It was close to five years ago that my wife and I had to say goodbye to our first home in the North End of Halifax. Despite its immeasurable character we would have felt cramped with the arrival of our second child. No yard. No privacy. No room to swing a cat. Boxes packed we headed to our second home in Clayton Park - a funky 1960s brick bungalow in the ‘burbs. 

Apprehensions soon gave way to excitement when we discovered that we’re surrounded by a number of green spaces - parks and woodland pockets that won’t be disappearing anytime soon. Added to that is the accessibility of the ocean. Within 15 minutes we can be along the shores of Herring Cove, one of my favourite spots in the province. Where else can you escape city life without having to drive too far from the city itself? Pure bliss. Granite boulders and cliffs, punctuated by tidal pools and clusters of Northern Bayberry that glow green in the summer months and burn red in the fall. Porpoise and mackerel, sunrises and tall ships. Just a handful of the things one can see from the safety of shore. 

It’s for these reasons that I love bringing people to this corner of the maritimes. I firmly believe that there should be an element of adventure when having your photo taken. Foster that excitement and capture the reactions. 

This was a fun session. Marco & Lena traveled from New Brunswick to have photos taken after their wedding. My heart was so completely set on taking them to the coast that I forgot about some of the logistics. I provided a map pin and a brief description of where we’d be heading, but failed to give them a heads up on the terrain. It’s rough and tumble. Rocks, roots, marsh and mud. Some dry spots, but you’ve got to hike to get to them. And there they were - dressed to the nines and wearing footwear suitable for a ballroom. #photographerfail. 

But they were excited. As excited as I was to introduce them to Herring Cove. We took it slow. Backtracked a number of times. But didn’t slip. Didn’t fall. And what a night it was. Just the slightest breeze off the water and a lovely mix of pastel tones in the sky. 

I’ve spent a fair amount of time behind an 85mm lens the past couple of years - it was never something I had in my Canon kit, but since switching to Fuji X-series cameras I’ve fallen in love with their version of this focal length - the 56mm f1.2. Bokeh for days. That said I’ve begun to revert to my 35 & 50mm roots for wedding photos. It’s nice to take that step forward and get a little closer to clients. Make things awkward for the sake of capturing something a little more intimate. It can be nice, but it isn’t always about the bokeh. This session marked a transition between the two sets of focal lengths and I’m super happy with the outcome. Thank you for your faith, friends. We made it there and back again.  

Interested in viewing a more recent set of wedding photos from the Herring Cove area? Follow the link * here * to view a winter wedding!