A look back at 2006

Hey there!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Been a hectic finish to 2006...but a great year at the same time. Rolling into January always fills me with a sense of expectation for the new year and at the same time, it's fun to sit back and reflect on the year that's passed. I thought I might share with you some of the photos that some of you may have seen, and some that you haven't that are in my personal archives! They are not necessarily my best, but some hold a special place in my heart at the same time and I love them all the same...

Here is the wonderful lady in my life. She's been so great helping me with the business and even comes along on the odd photo shoot. She's also a great lenswoman! I love this shot of her we did in the studio. She is mesmerizing...
























This is a fun shot of a local synchronized swim team. They are young but strong! I was very impressed to see them do stuff like this.
























What photographer doesn't like to be in 1 or 2 pictures with beautiful ladies??

Lucky guy. Perks of the job I guess ;)


















Every year our flower garden takes on a life of it's own. Each week, it seems a new flower is in bloom. I ran outside after a warm rainshower to grab a few. If my mom had a computer or internet (it'll never stick right mom?) she could tell me what this is.






















Keira. What a girl! Full of energy and couldn't wait to get on her bike to cycle around the yard. Being a photographer you quickly realize what a challenge shooting children can be. I've learned over the years not to fight what they want to do or where they want to go. In the end, the pictures turn out much better if you can adapt to what they want to do and shoot them when they are most comfortable. Keira made her parents laugh and you couldn't help but feed off her energy! I laughed a lot on this shoot!






















A truly amazing athlete! This woman jumped over 6 metres to claim the national long jump title! I was very impressed. Look at her form - expending a huge amount of energy and yet still very much in control of herself. She embodied power and grace.























Our god-daughter Kyla. A super child and so much fun to be around. She is going to be a looker. Look at those eyes!























Love the tones and the textures. 'Nuff said.
















A great Canadian winter wouldn't be winter without hockey eh?! That's yours truly trying to stay on my feet and not look too goofy. How many other kids can say they learned how to skate (ahem!) on the pond!?
















Loved the colour of the reflection of the Radio City Music Hall building in this shop window. I'm also drawn to the intersecting lines...

















Another national champ. Mens high jump. I could literally walk under the bar!!
















I suppose I like this pic because of its ageless feel. Could have been taken 100 years ago if you wanted it to be.

















A sunshower. My favourite.
















Such an awesome photo of Jill. She looks stunning.
















Not sure what I was doing on this day. I think I put a bunch of coffee beans on a plate in my living room, thinking I was creating a novelty :) Looking at this photo, I remember that I actually spent over an hour turning every bean face up. Why? Not sure, come to think of it. Addicted perhaps...If I can't drink it, photograph it.
















This is one of my all time favorites. Reminds me of my grandmother and her sisters. Each one successively older. Each one still very beautiful. That reminds me, I really need to post a picture of her. You won't believe it. She's 96!! Ninety six!! And still lives on her own. I'm always amazed.
















Winter weddings. Not many other places on earth where you can claim this. I love this photo. Very ethereal...very heavenly...























Well, that was my slice of 2006, albeit brief. Always fun to reminisce and have a few photos to back up the stories and put in the yearbook.

To all the brides who are getting married and are having their photos taken by me in 2007, I am very much looking forward to it! It's going to be a blast!!

Wishing everyone a fantastic year, filled with joy, happiness and a multitude of success.

Byron

Merry Christmas from the Boswell's!

A few weekends ago, I had the chance to shoot the Boswell's family portrait for Christmas. They are a wonderful family, with 2 very energetic and happy boys who can't wait for Santa to arrive with loads of Pokemon figures!

They are such hams!




















I believe it's tradition for them to have a yearly Christmas shoot so I was honoured to be their man for '06!




















We decided to go to Watson's Mill in Manotick. What a superb backdrop for all occasions. The Mill itself is a historic landmark, made of old grey stone, set on the Rideau River. The weather was cool, but the light was perfect, so it made my job very easy.





















I met Heather a few years ago at a wedding we did together. She is co-founder of Ottawa Makeup Artists and runs an amazing business with very talented people. So, all you brides out there looking for the best hair and makeup, check them out. You won't regret it. She is also the new face of Fusion Beauty beauty products and doing fantastically well.



















Here is an **E-CARD** of the Boswell's and their Christmas wishes to you!

Have a wonderful Christmas gang, thanks for spending the morning with me!

Byron

New York state of mind...

Maureen and I just got back from the Big Apple after having the wonderful opportunity to shoot a good friends wedding! They are a superb couple and you won't meet anyone quite like them. Jill is an amazing graphic designer and Vram is a top-notch architect. They are probably one of the most artistic duos you could meet! I am so fortunate that they asked me to not only share in their day, but to also photograph it.

The wedding and ceremony was held at a place called The Foundry. This place is one-of-a-kind and it's hard for the pictures to do it justice! It was an old foundry, located in Long Island City, just over the Queensborough bridge. It has been renovated for events and weddings yet it still maintains it's character. The brick exterior is covered in ivy while the inside has been modernized with a new kitchen and bathroom facilities. The piece de resistance was the glass skylight roof! Gorgeous!!

The bride and groom looked smashing in their wedding day attire. Jill's shoes were out of this world and Vram's suit was perfect for a New York wedding! And the food....superb! The DJ kept the crowd on its feet all night. The entire day was a blast!!

Here is a ***SLIDESHOW*** of the big day or click over the picture.

We want to thank you both, from the bottom of our hearts, for letting us be with you on your special day!

We love you!

Gabriele & Andrew

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Gabriele and Andrew's wedding today! What an amazing and sweet couple they are, especially to be out in the (very) cold weather to have their picture taken! Thanks for bearing with me, you guys rock!!!

The day started off very cool and wet, but by the time the ceremony ended, the rain held and the sun even peaked through the clouds for a few minutes. We went to a place called the Cumberland Heritage museum - I'd never even heard of it before, but what a gem! And the leaves and backdrop were quite the spectacle. Hard to imagine things like this exist!

Here is a SLIDESHOW of Gabriele and Andrew's day. They were so awesome to work with and I really enjoyed being around them, even though it was for such a short time.

Here is a shot of the wedding program:

Gabriele and her lovely sister:
G 'n A - like I said bee-yooo-teee-fulll!!!!
A tender moment for the newlyweds...
They had a little dance under the gazebo (you'd think it was more than 4 degrees outside!!):
This looks amazing in both colour and black&white!
Again, the sweet couple...

Thanks to you both! I had a super day!

My best,

Byron

Jennifer and Jit's Engagement

Last week I had the chance to shoot the engagement of Jit and Jen. They were a super cool couple that my wife and I really and truly enjoyed spending time with! They didn't even know us, but we got along famously even though we had just met. The were so affectionate with one another and really down to earth.

...AND...they invited us to the Ottawa Senators home opener in their limo!! They are huge Sens fans and so their engagement was really appropriate.

They also invited some family and friends along to also share in their day. They all were awesome folks and we had plenty of laughs the entire night. What a fun crew! Can't wait to shoot their wedding, going to be so much fun to hang with them again!





















Click to see the SLIDESHOW or over the picture.

Thanks so much guys for letting us be a part of your day - we had an amazing time with you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! I hope that you got in some family time and pumpkin (my mom makes the best) pie! I don't know how I did it, but I was able to make some room for turkey and stuffing as well...I think it will take me at least a week to recover.

I also was able to sneak out for a few hours to take some shots on what might be the last nice weekend for fall foliage. The leaves and sky were just spectacular.

Here is an old barn near my parents place. It's rusted, but the cows don't care.














The sun peaks through a neighbours tree.













Same neighbour, same tree.













My mom is quite the crafty lady. Not only does she bake, but she loves putting these 'centrepieces' together depending on the season!



















Some jet tails just outside our home.



















Cows munching on grass near the family homestead.













I just love this one. Can you guess how I did it?
















Maybe this will help you figure it out.













Another of mom's creations. What a backdrop! Not too many birds were scared of this fella.



















Mom and Dad have an amazing garden. We ate fresh carrots and potatoes all weekend. Here, the tomatos are still in the garden drying off.



















One of my personal faves. And of course, it's my neighbours here in O-town.













A nice dusting of colour from mother nature. What a beautiful sky!













I love the tones in this one!















This one too!














Heck why not this one too!













A little red leaf just peaking through...














So, if you didn't get the chance to shoot this weekend, really, that's too bad. The weather was amazing, the sun was out, and you may only have one or two days like this left!

I believe that sometimes you don't have to travel half way across the continent in search of a picture. Sometimes it's right there in front of you, you just need to spend a little time looking.

That being said, I hope you had a great holiday, got stuffed and enjoyed your visit with family and friends!

Byron

I's the by!

Sorry it's taken so long to post, but we just got back from a much needed vacation in Newfoundland! What a beautiful country we live in and I have to say, I'd be surprised that you couldn't find one place to take a picture where you'd blow it up big and hang on your wall. Unfortunately, we only spent a week there, but I finally got to meet Maureen's family that I hadn't met before. We toured the countryside, played 120 (pronounced one hundred and twenty, not one-twenty!) - a fun card game likely invented there, ate cod and I got screeched in! If you're not from NFLD, but have visited there, there is a good chance you've been 'screeched' in yourself. I won't spill the beans, just be sure to ask your Newfie friends what goes on.The top pic is a picture of lobster pot in a stage (stages are the garage like structure on the water where the cod are dried and equipment is stored, at least as I've been told).

We had a fabulous time and I want to thank all the friends and family that we stayed with, saw countryside with, played cards, and fed us (we're now on a diets again - I was addicted to partredge berries!!).

This next pic is of a whole bunch of stages. They are all painted red. Ask me if I know why....perhaps because they are so nice to look at!













I just loved the reflection of the stage and the timbers in the water of this one.













An old prop, on a rusty sea-faring vessel at dusk.



















Lobster pots (I have a few pics of them!).



















This pic was taken on an island called Fogo. We got to it by Ferry and Mo got to steer it - it was so cool. This island was incredible! The landscape was barren but had these amazing fishing villages on them. Some of the names of the villages were neat too - Joe Batt's Arm (my fave :)), Tilting, Seldom, Little Seldom, Barr'd Island! The accent was cool too - a mix of Irish and something else - the NFLD accent at it's best!



















Maureen's aunt's house - I loved this shot. I went back 3 times to shoot this one. Thanks Auntie Kay for letting us stay and taking care of us - we love you!!



















This was from our trip down to the ocean itself. I dipped my feet in the Atlantic ocean for the first time ever! We tried a few boring poses, but it wasn't working for me, so we added a little pizzazz and this is one of the best ones. Girl's got hops!



















This is probably one of the most spectacular vista's I have ever come across. We were in Bonavista and driving over a hill to see another site when we came across these horses grazing just feet from the ocean, near cliffs with a 100 foot drop! The sun was just beginning to set and the light was perfect, so I had to stop. I still can't believe it...













A proud fisherman and his catch!













The gorgeous lighthouse in Bonavista. Something I'll never forget.



















The cliffs approaching the cape at Bonavista. This is just a day after Hurricane Florence...like she'd never been there.













Sunset in Bonavista harbour. If you look close you can see a gull zooming by.













An abandoned vessel. They littter the coast.













Just loved the colour of this one :)




















Can't get enough of those beautiful reflections. Something so serene in the water there...














Newfoundland and Canadian flags side-by-side. This was painted onto the back of a fishing boat.













Well, that's my post for now, hopefully I can post a lot more for you to see again soon!

Take care and keep shooting!

Byron