Love stories

September 27, 2016September 27, 2016

Queen West Engagement Session // Peter & Jennifer

I photographed a Queen West engagement session earlier in the summer with Peter and Jennifer. We started at sunrise at Trinity Bellwoods Park and then walked around the Queen West neighbourhood. I’m not gonna lie, I had to take a nap after I got home but it was totally worth it for the golden light and to have the park almost all to ourselves.

As a photographer, I guess one of the biggest ways for you to feel like you are doing it right is when you have clients who are referred to you by previous ones. Peter and Jennifer were in the wedding party of one of my couples from a few years ago – Maggie and Jack. In fact, they were introduced by Maggie and Jack. So it was really great when they got in touch about me photographing their wedding as well!

Peter and Jenn are so cute together – this became very apparent to me during their engagement session. Peter said that he is probably known at work as a very serious and no shenanigans kind of person but Jenn knows a completely different side of him. But that’s when you know you’ve found the right person right? Someone with whom you feel like you can completely be yourself with and they love you truly for who you are.

Here are my favourites from their session – looking forward to their wedding next week!

August 10, 2016March 6, 2017

New York City Engagement Session // Central Park & Brooklyn Bridge

Romantic NYC Engagement Session | Central Park & Brooklyn Bridge

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to photograph a New York City engagement session with Sherry & Yuan! It was a lot of fun despite the heat wave that had besieged the city.

I have a problem, which I guess as a photographer, it comes with the territory. Whenever there is a location or landscape that I really like, I really want to photograph people in them. In fact, whenever I travel and photograph landscape for too long, I long to photograph people again.

New York is definitely one of those locations for me!

The two locations in New York that I like the most are Central Park and the area around Brooklyn Bridge. I guess they are both just so iconic. Sherry and Yuan love to travel and try new things and New York is one of the places that they really like and where Yuan currently works. We started the day early in Central Park by the lovely Bethesda Fountain, then took a break during the hottest part of the day and finished on the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset.

Here are my favourites from Sherry & Yuan’s New York City engagement session!

August 4, 2016August 5, 2016

Scarborough Bluffs Engagement // Elly & Johnny

Romantic Bookstore & Scarborough Bluffs Engagement

Elly and Johnny met at a company open house event and for their first date, they went to visit an old bookstore and antique store. So for their engagement session, we picked an independent bookstore in the city that is very atmospheric: Acadia Bookstore on Queen East. They are also both lovers of food, so incorporating St Lawrence Market was also a no brainer. Then we ended their engagement/document love session at the gorgeous Scarborough bluffs.

In getting to know Elly and Johnny, it’s apparent that they are similar in many ways and share similar interests, and they know each other very well. And what is love but to be known by someone? To be truly known by someone I mean. Not just knowing your name, and all those other superficial things. But someone who knows your likes, dislikes; hopes & dreams; your deepest wishes, your worst fears; your history, what makes you you.

Here are my favourites from their session. Looking forward to their wedding in a few weeks!

February 3, 2016February 1, 2016

Toronto Union Station Engagement Photos // Amanda & Graham

Amanda was referred to me by my good photography pal Sara, whom she had gone to school with. When I first met Amanda and Graham, their strong connection was very obvious to me and they just exuded warmth. For their document love/engagement session, Amanda wanted to incorporate things/locations that are meaningful to them. So we picked Silver Snails for their love of comic books, Toronto Union station because they were in a long-distance relationship for a while, and High Park for being an iconic spot in our city and the beautiful fall colours!

The day of the session came and it was unusually cool for October, and even a few snowflakes fell from the sky. But the sun came out seemingly just for us and I had an incredible time laughing and photographing them. Thank you guys for such a fun session! Looking forward to being a part of their wedding this fall!

Stay silly, stay awesome! :)

January 23, 2016April 19, 2016

Iceland Engagement Photography // Kayla & Nate

When Kayla contacted me at the end of September about her and Nate’s engagement photography session in Iceland, I was incredibly excited despite the fact that this would be my fourth time in the country. I always feel like a kid in a candy store coming here. When my flight landed, and I went through the familiar Keflavik airport, hopped on the flybus and got into the city, everything felt so familiar & warm to me in a way that even coming “home” to Canada does not make me feel. I joked to Mike that maybe I was Icelandic in my past life.

The way Kayla & Nate met is stuff for the movies – they are six years apart and Kayla was in a relationship when they first met, and Nate had just gone through a breakup. A few years later, a chance encounter and a facebook message led to their first date and the rest was history. The day of our session came, we met up before the sun came up as this time of the year, daylight hours are short and drove out into the countryside. We explored a few places along the south coast, including the famous Black Sand beach Reynisfjara, Dyrholaey peninsula and a couple of waterfalls. They were troopers and braved the strong wind and the chilly temperatures (they are from southern California so the weather was definitely a bit of a shock) and were up for anything – even going behind Seljalandsfoss with a super icy path and going up to the top of Skogafoss.

Thanks Kayla & Nate, for inviting me to Iceland to document your love! It was a pleasure and I’m so grateful for the opportunity. Here are some of my favourites from our little adventure.

August 30, 2015April 20, 2016

Venice Honeymoon Portrait Session // Hieu & Alex

This romantic Venice honeymoon portrait session has been featured on UK wedding blog Want That Wedding, as well as on Brides Without Borders.

In July I photographed a Venice honeymoon portrait session for Hieu and Alex. Hieu and Alex are from the U.S. (Georgia and San Fran). They were on a 3-week honeymoon in Europe and Venice, Italy was one of their stops.

I was in Europe for 3 weeks myself for a couple of weddings and Venice was my first stop. It had been 5 years since I last visited Venice and I was very much looking forward to my second visit. I think a lot of people who have been to Venice love it. There are also those who think it’s overrated. The complaints I often hear are: it’s too touristy; it’s not authentic; things cost too much. But I think most “touristy” places are touristy for reason. I don’t think those places are at fault just because everyone want to visit. Yes Venice can be crowded, yes it can feel less like an authentic city compared to other places, but there is more than a thousand years of history that took place in this city built on water. Every canal, every calle, every brick has a story, and I believe all those stories have left invisible marks on the city. You can’t see them, but you can feel them.

We woke up really early for this honeymoon session since July in Venice is quite hot and humid. So we decided to start just after sunrise. It was a more reasonable temperature and it was also before the crowds attacked the city :) We started in their hotel, then we walked over the Rialto bridge, wandered through some small lanes (calles) to Piazza San Marco and ended it with a gondola ride!