Melonie and Ryan - Fort McMurray Wedding

I make roughly two trips to my home town every year for weddings or family shoots.  Fort McMurray is a town like no other as it's nestled in this wonderful river valley with two grand rivers merging near the downtown center.  Each and every time I venture up the highway I wonder what will be different this time and what type of experience it will be.

This trip was for Ryan and Melonies' wedding and the moment Jesse, Leslie and I walked into to meet up with guys in the morning and found that they were half dressed with only their suspenders and a tie to greet me, we knew this was going to be a fun wedding!  

Melonie and Ryan had this great vibe about them.  They both laugh a lot and they both smile a lot.  Those types of things truly make my job both easier and fun.  I truly hope I gave you two the wedding pictures you dreamt of and that when you look back at them many years from now you can see how wonderful an experience your day was!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving on the coast!

As always I want to make a special thanks to my good friend and talented Photographer Leslie Brown.  Leslie just gets better and better and I love shooting with her.  

Another special thanks to the Radisson  Hotel in Fort McMurray.   Such a lovely setting for our group lunch and photo's.

Awesome!

Shot this summer in Fort McMurray Alberta.

Colin and Michelle's E-session

Jesse and I met up with Colin and Michelle just last week and made our way to downtown Edmonton for our session.  These two are gearing up for a Las Cabos wedding next year and they couldn't be more excited.  We wish you two all the best and I'm very flattered you gave me the call to do this session and here is a few shots for you two to share!

Congratulations!

Me and My Shadow

My first trip to Asia in 2001/02 was a very meaningful one.  It not only was the birth of my career as a photographer but a trip that taught me a lot about life and values.  I left Canada with a great friend, Jackie, and a bank account with only $7000 which magically was stretched to over half a year.  

I have a lot of people ask me how we managed to stretch out our dollar and I'm always reminded of a few nights where my hammock was hanging off a hostel doornob and off another friend's single bed.  What's funny is that when I was setting it up I kept thinking  "this is living!".  The truth is that India tends to be fairly hot at times and waking up in a hammock in that kind of humidity is like waking up in a wet taco.  It also taught me that for two dollars I could have had that single bunk.  

I recall those nights and I smile.  They made me value a dollar and that was the only way to see that world, at that time for me.  I would have done it no differently if I could do it again.

The print I have posted below is called, Me and My Shadow.  This is quite possibly my most popular print and  the shot that inspired me to follow the career choice I have.  It reminds me the most of what I loved about India, the colours and warmth.  

This was shot in the city on Banaras (Varanasi) at about 4 pm.  I could not tell you how long I spent in Varanasi the first time but I think it was over a week.  When asked what we did for that time I always go "I don't know, but we were all doing it!".  The mornings were spent along the Ghats watching people wash clothes in the Ganges while enjoying a chai tea.  The afternoons were spent reading a book and having a cup of chai tea, and the evenings were spent with other travelers drinking chai tea.  I drank a lot of chai tea!

What's special about this print is that it really epitomizes me as a photographer.  I have never been one that sets up for a special shot, I tend to carry a camera and when something inspires me I shoot it.  I'm that guy who gets up at 5 am to take a picture of the Eiffel tower at sunrise but is drawn to take a picture of an old guy having a baguette and coffee to the left of it.   This shot was no different.  I was wandering though the narrow alleys when I turned a corner to see this young boy obviously coming from school.  It was a powerful moment when he came towards me and cast that shadow through the heat and mist.  I didn't really even have a chance to fix the settings on my camera, I had just enough time to snap one shot.   That one shot is this one, my India.

Kicking up

Egypt was an impressive country to visit.  We flew there after spending four weeks in Morroco and all that we could talk about was going to the pyramids and floating down the Nile.  It was one of those countries that many people will tell you that you either really enjoy your time or feel one week is enough to see everything and get on your way.  My wife and I stayed for nearly five weeks and still we felt we will need to go back and see what we had missed.  The food was really fun, the country is extremely diverse, the history is obvious, and the traffic in Cairo is the most...hmmm...I've seen a lot of traffic over 60 countries, Cairo takes the cake, hands down!  Crossing roads is like playing Frogger blindfolded and taking a cab ride, well that's a trip in it self.  I loved it!

  This piece is called Kicking Up and was taken well hiking in an area across from he city of Aswan in southern Egypt.  I battled trying to find a name for this one, so I decided to go with a gut decision and let the picture tell the story and not the title.  I shot this on my good ole Nikon F5 with 400 speed film. Those of you have asked what gear did you bring for two years of travel?  I'm not , nor ever have been a heavy packer.  I bring everything I care to bring in about a 50 liter pack including film and one film camera over my shoulder with a fixed lens.  I can't tell you how many times I wished, like in this case I had faster film in the camera, or had three lenses on me, but the truth is I'd rather pack light then carry around bags of cameras.  At the end of the day if I'm good enough I'll make it work.

  What I like about this shot most of all, is that it's only a small look at Egypt from our eyes.  The city life is incredible and bustling, Sinai was serene with deep blue water, the desert was cool and vast, and the  Mediterranean city of Alexandria is the exact opposite of this piece, a busy port city.

I hope you enjoy this one and I can't wait to display more of Egypt down the road.

Angela and Wade - Baby Bump

I first met Angela and Wade a while back when I was lucky enough to shoot their wedding.  Just as exciting is when I got the message that they were expecting and that they wanted to see me again for a pregnancy shoot.  I hope you guys love the shots and enjoy the pregancy.  My wife and I often look at our little princess and think back to when she was kicking around Colleens belly, it's a pretty cool experience!

Carey