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Last Saturday we had a whole bunch of performers and speakers come through Lethbridge for the Ignition event at the ENMAX Centre. The performances were organised by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada and as well as a line-up of great bands and illusionist Brock Gill, Will Graham was there to talk about the gospel.

First onto the stage to open the night was Eyes of Isis, the only non-christian band of the night. Then another local act, Phao took the stage. They were followed by illusionist Brock Gill and then rock band Stellar Kart. After an inspiring message by Will Graham, the headlining band, Kutless, played their set.

There was such a positive atmosphere during the night it’s awesome to see larger Christian rock acts coming through Lethbridge. Last year saw a real growth in the Lethbridge music scene, thanks to smaller venues such as Henotic, The Slice, and others, and hopefully this is also a sign of more good things to come for Lethbridge’s Christian music scene.

As well as this quick blog post I wrote an article for the Lethbridge Living Magazine blog—which will launch later this week—to compliment their printed article on Eyes Of Isis in their current magazine issue. In my article is a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes info and more photos of Eye Of Isis. When their blog goes live I’ll come back and update this post with a link to it for you to check out. Meanwhile, here are a handful of very hastily-edited images from the concerts, posted in the order of how they appeared. I have a ton of images from this event, so if any of the bands want to see more, please Contact Me. Also, a personal thanks to the film crew from Miracle Channel and to Romi from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada for being so easy to work with. There’s not a lot of room up front!

EYES OF ISIS:

On the morning of Susanna and Greg’s wedding my wife Sherri went into labour. You can read more about that HERE.

My second photographer and I met Greg at the church as he was waiting for Susanna to arrive in an old fire truck. This was one of those weddings full of quirky personal touches, which make a wedding so memorable and fun. I really love the little old church they were married in! It’s like one of those tiny white wooden buildings you see as you drive through the prairies, sitting alone in the middle of a field. The light was so beautiful inside! It definitely had the best natural light of any wedding ceremony we have ever photographed. In fact, it is the first church we’ve been to that was actually bright inside and not dark. Ah, yes, the things that excite a wedding photographer.

Susanna and Greg had so many cool things worked into their ceremony. This is the second of three weddings we have this year with a Scottish bride or groom and Greg and his groomsmen were all done up in kilts and tartans and the other traditional Scottish garb. Not only were there personal touches to the ceremony, but their love for each other was so clear, with Greg wiping tears from his eyes and Susanna choking up as she saw Greg waiting for her. And I really liked the Scottish influences during the day. Greg even read Susanna a poem by Robert “Rabbie” Burns during the ceremony.

After their ceremony and toasts of scotch we did their photos on the same property, an historical village with a little old jail and loads of cool rustic buildings. There were tons of great spots and I could have photographed there for hours. Plus, the wedding party were fun and really easy to work with.

Their reception was back in Lethbridge and it was filled with lots of fun and laughter. They also had the most multicultural dinner I’ve ever seen, with dishes from about a dozen different countries. Their wedding reception tables were also named after different places that meant something to them and their families. Greg and Susanna also did a very nice thing for me, too. Because I was there while Sherri was in labour they sped up their reception events so that I could photograph them and leave. Although my second photographer, Jessica, was very capable of taking over in my absence and they really didn’t have to do this, they did their cake cutting, first dance, father-daughter/mother-son dances, and the bouquet and garter tosses all back to back. (In case you’re wondering I was with Sherri for the last three hours of the labour and birth. )

All the best to Susanna and Greg! Click below to start the slideshow and give it a little bit of time to load.

We did Sarah and Matt’s engagement session last August and we had a blast, so I was really looking forward to their wedding.  

On their wedding day we started out with the guys and they were joking around and great for candid moments. As soon as they were ready we dashed down to the Lethbridge Lodge, where the girls were to catch some quick portraits of them there. As we were walking back from the room I noticed a beam of light coming down from the skylights that lit Sarah beautifully as she walked through it, so I asked her to stand there for a moment and just ignore me while she played with her veil and laughed with her parents. I love how the light just made her glow. She looked stunning!

Their ceremony was at St. Patrick’s church in Lethbridge, which we’ve been to several times lately and it’s definitely one of the nicest looking churches in the city.    After the ceremony we took some quick family shots in the area and then went up to Lethbridge University, where their reception was going to be, for the rest of their photos. It was very windy that day and we were very limited in time, so it was a challenge to get great looking shots of the enormous bridal party—but we did it!    The girls asked to do a photo of them picking up Matt, which he resisted at first, but it ended up being a fun moment.

Their reception was at the student union ballrooms, nicknamed The Zoo, which we’ve done quite a few receptions at. It’s one of the more tricky venues in town to work at, with a black ceiling and mostly black walls. Well, it’s difficult for other photographers.       Anyway, there were funny and touching speeches with lots of laughter and tears and a really well put-together slideshow. We left them as the dancing was getting going and everyone was starting to party. Check out some of their images.  

Grace is a local model and a really fun person to have on a shoot.  Take a look at the photos and you’ll see what I mean!    I did this shoot with Jessica, whom I will be introducing on this blog very soon.  Grace was awesome to work with!  She was really naturally talented and hard-working, too.  I love how she was able to add her own flair to create something that really suited the clothes and environment.  It was more like she took on the role of a character and acted it out than just simply posed.  Very cool.  Check out the crazy clothing she wore when we hit the alley downtown!  It was so funny; she turned so many heads when we were setting up and shooting that scene.    One car actually drove past us, then stopped and reversed so the people in it could stare at her.  Lol!  That’s the first time I’ve had that on a shoot.  Hmm.  Perhaps if I dressed like that I’d get it more often.  What do you think—should I borrow that outfit for my next wedding? 

This was a cool wedding.    Erin had a bright red birdcage veil and her wedding dress was really different, too.  Very unique.  And it’s not every wedding you see a Corpse Bride cake topper!  I really love that we get such a diversity of couples for our weddings.  I think they choose us because they want something different and non-traditional and so we end up with lots of people who are not your typical traditional couple as well.  That’s very cool. 

Erin hadn’t asked for any getting ready coverage so we started our day at the wedding ceremony itself, which was at Lethbridge’s Galt Museum. This is one of several weddings we have there this year.  In fact, we have been there for our last three weddings!  I like the Galt; there’s lots of natural light and a great view.  I usually balance the photos so I can show the outside in my images, but this time I let the sunlight really just brighten the whole scene up.  As I said, I like to do things differently at different times, but the main thing is that I like to do whatever works for the particular scene at the time.  There’s no sense doing something just because it worked the last week for the last couple.  You have to be adaptable in this job! 

Erin and Jonathan had chosen Nikka Yuko, Lethbridge’s Japanese Gardens, for their portraits, so we stayed there the whole time for the portraits. Even though it was the tail end of winter there was a little bit of green poking through. It had snowed just a couple of days before, and though it rained and sleeted during the reception we had bright daylight for our portrait time. We stayed for the reception, which was also at the Galt and I have quite a few of photos of the two flowergirls, since they were so photogenic and fun.  The reception was really relaxed and informal and towards the end of the evening I asked Erin if there was anything she’d really like photos of before we left and she replied that she wanted lots of photos of the two flowergirls and I said, “Good! That’s what I’ve been doing!”

So thanks to Erin and Jonathan for letting us hang out with them at their wedding!  We wish them all the best and here are some of their wedding images.

Kara and Jay got married at Pine Lake, Alberta, which is roughly halfway between Calgary and Edmonton.  It’s a really beautiful and peaceful place.  Kara was a bridesmaid at her sister Kristi’s wedding last year and Kara was the one who spotted our website in the first place and recommended us to her sister.  We also saw some familiar faces at Brock and Janna’s wedding earlier this year and we did a family session for them as well.  So it was great to see them all again!  :)

Kara was an easy-going and gorgeous bride and Jay has been easy to get along with each time I’ve met him and their wedding day was no exception.  Not a lot of guys can be that laid back and confident on their wedding day.  He is the most relaxed drummer I’ve ever met.  ;)

Kara’s bridesmaids were her beautiful sisters and Jay’s daughter, who is a bit shy but a really sweet person.  You can really see the family resemblance between Kara and her sisters in that shot of them in front of the green wall.  Oh, and they do all have their dresses on in that shot.  ;)

Jay’s groomsmen were a tough-looking bunch, but they were really cool guys and I had a lot of fun taking photos of them.  I guess I scared them into behaving.  ;)

They had a tree-planting ceremony instead of the usual unity candle lighting or sand-pouring ceremony, which was unique for us; we’ve never seen anyone do that before.  One thing that stood out to me that day, apart from the people, was the bright colours.  I’m such a fan of colour and it was everywhere!  Their cabins had these awesome colourful walls and their reception room did as well.  Their decorations were nice and bright and the whole event stands out to me as just having this fresh feeling to it.  

They had a band later on in the evening at the reception, though unfortunately we had to leave before they started, but the reception speeches were lit by the lights for the band.  You can see the bass player setting them up in the photos below.  Then you can see the resulting effect on the MC in the next shot, who looks like he’s possessed by something from an 80s music video.  ;)  Of course, we are no slaves to bad lighting and I took that shot to show how things were just for fun before I settled on a more flattering version of the lighting for most of the rest of the night.  :)

There was also a fire-spinning performance by the water under a full moon by one of the guests, sparklers on the beach and lots of happy tears during the night.  We loved our time with Jay and Kara and wish them all the best in their marriage.  Enjoy the pics.

Corrick and Katherine were married in Waterton on a beautiful Alberta day.  It was amazing how well the weather and other things worked out for us; we had breeze when we wanted it and no breeze when it would have been a problem.  

This was a sort of destination wedding.  :)  That is, it was a destination wedding for many of the guests, who flew in from England and New Zealand to be with Corrick and Katherine.  Sometimes it seemed like Sherri was the only person with a regular Canadian accent!  

Corrick and Katherine were both wonderful people, happy and not afraid to express their feelings.  We have lots of photos of them with their emotions written clearly on their faces and there were tears from both of them before the end of the day.  When I was taking photos of Corrick right after he was ready I asked to do one of him looking serious.  ”Don’t smile”, I said.  ”Just look at me with a relaxed, neutral expression”.  Corrick looked up and grinned.  ”Umm, can you try for a more serious expression?  Not smiling this time.”  Corrick looked down and composed himself.  Then he looked up at me and you will see his not-smiling, serious expression in the images below.  ;)

They had awesome wedding rings, too!  The rings were custom made for them by the same company that made the actual rings for The Lord of the Rings movies in New Zealand.  There were many other cool things throughout the day that reflected their unique personalities. 

The atmosphere of the day was full of celebration and the reception was one of the less formal ones we’ve been to, in the sense that it felt as though everyone in the whole room was involved and not just sitting and listening from a distance.  

Sherri and I wish the happy couple all the best and I’m hoping that now that Corrick is living closer to Katherine’s parents, Bert will one day perfect his English accent.

A big congrats to Mark and Tanya who had their wedding here in Lethbridge recently. No, I’m not saying when, because then everyone will know how behind I am on updating the blog! Anyhow, they were a really easy-going couple who were very flexible and happy all day. Normally people get a bit frazzled by the end of a wedding—weddings are long days, after all, and pretty intense—but Mark and Tanya were both all smiles the whole time we were there.

They were married at the Lethbridge University ballrooms and the reception was also there later that evening. We started out doing their portraits before the ceremony down around Fort Whoop-Up at Indian Battle Park near the river bottom and then we borrowed them again for a few more quick portraits during the reception as well. It was a beautiful day, with lots of sun—and none of these weird tropical storms we’ve been having lately!

The ballrooms were a fun place for the ceremony and reception, though with black upper walls and ceilings it’s tricky for lighting. Just as well I like challenges. I’d hate to see photos by an amateur in that location!  An uncle of the bride did the ceremony and it was a humourous and personal service with a lot of funny anecdotes from the childhoods of both the bride and groom.

I’m only posting a few photos this week, because I thought it would be cool to just give a taste and create a bit of anticipation.

Congratulations to Panos and Donell! They were married here in Lethbridge at the Ukrainian Orthodox church and Sherri and I were honoured to be their photographers for the day.

Panos, whose name is apparently pronounced to sound similar to Bono—though I think I kept messing it up on the day—and Donell are a great couple who were so easy to work with. They were relaxed and fun and generous. We started out at Reflections hair salon near the old fire hall, which is currently my favourite hair salon to take photos in. It has big windows that let in lots of bright sunlight, which is more flattering than artificial lighting, and the booths where you get your hair done are fairly close together. You always capture more fun moments when the bride and bridesmaids can talk with each other without yelling across the room. There’s a tip if you’re taking notes.

Then I left Sherri with the girls and headed out to take photos of Panos and the groomsmen. As soon as I arrived Panos offered me something to drink and gave me a set of cufflinks. It felt more like I’d popped over for lunch than was working. I surprised the guys by choosing to take their photos in the basement—”Oh, you won’t want to take photos down there”, they said—ha! And then I headed off for more photos of the girls. Donell was going over her vows and laughing with her bridesmaids, which makes it easy to get fun shots!

I’ll say one thing about traditional Greek Orthodox ceremonies: they give you plenty of time to get a bunch of different and interesting images! I actually enjoyed it, even though it was a long ceremony. It was really hot that day, but I like the heat, too.

The reception was catered by Luigis on the north side and the food was excellent. The dessert was the best I have ever had at a wedding so far. I never usually eat sweet stuff and I ate the whole thing. The DJ was Shad, from Sound Barrier Entertainment, and he did a great job of keeping the music and lighting rolling. I gave him a bunch of photos from the wedding day and he was able to project them onto a screen right then and there. The night finished for us with everyone doing Greek dancing, which is super fun to take photos of!

I’ve posted some photos and also a short slideshow at the top. Click on the play button and give it some time to load—it’s short but big.