Every year us Torontonians are lucky enough to host one of the biggest Caribbean celebrations in the World, that’s right it’s Caribana time again! Dave and I are super stoked to be lucky enough to be a part of it all as the official Photographers for the brand new Carnival Nationz Website !! Carnival Nationz is one of the many Masquerade Bands of Caribana. What exactly is Caribana you ask? Caribana is Canada’s embracement of its Caribbean community, the world famous festival attracts over 1 million tourists and spectators globally to the Greater Toronto Area each year. It has become one of the largest annual events held in Canada. Caribana is a wonderful experience for all the senses. You’ll see beautiful people dressed in absolutely amazing elaborate costumes. These colourful costumes truly are incredible works of art and can reach heights of 15 feet in the air!! You’ll have a chance to taste some delicious Caribbean cuisine like mouth watering (and my personal fave) Jamaican Jerk Chicken and maybe even cool down with a Carib or Rum Punch. Listening to the rhythms of the Soca-Calypso vibe you’ll feel your body move as the parade rolls by and you can’t help but "Jump up and wine"

Caribana hits Toronto August 2nd, but before the parade begins a lot of work goes into the party, lets take a look behind the scenes of Carnival Nationz! It all starts with a great group of people. Organizers, web designers,costume makers, highly skilled make-up artists and of course the absolutely beautiful models all do their part to make it come together. Before the show starts the model wait for hair, costume and make-up to arrive. Dave grabbed a shot of the girls patiently waiting before the show with the Ring Flash (I love this one)…ahhh the life of a model…hurry up and wait…

We really were so honoured to be a part of it all as the photographers for the Fashion Show check out the pic he took with the models from the White Team backstage Sooo much goes into the Show not to mention the parades. Each model has make-up artists that carefully creates nothing short of an absolutely stunning work of art for each of them. Little tiny beads and jewels are applied to the models faces, glitter glitter glitter galore and my favourite…feather eyelashes!!!

After make-up, it’s time to get into costume. These costumes are so incredible, they’d give any Las Vegas Showgirl a run for her money!! You’d think that the costumes would be really difficult to wear but they are so well designed and aren’t heavy at all. Stay tuned for more blog posts on all of the Caribana fun…

One lazy afternoon in Southampton, Charlotte and I were contemplating whether we should stroll in to Arman’s Cafe in town for a delicious dessert, hit the beach or chill in front of the Hi Def watching the Discovery Channel. Oh the choices! We struggled for a bit but considering we were just at Arman’s for breakfast we thought it might be wise to take in some Hi Def nature. As we flexed our relaxation muscles we heard a familiar voice…"Helloooo, any one home?" Yes it was Charlotte’s Dad, home for lunch. I asked Larry how work was going and he said this time of year is great for real estate in this beautiful little beach town. It’s so funny, you drive all over town and you see his name every where you turn!!

Charlotte had thought that it might be nice to update Larry’s photo a little to portray his modern image. Charlotte’s Dad was game so I grabbed the 85 mm f1.2 lens as Charlotte chose a few suit jackets for Larry. I’ve gotta say, really love this lens, it’s so perfect for portraits and head shots, it’s really a must for any pro.

It turns out that Larry is a natural model…who knew…and we got the shots we needed in about 10 minutes. We updated his photo on his site for him right away and after lunch Larry headed back to the office. It wasn’t long after that we were getting calls for more shoots The girls in the office wanted theirs done too! Charlotte and I were happy to oblige and made appointments with Christy Sylver and Cara Turcotte. Along with Larry, these two ladies have taken the Southampton Real Estate industry by storm.

I’ve worked along side Realtor’s for many years and actually started my career working for a Real Estate magazine as Art Director. This allowed me to shoot over 200 Realtor head shots! I think I’ve developed a eye for this sorta thing by now and really love the reaction I get when the client sees the end result! In Real Estate your image is everything and if your photo is out of date it just doesn’t look the professional. I’m really glad we had the chance to photograph the three of them. They have great personality and they were a real pleasure to work with! Thanks again guys and see you at the beach!

We love doing corporate photography as well so if you’re a Realtor in the Toronto area contact us if you’d like a shoot!!

Let us introduce you to a totally sweet, totally cool, totally awesome couple…Heather and Jamey! Dave and I are so excited to be shooting Heather and Jamey’s wedding this July. Heather is such a cool girl with a great personality, us girls got along so well right away. Jamey is awesome too and has a great sense of humour, which rocks because Dave and I love to joke around and make our clients laugh.

We met up with the couple outside of the venue for their wedding and chatted about locations for shoots. Dave and I had already scoped out a few hot spots before the couple arrived but we wanted to see if they had any particular ideas in mind. They’re getting married at The Scottish Rite in Hamilton, which is great because there is such a great mix in the way of old world architecture and cool, trendy modern buildings in that area for us to choose from.

This old abandoned building was one of the hot spots on our list. It was this absolutely stunning reddish-orange brick warehouse we found on some lonely side street. Sadly, It will be gone soon for a condo development but for now we thought it was a beautiful backdrop for our engagement shoot.

I love this shot I got below of the two of them. The richness of the bricks just pops off the page and Heather’s hair just looks soooo beautiful with the colours of the bricks.

Heather and Jamey have been in love for 6 years now and this July they will vow the deep love that has blossomed over their years together. You can tell they really are best friends and have a sweet love for each other.

I had to sneak this one in! I shot this one of Dave when he was shooting with the Telephoto Lens. He looks so cute, doesn’t he!

So much thanks goes out to Heather and Jamey, we had a great time doing your engagement shoot! We also have so many more amazing locations we can’t wait to choose from for your wedding day. Stay tuned for more photos of Heather and Jamey after the wedding!

2008 marks the third year in a row for a really really great charity fund raiser that both Dave and I love to support. Imagine a Cure for Leukemia is an event to raise awareness and funds for Leukemia research and one day find a cure. Nara Abrams developed and organizes this event as Co-Chair and had us along to document this important occasion. With the recent loss of Nara’s Mother to Leukemia it was an emotional night for all involved. This being such an serious message we were so honoured for the third year in a row, to be the official Photographers of this cause.

If you would like to see more photos from the event, please log into the events page

We arrived outside of the Capitol Theatre on Yonge st. and saw the crowd of people already milling both inside and out. Arriving so early in the evening, we knew there was going to be a large crowd if so many were already here. Dave and I waited in line for our press passes. Dave commented that he was so happy that every year the event gets bigger and bigger. The word is out there and the awareness is growing. Events like these help so much, more then we know. I pulled out our shot list and Dave was pumped to start right away. That was fine with me, there was just so much to photograph. So many vendors were on board…We had Starbucks Coffee, NYF New York Fries (I resisted…but don’t know how), Dairy Queen, (ok… I couldn’t resist) Cupcakes…Bite Catering had a gorgeous cupcake display set up, pink frosting as far as the eye could see. Did I mention all the wonderful hors d’oeuvres? My goodness…the food was seriously delectable!

We met so many generous, kind people they were all just there to support the cause make a difference. It was getting really busy now as the crowd moved toward the stage of the Capitol Theatre, there were sooo many supporters. We made our way to the front to get some shots of the singer Daphne entertaining us all in the crowd. Daphne has a beautiful voice and captivated us all with her music. It was a really well put together and well organized event. There were so many wonderful prizes like autographed NHL Hockey Jerseys and Spa Getaways, oh and WestJet gave away a round trip for two anywhere in Canada to one lucky winner!! All in all it was a great night, a great event for a great cause and we can’t wait to be part of it all next year.

If you would like to see more photos from the event, please log into the events page

Ahhh the life of a dog, wake up, scratch, eat, go for a walk, play fetch, go for a walk, sleep, repeat…Yes it’s true even dogs need a vacation sometime. And when our dog Fritty does it he does it right, he hits the beaches of Southampton! With wedding photography season well on the way we thought it might be nice to take a little get away before it all begins. There are so many awesome places in Canada to take a vacation, but we always seem to be drawn back to my parents place by the beach…gotta love it When we get there we usually adopt Fritty’s daily routine as well and eat twice as much as we usually do. Fritty and I try to keep all the eating under control with our morning runs on the beach. His legs may only be 3 inches high, but this wiener dog can book it something fierce!! He is always leaving me in the dust but that’s ok, we love enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the shore, the sun on our backs and the feeling of the sand under our feet.

Dave loves the beach just as much as Fritzi and I do so we decided to all head out for an afternoon stroll together. Dave has this game he plays with Fritty, through the stick and… hide…No…no it’s waaay less complicated then it sounds but they both love it. So on one of these many adventures they have together Fritzi decided to out smart Dave and give him a taste of his own medicine… he ran for it with his new found stick. We later found Fritty in a “cave” not too far away with his stick in tow and he wasn’t willing to let go of it any time soon! Check out little Fritty… he has a serious addiction to fetching sticks…I think we may need an intervention.

The three of us set out on a great adventure. Dave, my Dad (Larry) and I. The weather was bone-chilling, drab and not very inviting, but being a total optimist Larry was certain the grey skies were gonna clear up so we started our trek to the beautiful little village of Tobermory. Being the only tourists crazy enough to visit in the chilly weather we had no trouble finding a parking spot or a seat at Craigie’s (Famous Fish and Chips, delicious and highly recommended!!). Both Dave and Dad love to SCUBA and Tobermory is known as the fresh water SCUBA diving capital of the world. It’s a total hot spot for divers because of the scattered shipwrecks that lie in the surrounding waters, especially in Fathom Five National Marine Park. I think the shipwrecks are a little too spooky for my taste, so I prefer to chill on the rock beach in the warmer weather.

We checked out a few of the dive shops and got some sweet pics of The Chi-Cheemaun (Translation "Big Canoe) the passenger and car ferry connects Tobermory to Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron Check out the shot Dave got of the logging truck pulling off the Ferry, it’s crazy! It’ll give you an idea of the size of the boat.

Ok so we were so freezing cold by this point, and don’t get me wrong I love Tobermory. I honestly thought this was it and we were heading back home but my Dad really really insisted we check out the Grotto and now I see why. The Grotto is this beautiful little cave located near the rock beach, the only problem is you need to be Indiana Jones as it’s next to impossible to get to. There are two ways you can get to the Grotto

1. Scale the rock face that goes 90 degrees straight down to the crashing rocky waters (not recommended) or
2. Squeeze through a tiny little cave that nobody knows about, work your way down and pray the bars on your cell phone don’t disappear.

We choose option 2 and made our way down with only a few scratches. Ahhhhhhh at last, The Grotto and it’s alluring beauty. Check out the turquoise water…ohhh soo beautiful, that’s actually light glowing through from the other side. Dave was so mesmerized by this he decided to take a refreshing dip in the near freezing ice pool… Like any dedicated photographer/retired girl guide would be, I’m always prepared with the Canon ready to fire. These photos will serve as proof to everyone back home that Dave was brave enough to laugh in the face the freezing waters of Lake Huron and take this legendary plunge. Ok maybe I’m over-dramatizing it but trust me, it was really freakin cold!!

Ya know… it’s not until you’re in the presence of a sweet little new born baby like Lauren that you remember how amazing life really is. Those tiny little fingers and little toes, you really could get lost staring into her sparkling eyes all day. I felt so lucky to be honoured with the opportunity to photograph the cutest little angel on Earth.

Lauren’s Mommy and Daddy, Melissa and Sean are sooo in love with this darling baby girl. You can just feel the care and emotion they have for her. As we were getting set up for the shoot I had so many ideas running through my mind, making the decision was difficult. I had brought so many props and backdrops for Baby Laurens shoot, Dave joked that it looked like I packed my bags for a weekend getaway (I don’t get it???…I’m not known as a chronic over-packer am I??). As my creative thoughts were spinning, I thought I’d take a look in Lauren’s closet.

I can honestly say that I thought Paris Hilton had a lot of clothes until I met this baby fashionista and the closet was just as pink It turns out the couples friends, family and co-workers were just as excited as Melissa and Sean for the arrival of Little Baby Lauren!! Coincidentally enough, Melissa is a Nurse on the Maternity Ward of the Hospital where they welcomed Baby Lauren into the World!!

I got started on the sets. Dave had this great idea that required fresh flowers so as Dave ran out for those Melissa asked me if I wanted to hold Little Lauren. It was so cool holding a little newborn like that again, it’s been a little while. Lauren held on to my finger so tight it was loosing circulation lol, she’s too cute! Melissa and I chatted about anything she might have in mind. She really wanted us to surprise her so we did our best to give her something really special.

I’ve always wanted to photograph a baby in with little white angel wings sitting on a soft cloud of feathers. Something magical and different from the ordinary. After we finished shooting with a few of the different back drops Dave arrived with the fresh flowers. Dave had this great idea "Baby of the Blossoms" Melissa LOVED it! We were all having a fab time, it was a lot of fun playing around with all of our ideas and being creative!

Daddy Sean soon arrived home, he’s in school to become an Orthodontist so it looks like the little family has the health care industry covered! I was excited to get the family all together and capture some beautiful shots of them. I know in a couple of years they will look back and be happy they took the time to photograph Lauren at this age. Babies grow up sooo fast you don’t want to lose a moment, it really makes you see how important it is to capture the memories before they’re gone.

What is The Hour you say? Who is George Stroumboulopoulos?? Only the coolest Talk Show Host known to the Canadian Television Industry. I know the last name may be a mouth full to most, but Dave, myself and many others affectionately refer to him as STROMBO. He may have a baby face but don’t let that fool ya, George Stroumboulopoulos has worked in TV Land for a while. Starting out his career at MuchMusic as producer and host of The Punk Show, host of The NewMusic, LOUD, MuchNews and recently “The Strombo Show” on 102.1 The Edge.

We have to say we are giant fans of his show “The Hour” and watch religiously. Since Dave and I are from Toronto and just a stones throw from the CBC building where the show tapes, we feel sooo lucky to be so geographically close to Strombo… oops The CBC… that we can just mosie on over for a visit whenever we feel like it. We think The Hour is wonderfully entertaining and brings a smorgosbord of variety to the table ie… humour, personality, celebrities and 2 minute updates on current worldly events (which is good for those of us who have trouble focusing our attention long enough for the 11 o’clock news)…Anyway, as predicted Dave and I had a killer time on set of his show and we’re introduced to some hilarious yet enlightening guests such as Ted Danson (Sam from Cheers) and Doris Roberts (the Mom from Everybody Loves Raymond). With so many highlights to our day it’s difficult to choose.

I know a serious high point for me was when Dave was so awesome at Celebrity Jeopardy that he won himself a Strombo shirt…Oh and when I won the George Stroumboulopoulos travel mug for knowing that Annie Leibovitz is a Photographer for Vanity Fair, that was cool… And talk about a high quality travel mug. It doesn’t leak like regular Non-Strombo travel mugs do…oh no… It’s safe to say that Dave and I were both stoked with our CBC prizes (I still can’t get Dave out of his “Lucky” Strombo shirt. See photo…lol)

We started our morning off right with a highly nutritious Breakfast of Bacon & Eggs at a local greasy spoon. We meet up with some photographers Tif, Alex and Jaymz to chat about whats happening in the world of photography, catch up and bounce ideas of each other. It’s great hearing what everyone’s up to these days and finding an excuse to eat Bacon!!! I know this isn’t the best shot of us, but hey… Sorry guys! haha.

After Breakfast we headed out to the live taping of “daytime”…I was running around (while Dave sat in the audience…supervising lol) shooting the show, guests, crew and the rockin’ audience. We met some awesome people on the show like the Hosts of daytime Kim McCleary and Gurdeep Ahluwalia and Producer Marissa Corrigan. Oh, and we can’t forget Michael Craig of Barefoot Wines had a pretty awesome set up too…(In case you’re wondering Michael, yes, we will shoot for wine. haha)

Since we started our day at the ungodly hour of 7am we ran to Starbucks and downed 2 Grande Lattes, picked up Fritzi the weiner dog and headed out to Sutton, Ontario. We were on the way to meet Jen and Brent our super sweet couple that we’re shooting this Summer. On the way we took a detour and nature hike with little Fritty (as Dave calls him) He’s sooo happy that Winter is over, his little legs are so short he can’t do much in the snow. We got so many shots of all of the beautiful budding plants and flowers, but my faves by far were the gorgeous sprouting Fiddle Heads.

While hiking in the forest Fritzi discovered a little pond and dove straight in. He learned how to swim last Summer he’s really become a little water rat!! We had to bribe him with Hagen Daas to get him out of the water.

We met Jen and Brent at their beautiful little stone chapel by the lake. I was blown away by it’s charm and the location on the water is so amazing. Needless to say we were totally stoked!! We caught this little “church mouse” peaking at us so I had to snap a shot! We headed down the little winding road led us to “The Briars” a gorgeous country club with tons of old world charm and lots of beautiful shooting ops for the big day!!! Look at these two… Jen and Brent are so cute together, we can’t wait to capture their love for each other on June 28th.

We finally rolled into Toronto/home at 10pm. This is an interpretation of how it looked to us after our crazy day!!!