Wedding - Eli and Manuel

The Observation Deck of the Calgary Tower turned out to be a great location for a wedding. I was a bit concerned about all the glass, but the lighting was great. There were so many cute kids at this wedding I had to remember to photograph the bride and groom once and a while! A big thanks to Eli and Manuel for braving the 6 degree weather for a session on the Center Street Bridge. You guys were great!

On the glass viewing floor.


Manuel and his Grandma before the ceremony.












The reception at Harbour City Restaurant. The rowdy table is judging the kissing.

Wedding - Maya and Arjun

When Maya called way back in October (or maybe it was November) she said she was an artist living in California, getting married in Calgary, and really connected with my work. I had no idea how good of an artist she really is. Check out her website at www.mayagohill.com. I’ll spare you the long story, but she was determined to have me photograph her wedding no matter what. Am I ever happy she was persistent and changed her date to one that I wasn’t booked. Maya and Arjun’s wedding was like a playground for photographers. Everyone was so accommodating and the food by the Tajmahal was unbelievable.

The kicker was that the whole event was decorated by Lea Romanowski of Designing on the Edge. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m stalking her since we were at the same wedding two days in a row. Not only did she make the ceremony and reception venues look amazing, but she also showed up in a Sari and sang a song to the newlyweds which was required to get them to kiss. Wow, I’m just happy if I can get through the reception without getting any food on my shirt!

Espresso!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After years of searching we have found it. An espresso machine that really works, but doesn't cost thousands. The company is Breville out of Australia and we both agree that we couldn't have invested $400 more wisely. It was actually $445, but we got it at the Bay and signed up for one of those annoying HBC reward cards and saved %10 for doing it. I'm sure we'll get an endless supply of junk mail because of it. Right now we are using Starbuck espresso ground to the setting for their machines. Seems pretty good so far but we are also going to try the beans from Mr. Cappuccino on Center Street. He apparently imports fresh roasted beans each week from Italy.

Click on the photo to see a larger version.

Wedding - Nancy and Jason

What a May long weekend for weather. I’m usually just happy if it doesn’t snow. We officially kicked off the wedding season photographing Nancy and Jason’s wedding at the Cochrane RancheHouse and had a blast photographing the wedding party (thanks guys) before the ceremony.

Thanks to Lea Romanowski of Designing on the Edge for putting together these hot pink and bright green arrangements, and Nancy and the bridesmaids for their funky taste.



Check out Nancy's expression as she sees Jason for the first time.

e-Session - Nancy and Jason

We've been pretty busy in the office the last week getting everything organized for what is going to be a really busy wedding season. I did get out for an engagement session with Nancy and Jason last week. Here's what we did. They're getting married Saturday. Am I excited? Do kids like Smarties?

Letter From a Couple

It's always tough to get started on Monday, but this morning I woke up to a nice email, which should get me through to lunch. I met with this couple a month ago, but they ended up having to change their date to a different weekend which we had already booked.

Hi Alan and Suzanne,

I just wanted to drop you a line to tell you how much
XXXX and I love your approach to wedding photography.
We have spoken to 7 different photographers and we
always compare them to you. (In fact, I just came home
from yet another meeting and half way through I was
thinking "Why can't Alan be available." .)

We know that you are already booked for the date we
have set upon. (We are disappointed, but completely
understand.) I simply wanted to tell you that we think
your photos, approach, and style to a wedding are
fantastic. The couple who booked you are lucky.

Hope you have a great day! Cheers...

Trip - Italy

Since we are so busy in the summer we like to try and get some holidays earlier in the year so we headed over to Italy for two weeks. The first week we spent on the Amalfi coast with some friends from Calgary; Michelle, Kelly and their daughter Ella. Traveling with kids is definitely a bit “different”, but nothing a few Peroni’s (see below for photo description of this marvelous stress releaser) won’t solve. We spent our second week in Tuscany and the weather was pretty lousy, but good for shopping ;)

I get a lot of email from people wanting to know what kind of camera I use. I don’t mind telling folks, but basically it doesn’t matter at all. I took a larger SLR with us on this trip, but most of the time we just carried our small little Fuji F10, a $400 point and shoot digital. I love it. All of the photos are straight out of the camera except for the Vespa photo which was converted to BW.

There are some great hiking trails along the Amalfi coast (Costeria Amalfitan) that go from town to town. We had great weather for the hike from Praiano (where we were staying) up to Bomerano. The white stuff in the background is the town of Positano. The beauty of these hikes is that you can stop in each town and replenish with a gelato and and espresso.


Michelle, Ella and Kelly


The cure for stress I talked about


I love the Italian bitters, which are kind of like pop, but have a sour finish to them. They sell them at Lina's, an Italian grocery store in Calgary, but they are $2.00 a pop here so a bit pricy for a 100ml drink.


Scenes like this are dime a dozen in Italy.


There are a lot of things I like about Italy and Autogrill are one of them. It's a chain of gas stations, but the difference is they have an espresso bar, which also serves alcohol (because there is no reason the passengers can't have a drink) and they also offer fresh pizzas, great sandwiches and pasteries. In the foreground are the rental cars we had.


Suzanne and I, compliments of Michelle. Beauty Michelle!


If I hadn't been so lazy I would have spent more time photographing bikes while we were there. I love all of the character they have. Is this a sweet ride or what?


Noisy and Italian


The weather finaly broke after 6 days of rain in Tuscany and it was nice to see some sun on the vineyards where we were staying.


Kate, not quite walking yet


Please no comments about the foot wear.