Union Photography Blog » Wedding, Portrait, Maternity and Lifestyle Photography by Jon Thorpe

The Kortright Center is well known to many who grew up in Toronto, as it was a popular destination for elementary school field trips when one was young. It definitely brought back a number of fond memories for me and it was nice to think that a beautiful wedding would now be added to them.

A winding trail through the forest, which led to a clearing in the woods, was the perfect setting for Andrea and Chris’ nature inspired ceremony. It was a very intimate celebration and was a nice change of pace from some of the larger weddings that I have been covering lately. It brought a lot of warmpth and energy to the event and made for a very relaxed day.

Thank you so much for having me at your wedding!

You will notice that this post is lacking in coverage (mainly the entire ceremony) but It is with good reason.

Jeff and Jessica have been fantastic friends of mine for many years now, so when Jeff asked me if I wanted to take part in his wedding day and to be one of his best men I could not refuse. They didn’t have a photographer for their intimate and casual wedding (there were only 20 people), so I ended up capturing what I could from my inside perspective… and even organized a quick night shoot with them.

I believe that I did a fairly good job of covering things!

Congratulations Jeff & Jess (Jeffica) and thank you for having me up there with you!

The weather outside may have been fierce, but high winds and rain could not extinguish the fiery passion of Mary and Ed  - and definitely didn’t dampen the excitement they carried throughout their big day.

I was extremely privileged to have Mary & Ed as my first couple of the 2010 wedding year. Their positive energy, passion and commitment turned a dreary March day into a vibrant and exciting event for everyone who was lucky enough to be with them, either in person, or through a web connection on other side of the country!

The day started off at Mary’s family’s home, which was awash in beautiful natural light and was followed by a simple but beautiful ceremony at Transfiguration of Our Lord Catholic Church in Etobicoke (Toronto).

The magnificent Liberty Grand set the stage for their reception, with live music, great food and plenty of details – even a surprise performance by Ed’s band! Another hi-light of the evening were the scratch and win cards that Ed & Mary had custom designed as a centerpiece giveaway game. How unique and fun!

A big thanks also goes out to my second photographer, Ryan, who helped me out throughout the wedding.

Thank you so much for inviting me to capture the moments of your day Mary & Ed!

I thought it would be fun to just play around and do something different today, so I exported all the frames (700 of them) from a wedding I had shot this past season to see what they would look like when stitched together in a movie clip.

One thing that I love about flipping through wedding day images like this, is how you can just feel the positive energy radiating from the photos in series!

Please forgive me for the rather basic editing and crude compression – I have never made a video before, but am learning quickly!

To see the images from Elisabeth & Ian’s wedding click here.

For many years, black and white photography took a back seat to the advancement of color imagery, along with the vibrancy and excitement that it brought along. Some will say that B&W was never left far behind, but it is also true that much of the art in it’s processing was lost to the “Convert to B&W” tool found in many photo editing programs.

Hand finished black and white photographs can give your moments an nostalgic feel by simply removing the distraction that color can sometimes bestow on an image. You can feel the emotion, the romance and timelessness of the subjects. The effort of dodging (brightening) elements of a photo can bring out life and energy in a subject, while a light burn (darkening) can provide a needed separation from the background, enhancing texture and balancing the tonal relationships within.

Each photograph ordered through my studio receives this loving and detailed treatment. If a picture is worth a thousand words, those words should be spoken with clarity.

For 2011, every photo that leaves the studio will be receiving a hand finishing that includes retouching, tone adjustments and more. It’s my dedication to quality service and to the art that photography is.

Below is a selection of imagery from this past season, showing how proper, subtle editing can further enhance great imagery.

Well, it’s the New Year and one of my resolutions was to keep on top of the blog. So far – utter fail!

But I do have the excuse of being super busy here. The photo booth has been a HUGE hit and has been occupying a lot of time, bookings are through the roof (only a few spots are left for this year) and I have been working on many little (and big) side projects, to fill in the gaps.

I do have a number of past shoots to post about though, so I will try getting to those over the next while. Stay tuned!

One wedding that I will post, is that of Mira & Kyle. I was actually second shooting this one with my good friend Catherine at Documentographer. She’s always fun to shoot with, as we collaborate and challenge each other throughout the day and it always leads to some spectacular captured moments. Our styles are slightly different, she is more organic and candid, while I really love posing people – it’s always great having different eyes.

I started off the day with Kyle at the Hyatt in Toronto, where we grabbed a few shots before heading over to the stunning house at which Mira was getting ready. The ceremony, reception and other festivities all took place at the beautiful Beth Tzedec Shul, located in Toronto.

Through the course of the wedding season I am usually quite busy managing my own weddings, but I occasionally have the opportunity to work with other photographers to create some truly fantastic collaborative work. I am not going to do full posts on these weddings, but thought I would toss up a few selects for you to enjoy!

The crisp fall air and changing leaves in Sudbury, Ontario provided the setting for a fantastic day and evening of celebration for Kate & Dave’s wedding. I was shooting along side the fantabulous Catherine Farquharson who had been climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro only a day prior and required me to be available as a stand-in just in case. It of course never came to that, as Catherine is a seasoned jet setter, so headed out to enjoy a fantastic fall shoot with a fun couple!

I Just LOVE red roses. The simplicity of Kate’s bouquet really set things off and I just couldn’t keep my lens off it!

Faye & Micheal’s wedding was shot with Dave, who is one half of Dave & Charlotte. The Berkeley Event Center was the setting and is a Toronto location that I truly love shooting at. It was my 3rd wedding captured there and the weather was absolutely perfect as was the ambiance of the venue.

One thing that I love about the Berkley Church is the combination of vibrancy and texture that all of the different hallways, rooms, nooks and cranny’s provide. I feel like I can shoot there 100 times and have a different feel and flavor each time.

I love weddings that take place in the country! It’s a fantastic break from the hustle of the city and the picturesque landscapes make for truly fantastic backdrops for portraits.

Autumn and Alex’s wedding took place on a cute little piece of property outside of Newtonville Ontario. I’m glad that they provided me with directions too – because the location didn’t even show up on Google maps!  Things started off inside the country home as Autumn prepared for the big day and then, for the ceremony, transitioned to a beautiful gazebo overlooking a pond.

I had my good friend Sebastian as my assistant photographer for the day and he did a fantastic job of gathering the details of the event. Thanks!

I love the photo of Autumn spinning in her beautiful dress!! The flower details on her shoes also looked fantastic. Flats were definitely the smart choice, as the dancing was pretty intense later in the evening!

The afternoon light was just starting to soften up as we headed out for some quick portraits on a quiet side road. They both love their Sky convertible and I just had to squeeze it into one of the shots for a bit of play!

The mix of color temperatures really punched up the vibrancy of the above images. The pond made for a perfect reflecting pool with the mist just starting to dance across the surface.  In the last image, I am actually catching a guests camera flash – one of those unexpected treats that I sometimes get when sorting through the days images!

Enjoy!

Well, I promised myself that I would get this beautiful wedding blogged today and here it is! Elisabeth and Ian’s boutique wedding took place at the George Restaurant and Verity Hotel under blue skies and… the roaring sound of Jet Fighters?  Luckily it was not an aerial invasion, but rather the high flying acrobatic maneuvers of F-18’s as they took part in the Toronto Air Show. Our minister had to speak up a little at times, but it was kind of neat having the extra entertainment!

So this is what you get when you combine a beautiful and fun couple with a fantastic venue on a beautiful day! It really could not get any better! I really have to thank Elisabeth and Ian for letting me steal themselves away from the party to take the last shot… It was well worth it!

Enjoy the memories!

Where has this summer gone? It seems like it was just a few days ago that I had photographed Joanne & John’s wedding in the city – yet weeks have passed. I really must get back on the blogging bandwagon – because I have so much to show all of you!

So back to the story. Joanne and John are one of those special couples whom can light up an entire room with their energy and passion for one another. I love working with couples like this as the energy translates into joyous, natural and generally fantastic imagery!

Their ceremony took place at the Toronto Korean Presbyterian Church, which I loved because of its bright interior, open format and modern architecture. This was followed by local photos (we found a few amazing spots at random!) and then a reception to remember at the Sheraton. Wow what a day!

You guys were awesome and I really feel privileged to have worked with you, your family and friends!

These guys had a ton of fun when it came to the kissing game! Superman imitation!