Nikki and Jason came up to Sault Ste Marie over the Christmas holidays and made some time to sneak in their engagement shoot. Seeing as this was the middle of December the weather and day had a chill to it. A small fact: Northern Ontario cold is a lot colder than Southern Ontario cold. Because of that small fact Nikki and Jason didn’t last that long outside. As a disclaimer: I do get bundled up quite well because I don’t care what I look like for these shoots – its all about the couple.
We started the shoot off at Bellevue Park walking the trails and using some of the structures for backdrops from there we headed over to Dish Espresso Bar and Cafe to warm up and get some more funky shots inside the building.
Looking forward to catching up with you during some warmer months and can’t wait for your wedding day.
Laurel and Ryan’s engagement shoot took place mid-December right when the weather started turning cold and this day was very cold. The temperature itself wasn’t that bad for this time of year hovering around -10C but a very cold wind was blowing in off the river that sent a chill through all of us. We started the shoot at Bellevue Park and finished it up in the downtown area of the Sault – making a surprise comeback from Megan and Andre’s shoot is the perfectly graffiti-ed wall for engagement shoots. Laurel and Ryan were troopers throughout the shoot pretending the cold wasn’t affecting them except for the fact that they’d run to their car every chance they could get and throw their hands over the heaters.
I usually end these posts saying I’m looking forward to shooting their wedding but I already did that! Laurel and Ryan were married in late December and that post is coming shortly as well. I hope the new year and your new life are treating you well.
It is not every day the Olympic Torch runs through your city – okay it’s probably a once in a lifetime opportunity unless you live in Athens I’m sure – so Jes, her sister Heather and I decided to brave the cold and watch it run by. When I say cold I mean -20C to -25C (-4F to -13F). We thought we’d be only a handful of people on our stretch of the relay as we were near the start and it was running just around the corner from our house. We were debating if we would head downtown to watch it finish and go inside the Essar Centre to watch the ceremonies there.
We brought along the camera as well as my new Flip MinoHD portable camcorder. We got to our spot just before 6 and there was about 20 people on the street at that time. More and more people showed up as the time went on and the excitement kept building as the small parade before the torch came by. After experiencing it here our decision was made and we raced it downtown. As we hit Queen St. we couldn’t believe the number of people that turned out – it was amazing. After Jessica (our community torchbearer) went inside the Essar Centre we rushed in assuming we’d be able to get a seat or find a spot to watch in standing rooom. This wasn’t the case – the place was packed. The floor, the seats and standing room/upper aisle was just thick with people. It was definitely a great turnout by the city of Sault Ste. Marie for this amazing event.
Below are some pictures I shot. We were actually beside Jessica but I crossed the street trying to guess her path. It was a bad move as the media truck stopped right in front of me so I had to run around it. Below the pictures is a video compilation shot by Jes on the Flip MinoHD which I attempted to edit today (and failed). Jes hates the song, I like it! The shots and the video aren’t the greatest of works but hopefully it provides a glimpse of this event to anyone who may have missed out.
Jessica is the Sault’s very own Paralympic medalist winning silver at the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000 and competing in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. She also holds 5 Canadian swimming records. One of the highlights of the relay (for us because we find things like it funny) is when Jessica’s dog stopped during her leg to “do his business” – when you have to go you have to go I guess.
This holiday season saw the debut of my latest offering – The Awesome Booth (sometimes referred to as “The Booth of Awesome”). The Awesome Booth is a photo booth variant that can be set up for company parties, receptions (wedding couples I’m looking at you) and any other party where the add-on of some fun photos is desired.
The possibility for photos from the booth are endless and only limited by your imagination – a random box of props is provided and it is up to you what you do with them. The Awesome Booth really cannot be described in words so below are some sample shots from its debut at a company Christmas party.
After a very scientific entry and selection process consisting of you leaving a comment, me putting your names in alphabetical order and Jes picking two numbers we have our results. One thing before I get to them though – I had a comment on Facebook which I replaced Jes’ comment with so Jes’ name became Steve if you are trying to duplicate this at home.
The winning numbers are: 12 and 14.
The names that correlate with those numbers are Margaret and Rachel – I will be in touch shortly and get the CDs to you sometime in the new year. Thanks to all who left a comment – I’m hoping to have another give away similar to this in the near future.
Below are 3 quick shots from the the release of Spin at Loplops this past Sunday.
