It seems as though I’ve known Kirsty and Andrew forever. Andrew and I played together in the Peel Police Pipe Band about 12 years ago and I met Kirsty after Andrew’s move to Glasgow to play with The House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band. Kirsty was a piper in the band, and needless to say the two made quite an impression on each other! When they finally got engaged after many years together, they contacted me to make sure I’d be available for their July 2nd wedding. The day was filled with laughter, love, piping, a worst dancer competition, a drum fanfare, and ceilidh dancing. Their little triplet nieces were flower girls and I’m sure I could make a complete blog post with images of them. Kirsty and Andrew, thank you for inviting me to be a part of your big day…looking forward to the next time we can spend time together! Check out a few more images posted here as a sneak peek a couple of weeks back.

I met little Duncan and his family at Fort Rodd Hill for a portrait session during their visit to Victoria. He told me about recently losing his tooth by biting into some candy (watermelon taffy I believe?). There was no shortage of laughter during this session…pretty cute when your subject is missing his front tooth!

Joanna and Justin booked a session to celebrate her 30th birthday. We met up in the morning and took photos around Beacon Hill Park followed by a quick trip down to the ocean. I sat in a pile of burs and barely missed stepping on a garter snake during this session (the latter being a major fear of mine, which I had been telling Joanna and Justin minutes prior to the incident). I survived what felt like a near snake attack, continued to high step through the long grass, and had a great time with Joanna and Justin.

I had a session with Vancouver-based band, The Paperboys while they were in Victoria playing at Butchart Gardens. Within the 8 piece band, is also a 5 piece band, three 3 piece bands, a duo, and a 5 piece Latin band….talk about versatile! Keep your eyes peeled for The Paperboys playing in your area!

Mandy and Mike have been together for 10 years and are planning an elopement in the near future. They wanted a portrait session with their son before the big day so we braved the July heat and spent the afternoon exploring Fort Rodd Hill. Good luck with the planning Mandy and Mike!

Kate and Trevor received a gift certificate for a portrait session at their baby shower from Kate’s sister, Jane. 7 weeks later, I was introduced to their baby girl Kamryn during our session at Kate’s parent’s home. This wasn’t the first time that a baby has peed during a session, but it’s the first time a baby has peed all over her grandmother’s bedroom wall, stripping the paint! As the first grandchild however, Kamryn was off the hook…how could anyone be angry at that face!

Fiona and Ed were married July 10th in the church at Providence Farm in Duncan. They got ready at the Oceanfront Grand Resort in Cowichan Bay and had their tent reception outdoors at the farm. With Ed’s family from Ontario and Fiona’s family from Ireland in attendance, I knew the party at the end of the night would be a good one! Lots of ceilidh dancing, wolf calls, singing along to Johnny Cash, and even attempted splits…now that’s a party!

I’ll be making my annual trip home to Cape Breton in October 2010! I’ll be available for portrait sessions during my visit between October 11-27 on Cape Breton Island, and between October 28-November 3 in the Dartmouth/Halifax area. Send along an email if you’re interested and portrait session details (pdf) can be found here.

I had a quick session last night with the Boston-based Folk Arts Quartet (Ivonne Hernandez, Liz Davis Maxfield, Jenna Moynihan, and Lea Kirstein). They arrived in Victoria from a tour in Saskatchewan, where Ivonne (in the purple tights) broke her foot dancing (we like to joke that it was in the mosh pit at the folk festival). Yesterday was her first day with a removable cast, so hiking around taking promo photos with crutches and a fiddle was a bit of an ordeal. Luckily we were speedy enough to catch some of the beautiful golden evening light and hit up one more location before the sun went down. The FAQ are performing a few times before heading back to Boston so check out their schedule to find out the details or have a listen to them here!

Liam won me over with his dimples. Sure he’s a baby and all, but those dimples! His mom Meghann (also a piper), arranged for a portrait session with her sisters and their kids while I was in Regina for the week. The session was for Meghann’s parents, as they’re celebrating their 45th anniversary this year.

For the past two summers, I’ve been able to make a trip to Regina to teach at Sound Advice. I had a photo session with the Brin family last summer while Jody was pregnant with Nicholas, and this summer a session with the whole Brin Diakow crew. After the session, the Brins cooked up a great supper and presented me with a Saskatchewan survival kit…my own Roughriders T-shirt, a hat from a ‘famous’ bar in Northern Saskatchewan, a mosquito net, and some AfterBite. As a blackfly magnet, that little stick of AfterBite kept me sane for the rest of the week!

After Andrew + Kirsty’s wedding, I met up with my pals Fin and Sarah for a road trip. We spent hours laughing in the car en route to South Uist for Ceolas. When we missed our ferry in Skye, a series of comical events followed from a bird landing on a man in our cafe, a bar fight in Skye, a local unable to understand my accent and thinking I called him Forrest Gump, and hearing an entire ferry boat full of passengers vomiting in stereo. South Uist is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been with lovely white sand beaches and turquoise sea. Fin and Sarah, I wish you lived closer…it took about a week to recover from all the laughing, and wearing our team uniform without you both just isn’t the same!

During Victoria’s JazzFest, I had a session with pianist Cedric Hanriot. Cedric is from France and was in town playing with the Ben Powell Quartet. Being a touring musician, he brought his suitcase to the shoot which contained all of his clothing and this tiny keyboard.

Amanda and Ami’s wedding was held on June 12th at the Sleeping Dog Farm and Retreat. They’re both yoga instructors (among many numerous talents), which helped with the laid-back mood of the day. Their son Elijah, was a trooper in the heat, and looked pretty sweet in his baby Chucks and red bow-tie. Before walking down the aisle, Amanda led her bridesmaids through some deep breathing exercises (followed by a bit of screaming to pump them up), and after consulting a YouTube video in order to tie his bow-tie (thanks Lucky Levinson!), Ami was chilled-out and playing with Elijah before saying his vows. Gypsy Marching Band, Bucan-Bucan, paraded down the aisle as the bridal party danced behind them and a tea party in the garden sanctuary followed. Amanda and Ami, you were so wonderfully natural and genuine to work with…best wishes and congratulations!

The day we landed in Glasgow, I had a session with Scott Currie and his daughter Kirsty. Along with being a talented web designer, Scott is a tenor drummer (now bass drummer) with The House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Band, and owns Scott Currie Percussion. It’s pretty obvious the tenor drumming bug has bitten 5 year old Kirsty, and her ‘concentration face’ is quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve seen! Stay tuned to pipes|drums for more images from this session in the upcoming installment of Photographing the Art.