Big car accident on Wednesday

On the scene of the accident at Kennedy and Denison around 11am

I went to eat dim sum with my friend Audrey on Wednesday and it was actually at the corner of Kennedy and Denison. The intersection was blocked so we had to take a detour in order to get into the plaza where our restaurant was. I didn't realize that it was such a huge accident and Wilson was actually on scene with his crew helping to remove a guy from his car. It was pretty serious. Check out the images taken by the chief:

Car swerved on the road and then wrapped around a tree. Wife got out easily. Husband's hand and leg were trapped. His head was sliced open, brain exposed...

The chopper arrives and everyone helps lift him out of the car after they take it apart, section by section (there's Wilson holding the IV bag hehe)

Looks like a convertible now.

oooo, jose in singapore

Did I post about Jose before? I swear I did when he revamped his site but I can't find it and maybe I just did it in my head or in a dream haha

Jose Villa is one of my favourite photographers. He still shoot in film -- crazy man. I have a folder on my hard drive of just his images so I can look at em and be inspired. He just posted a wedding from Singapore and it looks so phenomenal. I don't get how all of his images look like he shot on an overcast day each time. The lighting is so even. I know he pushes his film a stop so that it get it slightly overexposed but I don't think that's what it is... he's just a genius. Let's leave it at that.

Wonder what kind of images I'm going to pump out when I go on my trip in a week...

This is how we roll

Yah, we do this at weddings too when no one's looking.

Wilson's Fire

Wah! Check out the crazy fire Wilson and his crew put out on Monday morning (obviously whoever took the photo needs to update their time/date settings)!! They got the call at 2am and fought it until the morning crew came to relieve them (7am or so). What's crazier is that house is literally a 10 second drive from the Walnut. Down the street and around the corner. Wilson was telling me how incredibly frustrating to fight a fire when it's freezing because you start to sweat while you work but when you stop you get really cold and feel gross from your damp/wet clothing. The floor was also icing up so it was hard for him to get good footing sometimes.
We went back to the house later that morning and man, it is done. It's so sad to see how fragile our houses actually are and that they can be destroyed in a blink of an eye it seems. The family got out safely which is what's most important.
p.s. doesn't the photo look like the house smiling?!?! haha creepy.
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Glendon & Chris from Impulse

I had a super time at Solar Crash on Sunday at the El Mocambo. What's great is that I bumped into the dynamic photo duo, Chris and Glendon who are assistants for Syl from Impulse Photo. I always joke with them that Syl scooped them up as assistants before I could and now I can only use them when they're gracious enough to lend me some of their time :P The boys helped me set up the Photobooth Portraits and we were rockin' out images from the night! There were great artists there that night and an awesome time of networking and meeting new like-minded people. I was a part of a series that documented people's response to a simple question:

My approach was to capture personality, quirkiness and fleeting moments that show people's characters (as usual with all my portraits) but also to try and convey my own answer to the question of "What must love be?". At its simplest, I see love in people. In their diversity, in their randomness and spontaneity, in their interactions with others. It sounds corny but I really can see the humanity in everyone when you strip everything away. That's why I love doing the portraits on white! It's just me and a person. They can't hide anywhere ;) Everyone has insecurities, fears, ambitions, gifts, beliefs, cares, desires to be loved and to love. Here's what I came up with:

Only thing I ever could need,
Only one good thing worth trying to be and it's love.
Only gonna get what you give away, so give love.

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Smile! It's a short week :)


ch

Happy Family Day!

Hope you guys can all spend some quality time with loved ones today. Hopefully it's a reminder that our careers, goals, money, and achievements do not define what life is but rather it's relationships, moments and memories that do.

Have an amazing week!

ch

Me and my pops

Setting up the Photobooth at a Chinese restaurant wasn't easy but I pulled it off none the less. Good food and good times! Above is a photo of my dad and I. I seldom stand in front of a camera but now I can make it into my brother and Anna's photobook! hehe

Off to church. Lunch. Shoot some product. Off to Love Comes Down.

Have an awesome Sunday!

ch

Women's College Hospital

I went to Women's College Hospital today for a shoot. I photographed an art therapist there and she was really cool and easy to talk to. I was thinking a lot today about how it is that I should go about getting the most comfortable and natural looking photos of people who I've known for about 2 minutes. I think it has a lot to do with reading body language quickly, looking your subject in the eyes and sincerely taking an interest in who they are and not just for the sake of "getting to know them" for the photo. It's about picking up on their little gestures, quirks and their limits when in front of the camera. All of this... in about 2-5 minutes (for my Wedding Photobooth Portraits it's about 10 seconds).

What still amazes me about my job is the power that a camera has not in terms of how it can freeze time but rather how it gives me this strange permission to do all sorts of stuff that is typically not socially acceptable when it comes to interacting with a stranger. Walk into their office and move stuff around, tell them where and how to stand, tell them what to do (or not do), invade their personal space-- wait, that one sounds bad! haha What I mean by that is to be able to get quite close to a stranger and not have it be creepy. All because I have a camera in my hand. It's all about trust.

I found this video from Bil Zelman and when I watched it and listened to his philosophy behind photography and people I was so amazed at the words I was hearing. He basically puts into words what I could never say but certainly believe in and share. Have a look at the two and a half minute video:

Ah... the new line of books.

In short:

• Sleek and contemporary coffee table photobook. Showcases photos so nicely.
  
• Great craftsmanship and such attention to detail -- aka high quality book that I feel comfortable offering to my clients.
• Cover and slipcase stamping
• 115lb matte paper
• Handmade end sheets, buttery vellum sheets
• IRISbook made it really easy and straight forward to create and ultimately make the book
• Quick and friendly service, fast turn around so I can get these books to clients faster! Plus they're made right here in Canada (Toronto actually).
  

Yah.


ch

Jersey Boys

I photographed Jade Elliot's wedding last November and man, what a fun wedding. Since he and his wife are both actors most of their wedding party were all actors too. If you've ever hung out with actors before you'll know that they're mostly extroverted, highly energetic, loud, talkative and approachable people. It was really really fun seeing Jade perform in Jersey Boys last night! I surprised Wilson with tickets (even though he eventually figured it out. I'm not so suave when it comes to planning surprises and coming up with decoys...) and it was such a blast. It also makes all the difference when you know someone on stage -- it really does!
The singing was just amazing and we also had pretty sweet seats... four rows from the stage and pretty much in the middle. Just out of spitting range ;) hehe
I'd totally recommend it!

ch

Lifestyle: CJ

I spent yesterday afternoon photographing some lifestyle shots for CJ. CJ is um, almost everyone I know's hair stylist. My whole family goes to him, along with one of my best friends and subsequently a handful of her friends goes to him now too including my assistant's ex-girlfriend and my brother's ex-girlfriend haha A lot of 2009 brides are using him too! Ah, the connections of this world... He's really awesome because first, he's great at what he does and second, he doesn't just cut your hair. He makes sure that you're doing things for the right reason and makes suggestions along the way. Consultation and education. Very important thing when I meet with my own clients!
We started off photographing his two loveable doggies and then moved outdoors -- how awesome was the weather yesterday? Couldn't have asked for anything warmer in February :)

Church Re-Branding

I was commissioned to photograph First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto today. The church is going under some rebranding so I'm really happy to be able to be a part of that. I'm a huge believer in creating and maintaining a brand that is reflective of each church's character and also making sure that it's updated and effective. After all, if your church logos, website, bulletin, pamphlets, welcome packages etc. aren't communicating effectively then it's just all wasted space (and resources). It's no different than how any major commercial company goes about branding these days (aside from the million dollar bugets they have). Churches have to realize and embrace a generation of people who actually pay attention to and care about visuals and aesthetics.

Each of us sees more ads alone in one year than people of 50 years ago saw in an entire lifetime. -- DMNews magazine

My tire blew up

My plans were foiled today as I got a flat tire just as I was getting onto the highway. At first I thought maybe my car was shaking a bit from that chunk of snow that builds up between the tire and mud guard but then I thought, "It's too warm today for snow on my car!!" so I decided to exit the highway at the first opportunity I could. Not long after I exited, my car was vibrating like crazy at this point, I tried to find a safe place to park and found a school at the corner of Eglington Ave W and Martin Grove. As I was just about to turn into the school I heard a POP.
"Uh oh... that can't be good."
It even scared the two doggies in the back.

Sure enough I had a flat. Once we got it off and looked at the inside wall we realized it wasn't just flat, it was destroyed!


The whole inner wall of the tire was totally gone -- sliced out most likely from the friction. So we popped on my mini-spare tire and I was on my way ... well, sort of. Obviously I can't drive full speed with the spare tire so it basically took me 2 hours to drive from west Etobicoke to east Markham taking local roads. By that time, it was 6pm so I fed the dogs quickly and was on my way to Wilson's sister's house where I promised them I'd dropped off a cheesecake. I quickly did that, then made my way back to Toronto for a family dinner, again taking local roads and driving no faster than 60km/h.

Augh, how annoying. Well I shouldn't complain because I still have a functioning vehicle. Some people don't even own one so who am I to complain?
I've got a shoot tomorrow and Monday as well... hmmm, I wonder if I'll have to drive Wilson's car? Good time to brush up on my manual driving... ahh!!

ch

So hot yoga is pretty hot...

I was assigned by Fashion to photograph Tula Yoga studio on Bloor West. It's a beautiful space and the people there are super friendly. I arrived as a class was ending and I felt so unhealthy next to the guy who was drinking a banana-spirulina shake which was such a deep green colour... yummy. I went home and promptly made a Greens+ drink myself and felt a bit better :)

So I didn't realize that the room they really wanted photos of was the hot yoga room... er. For those who've never done yoga before, it's a killer. I mean, for me it's soooo boring but when I actually do it once in a blue moon I can tell you that it's tough! I can't imagine doing it in 35C tempretures... well I can now because I had to photograph them doing it! I'm glad I actually wore a t-shirt underneath my hoodie because sometimes I just wear the hoodie and if that were the case today it would have been soooo gross wearing that while shooting.

Check out the studio if you're a West Toronto person.

Yummy book.

alvin + anna, slideshow

Me, breaking down on the job.

I assure my potential clients out there that this is a rare and exceptional case as it was my brother's wedding and he said some nice things to me so I think I deserved a break down while on the job hehehe :)

Well what can I say? My big brother is married and I couldn't be happier for him and his wife Anna. What a wonderful reminder (and honour) it is to be able to photograph a family member or friend's wedding. It really puts me in the "first person" seat and reminds me that at every wedding I'm commissioned to photograph, these are the very same and very real myriad of emotions that people go through.
Friends, family, relationships, moments, emotions, love... life.
I think I've said this a million times before but I don't enjoy photographing all the "wedding" stuff on the wedding day. At its simplest: I like taking pictures of people, their stories and their lives unfolding before me. It's such an amazing thing to be apart of and also document.

Check out the slideshow below for images from the day:

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So I've been working out regularly more frequently since the new year and I think it's really paying off when I work. Running, weights, CrossFit. One might wonder: What the heck does photographing a wedding and working out have to do with each other? Actually, if your photographer is doing their job and working hard it has everything to do with each other! First off, most people don't realize that the photographer is the one person that stays with the bride and groom from the very start to the very end of the day. 16 hour days is pretty typical for me. These are no ordinary 16 hours though. They challenge you mentally, emotionally and physically. Creative problem solving, people skills, managing huge crowds, keeping your clients to their itinerary, engaging yourself emotionally to what's unfolding, carrying studio gear, setting up studio gear, tearing down studio gear, lugging camera equipment, running frantically... are all quite typical. Oh and don't forget that in between all of this I actually have to take a few photos here and there ;)
Throughout Saturday I felt quite good and full of energy til the end (maybe getting that massage on Friday helped too. My masseuse killeddddddddd the nest of knots in my right shoulder area. No pain, no gain). Anyhow, I'm really thankful that I have Wilson to keep me accountable. I see how dedicated he is to his physical conditioning for his job (and for me, and for our future so we can actually keep up with our kids and such) and it makes me want to have the same discipline. If you didn't already know, Wilson's a fireman *woo mama*.
Too bad, he's mine :D

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I've got a decently smooth week ahead and will use it to catch up on all the stuff I've had to push aside prepping for Alvin's wedding. Have a great week everyone.


ch