BLOG MOVED

Hello readers!

My blog has been moved!

To find the new blog, please visit:

http://chrisbodnarphotoblog.com

Thanks and looking forward to seeing you there!

Cheers,
Chris

Small Update

I have clearly been slacking on this blog lately!

To be fair and honest, this past month and a half has been my busiest of the year. Not only with shooting, but editing, building my business, coming up with a new website and blog design (coming soon!), light travelling, and meetings.

Suffice to say, it's left me little time to do this! The purchase of new computer equipment has slowed down the process even further, as I've had to switch over internal and external hard drives, software, and nearly 20,000 images from ALL my work - studio, wedding, and personal.

A blog is a very important aspect of a photographers website - it allows me to show new work without drastically altering my website. It allows YOU, the reader, to get to know me via my images and my stories.

Feeling like you're getting to know the photographer you're following, or in fact hiring, is important! Especially on a business level - for both you and I.

Since I love writing small stories to each wedding day I cover, a blog entry can take me much longer than most others.

I'm currently working on one for Anahita & Matt - a wonderful wedding that Andreas and I photographed at my favourite venue in the city - Graydon Hall.

Thanks for being so patient every one! Keep an eye out for the new layouts and designs!

Chris

Jennifer + Carlin - Their Day

As promised, here are some more photos and a short story from Jennifer + Carlin's wedding this past Saturday at the Burlington Golf & Country Club!

Jennifer and Carlin met in high school, but it wasn't until a couple years later (after Jennifer's self-confessed 2 year 'crush') that they finally hooked up. She knew seemingly right away that she was destined to marry Carlin - whom, on the other hand, didn't think he would ever settle down at all!

I started off the day - along side Andreas - at Jennifer's house in Oakville, ON. The first 2 things we realized were :

1 - the houses in this area were massive and gorgeous!

2 - there was a Bentley in the garage!

Jennifer, her family, and her absolutely stunning bridesmaids couldn't have made us feel any more comfortable! From the moment we walked into their home, their warmth was incredible. They offered us amazingly delicious-looking avocado and tomato sandwiches, but we were stuffed from breakfast! Jennifer had each bridesmaid make their own mix CD of any songs that reminded them of her - suffice to say, there were quite a few older hip hop and dance tracks, many just for jokes! The girls seemed cool, relaxed, and comfortable - usually rare on the bride's side of things - and they were all more than happy that Jennifer's father decided to take his morning swim with his bathing suit on - a supposed rare occurrence!

I didn't stay long, and was instead off to Carlin's house down the street while Andreas stayed with the girls. Carlin - if you were ever to read this, I must say that you have a solid, funny, and sincere set of friends! I think every one could tell that Carlin was pretty nervous, so a lot of funny jokes and talk about music and concerts they've experienced helped lighten the mood - along with Carlin's VERY infectious laugh! A couple glasses of beer were had, and then it was off to the ceremony!

The ceremony was short and sweet - only 30 mins long. It was a quick jaunt to the country club, where we decided to shoot the group photos, and snap some candids during the cocktail hour. I also discovered an amazing drink - Pimms & Lemonade! For those of you who don't know what it is, Google it - or better yet, order one!

The night went on - dinner was amazing (we had pistachio-crusted salmon), speeches were hilarious, and you could just tell that these 2 families were destined to come together. Carlin couldn't help but laugh every couple of minutes - and the guests were more than liberal with the clanking of the crystal, seemingly never giving Jennifer and Carlin a break from standing up and kissing (not that they minded I'm sure!).

The night went off without a hitch, thanks to Susan from Bliss - one of the most amazing planning companies I've ever had the experience of working for! I've worked with them on weddings of a few hundred guests, and weddings of a few dozen, and each and every time they perform flawlessly - keeping to a tight schedule, and dealing with any issues that might arise on your big day! If you want to rid yourself of the stress of planning your wedding day, make sure to definitely give Bliss a call - Tara, Whitney, and Susan would each be amazing choices!

Below are a few more shots from the day (see the previous post for a few more!). You'll notice that I included a couple sequence shots as well - I believe that single candid shots are great for setting their own mood and presenting a day as it happens, but sequence candid shots give you a slightly different feel and perspective - a slightly deeper feeling of being with us at those moments!

Jennifer + Carlin - Teaser

I am back on the blogsphere after a month + hiatus!

This past month and a half or so saw MANY weddings, more terrible Toronto weather, a trip to Kelowna + Vancouver to ATTEND a family wedding, the purchase of a new film camera (yes, film!), meetings with new and potential clients, and my concentration on portraitures and still life all shot on film ...

... to say it's been a busy summer would be an understatement! It's finally time I started getting back on track, and showing more work to anyone who is interested.

Let this sort of be an end-of-summer resolution - more frequent blog posts will be made, and with YOUR help, I will extend my reach to a wider audience ... tell your friends and family, anyone who is interested in photography, about this blog! Who doesn't enjoy a nice wedding shot or 2?

I've been spending all night installing Apple's new OS, Snow Leopard, and editing a few quick shots from this past weekends absolutely wonderful wedding - Jennifer + Carlin's big day!

I will just be posting a couple pictures tonight - but an extended post will be made, including a story of how their day unfolded, along with more pictures!

Thanks for staying patient and keeping with me!

Kendra + Ryan - Part 2

So I must apologize for the delay in the link!

As it turns out, I went from 20 or so images to 70+!

You can view them all by going to the link below:

http://chrisbodnarphoto.com/kendra-ryan

Enjoy!

Kendra + Ryan - True Romance

A couple weekends ago, Andreas invited me along to shoot a wedding in Owen Sound - the marriage of Kendra and Ryan.

Their story is most likely as close to storybook/movie script as they come!

Kendra and Ryan met back in their university days at Queens University in Kingston, ON in 1996. They quickly became best friends - spending all of their free time together and helping each other through ups and downs, including terrible relationships.

After graduation, they split ways for a few years - Ryan taking his MBa in Business, and eventually moving out West to Calgary to work for his Uncle's business, while Kendra was chasing her dreams at med school at Queens. Distance did not hinder their friendship however, and only strengthened their relationship.

Kendra decided to go visit Ryan one winter - to visit her best friend, and to enjoy a nice week together in the mountain ranges outside of Calgary. It was this weekend specifically (according to both Ryan and Kendra anyways!) that they finally clicked, and decided to get together - now being many years after they first met!

The story of their actual engagement is easily just as 'storybook'! Kendra was working her first shift at an infertility clinic to build hours towards her medical degree, when she was sent to a room full of men with fertility problems (what else would the room be filled with?). Little did she know that the nurses at the clinic were tipped off by Ryan, who told them about his plan to propose, and in preparation, they filled this room full of good looking men - one of them being Ryan! Sitting with his back facing Kendra, a nudie magazine in his hands, Kendra called out his name. You can imagine her reaction when this 'infertile guy' turned around and having it be Ryan - she was angry that he would visit on her first day of work - not to mention confused as to the reason why he was in an infertility clinic to begin with! He quickly stood her on a hospital bed, knelt down and proposed.

Ryan still maintains his job in Calgary, while Kendra has just finished her residency at a hospital here in Ontario. Anyone who has been in a long distance relationship definitely knows the difficulty of maintaining a healthy connection, but Kendra and Ryan are perfect examples of how love can truly conquer kilometres - and in this case, thousands of kilometres! Ryan plans on moving to Ontario within the year, so this couple will finally be able to finish their story.

Back to the big wedding weekend!

We decided to drive up Friday morning, which would allow us to scope out Owen Sound, the church in which the marriage would become official, and the Cobble Beach Golf Club, which is where the cocktail hour and reception would take place. We attended the rehearsal at the church, and were invited to a BBQ by Kendra and Ryan that same evening. The food was great, but what was truly amazing was the crowd we were surrounded by - both families couldn't have been any more warm and welcoming!

Thousands of images were taken over the course of two days - and there are at least a dozen that I would like to share with you! Below are just a couple photographs from the 2 days - a web gallery with 20 or so images will be uploaded onto my site for tomorrow - the link being exclusively available via this blog, so check back!

The Beautiful Helen Tansey

My first serious foray into the photographic industry in Toronto was landing a job at one of the best (at the time anyways) pro photography labs in the city - the now defunct Digital Pro Lab (DPL), also known as Seiflow.

When I had first started, I didn't know many - if any - photographers in the city. I had decided that I wanted experience through hands on learning, instead of going to college or university, and with the help of Bob Carnie at Elevator (one of the finest printing labs in the world), I landed the job at DPL. I started making contacts right away - dealing with pro photographers on a day-to-day was the major part of my job. It allowed me to see their work - leaving me to guess techniques and technical aspects of every shot I encountered.

There were many photographers I met - and even currently do work for. These include Denise Grant - an amazing actor, music, and commercial photographer; Tim Leyes - who I consider to be a master at naturally lit portraiture for both editorial and actors; and Andreas of Andreasphoto Inc. - who I consider to be one of, if not THE best wedding photographers in the city and beyond, and of whom has greatly influenced my style of photojournalistic photography.

One of my closest friends and colleagues however is definitely Helen Tansey.

Helen has been a portrait photographer pushing 15+ years, and in fact started out in the business nearly the exact same way that I have - even starting at the same lab. She is an amazingly beautiful person both inside and out. She has helped teach me the business side of photography, as well as helped distill the fact that even though photography is a hobby and an art form, it needs to be considered as a business in order for you to be financially feasible and successful.

Helen also happens to have the most amazing ability to make ANY person comfortable and open, especially in front of the lens. This truly blows me away every time I work with her - any person who may be nervous or awkward instantly becomes cool, calm, and relaxed.

You might be wondering where I'm going with this!

Helen had asked that I photograph her for use on her new website, along with wanting the photos for personal use. She also invited a couple close friends to join in. I was more than happy to oblige, even though nerves definitely set in! Helen is stunning in front of the camera as well as behind the camera - she knows what looks good, and knows how to just kill each shot - nearly every shot from our session was fantastic! We also mixed in a bit of fun as well - Helen and Tania love to fool around and laugh, as you can tell from the "Oooo!" shot below!

Here are a few examples of a simply lit (1 umbrella and 1 octobox if anyone is interested) studio portraiture session of someone I greatly admire and respect.