Learning as I go!

I tried to stay out as long as I could last night. I even brought my own chair! I prepared a little better for the expected cold temperatures by bundling up like like I was about to march to the north pole. I thought it would be enough. 

Nope. It wasn't.

I'm not sure if it was when I couldn't feel my feet or when I discovered I was covered in frost that made me want to pack it in. 

I went back to Peggy's Cove again. I have big plans in the new year to get further out of the city for better star trails. You can really notice the light pollution from Halifax and as you can also see, Peggy's is a little too close to the airport. 

In the photo below, you can see how the clouds affected the quality of the star trails. Check out the bottom right corer. This was the Orion constellation. The really bright star coming up behind the rock is the Sirius star. I painted the rocks in the foreground with a flash light! 

Continuing With Star Trails

Star trail photography seems to have slapped me in the face! It combines everything I love about photography and yet I've only just begun! Planning for this type of shoot is very important. You have to choose your composition carefully because once you start you could be locked in for hours. Nothing should move. This photo below was taken last night. It combines twenty seven different exposures and spans one hour and 45 minutes. I used google sky maps on my cell phone to help me locate the north star during daylight. Locating the north star is important to help give me an idea of what the end star trail will look like. Because the earth is rotating on its axis, the north star will stay in the same place while all the other stars will look like they are rotating around it.  

The only thing I would do differently is dress warmer and bring a chair! Hope you enjoy.

Kenzie + Alex: Halifax Wedding

Saturday was an amazing day to get married, especially on the Tall Ship Silva. Kenzie and Alex had such a perfect wedding with great weather, friends, family, short speeches...oh did I say that out loud? The staff on the Silva were amazing, the food was even better.

I was so happy to be a part of their day. Kenzie's family has an amazing history with the Dingle Park area so naturally we headed there for photos before heading to the ship. With three different wedding parties all trying to get to the Dingle, we did a little juggling with our time but in the end it all worked out. 

There was a moment during the photos that I think Kenzie will remember forever when we stopped in front of the house her grandfather was born in and asked the kind person living there if we could take a photo in front of the house. Thank you to that wonderful person who truly made Kenzie's day!!! (Sorry Kenzie, I'm holding that one back!)

Hope you two enjoy these photos. Thanks again Kenzie and Alex, I hope your wedding was everything you wanted it to be!

 

 

James and Julie - Halifax Engagement Session

Last weekend we managed to avoid the weather for James and Julie's engagement session in downtown Halifax. Rain delayed our first planned shoot and because they were moving out west the very next day, we only had one shot at making this happen.

Their wedding will be taking place next year at White Point Beach and we're really looking forward to getting back there. It's such a beautiful spot for a wedding! We had a great evening making this shoot happen. Thanks James and Julie for being very easy to get along with and for trusting us with your big day. All the best and see you next year!

Justin and Kim - A Hatfield Farm Wedding

I knew when I met these two last week that they were very easy going. But you never truly know how people react until it rains on their wedding day! Yesterday was one of those days where the weather changed every five minutes! I have to hand it to Justin and Kim who told me that their wedding was all about spending time with family and nothing else mattered. They proved it by not letting the weather dampen their spirits! So for them, I've posted these shots, because they deserve it. We put Kim through the paces, but she took it out on Justin in the end! Thank God. Thanks to Hatfield Farms for making it a great day all around. Enjoy

Justin and Kim - Engagement

We are really looking forward to Justin and Kim's wedding this weekend at Hatfield Farms! My wife and I met up with them yesterday, met them for the first time, and did a quick engagement shoot. They just arrived from Ottawa on tuesday and were willing to meet us first thing in the morning. Awesome! We took a run through the wedding location together this morning. We're excited and we know it's going to be a great wedding! Thanks Kim! Thanks Justin!

Paddy and Holly

We spent yesterday evening with Paddy and Holly, shooting their engagement session in Fisherman's Cove and Rainbow Haven. The sky was unbelievable! It was one of those nights where I just couldn't stop taking photos. Paddy and Holly are getting married next summer in Fogo, NL and we are so excited to join them! I think we could be more excited about their wedding than they are!

Warning: They've booked the photo booth. Crazy photos of a guy named Curtis will follow their wedding.

These are some of my favorites from the shoot.

Bonnie and Ryan

What a great day we had with Bonnie and Ryan yesterday. Although it rained for most of the day nothing was going to get in their way of having a good time! A great group of friends were backing these two up and our good friends at the Grafton Lounge came through for us in a pinch. They let us use their location for a few hours to get some great photos. These are a small selection out of many. Hope you enjoy!