Zaylee Mae Cake Smash Session
Zaylee Mae will be turning one very soon so her mom Brittney decided it would be a good opportunity to do a cake smash! Using the word smash may be a bit generous, but you get the idea. Zaylee Mae definitely needed a bit of encouragement to even touch the cake which was quite funny. For the first few minutes she just stared at it, not really knowing what to do. Once Brittany gave her a little taste of the cake Zaylee settled right in.
Amanda + Serge + Norah - Christmas Portraits
I am planning to run an ugly sweater portrait special very soon so what better way to get some promo photos for it then to ask our close friends Amanda and Serge and of course Norah to model for me. I have photographed them outside a few times so this was the first time I was able to get them into the studio. Norah was ready to go from the beginning. I could have easily photographed her for a couple hours.
The Craft Revival - Holiday Edition 2018
Anyone who reads my blog posts will know that I try my best to get out and photograph events in and around Thunder Bay. The latest happening in Thunder Bay that I was very much looking forward to was the Craft Revival - Holiday Edition. Surprisingly, this was another event that I never had the chance to make it to before. I may be wrong, but I believe this was the 4 year it has taken place. I really wanted to go to the one that took pace earlier in the year but the timing just wasn’t right. Well, this time around my Anne and I made it out and we had a great time!
ONWA - Poetry Night
ONWA held another Poetry Night yesterday and once again I was lucky enough to photograph it. I covered the last one and I was super excited to shoot this latest one as well. For those of you don’t know, Poetry Night at ONWA is held to raise awareness of Violence Against Women in support of the United Nations International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Kaylee + Carter Studio Session
I have done a few portraits sessions of Kaylee and Carter but they have all been outdoors. This was the first time I had them inside my studio and I was super excited. Not that I don’t like outdoor portraits, it was just a nice change to do them in the studio. This one was just a quick mini session, but as usual, we packed a lot into it.
Jake + Brittany Portraits - Tree Farm
Now that the cold weather is here, it’s a bit tougher to plan outdoor portrait sessions, but we managed to just do that this past Saturday at the Tree Farm. Jake and Brittany, and of course their beautiful dog, Molson, joined me for a 30 minute session. It was just enough to time to do a a short walk around the farm and capture some memorable moments along the way.
Remembrance Day 2018 - Waverley Park Thunder Bay
There isn’t much to say about this blog post. Below are simply some photos I took during the Remembrance Day event here in Thunder Bay. I try and get out every year to capture some of the moments and emotions. If you see a photo below with you or someone you know in it who might like a copy, feel free to contact me.
ONWA - Building Our Bundles Launch - Thunder Bay Art Gallery
I’m so thankful that I get to continually photograph and in the process, participate in so many wonderful events and causes put on by ONWA. Yesterday evening was yet another example with the Building our Bundles Launch would took place at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. The theme of the event was local indigenous women’s leadership through artwork, stories and digital storytelling. The featured artists of the evening were Candace Twance, Venessa Willow and Tony McGuire.
Hunger 2018
It’s almost Halloween and that means one of my favourite events of the year is here, Hunger 2018. It took place this past weekend, and as usual, it was such a great time. Admittedly I didn’t get out to cover it as much in previous years because I had a birthday party I was attending, but I still came away with a lot of great shots.
ONWA 47th Annual General Assembly - Falling Leaves Moon - Toronto, Ontario
Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing ONWA’s 47th Annual General Assembly at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. On Friday, the first day of the event, The Talk4Healing launch took place in the afternoon. ONWA and Beendigen announced the expansion of its 24/7 helpline for indigenous women. Initially just serving Norther Ontario, Talk4Healing expanded to the rest of Ontario. If you like to read a great article on the subject head on over to the CBC website here.
Health Quality Transformation - Quality Matters 2018 Seminar
With wedding season pretty much over for me, aside from a New Years one (which I’m super excited for), I tend to do a variety of events. One of my latest events was the Health Quality Transformation - Quality Matters 2018 seminar at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Along with Thunder Bay, It’s Canada’s largest conference on health care quality. Along with Thunder Bay, Toronto, London, Ottawa and Sudbury all took part as well.
Nicole + Family Portraits - Tree Farm
With winter just around the corner, my session with Nicole and her family ended up having the perfect weather, even though we had to delay it by one day. The location was the Tree Farm which is definitely one of the most beautiful locations in general, especially this time of year with the colour turning.
This was my first time meeting and photographing Nicole, Sunny, Sawyer, Hanna and of course their husky Grissom. I really hope I get to do so again next year! Upon entering the park, they let Grissom off his leash and I can honestly say I have never seen a dog run that fast in my life. He literally did about 3 circles in the area at mach 10 speed. It was so cute. I was worried he was going to be like that the whole session but he mellowed out, a bit, as we continued on.
Lucas Birthday Portraits at Centennial Park
I have done birthday portraits of Lucas for a number of years now and each time has been a lot of fun. He has so much character and personality that I have always come away with good moments. This year it was just him, his mom and grandma. It as a nice intimate fall session. Upon greeting Lucas at the start of the session he was all smiles but that quickly when away.
Josie + Dan Wedding
Josie and Dan celebrated their wedding this past August and I was lucky enough to be the photographer to capture it. It was a full day too, which meant I got to experience and document pretty much every part of it. I started it the guys getting ready at the house which was laid back as always. I was only with them for about 30 minutes before I had to go meet up with Josie and the girls at her parents house. I spent quite a bit more time with her which was fitting, because there was definitely a lot more going on there. Plus, that is where all the family was too.
Dan + Dave Day After Wedding Party
Dan and Dave ended up winning one of my giveaways at one of the previous weddings shows I attend. As it turned out, they already had a wedding photographer booked or their wedding so instead, they asked if I could photograph the small party they would be having the day after their wedding. Well, I couldn’t say no to that!
Tobin + Kristi Family Portraits - Centennial Park
I love photographing families, especially ones that I have been doing for a number of years now. Case in point, Kristi and Tobin and of course Hudson and Grace. It’s just so amazing seeing how fast the kids grow up and mature. Plus it helps that there is no adjustment period, everyone is just comfortable right off the bat.
Talk4Healing Photoshoot - ONWA
When ONWA approached me to help Talk4Healing update all the imagery for their website I jumped at the chance. It all happened in the span of 3 days and before I knew it I was at ONWA photographing a wonderful group of women. For those of you who don’t know, Talk4Healing is a culturally grounded, fully confidential helpline for Indigenous women available in 14 languages all across Ontario.
Emily + Jared Wedding
Emily and Jared got married this past August and once again I was so thankful to be a part of it. For any wedding I do, I always feel honoured to have been chosen and entrusted with such an important day. I was also very excited to finally photograph a wedding at The Chanterelle. I had done a couple events there but not a wedding so it was pretty stoked about that. That is actually where I first started my day with the boys.
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.
Elliot Brood @ Crocks Thunder Bay
Last week I was happy to finally see Elliot Brood live at Crocks here in Thunder Bay. I had heard quite a few of their songs over the years so it was great to finally witness their music live. It was an intimate show at Crocks, and if I’m being honest, those are my favourite kind. I photographed the concert for the local newspaper The Walleye, so if you live in Thunder Bay, watch out for some of these photos in next months issue which should be out by next week.