Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Kelly & Richard's Wedding (08.23.09)

Okay, this post is waaaaay overdue (yes, this wedding took place in August - I'm a terrible blogger!). Anyways, I thought I'd post up one wedding post before the New Year :P This particular wedding was kind of special to me because this time around, I had the pleasure of assisting my partner-in-photo-crime, Jason. Hoho! And it was loads of fun! :D

Kelly & Richard were married at the Mandarin Golf Club on a gorgeous summer day. Richard welcomed me like I was a part of his family having never met me before - the first time we met was at his wedding! They really made my job easy :)

***Note to Couples: The more relaxed you are at your wedding, the better your pictures will turn out! Seriously, stress will show all over your face :( Just remember to enjoy the day as best you can, and you'll have great images!

I was asked to shoot the bride getting ready (one of my favourite moments to shoot during weddings):




At the ceremony, Richard couldn't stop the tears from flowing...it was kind of a re-occurring theme that happened throughout the day/night - haha!:




Announcing the new couple ("...bubbles, MORE bubbles!!!!!..."):




The wedding was such a joy to shoot :) It was full of emotions, laughter and good times - what more could you ask for? Thanks J for letting me tag along!

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Day After

Well, Christmas is over and life slowly slips back into its routine. Except there's yummy leftovers to be had, gifts to use, memories cherished and unfortunately Christmas clean-up :( My room looks like a Christmas apocalypse of wrapping, ribbons and tags - eek!

So I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! Although I'm slightly sad that there wasn't a White Christmas this year. Boo. Black ice, yes! Snow, no. :(

Oh well.

Here's a picture my Dad sent me yesterday morning of our Christmas weather:
Have a good Monday!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Holiday Cheer


Christmas. Oh, Christmas.

An overly commercialized holiday? The celebration of Christ? The birth of Mithras? Hannukkah or Kwanzaa? Chrismukkah?? Whatever the reason is for this particular time of year, it never fails to bring out the stress in people. Dinners, gifts, scheduling, planning, decorating, shopping...blah, blah, blah....

I am no stranger to that stress by the way. But what it comes down to is spending much valued time with family & friends; it's something I fail to remember at times. After all, the gifts aren't what matters, just good company is enough.

So to you dear readers, I wish you Happy Holidays and that you'll remember to relax and soak in the moments you'll have during this holiday season. Hug your loved ones (or give them a loving pat if you're not into that touchy stuff), have a few laughs and enjoy some hot chocolate for me :)

Much love.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Guilty Pleasures

What I love about this season is the fact that I have a great excuse to do what I enjoy the most (besides photography that is) -- BAKING! What can I say? I have an inner Martha Stewart that whispers sweet nothings to me when I see bake-ware and kitchen gadgets, and she squeals in delight over new recipes and crafty projects. It's a good thing ;)

I rarely get the opportunity to spoil my loved ones with my baked goodies (I'm usually met with large groans about hips & asses getting fat!) but during Christmas, there's no running from my newest baking adventure!!!

This year, I've made Chocolate Peppermint Meringues and it's been met with great success (coming from those who got to eat some already). Hurray! Another win :) So hips & asses everywhere will just have to work out a little more in the New Year :P

Ho ho ho.

Friday, December 18, 2009

First (of many) X'mas Dinner

I usually don't get a chance to see all of my co-workers outside of work on a social level (hey, we all have lives!), but once every year when the snow hits the ground and Christmas is around the corner, we gather over good eats, laugh and re-connect :)

Tonight was no exception. A stomach full of Mongolian Grill, shaved ice and a drink or two with both new staff and old friends, I enjoyed my first Christmas dinner of the year.

Cheers.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Midnight Oil

You might have noticed that I've been on and off with my blog. So what have I been up to then? What's been keeping me from posting on a regular basis?

Wellll....I've been burning the midnight oil these past few weeks (and losing my mind, I admit), working on something that's going to turn out pretty amazing :) So I can't wait to share it with everyone!

I'll keep you posted (and in the dark for now) ~ muahahaha....!!!!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

First Slush

Nothing says "It's Winter!" like being knee deep in wet, cold snow. Oh, and driving over potholes of ice. Or watching cars dance around each other on the roads. And the wind-chilled kiss of Mr. Frostbite. Yes, winter is here.

But, to be honest...I do welcome my winter boots, the fuzzy scarves and my fluffy earmuffs. I look forward to seeing a soft snow blanket on the streets & trees. And the possibility of hot chocolate after a day of building snow-people (or just giant snowballs if I get lazy). Yes, winter is here :)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Scroll to the Right...

Leave Me from Daros Films on Vimeo.

Brilliant concept, cinematography & creativity. It left me speechless.

***warning: you might cry watching this video ladies.

Monday, December 7, 2009

We.


I came across this story a long, long time ago by Haruki Murakami, and so, I'm dedicating this post to a good friend who's experiencing the bittersweet taste of love.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Perspectives


Ugh, this past week I was feeling a bit frustrated and impatient...with just about everything!!! But this not only brought out some good laughs, it also put things in perspective for me.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Lune


If you know me well enough, you know that I'm interested in anything related to food ;)

So I'm really excited to be sharing this thesis project of a friend of mine, Christine L. :) She's an incredible industrial designer and her newest creation, Lune, is inspired by and an homage to her grandfather.

After seeing how difficult it was for her grandfather to eat using standard Asian utensils, Christine did a little more research and found that this was a common problem among the Chinese senior community. She went on to create this line of dining ware (all hand made!) to help them stay connected to their culture.

Simply charming :) Congrats Christine!!!!! You can read more about it here.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Gimme a Break

Have you ever had those days where NOTHING goes right? Life just throws you a whole bunch of curve balls and you're expected to catch? Well, I'm just having one of those days riggghhht now :(

Le sigh.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Some Early Holiday Cheer

I don't often talk about my FT job on this blog, but I had to share these photos of the decorations we're putting up at the store. They were made by one of my co-op students last week and I died laughing, they were so freaking fantastic!

I couldn't be happier looking forward to (a somewhat awkward looking?) Christmas. Just perfect :)


Richard Simmons in the house!!! Let's go holiday shopping!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Debate Continues


HAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!! This video is crazy!! It got me laughing to say the least. For all you Nikon and Canon users out there, you'll definitely get the gist of this.

FYI, I'm a Nikon girl all the way ;)

***warning: this video contains slight profanity

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Edward Steichen

A few weeks ago, I had myself a "Just Me Day" and spent a rainy, but beautiful Saturday at the AGO. Armed with an iPod and my thoughts, I journeyed into the renovated art gallery and checked out the Edward Steichen show.

Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take pictures (fie on those security guards! they seemed to be following me every time I tried to take a photo) so these images are taken from the web. Obviously they don't do the actual print justice, but they're some of the few favourites I had.

I still have to check out the Vanity Fair Portraits @ the ROM, but we'll save that for another Saturday :)

If you haven't had a chance to see Steichen's work and you're a photographer, I would recommend seeing his images at least once in person. It's incredible how much inspiration he served for photographers today - from his lighting, composition, to posing and mood.



I only managed to hunt down one image from this series, but it's fantastic. It would be neat to re-create/re-invent this concept....for sure I'll be filing this idea away for a potential shoot ;)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Get your Geek on



"mobile evolution"

When it comes to art, I have a preference for more contemporary pieces; fun & quirky makes it even better. And when an artist can re-invent something traditional like Russian maroushka dolls to showcase the cellphone, I think it's genius :)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Different Perspective

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

What a breathtaking reminder of how great life (and people) can be - haha, and it's a small world after all.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Coffee Break

Hey, it's been a while.

Sorry for being M.I.A. I've been taking these past couple of weeks to catch up with...well, me - call it 'taking a break' if you will. Since things have started to slow down photography wise, I can finally make time for the simple things - things like laundry, cooking, getting my car fixed, watching a movie, sleep. Don't get me wrong, I still have a couple of projects left to do (and an exciting partnership in the works!!!) but sometimes it's nice to have that extra time to re-connect with myself and to breathe just a little more deeply.

In light of my down time, I'm going to start doing something I haven't really done in the past on this blog (and I should, really) and it's basically posting things that keep me inspired and motivated - whether it be professional or personal. (Haha, take a glimpse into my creative madness I suppose? I kid!) But hopefully you'll feel inspired too :)

Friday, October 30, 2009

The Epic Bread Battle

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that when I'm stressed - I bake. It probably accounts for the last 10 pounds I've not been able to shed off since.......ever :P

This week I decided to try my hand at making bread with my brand new bread maker! In theory, it's supposed to be easy, right? Get ingredients, measure ingredients and dump said ingredients into bread machine -- press start.

My results:
  1. The first loaf came out looking good, but the measurements for the salt in the recipe seemed weird from the get go = Salty Bread
  2. My second loaf was a veggie bread and I had dropped the ball and incorrectly put in 2 TABLEspoons of yeast instead of TEAspoons = Burning Veggie Disaster Bread Nightmare = Ugly Veggie Pizza Scone (I didn't want to waste the dough, so I stuck it in the oven to finish cooking)
  3. My third loaf was a sad attempt at getting back some dignity with the veggie bread. It came out better than my first stab at it, but something was still off = Sky High Veggie Bread
  4. The fourth loaf was back to basics and I re-visited the first recipe. Less salt, but I'm thinking there's something weird with my yeast being used straight from the fridge. This resulted in = Sky High Good Tasting Bread
That being said, the last loaf came out the best - minus the appearance. But I was still left a little wounded by the whole experience. Soooo.....when life gives you bread failures, you make bread pudding ;D And that's exactly what I did tonight.

YUM!!! The bread pudding came out fantastic! Finally after 4 failures, I got something right :D And all is right with the world again.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Glee = Happiness in Songs


When I want to take a break and enjoy some witty sarcasm, good music and love triangles, I try to watch this show. I can't tell you how much I love this series :) Just thought I had to share.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Playing Catch-Up

Hey folks, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've not been the greatest blogger lately - whoops.

So what have I been up to? Well, I just finished wrapping up one of my last weddings of the season (which I'm a little bit sad about) but that doesn't mean I get to breathe any easier (haha!). I still have lots of stuff on my plate to complete --- but it's allllll good ;)

In time I will share with you what I've been working on....so dear readers, don't leave me yet!!!! LOL! I still have posts to share with you all!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Elvie & Jayesh Wedding (09.26.09)

***This blog post is long overdue - sorry guys for the wait! And it's quite a lengthy one too....hahhaha....

What can I say about this couple? Just that I simply adore them. (Really E & J, I do. Not only are you great friends, but you set an example of what good love can be). I actually knew Jayesh (what? 4 years ago? from work) primarily as a wicked & talented illustrator. Seriously, his illustrations rock!! And when I met Elvie, she was the most laid back, coolest girl I've met in a long time. Leather jacket and all ;)

Their love story started allllll the way back in highschool. Elvie had a crush on Jayesh, and Jayesh thought she was hot. But nothing happened! Go figure. So they stayed friends. But as fate would have it, they would eventually date, fall in love and 6 years later, were planning their wedding.

When Jayesh found out that I was starting to shoot weddings a couple years back, he booked me on the spot. No questions, no hesitations, he didn't even see my stuff before! - he had that much faith in me. So you can imagine that when their wedding day arrived, I was sweating bullets from the pressure....hahhahah.....I had to rock this shoot out!

Elvie & Jayesh, I hope I did your day justice. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for letting me create these memories for you and for believing in my work :)

The day started early in the morning at Elvie & Jayesh's house:


I totally fell in love with Elvie's dress! J's shot (on the right) totally captured all the romantic details:



Make-up and hair were done by the fabulous charmartistry; Christine (make-up) & Chuana (hair). These ladies were hilarious!!! And I love this vintage necklace that Elvie used as a hairpiece:


Elvie had a spectacular henna artist draw these AMAZING designs on her hands and feet! Did you know (according to tradition) that before the wedding night could commence, the groom had to find his name hidden within the henna design? Hey Jayesh, did you manage to find it? ;P Here's a clue (thanks J, for this next shot):





Their ceremony was held at Sunnyside Pavillion - such a beautiful & calm location by the way. It was around this time that it started raining (b0o!) but no worries, the ceremony took place on the Observation Terrace facing the lake:






Officially husband & wife; their union was greeted with loud cheers and applause:


There's just something that I love about this next shot. It's one of my favourites from the day :) It was Elvie's first opportunity to sit down and soak everything in:



Ladies & gentlemen - WORK IT! ;)




Hmmm...how do I even start? Originally the reception was booked at M*****N, but after a huge fall-out a MONTH before the wedding (grrrrr!!! I'm still angry about the whole situation!!), E & J had to scramble to find a new venue. Luckily, everything worked out for the best and their reception was held @ 5th Elementt. To be honest, it was one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time - fantastic choice! Great food + laid back atmosphere = awesome venue:




Okay, how cool is it to have freakin' LION DANCERS?! OMG. Love it!


Toasting the guests & a quick costume change:


And heart warming speeches:



Elvie's bridesmaid, Becky, wrote a heartfelt song instead of a speech. Definitely a first in my book and the song was crazy good:


First dance as husband & wife:


...and then the party started! Hands down, Indian people sure know how to PAR-TAY!




Elvie & Jayesh, thanks again for an unforgettable experience! We'll get together for beer sometime, k? Much love :)