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.

Wedding Photography Seminar

The main reason we went south was to attend a seminar in Las Vegas specifically for wedding photography. It was an amazing event. I am really excited because the information we have taken from Vegas will definitely improve the overall product we deliver to both our wedding and non-wedding clients. I’m really looking forward to this summer!


What a room full of wedding photographers look like.

Trip – More Utah

Here are a few photos from the remainder of our Utah trip. I started off in photography taking a lot of landscapes. I typically don’t have time for it anymore, but whenever I’m on a trip I like to try and work a few sessions in with the light at “magic hour” (just before sunset/ after sunrise). These were taken in Snow Canyon State Park.

Trip - Hiking in Utah

We are on the road right now on our way to a seminar in Las Vegas and thought we would take the opportunity to do some hiking in one of our favourite places, Utah. We somehow managed to talk our friend Karl (his girlfriend Jo couldn’t get time off work) into joining us, which meant driving about 3000 km with our 8 month old baby. This was also our first time camping with our daughter so it has been a bit different than the normal routine, but once we learned the new dance it was all good. Its actually been a big help having Karl around because sometimes you need more than 2 sets of hands. So here are some photos and a bit more text to go with them.

Our first sunset overlooking Canyonlands National Park


Suzanne and Kate


Young camper


Kate keeps an eye on the espresso


Not probably what the people at Graco had in mind for their Pack-and-play portable crib, but it works great for camping too.


Typical sunset light and our favourite camp in Needles (Canyonlands NP)


More sunset light


My current favourite beer down here by the Wasatch Brewery


They like to have fun with the Mormon religion


Getting ready for a big hike. My patent pending pancake mix, with a New Zealander's (Karl) touch, Nutella and Bananas. He wanted to add bacon too, but enough was enough.


Karl in the "Joint", which is one of the best hikes in Canyonlands NP




Suzanne in the Joint






After a couple days of great weather we moved on farther south and drove through a full on sand storm.


20 minutes later we went through a blizzard. Its a crazy place.


So we decided to treat our selves to a classy motel room with a great view (in St. Georges Utah). We plan to hike around Zion area for the next couple days if the weather cooperates.