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.

Gregg and Amanda Engagement Session Sneak Peek!

This weekend, Jeff and I had the pleasure of photographing an engagement session for Gregg and Amanda who are an absolutely adorable couple! We had on again - off again showers all afternoon, but it wasn't enough to keep us indoors! We found a beautiful field location out by the airport, as well as using their camp on the lake to capture the beautiful fall colours that have encompassed our little city this year.

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The entire team is extremely excited to shoot their wedding next year! Such a beautiful couple, such a strong bond, and I am so excited to see and capture all of the moments for these two on their special day! 

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The Smell of Sawdust and a Lost childhood.

Ever since I have been really young, my fathers workshop has been a place that I was told not to go into. I was always told that I was going to hurt myself, and that I would be in a lot of trouble if I went wandering inside of it. Much like any child, I listened... until my father left for work, or went outside to fix something. I rarely ever touched anything, but I always had a fascination with all of the tools, and the machinery, never quite understanding what it all did. 

My teenage years, I didn't take much interest in the tools or the machinery, I actually didn't take much interest in the shop at all except for a few 'Budweiser Girls' calendars that were hanging on the walls. I never took an interest in making and creating things with my hands, and it is something that I regret to this day because it never allowed me to bond with my father. I never took the steps I needed to take to learn from him and be interested in his life. 

Now that I am a bit older, I have taken council from the most important people in my life, and I have realized that I need to be more involved in my fathers life, because all of us are only here for a short period of time, and I don't want to have our last memories together being a three minute conversation at Christmas asking how his dog is. I have realized that I need to make more of an effort to be a more involved, more understanding person with everyone in my life, but mostly with my father. 

I've spent the last two weekends taking the time to spend with him and trying to be more active in his family. This weekend I decided to step back into his shop for the first time in many years, and being the shutter addict that I am, I had to take some photographs because photos tell your eyes, what I can't say with words. 

His shop can be messy, and dirty, and sometimes have cigarettes and blood on the floor, but my father has made some of the most amazing pieces of woodworking I have ever seen, and it completely blows me away how a man who I always feared and who I always saw as rough and rugged, can craft and perfect such beautiful and delicate pieces of work. I have such a grand respect for my father now, that I wish I would have had when I was younger. 

Behind the rough hands and gruff voice, there is a beautiful heart and soul, and I never realized that until I moved away and tried to find myself. 

Until next time,

Allan.

My obsession with the abstract.

Hello there Everyone!

Welcome to my blog, where I will be posting about new projects, gear that I want to acquire, upcoming projects, finished images, personal interests and a handful of other things. 

Since I began my journey as a photographer, I have always had an interesting obsession with abstract artwork and photography. I think it is a fantastic measure of self expression, and I also don't understand it at all, and I think that's why I have become so entrenched in wanting to learn about it more and more. Some of the minds I have come across throughout my journey so far are able to seemingly pull a beautiful abstract piece out of thin air as if it were something that was painted inside of their skulls. I on the other hand, have much difficulty being able to understand what makes a good abstract photograph. 

I have been to many an art exhibit that has had abstract images/paintings, and a lot of it is mesmerizing, but in a completely bewildering way. I find myself wondering if a lot of it is just random, un coordinated bullshit that people pass off as a deep and moving piece, or whether the artist had some grand scheme all along and picked every stroke, or in my sense, completely controlled the frame, aperture, shutter and composition. I for one have gotten every abstract image I've done from simply winging it and hoping that something interesting would come of it.

I believe that it's not the images themselves that I am enthralled with, but the meaning behind the images. I have been studying the thought process behind abstract imagery for a while and I am still puzzled as to whether there is some deep, soulful meaning behind certain brush strokes, certain composition choices. Does the deep blue mixed with the diffused orange mean two completely different things if they are on different coloured backdrops? Do the long elegant lines represent a calming? I am not sure I will ever understand 'Abstract Art,' but I am going to attempt to keep trying and try to have a deeper understanding of just what it all means. 

I am going to try and do these blog posts once a week, but I'm terrible with scheduling time to do little things like this, so I don't think there will be a specific day of the week that I post. Mostly just when I'm feeling inspired or perplexed.