“Even though we had to choose from around 500 amazing pictures, the ONE that we both instantly agreed on to be our favorite, the one that we think represents our day the best and our relationship in general (and also the one family and friends are still talking about !!) is the one where Yves and I are up on that tank in front of the Manège Militaire de Hull.

Not only is that where we first met 10 years ago, but the tree colors are amazing, representing the beautiful day we had despite the rainy morning !! Fun and original … picture perfect

Thanks again, and the best for that new wedding season coming up !!”

I had a ton of fun with these two, especially at the Manège Militaire…you may recall this photo taken on the barrel of the same tank:

These two were troopers (pardon the pun), so there were a lot of really strong images from their wedding. It was difficult to choose just one. However, my favourite is this one:

The reason is simple. Christiane and Yves love each other, and this photo shows that. True expressions can’t be faked, and the honest closeness and intimacy of this photo is why I am a photographer. This was taken during their first dance together, and watching them it seemed as if the world just dropped away for them. It was beautiful.

I am a huge fan of the dramatic image, but at the end of the day it’s about two people in love, and creating an image that illustrates that love is the most difficult, and most rewarding, part of what I do.

Thanks Christiane and Yves, it was fun going through your images again.

…Mike

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“Hi Mike,

Choose just ONE?!

Well we did it. And actually we both agreed right away. We chose this picture because it just so perfectly represents the ceremony — the sun shining (after the rain!), everyone smiling, our giddiness, the adorable officiant smiling so sweetly at us. It’s a very happy, heart-warming picture. And the lens flare is cool too

Thanks for this. It was fun going through the pictures again together.”

I had a lot of fun with Krista and Steve, both on their engagement session and their wedding…they are just fun people. However, to pick one image as my favourite there can be no doubt. If you have spent any time at all on my blog, you know which image I am going to select, as it is one of my favourite images ever. Sorry guys, but this one isn’t really of you at all! That’s right, the cat licking his ass:

We christened him “Mangy.” And if it was their wedding, it was definitely his farm. He spent the ceremony wandering through the crowd, sitting on empty seats, and generally taking no notice of what was going on. When he decided to…uhm…“clean” himself while I was shooting, well there was no question that I had to get a photo. The cool thing is that you can tell everyone is laughing, even though they are out of focus

I’ve been back to the farm a few times since then, and he’s still there, the king of the castle.

…Mike

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“Do we really have to pick only one?? If you haven’t noticed, it’s not easy for us to narrow down our favorites But, this time, we did it:”

“This is our favorite picture, because it was our first real private time throughout the whole day, when we could kick our feet up, relax, smile at each other, let all the craziness and excitement really sink in and realize that wow, we did it!

It also makes us smile, because we know that just after this, we scarfed down the Best Chicken McNuggets Ever, silently giving a million thanks to our thoughtful MOH for leaving it in the limo for us. Who would have thought champagne would pair well with chicken nuggets? ”

The nuggets in question:

My favourite image was just a bit later, as we pulled up in front of the Yangtse restaurant and the rain started. I always have a couple of white umbrellas with me, so I handed one to Helen and Binh as they sat in the car, hoping it would stop. They finally decided to make a run for it, and I got this image as Helen sprinted for the door:

I like this one the best because even though it’s raining, Helen still has a smile She had a great day and a little bit of rain would not change anything for her. As it happens, the rain stopped about an hour later and we were able to play around outside after all

…Mike

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“Well, we have been trying to decide which one of our gorgeous wedding shots that you took was our favourite, and it was really hard choosing just one. We have about 8 or 9 absolute favourites…and getting it down to one was tough! But here it is: the one you snapped just before the ceremony took place, as? I was peeking out the window with my nieces watching all of the guests find their seats.

I remember this moment really clearly, the excitement, the butterflies…it’s a beautiful picture!!

I’m going to cheat a little and give two of my picks, for different reasons.

The first is an unusual pick for me, because it’s a family group shot…but once you see it you’ll know why I like it:

The second is an example of something that I tell all my couples: sometimes, you’re not going to know what I’m doing, or what I see. That’s normal…I tend to see things a bit differently than most people do (no surprises there). Anyway, Holly and Jordan were married at the beach, and close by there was? a play structure for little kids, including a big red wavy slide. When I asked Holly to sit on it, I knew she wasn’t really sure what I was doing. But (and this is the most important part) she trusted me, and what resulted was a neat-o shot of her in the late afternoon sun:

The most important thing you can give your photographer is trust; without that, some of the more interesting stuff just isn’t possible. Thanks for trusting me Holly!

…Mike

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“I found it very difficult to choose just one single picture as my favorite. I love so many photos for so many reasons. To me it is not so much what the photo is about but what it makes me remember about our day However, since the assignment was to only choose a single photo, I’d have to pick the one in the field where we are looking off into the distance at the clouds:”

“I remember the day starting out with rain, and then sun, more rain, hail, and more sun. The wind was pretty fierce and it was about 7 degrees. Driving to the reception we pulled over to admire some of the neatest looking storm clouds I’d ever seen. And maybe it’s just because I’m not facing the camera so you can’t see my runny nose or red cheeks, or maybe it’s the proximity to Shawn, or maybe it’s just that the breathtaking scene behind the trees had momentarily stopped my shivering, but I don’t look cold. I love that an impromptu stop at the side of the road yielded such a gorgeous shot.”

When I see something interesting, I try to take advantage of it, and that’s just what happened here: I saw some neat clouds that I knew would respond well to an infrared photo, so we pulled over I like this one too, but my fave was taken about 20 minutes earlier, in a forest in Fallowfield.

This was taken as we finished and we were on our way out. I’ve always like this image.

…Mike

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“It was really hard to pick a favorite because different photos appealed to us for different reasons. But we love the texture and tone of this photo. It also just “feels” like that night felt, when we walked outside into the courtyard. It was twilight. We were shaking a little bit from the excitement of the ceremony. And from the cold. But the world seemed very still, very silent.”

For me, the best shot of the daywas taken looking down over the market. I like how this image has an historic feel to it, even if there are modern cars in it

…Mike

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Martine and Stephen have had 6 sessions so far in addition to their wedding, so this was an extra hard for them. But they managed to do it:

“This was a very difficult decision as you’ve captured so many important moments in our lives, from our wedding day to our pregnancies and two wonderful kids. We think though that our favorite is this one of Griffin as you captured the essence of who he was as a baby.

“From our very first ultrasound, he always kept his hands in or around his mouth– his source of comfort. He did this so much at every ultrasound that it was very difficult for us to ever get a good look at his cleft lip and palate before he was born. For quite a few months after he was born he still found a lot of comfort in this.”

My favourite image was from a session a few years earlier, when their daughter Leah was as old as Griffin was in the previous photo. Here she is, taking comfort in Daddy’s touch:

What a cutie!

…Mike

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“Picking ONE is tough… but I’ll go with the first image that jumped into my mind when I got your request: there’s a shot of Dave & I in the parking garage (just our faces really) with a pigeon sitting on the level above us… Dave and I are looking out towards the skyline and the buildings on Sussex.

It’s such a unique “wedding photo”, and I really feel it captured the idea of embarking on a wide open journey together, which is how Dave and I view our lives together.

That day was a complete mix of calmness, nervous excitement, love, joy and gratitude…something about the composition of that shot reminds me of all those emotions, and the hope that we have for our future. It takes the focus off the dress, the tux, the flowers… all the extras… I feel the photo is not only of us, but who we are.”

I think this wedding was one of my favourites for many reasons, not the least of which was the trust and faith Dave and Shannon placed in me. This lead us to create some of my favourite images from the whole year! But picking my favourite, I’ll go with this one:

Both Shannon and Dave have a strong faith in each other. That morning, Shannon was getting ready at the Westin, with a window facing the canal and the Congress Centre. The plan was to get together and take the magic time photos (this is what I call the time when the couple and I go and create the cool stuff) before the wedding. So the guys arrived at the hotel, but I thought it would be a neat photo to take a picture of them from the hotel room. I asked Shannon to call Dave, and told them what I had in mind.

Dave could not see Shannon,and didn’t have any idea what room she was in…he just knew she was there. When Shannon put her hand up on the glass, it completed their connection. That kind of faith in each other is difficult to get in a photograph, but I think did it in this one. That coupled with the graphic elements make this my favourite from their wedding.

…Mike

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“Just one, eh? Well, Bruce and I probably disagree on the favourite, but since you sent this to me and not him, I get to choose. Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!!

Without question, my favourite image is the “bubble” picture. When I first saw it, it made my day.

I love it because Katherine’s face is so bright and full of joy, her eyes are sparkling, and she seems so pleased with herself. I love it because she doesn’t do that anymore, and this picture has captured this moment in time.

When I look at this image, I think back to her playing with her toys, stopping to suddenly go, “Mmmm-aaaa, mmmm-aaaa,” as she made bubbles with her little mouth. It was serious business to her, and she seemed fascinated by her ability to do it.

I love it because she is young and beautiful.”

For the first time, my favourite image is the same one that was picked by the clients I have nothing to add!

…Mike

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“As we planned our wedding, one of the top most important things on our list of things to do was to find a good photographer. As we began our search we quickly noticed the high costs of photography. Then we found you and we knew what we wanted regardless the costs. And it was worth every penny!

Our favourite is this one”

“This is a beautiful photo we absolutely love. The favorite among many, the one photo that truly says I love you today, tonight, and forever. A magical evening that was captured not only in memory but a single photograph.”

Thank you. You’re the best!

I like strong graphic elements to images, so this one won out as my fave:

Louie-Rene ducked under a staircase, and the light was just right, and suits his expression. Love it!

…Mike

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