K.I.H.S. Graduation Ceremony 2019 - Valhalla Inn
This was my third year photographing the Keewaytinook Internet Highschool (K.I.H.S) Graduation. It’s always such an amazing and rewarding experience. Each year I have photographed the event, the number has graduates has gone up. This years event was no exception, with a graduating class of 32. Just like last year, Valhalla Inn played host to the graduation.
This was my third year photographing the Keewaytinook Internet Highschool (K.I.H.S) Graduation. It’s always such an amazing and rewarding experience. Each year I have photographed the event, the number has graduates has gone up. This years event was no exception, with a graduating class of 32. Just like last year, Valhalla Inn played host to the graduation.
As soon as I arrived I worked with the organizers to get all the graduates outside for their formal portraits. It actually went pretty smoothly seeing as how last year we tried it at the end of the event and it was definitely a lot harder. I also managed to get some create candids outside and of course some family and friends photos too.
Once we were done outside, the rest of the evening was spent inside in the ballroom. There was of course a delicious 4 course meal, a couple presentations and even some live entertainment. The evening went by extremely quick for me, but I still came away with a lot of great photos. It helped that everyone was super excited and happy to be there.
For those of you who would like to learn more about what K.I.H.S does, I encourage you to visit their website. I’m already looking forward to next years graduation. I heard that there are going to be even more graduates than 2019!
St. Benard Kindergarten Information Session
This past Thursday saw St. Benard School host an kindergarten information session. It was a last minute booking for me, but luckily I was able to accept it. I didn't know much going in but once I got there, I soon realized there was going to be approximately 400 people there. My job for the next hour was to simply capture candids of the attendees, the booths and the speakers. It was right up my alley and my favourite type of photography.
This past Thursday saw St. Benard School host an kindergarten information session. It was a last minute booking for me, but luckily I was able to accept it. I didn't know much going in but once I got there, I soon realized there was going to be approximately 400 people there. My job for the next hour was to simply capture candids of the attendees, the booths and the speakers. It was right up my alley and my favourite type of photography.
I love photographing people, especially children. I think I came away with some great photos, and also succeeded in representing the overall feel of the event. It was nice to see so much excitement from the kids as well as the parents. They got to meet some of their future teachers too. All in all, the hour went by fast but a lot happened and I was glad to be a part of it.
Alicia + Ghislain Engagement - Waverly Park
Most of my photo sessions the last few months has either been weddings or family portraits, so when Alicia and Ghislain contacted me to take some engagement photos for them, I was super excited. Not that there is anything wrong with weddings and family portraits, but it's always nice to do some engagement sessions to mix it up a bit.
Since Alicia is going to law school, she figured what better location, then Waverly Park, which is where the law school is located. It also happens to be my old high school which used to be called P.A.C.I. Back then it was a beautiful building and it still is to this day.
Most of my photo sessions the last few months has either been weddings or family portraits, so when Alicia and Ghislain contacted me to take some engagement photos for them, I was super excited. Not that there is anything wrong with weddings and family portraits, but it's always nice to do some engagement sessions to mix it up a bit.
Since Alicia is going to law school, she figured what better location, then Waverly Park, which is where the law school is located. It also happens to be my old high school which used to be called P.A.C.I. Back then it was a beautiful building and it still is to this day.
After a quick hello in the parking lot, I immediately took Alicia and Ghislain to the back of the school. There is very nice brick wall there so we spent a bit of time using that as a backdrop. We then headed back to the front of the school to get some more photos. It's hard not to come away with great looking shots with such a beautiful and historical building the background.
They both brought some props to the shoot as well which I was more then happy to incorporate into the session. Because they hadn't decided on the exact date, we made sure to do two different dates. So if you are wondering why the date is different in some of the photos, that is why. It's actually very smart if you ask me, and something I will recommend to future couples who are still unsure about their date.
Once we were done in front of the school, we headed on down to Waverly Park. I have done many wedding portraits here so I already had some ideas of where to go. With that being said, I always look for different angles and perspectives. As a photographer, it's important to always challenge yourself to do something different, which I think I was able to this time around. Sometimes it's getting down lower, or perhaps using a different lens. One of my favourite photos is the last one, where I got a while expansive shot of both of them kissing with the law school in the background.
Another spot we took advantage of was the Magnus Theatre back wall. Admittedly, I have used this was a couple times before but I just couldn't resist. Even though I had used it before, I still made sure to try something a bit different. With the sun low in the sky, it created some great soft shadows, on the wall, so I played with that a little.
One that can be overlooked sometimes during an engagement sessions just focusing on the couple and not getting any ring shots. So we took a few minutes to get some interesting photos of Alicia's ring. Then after a few more photos of the happy couple, we were done. I say this every single blog post, but it always holds true ... Alicia and Ghislain where the perfect couple to photograph. They were very easy going, and the fact that they brought some of their own props helped us get some truly unique photos. I'm glad I was able to be a part of the engagement!
Love of Reading Foundation - Hyde Park School
Today I met a lot of young kids that love to read. They were all from Hyde Park school, it was all part of the Love of Reading Foundation at Chapters here in Thunder Bay. Since 2004 the Love of Reading Foundation has donated more than $17 million to 1600 schools, including Ogden and Sherbrooke public schools in Thunder Bay. This time around it was Hyde Park school's turn.
Today I met a lot of young kids that love to read. They were all from Hyde Park school, it was all part of the Love of Reading Foundation at Chapters here in Thunder Bay. Since 2004 the Love of Reading Foundation has donated more than $17 million to 1600 schools, including Ogden and Sherbrooke public schools in Thunder Bay. This time around it was Hyde Park school's turn.
All the kids got to choose books they liked which in turn are going to be donated to the school library. The 1.5 hours went be super fast and I can tell all the kids had a blast. Not only were they able to read any book of their choosing but there as also a balloon animal station setup.
I was able to capture a lot of great photos from the event so feel free to take a look below at all the fun the kids had.
