Varia Studio

Trash the Dress in Mayan Ruins and Tulum beach

2007-12-19T23:56:00.001-05:00

On my 25th birthday on November 25th I left Toronto for my second time trip to Mayan Riviera this year. It was fun having my friends joining me for this trip to celebrate my "Champagne Birthday" and spending the whole week with them.

Ok, lets not forget the real reason why I came to Mexico. I met Osi and Juan at "Bridal Bash" organized by Megan Crouse. Megan is Toronto-based destination wedding specialist and travel agent. Coupe weeks later I got a call from Osi asking me if I was interested to photograph her wedding in Mexico in two months. Sure, I am always ready for travel and the first time I met this couple I though they would be great to work with and I was right.

We decided to trash one of Osi's wedding dresses a couple of days before the wedding. I had this idea of having Mayan Ruins as a backdrop and I could vision it too. Note to all photographers - you must have a permit to shoot in one of the archeological sites/ruins in Mayan Riviera. First we tried to get to famous Tulum ruins, but we were told that there was some kind of government event and nobody was let in (and we even saw the solders patrolling the area around).

Oh, forgot to tell you - Osi and Juan are Spanish speaking which helped a lot to find out that there are some ruins in area that tourists do not know of. We were told to go to Xel-ha archeological site.

Osi, Juan and myself sneaked in for an hour to do first part of "Trash the Dress" session at this great location. And of course we were respectful to the Mayan legacy. This site offered lots of great locations for photographs - giant trees and ruins were perfect to get some romantic shot of Osiris and Juan. The only thing that bothered us were mosquitos!

Our second stop was Tulum beach - beautiful turquoise water and powder-like white sand. So far I have only seen a beach this beautiful in two other locations - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Holguin, Cuba.

Osi and Juan are so easy going - they would do anything I would ask them to do - run, jump, lay on sand and wait for the big wave to come and cover them :)

The night before this trash the dress photosession I ordered a bottle of champagne to my room and brought it to the beach to use in my pictures (I also thought champagne would make the bride and groom more relaxed).

It was really cool photographing Osi and Juan opening bottle of champaine while waves would cover, move and push them ;-)

Destination Wedding in Portugal

2007-09-28T14:08:00.002-04:00

In September this year I traveled to Europe to shoot John and Arlene's wedding in Portugal. They decided to get married in Algarve - the southernmost region of Portugal known for glorious year-round sunshine and excellent sandy beaches. Most guests travelled from Canada and stayed together with bride and groom in beautiful Villa Lusitana in Carvoeiro, Lagoa.

On Sept. 6 John and Arlene got married in very old church called - Igreja De Santa Maria in Lagos. Prince Henry the Navigator lived in this city (Lagos) and was buried in the same church in 1460.

Right after ceremony we drove along coastline to rugged cliffs called Ponta da Piedade. This place is know as the Golden Coast (Costa d'Oiro), because of its yellowish tone of the cliffs. This was one of the most amazing spots to take pictures.

As for final destination for pictures we stopped at Carvoeiro - a charming town with cliffs on either side, small beaches and private villas. We were looking for some small town scenery and this one was perfect - whitewashed houses with doors and windows framed in yellow and blue and old quaint small houses tucked in between the more modern ones.

Guest were all at the villa enjoying the cocktail hour and waiting for bride and groom. When we arrived just before the dinner John and Arlene had their first dance.

All I can say it was really nice wedding with European chic!

P.S. I want to thank Monika W (my friend who went to photography school with me) to referring me to Arlene and John and giving me this great opportunity to travel to Portugal and shoot their wedding!

The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood

2007-08-17T18:04:00.000-04:00

I was inspired by fairy tale "La Belle au Bois dormant" (Sleeping Beauty) when shooting Lucy in the wood.

Trashing the dress in "High Falls"

2007-08-11T15:45:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I shot another "trash the dress" session, this time my brave bride was Anastasia. This beautiful waterfall - "High Falls" is located far from civilization and it takes about 1-1.5 hours to hike to the site. The site is the Peterborough Game Reserve which is around Petroglyphs Provincial Park and it is gorgeous location with its natural treasures and it is definitely worth a hike. With perfect lighting and great assistance by Natalia, Stan and Anastasia, who climbed the falls and froze in wet wedding dress - I think we did an amazing job and as result got great pictures!

Wedding in Port Whitby Marina

2007-08-09T16:46:00.002-04:00

On Sunday July 22nd me and my associate Sasha shot this beautiful wedding in Port Whitby Marina. For Sharlene and Phil and their two kids Nashel and Trae this was a really significant "family affair". We had a perfect day with blue sky and pretty clouds and refreshing breeze. I found this great location - waterfront Lighthouse , which was not in our plan originally and this spontaneous idea to go there and shoot really adds a bit of a spice to the whole idea of marina wedding!

Engagement portraits of Sharlene & Phil

2007-07-18T22:27:00.000-04:00

Last week I shot engagement portraits of Sharlene and Phil in Edward Gardens in Toronto. What a GREAT couple! Sharlene and Phil are the most easygoing couple I ever worked with. While I was shooting I found out that Sharlene and Phil have a daughter and a son and they are going to be in wedding party as well and it is going to be a FAMILY AFFAIR as they like to call it! I can wait to shoot their wedding this weekend!!!

07.07.07

2007-07-18T20:46:00.000-04:00

I was honoured to be a part of May and Michael's wedding on the luckiest day in the century - 07.07.07. I was very excited to shoot this very small and intimate wedding of only 10 people and it was great!

Summer wedding in Toronto

2007-07-17T17:09:00.000-04:00

On June 16 I shot my first summer wedding in Toronto this year. After all my destination weddings I am finally enjoying a good weather in Toronto. Megan and Blake were so much fun to work with - they ran and jumped and we all had a great time! I shot together with Ivan, who is my second photographer, and he did an amazing job catching some candid moments as well! Megan and Blake chose a beautiful spot for their wedding, they got married at La Salle Park in Burlington. We shot most of the formal pictures in the park and Pavilion and for fun shots with bride and groom and wedding party we went down to marina.

It was a real pleasure to meet Debbie (Megan's mother) and seeing some familiar faces too!!!

Trash the dress in Cuba

2007-06-30T10:35:00.000-04:00

Two days after I shot the wedding of Sylvia and Claude,we headed to the beach in morning to shoot "Trash the dress". This was so much fun,we all enjoyed this session!!!

Wedding in Cuba

2007-06-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

Finally I am back from travelling and I can catch up with my posts here. On June 2nd I flew to Holguin, Cuba to shoot another destination wedding! Sylvia and Claude contacted me in winter, at that time I was shooting in Cayman Islands. After a few weeks we met in Toronto and I knew right away this was going to be a lot of fun. There are several reasons for that - first - Sylvia wanted the Trash the Dress photosession, and I am up for that anytime! Second, they had amazing pesonalities and I just knew they were the the type of clients that I like to work with. Third, it was the new place that I had never been before! Sylvia and Claude got married on June 7 on a beach of incredibly beautiful resort called Paradisus Río de Oro. I was amazed by the great spots for photographs. In the morning on the wedding day me and Oleg split to cover the bride and the groom getting ready in different rooms. Ceremony was very short and after that we took a little break to refresh a little bit. Guests joined Sylvia and Claude for champagne in their room. Then everyone had a little break and at 4pm we continued to take some pictures on the beach with the family and the wedding party. We had a great dinner and took some good pictures of people dancing and having fun! The trip was fantastic!

Trashing The Dress in Cold Waters of Don River

2007-04-06T19:04:00.000-04:00

Recently I shot another "Trash The Dress" session in Toronto. With still cold weather but a couple of sunny days - I got my team ready!

The team: Sarah Anders - make up artist, Katia - easy going "bride" and myself - a girl with a camera.

The day started with buying three pairs of rubber boots so we can head down to Don River and trash this beautiful Victorian style wedding dress. It went on with taking pictures and getting in the cold water in our boots!!!

ABA HAIR SHOW 2007

2007-04-06T16:09:00.000-04:00

On Sunday April 1st I attended ABA Hair Show at Metro Convention Centre in Toronto. Here are some of my favourite shots of models from KMS California.

Trash The Dress In Toronto

2007-03-24T20:29:00.000-04:00

Winter is almost gone and it is time to do some "trash the dress" shoots in Toronto. Today, I had an amazing shoot with my friend Anastasia, who got married last year in August. Fantastic location, beautiful dress and gorgeous bride - all I have to say.

Trash The Dress

2007-03-21T19:29:00.000-04:00

Next day, after the wedding Kate and Serge put their wedding attire on again for "trash the dress" photo session. This is my favourite session and I love shooting it!

Destination Wedding: Kate and Serge, Mustang Island, Gulf of Mexico

2007-03-21T19:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday March 10 I shot another destination wedding of Kate and Serge. This intimate wedding took place in a beautiful Mustang Island State Park located on the Gulf of Mexico.

Toronto Reception : Amanda & Nick back from Mexico

2007-03-20T18:48:00.000-04:00

After spending a week in Maya Riviera under Mexican sun and being around very friendly Mayan people none of us wanted to go back to -30C weather. On March 3rd Amanda and Nick hosted Toronto reception for people who did not travelled to Mexico in January to celebrate their marriage. Celebration took place in one of the oldest houses in Toronto-The Heintzman House, also known as Sunnyside Manor Farm.

Engagement pictures: Amanda and Nick

2007-03-20T00:32:00.000-04:00

On January 25th we walked down the beach to take some engagement pictures of Amanda and Nick before their wedding. The weather was fantastic and lots of beautiful spots around the resort for pictures.

Destination Weddings: Amanda & Nick, Riviera Maya, Mexico

2007-03-16T11:49:00.000-04:00

This winter I had a pleasure to photograph my first Destination Wedding in Mexico. On January 26 Amanda and Nick were married at Gran Bahía Príncipe Akumal.