What would life be like without Heidi

Today is Valentine’s Day.  The cats and I wanted to secretly do something special for Heidi, something romantic, yet in our own weird and messed up way.  So this is it, my biggest fear in life.  This is what life would be without my beautiful wife. My cats would be miserable, and I would lose my mind and live in a fictional reality as if she were still there. This is how much you mean to me Heidi, and in this morbid way, I want to tell you that I will always love you. I hope everyone takes a minute today to really appreciate their loved ones and all the little things they do for you. Forget the negatives and really embrace the positives, if not just for today.  Sadly, good times don’t last forever, so you have to really make every second count. Luckily, I still have Heidi and hopefully we will continue to grow old and healthy together with our cats (who will live to be 60).

Stacy and Terry Engagement

Today was a beautiful afternoon. It is a rare day like today, that temporarily tricks your mind into thinking that living in a city with this type of climate, is a good idea. Since we were blessed with such a beautiful day, it would have been a waste if we weren't outside enjoying it in some fashion. For me, today involved an engagement photo session with Stacy, Terry and Corona (Australian Shepard Mix...I think). I always get a bit tense meeting new people because of my awkward social skills, but luckily I married Heidi and she makes that whole process easy. It's not like I am not social, but I tend to build up all this anxiety for absolutely no reason. Regardless, even though Heidi is just carrying a bag, she in fact is doing a lot more. Originally we were going to head to Andrew Hayden Park, but today our adventure brought us to Hog's back falls. For some reason, I had never really been here to take photographs. I am glad we did because this place is beautiful; credit goes to Stacy and Terry for choosing this location. I had a really amazing time, and got some great photographs in the process. The key to great photographs are great subjects who are willing to have a little fun and get a little silly.  Thanks Stacy and Terry for accepting every idea I had and sorry you got wet and cold in the process. In the end I think it was worth it, here are some of my favourites...

Video Shoot at the Ottawa Airport

Instead of a boring day in the office, I got to help out on a video production. My back kills but it was pretty fun, meet some great people and I learned a thing or two about what goes on behind the scenes.  "Van do you want to be a Grip for our video Shoot?" I said sure but I had to google what a Grip was. If you don't know, it is a miscellaneous equipment helper guy; holding lights and what not. I almost didn't bring my camera because I wasn't sure if I would have time to take some candids or if I was even allowed. As always, shoot first ask later is generally a good philosophy. Anyhow a  special thanks to Kevin and Mylene of Symphonic Filmworks for inviting me to participate. Maybe one day I will get to be a camera guy with my D800, but until then, here are some stills:

My family

This is a family portrait I took yesterday. I am trying out this CanvasPoP for the first time and hope they deliver before Christmas. Otherwise, I will be empty handed for Christmas and will probably hate them. I am joking but not really.  I am getting one for my mom and dad and one for my grandma. They don't surf the internet and have a very basic reading level in English. So nobody go translating this and telling them what I am doing (Irene!).

Tanya and Doug's Wedding

I photographed Tanya and Doug's wedding on my birthday.  It was a half day in a old style bed and breakfast. It was called the Perth Manor; a real nice building with lots of character. Apparently lots of artists in the area use it for fashion shoots and some films. I also met the owner, who was a very passionate chef who really cares about his food.

This was definitely the nicest group of people I have met, and not just the wedding party. Perhaps it was a smaller group then I usually see at a wedding, but I was treated very well and everyone was very friendly with me. The best thing, was when the news leaked that it was my birthday, everyone got up and sang me happy birthday.  Tanya is also my accountant, and I highly recommend her if you need great advice on how to run your books. I really have no clue and she has been really patient with my zillion questions. Anyhow, just another thank you for my wife Heidi for always helping me out with my photoshoots.

Marta and Matt's Family

Just recently I was contacted to shoot some candid family portraits by Marta. I went over; met the family and had a real easy time doing it.  They already had a few areas setup for the kids to play in and for the family to interact, which made my job very easy.  Glad I met this super nice folks! Here are just a few of my favourites...

Fashion Shoot in Kanata

Last Saturday was my second time working with Jana and Emilia Fashion studio on a fashion shoot in Ottawa. This time it was a beautiful all red collection they are getting ready for Ottawa fashion week. Well, mostly red....you can see more of their collections here: www.janahanzel.com & www.emiliafashiondesign.ca.  Also, thanks to the models Kathy and Allison for making my job easy.  This was my first shoot using the D800 as well; the files are so big I had to get new ram but the resolution is amazing.

Jeff Chan

My cousin Jeff Chan made his debut in MMA this year.  He trains at the Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts.  He managed to give me a bruise for months by just blocking my kick. The only thing stopping him from a great fighting career is probably my aunt; I don't blame her.  Selfishly, I hope there is a second fight.