Amy & Kevin

My beautiful cousin, Amy, was married on August 21 to a really fun guy, Kevin, during my family party I posted about here. They hadn't hired a photographer, so I jumped at the chance to take photos. Amy was such a gorgeous bride! And Kevin cleaned up pretty nicely as well. Not to mention their kids, Kaleb and Alexi, who are way too cute! What an adorable family.

The weather, unfortunately, was not on our side - it poured. Because of that, we didn't get a chance to do any formal shots outside. But I did cover the ceremony, which was very charming.

Regardless of the weather, the day was so lovely. Everyone had a fantastic time. Plus, rain on your wedding day is good luck. Right?

FamJam

August is family reunion time. Once a year, we all get together - young and old - and catch up while eating mounds of delicious food (always a given considering we're Italian). It's always an awesome day, especially now that there are so many little cousins running around!

I'm actually very lucky to have such an amazing family. So supportive and loving. And, if I do say so myself, really good looking.

I so wish it happened more than once a year!

Beer Bottle Fun

So two weeks ago was my birthday, as I mentioned in my previous post here. To celebrate, I had a party at my place, then hit up a patio. SUCH an awesome night!

You know what's not so awesome? Finding a beer in the freezer the next day. Thankfully it hadn't exploded. Disaster averted! The beer actually looked pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen a frozen beer bottle like this - most explode. It was pretty much completely white with ice.

So why not do a photoshoot while it starts to melt? Why not, indeed!

Summer Lovin'

One of my favourite parts of the summer is hitting up a cottage with friends. There's nothing better than lying on a dock, soaking up the sun, drinking a beer and chatting the day away. ...And taking photos of it all!

Below are some shots I recently took at a cottage. There were a ton taken of my friend Amanda - I only added my absolute faves! My camera and I seem to have a little thing for her. And I need to do a proper shoot with her soon!

Hope you're all enjoying the last few weeks of the summer!

Inspirations

Last Christmas my eldest brother got me a book about Annie Leibovitz's photography. It's full of her photos and some snippets about the shots. It is such a great book. I had seen some of her work before but this really made me fall in love with her. She has such a unique style and her shoots are so fantastical and dramatic. I really dig it.

Plus - she started her career at Rolling Stone Magazine! Talk about an incredible way to get into the business. That would be amazing! And from there, she has shot some of the most famous, influential people in the world - the Queen, John Lennon, the Rolling Stones, and countless more celebrities and political figures.

Leibovitz has the ability to create real drama in photos. From the expressions of the subjects, to the scenery and lighting, the entire photo shows the mood she wants to portray. She's really an incredibly talented woman and I love her work.

Interesting and crazy fact: Five hours after photographing John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the cover of Rolling Stone, John was killed. Five hours!! Leibovitz is the last professional photographer to take his photo.

Below is that photo along with some of my favourites by Annie Leibovitz.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the Cover of Rolling Stone.


The Queen


Mick Jagger in an elevator. This is Leibovitz's favourite photo she took of him.

Whoopi Golberg in a bath full of milk.

No idea. I just love this shot!

It's my Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today was absolutely lovely. My amazing boyfriend got me a Kobo Reader, which I'm so excited about. I immediately purchased three e-books I've been dying to get but waiting (and waiting) for them to come out in paperback: "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest", "Tales of the Otherworld," and "Waking the Witch." The latter two are by a Canadian author Kelley Armstrong and are part of a huge series I'm kind of in love with. Can't wait to get my read on! (What a nerd!)

My day got better as it went - my boss bought me Hero Burger for lunch, complete with poutine; my office's receptionist got me flowers for my desk; then I headed to my Grandma's for dinner with my brothers and the bf where we had delicious food and an amazing chocolate birthday cake. What a fattening day! Did I mention my eldest brother got me three bags full of Tiny Tom donuts? Incredible.

Since today is all about me - brat, much? - I figured I'd post some photos of myself that were taken by two of my good friends, Danielle Arnold and Jennifer Duncan. This was the same shoot I blogged about here. These ladies are both immensely talented and it was so fun modeling for them.

Enjoy!

photo by Danielle Arnold

photo by Danielle Arnold


photo by Jennifer Duncan

photo by Jennifer Duncan

photo by Jennifer Duncan

Grunge

Two of my best friends modeled for me a few months back in a very fun shoot. It was all about Grunge - graffiti, cigarettes, attitude. Both my girls embodied this amazingly. The shoot took place in graffiti alley in downtown Toronto, which was obviously perfect. What amazing art! It made the best background full of colour and spunk.

It was such a sweet day - perfect weather; outfit changes in the alleyway - where there was only one random guy who was pleasantly surprised to see a half naked model; and many, many giggles.

The ladies look s t u n n i n g in the photos - so hard and bold; full of moxie.

Basically? Bad ass. And I love it!