Category: Photography

Now THIS Is Photography…

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I have the pleasure and honour of knowing two very fine photographers who attend the same church as I do: Dave and Quin Cheung, who together make up DQ Studios. I’m constantly impressed by their skills as photographers (and their humility), but it’s rare that I get a chance to see a complete set of their work for a client. They published a photo slideshow of a recent shoot they did of a wedding in Argentina, and the results are beautiful. Their work definitely gives me something to strive for!

People Like Us Who Don’t Yet Have Children Take Pictures Like This Of Their Pets

Japan 2008: Japan Day 13 & 14

It was almost time to go home by the time we were on day 13 in Japan, so we wanted to make this a special day by going to an aquarium we had read was world-class. We spent a bit of time in the morning walking around the area, which included an animal petting zoo of sorts. After that, we walked over to the Okinawa Kaigan Quasi-National Park, which didn’t seem like much of a park, but it did have a lighthouse that we climbed to the top of. We spent the afternoon at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, where I enjoyed shooting some amazing sea creatures. This was our last day in Japan…then we went home. Quite the adventure!

A Beautiful Calgary October Sunset

On her way home from work, Ashley’s usually able to see the sunset peeking over the horizon line near our house, and it’s not uncommon for her to mention a beautiful sunset happening shortly after she steps into our house. On October the 22nd, the sunset was absolutely stunning – the deep orange hues, including a strong burnt umber colour, was just breathtaking.

Japan 2008: Day 12

Our twelfth day in Japan had us first going to Ryukyu Mura, a historical village where they re-enact what Okinawan life used to be like in the past (I’m guessing 100 years ago, give or take a few decades). It was a colourful, vibrant place, so I snapped quite a few photos. After that, we went back to our hotel for a couple of hours, and then we started our tattoo adventure – which had us going to a beach, an animal shelter, the tattoo studio, and then Tony Roma’s for dinner. It was a very fun day, but by this point we were definitely missing home and looking forward to returning.

Japan 2008: Day 11

That’s right, I’m still processing Japan photos. 😀 Our eleventh day in Japan was our first full day in Okinawa. Since it wasn’t as warm as we’d hoped, the whole lounging-around-the-pool plan went out the window, so we decided to head out to “American Village”, a local North American-focused shopping area. The full gallery is published on my photo site. As a side note, the little watermark in the bottom right corner is courtesy of Picasa 3 – you just type in the watermark text and it handles the rest upon export. Slick!

Face Off Against Cancer 2008 Photos

On Saturday the 13th of September, 2008, I attended Memory Foundation’s Face-Off Against Cancer, a hockey tournament held in Chestermere that raises money for malignant melanoma research and support for families impacted by it. This year the tournament was held in Crystal Violante’s honour, my friend who passed away from cancer last year. They already had an event photographer, but I decided to bring along my Nikon D300 and Canon HF100 HD video camera and do my best to capture the memories for the people playing on Crystal’s Shooting Stars, the team created in her honour. Ashley set a personal goal of $2000 for fund-raising, and she managed to hit $2935 thanks to great support from our friends and family. Thanks to everyone that donated! The full album can be viewed on my photo site.

Place of Rescue Fundraiser 2008 Photos

On September the 12th, 2008, there was a fundraiser held at RockPointe Church for Place of Rescue, a Cambodian orphanage for victims of AIDS. Country music artist Paul Brandt, joined by his wife Liz, played an acoustic set as part of the evening, which also included silent and live auctions. Over $100,000 was raised for Place of Rescue that evening; the generosity of the people who attended was touching. From a photography point of view, I enjoyed myself, though it was hard to get the pictures I wanted of Paul Brandt while trying to avoid blocking other people’s view. One of the things I need to do more of as a photographer is to take risks to get great shots.