Lindsay and Marcello

Wow! What an amazing start to the spring, a new season of photography, and to the new life these two amazing people are about to share! Truth be told, Lindsay is my cousin and she’s been there for me since the start of my photography career. I’ve had the pleasure of photographing her and her son Jacob for the past six years and I am extremely proud and honoured to be there for her on her wedding day!

Over these past couple of years, I’ve been able to learn a bit about Marcello and he is clearly an amazing person who cares very deeply for Lindsay (as we can easily see in this small sneak peek of photos from their special day).

Thank you so much to both of you for allowing me to be there at the start of your new journey together! I can’t wait to see what comes next!!!

Dave and Megan

It seems like only yesterday, but last year at this time I was shooting Dave and Megan’s engagement photos… and now, just last week, I had the distinct honour and pleasure of capturing their wedding photos. And, they weren’t just at any old banquet hall… they had their ceremony and reception in Hamilton at the Scottish Rite.

I hope everyone enjoys these sneak peeks and I want to send a big thank you to Dave and Megan for again letting me be a part of their special day. This was my first time ever being invited into the Scottish Rite and it really was so much fun!!!

The bar in this picture was acutally used in the upcoming movie “It 2”… yes, that ‘it’. ;)

Stuff...

Everyone has their 'stuff' they just can't live with out, their 'things' that hold a special place in their hearts... but when is it too much? 

It starts off innocently... with just one toy.

But, quickly they multiply!!!  

Suddenly, there is a new family living in your house, they've brought all their pets, they're taking up space, and they aren't even paying rent!

What has become of our sunroom?  We keep saying one day we'll get it back and make it an 'adult' living space again... but the kids just keep getting more and more 'stuff'... so who knows when that 'one day' will be?!?!

Sadly, most of these toys were meaningless dollar store purchases and one day soon will be nothing more than plastic waste once our youngest has grown out of using them.

No childhood is complete without the best toy of all... the cardboard box!

And, while many of the games we play with our kids are fun, educational, and help to build strong family bonds like the board games above... many of the toys will simply be cast aside, in a corner, never to be played with again as seen in the two images below.

Thankfully, a lot of the stuff is also educational!  But then again, do we really need over 150 children's books? And, why keep these old, learn-to-read books when they are always getting newer and more age appropriate reading material for special occasions like birthdays and holidays every year?

The above pictures were examples of 'some' of the things and stuff my children have strewn about the house for their amusement. And, as much as I would love to say these piles of 'stuff' is all due to grandparents, aunts, and friends (all with the best intentions and loving hearts)... one can't help but take a look at one's own habits!

So, the next series of photos are of all the 'stuff' my wife and I have accumulated over the years... mostly my stuff. ;)

My wife's book shelf... we do try to lead by example and demonstrate a love of reading and learning to our children. 

But, as much as we want to pass on that love or reading... I have over 120 books on this shelf alone! And, at one book a month it would take me 10 years to get through them all. The chances of re-reading anything is virtually zero, especially since I probably get a dozen new books each year... so why keep them?

Yes... that is a Darth Vader, bobble head, candy dispenser on my shelf. No, there is no candy left it in. I got this years ago as a stocking stuffer... why do I still have it?

A collection of DVDs and Blue ray disks... we have over 120 DVD and Blue Ray disks. Well over 300 hours of old movies and TV shows. We've never watched any of these disks beyond the first time when they were initially purchased... so why keep them? Why purchase them in the first place?

Are you not entertained!?!?

20 different controllers?!?!  I can only play one game at a time... And I only have 2 hands!!!

This picture has 50 video game disks in it... I am currently playing NONE of them. 

Again, like the books and DVDs in the above images, I don't think I will ever play any of these games again... Even if I wanted to, At an average of 15 hours of play time per game and with 5 hours of 'me-time' each week, it would take me 3 years to get through them all. And, in that time, another 50 games would be created that I'm sure I would like to play. 

So... why do I keep all these old games???  Especially when they can be downloaded digitally now?!?!

One last time... why do I have so much stuff?!?!  I don't even have an x-box any more!!!

So, why do we keep these things?  Is it because we don't want to waste money by throwing them out? Is it prestige? Is it artistic to keep a shelf full of books in your living room? Is it because you want your kids to be able to play with your toys, read your books, and watch your movies one day so they might get a better sense of who you are?

Yes... all of the above.

But... do we really need it all? ;)

The Faceless Portrait

That's right... I said 'faceless'.  

I know the traditional portrait is a picture in which the face is the focus and it's features are the most prominent thing in the image... but sometimes the art world has a way of redefining the subject material in order to create something new. Ergo, we have the Faceless Portrait. 

Normally, I don't think I would have put so much effort into something like this, but I am still a student at Sheridan College and this assignment was made specifically to get us thinking outside of the box.  And, once again, my two beautiful daughters have volunteered to be my most wonderful models. Or, perhaps they were volun-told... ;)

Sometimes she likes science and math, sometimes she likes pretty flowers and dresses. 

If one child is posing for my camera, you can bet the other won't be far behind. Luckily, she likes flowers too... or, is it that she just likes to copy her big sister? 

Being faceless, this image may not show in in their expressions, but the love and care they have for each other can't be denied. 

My little divas!

I'm not entirely sure if this image counts as a 'faceless' portrait... but it was too cute not to include it here in this blog post. 

Portraiture Assignment

It's that time again... another assignment for one of my Sheridan courses!!!  :)  As you can tell from the title of this blog post, the assignment is about taking portraits... what you might be surprised at is that this 'portraiture' assignment is actually for my photojournalism course!  

What?!?!  Portraits for journalism?  That's right! Here I was tasked with making 3 different sets of portraits... What does that have to do with journalism you might ask?  Well, to be a journalist, you need to be able to work under a variety of different lighting conditions while trying to tell a story. So below, I have 3 different types of lighting setups. The first is a traditional studio set up, the second is a mix of indoor and outdoor shots, and the final is trying to use the flash outdoors to balance the light from the sun.

The first set of shots below are Executive Portraits... perfect for your Linked-in profile! I did this under very controlled conditions in my house using a muslin backdrop, a single flash (off camera left) and a reflector to fill in some of the shadows.  I'm quite happy with the results... and so is my wife (she's the beautiful model!!!). She's even going to use them in her own on-line profile pictures!

The next set of pictures below was meant to capture 5 different elements/interests in a person's life. Again, the model is my beautiful wife and we moved around the house to create 5 different and interesting shots.

My wife is a teacher with the Halton Board and a large part of her life revolves around teaching online courses. Here she is preparing a lesson for an on-line summer school course. 

Yes, our children are a big part of her life... but today they are at Nana's house. So, she gets some cuddle time with her favourite fur-baby, Sophie.

What better way to pass the time while the kids are away but with a good book... Naps are also nice too! :)

She also loves being outside and tending to her garden. 

And why not finish the day with a nice cold beer?!?! :)

The last set of pictures was meant to emulate a family portrait outside in the sun but using the flash to help balance the light. 

Here's a shot with the sun positioned camera right and a flash (camera left) being used to fill in the shadows.

This final shot has the sun acting like a hair-light from behind and using a flash to balance that to create an evenly light portrait.