Meet Carrie & Oreste. Grit and I have known Carrie for a few years now; we all met while working abroad on cruise ships! Ah yes, those were the days! :) Carrie happens to be an ‘ah-mazing’ photographer and has always been someone I have looked up to, so when the time came when she asked ME to shoot her wedding…the teeth went a chattering! It’s always a strange feeling when other photographers (hobbyists, pros, amateurs etc) ask you to shoot them…its an absolute great honour but at the same time you feel you are being watched and put to the test! I always get that feeling that I am being put under the microscope! Thankfully though, my inner-self (the one with the wings, not the pitchfork) whispers to me: “Well, there are a million ka-jillion other photographers out there but these guys hired YOU for a reason! Do yer thang, honey!”. (my inner-selves are cool like that!) Carrie, I love you and hope these images are EXACTLY what you were hoping for, and then some! Oreste, I’ve only met you a few times, but you are one ultra-uber cool guy. Despite the fact that you could probably take on the entire city of Vancouver in a bare knuckle fist fight, you aren’t at all held-back in showing your love for Carrie.

To all my readers, these guys are tying the knot in the Mexican Riviera in January 2011, which means you are going to have some MAJOR amazing photos to look at to kick off next year right! (oh, and it also means I have only six months to get into shape! I can’t look like my pasty-pear-shaped self on the beaches of Mexico…again… can I?)

Happy Friday everyone!

To view their slideshow, click here. :)

When Joanna emailed me saying she had access to a hazlenut orchard and wanted to use it as a backdrop for their engagement session, I was STOKED for two reasons: 1) Hazlenuts, hello?! LOVE EM. and 2) I haven’t seen it done before! Well at the very least, *I* have never shot in a hazlenut orchard before, let alone BEEN in one! I had all these amazing ideas of shooting at sunset, the rays of light peaking through the orchard…and when we got there on Sunday?…

..rain. Not just rain, actually…TONS of rain. Like, monsoon rain. Boo.

I am glad though that we both planned ahead and saw that rain was inevitable, and still the 3 of us wanted to trudge on and make the day fantastic! And we did. I think the images turned out beautifully. Besides, Joanna’s smile and Jamie’s charm and OBVIOUS love for Joanna could make any day sunny. That was pure cheese, I know, but its true. :)

Joanna and Jamie are getting married in August at Whonnock Lake, and its going to be fantastic! I can’t wait to see them again and meet their friends and family! :) Hope you like the images!

click below to watch their engagement slideshow!

Yesterday I packed the photo gear into the van and headed through Vancouver up to Whytecliff Park for Brian and Crystal’s engagement session. I arrived a little early because I had never been there before and wanted to scout out some great locations for the shoot. Well, I can now honestly say a whole lotta good that did because there isn’t a single INCH out there that wouldn’t make for an amazing backdrop! Thank you so much guys for showing me this amazing place! You look absolutely fantastic in your images, you were so great and fun to work with and I can’t wait for your wedding this summer!

I was sifting through my images from yesterday’s engagement session with Crystal and Brian, and came across this little doozy. It was such an amazing session, and I think I may have found a new favorite place to shoot!

Check back tomorrow for the full blog post! Happy Sunday everyone!

I am deeply proud and humbled to share these few moments touching on the connection between Michael and Patrick. I have never felt the world go more silent and at peace than when I am witnessing precious seconds like these.

Michael and Patrick, even though our session only lasted a few hours, I realize without a doubt in my mind that the love you have for each other is the degree of love that everyone, everyone searches for. Thank you for this. Thank you.

Real Love is, and always will be.

Michael