EMILY & TIM GET MARRIED!!

As much as we love it when our couples are all about extravagant details and decor, sometimes keeping it simple is what best represents them and I must admit I’m just as head over heels about these weddings as I am about the extravagant ones.

Probably the most laid back easy going couple out there, Emily & Tim had their wedding ceremony and reception at The Wakefield Mill back in June and Viva was absolutely thrilled to help them with the planning and execution of their intimate day.

Just a few of Viva’s favourite details of their wedding:

~ Emily & Tim were married on the MacLaren House lawn. Two rows of chairs were set up for immediate family and the remaining guests gathered around creating a very warm, intimate ceremony.
~ Emily had nine flower girls. Yes, nine! It was important for her to include all of these lovely girls in the ceremony so they lined up creating an aisle for Emily to walk down and as she did, she was handed flowers from each of them which created her bouquet.
~ Instead of flowers, the girls in the wedding party all carried handmade pinwheels and the guys wore pinwheel boutonnieres.
~ While the ceremony took place, Emily & Tim’s rings were passed around so that each guest could hold and bless them with their best wishes for the soon to be newlyweds.
~ Representing the librarian in Emily, Emily & Tim’s guests signed their congratulations to the bride & groom on library cards which were held in card catalogue drawers.
~ After a fabulous cocktail hour full of wine and tasty hors d’oeuvres, guests visited several food stations (offering pasta and seafood crepes to name but two) and could help themselves to the most amazing cheese platter in honour of the groom’s love affair with cheese.

These wonderful images below are all courtesy of Ottawa Wedding Photographer Blair Gable. Viva’s always excited when we get the chance to work with Blair! Simply put, he's awesome!! After photojournalism school, Blair Gable worked his way through seven newspapers before leaving a staff position to freelance for some of Canada’s largest media outlets. Blair also shoots a limited number of weddings each year with the same style and intensity as his newspaper assignments – A blend of contemporary storytelling, real moments and dramatic portraits captured naturally.

“When hockey season ends and the politicians head home for the summer I shoot weddings. The pressure situations and tight deadlines I work in prepare me for the chaos and emotion of a wedding day”

WEDDING DRESS WEDNESDAY

Viva just can't get enough of RIVINI so once again on this Wedding Dress Wednesday we're spreading the word about Ashton Station Bridal in Carleton Place and their upcoming RIVINI trunk show taking place July 22-24!

And it gets better...

RIVINI representative James Brown will be at Ashton Station Bridal hot off an engagement at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City. He'll have the latest in wedding fashion trends and best of all - the latest in gossip from TLC Say Yes to the Dress' Randy Fenoli.

Space is limited so what are you waiting for? Book your appointment by calling 613-240-7616 or emailing info@ashtonstationbridal.ca

Review of the UltraStrap from LumiQuest...

We had the pleasure of taking the new UltraStrap from LumiQuest for a test drive and loved it.

It's the first tensioning strap we have used and as far as we know, the ONLY tensioning strap on the market.

I can't tell you what a difference it makes when you apply it to your flash head, it goes on easier and stays on more securely (it will hold up to 3 pounds).

I am sure everyone out there has experienced their softbox "creeping" down so that in no time it's pointing towards the floor instead of your subject. During a shoot you need your tools to work well, you don't want to keep adjusting it or having to apply gaffers tape to help it do its job.


The UltraStrap is inexpensive ($7.95 with free shipping), and very will made so you will own it (and use it) for a very long time.

The sign of a good product is when we get one for review, then after trying it going out and buying more, the UltraStrap is one of those products.

Below is a quick (1 minute) video review, if you are a subscriber you'll need to return to the blog or head directly to our YouTube channel to watch it.

Another great learning opportunity...

Over at "Learning Food Photography and Food Styling" they recently announced their "31 Days of Food Photography Tips".

Before you say "but I don't shoot food", that doesn't matter, you will learn lighting, you will learn styling, and you'll learn techniques that will be applicable to any kind of photography you may practice.

Each of the 31 posts will have a related assignment, along with special weekly assignments.

You will be encouraged to share your assignment photos on their Facebook page and there will even be prizes given to randomly selected participants.

They are a week into this project so don't wait, head right over and sign up for this 31 day learning opportunity.

Being nice, there's an app for that...

It's the weekend, which regular readers know is my excuse to run (way) off topic.

If the idea of performing a random act of kindness is appealing but you have a hard time coming up with what to do there is an app that can help you out, it's called "DoGood" and runs on the iPhone, iPod, or iPad.

Each day a new "act of kindness" is displayed on your screen, once you've completed it you hit the "done" button and your good deed is shared with other "do-gooders".

If this sound interesting you can get more information here, you can also check out their website here.

Another great DIY resource...

If you are familiar with Scott Kelby, Kelby Training, or DTown TV you've probably seen Larry Becker.

He appears to be a quiet behind the scenes kinda guy but I am sure he is a driving force behind what is going on ("speak softly but carry a big stick" comes to mind).

Well Larry does a segment on DTown called "Cheap Shots" that are low cost, no cost, and do it yourself projects for photographers.

He also has a site "Larry's Cheap Shots" that you will want to visit (and bookmark).

Need a low cost idea for foam padding? How about an inexpensive flash diffuser, or a Speedlight softbox? This white seamless solution (I thought) was brilliant.

Larry is another great resource in the Kelby stables, so check out DTown TV and Larry's Cheap Shots for some great ideas.

A free Speedlight eBook just for you...

There are some photographers that I follow closely, they speak, I listen. Lou Jones is one of those photographers.

He recently released a free eBook on speedlights and I wanted to share it with you.

In it Lou talks about the mobility of small lights, modifiers to use with them, remote triggers, mixing speedlights with available light, and more.

There are 8 sample images included as well, all with different lighting scenarios and each presenting its own unique lighting challenges. The last part of the eBook has complete and detailed lighting diagrams for each of the sample images that show how it was lit and what equipment was used to make it all happen.

One thing that was so simple and so ingenious (that it blew my socks off) was using a simple 99 cent a-clamp as light stand. Can't tell you how many times I've run out of flash brackets or what I did have did not work for what I was trying do and an a-clamp would have worked perfectly.

Great stuff.

To get your free copy of "eBOOK: SPeeDLIGHTS" by Lou Jones all you need to do is head over to his blog and sign up for his newsletter. Pretty simple.

Though it was produced with the Nikon Speedlights it isn't brand specific, if you use Canon (or any other) small flash the principles and tips in the eBook are applicable.