Vancouver Photography Workshop with Christopher Morris

Last week at this time I was heading back from Vancouver after a two-day Small Strobe Bootcamp with Christopher Morris, a Vancouver Photographer of 25 years.  Christopher taught his course through V.P.W. and the entire experience, from start to finish, was exceptional.  Besides being a knowledgeable, talented master photographer, Christopher is just a really down-to-earth, generous, humble guy.  I came away from his course feeling completely inspired and excited about putting my new knowledge and ideas into practice.

Here is one of my favourite shots from the weekend:

Our weekend workshop began with a morning seminar about lighting with small strobes and an overview of the day.  After lunch, we met at a boxing gym for our first shoot.

Here are a few 'behind-the-scenes' shots of the gym:

After Christopher's demonstration, we were given a model and a boxer and as many light modifiers etc. as we desired in order to create our own lighting set-ups.  Our first task was a single-light set-up, trying to match the ambient light in the gym, and I had Shazmin to work with:

Next, we worked in small groups to create a multi-light set-up for our boxer, Abdul:

Our location shoot wrapped at about 6:00 pm and we headed home to edit our shots for the critique the next day.  Sunday morning we met at VPW studios where Christopher and his team had set-up four different lighting situations.  After more demos from Chris, we were set free to work with models at each of the four stations so that we could to get a feel for the different ways of lighting a subject.

IT WAS A BLAST!  To be in such a fabulous space, in the company of people who were all interested in the same thing I was, with all the equipment I could possibly need at my disposal, professional models to work with, AND professional guidance whenever it was required was simply AMAZING!

Here are a few shots of Kevin, Laura, Shazmin and Loreena:

The end of our bootcamp took us back to the classroom for a critique of our gym shots from the previous day and an inspiring closing from Christopher that left me a little misty-eyed, truth be told.

Thanks to Christopher, to all the models, to the fine folks at VPW and to my classmates.  You've all reminded me of how important it is to take risks, to ask questions, to play and to share.  I'm inspired.

Beautiful Boy! | Comox Valley Photographer

Falling in love with a baby is one of life's most exquisite experiences, and it is such a privilege to document those first emotions between a mother, a father and their new baby.  A few weeks ago I had a newborn session with Danielle  and Adrian and their beautiful boy, Bradan.

As well as being a proud Mama, Danielle is a fabulous stylist at Indigo Lounge in Comox.  She's usually the one making me look good, so it was nice to have our roles reversed for a change.   My job was easy though because Danielle looked amazing!  (I know that word is overused, but it's entirely appropriate here...this woman does NOT look like she recently gave birth!)

And Adrian was such a natural in front of the camera; just letting the moments happen and handling  his newborn as though he'd been doing it all of his life.

Bradan impressed us all with the number of times he went to the bathroom during our hour-long photo shoot!  He certainly kept us on our toes, but we still managed to get some bare-bodied shots before we wisely decided to keep the diaper on!

Thank you for sharing this special time in your lives with me Danielle and Adrian; Bradan is absolutely precious and I am so happy for you all!

  

So Darn Happy! | Comox Valley Maternity Photography

I think most people would agree that there's nothing much better in life than knowing your loved ones are happy.  That's why it's such a treat for me to share these photos of my brother and the woman who has captured his heart.

Kevin and Kristi are expecting their first baby in December and they are both just so darn happy!!!  (Does anyone even use the word 'darn' anymore?  I thought it went well with the barn theme...)

I'm not going to write about the love I feel for my brother; it's just too big and intense to try to condense into a blog post.  I won't even write about all of the reasons why it has been so easy to fall in love with Kristi.  I will say that there was a whole lotta love in the air during our 'Country Barn' photo session.

Our hearts are full.

Melissa & Todd's Perfect Day| Comox Valley Photographer

I have a bit of history with Melissa's family which made it all the sweeter to be involved in this wedding.   Melissa and Todd were the first clients to book a wedding with me, but by the time their big day arrived I had three weddings under my belt.  Still, I'm very grateful that they went out on a limb to hire me as their official wedding photographer.

There were so many tender moments throughout the day, it's hard to choose which ones to write about.   Melissa and Todd and their families truly lived every moment of this day.  They weren't going through the motions, they were feeling it all.  Deeply.  From the moment Melissa's dad first saw her in her dress, to the moment Todd's brother gave a toast, they all wore their emotions on their sleeves and it was beautiful to behold.

I loved photographing your wedding Todd and Melissa!  I hope you enjoy these images for many years to come.

Parksville Wedding/Comox Valley Photographer

It was a blustery, beautiful, West Coast day; entirely appropriate for this Parksville couple who so love the sea.  I hadn't met Darren and Kelly prior to their wedding day, but Kelly and I had exchanged several emails leading up to the event, and I had spoken with their officiant, Barbara Densmore.  I had a sense of what the wedding would be like, but I had no idea that the couple, the setting and the ceremony would be so ridiculously beautiful.  Really.

Photographers are beauty-seekers, so you can imagine how exciting it is when a photographer is completely surrounded by gorgeousness!  That's how I felt at Kelly and Darren's wedding.  Everywhere I looked; at the scenery, the bride and groom, the guests, the piper, the flowers, the kilts, and yes, even the seaweed......I saw beauty.

There were also many elements to the ceremony that were lovely.  For example, every guest had an opportunity to hold the wedding bands and bless them, and everyone present threw a wishing stone into the ocean for the couple.

 I am grateful to Kelly and Darren for trusting me to document their truly spectacular day.  I wish you smooth sailing and a lifetime of happiness together!