Toronto Islands Lifestyle Couples Session: Josh + Erin
They were up for a mini adventure so they took the ferry to a nearby island and went exploring. Because of recently flooding, it was quite empty except for residents and a few visitors but it just meant that Erin and Josh had the place to themselves.
The best part of this lifestyle session was that there was no pressure for them. Because they're already married, this was a time for enjoy being married. All they had to do was have a good time and it was my job to capture that.
Josh and Erin, thank you for believing in the reason for creating and collecting memories. I hope this small set of snapshots will stay with you until your next adventure.
The sunset was beautiful that night and the last light glowed behind the Toronto skyline.
Maternity: Tina and Jon
Jon wanted to give Tina memorable photographs to document this time before they started the next exciting stage in their lives: Parenthood. It truly is a meaningful and thoughtful gift. We forget a lot of the journey leading up to a major life event and photographs have the power to help us remember not only the big, but also all the little moments.
Tina has the cutest baby bump and it's hard to believe she's due very soon.
Food: Summer Drinks
With the weather finally warming up, I've been experimenting with different combinations of fruits, juices and our trusty Soda Stream.
It all started a few summers ago when we were hosting a barbeque. I didn't want to buy carbonated sugary drinks so I decided to try making big batches of healthier drinks. Here are the different ways I tried:
For large parties
I mixed store-bought juice with club soda which dilutes the amount of sugar per cup. Using frozen fruit (eg. berries) instead of ice is great for chilling without watering the batch down.
For 1-2 people
This way is better for making small amounts. Use a Soda Stream machine and instead of their pre-made drink mixes, I put pieces of fruit like fresh ripe mango and add a splash of juice (bought or freshly-squeezed) to make my own flavoured carbonated water.
For small parties
For a smoothie, I blended up fresh fruit like watermelon as the drink's base then added frozen fruit.
I hope these ideas will help you make some of your own concoctions. Let me know if you try any of these!
Food: Mary Macleod's Shortbread
If you love shortbread cookies, give Mary Macleod's Shortbread a try. The Toronto company was started back in 1981 by Mary Macleod whose specialty was shortbread.
I've known about Mary Macleod's Shortbread for a few years and recently had the opportunity to style and photograph all their different flavours of their cookies for their marketing and promotional material. For me, it's special to work with local businesses that started small and have grown to reach shortbread lovers around the world.
If you're looking to give delicious gifts, check out their online store or if you're in the neighbourhood, check out their shop at 639 Queen St E.