I do feel quite sad to have made this decision but I think it was time. Things were just not going in the direction that I was hoping and I had poured a lot of time and resources in trying to make it work. You can only knock on the door for so long before you have to try another one. That being said, I am excited for the new direction that I will be going in. I realize that time is precious and also limited so it’s best to spend it doing what you love.
Read MoreOne of the great things about documenting weddings is the opportunity to get to know friends and family of the bride and groom that I never would have met in other circumstances. In 2018, I documented Alex and Vania's wedding in Yaletown. In 2019, I received a message from someone named "Hae-In" who asked about my wedding availability. At first I was like "who is this?" but I later found out that she was at the wedding of Alex and Vania the year before. After further chatting, I found out she was Alex's sister! Unknowingly to me, in 2018 I was already documenting her.
Read MoreJeremy and Natasha's wedding story is a story of resilience and love in the time of unforeseen circumstances. The original wedding was planned for 2018 but there was a sudden turn in Jeremy's health. I recall going to the hospital and visiting Jeremy and I saw that Natasha was there while Jeremy lay unconscious. She held his hand and kept talking to him despite everything that was going on. She would be there for hours and weeks on end.
Read More“I’m not keen on the idea of being asked to whisper into my friend’s ear as part of the photography”.
This was one of the things (paraphrased) that Lydia said to me as we met to talk about their wedding. With this in mind as I parked my car in the parking lot on their wedding day, I approached this wedding as I usually did: authentic and honest moments through a documentary approach. Brian and Lydia loved the photos and I definitely did not do any “whispering into a friend’s ear” suggestions to create them.
Read MoreIt was dark out. I woke up way early in the morning for this wedding and remember sitting in my car and saying a quick prayer before getting my gear on and pulling my stuff out of the car. It was so dark that I had watch my step as I could not see much of the sidewalk except for what was illuminated by the street lights. Despite all this, I had a skip in my step as the excitement of the day was starting to roll in. I was going to be a big part of Andrew and Haley’s day and little did I know that the day was going to be filled with lots of laughs, smiles and some epic dancing at the end.
Read MoreWhat an amazing 2019 it has been. At the same time I was learning how to be a Dad (my little one was 3 months old when 2019 started) I was learning how to juggle personal duties with photography work and everything in between. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the work that I did (and I do hope for more in 2020) but 2019 really taught me the importance of time management. Having a kid is an amazing and rewarding experience but it definitely changes your life and your outlook on things… and poop. As such, I didn’t have time to blog this year and that allowed me to have a really good hard look back at the year was 2019 through this post.
Read Morelex and Vania wanted something different for wedding photography. They wanted something more documentary and more about their family and friends. And while we did take some time to do portrait shots, group shots and wedding party photos, the majority of the day was spent with me doing very little interrupting or posing and instead letting things happen while I worked and ran around the scene to find the best and unique angles to capture some of the big moments as well as some of the little moments.
Read MoreFIRST: Huge thanks to Jumi Story for having me on as a secondary photographer for this wedding.
I won’t say much about this wedding other than I learned a little bit more about Cambodian and Vietnamese customs for weddings. The early morning tea ceremony was a bit different from the usual with the way it was done and there was an aspect of red string being tied to the bride and groom. I’ll let the photographs do the talking :)
Read MoreFIRST: Huge thanks for Yinger Fotokrafie for taking me on a secondary for this wedding. Glad to be a part of it :)
When Yinger called me in to second shoot for him for this wedding, I was very excited for the opportunity. Yinger is fantastic photographer and a great guy and to be able to shoot with him was quite something.
Previously, I did some Behind The Scenes work for the Pre-Wedding Shoot that Yinger did for them and it was amazing to meet Carrie and Frankie. Carrie’s dress was unique and exquisite, with a unique train and an interesting design.
Read MoreI recall ending that night and saying goodnight to everyone, packing my bags and making my way back to my car. However, as I took some steps away from the wedding tent, I saw the summer night sky with the stars glistening above. I took a photo of it (which you can see at the end of the blog post) and the wedding tent to close out on a series of photographs I had made that day documenting the amazing joy and laughter that was happening that day…
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