Chris, Rayne and The Wedding-Cruise-Rave Machine

Hello my lovely humans!

This one is going to be a long one, so please bare with me(or skip what I have to say and look at the photos, it’s okay, I don’t judge)

Your ol’ pals Allan and TJ got to take an adventure to North Bay a few weeks back in order to document the wedding of one of my longest and most soulful friends Rayne and their soon to be husband, Chris.

Now months and months before the wedding Rayne had told me it was going to be a two day affair with the wedding being day one and a big after-party being day two, but my god was I not prepared for what the term “After-Party” meant. This weekend was one of the most jam packed, trail-blazing weekends I have ever been a part of.

We began our adventure on Friday where we met Chris and Rayne at a private residence where they were hosting the ceremony for the day, a beautiful backyard venue looking out on very scenic lake and pinned down by a huge, vibrant lighthouse. One of the most picturesque ceremony venues I have ever had the pleasure of working.

After TJ and I picked our jaws up off the ground we gave our heads a shake and realized we have a job to attend to, TJ bolted over to commune with the boys and I got to spend a bit of quality time with two old friends; Rayne and her best friend Cameron. Swapping a few memories while Rayne finished up her make up, we were joined by Rayne’s parents for some laughs, some reception rehearsal and finally for mom to help with the dress!

The boys took up a few games of pool, a few shots and Chris got to open up a super secret gift from Rayne before the suits went on. A bit of nervous laughter and light-hearted banter bounced off the walls as Chris’ dad helped him straighten his tie, check all the seams and finally, help him attach his cufflinks.

The couple had decided to do some of their bridal photos before the ceremony to try and hurdle over any nerves and anxious energy that they may have been feeling, and much to our excitement, that meant taking a boat to the lighthouse! Although the rain was misting through the air while we stood out on the island, both Chris and Rayne put a brave, “It’s not cold and wet out here at all,” face on in order to get some incredibly passionate and moody bridal portraits.

Through water speckled glasses, TJ and I tried to keep our excitement at bay but eventually we had to let these two well hydrated soon-to-be’s get back to the task at hand, but not before I decided to do something(unsurprisingly) dumb.

After Chris, Rayne and TJ consoled me over the death of my poor, innocent drone; we set back to get these two to the ceremony where a cavalcade of guests were already starting to arrive!

We could not believe the glamorous outfits that were coming down the stairs as the guests began to arrive, everyone was dressed to impress and boy did they ever. Above the incredible outfits, we noticed the immense amount of happiness, celebration and genuine excitement from everyone as they found their seats and focused their palpable energy towards Chris and Rayne.

The soft drizzle created a peaceful backdrop which gave the entire ceremony a lovely calm and intimate feel. (Which matched Rayne’s vision board perfectly, I must add.)

This ceremony was filled to the brim with a magical kind of love. Feeling the constantly growing cloud of emotion between the guests, the families, the bride & groom (and even maybe TJ and I) was a sensation that I never grow tired of. Being able to witness and feel just how much these two are invested in each other, how much they are able to balance their loud and quiet types of love, being able to see their parents absolutely elated about expanding their family; it was nothing short of pure.

Ahem… Anyway, enough crying for this old man, it was time to put my ear plugs in and watch all of these young folk party their asses off.

Once the ceremony wrapped, that passionate energy turned from “Who needs a tissue?” to “Who needs a drink?”

The reception was held at Churchills, which was an incredibly elegant, blast from the past eatery. The vibe was so quaint and welcoming with a lot of warm lighting, dark wood and soon to be heavy pours.

The venue was packed with all of these beautiful humans, so the dance-floor was literally surrounded for Chris and Rayne’s first dance, which only added to the love and support that these two are oh so deserving of. Met with some ooh’s and ahh’s during their phenomenally choreographed dance, it was met with a room shaking amount of applause, woops and woo’s as Chris bent in for a flawless dip to his bride.

Now I must preface, one of my first ever REAL clients was Rayne’s dad, Mark. When I was still a student I had worked with Rayne a couple of times doing school assignments, and just playing around with my soon to be career path. Mark needed some new headshots done and Rayne had suggested that he come with her one of the times she was working with me, and he delivered some of the best, most hilarious headshots I’ve taken to this day. So what happened next was of absolutely no surprise to me, and likely no-one else that knows Mark well enough. This man never ceases to get the crowd into an uproar with his incredible antics, and tonight was no different.

As the night progressed, the ties got a little looser, the heels came off and this group of suited up individuals became an energetic dance troupe in a matter of hours. An incomparable amount of energy filled this small room and everyone who hit that floor ate and left NO crumbs (That’s what the kids say still, right?)

Day 1 was a resounding success but I had to take my ringing ears and sore neck back to the hotel room to prepare for Day 2, and boy am I glad I packed my extra strength pills.

Day 2 thankfully started a stones throw away from our hotel room on an extraordinary cruise boat called Chief Commanda, and although the weather was a little more rocky, wet and wild; it didn’t dampen anyones party hard attitude as they grooved along to the on-board DJ and the motion of the ocean… er.. lake.

We even took some time on the bow of the ship recreating a famous scene from a famous movie that Rayne apparently has never seen.

After some more dancing, some more laughing and some amazing food; we made our way back into port so we could all start prepping for the main event of the weekend, The Under the Sea Rave.

When I tell you that I was absolutely blown away by the setup that Chris and Rayne had developed, I think I would be underselling it. I’ve never been to a rave before in my life, but this was just truly awe-inspiring on so many different levels. Guests were encouraged to dress up in costume, and everyone went wild with their costumes, the effort put into this party was an easy 10/10 by everyone involved. I’m not going to spend time explaining every single thing that happened, I’m just for once going to let the photos do the talking for me.

Chris and Rayne, this weekend was an absolutely unforgettable experience for me and I am so happy that I got to do it. I am always and forever humbled that my job allows me to document so many different types of lives and loves. Thank you for including me, thank you for trusting me and most of all— thank you for creating such a vibrant space to allow everyone around you to let loose, grow and be exactly who they want to be.

Rayne on a personal level, you have been one of my day one supporters and I cannot thank you enough for that. From breaking into abandoned factories with Cameron to take edgy, angsty “fashion,” shots, to always being the first friend with a kind word when my mental health was waning. You are an immense wealth of love, light and kindness; you make every single person you come in contact with better for having met you, and I love you dearly. Thank you for always believing in me.

Chris, although we just met this weekend, watching you for two days made me realize that you would and have done everything in your power to ensure the people in your life are cared for, happy and understanding of their value in your life. Thank you for being an incredible partner to my friend, and thank you for welcoming TJ and I into your life with open arms. You deserve every smile that comes across your face for the rest of your days.

Thank you both endlessly, it was a pleasure and an honour.

Much love,

Allan (& TJ)

Adam, Christina and The McMemories

Hello friends, fools and brand new readers!

This year in photographing weddings I have been blessed by (mostly) only doing weddings for humans who were close to my heart, humans who I have known for a very, very long period of my life. Humans who have seen me at my best and also with Big Mac sauce splattered all of my face in the middle of a 200 customer rush in the greasy depths of McDonalds… oh wait… that was just todays bride.

I met Christina over 10 years ago and if someone would have told me that I would be one day photographing her marrying her high school sweetheart I would have never believed it, but alas today was that day.

We started our day at Quattro where I met the ladies getting their hair done by Nikki and their makeup done by Bridget, having met and photographed most of the female side of the bridal party I felt right at home chatting about the excitement building around the day. My assistant for the day, Joel, headed over to the guys where he was greeted with a lot of laughs at Adams expense, a couple of quick beers and an incredible amount of support from an incredible group of men(both physically and emotionally.)

Shortly after I arrived, the lovely aesthetics team wrapped up and we were super ahead of schedule(with Christina I would expect no different as I’m sure everyone who knows her would agree) so we had some time to relax, get the dress on and tightened into position, have a quick cry over some bridal gifts and push on to go see the groom for their first look, but not before the ladies got to see their best friend in all of her glory.

The structure for the wedding was a little bit different than traditional weddings in that Adam and Christina had decided they wanted to do a private first look and letter exchange, followed directly by their bridal portraits all before the ceremony. Listening to these two exchange incredibly heartfelt messages to each other got Ol’ Allan tearing up behind the camera because in my mind these two were still just tiny little high school kids in love and they had not lost any of that playfulness. It was as clear as the sky that day, these two are completely enthralled with one another.

The ceremony took place at The Captains House at The Sault Locks, which means we got to play around inside of this amazing historical building and experiment with a lot of beautiful architecture(and I got to make them both go up and down the stairs 100 times)

After a lengthy and super relaxed bridal portrait session, the entire bridal party got to relax inside of the captains house, the boys gathered in the corner to poke fun(and secretly admire) the letter that Adam wrote Christina when they first start dating as the girls put some Chappell Roan on and Pink Pony Club’d their nerves out of the building.

While all of that was happening, we snuck away to take some photos with the real main focus of this couples life— Kyra. (and she of course was the goodest maid of honour)

We had the most beautiful day for a wedding, albeit a little hot, everything looked BEAUTIFUL and the light hitting the aisle was all we could ask for. Adam and Christina did something during their ceremony that I had never seen before, and that I hope some couples adapt in the future! They had a super secret, surprise ring-bearer. They channeled their inner Oprah and announced during the ceremony that everyone needed to look under their chairs as the rings were underneath one of them! After some clamouring, the lucky one threw their hand up in the air as everyone around them laughed and cheered. It was a really fun and innovative idea that got the crowd really amped up and excited for the rest of the ceremony.

Setting aside the camera, the photos and the job I had to do— it was an incredible honour (and as always a humbling experience) to be surrounded by these humans that I literally used to flip burgs, bag fries and stress-scream in the walk-in freezer with; to be able to witness these two finally cement what was already a sure thing.

Adam and Christina, you both have always been such lovely humans and it is such a damn rarity that two people find each other so early in life, that they’re able to build off of each other and inspire one another, that they are able to continually surround themselves with more and more lovely humans. I don’t believe for a second that either of you have a bad bone in your bodies or a negative dent in your souls, you deserve every second of laughter and love you have coming and I hope that the world continues to bless you and those around you.

Thank you for involving me with your day, it means so much to be able to give back to the people in my life and I hope that I was able to do you proud by documenting your day.

Cultivate Positivity, Always.

Allan.

Kat, Kyle and The Simple Country Lawyer

Hello my friends!

It has been approximately six years since I last did a sneak peek on this website and I will touch on that in another post, today I am here to ask you to join me in celebrating the truly incredible union of Kat and Kyle.

This wedding started off like any other I’ve done in the past, Kat contacted me and said “Hi, I would love to have you at our wedding, what’s the next steps?” then we paused for a couple of months because life got in the way. Fast forward to May when I get a text from her saying “How do you feel about Montana?” with no other context, to which I furrowed my brow and replied with “the restaurant?” and after a couple of text exchanges we opened the door to what I’ve now come to realize was one of the biggest opportunities I’ve ever had the honour of accepting.

The tricky part was that I had never been to the United States before in my life, and I didn’t even own a passport when we were in the infant planning stages of all of this, so I hit the ground running and started planning.

Fast forward to August 12th, my assistant TJ and I are met in my driveway with palpable, anxious energy from both of the soon-to-be marrieds. We all pile into the car and begin our drive to Detroit, to catch a flight to Texas, to then catch a flight to Montana.

After a long and exhausting travel schedule we arrived at a beautiful, quaint and very spacious villa overlooking the sprawling Montana horizon, without pause we were already documenting the journey that these two were taking to get married, bookended by a lovely riverside drink watching these two watch the sunset on their very last night without rings on their fingers.

We closed out the night with a lot of laughs, some board games and a lingering anticipation for the day to come.

Once the morning came, we were greeted by friends, neighbours and a few rogue deer while Kat and Kyle got ready for their day. Kyle in the upstairs loft that he barely fit in, Kat having to get into multiple yoga positions to slide into her dress. Once the dress was on, the hair was done and Kyle(with help from David) got his pocket square into place, we were ready to hit the road for a lengthy two hour drive to Glacier National Park.

Props to Kat for wearing her dress the ENTIRE day, even in the long car ride.

Once we arrived at the park, we were greeted by an incredibly kind Park Ranger who told us some of the best spots, and wished us the best of luck for the day. I think her well wishes worked as we almost instantaneously found an incredible spot for some photos not even five minutes into entering the park.

After Kat and Kyle reigned TJ and I in because we were acting like two kids in a candy store, we continued our journey forward through the park, but it wasn’t long until we decided to stop again, and again, and again because each spot seemingly got better than the last.

We fought through the thick amount of traffic to get some of the most incredible shots, but here and there we got interrupted by excited tourists doing exactly what they should be doing in such a beautiful place.

After eating some lunch on the side of the valley, and TJ taking a quick dip in the glacial river to get an incredible shot, we moved on to one of the best and most awe-inspiring views we had this entire trip. It was difficult not to get distracted and remember that we were here to focus on Kat and Kyle instead of just being a jaw-dropped tourist. Truly one of the most beautiful sights I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing in my life.

Having spent 5 full days with Kat and Kyle, listening to their vows, watching their interactions during our travel, in front of the camera, and while we’re geeking out about super-heroes and doing impressions of the southern lawyer. I can truly say without a shadow of a doubt that these two are a perfect fit for each other and that everyone around them should take a lesson in how to give and receive love perfectly for your partner. It was such an immense pleasure being able to document these two during the best day of their lives so far, and I hope everyone can join me in say congratulations to this absolutely deserving couple.

This was more than a wedding for me; this was a lesson in confidence in my work, a chance to watch a friend be head over heels in love, a realization that I have fallen back in love with what I do after thinking I had lost my spark.

So I would like to take the opportunity to say Thank You to Kat and Kyle, you both truly have no idea how much this all meant to me and I hope that you love the photos as much as I loved every single part of this journey. I wish you both the utmost continued happiness, and I can’t wait to see what you both conquer together going forward.

Allan(& TJ)

You Matter.

Hello Eveyone

I haven't been posting as much as I would like, and I don't want to promise that I'm going to because I don't know if I will be able to keep up a regular posting schedule with how busy I am going to be this year. 

I am going to take this post to a very serious place because I need to get a bunch of junk out of my brain and this is about the only long form outlet I have other than Facebook.

About a week ago I was informed about the suicide of someone I went to high school with and it was someone who I didn't know well or even remember that well, but I did have her a Facebook friend and I did speak to her once in a while. Out of respect I am reserving her name but her name will not and should not be forgotten. 

Now, I'm not a mental health professional, I'm not a doctor, I am not in any way qualified to give mental health advice. So please take what I say with a grain of salt. 

Above all else, always remember that you matter. You may not be extremely popular, you may only have 100 Instagram followers, you may feel like you're alone. Let me assure you, you matter so much. Every single person reading this is important and deserve to feel and keep the utmost happiness they possibly can. You do not deserve to feel those torturous thoughts and feel like you're taking them on alone. You are broken, we are all broken, but with the right attention and the right care every single one of us can be patched up. You do not have to use your own hands to glue yourself together. 

Every one of us has embers burning inside of us, every single one of us has something that we love and when you put your love into that 100% sometimes it doesn't always love you back. But the thing about embers is that they take a hell of a long time to go out, and they only take a small gust of air to reestablish themselves. You are not ash, you are not extinguished, you are not done. You have something to offer this world, even if you think that you don't.

I was once 19 years old, on my SECOND victory lap in high school because I didn't know what I had to give. I was miserable because I thought I was pointless, I thought that I would be lucky to even be happy. I lost every motivation I had because I didn't have anywhere to put my mind. I'm now 27 years old, and I can tell you for a fact that there is a beautiful fucking feeling resting just past all of those dark thoughts. I can tell you without any doubt in my fingertips while I type this, that those dark thoughts, those ugly, scary thoughts are only going to go away if you let someone shine a light into those caverns. 

You have no idea how much of an impact you make in peoples lives, every person you come in contact with feels an impact from you. You inspire, you entertain, you console. The longer you go, the deeper those roots become, the deeper that impact is, and although you may feel alone I promise you that there is always someone who loves you. I love you, I may not even know you and I love you. I love you because you have something that no-one else has, your life. I love everything about your life, because it's probably an intriguing and provocative story. 

So let me take this time to tell you that even if we've never spoken before, even if we've known each other for years, I am here. I am not going to sit on my thumbs with my head down and let another person that I can help suffer on their own. I am here. Do not feel like you are a burden on my shoulders, I was born with wide ones and I will listen, I will console, I will entertain. I'm not awake 24/7 but I don't sleep much. Please take advantage of that, please open up, please let me shine a light into those dark areas. I do not want to see another person whom I could have helped, leave this planet without feeling their ultimate happiness. I love you, and I want you to realize how much you matter.

My phone number is 7059439779 I don't often answer calls from unknown numbers, but I will respond to texts always. My email is contact@thisisallanbrunke.com or there is a contact form on this website. Please, even if you're hesitant to talk, at least take my number and save it in your phone incase you ever need it. 

You are all so fucking beautiful, please don't stop being. 

Allan.

Say it loud for the nerds in the back.

I love what I do unconditionally. For the longest time I only focused on what other people thought of my work, and I used to get intensely depressed if I didn't get a good reception for what I was doing. I used to beat myself up at every turn because I made bold and reckless decisions when it came to the directions I wanted to take with my work and then feel guilty when not many people saw my work in the same light as I did. I used to hate what I would create because of the people I was asking about it. 

I love what I do unconditionally. That mentality tends to land me in a lot of trouble more often than not, because my absolute love for the act of photography distracts me from a lot of responsibilities that I have. Don't get me wrong, I show up for work on time and I deliver clients images to them on time, but every time I am doing something other that taking photographs of people I am counting down the time until I get to do it again. The equations, the process, the communication, the control, the personalities that I meet; all of it is just so fucking beautiful, and it is the only thing I have found on this earth that makes me feel full. 

I know logically that I am not the best photographer on earth, hell, I personally don't even think I'm the best in my city, but I do believe that I love what I do more than most. I know for a fact that my life is about what I create with that camera and I know that every time I pick it up and put it to my face, I am putting my entire soul into it. I know that the act of photography has been the only thing that keeps me from submitting to a horrendous and unrelenting depression that has plagued me for at least a decade. I know that I have neglected family, and friends, and significant others because all I wanted to do was pick up my camera and take photographs and for that I apologize. 

I hope that the people whom I tell I love believe me, even though I would rather hear the sound of a shutter click than play a video game or watch a movie. I hope that my parents understand that even though I may seem like a socially reclusive workaholic, it's because nothing brings me more joy than sitting up at 4 AM going over the sets I shot from the previous day. I hope that my past relationships may read this and understand that the reason I was so depressed was because I was letting you stand in front of what I love doing, and that made me miserable. 

I love what I do unconditionally. It has taken me almost a decade to finally accept that and breathe that through. I am in debt, I am single, I am not sure about any career advancement in the coming years, I'm exhausted 80% of the time, and I don't even own a TV; but I don't care because I am the absolute fucking happiest I have ever been and I would not want it any other way. 

I am no longer going to apologize for what I do, I am no longer going to try and stifle myself just because I want the adoration and affection of the general public. Not because I don't want to hear everyones opinions and reflect upon them, but just because I have realized now that trying to create something in someone elses vision is silly and will never get you anywhere. My name is Allan Brunke, I am a professional photographer and a professional artist, and I am never, ever going to stop doing what I love.

If you take anything away from this blog post, please take away that if you love something, just do it every chance you have no matter what people may say. Take the risk, skip out on something important if it means doing something else that will make your soul feel full, let your heart shine through whatever it is you're doing. You are all beautiful and wonderous human beings, and I encourage you to let the world see who you are, recklessly and without apology.

Cultivate Positivity, Always.

Kindness, Torment, and Yesterday Afternoon.

I am only 26 years old, so I don't claim to know all there is about being a healthy minded, well rounded poster child for positive living. But what I do know is that we need to stop being such fucking pigs towards each others happiness. I truly believe that the key to making your surroundings better, to making your life and your outlook better; is to make your influence better. 

Anyone who knows me decently well has probably heard me say the sentence 'I hate people,' and as much as I say that, what I truly mean by it is that I hate that people hate other people. I hate people who intentionally bring others down. I hate people who put active effort into hurting other people. I hate people who don't put active effort into thinking about others before themselves. I hate that people would rather fill their own cup to the top instead of trying to share their spoils with their comrades. I hate that. I hate it so much. 

I hate seeing people sad over things that positivity could have prevented. I hate depression, and people whose depression leads them to pull other people down in order to bring up their own self worth. I hate that people resort to cheating in order to feel validation in their lives. I hate that men go on Tinder, and talk to women in unsolicited graphic, vulgar ways only to be rejected which causes them to lash out with violent and disgusting words. I hate that being a gentleman is considered a rarely found trait. 

I always try my best to take all of the negativity that I see and feel, suck it all up, and turn it all into as much positivity as I can. I try to take the lumps as they come, and squish the lumps into something that I can give someone else to try and build upon. I try my best to be something that we all can be, a nice fucking person.

I love seeing people accomplish things, I love telling people to have beautiful dreams before they drift off to sleep, I love seeing a passion in a person and giving them the chance and the outlook to follow that passion. I fucking love when I am able to photograph someone and bring out a perfectly genuine smile from them, because I know that at that very moment, I made them forget about whatever shit has been going on, and I've spread some happiness into their lives. 

I love telling people their hair looks nice, and telling the people I am around everyday that they are valued. I love telling my staff, my colleagues and my friends that they are worth every bit of happiness I can give them. I love complimenting women AND men on their appearances, because both sexes have a right to feel sexy. I love taking a negative, tense situation and trying to inject it with a little bit of coy and rambunctious happiness. 

I don't understand why we constantly look for ways to improve ourselves both physically and mentally, but we ignore the simple fact that smiling is contagious and that If you make 10 people smile tomorrow, you have drastically improved yourself and those around you. I don't understand why we ignore the fact that we all have the ability to be amazing people and amazing influences for everyone we come in contact with, even the ones we don't care for all that much. 

Even if someone might not be your favourite person on the planet, even if they annoy the fuck out of you on a daily basis; they are still valued as a human being. The only time a person doesn't deserve that kind of happiness is if they are attempting to get their happiness by hurting another person.

In closing, it's pretty goddamn simple, just don't fucking hurt other people, don't put yourself in front of everyone else, pay a compliment to those around you every once in a while, AND TELL THE FUCKING TRUTH NO MATTER WHAT IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT.

I love you all,

Allan Brunke.

Food for Thought.

Hey there Everyone!

So yesterday Jeff sent me this link to an article on www.petapixel.com and I just wanted to share my thoughts on it. 

As a professional who shoots a lot of weddings every year, and as a generally well rounded human being I have to say I am inclined to agree with this article! I mean, why should you feed us on your wedding day? Everyone knows that we just sit around waiting for the bride to get ready, plus even when we are working, all we're doing is pressing a button anyway right? 

Everyone knows that we typically don't roll out of bed until AT LEAST 6 AM on your wedding day, and most days we're ready to call it quits and go home by around 2 AM. So what's 17 hours without food? My great grandfather used to do that, he called them weekdays.

I mean, we're adults, you shouldn't have to worry yourself with whether or not we're fed or starving. Besides, I'm sure we can scramble to grab some of the rice that you're guests threw during your exit of the chapel and brush the dirt off of it before we head out to do your formal portraits.

But just look at some of the amazing images we're able to get during that time! 

I was having a bit of trouble seeing what was in frame due to malnutrition, but like 60% of the image is great, so you get the idea. 

and what does it matter if every image you receive from us is in focus, I mean, isn't the memory of being photographed the best treasure from having a professional at your wedding? It's the sensation of someone pointing their camera at you and hearing that shutter click down, that's why people hire us, right?

Having a professional at your wedding should mean they should just be super human and withstand the natural function of needing to eat, when we get our professional status we go in for surgery to get a bionic stomach that can withstand any time period without food. We just need to click a button and hope that it turns out okay anyway, It doesn't matter if you all look like yourselves in the final products, because you saved a couple of dollars by not needing to set a plate for us. 

So please, save the few dollars you might have spent on seating us at a table, we'll just stand in the corner and twiddle our thumbs while the dinner service is happening, or better yet we'll try to take a photograph of Uncle Jim while he has his face stuffed with mashed potatoes and let him punch us in the face for embarrassing him. Either way, it'll will be a wonderful time! 

If you found this article disrespectful or offensive, please just remember that this is satire, it is meant to poke fun at the idea in a poignant and playful way. We don't need food during your wedding day, it's not required as we CAN find our own sources of food, we are not children. It is just kind, and respectful to offer the person who is capturing the moments of the most important day of your life, a plate of food. It is just a kind gesture to say 'Hey, we bought a cheese plate for the girls while they get ready, would you like some because you're working hard and are helping us make our special day, so much more exciting.' It's called being respectful of other peoples work, and of other peoples feelings. Nothing more, nothing less.

Thank you.

The 2015 thisisallanbrunke Holiday Portrait Sale is almost here!

Hello Everyone!

November is here and any of you who have booked with me last year know that November means one thing here at our office! The 2015 thisisallanbrunke Holiday Portrait Sale is upon us! 

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Starting November 10th and continuing through until December 21st, you are able to pre-book a portrait session in 2016 for only $150! These sessions include eight fully polished digital images, as well as one 8x10 print of your choice! Last year we sold an insane 16 packages to a number of different people who used them this year for family portraits, engagement sessions, and a good amount gave them as gifts to friends and family for Christmas. 

I am doing this sale for two reasons, firstly because when I was a child my family didn't have very much money to afford things like family portraits with a professional photographer, and I feel as if we missed out on some great memories, so I want to try to give as many people as I can the opportunity to do that for their families. Secondly, I have been using the same beat up old camera for about six years now, and I am in desperate need of a new one to continue what I love doing, so I am hoping that this sale will help me afford a new camera body in the process of spreading some good old holiday spirit and love. 

So if you are interested, you can get in touch with me via email, contact@thisisallanbrunke.com or the direct contact form on this website. :)

I hope you all have a beautiful and amazing November, and I hope to be photographing your faces in the new year!

Allan Brunke.

Afternoon with the Littles.

Hello there everyone! 

A few weeks back I had the enjoyment of photographing the Little family, I have known these guys for a few years now and I'm always excited to see how their family is growing and ever expanding. This time around was no different, and it was a beautiful day for portraits! 

Although the children didn't want much to do with my camera as much as the sticks and leaves that were on the ground, but for the few minutes that they were looking at me, we got pure magic. I am looking forward to photographing this beautiful family for years to come, and I am so purely happy with the images we were able to produce. 

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Thank you guys for being a wonderful family, and thank you for all the positive words.

Allan.

An Apology, and a positive outlook.

Hello there Everyone!

It's been about a month since I've made a blog post, and a lot of that has just been due to Jeff and I wrapping up our wedding season and getting everything in gear for next year! 

This post is going to be a little different than the majority of posts I make, as this one is going to serve as an apology to my personal clientele. I have a tendency to beat myself up a lot because of a constant desire to better myself. but with that comes a lot of self doubt and frustration because when I do make a mistake, I really take it deep. I made a few large mistakes this year, most of which involved print orders that were entered improperly, and a few re-edits that went unfinished due to forgetfulness. But I hope that all of you can be patient and understanding while I grow these businesses, I am still a young business man who has an extreme amount to learn, but every mistake I make I am learning from, and much like any small business owner, I take the people who are gracious enough to hire me, very very seriously. 

So I just wanted to take the time to say that I'm sorry to anyone who has been waiting on an image, waiting on a print order, or just waiting to hear back from me in the last few months. When I began this year I knew it was going to be a lot of stress trying to juggle a full time job, with also running two businesses, dealing with personal stresses and tragedies, and trying to sleep more than an hour every night. But I did not expect it to be this much, and I let that stress get to me after a while. Now I know I'm only human, and I know that we all make mistakes once in a while, but I feel like it's my job to balance my work load, and I did not do that successfully this year. Going forward I will be taking the time I need to organize and juggle everything as needed, where as this year I just kept taking things on when I should have been saying no. 

So from the bottom of my heart, and from a place of complete and absolute exhaustion, I want to say that I am sorry if I was a few days late responding to your email, I am sorry if I was a week late getting your photographs done, and I'm especially sorry if I at any point caused any of you any unneeded stress in your lives. When I decided to begin running these businesses, I wanted nothing more than to bring everyone the utmost happiness, whether that be from my personality, or from what I give them to hang on their livingroom walls, I only want the best for those who give me a chance. 

Maybe this apology was unneeded, but I feel as if it were necessary. I love you all and thank you so much for sticking with me during this stressful and insane period. I can not thank you all enough.

Allan.

Krista and Andrew #3!

Hello there Lovely People! 

A few weeks back Pat and I had the absolutely wonderful opportunity of meeting the beautiful daughter of Andrew and Krista, who Jeff and I have been photographing for years now. In fact, we thought about it while shooting this session and we realized that we have shot once a year since they got married, almost on the same date every year. Every time we've shot a session with them, we have photographed them beside this old rusted car frame that is hiding on their property, and each time it becomes more and more one with the ground. So heres to keep traditions going! 

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As many people who know me are aware of, I'm not a huge fan of babies, mostly because I'm afraid of how tiny they are and being a big clumsy kind of guy, I get nervous. But for the first time in a long time, I felt so warm and so comfortable photographing this beautiful bundle of laughs, and I think that we got some amazing images because of it. 

I look forward to hopefully shooting every moment this family shares for years to come, and I couldn't be happier for Andrew and Krista, you are both beautiful souls and you created another beautiful soul together. Many blessings to your family for the years to come, and I cannot wait to see you all again soon! 

Much love,

Allan.

'Can you replace his head with Channing Tatum?' Pihlaja Family Sneak Peek

Hello Again Everyone!

Two posts in one night, Whaaaaaaaat? I was going to leave this one until tomorrow, but I then realized that I am not going to have much time to do anything except work tomorrow, so here we go! 

Today was a nervous, but fun day for me. Today I got to shoot a family who I have known for about 4 years, which was the fun part. The nerve racking part is that Caleigh and Andrew have both been my bosses for the past four years. So obviously I wanted to make things perfect for them. 

We had schedule to shoot up at Stokely Creek, but as we approached the lodge we saw a couple of signs that said 'Wedding ->' So my heart was a little deflated as we were not going to be able to use the locations that I had planned on using. But, a few simple texts later and we rerouted to Hiawatha as a backup plan. I felt bad for making them reroute and head to a different location, but I was hoping to make it up to them by delivering some amazing images. 

Today was a role swap, for the past four years, Caleigh and Andrew had been giving me orders and asking me to do things, but today I got to take charge and give some orders. (Which was admittedly fun to do to Andrew.) But without being too over-bearing, and allowing their lovely daughters to give us some amazing smiles, we got some fantastic images of everyone and I was extremely satisfied with how they turned out. 

Thanks again and much love Everyone.

I love you, Mom.

Hello there Everyone!

This past week I was given the distinct and overwhelming pleasure of photographing my mother. I have been doing photography professionally for about 4 years now and I finally took the time to get her to pose for an hour. 

As many of my close friends know, my mom is a brash, loud, and no non-sense kind of woman. She will say exactly what she thinks at any given time, and she doesn't give any shits about who she offends. It is an amazing thing, and a scary thing all at the same time, as I'm never sure what is going to come out of her mouth. 

This woman worked her ass off to give me the best possible life that I could have, she was the one who put in so much effort, so much time so that one day I would be able to achieve what I wanted, realize my potential. She sacrificed a lot of things so that I could find my own path in life, so that I didn't have to worry about things when I was in my biggest stages of personality development. She taught me everything, and mostly she taught me that I should never care about what anyones opinions are of me. That I should always stay true to myself no matter what, because betraying your own beliefs for the sake of someone else will leave you miserable. 

I cannot put into words, the amount of gratitude and the amount of love that I have for this woman, and I will never, ever be able to give back the amount that she has given to me. I will never be able to repay her for how much she did for me, and keeps doing for me every single time I speak to her. She was the one who was there when no one else would be, she was the one that convinced me to switch programs and follow my passion for photography, and she is the reason that I am who I am at this very moment. 

I love you so much Mom, you are a beautiful soul who deserves so much more than I am able to give you right now, and I hope that one day I will be able to give you more than just these words. 

Thanks Everyone.

Festering Feelings of Forgiveness and Futures.

Hello friends,

I am currently at a cross roads about this blog, and I'm trying to decide whether I should leave it as a strictly professional photo-blog about my adventures and my work, or if I should allow this to be an outlet for my more creative, more emotionally crippled side to release the thought caused pressure build up inside of my mildly neurotic and large head. Please take note, that the images in this blog post have absolutely nothing to do with the content of the blog, I just really love the images that Jade, Maria and I shot the other day.

Model - Jade Johansen Make up- Maria Coccimiglio

For the time being I am just going to continue mixing the two and hope that you enjoy them, or at least don't hate them. 

Tonight a colleague of mine, Alyssa Eddy posted a beautiful photograph of someone who used to be very near and dear to me, someone who has caused immense amounts of happiness and immense amounts of pain, but surprisingly I wasn't upset or angered or saddened by seeing this persons face. I found myself feeling excited about this absolutely stunning image, and I found myself feeling happy to know that someone whom I used to care about so deeply, is still doing well and is in (assumedly so) a great place in their life. 

It led me to think about how many people I've known who have just held onto anger towards someone who 'ruined their lives,' or how many people I've heard say 'I hate that person for [INSERT REASON]' It made me think about how much time is probably wasted, how much emotion and physical anger is used on a daily basis towards other people just for wanting something better, just for seeing an opportunity and taking that to try and better themselves and their lives. 

I just feel that people should let go of the anger towards 'THAT EX' that hurt you, because chances are, the only person you're upsetting, the only person that cares about your anger is you. The only person who is affected by your own hatred, is you. Stop wasting your energy keeping your fists balled up over something that happened and cannot be undone.

I don't know if this is out of line, or if I'm being ridiculous by saying this, but I completely and 100% genuinely forgive her for hurting me. I am no longer angry, I am no longer upset about it. Seeing her face brought back a lot of memories but in all honesty, they were all good ones. I didn't think about the bad times, the bad times were had because she was trying to find a better place in her life, she was trying to help herself and make a happier future for herself, and that is an incredibly noble and amazing thing to do.

Model - Jade Johansen Make Up - Maria Coccimiglio

I thank you for all the lessons I've learned from the mistakes that we made, I thank you for moving on with your life so that I was able to move on with mine, I thank you for being happy, because there is more than enough sadness in this world between people who used to be in love. There are far too many people, carrying far too much hate around, and I am glad that both of us aren't part of that anymore. 

Thank you Maggie, and I genuinely hope that your future has nothing but wonderful events in it. 

To everyone else, I beg of you, just let go of the anger and resentment you're feeling towards people who have wronged you. Forgive them for their mistakes, their problems, forgive them for what they've done. You don't have to physically confront them and tell them you forgive them, but just let go of all that internal struggle you're feeling, it will make for a much more beautiful you. I don't know all the answers in life, I actually know very few of them, but what I do know is that I became a much more beautiful person the moment I decided to let go of all the resentment, and accept that people are allowed to live their lives, and people should be allowed to better themselves no matter what that means they need to do. 

Faults, Forgiveness, and Future. 

Thanks for reading everyone. 

Skendzel Family Portrait Fun!

A few days back, Pat and I had the lovely opportunity of meeting the massive Skendzel family. Larry had hired me a few months back and told me his family was large, but I took my time and got prepared to situate all of them as best I could. They were all amazing sports, and they kept their smiling faces on the entire time of shooting, even though the bugs were a little intense. 

We had shot the portrait and called it a wrap, but one of them mentioned that there was a waterfall out behind the lodge, so we travelled up a bit and I was amazed by this perfect backdrop that was hiding all this time. So I arranged everyone for one more shot, and it was so worth the time we took, because the final shot we got was amazing. 

Thank you for helping me make such a wonderful portrait for your entire Family, and I hope you really enjoy it! 

Much love.

I f**king love what I do.

I am a complicated human being, like most of us are. I get angry for reasons I can't explain, I get sad sometimes and sit in the bottom of my shower for two hours wondering why I exist. I have loved people more than I could explain, I've hurt people in my life by being cold, and forgetful. I have put my love for a woman over my love for art. I have been pursued, prescribed, and promoted through a 9-5 job that I've learned to love. 

I have lost, searched, and discovered myself time and time again. I have felt both physical and emotional pain that I would not put on my worst enemy. I have broken bones, broken hearts, and I am at my core; broken. I feel like my understanding of my own brain is never going to be something I grasp. I have not always told the truth, nor have I ever lied when it hasn't been required. I have been a piece of shit to the people I love from time to time. 

My name is Allan James Brunke, I am 25 years old. I work a mid-level management job at a fast-food franchise to support my habits, and I actually thoroughly enjoy it. I am a wedding photographer, I make peoples perfect days seem even more perfect with a few fancy tricks and a knowledge of lighting and angles. I work 85 hour weeks between three different lives. I don't sleep more than 4 hours a night typically. I am one of the most motivated and productive people I have ever met, and I am also the most self hating and sad person I have ever met some days. I am a regular guy, who is just as broken and as cliche as any 25 year old man. I may hate myself some days, but I absolutely fucking love what I do every single day. I love waking up every day. I have had many different lives in the past 15 years of my existence. I was a no good teenager, I was a professional wrestler, I was the weird kid who wore clothes three sizes to big for him and got dropkicked off of stages during school plays. I'm the one who wrote a three page letter demanding my highschool vice-principal step down from her position and anonymously rocked 'the establishment' from the inside. No matter how many different bridges I burn, how many groups of friends I seem to transition through, one thing has always been there for me. My work. 

Until the day that I die, or the day I go blind in both of my eyes, I will have my work. My family can pry my camera out of my lifeless hand because I will want to be facing a window and photographing my surroundings when I take my last breath. Through every single thing I face, my camera will always be with me, my work ethic will always be strong, and I will constantly love what I do.

Re-Establishing my work, my brand, and my mind.

A long overdue Hello, lads and ladies. 

I have not posted on this blog in about 7 months, because I have been focusing on making myself better, making my content better for all of you. At the end of 2014, I hit a very stiff wall, a wall that made me feel like I just wanted to pack everything up and go become a plumber. 

Personally and professionally, I felt very stuck, I felt very unhappy with everything I was producing. I genuinely hated everything I was putting out, and I was angry with myself because of it. 

So in March 2015, I decided to take my first ever out of province trip. I decided that I was going to go to the opposite end of the country, I went to Vancouver. I reconnected with some people whom I had lost, and I met a handful of awesome new people. It was during this trip that I realized that I am one lucky son of a gun to be able to do what I love, and have people who admire and enjoy the work that I do. It hit me that, no matter what I am producing, at least I am creating something. In the short 10 days that I was on the west coast, I realized that I am so blessed, and so absolutely crazy for beating myself up about feeling stuck. We all get there, and it's nothing new. 

I have been so focused on finding new avenues, and new photography projects, so focused on making awesome content, and meeting brand new, amazing people. Jeff and I have been working tirelessly on the wedding photography business, and also just launched a website completely devoted to the business! (www.weddingsbyallanandjeff.com) We have a ton of weddings coming up this season, and for next year already, so there is TONS of new content going up over there. I am working on a film project with a crew of wonderful and talented people, and I am trying to squeeze in a few personal photoshoots every week.

So with that, I would like to say thank you all, and I am 100% back on track. I am going to be posting to this blog at least once a week with new projects, new thoughts, and new ideas for all of you to check out. The blog isn't necessarily always going to be photo related as I am working on a few different projects this summer. But I hope you all enjoy it and I thank you for continually sticking with me even when it seems like I'm losing my mind. 

I love you all.

Holiday Portrait Sale!

Hello there Everyone! I have decided to do another holiday portrait sale this year, as last year seemed to be a hit! This year, between November 15th and December 29th, you can purchase a 2015 portrait session with me for only $200! This session includes 15 images and can be booked at anytime within the 2015 year, and it is transferable to other people so it can make a great holiday gift! 

The reason I am doing this again this year is simply because I need to purchase a new camera, as the one I have has been through a few tumbles and accidents over the past three years and it just doesn't work as well as it should. With this sale, I need to schedule 16 portrait sessions in order to afford my new camera, so I am trying to give myself a gift while at the same time, giving all of you a gift! 

If you are interested in purchasing a session, please email me via the contact form on my website, or get in touch with me at 705-943-9779. 

Thank you for all the support and kind words, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Willcock/Tozer Family Sneak Peek.

This weekend I had the privledge of photographing two families who have become one over the past few years. I have known Shana, Ruth, Matt and Reid for a long time now, and although I have just met Pippa, John, Deb, Wayne, Ben and Liv, I have still been able to feel the strong bond and love between all of these people. 

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Over the past year I have been shown so much kindness and welcoming attitude from this entire group, and many a delicious dessert every time I've spent time with them. I cannot thank them enough for allowing me to share in some of their beautiful family dinners, as well as the beautiful day of shooting we had today.

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Although it was a windy and chilly day out, we managed to get through it all and make the best out of a shiver inducing afternoon. All of them were troopers, especially the family dog; Bailey. The best part of this family session was, I didn't get hurt! No falling in rivers, no trees smacking me in the face, managed to make it out completely unscathed. 

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Two of my absolute favourite people are a part of this giant family. Matt and Shana have been two of my closest friends for a very very long time and it always makes me happy to see the happiness that these two bring each other and bring their entire family, every single day. I am so blessed to know these people, and I hope I can show them how much by giving them the gift of these amazing memories together.

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Until next time, 

Allan Brunke.

Brea and Adam Fall Session Sneak Peek!

After having photographed these two about 200 times in the past year, one would think that I would run out of locations and ides for them, but we seem to make gold every time we get together to shoot something! 

We were greeted with gloomy skies, cold wind and a lot of the colour had already been stripped away from our beautiful October trees! But we still managed to pull our socks up and get some great images of their great little family. 

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In the next two weeks, Jeff and I are going to be planning for our upcoming super secret project! It's going to be a huge endeavour and one of the biggest productions I have ever done. I am extremely excited, and I am hoping that you guys will love the finished product. 

Until next time!