My home town of Woodstock Ontario is small, and the people of colour community is smaller, but their voice was/is loud, along with the communities voice, were definitely heard!
While walking to Victoria Park, ( Where the silent protest was held) people from all directions were walking up the streets, signs in hand, in good spirits, and ready to support and stand tall for people of colour, not just in Woodstock but everywhere. Change needs to be made, it should have been changed decades ago.
As everyone came together in the park you could feel the positive energy, people kept coming and coming.. I was honestly very blown away at the amount of people that showed up, so proud of our community. To see so many people come together in harmony for such and important cause, to see everyone in solidarity, all one voice no matter what your background is, it was incredibly up-lifting.
It’s very comforting to see that Woodstock is a place where everyone can come together, there is a lot of support, does that mean racism doesn’t happen here? I wish that were the case. This protest was calm, as I knew it would be.. the message was heard, and heard loud.. not only heard but also very visible. Signs held high, Chants of change, Speeches, taking a knee for a moment of silence, A song sang, and a March around the park to make presence known and get the word out.. it was moving. One of the biggest impacts, for me anyways.. eye opening, was when one of the event organizers, Jessica, had everyone raise their hand, all 5 fingers out. She then said “ Put a finger down if you…… “ and read off a list of the negative experiences people of colour endure on a regular basis .. example: put a finger down if you have been picked on or bullied for the colour of your skin …. by the time she read off 5 things on that list, she then asked everyone to look around at everyones hands… then asked if anyone still thought we were all treated equally …. it was very apparent that we are NOT!
Another great part of this protest, was Woodstock police department. Woodstock Police were there in numbers and they stood with everyone, not against, there was only one person that needed to be delt with, and for good reason… but we’re not going to focus on him.. he needs help.. a lot of help and was deflected quickly by the crowd then by the police in a peaceful way.
Walking around through the crowd, taking pictures of people, seeing how moved everyone was, how passionate everyone was about this.. hearing the speeches.. it was all so positive.. very “one heart, one mind” and I sincerely hope that these protests bring change!
Jessica and Hannah, you put together something amazing. You called out, and people answered the call, the call for change.. this was historic for change and for the our home town of Woodstock.
Love
Family First
When fall arrives, the families show up for shoots!
While I’m not really doing the whole family portrait thing much anymore, I did take on a few. Scott & Lynn booked me back in the winter months for a family session as a gift for their family but didn’t want to do the shoot until summer. Due to work and weather, this summer shoot quickly turned into a fall shoot.. where does the time go?
Roth park is a go to for me, well in Woodstock, It’s a go to for every photographer here as it offers a lot.. lake and beautiful woodsy trails, a bit of a beach at the right time of year. We knew what we were looking for on this shoot and the woods were perfect for it. It was starting to get chilly out so I didn’t want to keep everyone out to long, 40 mins was the goal, which was achieved.
Maddy & Diesel: A Girl and her Pup!
Maddy and Diesel were something a little different for me as I haven't really photographed portraits for someone and their dog, but it was a lot of fun! We were originally going to do this shoot back in the fall with all the leaves on the trees, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to change the date which led us into winter .... pre-snow winter.
This time of year the "lake" where I live gets drained out, not completely but quite a bit gets sucked out through the damn which leaves a nice, sandy beach look. Later in the day as the sun set we headed on down to utilize the park area and of course out on to the sand. Diesel was having a ton of fun running around and finding sticks to bring a long for the walk, which ended up in a few of the shots because getting that stick away was near impossible lol. Over all, with the sun set, the beach vibe, the lake and a great person and dog, it was a fantastic shoot!
- Shutter Click.
Kevin & Steph: Mexico Love
Sunset on the beach, Laughing, Loving, Holding... with the ocean rolling on to the beach, these two love birds showed us all what love really looks like.
While in Mexico for Jeremy and Haley's wedding, Kevin & Steph wanted to get a few images done at some point throughout our trip down on the beach to commemorate the trip and the time they spent together. Photographing these two was so easy, as they are so good together, always holding and touching one another, no posing necessary. As the sun set we took a short walk down the beach and shot a few frames, it was that easy, that quick and we walked away with some beautiful images that will be frozen in time forever.
-Shutter Click.
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2017
Jeremy & Haley: Mexico Wedding
From British Columbia to Toronto International Airport, to Cancun Mexico with friends and family to confess their love for one another.
Salty ocean air, white sand beaches, Swim up bar pool, Fire Shows, Dancing on the beach, amazing food, Sunny 30+ºC day's, friends and family... what a better way to get hitched!
With a traditional Scottish Hand Fasting ceremony on the beach at sunset, friends and family standing in a circle, wedding party standing in the circle North, South, East and West. Beautiful words were being spoke, the sound of the Gulf Of Mexico crashing against the beach, Jeremy & Haley speak their vows of love and devotion to one another. Passing a rope up and over one another hands to tie their hands together, the bond was created forever locking them together hand in hand..... Always & Forever. <3
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2017
Lorraine & Rachel: Engagement session
Lorraine & Rachel, these two are so much fun, so laid back and so in love!
Due to a slim window for shooting and scheduling we split their session over two Sundays to accommodate two separate locations that had significant meaning in their relationship. Session 1 : Goderich Ontario beach! Honestly, I had only been to Goderich once before on a photo drive with another photographer, it was winter so I missed all of it's beauty. Goderich is Beautiful! The town is small and built around an massive round about which I thought was brilliant, the people are friendly and the beach is beautiful sitting on Lake Huron.
We started out at the far end of the beach doing some beach walking shots, close to the water, holding hands and kissing. Time of day was not ideal, the sun was high, shadows deep but I'm use to shooting in those conditions so we just rolled with it. After a bit the sun started to disappear behind some clouds and the "good light" was allowing me some great shots. There were a set of rocks where Lorraine had proposed to Rachel so we definitely wanted to incorporate that into the session. With the wind blowing we had to make sure we were watching the water because at times it was splashing so hard on the rocks there was a high chance of getting soaked... did they get soaked... wellllllllll .... lol.. not soaked but there was one good splash that landed a few drops on their backs.
While walking along the board walk, we found another little gem spot where the trees opened up there was some sand and a tree that had fallen over, it honestly looked like we were in Mexico or the Dominican, so we had to get some shots there. Light was a bit tough as this spot was all shade, but the water and sky was bright so balancing was a bit rough... OH.. and the unexpected rouge wave that came in out of no where and soaked Lorraine and Rachel lol... honestly.. we didn't even see it coming in.
Location 2: St.Mary's Ontario.
The second Sunday we were off to St.Mary's Ontario at 8am.. the sky was a bit iffy, cloudy.. a bit chilly to start.. we wern't sure how this was going to go as they were calling for rain, but we lucked out and it held off for us. No rain, but there was bridge construction on one of the bridges St.Mary's has to offer and that meant they needed to drain some of the water out of the river. Usually there is water rushing over the dam in the middle of the river but on this day.. no such luck.. water levels were low.. so, change of plans.. no splashing and waterfall shots but, with the low water levels we could take advantage of getting out further into the water. St.Mary's is a beautiful town, small, and very old with a ton of history. Buildings were stone and looked like castles almost, it was very clean and quaint, I like that place. Over all the shoots were fantastic, these two are great clients, up for anything, so bubbly and cuddly with one another, they made my job very easy as I don't even need to pose them, they just cuddle up as soon as raise the camera. Can't wait to shoot their wedding in September.
Goderich Ontario
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2017
St. Mary's Ontario
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2017
Cassidy, Ben & LUCA!
Luca turned 1 ! ... unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the little man's birthday, so we decided to do a family portrait session.
6pm, the sun was out and getting lower in the sky, it was nice and warm with a small breeze.. perfect conditions to get out and shoot. If you follow my work you've seen Cassidy many times through out my portfolio, she has been a HUGE help to me and my photography. You may have even seen her Maternity photos.. in fact, I KNOW you have seen at least one of those images because it's the first image to see when you come to my website. Well little Luca is here! .. he's actually been here for a year, as he just had his birthday, so we wanted to get together and photograph them as a family. Our session started at Cassidy and Ben's home in London Ontario as they have a big backyard that always has some nice light. Luca had just woken up from his nap and he is teething so he was a little unhappy at the start, which is a bit unusual for him because he's always so happy, but who wouldn't be upset when you have big bits of calcium busting through your gums?!
Our photographic adventure took us to a part of Western University, where there are some trails and a forest with a river, which always makes for great light and over all amazing images. Hiking through the forest as the sun dropped the light was glowing from everywhere, and in a field not far from the path we were on there was a herd of dear grazing in the shade. With their small velvet antlers looking all innocent and cute, we immediately dropped everything (accept the camera's of course), and started to shoot with the deer in the background.
Getting deeper into the woods we reached a point where the path drops down into a gully, surrounded by tall trees and this amazing orange/yellowish light beaming in from in front of us. There was a small patch of light with this green moss growing in the light, and I knew we had to put Luca down in this light and get a shot.
From here we made it down to the river where we had some shots of Cassidy feeding Luca and Cassidy, Luca and Ben all sitting on the edge of the water in some tall grass cuddled up with one another. I had Cassidy take Luca out into the shallow parts of the water (ankle deep) so we could get some nice shots of them in the river with the amazing filtered light shining down on them.
Over all this was a fantastic shoot, great way to spend the day/evening and make some phenomenal imagery for some amazing people!
-Shutter Click!
Family Fall Forest Fun!
The leaves were falling, trees looking pretty bare, the sun was out and beaming through the trees and there was a cool breeze making the air crisp as we ventured through the woods out towards the pond. Ashley, her daughter Pyper and I have known each other for years.. we're bestfriends and I'm sure you've all seen them in many of my images. These two I couldn't imagine my life without. There's a strapping young lad amongst these images who goes by the name of Kyle, and he is Ashley's fiance who I am growing fond of and get along with awesomely.. he gave me corn the first time I met him and after this shoot he supplied me with a big bag of Butternut squash.. how could I not like him?
Every year we get together and set up a shoot or two so they always have pictures to see how far they've come and document Pypers growth, which I love. Every time we head out to shoot we always have a blast, Pyper is a dream to photograph always just being a kid and saying " Kevin, take my picture here... now over here.. can I take a picture with your camera? " as she holds down the shutter button and fires off 50 frames of blur lol, love this kid!
Kyles parents have a huge amount of land with tons of forest and a big pond all of which we decided to use for this shoot. It was a bit chilly out and windy so we didn't spend to much time out there, but shot as much as we could before we were to cold. Next summer we will be going back and doing some fun creative stuff out on the lake with the canoe and a fog machine.. so make sure you keep checking back for those.
Over all, we had a great time, made some great images and I can't wait to do it again!
Wish them Bon Voyage as they take off to Florida to experience Disney Land!
Cody & Carly | Maternity
With a nice little waterfall, a small river and a park in the woods, Cody & Carly's session was fantastic! As with all things photography, the shoot was based around light... evening sunlight but as the shoot began the clouds rolled in putting a damper on the original plan. Was this something to worry about? not at all. Very rarely do things go to plan in the photography world, so what do you do? roll with the punches and thats exactly how we did this.
Off to the waterfall we went for our first bit of the session. These two are pretty natural when it comes to posing, ask them to stand near one another and the cuddling begins naturally. With a glowing mom to be and an excited father to be this shoot was the bees knees.
We had some pretty nice filtered light from the clouds, great locations to play with and create a personal collection. Once the waterfall was looking amazing with these two we then went back over to the open space near the river to take advantage of the grassy space and the river backdrop. I'm not going to lie.. the water was very sulpherous (is that a word? it is now ) ... but we had to put up with the amazing smell of eggs lol.. it was doable though and these two handled it perfectly!
We then decided to head on over to a last minute locations that Cody had just thought of, the park. It was pretty neat to see this park kind of hidden in a forest.. there was a ball diamond, swimming pool, small splash pad and long walking bridge over the water to get there and some walking trails. Mosquito's were in full force in the woods, of course, and boy did they get a feast out of us... lets just say the wooded are was a quick portion... very quick shots because none of us could stay still for to long. On the way out of the woods we came across a Ginseng field.. you know, those ones with the black mesh tent over the field.. at this point the sun was setting. Colour in the sky and the lines of the field and tent made me stop in my tracks, just knowing there was a shot there.
Over all this shoot was fantastic, couldn't have asked for a better day/evening, it was warm out and Cody & Carly were very easy to work with. Thank you two for being awesome and I can't wait to meet the little one!
-Shutter Click.
Cassidy & Ben | Maternity
Welcome Cassidy ( Mother to be ) & Ben ( Father to be).
You may have seen Cassidy in some of my other collections, as we have worked together on many different occasions. This session was quite a bit different as this is Cassidy's first time being a mother also, I never really shoot maternity sessions, and Ben ( Cassidy's man ) is in this shoot!
What a fantastic day for a shoot, we had nice overcast skies, it was warm out.. a bit windy but that was fine, puts some movement into dress' and hair, conditions were perfect. This shoot took place in London Ontario around the Western University Campus.
With paths through a forest, A river and a wide open field this location offered many different looks, which is what I'm always looking for. I have to give a big thank you to Ben, he was a champ, not only in the pics, but when we were shooting images of Cassidy solo, Ben jumped right in as my assistant holding reflectors and scrims and offering to help carry my gear which was awesome of him!
ANTHONY & ELLIE
These two love birds are at it again!
Anthony & Ellie have to be two of the most loving, laid back couples I know! With a new location just 10 mins outside of town (which was brought to my attention by Anthony ), we drove down to begin a couples session.
Conditions were perfect for this shoot. Overcast skies, warm.. spring is finally here and we are loving it. With two giant ponds, lots of room, rocky cliffs and giant sandy mountains, this location is screaming summer shoots not to mention summer days swimming and soaking up the sun.
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2016
ANTHONY & ELLIE | LOVE LOCK DOWN
What a pleasure to shoot these two love birds! With our own personal private location full of creeks, forest, deer, open fields, corn fields the adventure unfolded through the afternoon.
Anthony & Ellie wanted something new, fresh and creative which is what drove them to Kevin Vyse photography. Making sure to keep the vibe of an engagement shoot we set out to make some amazing images. With an overcast start to the afternoon we started to hike back into the woods finding little hidden gem locations to shoot in, which this area had tons of.
Ellie & Anthony seemed like photoshoot pros as every time we set up to shoot they were already in the perfect pose, which made my job really easy. Over all this shoot was a lot of fun, laughs were had, the hike gave us all an awesome work out and also helped us stay warm as the weather was quite dull and chilly. - Shutter Click.
Images:
These two are also in to fitness, so of course we weren't going to leave that out of their session. Working out is all about the perfect hand placement... Anthony has this one down pat!
Cowapolooza: THE MUSIC Pt. 2
Hope you had a chance to check out Part 1 of this blog which was focused on the first band of the night: AFTER THE LOUNGE. They are an amazing rock band!
Part 2 is all about THUNDERSTRUCK! Canada's best AC/DC cover band. Apparently they had played cowapolooza about 4 years about, but honestly, I didn't attend any of the Cowapolooza festivals until 2 years ago so I missed out, and I'm pretty bummed out that I didn't go earlier because i've been missing out. THUNDERSTRUCK is simply outstanding! They look the part and definitely do AC/DC justice. I've always wanted to see AC/DC live, but now they don't tour anymore.. well, accept in Australia but I don't have any plans on going there .. yet. Thunderstruck just blew my mind with how dead on they are with their covers, their outfits and their stage presents!
If you ever get the chance to see these guys play in a city, town, village near you, GO!!!! If you love AC/DC then you will love Thunderstruck because they are the next best thing.
Shutter Click!
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013
© Kevin Vyse Photography
All rights reserved 2013