slice of sunhiney-heaven :)

Oh, and I included a pic of me and one of Scott so I can say it was me taking the pictures :P

Day 6 in Paradise - Oahu, Hawaii

Okay, we’ve been home for a few weeks now :(  *sigh*  While on the trip our last days got really busy and jam packed so I wasn’t able to find the time to download photos and keep up with the blog.  Sorry about that.  And since we’ve been home it’s been hard to find the time too.  But this week, I hope to catch you all up on the end of our trip to Oahu.  And who doesn’t need an extra dose of sunshine right about now (especially since the forecast for this week is all rain - yuck!).

So, our 6th day in Paradise was a busy one to say the least.  We got up early to head out to Hanauma Bay, to go snorkeling.  It is such a beautiful place and I really really loved the walls of the crater/cove.  Unfortunately the tide was quite low while we were there so it made it hard to actually snorkel and swim around all the coral.  And not to mention, it was really really busy.  But it was still nice to be in the ocean.  We did see one of the biggest fish I’ve ever seen snorkeling.  It must have been at least 3/4 feet and was a big beautiful parrot fish.  So cool!

Afterwards, a stop for a lunch and then a drive along Oahu’s windward side.  We went to the blowhole and eventually found our way to Kailua beach - which was amazing.  This white sand beach was like walking in baking flour, it was soooooooo soft.  The water was just gorgeous and we were lucky that the sun came back out just as we were there.  Loved it - definately have to go back and spend more time at that beach one day.

In the evening, we went to Waikiki beach to watch the sunset.  It was pretty amazing - both the sunset and the sheer number of people there to watch it :P

Enjoy a few faves from this adventure and driving packed day. :)

Day 5 in Paradise - Oahu, Hawaii

The sun came back out yesterday!!! YAAAYYYYYYY!!!! And so we went off to get snorkel gear and headed for the beach.  Unfortunately I now have a sunburn to prove it :(  In any case, didn’t use the camera too much but here are a few from the sun sun sun in Hawaii.  I especially love the sunrise shot - such a peaceful way to start your day.

DAY 4 in Paradise - Oahu, Hawaii

Sorry for the delay guys :)  Yesterday was sunny again (woo hoo) so I didn’t spend anytime in front of the computer :)

So the day before was another cloudy day after the storm so we headed to Pearl Harbour.  I had no idea it was so big.  We ended up staying for most of the day because there was so much to see and learn.  I have to admit, I’m not a big war-buff but this was a very interesting and obviously sad place to be.  Here are a few pics from the day.