Permanently married.

They got married about a month ago and I couldn’t be happier for them.  They’re such a sweet, fun, and outgoing couple.  The wedding day was a really long day for everyone involved.  It started out with an early morning drive down to Seattle for the ceremony, then a long drive back into the Lower Mainland to prepare for a long night of celebrating with friends and family.  The reception was really sweet because you can tell how much Jon and Vivi were loved by all their family and friends.  It was quite an emotional time.  I’m glad that I got to be a part of it and had the opportunity to take pictures for them to document such a special time.

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Vivian’s a friend of mine I had the privilege of knowing for about a year now.  I was her counselor in a youth conference last year and two of the strongest impressions I have of her are her amazing talent for art and, at the time, her love of the movie Nacho Libre.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve laughed last year at the conference because of all of the Nacho Libre quotes I heard. 

Well this year, Vivian asked me to be her wedding photographer!  I was way flattered when she asked me. 

One Saturday, we went off to a park in Surrey to take a few engagements shots for the wedding invitations.  I couldn’t believe how fortunate we were in taking the pictures because the window of time we had to take pictures was the only time it didn’t rain.  Before and after the shoot, the rain was horrendous.  And, I have to say, I love overcast lighting.  The lighting was so awesome that I didn’t have to worry about the light at all.  I could spend all of my focus on composition and on playing with my new lens, the Lensbaby Muse with Double Glass.  It’s an awesome lens for some fun pictures.  I can’t wait to shoot more with it!  It’s a little tricky to focus, especially when you don’t have 20/20 vision.  But, I think I got some good results.

Below are just a few shots that I took.  So, a Lensbaby, overcast weather, and a couple of fabulously good looking people = a good day of shooting.   And, after reviewing my photos a lot….. I think I’m meant to be a b/w photographer.

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I may have mentioned this before…..but I’m starting to become a groupie.  I love Casino Junction, Behind Sapphire and We Are the City. 

A couple of months ago, the 3 bands performed at the Delta Firehall and it was amazing!  One thing I do have to mention is that We Are the City are finalists in the Peak Performance Project.  It’s a big BC wide talent search for some of the best local indie musicians.  I’m a huge supporter of We Are the City.  Their music is unique, it’s good, and their live performance is like nothing else.  The energy from their performance fills up a venue.  It’s an addictive beat that makes you want more even after a full set.  I really hope they win the Peak Performance Project.  They’re current standing is a solid second place, which isn’t too bad because they still get a ton of money for second place.  I hope all of the exposure from the competition gets them signed.  They deserve it.

So the photos I took this round is about the same as last time…..Although I think I like these pictures more than last time.  The last few photos were taken a month ago at Casino Junction’s CD Release Party.  Taking these bands’ photos made me realize how much I want to be a concert photographer.  I love music and I love photography.  Put them together and that’s my dream job.

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I have to say, I’m pretty lucky.

I got the opportunity to shoot at this year’s Vancouver Fashion Week.  It started on Tuesday.  Today’s Friday.  It finishes on Sunday.  The Province has been using my photos from the shows so it’s been pretty cool to have such a big media outlet use my photos.  But then that also means more exposure for me….and needing to keep my site updated regularly. 

So let me give you a quick update on what’s been happening with me the past couple of months.  I started current job as a school photographer in September.  I had to drive out to various schools in the Lower Mainland to take pictures of students.  I think that other professional photographers would look down on a job like this because it’s not very complicated.  But for myself, it’s been one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve had so far.  The kids make it so much fun.  The young little ones are super cute to the point where I almost can’t handle how cute they are.  Sometimes I laugh along with the teachers when I try to give the students directions and they end up contorting their body in a weird way or they give me a really awkward smile.  I’ve watched some teachers turn beet-red from laughing so hard.  I can’t help but to laugh with them.  Then there are those kids who give me a genuine smile because they’re happy to have their picture taken.  For some people, a school photo is the best picture they have of their son/daughter.  It’s nice to know that people appreciate the picture I take for them because they end up with a nice memory of their own family.  I don’t look down on this job at all.

So, that’s what’s been keeping me really busy for the past couple of months.  I shot a friend’s engagement photos, which are still pending to be released.  Then Vancouver Fashion Week’s been the biggest event I got to be a part of.  Fashion photography definitely has its pros and cons, and as the week progresses, I’m getting  a clearer understanding of what type fo photography I want to do.  I won’t mention now because I’m still learning.  But I’ve definitely been blessed with all of the people I’ve met so far and for the opportunity to be in the Province.

It’s getting late and there’s still a lot for me to do.  I’ll post up photos from the fashion show in a little bit….  when I’ve had time to recooperate from the week.  In the meantime, check out the Province: http://www.theprovince.com/life/fashion-week09/index.html

Even though Vancouver had some record-breaking heat, fireworks made it a little more bearable.  The Celebration of Lights is an annual fireworks competition that’s held here in Vancouver and it’s a pretty spectacular 25 min. fireworks show on this side of the Pacific.  It was recently brought to my attention by one of my friends that Japan has pretty awesome hour and a half long fireworks shows.  Sorry, but I’m sure there are bylaws that prevent us from having an extra hour of fireworks.  It’s still pretty sweet that we can even watch fireworks here. 

This year, the countries competing were Canada, South Africa, UK, and China.  I only saw Canada and China.  Canada was only okay.  China was pretty awesome, even though I watched it from a different angle.  The best location to watch fireworks is at English Bay where the barge is directly in front of you.  I watched China’s display from Kits Beach so I was seeing everything from a different perspective.  It was still cool though.

So, my pictures below are a combination of my outings for the Canada and China displays.

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