Walking Down the River with Brennan & Amanda Amanda & Brennan are getting married this summer at Steckle Heritage Farm (which is perhaps the best wedding venue in the world). The farm in July is a wonderful place - I can't wait! We walked around the river in Downtown Cambridge and got some pretty neat photos...    it started raining part way through the shoot and we hid out for a bit. I snapped a few while we waited out the worst of it...   the rain made for a dramatic sky...  want to see the weddings gallery?Amy & Graham at the University of Guelph Arboretum I'm excited for Amy & Graham's wedding this summer - they're getting married at the family farm out near the shores of Lake Huron. We're hoping for a clear and warm day, an epic sunset (nice for photos!) and all the good things that go along with weddings.  Graham and Amy make their home in Toronto, but decided to return to University of Guelph (Amy's alma mater) for their engagement session. The arboretum had no shortage of great photo spots on this sunny day.   we got a few family photos at the end of the session :)   want to check out the weddings gallery?A Walk Through the Park with Jocelyn & Trevor Trevor and Jocelyn shared some of their first memories together in downtown Guelph - going for ice cream with friends at The Boathouse - so it was special to return here for their photos. Things were busy downtown on this holiday Monday, but we managed to get a few moments to ourselves on the covered bridge.      then we went for a walk along the river...    want to see the weddings gallery?Engagement Photos on the Farm with Robin & Jaron There was no question about where these two wanted to do engagement photos... on the family farm. Robin & Jaron had discussed getting married there, but location and logistics made it somewhat impractical, so they've shifted to Grey Silo Golf Course, a wonderful venue in Waterloo.  Jaron split a few logs while we were there... Robin supervised from a safe distance   the dogs joined us for a walk... through the fields and into the woods, with a little play time along the way   listening to creaky trees groaning in the wind...   then we stopped for a few photos at the sugar shack... heard some good stories about maple syrup parties :)   want to see the weddings gallery?A Winter Walk with Dawson & AlannaI love the arboretum. I went to University of Guelph and the campus and the arboretum will always have a soft spot in my heart. Returning there for photos is always a joy.  Dawson is also a U of G grad, so it's not surprising that we landed on this spot as a venue for engagement photos. Alanna and Dawson's wedding this summer is a full-on Muskoka cottage wedding in beautiful Bala. It's in August too (my favourite month of the year for all sorts of reasons). I can't wait. A & D are using birch as a theme at the wedding, so we made sure to work it in to the engagement session. Here are a few favourites from our winter walk... enjoy!        want to see the weddings gallery?An Afternoon in Uptown with Ainslie & LoganAinslie & Logan and I met at Abe Erb to chat about their wedding plans a few months back. The place was hopping and we thoroughly enjoyed our time... so I was all for the idea of returning there for engagement photos when A&L suggested it. The staff was very accommodating (even moving where they were eating to set up a photo for us!) and the place is just decked out classy. What a great spot for photos. We let the photos come at a relaxed pace as we enjoyed some of the house specialties (ask for the Buggy Whip... so good!). Afterwards we went for a walk through Uptown Waterloo and nabbed a few neat winter portraits. Here are some favourites... enjoy!             see more engagement photos? or maybe weddings?Fall Photos in Steckle Woods With Jessica & Jason Jason & Jessica are getting married next summer at Steckle Heritage Farm - an amazing and historic venue in Kitchener. I've taken photos at the farm before and I'm very excited to be returning! The farm has an apple orchard, gardens and beautiful old buildings (including a huge old barn). Just down the street from the farm is Steckle Woods. The walking trails through the woods were perfect for photos. So J & J and I headed out for a walk with the family dog. I think the photos came out pretty nice. Here are a few of my favourites...       A Walk Along the River with Nathan & MichelleOne of my favourite photos this year came from my walk with Nathan & Michelle. They wanted to get a shot of Michelle's engagement ring on a leaf... Just before the end of the session we found a maple leaf that was red and yellow and green and as we were getting ready to take the photo the sun peeked out through what had been a very cloudy sky. The sun lit up the couple and the leaf and we got this great photo. One of my favourites this year for sure. Here's the ring photo and a few more from our walk along the river...        Dave & Kaitlin's Evening Engagement Session
Kaitlin and Dave are getting married at a beautiful winery this year - I can't wait for photos around the property and in the 'barrel room'. These are their engagement pics... they were taken in the country between Kitchener and Cambridge, right around sunset. Both Kaitlin and Dave claim to fear the camera, but you'd never know it the way the photos turned out. I love the lonely country feel of the setting mixed with the warmth you feel around these two. 
An Evening In (or at least very near to) Waterloo, with Allison & RossAllison and Ross wanted some sunset pics for their engagement photos. We started off the evening walking in Laurel Creek Conservation Area, but couldn't get 'the' sunset shot we were looking for. So we abandoned ship and drove out of town. Down a side road I spied a field of fresh cut hay that had a great look at the evening sky. I love how the photos turned out. Looking forward to the wedding in January at Whistle Bear in Cambridge! 
and now come the sunset shots... 
take a look at more engagement sessions?
The (mostly) Empty Apartment, with Keanan and Ashleigh...... the apartment is recently rented, barely furnished and the box that the kitchen table came in is still on the living room floor. The kitchen has a few old beer bottles (courtesy of the movers-out) and salt and pepper shakers that hug. Not much else to the place except a couch the last tenants left and some Christmas lights, so we did what we could. It turned out smashing.  Keanan and Ashleigh are two peas in a pod. You can just tell that they'll have the place filled with happiness (and hopefully some furniture) in no time! Here are a few highlights from the rest of the session...  It looks good both ways...2014 will be a banner year here at ZJP. With nine wedding assignments already booked and lots of little ones set to arrive, there will be lots to do, lots to see. Stopping time with an image is a remarkable thing... throw in some momentous occasions, thrilling emotions and maybe some leaves or snow and there's going to be a lot of good fun coming up. But last year was awesome too! So without further ado... here are some memorable photos from this past year. Enjoy!                       This last one is a shot from a wedding I photographed at Langdon Hall in the late summer. They had lights on one of the apple trees in the orchard and we snuck out for a few quick photos after supper. This was the first frame I shot.
I felt the magic of it right away, as soon as I saw it. Hope you feel it too. Happy 2014! Zac Kaitlyn & Kyle and I headed out for a walk thru Riverside Park in Guelph...... it was a brisk fall day just a few days after the clocks 'fall back'. Sunset came early and we were able to get some nice washy end of the day lighting. Here's what I mean:  The photos of K&K relaxing in this tree were my favourite part of the session. After the tree, we sat on benches, startled some geese, walked along the water and then took the tracks home. Here's a sampling of the rest of the photos. Really looking forward to the wedding in July! The afternoon had a chill in the air that disappeared when the sun came out.. We took a walk through historic downtown St Jacobs, taking in both the town and the picturesque river that runs along its north edge. The session had lots of great moments and expressions - really excited for the wedding in June! A Rainy and Wonderful Walking Photo Session with Mike and Paula
Paula and Mike dig downtown Kitch. They live downtown, Mike works downtown and Paula is involved with Engage - a program that promotes community development. We threw around a few ideas for photos, but kept coming back to a downtown walk. I'm glad we stuck with it. Despite clouds that seemed intent on drizzling, we had a great time wandering around. After we finished up the photos, we stopped at IMBIBE for pints (and a few more photos). Here are a few favourites from the day: We went out for a sunset shoot on the escarpment...... and uncorked some champagne to celebrate. Rebekah and Kevin were great in front of the camera - you can see their enthusiasm for each other in the pics. Here are some favourite shots from the day: 
 Wasn't sure about the weather leading up to this shoot, but the sun came out at the right time and we got some great shots. Can't wait for the wedding next summer!       |
