Morocco Engagement Session - Sneak Peek

Wow.  What an amazing place Morocco was.  A friend of mine and his family, along with my wife traveled to a bunch of countries in Europe and then ended up in Morocco for the last duration of our trip.  We stayed in Marrakech and shot a bit of an engagement session then drove through the Atlas Mountains to get to where many movies like Gladiator and the Game of Thrones series was filmed (Ouarzazate).  I will definitely be doing a longer write up along with more images shortly.   Here are some teasers for now :) 

shot at Ouarzazate at the Ait Benhaddou

Sunset at the Marrakech Medina

Lisbon, Portugal Engagement Session - Sneak Peek

We wanted to catch the sunrise at this gorgeous spot in Lisbon, so we woke up early and walked up and down the hilly terrain in the cold and crazy winds. And once we got there the weather got hormonal and decided we wont have any sun, but for a moment of about 30 seconds the clouds parted and we got this scene.

Falaq and Azeem - Wedding Highlights from Mexico

Click to see full gallery!

Somethings just happen out of fate.  Me shooting this wedding was definitely one of them.  Falaq and I used to work at the same company before.  I quit and moved on and so did she, and one day out of the blue we touched base on facebook and grabbed lunch to catch up.  I tell her that I am a wedding photographer and she goes “serious? I am getting married in November” --- the rest was history as I checked in to a gorgeous room at the Azul Fives resort in Playa Del Carmen.  

I loved everything about Falaq and Azeem’s wedding, but mostly I loved how they gave importance to the things that matters most.  It was about getting the families together, without the stress or pain of having to plan and host and go nuts over the details, instead they were blessed to have a family that were from two different countries, who were cool with meeting t in a third country down south, just so that their son and daughter can get married but most of all so that the whole family can come together and actually have a blast.  I did the same thing a few years back in India, and it was the best decision of my life.   I am not saying go have an elaborate wedding in some great place so your photographer can have a great wedding to show off.  It’s about giving your families the right place to be together -- this could be done anywhere.   So the atmosphere was all about keeping things meaningful.  It wasn’t a small crowd, but it was still cozy.  I had gotten to know most of the families on the first night at the introduction dinner.  And then followed by the next day with a crazy fun “family olympics” followed by a bunch of dozen eggs and craziness.  Then on the same night, a quick pre-wedding ceremony where the both the bride and groom pre-wedding ceremony took place in the same spot :) -- All culminating in a beautiful outdoor beach wedding the next day, followed by dinner and some good old partying.  The three days passed by so quick -- I do wish we had a day after session, but come to think of it -- the whole point of this wedding was to embrace the families and spend time together with the people we cared the most for.  And thats what we did.  And for that I am so glad for Falaq and Azeem for having what I believe, was an ideal wedding.  Congratulations guys!

Wedding Location: Azul Fives by Karisma

What I've learned about printing for competitions in the last 2 years

Trying out 15 different paper choices, from Epson Hot Press, Cold Press, Exhibition Fibre, Hahnemuhle German Etching, Ultra Smooth Rag, Canson BFK Rives, PhotoRag Smooth, Baryta and Platine Fiber Rag.   One of the most expensive experiments I've ever done! 

I've spent countless hours over the last two years researching about papers, printers and the whole art of printmaking for competitions.  I've had pretty good luck so far, sent in 4 prints and had 3 hang on the wall at WPPI on my first year, and similarly had 4 more wins last year.  Went from member to Associate and I was pretty happy.  But its time to step up the game.  The difference between a good print and a great print really comes down to the finer details.  This is what I've learned from research and watching the judging for the last two years.  

I wanted to put together everything I've learned in a blog post, including but not limited to: 

1. Choosing the right images for print competition, especially WPPI 16x20 print competition.  
2. Should you outsource to the "Master Printmakers"?
3. The printing process as I know it. 
4. So many paper choices, how do I pick the best paper for my print competition print?  Does it even matter? 
5. Expert advice -- I had the privilege of speaking with some of the judges and Masters of WPPI, and what they had to say about the competition.  
6. Overall observations...

That's quite a lot of stuff, and I've been writing this entry for a while now, but I am a master procrastinator so I am obviously going to finish it 2 days before the deadline to submit your prints so it may or may not be useful to you.  I hope it is.  Stay tuned!    

What the &^%^ is Full Manual?

Full manual is where we post our findings from practice, experiments and training's.  Its our way of sharing with you our knowledge we pick up about photography and the industry as a whole.  Follow us along for the ride, you might be able to help us, or find what we share helpful.  

If you are a photographer, this section is meant just for you :)  --- don't be scared, you can ask us anything you like, i.e. how we shot something, where we shot it; just don't ask us about settings because we've been posting all our files with the exif intact and you can find it quite easy.  

Have a question? Ask us here, if we find it interesting, we will try our best to answer soon. 

 

Dustin And Shaddai - Wedding Highlights

I met Shaddai's parents at one of my beautiful friend's wedding which I photographed and her parents were officiating it... a year later.. Mrs. Gushway and Shaddai met me and we got to talking about Shaddai's wedding; we talked about the details and how its going to be... But nothing prepared me for a ceremony and reception like this one... it was so emotionally charged so all I did was laugh and cry --- and yeah, Terry and I took some pictures too :).

Featured Wedding: Mary & Greg

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At the Belcroft Estates, Innisfil, Ontario.

     Every wedding is a fresh new start. New light, new challenges. Fresh faces, fresh experiences. Photographing Mary & Greg at the Belcroft Estates in Innisfil is the closest feeling to a “countryside, destination wedding,” within 80km of the CN Tower.

     Drive up the 400 North. By the time you ask yourself, “people live out here?” you’ve probably arrived in Innisfil. Start a living here? That’s a far stretch. But to throw a wedding party? Epicness in the making.

     People flock to the countryside to be at ease. If an hour at Starbucks is our idea of therapeutic rehabilitation it wouldn’t be so difficult to get a fix while at Lake Muskoka. A “getaway,” not just in the metaphorical sense of vacationing, but simplifying and muting the things we experience allows us to focus attention to our inner thoughts. By contrast, living densely is having to constantly cope with the bombardment of pollutants.

     Creating a compelling portrait, designed to illustrate a wedding day is a game of eliminating these distractions. A bank, fast-food chain, garbage can, random faces in photos, LED signage, road construction...stuff, always redirects our attention to what’s tantamount: “I’m marrying the man/woman of my dreams...maybe I can get a better mortgage rate if I switch banks; the McRib is back; Gardiner is down to one lane, still.” If you’ve had enough of that in your life, it's time to switch gears. From today, carry forward this thought: your wedding can be a getaway. A great wedding photo starts by making it look like a wonderful vacation; or maybe at your wedding, you’re already there.

     The Big Question of the week is: “Are you getting the wedding you want?/Did you get the wedding you wanted?”

Terry Ting.

Abi and Kajan - Chicago Engagement Shoot

Abi and Kajan share a chemistry like no other.  When she proposed the idea of doing her engagement shoot in Chicago I was thrilled.  As a girl who spent most of her studying years there, she knew the spots for pictures and most of all knew the great places to eat!  Of course we all jumped in her minivan and went on a road trip.  From fun moments like when some random guy telling Kajan, "Hey man, you look like a prince... a REAL prince!"  to Abi almost killing us on the way back by pissing off a truck driver, this trip was definitely one to write home about.