Ilana and I used to work together :) As I write this, it’s starting to sound really familiar. I have photographed a lot of people who I used to work with, I think that just goes to say that I worked with a lot of great people.
Back to Ilana and Josh. They moved to San Francisco at the end of last year and decided to get married. Ilana heard I was traveling to California in May so she got in touch about a photo session, and of course I was thrilled about shooting in San Fran.
We decided to go to the Marin Headlands and Baker beach in the Golden Gate Bridge area because of the natural beauty of the surroundings. On the day of though, the fogs had their own plan. It was windy and chilly but we made the best of our time together.
San Fran was a special city and I’d love to return again some day. Here are some of my favourites from Ilana & Josh’s Document Love session.
Stephanie & Matt got married on a beautiful day in sunny Cabo San Lucas, Mexico while spring was still struggling with Toronto. Surrounded by their nearest and dearest, it was a most relaxed and lovely wedding day. I’ve said this before, but small weddings are always more dear to my heart. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with big weddings, but when you are planning something so big, sometimes it’s easy for the wedding to get “out of scope” to speak in project management terms. You start to worry about every single little detail, and lose sight of the reason why you are having this wedding to begin with: a celebration of love and a coming together of family and friends. It’s too easy for big weddings to become a “production”, a “show”, rather than a wedding.
This was not so on Stephanie & Matt’s wedding day. They hung out with their wedding party in the morning while getting ready, got to talk to each of their guests, and had time to just slow down and remember it all.
Thank you Stephanie & Matt for not only having me document one of the most special days in your life, but for making me feel welcomed as one of your dear guests.
Lisa and I used to work together. She also designed my original logo. So I was thrilled when she contacted me about photographing her bump! Lisa and Dave met back in high school, so for this session we went back to where it all started: Appleby college.
Congratulations you two! I can’t wait to meet your little one!
The Cinque Terre is a series of five villages perched on the Italian riviera coastline southeast of Genoa. The villages are, for the most part, only accessible by boat/ferry or the regional trains that run through them, connected from Pisa to Genoa. The first time I heard about them was reading a Rick Steve’s guide book on Italy. We visited in 2012 as part of our Italy trip. After spending a few days in the beautiful Tuscany countryside, we realized we missed seeing the ocean.
The train ride to CT was an adventure. The high speed trains in Italy and across Europe are fast and efficient. But the slower, local trains are so interesting. Perhaps because they provide a taste for slow travel and what feels like a more authentic experience, traveling almost like a local. We caught a train from Siena that was destined for La Spezia with a switch at Empoli. Once in La Spezia, we needed to catch a local train for CT. A map here if you are interested. On the Empoli to La Spezia leg, we stopped at Pisa station for a very long time. At first I didn’t notice because I was enthralled by my book of choice for that trip: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. But then Mike pointed out we’d been sitting there for 20 minutes. There hadn’t been any announcements, not even in Italian. No train conductors appeared to tell us what was going on. A few minutes after, some of the locals started to get off. I asked one person if he knew what was happening, and he said no one knows. Then I saw across the platform, there was a train coming into the station in 5 minutes that was headed to La Spezia. I told Mike we should just get off our train and hop on that one since our ticket brings us to the same destination. When the new train arrived, our original train was still sitting there. That experience reminded me a lot of taking the trains in China as a child. The disorganized nature and lack of information.
So, a note about taking regional trains in Italy, if your train stops for a long time for no reason, don’t panic! The CT train from La Spezia spent much of its first 5 minutes passing through mountain tunnels, then suddenly, we are out of it, and you just see emerald green and blue waters of the Ligurian sea, it was a sight that caused the whole train to go “wow!”
Favourite things about the Cinque Terre:
– The natural stunning scenery
– You get a bit of both: mountains & ocean
– Hiking between the villages: though when were there in 2012, a couple of them were still closed as a result of the landslides that happened in fall of 2011.
– The amazing seafood in the area
– Amazing gelato! (although really, gelato is amazing everywhere in Italy I’m sure)
– The indescribable old-world charm of the villages. You know the saying about a slower paced life in more remote areas of the world, and here, even though it’s not that remote, you feel it. Even as travellers, you feel more relaxed
– How despite the increasing crowds visiting the region, it still retains its charm and authenticity. At night, when the day trippers have gone, the streets are filled with mostly locals (lots of Nonna’s) and it feels like time has not touched this place much in the past fifty years.
There is a tunnel on the walkway from Riomaggiore to Manarola (affectionately dubbed as Via dell’Amore, or Lover’s Walk), and it is filled with graffiti and writings.
Train station with a view :)
Vernazza. It’s the favourite village of a lot of people. We bought pizza from a pizza place just up the street from the harbour.
We sat down by the seawall, in the shade, ate delicious pizza (probably one of the best I’ve ever had);
drank Italian lemon soda (my fave!);
watched the comings and goings at the harbour and in the square;
And then sat on the rocks and watched the sun dip below the next town and the curve in the landscape.
It was one of my favourite days from that trip.
(Sorry, no photo of the pizza, you’ll just have to take my word for it).
This last photo makes me think of Old Man and the Sea.
Except it’s more like Old Men here…although they were kind of far, so not sure if they are even old! :D
Where to stay:
Aria di Mare in Manarola – lovely place, definitely rooms with a view
Meet Stephanie and Matt. Stephanie loves Matt’s laugh. Matt still finds her to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
They’ve known each other since high school and 11 years later, still deeply in love, and getting married soon in sunny Cabo San Lucas.
A lot of the times we think that when two people finally find each other later in life, it’s that much more special. Not to say it isn’t necessarily. But I think it’s equally special when two people find each other early on in life but have stayed together. It’s not easy, being high school sweethearts. Not that it’s ever easy in any relationship per se, but there seems to be a little extra difficulty with young relationships because we are at a stage where we are still learning and growing so much, and changing so much. It’s incredibly easy to grow apart. These guys have stuck together, they’ve grown together, and I’m sure, will enjoy many more happy years together.
I can’t wait to be a part of their wedding next week.
What to say about Santorini?! Other than that it’s heaven-on-earth? granted, crowded heaven-on-earth (from June to August)…but still, there is simply no place quite like it. It’s the sheer cliffs (caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago) on one side of the island, the impossibly blue ocean, the iconic Greek isles architecture with white walls and blue domed churches, and of course, the sunsets, where people erupt into cheers and clap at the end (I am serious).
Usually I find myself going on and on about a place, but strangely this time, I have very few words. So I will just let the photos do the talking.
Warning, I’m generally more of a dog person, but you might see quite a few cats in this post.
Sunrise from up in the air.
It was worth the overnight at Athens airport haha.
Atlantis Books. Officially my favourite bookstore in the world.
If you are a book lover, how amazing would it be to get married here?!
