Photography Blog

Backward, turn backward,
O Time, in your flight
make me a child again
just for to-night!
~Elizabeth Akers Allen

I have always loved Halloween.  As a child,  I can remember dressing up f0r school and being excited ALL day about trick-or-treating in the evening.  I was not just excited about getting candy, but also seeing other children in costumes, being allowed out in the dark with my friends, seeing the neighbours and maybe even seeing a friendly witch riding a broomstick in the sky.  Oh sure, there were some scary things on Halloween…like the ‘haunted house’ on my street.  Even in the summer, we were told stories about the ghosts that lived there.  We dared each other to ring that doorbell.  Nobody was ever home.

I was sad that one day I would be too old to go trick-or-treating, because for me, there was nothing more fun than getting dressed up and going from house-to-house.  Fortunately, when I lived in university residence, the tradition continued as on-campus trick-or-treating was organized!

Now that I’m an adult, I’m happy to be able to go out on Halloween again with my two young children, the youngest who will be going for her first time tonight and the eldest who asked me shortly after she woke up this morning, “How many more minutes until I can go trick-or-treating?”  I told her it would only be a few hundred more and what’s a few hundred minutes when you’ve been waiting all year?

Happy Halloween!

I got a new sign in front of the home studio and in less than a week after putting it up, I got a phone call and photographed this beautiful family just four days after we’d initially touched base!

I could not have asked for a better family to photograph.   Their children were 9, 7 and 3 so I was not expecting lengthy attention spans, but these girls LOVED having their photos taken!

To top it off, their house was extremely photogenic with a red door, pond in the backyard, amazing rocks, tall grasses and nice touches everywhere you looked.

Thanks again for having me over to capture your family at these picture perfect ages!

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Katie and Darcy’s wedding for Amber Richmond Photography .

All week leading up to the wedding, everyone was concerned it was going to rain all day on the wedding day.  It turned out to be a perfect, warm fall day for this wonderful couple!

Katie and Darcy got married at Lumina Resort in Muskoka .  They had the whole resort to themselves!

It was just barely too cool to go for a swim in the pool!

Here is the backyard before it was set-up for the ceremony.

Katie and her mom are pretty excited about the big day!

Everyone was so happy the weather held off so they could have their ceremony outdoors in front of the lake.

This truck had 2 wheels in the front and 4 in the back.  Note the groom holding the dog

I love how the water looks like the sky.

Look how happy they are!

Night time silhouette in front of the lake.

Thanks for having me shoot for you again, Amber and thanks for having me there Katie and Darcy!

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Dr. Elliot’s 90th birthday in my very own neighbourhood of South Etobicoke. His birthday took place on a perfect summer day complete with live music, lots of outdoor seating, happy guests and of course, cake!  By the time you get to 90 years old, I guess you have figured out how to party!

Thanks for having me there!

I first met James in high school and by pure coincidence, Jen was my university art class buddy.  I was truly honoured to photographer their wedding, since James is an amazing videographer/photographer in his own right, and Jen is a fabulous artist.

They got married in the lush forest setting of Maplewood Hall, in Ancaster.

Jen got ready at her friend Saheera’s house.

I had some extra time with the guys before the ceremony.

She pulled right into the forest!

This is Webster’s Falls in Ancaster.

We broke half the rules of photography with Jen and her brother (on the left), but it was their idea, and because it’s tongue-in-cheek (or rather nostril in air), I think it works!

Maplewood Hall.

James lit the bonfire and they threw propane on it. Nobody was hurt.

Everyone got into the games after the garter and bouquet toss.

A fitting end to the evening.

Congrats again, Jen and James!

I had the pleasure of photographing Abe and Karen’s wedding for the fabulous Amber Richmond of Amber Richmond Photography on Saturday.

Their wedding started out at her bridesmaid’s parents home in Dundas, ON, a picturesque little town where most of the bridesmaids grew up.

Karen’s sister Laurie really enjoyed doing her make-up. Check out the awesome earrings, because Laurie made them!

Karen and Abe’s nephews, who also happen to be Amber’s sons, were the ringbearers and their niece was the flower girl.  She is 14 months old and doesn’t walk yet, so the ringboys did a great job pulling her down the aisle.

I always love this moment of ‘goodbye’ and ‘hello.’

I went up on stage and hoped nobody would notice me, but Karen and Abe did.  Ah well, I like how this photo shows the guests.

Karen grew up with 5 siblings!

This is Abe’s family. He has just one brother.

The close-knit wedding party.

We made sure we got lots of photos of Karen and Abe in that oxymoron of terms ‘Alone together’, before the rain came pouring down.

I love the architectural arches on the McMaster campus.

Just after the down pour.  I love the purple Birkenstocks with purple nail polish.

Karen and Abe’s friend, Pearson Ross sang a song he composed specifically for their wedding day.  I love how they reacted as he was performing-so much that I decided to make an animated gif out of it!  Please check out his music here:

https://www.peirsonross.com/ because it is fabulous!

Congrats again, Karen and Abe! Thanks so much for having me be part of your special day. Thanks to Amber as well for having me photograph your brother-in-law’s wedding!

Anita and Craig’s newest addition arrived just 1 day after his big brother’s birthday! If he had been born in Vancouver, they would have shared a birthday, since he arrived before 2AM.

Anita told me he slept just about all the time, but I was there for 4 hours and he was awake for at least 3 of them, maybe even 3 1/2!

Can you believe he’s just 7 days old and he has such perfect hair? I showed this photo to a friend and she remarked, “It looks like he just had a hair cut.”

I love how big brother took a bit of time out his busy day to hold his little brother’s hand, just after seeing how mom admired baby.

For young families, candids are the best!

Congrats again on your adorable new addition, Anita and Craig!

I had the pleasure of photographing the Corbin’s wedding and first sweet newborn baby, so it was wonderful to be back to photograph their new baby son along with the growing family!

He’s the first baby I photographed who much preferred being dressed in the props to being naked.

Congrats again on your beautiful, growing family!

How are you cooling off today?

In Toronto, it feels like 49 degrees Celsius today, which feels like 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  I’ll be honest, I am now enjoying the coolness of my basement, but here are a few recent photos of my daughter cooling off in the yard.  If you FEEL like doing something outside, running through the sprinkler seems like a great idea!  I would even consider it myself.

I’d love to hear how you and (and/or your family) are staying cool today! Got any great ideas to share?  Please comment!