2010….sounds so sci-fi.

How will you remember 2009?

For my family 2009 was a year of firsts. First bike, first day at school, first hockey stick, first word (we think…). For the business, 2009 has been a year of maturity. It has also been my first full year with the blog. I have gotten to point my camera at some truly amazing people and I can say that I have the best clients on the face of the earth.

How will I remember 2009? With a huge grin on my face

I spent my new years long weekend combing through all the memories of 2009 and I’ve gathers 61 images that I think express the feeling of the last year of this decade for me. Lots of smiles, lots of emotion and a copious amount of lip locking. Some images you have seen, some never made it to the blog for one reason or another, but all would be lining my walls if I had a much bigger house.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did capturing them.

Now….Bring on 2010!

Above image taken for Red Button Photography

Toronto is my kinda town, not the traffic mind you, but the atmosphere. I didn’t really know these till I met with Aleen and Luke in the Distillery District of Toronto to shoot their engagement session. There are just so many little nooks and crannies to shoot that I was almost over loaded with input.

The weather wasn’t the best, but with a couple like these two and a play ground like downtown Toronto it’s hard not to get great pictures. Driving home I kept spotting other little spots and back drops, I wish I had a few more hours with Luke and Aleen.

I couldn’t ask for better clients (I really do have the best), I’m on pins and needles waiting to work with Aleen and Luke again, I can already see the smiles, tears and how absolutely gorgeous Aleen is going to look on her wedding day!

I like to believe when I first met Katie and Deryk, we just clicked…..I would say that they would agree seeing that they signed me on the spot! Katie completely won me over when she announced that besides the wedding dress the photography was number 2 on her list of priorities at the wedding. I would have liked being number one, but hey, EVERYTHING comes second to the dress!

A few Sundays ago I got together with Katie and Deryk to take a little tour around the country side. Katie had all the locations lined up and to tell you the truth, I couldn’t have picked better locations myself. It would also appear that my luck with weather also extends to peoples health. Katie emailed me about a week before our session saying that they may have to reschedule because she was fighting a nasty bug. I really don’t know if it was my luck or if Katie is just that tough, but come our shoot date Katie was good to go. Either way, were cranked out some great shots in my opinion and with Katie and Deryk’s wedding in June, it’s looking like 2010 is going to be an amazing year!

Last week I picked up a little addition to my equipment arsenal, a Fujifilm Instax 200 (think modern Polaroid). I’ve never been a huge instant photography fan, but after seeing what the Instax turns out I became very interested.

Earlier today I was in Cambridge to shoot Kaily and TJ’s engagement session and the new member of the family tagged along to play. I absolutely love the results and thought they would be perfect for Kaily and TJ’s sneak peek post.

Stay tuned for the rest of the session coming soon.

I’d really like to know what goes through my head sometimes. For some reason i always find myself sitting at the computer till 3 in the morning doing up a post. I had every intention of just editing and going to bed like any other sane, rational person would if they had to wake at 5:30 am.

This time though, I do have an excuse…

Last month I headed out to Grand Bend to photograph Chantal and Josh’s engagement session. I was really looking forward to working with these guys, they are such a laid back, super cool couple.

We did a little tour around the Grand Bend area hitting the beach, a farmers field, the local drive-in and ending the trip at Chantal’s parents house in the country. Both the ceremony and the reception are to be held here (have I said how much I love outdoor weddings yet?) and I am super excited for their wedding day after seeing this amazing chunk of land. Fake outhouses, rusted old Ford pickups and paths through a huge garden all add up to photo nirvana.

It was a complete pleasure to hang out with the both of them and if you enjoy the pictures even a quarter as much as I did taking them then I did my job……..

Cheers!

Here’s a little teaser for Chantal and Josh’s engagement session……Keep you eye’s peeled for the full post.

I’ve always loved the style over at Rock’n Roll Bride. Kat, the rock’n beauty behind RnR has a real eye for talent and knows what she likes. So it was a real honor to be one of her features. You can see the post here and while you are there check out all the other superb images on the site.

Thanks again Kat

Killer couple + classic car / great location = one amazing engagement session!

It’s always good when you get a killer couple, a couple that is laid back, not afraid of the camera and is willing to work with you on what ever comes into your head. But, when Erik and Arianne pulled up in a 1970 Karmann Ghia and a 1964 Ford Mustang I was happier then a kid starring at the gate to Disney World.

Some times I offer a shoot to people that have a look that I want for my portfolio and my friend Matty and his fiancee Jocelyn have that look. I asked Matty if he would be interested in a couples shoot and I got way more then I expected. It turns out that they are engaged making this a cool engagement session and Jocelyn is about 7 month along which also makes this a maternity session! How killer is that!!!

Being the smart folks that they are, they have found out ahead of time (I’m not one for surprises either) that they are having a little girl which they will be naming Mayden. I just love that name! That little girl is going to be one little hell raiser let me tell you… With Jocelyn’s looks and Matty’s attitude poor little Matty is going to have some fun in about 14 years lol

Anyways, we started out by getting lost in the countryside and stumbling onto a great field and this sweet little barn. After that we headed to the Jumbo train bridge in St Thomas (not sure if that’s really it’s name, but a elephant named Jumbo did meet his maker on that bridge) then finishing at the Patterson Garden.

I had a blast with these guys and I can’t wait to get my lens on Mayden when she is born. I am even in talks with Matty about shooting their wedding in October of 2010. Still haven’t decided if I’m gonna give him a deal quite yet, we’ll see how nice he can be to me in the next year

Well I hope you enjoy these images as much as I did taking them….Oh, before I let you go. I want to apologize now for the length of the post, I spent a while trying to narrow down my favs, but I just could not get rid of any more. It seems that every time you point a camera at these two you get an awesome picture!

I went to school with Sarah for a very long time, like from grade 3 all the way to high school. Sarah was one of the coolest girls I knew in school, while every female preteen around was drooling over the Back Street Boys, Sarah was the hip one listening to Bobby Brown.

About a month ago I was at the grocery store waiting in the checkout line when I spied Sarah with her grandmother. We started talking and she informed me that she was getting married and how it was going to be a small wedding in Port Stanley. Of coarse considering what I do I HAD to ask the question “Who’s shooting your wedding?”. When she told me that she was just “get some friend to cover it” my hackles raised and I replied “Ummm no you’re not, give me a call and we’ll talk”….She did!

So today I met Sarah and her fiancee Dane at one of their hangouts, the Wortley Roadhouse and we had a killer time just wondering around, ending up at their house. They told me that they “Weren’t the types to frolic in the woods”, they just wanted a This is Our Life kinda coverage which I thought was a great idea.

I had an amazing time with Dane and Sarah, their wedding is one of the most anticipated events on my calendar for this year. Till I get to show you all the great images I’m sure to get from their wedding, sit back and enjoy their engagement!

And now folks, please remember! Friends don’t let friends hire friends to shoot their wedding! Of coarse if that friend is a talented wedding photographer…well then by all means, but a cameras a wedding photographer one does not make, or something like that lol