jessica + chris eshoot

Back in December, when it snowed, I had the pleasure of freezing my extremities to numbness with Jessica and Chris, whose wedding I’ll be shooting next summer. (Summer. Sweet word.) They brought their new puppy Paxton with them for part of the shoot—which I thought would be a fantastic way to have fun and set everyone at ease from the get go, but then I didn’t consult with Paxton. This was the pup’s first time out of his back yard, never mind his first encounter with snow. He was so excited and distressed that he didn’t quite know just how to behave. One stunt he kept pulling during the shoot was the ‘let me run free or I’ll choke myself and vehemently gag till you feel really guilty’ thing. It did upset his owners, but I was still able to get some shots of Jessica and Chris adoring him, as well as each other, so I was in the end very glad to have him along.

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real weddings

This magazine came out in October, but hey, News Flash! I’m in it! In all seriousness, though, I am very pleased that the editors at Media Hill chose to feature one of my weddings again. You can read the full story of Eleonora and Joshua’s June wedding by clicking on the image below.  If you come by for a visit, I’d be more than happy to give you a free copy, along with a copy of The Complete Wedding Directory.  Don’t let me forget!

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Jenny and Glenn

First of all I was very grateful to be doing something cool for New Year’s Eve this year! Now that that’s out of the way I can tell you a bit about this brilliant wedding. Perhaps I should let the photos lead the way. The first two feature Jenny’s gorgeous dress from Something Blue. Its bottom was rimmed with a silvery satin, which matched the little sash around her waist.  The cloak she wore outside actually belonged to her grandmother c. 1938!  The couple decided that instead of limos to and fro, they would hire a trolley! I was pleased to be able to walk around a bit (instead of sitting in the mini bar as I usually do in limos) and to have great light, as you can see in this shot of Jenny and her sister on route to the church.
Traditionally the aisle-impact belongs to the bride alone, but judging from the series of shots I have of Jenny’s expressions coming down the aisle, I doubt she took a moment’s reflection about her own grand entrance. The moment the reverend signaled for Glenn to turn around I’m willing to bet we all had goose bumps– Glenn had dressed in his military uniform, which was a complete surprise to everyone—his uniform was supposedly left back east!
After a lovely ceremony we went out for a portrait session which was my coldest and darkest ever. I like the images we got, but I don’t know if any of us liked getting them, if you know what I mean. ( ; I found upon my initial edit that I had photographed Glenn from a very low angle, which emphasized a certain awe that I had around this man in uniform. You can see this perspective in at least a couple of shots below.
We were all relieved to hop on the warm trolley which took us back to the Sutton Place for the reception, which was a great party. The picture of the man bursting his bonds, for example… that was just the intro to Glenn’s brother’s speech! The cake was the creation of Jenny’s mother who had taken an entire course for the project—it was just shy of 60 lbs. I also like the shot of one of Jenny’s maid’s reacting to the bride dancing with her father. The last few shots were taken in the neighborhood after the first dance. Thanks for braving the cold with me to get some night portraits, Jenny and Glenn. I’m so glad to hear your party lasted for a good while after!

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New Year’s Day

This year I was lucky to be able to brunch in the New Year with my oldest and probably my best friend Alice. She and her partner Colin were taking a break from thesis-mode in the UK, and visiting family in BC (and house sitting for me while in Mexico.) Perhaps it’s kind of sad that we see each other so rarely, but neither of us has any time anyway, and we have started to cook up plans for Scotland and Cuba in the near future. Colin was kind enough to take some rare pictures of the two of us together in English Bay, as you can plainly see. This was right before Alice went plunging into the bay as a participant in the annual Polar Bear swim. Alice is a highly intelligent girl– she is finishing up her PhD in something fairly obtuse over in London, paints fine paintings and plays the piano brilliantly, but I suppose even people like her have their moments of (idiocy) misplaced fun. Whenever here for New Year’s Day she chooses this near-trample-death experience into a dirty frigid bay and a walk around the block without pants.  I only snagged these shots from the sidelines; there was no way I was going to wade with Amish Solanki’s sweet TS lens into the plebs like that. I’m very grateful to him for lending over a season of closed rental stores! More images from it to come soon!
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little things

A few days ago I was reading on my couch when I glanced a tiny projectile on its course above. I heard a little crack and saw the object arc back whence it came. I ran downstairs and found this poor bird on the pavement behind the car port; the birds in the trees carried on as loudly as they always do on a clear morning. It was such a Musee des Beaux Arts moment. He was so warm, soft and light I felt in violation touching him, though I was quite sure he was dead. I took him upstairs into the warmth of my apartment, and placed him in my windowsill for careful observation. Unfortunately he never revived. In any event, I was grateful for the opportunity to observe a bird’s body so closely.bird-1.jpgbird-2.jpgbird-3.jpg

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