THE REVEAL!!

On October 4, 2009, we held our 3rd Trash The Dress photo session and I am thrilled to share some of my favourite photos from the day with you!

This event was the same as our first 2 Trash The Dress sessions- FABULOUS!

This time around, I really wanted to photograph in a rural setting.  I was very excited and extremely thankful to find a family in Shakespeare, Ontario, that would allow us to use their natural, rustic farm for the day.  Their property was perfect.

Once again Carrie Tibbs of www.beautymarked.ca was outstanding.  Her hair and makeup ideas matched our models personalities wonderfully and her makeup application was fantastic.  Carrie is continually creative, edgy and fun in her ideas.  Thank you Carrie!

Our brides/models; Karen, Sarah and Kelly were amazing!  I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.  They were relaxed, open to all of our ideas and of course, STUNNING!

Here are a few of my favourites from each of the brides.  Remember, you can click on the image to make it larger, then click on it again to come back to the home page.

KAREN

      SARAH 

KELLY 

It seems early to discuss our 4th Trash The Dress photo session but I want to bring it up now as space is limited to only 3 brides/models.  Details are still being worked out however we do know that it will be held in Spring of 2010 and most likely in Waterloo.  (We have been brainstorming a few different ideas for locations).  Again, we will have the pleasure of working with Carrie Tibbs for all of our makeup needs.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback regarding the photos that you see on my blog, so please feel free to leave a comment!

If you are interested in receiving further information about this upcoming event, please email me at info@beyondthewindow.ca.  I will keep you informed as plans are finalized.  Alternately you can request a Trash The Dress session for just YOU!  An independent session can be held at any time of the year and at a location of your choice.  Please give us a shout if this idea interests you!

Have I ever mentioned that I love Trash The Dress? This is a perfect example of why... Carrie Tibbs did a phenomenal job with makeup on all our models. Kelly was no exception. Carrie played up the drama here with the dark eye makeup and wicked black accessories. To top it off, we had beautiful old windows, rusty railings, and a fire pit to play around with!    Here are some of my favourites...

     I adore this window shot. The colour of the window. The reflection of the sky.  

      The lines of Kelly's posture. The general muddiness. I love it.

 Kelly pulled off intensity like no other. I love the contrast between the femininity of her outfit and the aggression in her face; the bows and the bonds. Love it!

Stay tuned for the final installment of Trash The Dress Fall 2009... Karen's TTD Session!

I'd love your feedback! Get in touch at info@beyondthewindow.ca.

At our TTD session in October, we had 3 phenomenal women interested in a fun and different photo shoot! Between climbing trees, sitting in a fire pit, and laying on a barn floor, we had a great day. Here are some of my favourites from Sarah's session:

Stay tuned for Kelly's and Karen's sessions!

 It's here folks.

Just click on the Sudoku Challenge link to start working your way towards $500 worth of photography services!

Make sure you tell all of your friends and family about the contest to help uncover more pixels.

The contest has been beta tested, and debugged.

It's ready to go.

Will it hold?

Who knows.

We'll find out November 1st, 2009.

I have the distinct honour of providing an official contest teaser for our growing audience!

I'm usually kept in the cave working on business development tasks for Beyond The Window and rarely get to interface with the many people that Jillian has the pleasure of meeting.

Well we've been cooking up a pretty cool contest that involves facebook, friends, colleagues, photos and winning things.  That's way too exciting to keep secret, and way too exciting for me to stay in the cave. ;)

If you are interested in being one of our BETA testers for the technical part of the contest, please send me a line and I'll hook you up. 

Everything else will be made clear November 1, 2009.

Well, we are now in the middle of August so that means that my wedding season is more than half way over.  My season started on April 25 and will carry through until October 24.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the first half of my season.  I have worked with so many wonderful couples and have been surrounded every weekend with comical wedding party members and emotional and proud parents. 

I wanted to share some of my favourite photos from the year so far.  It was difficult for me to choose since I have so many that I'm proud of!

Katie and Tyler - July 11, 2009

The energy in this photo is wonderful.  What a fabulous group of friends.

Leanne and Mike - July 18, 2009

A stunning couple.  A wonderful location. 

A sincere moment.

Dina and Dave - February 21, 2009

A creative shot of the groomsmen to showcase their love of football.  This is one of my favourite groomsmen shots that I have ever taken.

Angie and Marcel - July 25, 2009

Fun!  Light-hearted!  Genuine!  Beautiful!

Darren and Peggy - July 4, 2009

This couple celebrated in a less traditional way with a backyard pool party with great food, great conversation and lots of laughter.

Jen and Jeff - June 18, 2009

A gorgeous day with warm temperatures and a bright blue sky. 

I love the angle of this photo and the lens flare that was created from the sun as well.  Not a bad kiss either :)

Karla and Casey - May 23, 2009

Alone and content.

Mike and Kelly - May 2, 2009

I love using unusual locations for wedding photos.  Kelly and this bright red chair really "pop out" against the grey, stone wall.  I really like the contrast!

Jayna and Andrew - August 1, 2009

When couples hug each other tightly when they kiss, it makes for a very romantic photo.  I love this kiss.

I'm excited about the last 2 months that are ahead of me.  I'm eager to meet new people, photograph in new locations and find new interest in locations I have been to before.  I will write another blog at the beginning of November to highlight some of my other favourite photos from 2009!

I still have some weekends free in November through to April 2010, so please contact me if you are interested in meeting!

One of the questions that I am frequently asked is, "Where can we have our pictures taken?"  I am asked this for family portraits, engagement sessions and for weddings.  I certainly suggest some of the beautiful parks within Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding area however recently, I am encouraging customers to think outside of the box in regards to a photo location.  This blog entry will be "My First Escape", to showcase some of the less traditional locations that I think would work wonderfully for a variety of photo sessions.

I have used a hat to illustrate the "man" and a teacup and saucer to illustrate the "woman".  Try to image they are actually people!

Favourite Pastimes and Hobbies

Incorporating your favourite pastime or hobby in your photos is a great idea.  The surroundings, for example, a baseball diamond, will make a creative background for your session.  Other locations to consider are as follows:

• your kitchen or a grocery store - perhaps you love to cook
• your favourite walking trail - perhaps you love spending time outdoors
• in your garage, in your basement or on a stage, surrounded by your instruments - your passion for music will certainly be evident in an environment such as this
• a book store or your local library - to highlight you love of literature
• at your home surrounded by board games, card games and junk food - perhaps you enjoy playing board games with your friends and family

Escape from the traditional photo location box and consider a location with lots of personality and spirit!  Check back soon for my next entry, "My Second Escape", where new ideas and photos will be posted to encourage you!

I love Sundays. I love sunshine. I love being outside. I love good food, good friends, and good laughs. I love live music. Yesterday I stumbled across Victoria Park on one of the best days to go, in my opinion. The KW Multicultural Society hosted it's Multiculural Festival. 

These kids made me so happy... imagine this scene with the sounds of a drum circle and laughter in the background. Mmm summer days in Victoria Park.

 Here are some more of my favourites...

I am fascinated by Native Canadian culture, and by drums. On the island at Vic Park I got to observe a tranditional chant and dance ceremony, performed by a group of Metis people. There was a drum circle in the middle of the group that held the beat for the dancing happening in the outer circle. I couldn't get close enough to get a decent shot of the drums, but here are a couple of the dancers.

I love this photo... I love the costumes, the colours, and the green. I love that an older woman and a younger man are side by side, holding hands as they dance around together. It makes me wonder what their stories are... if they know each other, if they don't, if they do this often together, if this is the first (maybe last?) dance. I also think there is something really beautiful and good about intergenerational relationships, and this photo reminds me of the joy that can bring.

I find this photo so intriguing... this man is so mysterious in all of his traditional clothing, and with such a serious look on his face. There is so much excitement and expression happening in the others in the photo, yet this man carries such a serious look. I think this photo would have been really interesting from different perspectives... if you could see more of his face and read more of his expression, that might give more insight into the mood. I like this photo because my eyes always wander to the older woman on the left or the girl in the background, but no matter where they wander they always return back to this mysterious man's face.

I love mail. Have something to say after what you've read or seen here?

Throw me an email at info@beyondthewindow.ca