I don’t know about you, but I have never been a fan of maternity photography. It seemed like someone set down some ground rules and everyone just followed them. Personal I hate (strong word I know but…) the “Heart Hands” over the stomach, the block letters, the kissing of the belly and I can’t even look at Tulle any more!

But not all is lost! I have run across a few photographers that have taken the whole maternity session and gone lifestyle/editorial. It’s these photographers I have taken after when I have done my (very few) maternity sessions and Tanya is my latest.

Tanya is a natural at this whole picture taking thing, I hardly had to give her much direction which is a huge plus for me and the images. I am always worry about dealing with expecting mothers, with Tanya I was constantly asking “You OK?”, “How you doing”, “You getting tired?”. I actually think it may have been a little annoying for her lol. All things turned out and Tanya put up with me and my worrying long enough to get some killer shots, I’m really starting to enjoy this maternity thing!

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!

There are major milestones in the life of a parent and I believe they differ between mothers and fathers, as well as what gender your children are. As a father of two boys, my milestones are:

1)Fist birthday
2)First steps
3)First time you hear “Dadda”
4)First bike
5)First day of school
6)First public presentation (be it sports, stage, what have you)
7)First Girlfriend
8)Graduation
9)First beer

Today on Logan’s 5th birthday I got to enjoy number 4, Logan’s first bike. We did have a tricycle for him, but he never really got the idea of using the pedals and really, for use fathers…The first bike means the first two wheeler, none of this three wheeler crap!

This morning was a flurry of activity, I was running around, I bought a bike, I bought training wheels, I bought a helmet. I returned a bike, I returned training wheels, I bought another better bike, I bought another set of training wheels. I bitched, sworn and yelled as I tried to put the training wheels on the bike…Yes, it was an eventful morning, but in the end it was worth every scrapped knuckle and trip to Walmart and Canadian Tire when I got to see the look on Logan’s face when I walked through the door with his very first bike. These are the days every father looks forward to.

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.

That video you just watched featuring photographer Clay Enos was the inspiration for todays street portrait session. One of the biggest fears for new photographers is photographing people they don’t know. Make that complete strangers on the street and you will make even the most seasoned photographer nervous. It take a special someone to be confident enough to grab people on the street as they pass and ask to photograph them… Well that’s exactly what I did today.

With the help of Scott Webb of Nuwomb Creative I set out downtown London to find a nice spot to do some portraits. Scott was acting as my human background stand holding a piece of white foamcore board while I wrestled me up some passerby’s. At the time I was setting this up I was wondering where a good place would be, then I was informed that the London Pride Parade was happening today and I know where I had to make camp, right next to the parking lot where the parade ended up.

The foot traffic was good and I got to meet some amazing people. I really enjoyed myself and think I will be making this a regular thing when ever time allows. I was never nervous at first, so I didn’t approach as many people as I would have liked, next time I plan on snagging a few more people then I did today. All in all I am very happy how the images I did manage to get turned out and hope you agree.

If you are any kind of wedding blog stalker around the London area, no doubt you recognize Heather from HRM Photography in the above images. I spotted Heather walking with her husband and new(ish) baby girl and wrangled them up for a few shots. Now I was very nervous to shoot Heather, being a photographer I highly respect in the London wedding market, I didn’t want to mess up.

That last image is of a great couple I met at the end of the shoot. Join me in congratulating them on their up coming wedding. They told me that they are doing a destination wedding down south somewhere (they hadn’t decided), all I could say to them was “Ummm, I travel….”. Ladies, if you are reading this….I meant every single word! lol

Last week, if you remember I attended a BBQ at a friends house. There I ran into another friend I hadn’t seen in a while, we started talking and I offered to do a session with his daughter who has to be one of the cutest little angels on the face of the earth!

Last Sunday we got together at one of my favorite parks to do the shoot. Let me tell you, she may have been shy, but she was a natural! Hardly took any direction from me, she just dropped into perfect poses every time. It was a good time, I got to catch up with an old friend as well as get some amazing pictures of this little sweetie. I wish my boys were as easy to shoot, but then again their challenge helps sharpen my skills lol.

I love kids, always have. I couldn’t wait to be a father and may have jumped into it a little to early, but I have no regrets what so ever. I’m one of those people that believes children bring meaning to ones life, a purpose to care for and teach another human being.

My oldest son Logan was planned for, we were among the lucky couples that had no problems conceiving. We basically lost the birth control and about 6 months later my wife was delivering the good news (please don’t quote me on that one), Nathan on the other hand was a complete surprise.

The first months were a joy, but as Nathan grew we started to get worried about his development. At first we got that ol’ line “Don’t worry, children develop at different rates”. Other parents were saying this, Nathan’s doctor was saying this, but as time went by we really started to get worried. Then on a late night visit to the Children’s Hospital for an ear infection (gotta love those ear infection eh!), the doctor on duty walked in and with in 15 seconds he noticed signs that signaled our worst fears…There was something wrong with our little Nathan.

After a few months of waiting and worrying, Nathan finally got in to see a developmental pediatrician and he diagnosed Nathan with PDD-NOS (pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified). From what I understand, this basically mean “He may have Autism, MAYBE, but we don’t really know. If it’s not Autism it’s something else, either way theirs something wrong”. At the age 2 and a half years, Nathan is not speaking, has social problems, motor skill problems and has a major case of Momasboyitis, he’s a HUGE mama’s boy!

This last part kinda stings sometimes. I come home from a long shift at the day job and Logan will come running to say hi and jabber on about his day, but Nathan completely ignores me. I do get to have some fun with him with tickling and stuff, but it doesn’t take long till he wants his mommy and goes running. I completely understand that the combination of my working long hours, starting a photography business and his condition won’t lead to strong bond. His mother is his life line and that is why their is such a strong tie between the two of them. But when he runs past me to go to mommy, well it kinda breaks my heart just a little.

I know this won’t last and as he improves (which he is doing little by little) he will come to daddy for more fun and rough housing. Till then I guess I will just have to satisfy myself with snapping pictures of my little guy and enjoying the little time I do enjoy with him…So don’t be surprised if you start to see even more pictures of Nathan.

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

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I LOVE small weddings! They just seem to be more about the couple for some reason. A close group of friends and family coming together to celibate the union of two people that really love each other. Well Justin and Julie’s wedding is going to be just that and I’m really looking forward to shoot it!

Today we headed out and did a little tour of downtown London Ontario to do their engagement session. It was a lot of walking (trust me, I need the exercise!), but it gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other a little better as well as creating some great images…. and here they are! I hope you like.