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Krister and Susan are a photography duo from Edmonton who run Picture That Photography. It is always cool to work with other artists of any kind and very cool to be chosen by other photographers.

As you will see when you look through the photos, this was a fun session. We met up at their favourite bubble tea place in Calgary to chat a bit before going out to do their photos. I am not a bubble tea kinda guy, but according to Susan and Krister, Bubble Mania is the place to go for it in Calgary. Just so you know. (I can tell you where the best organic coffee is, but that’s not really a part of this blog story).

Krister, in particular, is a big movie buff who has even got them both into major film festivals—the ones where even actors have to apply for a seat—and so we did something fun that was kind of associated with this interest of theirs. I couldn’t get a star-studded list of international actors in time for their engagement session, but an old TV set in a tunnel was just as good. It was even fairly clean.

We hit up a couple of parks around the north side of Calgary. Krister and Susan were great to work with! As we hiked up the side of a hill in one of the parks, getting further and further from the car, I asked them, “How do you guys feel about being blindfolded?” Not really a typical engagement session question, I suppose, so I understand the looks they gave me. But when I explained my idea they got into it really well and the end result was a real heightened connection between them. I have a whole series of images from this segment that show an amazingly loving connection between them. It was very cool.

I look forward to seeing them again on their wedding day.

I really enjoyed photographing Matt and Andrea’s engagement session. We met up at Milestones restaurant on Stephen Avenue to chat about their session and it seems like every time I mentioned a possible location idea they’d get excited and say something like, “That place is special to us, because we went there on our first date!”. That was very cool. I also noticed as soon as they sat down that they were very affectionate with each other. They held hands across the table the whole time and and it was totally clear that they really loved each other.

Their whole session was very relaxed. We all wandered around Calgary Zoo and nearby areas chatting about various things as we did the photos. They were s-o-o-o-o easy to work with and great fun. We are photographing their wedding at the Rimrock Resort very soon and I’m looking forward to seeing them again.

We have recently had two shoots featured on the wedding inspiration blog, Beyond Beyond. If you are a regular blog reader here you may remember our previous feature on Beyond Beyond and it’s always an honour to have our photography displayed with them. This time round we have a Calgary engagement session and a Banff bridal portrait session.

Beyond Beyond describes their site as “wedding inspiration for daring bridesters, hipsters, and individuals who dare to be different” and they definitely fit that description! There are so many wedding-inspiration blogs and web sites out there and so many just chase after whatever the current trend happens to be, but Beyond Beyond really does have a very cool, eclectic mix of tasty tidbits and funky photos that stands out from the crowd. Click on the links above to check them out.

When Elizabeth called to set up the time for their engagement session, she told me about their love of gardening and immediately had an idea that included something gardening-related. The three of us also share an off-beat sense of humour, so that crept into the photo as well. We actually ended up doing the photo—the first one below—in Jamie’s parent’s backyard, because it is so beautiful and verdant.

This was a very relaxing and enjoyable engagement session. We basically went for a walk along the river bottom in Lethbridge and whenever I saw something that looked like it would make for a good place for photos we stopped and hung around there for a while and then ambled off somewhere else. It was pretty loose and ad-libbed. And the light was so nice, too!

Here are some of my favourite images from their session. I look forward to photographing their wedding, which is very, very soon! Oh, and don’t worry Jamie, I’d never, ever mention that mysterious wet patch on your pants.

These guys were so much fun to photograph! They had a great sense of humour and were very easy-going.

Ryan and Shawna actually live in Edmonton, but we did their engagement session in Calgary. Like some of our other couples, their wedding will be in a beautiful outdoor location—in this case, Summerhill Winery in Kelowna—and so they wanted a contrasting urban setting for their engagement photos. We spent the afternoon visiting several locations around Calgary, including the Calgary Zoo (where they got to pat a python), some abandoned railway tracks (I don’t photograph on live tracks), and a couple of other places round the city.

Shawna asked me to get a photo of her engagement ring during their session. Her ring is a unique, custom-made design and it looks very cool! She said that she had tried to get photos herself, but they never turned out well. So hopefully I got something a bit better.

I’m really looking forward to this wedding! Not only are they a very cool couple to hang out with, but Kelowna is one of my favourite places to shoot weddings.

Mike and Elva are such a fun couple! I have so many photos of them laughing. I love it when our couples are fun or obviously in love and these guys fit both categories, so it was a blast hanging out with them to take their photos. Although they live in Calgary, their wedding is taking place in Waterton and they asked if they could have contrasting engagement images—something with a more urban feel compared to how their wedding photos will be. So we visited a few locations in the city, often just walking around and taking advantage of whatever presented itself as a good idea. They even danced to a busker’s music in the middle of Stephen Ave! It was a pretty easy-going time.

Thanks for being so fun and up for anything!

I had a fun engagement session the other day with Ryan and Kendra, just outside of Lethbridge. We started out at their home in Coalhurst and just kinda hung out, with me taking photos of the kinda things they do as hobbies. They had this mostly-finished jigsaw puzzle where all the remaining pieces were almost identical and while I was photographing them they had a burst of inspiration and managed to complete some more. But for the sake of client confidentiality I won’t say who won their foosball match. Your secret is safe with me, Kendra. After a few quick photos of their energetic Jack Russell terrier, we took off down to highway to a place just outside of town for their portraits.

Ryan has a super-cool Harley Davidson bike that we worked into a few of their shots. I had to get him to turn it around a lot for the photos, though. Apparently they’re not light or easy to turn around on small dirt trails. We finished with a sweet, romantic time. Well, they did; I just watched. Wait, that doesn’t sound much better . . .

Here are a handful of their engagement photos.

Stephanie and Kyle are an active couple who love the outdoors and asked to have their engagement session in the Kananaskis mountains, which I was happy to do. Of course, I didn’t know when I agreed to it that I’d end up halfway up a mountain in a blizzard.

The Kananskis is a beautiful, peaceful area in the Rocky Mountains about forty minutes from Banff. During ski season there are people on the slopes, but this day we had the mountains almost totally to ourselves. Kyle and Stephanie had brought their skis and we started off with photos of them around the lift and on the hill, skiing. Then we went to a second location that Kyle had picked out. We parked our cars and talked about where he wanted to go. “There’s a ledge just up there that I think would be cool”, he said, waving his hand towards a flat, rocky area about ten metres up. “Oh, that would be no problem”, I replied. “I can even bring a load of photo gear”. So we started climbing up. It began to snow. After a minute we passed the ledge and kept going. I look at the ledge. I look at Kyle. “Yeah, there’s the ledge, up there”, he says, pointing out a speck of rocks through the pine trees, halfway up the mountain.

Kyle and Stephanie were kind enough to help me carry some of my gear, which they did with ease. As soon as we got to the ledge—which was really more of a scattering of rocks—we saw some darker clouds blowing in. I had time for about three photos before it hit us, knocking my light stand over and pelting us with snow. We retreated back down the mountain and spent the rest of the session around the river and the forest at the bottom. Stephanie and Kyle were awesome to take photos of—really easy-going and obviously in love. Here are some of my favourite photos from the day:

One of our engagement sessions was recently featured on Beyond Beyond, the website of a wedding invitations and inspirations company based in London, England. They make very cool invitations, with fresh and funky designs. I recommend you check their invitations and Etsy store as well as their inspirations blog.

Thanks for having us!

I’ve been wanting to take a couple into a car wrecking yard for nearly a year and a half now. About a year ago DQ Studios did portraits of Sherri and I in a wrecking yard, which was really cool, but it’s different being in front of the camera to behind it, so when Julie told me that she wanted something kinda edgy for their portraits I saw my chance.

Jake and Julie are a great couple and so cool to work with. It would be hard to get a bad photo of them! They were so easy in front of the camera and just so relaxed with each other and in love. We hit a few locations in Calgary, starting with a car wrecking yard and then heading north to see what cool locations we could use in the city centre. We ended up at Stephen Ave, which is such a rich location for photography, especially when they have the lights up in winter. Plus, the pubs and restaurants have really nice ambiance for indoor photos.

We are looking forward to their wedding this year. Here are some of their engagement images.