I did all of this in October 2008.

I have a incredible amount of happy memories from this trip.  Words cannot being to describe how incredible this was for me on a personal, spiritual and business level.  Life is about following your dreams and hoping some day to chase them down!  I have always wanted to visit California…always.  Since the day I decided to study and immerse myself in wedding photography, The Image is Found have been my biggest inspiration.  They embody everything good about photography and shooting weddings; their style is unmatched in the industry and they lived up to the hype of being really great human beings.  If you are every thinking of being a wedding photographer, check out their website and be ready to be destroyed by enormous awesomeness…..’nuff said.

I landed in Calgary, AB where I was able to meet up with one of my greatest friends… I haven’t seen him in years.  Trevor was awesome to pick me up at YYC and drive me around the city of Calgary for the better part of 3 hours.  He showed me the sites and I got acquainted with the city.  He was also kind enough to hole me up for a night, give me his beers and drive me back to the airport incredibly early the next morning for my flight to Los Angeles.  We talked like old friends do; catching up as if no time had ever elapsed.  After all was said and done on this whole trip, this is one of my fondest memories.

Flying into LAX was surreal.  If you have ever flown into California from Calgary, you see nothing the Sierra Nevada which fades into nothing but farmland for what looks like eternity.  Eventually you start seeing some homes and roads, which turns into colossal L.A.  I was blown away at the size of the city; not for how high the buildings were, but for how wide and expanse the city was.

THE CITY OF ANGELS

When I stepped off the plane, I was immediately hit with a wave of heat that was exhilarating and uncomfortable all the same.  I rushed down and throughout LAX to walk outside where I awaited the FlyAway bus to downtown Los Angeles; LAX airport was incredibly cool…and big (especially when Sydney and Halifax airports are your only experiences).  The FlyAway bus was quick and got me to Union Station in downtown LA.  Union Station was packed with people awaiting trains all over the state; it was my first real taste of California.  People were breezing by without a care, I heard a 1000+ conversations happening a minute, it was amazing.  Immediately I rushed to the bathroom to change into my ‘cali wear’ – my finest khaki distressed shorts, a white breezy button up shirt and pimpin’ sandals - I had arrived.

LA UNION STATION

I purchased my ticket for the AMTRAK train leaving for sunny Oceanside, California.  Oceanside was my main destination on this trip; Nate and Jaclyn own their studio there.  The train ride down the coast of California was kick a$$.  It was 4PM in the afternoon, the sun was blazing and I was riding along the west coast, stopping in some very cool places along the way.  The train’s stop in Anaheim was a highlight because on the right hand side of our stop was Angels Stadium, standing tall and RIGHT there; it was like you could almost touch it from the train.  We drove through Fullerton California, home of the great Fender Guitars!  I really wish I could have spent time in Fullerton, but I’ll save that for another trip. 2 hours and 30 minutes later I landed in Oceanside, California.  Stepping off of the train, I saw surfers and skateboarders everywhere.  It was an awesome site.  We were right on the water; California beaches were a few steps away….however, I had to catch a bus heading to Carlsbad to meet up with the Image is Found and the other photographers attending the shootshop for our introductory dinner at Las Olas Restaurant.

VARIOUS OCEANSIDE, CA. SHOTS

SHOOTSHOPPIN’

The reason why I flew all this way had finally arrived; spending an info packed day with Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser.  Their wedding photography boots you in the arse and makes you think that most other wedding photography stuffy, bland, uninspiring and just plain ol’ dumb.  They work very hard with their couples to get genuine and most importantly FUN reactions during the day.  The Bride and Groom shoots are very stylized, often with a dash of high end fashion or editorial photography; it is the total package.  Wrap it up in some of the best wedding albums and products you’ve ever laid your eyes on and you have a photography experience worth being a part of.  This is what I am came to learn – to be MUCH different than everyone else in my market.  Where I am from, many photographers just replicate the same old stuff between each other, and it doesn’t really stand out.  Why would you want something that looks like everyone else?  Your family is unique!!

Here’s some proof that I was actually there

In conclusion, I will say that this trip changed my life in such a positive way.  While I didn’t get a chance to see much of San Diego, or the rest of California for that matter, I proved to myself that I can achieve anything that I want to.  I will be certainly traveling back to California in the near future.  There is just so much VIBRANCE and life in the places that I visited, Oceanside specifically.  It was a totally different experience from life in a small Cape Breton town.  I want to thank Nate and Jaclyn for being so gracious in their information and for answering every single question that I had for them during the whole day (which by my tally was eleventy million):  They embody everything that is great about photography – the technique, the people skills and the pure LOVE of it that they project onto their clients and the world – this is why photography means so much to me.

THE GROUP!

I hit the entrance of the Double Tree Plaza at about 9AM. Double Tree is way out by Pearson airport (thanks to our friend Monique for getting me there in one piece! Much love…). As I made it up to the second floor where the conference rooms are, I noticed a very large line up gathering – this line up was of course for Yervant and Joe Buissink! As I took my place in the registration line up, I had an overwhelming feeling of relief. To know that there was this many people sharing the same passion as me, and to know that I could communicate with them all of strange and beautiful intricacies of being a wedding photographer made me instantly happy.

Registration happened and I walked through the big double doors. A large projection screen was set – playing great ambient tunes, a desktop of a macbookpro sat patiently on the big screen waiting to be used. Canon Canada was there with a booth with all of their flagship cameras and lenses. We could try them, test them, swap them – it was great. Canon also demonstrated their large format printers. I must say – the prints from the iPF6100 looked pretty damn good. Graphistudio was there (who hosts/sponsors this tour) with many sample albums and promotional materials. What was great about the Graphi table was that it featured many of Yervant’s albums. Being album to open and look through these was incredible enough! I learned alot about albums by looking at these – they read so fluidly and organic – the layouts and attention to consistency in the overall album was just amazing.

Yervant and Joe Buissink took turns back and forth – hammering out details about their beginnings – how they got to where they are today and how to get there yourself. Nothing was spared for those in attendance. Joe Buissink doing a complete demonstration of his sales pitch was a highlight for me. Being able to see him in action like that was great. Yervant’s post production tutorials towards the end were amazing. I was really hoping he would take one of this own images and show us how it gets from straight out of the camera (SOOC) and to a great final art piece; sure enough he delivered! Seeing the transformation, and more importantly how he got it, was worth the price of admission itself. If I could list the top 6 things I learned from the seminar, it would list as follows:

1. Shoot and burners are bad people! ahahha.. All jokes aside, do not shoot the wedding and burn SOOC JPEGS to a disc for quick cash – you make it look bad for the rest of us – as Yervant stated, “FINISH YOUR WORK”

2. Both Joe and Yervant came from beginnings that were questionable! They did not know if they would succeed or really ‘make it’. Buissink took up wedding photography late in his ‘career’ life and Yervant had many years of uncertainty. This in inspiring.

3. Including fully retouched files on disc in your wedding packages probably isn’t the best idea…

4. No amount of great gear or glass is going to make you better. The tools will make it easier to achieve what you believe you see – but you really have to see it.

5. After seeing Yervant interact with a model Bride on her wedding day, I really gotta change my approach!

6. Both photographers were down to earth individuals who were very concerned with sharing their knowledge – paying it forward – so that they can elevate the industry through education.

Here’s some shots from the day:

Yervant walks us through how he makes his Bride’s do basically anything

Joe demonstrating with Yervant the benefit of using a video light

Eager photographers waiting to talk to Joe Buissink…