I had my first gig as a wedding photographer yesterday and I must say I am pleased.  It started with meeting the bride at noon to take pictures of her and the ladies in the wedding party getting ready.  Then back to the church for the ceremony, followed by some portraits by the dome of the old General Hospital, then out to Renforth for some more portraits along the wharf and the playground, and finishing off at the reception hall for dinner, speeches, and the dance.  It all made for a very long day but I actually enjoyed it all.  I’ve had little time to look at the pictures, but from what I’ve had the chance to see the results are pretty good.  It will take many hours of editing the 750+ pictures to adjust tones and small things but will all be worth it.

I don’t think I could have asked for a nicer family (two families actually the bride and grooms) to work for.  I had feared that my first wedding would be a horror story like many that I had read about, but everyone was great.  On time, polite, and thankful.  Which allowed me to be relaxed and even more thankful to them.  I’ll be posting some shots next week once they are touched up and the bride has seen them.  I’m under strict orders that no one gets to see them before her.  Which I think is only fair.  :o)

I’ve been doing a good amount of shooting as of late.  Went to Moncton to see the Boston Bruins play the New York Islanders in a pre-season game with a bunch of friends for my birthday.  We were in the upper bowl at center ice which still was pretty good to see everything.  I got use use my 80-200 f2.8 lens for sports for the first time.  I bought it do hockey shots (amongst other things) and I must say I’m very happy.  Still getting used to the extra weight and keeping it steady but again, very happy with the results.  I’ve been meaning to add captions to the shots, but for now they’ll go without.  Bruins sadly lost 2-1 in overtime, but it was still a lot of fun.

Earlier tonight I went to see some fireworks with some friends.  They were supposed to be last night because 4 cruise ships were in.  However the Queen Mary 2 was delayed due to weather until today so the fireworks were put off.  Which worked well because I had the evening off to go!  They were not as good as the last set the city had but were still enjoyable.  My tripod had a bit of a malfunction near the end so the grand finale display didn’t get recorded like I would have liked.  :o(  Oh well, next time.

In other news I got the green light for my studio space, so I’m in the grand debate of what gear to buy and how much to spend… which is a bit stressful.  But I’ll manage.  Also have my first wedding next weekend… getting nervous about that but pretty much all of the details are hammered out now.  After that I want to get working in the studio so anyone looking for sittings please let me know.  Pictures always make great Christmas gifts for family.  :o)  (Click pictures to see full albums.)

Finally got the pictures from the fireworks they had last month for the 50th Anniversary of the Saint John Port Authority.  This was my first attempt at shooting fireworks (aside from some set off at Wickham) and I think I am fairly happy with them.  Between tips from Bojan and Noel it wasn’t too hard to figure out.  Think next time I’d go further down the red path towards the Brunswicker, would have liked to be a bit further away.  All in all I’m happy and the fireworks were the best ones I’ve ever seen in Saint John.  So if you missed them hopefully these will give you some idea of how good they were.  (Click the picture to see the full album.)

Well it has been more than a month since I posted… wow I suck.  I managed to get another album up, oddly the newest shots I’ve taken.  Some pictures from Chris’ Birthday BBQ over the weekend.  Much fun was had as distant friends were able to make it home.  It was really great to have not only Mike and Cole home, but Jared, Vicki, and Sylas at the same time.  It think it’s probably been 4 - 5 years since that has happened… too long.  Makes me realize how much I miss them.  I took far too many pictures of the little people that were there and not enough of everyone else…  sorry to anyone that isn’t in any pics, but your just not as cute as Sylas and Robert.  ;o)

I’m attempting to patiently wait about maybe having some space to set up a studio.  Having such space would make me very happy.  I got the call on the 28th from NBCC asking if I was still coming (it was registration day) and I must say it made me very sad.  Perhaps not going is still going to work out, but there was something about going to school I really wanted… maybe even needed.  To be surrounded by a creative atmosphere of learning was a very exciting thought.  Having space to set up lights and experiment on my own time will help fill that gap, but I think I still need to find a creative group.  I’m going to look into the Fundy Camera Club, I wasn’t a fan of the idea when I first got into photography but have heard the people are very nice.  It would give me the creative group I think I need if only once a month.  With Bojan (the journalist who taught me photography) having just moved I feel like I lost a resource, even if I didn’t call upon him often.  Perhaps I shall try again to tag along with a few other Pros to learn the trade.

Anywho, I still have trips to Hopewell Rocks, King’s Landing, Wickham, Fireworks, and the Highland Games to post… man I am really behind…  Oh well gives me something to do when not shooting or playing Warhammer 40k, which I’ve done a fair bit of as of late.

Okay, I’ve got one of the albums up.  July 19th I went to check out the Buskers on the Boardwalk with a few friends. I think we got to see all the acts but 1 (two since we talked to Bojan during the Monsters of Schlock).  I had a really good time and got some decent shots with my new 80 - 200mm f2.8 L lens.  This was the first time I got to use it and was happy with the results.  Also realized how truly heavy it is (just under 3lbs, plus the weight of the camera).  The weight actually prompted me to buy a monopod the next week.  Hope you enjoy the shots.

BTW, I managed to remember the other shots I need to post.  It was my weekend in Wickham with Jess and Hil for Hil’s Nanny’s 75th B-day!  Good fun, still have to get half those pics off Hil’s laptop.

I’ve discovered a few things this weekend.

1.  I am WAY behind on posting and getting various projects up.  I have the following shoots to post and talk about that will hopefully be up by the end of the week.  UNBSJ International Co-Op Student shoot, a performance from Alpine Idol, Buskers on the Boardwalk, the Highland Games from Fredericton, and possibly something else I can’t think of!  So yeah… way behind.  And I have a few trips over the next couple of weeks that will add more to get posted.

2.  Summer and the nice weather isn’t going to last forever.  My plans to do some outdoor shoots (ie: fairy tales, portraits, Bobert baby pics) has to get done sooner rather than later.  I hope to schedule a few of these things soon and weather permitting get them done!  I really need to do some work with off camera flash like the Noir pictures.  Also I’d like to get some fresh faces to shoot with too… I know there are some actor type folks out there in addition to picture happy peeps that must read this once in a while via facebook.  So don’t be shy and help a brother out!  Let me know you’d want to help out with a shoot.  I’m open to any ideas beyond the ones I have too.  Even if your just looking for a few headshot or something.

3.  The internet kinda hates photographers.  While trying to put some pics up the other day I noticed how truly horrid they looked once uploaded compared to on my monitor.  Colours got washed out and became very grey, making me a sad boy.  I managed to use a few different settings and “think” I fixed the issue… but it does have me wondering what a lot of my stuff must look like on other monitors?

It seems as though the photography thing is going well.  I did a shoot for UNBSJ earlier in the week.  They were looking for some pictures of the International Co-op students to use in a handbook that is nearly complete.  Guess they may also use some of the pictures in other projects down the road.  Last met with clients about doing a Wedding Thanksgiving weekend, so I have that to look forward to.  Weddings are a hard thing to get in your portfolio I think, so this will be a good start.  Shooting in the Cathedral and then out in the valley for the reception should give some great pictures.  Also, I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that Rene Dupree will head back this way in August.

 In other exciting news I broke down and bought a new lens.  A Canon L 80-200mm f2.8.  In normal terms it is a zoom lens that allows for a lot of light to come in while maintaining a fast shutter speed.  So it will be great for sports (woot for hockey season soon) as well as for portraits as it has a good shallow depth of field.  It is an older model lens and it weights a ton, but it built like a tank!  I really can not wait for it to arrive!  Expect test pictures to get posted as soon as I get it!

Had a pretty good and active weekend.  Went rollerblading Friday night, then to the community fair that was in town for a few days.  It is smaller than the Exhibition that comes each year but somehow seems to draw a better crowd.  The rides / people and such all seem cleaner and friendlier.  We had a good time watching Marilyn on the some of the rides, sadly I was foolish and left my camera in the car.  When we were done I went up Soulle Street (not sure if that is spelt right) to take some pictures from a parking lot.  The results were kind of neat so I wanted to share.  Let me know what you think!

Saturday was filled with not much at all.  Worked an extra shift due to Free RPG day, which went pretty well.  Then just relaxed and watched some TV with Hil while working on a scalemail project I’m trying to finish up… it’s late sadly.

Sunday I went to Moncton with friends.  I had a really good time.  Cole made a yummy picnic lunch for us and it was a beautiful day in Moncton (unlike Saint John).  We just hung out chatted and went to Chapters.  Time passed too quickly and Mike had to work.  Made me realize I miss having them around… and made me realize I miss Jared and Vicki too.  Going to try to get down for Canada Day Weekend I think.  Cole is looking great!  (as is Mike but he always does  ;o)  I think we shall try to plan more trips to Moncton or perhaps a camping trip with them.  Looks like I won’t be going to school this year so I’ll need some plans to fill my time.  The thought of not going is rather depressing… but I’m not going to let it stop me.  I’m going to push on and learn on my own as many professionals have.  I might have something cool in that area in the future but don’t want to mention it in case it goes no where, but I am going to look at finding some space to set up a studio so I can have space to work in to try various creative shoots and such that I simply can not do in my living room. 

Well I’m exhausted from hockey so I’m going to bed!

The NHL entry draft continued today and I’m proud to mention that one of our very own Sea Dogs got drafted.

Yann Sauvé was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2nd Round (41st overall).  The 18 year old defenseman is the highest NHL draftee to come from the Saint John Sea Dogs.  “I’m very happy to have been drafted by Vancouver,” said Sauvé after being selected. “It’s definitely great to have been taken by a Canadian team, and I’m thrilled to be a part of the Canucks organization.”

Sauvé joins other Sea Dogs team mates who have been drafted in previous years.  Christopher DiDominico was drafted in the 6th round (164th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs and team captain Alex Grant was drafted in the 4th round (118th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 entry draft.

I have seen any word on if Robert Mayer, who was ranked 14th amongst North American Goalies by the NHLs central scouting agency, has been drafted this year or not.

I ended up going to Florenceville June 11th to shoot for Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling again.  Jess was good enough to take me (many thanks).  This shoot was a bit different as there were two other photographers from local papers.  Instead of having us all blocking peoples view Emile asked us to stay back, which I happily did.  Just make the angles of shooting a big harder, same with light, because of that there is more grain in many shots.  I used the flash off and on which made for some good shots.  All in all the guy who hired me was happy and I think I’ll contact me again in August when AGPW makes another tour.  Maybe this time I’ll be able to cover more dates and get some more friends to the Saint John show at least.  Both shows were great fun!  Feel free to check out the second album of shots and leave comments.  Oh and on the way home I took some strange / artsy shots with light and long shutter speeds.  I’ll post a few of the more interesting ones this week.  I’ll also add captions to the wrestling pictures later!

 EDIT:  Captions have now been added.