Two dresses are better than one...

I love wedding dresses. Really. Out of context they are absolutely ridiculous but on the day-of, they are magical. Without a doubt they are one of the objects that transforms a wedding from a mere party into a once-in-a-lifetime celebration and they certainly make wedding photography more fun than it should be.

You can imagine my excitement when I showed up to the venue to find that there was not going to be just one, but two dresses. I mean, I don't want to get all weird about it but c'mon, it's like double the magic. 

Even better than the dresses, however, were the ladies wearing them. Weddings are potentially kinda stressful situations but Mel and Annie were amazing: seriously chill, seriously funny, and pretty obviously seriously in love. 

And to make matters even more fabulous, they chose to have the whole shebang (wedding and reception) in this lovely old house in a park in Tsawwassen...

...with decorations like this...

...china like this....

...and jewelry like this.

It was the type of wedding that (almost) made me want to get married..

...and it was most certainly the type of wedding that made me happy to be involved with weddings.

I'll have gravy with those fries...

As a born and bred West Coaster I harbour the requisite amount of guilt over only speaking one of Canada's official languages. As such I was more than a little surprised when I got a call from the good folks at Francouver to take photos of their first annual Poutine Festival.

In the name of transparency I feel I should mention that I haven't eaten meat in over 20 years (and there is no arguing that gravy is essentially easy-to-pour meat). Thus, given my ignorance on both the flesh and language fronts I couldn't possibly imagine how something like a festival based on extra-messy fries could possibly fly here in BC. I couldn't have been more mistaken.

Turns out this thing was a BIG deal. There was TV and radio coverage from both English and French CBC and a huge amount of funding came directly from the government of Quebec. 

There was a massive "Poutine Crawl" (in which participants walked or rode the bus to restaurants around Vancouver, while collecting points for various challenges), children's activities (including a potato sculpture contest) and various Quebec-based musical guests. The best part though was a poutine cook off in which pairs of chefs came up with amazing poutine-based concoctions that were served and judged throughout the night.

In what can only be described as a truly Vancouver moment the winning recipe went to these two guys who dreamed up a Peking-Duck-tine. 

Yup, that's the kind of night it was!

Seriously, if you missed it this year don't make the same mistake next time around. Vive La Francouver!  Vive la (le?) Poutine!

My Favourite Thing...

Repeat customers are always a pleasure to deal with and Mike, Sarah and Ryder are three of my favourites.

Every year since Ryder was a mere bump in a wedding dress, the four of us have met up for an outdoor family photo shoot. It's really great as I know them, they know me and once every twelve months or so we get a chance to walk around, catch up, and record just how much their little family has grown.

Of course one of the bonuses of having folks who keep coming back is that we all know the routine: nobody's scared of the camera, I know just how much outrageous banter I can  get away with and there is a tiny little touch of tradition that forms a little more every time we meet.

This is exactly the type of work that I started Outer Shore with the hopes of being able to do. Thanks Mike and Sarah; your business is appreciated more than you know. 

Dave and Jess...

Intentionally or not every wedding has a theme.

Sometimes it's predicated on setting, sometimes on decor, and sometimes on something less tangible.

In the case of Dave and Jess this theme showed itself right off the bat.

And while the decorations were certainly lovely to look at,

 the ceremony was funny, warm and touching,

and the setting both spectacular and intimate,

that which made this particular wedding so incredibly special,

is that it clearly and utterly pointed to the fact that...

whatever else we may or may not have going on in our lives,

it is the people around us who matter.

Dave and Jess's wedding was, to my eye, an example of how much joy a community of committed family and friends can bring one another.

And while the bride and groom may have been the focus of this particular occasion,

their union is really about creating a situation which is much much more than the sum of it's parts.

It was a pleasure to be a part of.

The Waterfall Building...

The following photographs are from a wedding that I recently shot at The Waterfall Building near Granville Island. While the clients (very private, very lovely people) have asked that I not use any identifying photos they have been gracious enough to let me show you a few detail photos as this was one of the highlight weddings of the summer. Thanks you two, it was great working for you!

Angela and Nick...

While Angela and Nick are getting married overseas they thought it might be nice to get some pre-wedding shots closer to home...

..and when you think weddings and Vancouver the only real choice is Queen Elizabeth Park.

We were lucky enough to get one of the few sunny days so far, no small feat given what seems to have been endless spring showers.

As is so often the case when one is wandering around in one of our city's most beautiful parks, everything felt relaxed and green and perfect...

...and the affection and fun these two seemed to have in each other's company reflected the warmth of the day.

Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, just a couple of people in love; just like it should be.

 Anniversaries, Birthdays and Family...


I come from an extremely small family: our reunions tend to look like a few disparately-aged folks getting together for beers on a Saturday afternoon. Not so with the Morewoods. Turns out Paula and Henry's 50th Anniversary and Henry's 80th Birthday fell in the same year so to celebrate they rented out a good chunk of the Pacific Shores Resort in sunny Parksville, BC, flew in a bunch of family and, well, reunited.
This is Paula:

And this is her husband of 50 years (and newly minted octogenarian) Henry:

And here is the clan (It's Henry's birthday so he can do whatever he wants with his tongue).

Imagine, if you will, your boss saying something like, "I want you come up with a project that will make you really happy and then I want you to do it." That's kinda what shooting this reunion was like. For two days I got to wander around one of the prettiest towns on the Island and take really casual shots of relaxed, welcoming people having a good time.

We hit the farm...

...we hit the beaches...

...we hiked around Englishman River...

...and we just generally hung out and had a good time.

Notice I'm using the pronoun "we" an awful lot. I can't overemphasize just how open and lovely everyone in this family was as they truly made me feel like I was just one of the cousins who happened to own a couple of expensive cameras. The only real directive was to be sure and "get some nice portraits of the grand kids" which, ya know, is pretty much my thing anyhow:

While reunions are certainly not the bread and butter of Outer Shore it sure is nice to be able to change it up once in a while...

... especially when you're made to feel like one of the family.