Lawrence/Grexton Family Sneak Peek

This past weekend I had the opportunity to photograph both The Lawrence Family and The Grexton Family, I love when a family comes for a session and they are all ready to go and things go smoothly. I couldn't have asked for a better and easier going group of people to work with!


Unfortunately while location scouting for this session, I was subject to a pretty ugly accident in which I fell into the river we were shooting on! I bruised my ribs, a bone in my arm and most of all my ego. I'm okay, but I did ruin my phone! I'm just glad that I wasn't carrying my camera or any of my equipment when this happened. All in all it was worth it because we got some great shots, and some that I hope their families will be hanging on their wall for years to come! 

Until next time! Hopefully I don't fall into anymore rivers between now and then!

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.

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! 

Andrew and Krista are Expecting! (Maternity Sneak Peek)

Last week Jeff and I had the pleasure of returning to the beautiful home of Andrew and Krista whose wedding we shot last year around the exact same time! Only this time around, there was another party in the images that wasn't there before. 

I have known both Andrew and Krista for quite some time and I am so excited for them to be parents and to have a beautiful little family. It was my absolute pleasure to photograph this huge moment in their lives. 

I cannot wait for their little bundle of joy to come into the world so I can photograph their entire family. Congratulations to both of you, and I wish you the best in the future, I can't wait to see you again! 

Chelsea and Jamie Family Session Sneak Peek.

I had the enjoyment of photographing Chelsea, Jamie and Savannah on a beautiful, but slightly chilly family session. Chelsea won a contest that I held on my Facebook page a few months ago and decided to use her free session to get some great photos of her fantastic little family! 

 

Savannah was a delight and didn't fuss at all until the end of the session when the sun started to set, overall she was a great subject when she wasn't being distracted by seagulls or squirrels. 



Really excited about New Business.

So as some of you may know, Jeff and I launched a new business venture entitled Weddings by Allan & Jeff. I am extremely excited about this new venture, because it's the first time I have ever work with other people on such a large project. I am incredibly inspired by the passion of my team, and I am really overwhelmed by the support we've had already. 

With all of that being said, I would like to take time to introduce everyone to the newest member of our team, Andrew. I've known Andrew for a few years now, and him and I have really hit it off professionally. He has been filling in for Jeff when he was not available over the past year, and really makes things easier than trying to do them on my own. I am grateful for our team, and I will probably do a small blog post later on to introduce everyone, but for now, i hope you all share my excitement and will join me in watching this little behind the scenes video that Andrew put together while we were shooting Brea and Adam a few weeks ago. 


Until next time!



Wirta Wedding 6-Month Revisit

Hello there again Everyone!

 

So as some of you know, I shot the wedding of Brea and Adam Wirta. The wedding was amazing, but the only down side was that they had the wedding in the beginning of January, when it was almost -40 outside. Now, I've lived in Canada my entire life, so I know that it gets cold, and I accept that fact. But none of us were prepared for the wind-chill that came off of the lake the day of their wedding. 

So as brave and foolish individuals, we decided to do some of the bridal party photographs outside, in knee deep snow, with a -40 windchill. Needless to say, we took about 6 photographs and everyone gave up and went back to the reception. So with us all wimping out, I felt the need to give them another shot at some beautiful Bride and Groom portraits, just in warmer weather the second time around. 

So we settled on July, and we settled on a location in Bruce Mines. Without the pneumonia inducing weather, and the rush to get back to their reception, we made magic, and I was so happy with what we were able to put together. I honestly feel like this is the best wedding image I have taken to date. 

I present to you, Brea and Adam, a 6-month Wedding Revisit. 

I'm sorry!

Hello there Bloggy type people!

 

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted and you've been anxiously awaiting it! My apologies, I took a week long stay-cation and haven't even picked up my camera! Spent the majority of this week catching up on movies that I hadn't had a chance to watch, and eating a lot of banana bread. 

But alas, I still need to make a blog post, and I also needed a way to share the following images. So I present, my work baseball game from the starting of the month. As you can probably guess, I don't really sport at all. So I decided instead of playing, I would bring my camera and I would photograph the game instead. I managed to get some great shots, and it gave me a chance to try out some new post-processing that I have been trying. 

So please take a look, let me know what you think about the processing I did, let me know what you think about the images, and let me know who your favourite superhero is, just for fun!

I am shooting an amazing wedding session this coming Sunday with my good friend Andrew, and he is going to do some video work so I will hopefully have a neat little behind the scenes video to post next week! 

 

Until next time, 

 

Allan Brunke

Connie and Ash Prom Sneak Peek.

The Irwin family purchased a package from me almost a year ago and we had been trying to arrange a date to shoot for quite some time, so when Connie approached me about shooting these images I assumed they were going to be family portraits, or just headshots for Connie herself. When Connie and Ash arrived at Bellvue park I was taken by surprise that they wanted prom photos, but I was ecstatic because it's something I don't get to do often, and something that can be really fun to shoot! 

I enjoyed shooting it, I hope you guys enjoy looking at the final product, and I hope to hear any and all feedback! 

 

Allan Brunke.

Wirta Family Sneak Peek!

I have been photographing The entire Wirta clan for about a year now. Brea and Adam have been amazing to work with on every session we've done, and they are always a blast to shoot with. Today we shot the family around Hiawatha park which is always a favourite location of mine mostly because I don't get to step into nature as much as one probably should. 

Today's shoot went specifically well because Jeff and I were completely in sync and barely had to communicate to know what the other was thinking. I made Jeff do the posing today because I wanted to try and work with someone else posing and picking frames. I was blown away by how fast and perfectly each of our sets went, everyone involved was just on point. 

Even though today required me to scale a waterfall and to get knee deep in a muddy river, it was worth it for this shot, I am so happy with it and I hope that you all enjoy it as well. 


All the best, 



Haner Family Sneak Peek.

This past weekend I shot portraits for The Haner Family and their beautiful dog. Although I ruined a dress shirt and almost lost my phone in the process, I still got some great shots and that always makes it worth it. 

After running a tad bit late due to my own personal Planes, Trains and Automobiles trip to get down to Thessalon, we shot a few portraits in the beautiful riverside park, where I was poked with jokes about my shoes, stories about my father and a lot of laughs. I got the pleasure of meeting this amazingly photographic couple, and was able to get this great shot to celebrate their illustrious love. 

Once we finished up with those images. We drove for about an hour out to Haners summer camp, which was an absolutely beautiful location. I think the only one who loved it more than I did was the dog, who charged across the yard; in and out of the water and then back to jump all over me and get me wet and covered in dirt. 


But it was completely worth it to hear the great reactions from Pauline and Alan once they took a look at the images I got, nothing better than a happy client. 

Until next time, 

 

Allan.

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.

 

Coventry Family Sneak Peek

Hey Everyone!

This weekend started my back to back weekends in Thessalon, ON. Going back to one of my hometowns before I relocated to Sault Ste. Marie. Spent a great afternoon with The Coventry clan, great laughs, great food, and even managed to discover a beautiful shooting location that I had completely forgot existed. Had to take my boots off and step into the river to get this shot, but I am very happy with the way it turned out.

Our day of family portraits had a beautiful and lovely commentary team consisting of these two great ladies, they were hilarious and an amazing amount of fun to shoot. Had me laughing my butt off, and pulled on my heart strings seeing how much this family means to one another. Managed to grab this shot from the hip while they gave me a foxy pose on one of the benches.

I am hoping to shoot a personal piece tomorrow that involves my father and his beautiful classic car. If it ends up happening, I will be posting a large blog post with some behind the scenes images. 

Next weekend I am headed back here to Thessalon to shoot The Haner Family, as well as some personal work in between. Going to be continuing to update the blog every week as usual, and  I hope that all of you are enjoying these. 

 

 

Much love!



Schell Family Sneak Peek (Rediscovering my past)

Hello again Everyone!

This weekend I shot a wedding, and the largest family portrait session I have ever done with Mr. Jeff McKersie.


I have known the Schell family since I was about 10 years old, I can remember being babysat by three of the four children of Heidi and Steve, I remember being at their house when I was about 11 and watching Anaconda for the first time. 


Seeing this family again after more than 10 years was really quite intense and it made me think a lot about how much I have grown into my own person over the past 10 years, how many stages I have gone through in my life to get me to this very point. So many ups and downs to mould me into the person behind the camera. 

 

The whole family was amazing! Lots of laughs had by everyone (except the baby when we took the blanket away.) A very loving and beautiful family, something that is always a benefit when you're taking photographs of them.

 

For the next two weekends I am going to be traveling back to Thessalon, ON. To work on some family portraits, and hopefully a few personal projects as well! Hope you guys enjoyed the images, and I will check back in soon. 

My obsession with the abstract.

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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.