Remembrance Day - 2017
Once again I was able to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony at Waverly Park in Thunder Bay. Below are some highlights from the day.
Once again I was able to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony at Waverly Park in Thunder Bay. Below are some highlights from the day.
Remembrance Day - Waverly Park - 2015
It has been a long long time since I have been able to be a part of Remembrance Day here in Thunder Bay. I was either living abroad or simply too busy to make it down. This year I made sure to see the ceremony over at Waverly Park. I also decided to take some photos since this is something I have been wanting to do for a long long time. I arrived at around 10:10 and there were already a lot of people there. As soon as I arrived I made my way through the crowd and into the area around the monument. From there, I spent the next 1.5 hours photographing the people involved in this special day.
It has been a long long time since I have been able to be a part of Remembrance Day here in Thunder Bay. I was either living abroad or simply too busy to make it down. This year I made sure to see the ceremony over at Waverly Park. I also decided to take some photos since this is something I have been wanting to do for a long long time. I arrived at around 10:10 and there were already a lot of people there. As soon as I arrived I made my way through the crowd and into the area around the monument. From there, I spent the next 1.5 hours photographing the people involved in this special day.
An event like this is similar to a wedding in that you need to know when it's ok to take photos and when it is ok to just blend into the background and go unnoticed. Luckily I have years of practice so it wasn't a problem at all. I decided to just bring my Nikon D610 and 70-200mm. That combo allowed me to stay back but also zoom into the action. I also brought my Fuji X-T1 with the 16mm. I was able to capture some really good wide angle photos with that combo. It really put just how many people were there into perspective.
Photographing an event like this is probably one of my favourite types of photography. I can basically just walk around and capture candid moments. At the end of the day I just feel privileged to be in a position to take part in something like this. Of course this wouldn't have been possible without the sacrifice of all the men and women that fought for our country a long time ago. So thank you to them.
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!
Madeline + Michael Wedding
It was the perfect August afternoon for Madeline and Michael's wedding. Going into the day I was more excited then usual. The reason being that it was at a location I had never photographed before. Monty Park. The ironic thing is, is that I have lived just around the corner from it for a long time and I didn't even know it was there. That is, until Madeline and Michael asked me to photograph their wedding. It is by far one of the nicest locations within the city that I have ever had the pleasure of working at.
It was the perfect August afternoon for Madeline and Michael's wedding. Going into the day I was more excited then usual. The reason being that it was at a location I had never photographed before. Monty Park. The ironic thing is, is that I have lived just around the corner from it for a long time and I didn't even know it was there. That is, until Madeline and Michael asked me to photograph their wedding. It is by far one of the nicest locations within the city that I have ever had the pleasure of working at.
I arrived around 1:30 to set up and begin taking photos of the guests and the wedding party getting ready. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I always get so many great candid shots before the wedding starts. At around 2:00 the ceremony began. Everyone took their seats and the ceremony started. There were definitely a lot of emotions during the ceremony, a lot of those moments I was able to capture to. Once it was over all the guests mingled for a bit and the wedding party and the close family made their way to the other side of the park. It was then time to get all the group photos. There was a ton of space at the park, and I decided to use the beautiful wall there as a backdrop. We got the through the family photos fairly quick and then moved on to the wedding group photos.
I soon realized that this would be a very fun day taking photos of the group. They were just a blast to work. Shortly into the portrait session the entire group broke into 'I Want It That Way' by the backstreets. And yes, they pretty much sang the whole song with hand movements and all. After that we continued to take photos. Their outfits alone made the photos that much more unique. The boys went traditional with black and white and the girls did purple. But they all wore sneakers which tied everything together perfectly. Take a look at one of the last portrait photos on the steps and you will see what I mean.
Once we were done at Monty Park it was time for a quick pitstop at McDonalds. Instead of just using this as a break for myself, I kept my camera on me and got some great photos of them just hanging out there. These were some of my favourites from the day. The last stop before the reception was Waverly Park. You can't really go wrong with this location, with it's huge trees and great backdrop of the old P.A.C.I. Plus, I was able to capture my favourite photo of the day against the Magnus Theatre wall.
After all the portraits were done I had about 30 minutes left on the clock so I rushed over to the Italian Hall to get some quick detail photos of the reception. Once again I was pleasantly surprised by the decor. It tied into the entire theme of the wedding. The highlight of the reception decorations was the candy table. They even had personalized candy's with their name on it. Talk about attention to detail! As I do with all my weddings I want to give a big thank you to Madeline and Michael for letting me be a part of their wedding. They were easily one of the most fun and carefree couples I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I think the photos below really allow that to come through!
