Pumpkin Mania 2018 - Belluz Farms

It was a long time coming but I finally got the chance to make the drive out to Belluz Farms Pumpkin Mania 2018. All these years living in Thunder Bay and I had never been to Belluz Farms before. So with my video camera in hand along with my photography camera as well, I set out on the open road to find Belluz Farms.

I joke when I say find because google maps told me exactly where it was. Suffice it to say, I still managed to go down a few wrong roads. So did the person driving in front of me if that was any consolation. Once I finally found the farm, I gave my donation and parked the car. The parking attendant told me the pumpkin drop was pushed back until 3:30 which was a good thing. I honestly thought it would be at 4:30, so I was happy I decided to get there for 3:00 an no later.

Having never been to the farm before, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew I had 30 minutes until the drop though so I decided to check out the corn maze which was right where I parked. My main goal for the event was to capture some video with photos being secondary. So I started getting some video of the maze. After about 5 minutes I realized I didn’t know my way out. I started panicking just a little because I didn’t want to miss the pumpkin drop. Luckily, I found my way out rather easily.

So I headed over the main area where the drop was to take place and set up camp. It was a good spot and more and more people kept crowding around, especially kids. There were a lot of them there, which so fun to see. I could only imagine being a kid and going to something like that. It really put a smile on my face. In any case, I knew I wanted to be closer, much closer. So I put on my kindest most professional face and asked the attendant lady if I could go around the fence and into the main area. She eyed me up and say my camera and backpack and said sure.

I think all the small children were appreciative of the face that I was leaving as I am sure I was blocking a lot of their view. This being the first time I attended this event I really didn’t know what to expect so I asked some of the other workers and another man taking photos how far back I should be. I never really got a straight answer so I just winged it.

The first pumpkin dropped from the crane into what looked like a makeshift kid pool and exploded upon impact. It kind of caught me off guard just how far the pieces fell. It was very exciting. There was still one more pumpkin to go, and this one was filled with candy. So once it finished dropping the crowd would be allowed to rush in and grab all the candy they wanted.

For the that pumpkin, I would say I was about 20 feet back which I thought was enough. It was barely enough. As I was recording the slow motion video the pumpkin smashed into the grand and pieces flew in every direction. Luckily I was paying attention because one chunk came hurtling towards me and I casually spread my legs and it flew under. I haven’t even checked out the video yet but I’m pretty sure I got it on film.

I spent the next 30 minutes or so capturing a bit more video the venue and some of the animals as well. I also made sure to get some photos of the pumpkins which you can see below. Once I left I knew I wanted to drive down the same dirt road to get once last shot of the mountain. On my way I saw the cutest small cat strolling down the side of the road. I wanted to stop and take him home but I assumed he had a home out there. The last shot of the day was indeed from the spot I saw on the way in. It actually turned out quite good. I would have liked it to be about 1.5 hours later in the evening but now I have an excuse to go back. Plus, I think more colours should still come in.

All in all, it was super fun couple of hours. If I can, I will most definitely be coming out again next year. The only downside is that I am now craving pumpkin pie …

Laura + Georgia Family Portraits - Trow Bridge Falls

My first of two portrait sessions of the day was with my recent contest winner, Laura, and her daughter Georgia. Last week I did a Facebook promotion giving away a free 1 hour portrait package. I still can’t believe the response I got for the contest and in the end, Laura and her daughter were randomly drawn. I really lucked out too because they were so much fun to photograph. 

I recommended Trow Bridge Falls as the location because I thought it would be the perfect winter location, with the rapids still running and a bit of snow on the ground. Laura mentioned that the last time she was there was when she was a teenager. So it had be a long time! Her daughter Georgia was just a ball of energy. She was laughing and running pretty much the whole session. I am completely used to running around chasing kids during sessions, so it was nothing new for me, and plus, I enjoy it so much. 

I made the mistake of mentioning a small playground I wanted to check out at the end of the session. Georgia kept asking to go to while were taking photos. Lesson learned I guess. Trow Bridge has a lot of great spots and we started in the playground itself where Georgia was immediately climbing the monkey bars and eventually the slide. She even got her mom up on the monkey bars too. These types of sessions are my favourite because it is just me capturing moments. 

With that being said, I still wanted to get some ‘posed’ photos here and there. We made our way to the trail across the bridge and eventually down to the water. It didn’t take very long for Georgia to be comfortable with me too. It got to the point where she was coming up with names to call me. Some of them were quite creative. Of course, I had to give it back a little, which only made her want to do it more. She also went through a snorting phase where she sounded like a little pig for about 10 minutes. The smiles and natural expressions that came from those moments was priceless though. 

Before we ended the session I made sure to quickly take Laura and Georgia to the small playground I mentioned. I think Georgia was expecting something a bit different but she still had some fun trying to climb up the slide. The last few photos I took were just along the tree line near the parking lot and one of my favourite photos from the session was actually the very last one I took. Laura was carrying Georgia up the hill and I got them to stop for a split second and got a great candid portrait of the two of them. It goes to show you, don’t ever stop shooting until the session is completely over. 

A huge thank you to Laura and her daughter for letting me spend an amazing hour with them!