Passion

BRANTLEY GILBERT - FIRE'T UP TOUR

January 25, 2020

FIRE’T UP TOUR KICKS OFF IN LONDON ONTARIO, CANADA!

Brantley Gilbert’s FIRE’T UP TOUR broke loose in London to kick off the tour along with Brandon Lay & Dylan Scott and it was incredible!
Brantley comes out, down the stairs being lit up by a single spotlight then BOOM! flames shoot straight up across the back of the stage lighting up the entire stage in a nice warm orange glow, we could feel the heat down in the pit. With his raspy yet soulful voice, Brantley belted out, running back and fourth across the stage putting on one hell of a good show. So much pyro in the first 3 songs, not sure how the rest of the set went as we only shoot the first 3 songs then we’re out, but to have pyro and good lighting in the first 3 songs is pretty rare, at least in my experience. This was my first time taking in a Brantley Gilbert show and wow… he definitely did not disappoint one bit. If you love Brantley’s voice like I do, then you need to make sure you’re at a show on this tour because he sounds dead on live, I was blown away.

Brandon Lay, I’ll be honest here I didn’t know who Brandon Lay was, but that’s what I love about shooting shows. Sometimes you don’t know the openers, and sometimes those openers become music you add to your play list because you loved what you heard, and this was one of those times. Brandon was great and a good mix for the show. Now I said I didn’t know him, which the name I didn’t.. but once he started his set I realized I know some of his songs, mainly Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers … love that song.. just didn’t realize he did it. Brandon was awesome live, would definitely go see him again.

Dylan Scott, man oh man this guy looked so comfortable on stage, big smiles and you could just tell he was very appreciative of where he is in life and what he gets to do for a living. Of course in the first 3 songs he shot out his hit song HOOKED, which is such a fun, energetic song and the crowd was definitely feeling it, the screams when he finished the song were ear piercing, the crowd just loving him. Dylan Definitely got the crowd fired up for Brantley.

All in All this Tour is incredible and keeps your attention, makes your ears smile ( If they had mouths) and if you’re THINKING about going to a stop on this tour… stop… don’t think.. just go buy your ticket and get ready for a great night out.. no one on this tour disappoints.

BIG THANK YOU goes out to Budweiser Gardens & Live Nation for the opportunity to photograph the first stop on this tour, without them I would never have these opportunities and it means a lot, I am very grateful for the approvals and allowing me to do what I love.

BRANTLEY GILBERT

BRANDON LAY

DYLAN SCOTT

Photography. Travel. Time

December 28, 2017

It's amazing from year to year how much things change when you put your time into something you love and strive to always get better.
A few years ago I was asked, last minute, to get in a Ford F-150 with a buddy of mine who was going back out west to British Columbia after being home, here in Ontario visiting with friends and family. I had just taken vacation from work but had zero plans, so I figured why not? There is another blog on here called " The Great Canadian West " which covers that whole adventure.. you can think of this one as kind of a second part to that entry.

Long story short.... today I went back through some of the images I took from that trip, images which I thought were garbage but I had kept the RAW files as I normally do. Since that trip, I have spent a lot of time shooting, a lot of time studying, doing editing tutorials, paying for tutorials and teaching video's.. really learning whatever I could. Turns out, a lot of the images from that trip are still very usable.. it just took time for me to develop more skills, editing techniques.. even a new eye (way of looking at things).
Moral of the story here.. the message I'm trying to convey is, even though you don't see it now, you may in the future. Do not give up, constantly learn, if you love it keep trying, keep building.. strive to be better every day and you will see improvements!

Here are some of the images from that trip that I had discarded thinking they "were no good", "unusable", " There's no picture here " ........

© Kevin Vyse PhotographyAll Rights Reserved 2017 — © Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2017

Kevin & Steph: Mexico Love

December 10, 2017

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.

Jeremy & Haley: Mexico Wedding

December 09, 2017

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

ICELAND 2016: A Solo Adventure

September 21, 2016

I remember when all of a sudden, 6 months had flown by. I was at home packing my bags, not sure what to take, freaking out over weight and size of luggage for the trip. I woke up and it was time to go. Drove over to my parents house, parked the car and they drove me up to Toronto to catch my flight on WOWair. I was all excited and nervous all at the same time, worried about getting everything on the plane and what I was going to struggle with once I got to Iceland.

Landing at the Keflavik International Airport in Iceland I was so tired. My flight left Canada at 7:30pm and I arrived in Iceland at 5:30am, and you might think that means the flight was 9 hours.. but it wasn't. Iceland is 4 hours AHEAD of Ontario, so it was a 5 hour flight. My first issue, was that the camper van company I rented through didn't open until 9am, so I had 4 hour wait for them to come pick me up at the airport. I ended up going to a sweet little place called Joe & The Juice in the airport which is a small cafe that was fantastic; the food was delicious, people were nice and they played some pretty good music too. 9am came and a girl came walking through the doors with a sign in her hands, on it was the Kuku Campers logo and my name... we were off!

Once at Kuku Campers we went through all of my options, extra insurance, whats included, my Itinerary.. everything, they were so nice and helpful which was a stress reliever. Next, it was time to go check out my ride!

My sweet ride for 9 days in Iceland... she was good to me!

Ok, lets get into the trip!
My first stop was in Reykjavik ( Iceland's Capitol ).. I didn't realize how close it was to where I picked up my camper so I kind of lost a day there because I had rented a wifi box from Reykjavik Camping Equipment for the day AFTER I arrived in Iceland. Driving in the city was a bit tough.. I didn't understand some of the signs .. a couple I thought were saying I was on a oneway street going the wrong way, which I later realized they just meant no parking. Also, they drive pretty aggressive in Reykjavik and all the damn double lane round-a-bouts just about killed me. I used the GPS I rented with the camper to find my way to the one and only Reykjavik campsite which all the websites referred to as " Reykjavik Campsite " ... when really it's called Tjaldsvaedid-Laugardal Campsite... or thats what I had to find in the GPS to get there because it didn't recognize "Reykjavik Campsite ". This campsite was awesome.. one of my favs on the whole trip.. loved it so much I spent two nights there at the end of my trip.

Now, into the good stuff! Iceland is an amazing, wonderful, beautiful place with ever changing landscapes... this has to be said! Blown away, it's been almost two weeks since I've been home and I still can't stop thinking about it and missing it. My trip took me from the West to the East along the South Coast... back from the East to the West then along the West Coast up toward the north. Let me put this out there first though.. I screwed up the trip. I didn't realize that I had enough time to complete the ring road ( the road that goes along the entire outside edge of the island in a big circle ) so once I got far enough East.. I went back West.
Lets start with Skogafoss... this waterfall was my love. I saw this waterfall online 6 years ago and instantly fell in love with it and that started my love for Iceland and the want to travel there. A mass waterfall surrounded my mountains and a staircase that takes you up to the top of this giant. Be warned.. the staircase is TOUGH... it's steep and long but once at the top it's an outstanding view! Once I had defeated Skogafoss I decided I would push on to the next stop. Plans changed as soon as I saw how close the black sand beach was which was the home of the crashed DC-3 Aircraft that crashed in the 1970's. This stop was about 15 mins maybe 25mins from Skogafoss, so once I saw all the cars parked along the side of the road and everyone walking out into the nothingness, I knew what it was and that I had to do it. WARNING... this hike is a killer! hahah maybe I'm just really out of shape.. but it's about 5K out and 5K back on black sand and rocks. I did this hike later in the evening.. maybe around 5:30pm with a big winter jacket and a 15lbs camera bag. My legs and hips were dying on my quick but it was so worth it once I got out there.. this was another MUST on my trip and I couldn't believe it once I was out there standing in the shadow of this gutted aircraft in all it's weathered glory.

Travelling the roads of Iceland is beautiful no matter where you are. One side of the road is all mountains and volcano's, waterfalls and farms. On the opposite side of the road flat as far as you can see or the Ocean.. it was quite crazy to see. As you drive down the roads there are times where the road looks like it's going to run straight into a huge mountain side, but then veers off to the side and around it. I saw countless waterfalls, big and small.. some really close to the road, others up the side of a mountain trickling down.. there were giant Glaciers.. horses and sheep everywhere.. the sheep were all over.. my eyes constantly scanning the roads for them as they just roamed where ever they please.. up high in the mountains, right beside the roads and often right in the middle of the roads.

I'm just going to focus on some of the highlight places of my trip as you can see this is already quite a huge post.. if you've read this far... i'm impressed with you!

VIK: Also another big, but small town, I wanted to visit! it is the Southern most village in Iceland located on the ring road (Road 1 ). This village is right on the Ocean and full of black sand beaches and cliffs. While there isn't much to the village at all.. it's still a beautiful place. You drop down into it with a mountain side on your right, mountains in the distance and the ocean as well as up high on a hill sits this Red and White church overlooking the ocean.. it was amazing.

JOKULSARLON: Also known as the Glacier Lagoon is a must see! I personally have never seen Icebergs before, so I had no idea what to expect. I parked where I saw everyone else parking and saw these little trails through these small sand/grass hills.. you couldn't see anything really but some mountains way off in the distance. Out of nowhere you go up this little hill and BAM you're looking out over the ocean with all these white and blue icebergs floating in the water.. my jaw dropped.. I stopped walking... took a minute to take it all in, then raised my camera to my face and snapped a shot in amazement. I spent about 2 hours just walking around, getting down to the water and seeing the icebergs up close.. watching some of them flip over and piece breaking off, splashing down into the water. I also saw a seal swimming out in the water.. it was far out and I had my wide angle on at the time so I couldn't get a pic.. wouldn't have been much anyways as it just popped it's head out from the water every now and then.

You know what... I know no ones going to read all of this, so i'm just going to let the pics speak for themselves... If you're thinking about going to Iceland.. stop thinking, book your flight... it's a life changing experience and something everyone needs to see. Get a camper.. it's the cheapest way to do it... grocery shop at the BONUS grocery stores that are in every bigger city and spend the night at campsites.. they average $15 (CDN) per night most have showers with hot water, nice bathrooms and Wifi. Almost every city has Geothermal Pools that you can pay a small fee to swim in all year round.. the people are so nice and helpful and everyone speaks english... it's the safest place ever.. there's no crime so it's so safe for people to travel solo.. there are hitch hikers everywhere and they always get picked up because everyones so honest and nice... it's so safe! GO GO GO!!!!!!!

Skogafoss - the water giant from far... spent my first night in the camper van here at the base of this monster as it sang me to sleep.

Another shot of Skogafoss up close just before I started to climb the stairs to the top.. there's a bird in this image near the middle.. these birds are constantly flying around and hanging out on the ledges and cliffs.

Skogafoss from the top... what a view.. after I caught my breath I could enjoy it.

Seljalandsfoss waterfall is one of the first waterfalls you see when you head east.. it's so amazing because you can walk right behind it.. you will get wet, but it's worth it.. and it's pretty huge.

Down the river from Skogafoss are these river side sleeping giants.. as the sun set lower behind a mountain the fog started to roll down the hillside.

As you drive road 1 (The ring road ) you get to flat points where the land has all these rivers flowing through it.. in the distance are some mountains sleeping in the sunlight.

When you get close to the Ocean you can see the mountains in the distance and the fog settling at the base of them.

The Crashed DC-3 Aircraft out in the middle of no where on the black sand beach by the Ocean was definitely a highlight for me. It has been weathered and gutted.. the sound of the wind whistling through it still goes through my mind when I close my … — The Crashed DC-3 Aircraft out in the middle of no where on the black sand beach by the Ocean was definitely a highlight for me. It has been weathered and gutted.. the sound of the wind whistling through it still goes through my mind when I close my eyes. a 5K hike out and a 5K hike back on black sand and rocks with very strong winds made this the biggest challenge but once you reach it, it's all worth it. <3

This is my favourite image.. you can almost see the time and pain of the aircraft.. so forgotten, yet seen daily.. people were everywhere, it was hard to get a shot with nearly anyone in it. Unfortunately, travellers have wrote on it.. broke pieces … — This is my favourite image.. you can almost see the time and pain of the aircraft.. so forgotten, yet seen daily.. people were everywhere, it was hard to get a shot with nearly anyone in it. Unfortunately, travellers have wrote on it.. broke pieces off of it and climbed all over it.. who knows how much longer it will be in the shape that it is.. I'm so happy that I was able to see this beauty.. crashed in the 1970's ... some of the locals say that the reason for the crash was never determined, but most say they simply ran out of fuel and had to ditch it... amazingly, the entire crew survived the crash.

Iceberg Lagoon ... just an amazing jaw dropping site.. To see these giant pieces of ice floating in the ocean with mountains/volcano's surrounding them.. the colour of the blue's ... wow.. just wow...

What do you see when driving the roads of Iceland.... this... it's beautiful! it gets a lot better than this too.. roads through mountain sides.. through the ocean.. it's mind blowing.

Horses everywhere.. and sheep.. but this horse was my first friend in Iceland. I stopped and approached the fence and none of the horses seemed to care. I put my hand over the fence and this beauty walked right up to have a sniff then put it's head … — Horses everywhere.. and sheep.. but this horse was my first friend in Iceland. I stopped and approached the fence and none of the horses seemed to care. I put my hand over the fence and this beauty walked right up to have a sniff then put it's head right against my hand letting me pet it's nose. Shortly after all the other horses made their way over to say hi. I call her White Lightening

Mars Mountain I call this one. I went through a section that looked like mars... like I said.. the landscape constantly changes.. you think you're on another planet!

On the flight home, the pilot took us over Greenland, which was a great way to end the trip.. what a beautiful sight from the plane.

ANTHONY & ELLIE

May 13, 2016

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

FASHIONEEEEESTAS!

November 01, 2015

Fashion photograph has always been something I've found to be drawn to, oddly enough, I've never really shot it?
This Past weekend, my friend & Hair stylist, Cassidy, had asked to get together and do a shoot with her and one of her friends in London Ontario. We didn't really have a game plan, I honestly hate planning shoots out.. they never seem to follow the plan I make anyways so we decided to make it kind of a lifestyle/fashion shoot. With the weather getting all rainy and cold we decided to keep it in doors and lucky for us Cassandra ( Cassidy's friend and co-worker) had a great location for us to shoot in.. her house!

From fashion, to punk/grunge this shoot went very well. We used 3 different spaces and a bunch of different wardrobe choices to create some awesome images that I am proud to have in my portfolio.

A big thank you goes out to Cassidy & Cassandra for their involvement and always providing me with some models to work with. - Shutter Click~

Hair, Make up & Wardrobe: Cassidy & Cassandra
Models: Cassidy & Cassandra
Photographer: Kevin Vyse Photography.

© Kevin Vyse Photography All Rights Reserved 2015 — © Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2015

BOHEMIAN PICNIC

July 18, 2015

She's the kind of woman who loves life, nature, travel and experiences life to the fullest while being thankful for her experiences.

Flower crows, nick nacks, dresses, jewelry... this was the back bone of our shoot. Bohemian Picnic was the theme and our location was in a big backyard which was set up as the bohemian picnic. Cassidy is a good friend of mine and a fantastic Hair Stylist, we have worked with each other for all kinds of different shoots as I'm sure you've seen before in past blog posts.
Not only is Cassidy a wiz with hair, but she was the one who set up this fantastic set to photograph on with all of her own personal Nick Nacks. Weather wise, we were a little worried as it was pretty cloudy and the forecast called for rain, but that wasn't going to stop us. Lucky enough for us it started to clear up and the sun was diffused through the clouds, giving us some nice soft even light.

With music blaring, some wine flowing and the creative juices fired up we started off with the shoot. I wasn't to sure if I was going to use lighting or not, but after snapping a few shots and seeing that the sun was out enough to cause some tough shadows, the lights came out. We wanted to get a bunch of "Hippy-Flower Child" images as well as some creative portfolio work that I had in my back pocket ( The bike shot with the crazy chunky cloud sky).

We had a ton of fun on this shoot along with Cassidy's sister who was on set to help out and watch the shoot go down and see how it's done because she is thinking about doing a shoot of her own in the near future. This shoot lasted about 4-5 hours, it was more of a hang out and shoot kind of thing, just having some fun, getting great shots and experimenting with lighting and different techniques. Hope you enjoy the images from this shoot - Shutter Click.