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 must apologize, It has been a few weeks since last I put up a post and I have been getting some flack from a girl at work complaining to me that she has no new images to look at when she gets bored… So Ash, here you go!

Today I would like to take you on a little tour and introduce you to a friend and co-worker of mine, Jim Patterson.

Jim is a lot of thing…blue’s lover, stereotypical Irishman and one AMAZING gardener. The great thing about working and shooting people is that you get to discover the contradictions that exist in the world. Many people are mildly surprised to find out that I am a trucker by day and a wedding photographer by night and Jim is the same way. Knowing him to be a trucker by profession, you get a shock of your life when you walk up and behind his house, when you get the image of a truck driver in your head, the last thing you think of is him having the garden of Eden in his backyard.

When I visit Jim and walk with him through his garden, I just feel tired. I look around and think of how much work it must take to maintain this amazing area. Know his hours at the day job, I really wonder when he finds time to sleep. As I was walking around shooting I asked him about how much time he spends in his backyard. he told me about 30 hours a week, which I think is a wee bit of an under estimate seeing that every time I go over there he is out back picking weeds or something. In the end though, I guess it really isn’t work. Like myself and photography, when you love something so much, it’s hard to consider it work even when it makes you sweat.

Jim’s Garden is one of the many included in the London Communities in Bloom garden tours. I started seeing images of some gardens from around London and such which to tell you the truth, I wasn’t really impressed with (the gardens, not the images). So I figured that I really needed to get pictures of Jim’s garden out for the world to see. So, if you went out and did the tour this year, but didn’t make it over to Jim’s house, make sure you make it your first stop next year.

Well I’ve gone on enough, you’re here to look at some purdy pictures, not listen to me….So lets go meet Jim.

OK, not really, I love my iPhone but I don’t love it that much!

Next year I will be shooting Kaily and TJ’s wedding and as it happens Kaily’s father and brother are good friends and co-workers on mine. TJ worked with us as well for a few years but has moved on to bigger and better things. Being the way things are, when Kaily’s father came up to me at work and told me that TJ was marrying his daughter and that I was going to be the photographer (not asking, stating a fact, he’s that kind of guy lol) I was fairly excited. You see, a night at their house is something to experience, image a 1950′s blues club in the middle of the Garden of Eden (Kaily’s father is quite the gardener) and you will get the picture. Any night there is a blast and I can’t wait to see what the wedding is going to be like. I have a strange feeling that after I’m done with my duties as a photographer, I won’t be allowed to leave without have a few (dozen) beers in me.

Kaily’s brother called me up yesterday afternoon and invited me over to watch UFC 100 and both TJ and Kaily were there. After the amazing spectacle that was UFC’s 100th Pay Per View I noticed Kaily and TJ foolin’ around on the couch across from me. I quickly grabbed my iPhone to nab some shots of this little moment. Afterward I showed them and jokingly stated “There, your engagement shots are done…bring on the wedding!”, I was surprised at how the shots turned out and that they even liked them. But after showing them around to everyone and seeing how much they all enjoyed them…I figured it would be fun to share them here.

*Please not…These are pictures taken on a iPhone by me after a few beers and in a very dark back room. They in now way represent the quality of my actual work. But if you have been visiting my blog long enough I really don’t have to tell you that now do I

Now I just can’t wait till the fall when I get to do the real engagement shoot! Classic cars, farms with barns and two great clients! This gonna be fun!!!