John on November 23rd, 2014

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Christmas parties are always fun. I spent the evening with Sleep Country Canada. And I stayed awake the whole time!

We began the evening with portraits, then progressed to an awards ceremony after dinner, and finished off with music, dancing, and merry-making.

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John on September 26th, 2014

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Until now, I had never had the opportunity to be part of a traditional Catholic wedding mass. Sam and Michelle gave me that opportunity. The flowery ceremony full of what you might expect: music, candles, pomp. There was so much to take in. I was certainly kept busy. This is just a tiny sampling.

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John on August 9th, 2014

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There are few things more relaxing, yet still quite exciting than canoeing on a river. My friend Michel invited me to canoe with him and the Bow Waters Canoe Club on the Bow River from Banff to Canmore. The day was warm, beautiful, and promised a great time. The water was fast and fun.

Due to last year’s flood, there was still some debris on the river that would make a few turns challenging. One of our turns turned out to be a bit more than Michel and I could manage. Entering the turn, we knew we were too far left and tried to adjust, but not before getting pushed into a fallen tree sitting on the outside of the turn. The branches held on to us and we took on water fast. I tried staying in the canoe, but once I was up past my armpits, I figured it was time to get out.

With a bit of help, we freed the canoe, pulled it to shore, and emptied the water. Before long, we were on our way. The sun warmed me up easily enough and the water wasn’t too cold to begin with. The rest of the day was easy and the water slowed to a nice pace. I had a really great time!

See more photos here.

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John on June 28th, 2014

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Always one of the highlights of the year is my day with Zie and Coop. We had beautiful weather this time. It’s a fun challenge to come up with something very much the same as last year, but also a little different. I think we did good this time. What do you think?

View more photos here.

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John on June 14th, 2014

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I had a super time with the Diaz family.  It was a wonderful day at Carburn Park for saving the world.  We were all tingling with anticipation. Heidi was expecting to have a great day and she was not disappointed.
Had we tried this just a year before, it would have been a difficult swim. The entire park was covered in water from an epic flood. The park has recovered well, though we were a bit limited in areas to shoot. We certainly found what we were looking for.

See the whole set here.

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John on November 3rd, 2013

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Bella sure is growing up.  We spent a beautiful fall afternoon at Lake Sundance among the waterfalls, trees, and fallen leaves.  The sun offered a beautiful glow, patiently waiting for us to finish before chocolate swirls and the tingling splashes of a cool shower pushed their way toward us.

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Slowly wandering among the bridges and through the wooded shadows certainly makes you forget the urban bustle around us.  Bella ran among the leaves and trees, playing peek-a-boo and beckoning for a chase.

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John on November 3rd, 2013

This is my first photography session with Wendy & Greg. They’ve got an active bunch of boys that love to play, so that’s what we did.

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I love shooting in evening or morning light. The colours and shadows on this evening really made for an exciting time.

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John on November 3rd, 2013

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I love taking photos of Zie & Coop. It’s fun to see them grow, and watch how they react to the camera.  They’re getting more used to my antics and really enjoying the camera. This year was a nice change, not having to fight so much with the weather.

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It also seems to be the year of extended family photos, which is always a great thing!

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John on November 3rd, 2013

My oldest child was married this year, just 6 months after her sister.  It has been a whirlwind year for me with an overwhelming amount of activity and emotion.

As usual, we started with engagement photos.  Both Lucas and Kristina are quite academic, so it seems fitting that they wanted to do their photos at the University of Calgary.

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We were in overdrive with the wedding preparations, since the plan had to accommodate the start of school in September. With the experience of a recent wedding under our belts, it all went very smoothly and well under budget. We pulled off two weddings for under $10K.

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The most exciting thing was that Victoria’s father was able to travel up from Spokane, Washington to meet his two new grandsons.

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And I had to end with something you’ll probably never see again: The most unique wedding cake for a most unique couple.

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John on November 3rd, 2013

The wedding just by itself is always amazing, but what we had in store for us that afternoon was inspiring. We had some beautiful blue sky in the Southwest, and as got going, we jumped into action mode, racing to beat a thunderstorm heading our way. We shot right up to the end and ran for shelter once the rain hit.

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