PSA: I've got a great NEW blog!

Several months ago I launched my brand new blog ( http://blog.jonmarkphoto.com ). This blog is on a platform that is easier and faster to use, and integrates with my various services far easier than this site ( my old blog )
I've found that through old links posted throughout Facebook, my old blog is still receiving loads of visitors. I would love to encourage you to check out my new blog and contact me through there! Here's a quick preview:

I look forward to seeing you at the new site!
JM 

stephen & dania's engagement at mt. doug and durance lake, victoria bc

My e-session with stephen & dania was supposed to happen in early spring, but because of some lousy weather we moved the whole thing back, and boy am I glad we did! Though honestly, stephen and dania were probably more relieved, since right from the get go they knew they wanted to go out on their favourite log at durance lake.

Our evening started off at the peak of Mt. Doug, Stephen & Dania showed me their favourite spot there too, a second peak I was unaware of that had a beautiful, lone arbutus tree crowning it ( I love it when clients help me discover new places around town! After some more time on the mountain with a pogo stick, we hopped in the cars and booked it over to Durance to catch the sunset. Stephen's buddy was supplying the canoe, and he even agreed to go swimming in the freezing water at the end of our session to be my VAL ( Voice Activated Light stand )... he was essentially swimming with one arm and with the other holding my flash just above the surface of the water so we could light up S&D. This session has a super fun feel to it, and for some reason, I love how S&D look in black and white. Maybe it was their retro-y outfits, or maybe just their skin tones. In any case, I love this session, have a look!

 

Free-lensing while on a moving canoe is tough! I love how you can see the diagonal slice of depth of field move through the water

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ro & tiff's engagement in victoria & sidney bc

Every so often, I'm rewarded with the honour of being asked by friends if I'll photograph their wedding. When I started shooting weddings nearly 5 years ago, it was my brother Justin and his now wife Rebecca that first took a leap of faith in my abilities to shoot their wedding ( in exchange for a steak dinner ) and since then I've had the pleasure of working with numerous friends to capture their big day.

One of the things I try and do with all of my clients is spending some quality time with them to get to know them, how they interact with each other, and hopefully making them more at ease with me. It's a privilege to get to know so many people and so many quirky details about each unique relationship, and my hope is to always bring out those quirks in their images when I shoot for them. Roman & Tiffany have been friends of mine and Mandy's for several years now, and I've also had the privilege of doing music with them at my old church ( For those that don't know, I've been drumming for about ten years ). They are both warm, genuine, wonderful people who love to laugh and are both extremely talented musicians. One of the reasons I'm so excited to share this session is because Ro & Tiff both said before our session that they "don't photograph well" and often don't like pictures of themselves; As I look through these images taken at Beacon Hill Park and the Pier in Sidney ( a stones throw from where I married Mandy 2 years ago this August ), I can't help but feel that we have disspelled this unphotogenic-ness as nothing but a myth of the past, I'm so happy with how their session turned out and can't wait for their big day this June!

Jammin' on top of Roman's pimpin' van ( our plush limo for the evening! So awesome )

Amazing how different the light becomes when you simply turn around. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening

Two out of focus shots in one blog post! And I love them both!

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shawnel & scott's engagement at jericho beach, vancouver

Once in a while you come across someone that has an infectious smile, a smile that is is always showing and full of joy. Shawnel is one of those people, and scott definitely brings it out in her. While their wedding is happening in Victoria this summer the day before my birthday, they currently live in Vancouver, so a few weeks ago I made the trek over to spend some time with them and their dog. Gloomy weather couldn't dampen these two, they're born fun makers; whether it was climbing trees, wrestling with each other, or swinging their dog around on a stick, we were all smiles for the evening spent at Jericho beach, just minutes from the main UBC campus. They even brought along wine for the party, one of their favourite reds ( though we later discovered we had no corker so Scott had to improvise using some concrete ). ANd Scott's so chipper he didn't even bat an eye when I was taking photos of them while sitting up a tree and my wireless transmitter fell of my camera and smacked him in the face ( Thanks for the understanding buddy! ) I can say with certainty that their wedding this August is going to be an absolute blast, and a fun way to spend the day before my birthday. Cheers you two!

 

A panorama of the beautiful view of downtown Vancouver from the beach...

 Scott's scientific method for opening a wine bottle without a corker can be seen below
 

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kristin & tam's engagement at hatley castle in victoria

When I first got together with these two several months ago, we chatted and chatted and chatted, and before I knew it, it had been over 2 1/2 hours! Suffice to say, Kristin & Tam are a couple of pretty cool, nice, fun people who are a pleasure to be around, and I can't wait for their wedding in just a few weeks time! During that first get together, Tam mentioned his special baby, an older Volkswagon that he's done up, and I made sure we were going to include it in some of the photos in their e-session. We spent most of that afternoon in the lush gardens of Hatley Castle, and finished off the night with some flash and light painting photography at Caddy Bay beach, home of the famous Casborosaurus ( which we made sure to include in the pics! ). By the end of the night, Kristin was just pumped, "That was so fun! Can we do it again tomorrow?". Yeah it was, I love my job!

 Above: a 54 image "Brenizer Method" of Kristin and Tam in front of the historic castle.

Above: Another freelensing shot with my 70-200, it's interesting how the light leak gives the photo a "retro" cast.

 
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alison & brendan's engagement in downtown victoria

It's so nice when the weather cooperates in April, and despite it being chilly, we couldn't have asked for a better evening for Alison & Brendan's engagement in downtown Victoria. Current Vancouverites, Alison loves Victoria and knew they wanted to make the trip over on a weekend for their session. Alison's dad was kind enough to put together a beautiful wooden ampersand for their wedding day and it made for an awesome prop during the engagement session ( previously I never knew what this funny little symbol was called despite my daily use of it! ) and fit in beautifully when you consider that Alison is a librarian. Come this summer I'll be making the trip to Van for their wedding on a retired BC ferry turned event venue, so pumped for that! Check out their e session below. Thanks to Nick Van Iersel for his help on this shoot!

luke and krystina's engagement at pacheena bay

What would you do if you were getting married, and the guy who'd you'd normally have shoot your photos also happens to be one of your best friends, and consequently, one of your groomsmen? If you're Luke, you ask your photographer friend if he knows a guy, and that guy happened to be me. Yes, Luke is good friends with my buddy and regular partner in crime Shane, and after meeting with Luke and Krystina I could see why Luke and Shane were such good buddies. Like Shane, Luke keeps it real, tells it how it is, knows what he likes, but is still soft spoken in doing so. And Krystina is that sweet touch to Luke, caring and enthusiastic, and when they're together, it's pretty obvious they're two peas in a pod.

When we got together at their house, I noticed a large picture on the wall of a beach, what appeared to be one from the west coast. I asked them about it and they were happy to share their love for Pacheena Bay on the west coast of the island. It was obvious right from the get go that we needed to go their for their photos, and although it nearly didn't happen, the weather co-operated and we made the three hour journey to this wonderful, quiet beach a few Saturdays ago.

I had never tried freelensing with my 70-200 before, it's tough! I had one image I liked with it though...

Their special log that has their names engraved on it...