Thank you Anu for a great photo shoot, and best wishes for your experience here in Canada.

Here’s a few photos that I took while there. My thanks goes out to the Belly Dance Essex for their awesome performance, and to all the dancers that work so hard at what they do. Looking forward to the next show!

A great shot of the opening dance.

This event was held in Essex ON, at the new arena

There were many different performances this night, with both group dances and solo dances. Aiyanna (left) dances with a scimitar, while Korinne (right) does a separate solo piece.

Aiyanna gets a huge applause from the audience after finishing a great dance with a scimitar.

One last shot of a group dance at Shimmyfest.

I was contacted by a friend of mine about this, and had a small booth there to photograph anyone who wanted a quick photo done at the concert. I’ve posted these photos in my online proofing section (password access only), but I also took a few photos of some of the bands performing (posted below). All proceeds from this event went directly to the Canadian Red Cross and their efforts to relieve the people of Haiti, and also any income that I made went to this cause as well.

Thanks to 95.1 and 100.7 The Rock for putting on a great concert, and for a great cause.

This is a photo of a band who's name I cannot remember!

The Jonathan Roung Band

One Man's Opinion

Another photo of the nameless band!

You might have heard of this before – about how someone’s wedding day was ruined because they hired the wrong person to photograph their wedding. I’ve heard quite a few of these stories, and I’ve written an article on this titled “My Wedding Photographer was a JERK!!!”

This is a sad story about how one bride got stiffed with a wedding photographer that she didn’t like, and how they managed to really spoil their wedding. I’ve captured all the details, and written it in an easy to follow guide for things to look when selecting a wedding photographer. From this article, you’ll be able to see:

• The mistakes this “photographer” made, and the impact it had on the bride
• What a real photographer will do to make sure that your wedding photos are captured properly
• Just how important your wedding photographs will be for you in 5-10 years time, and the tragedy that can come from not hiring the right person

This article is free to download, and will help better prepare you for making sure that you have made the best decision in hiring your wedding photographer. DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE HERE and you will not regret taking the time to see how one bride’s day was ruined because of one bad decision.

P.S. If you’d like to receive a copy of this article via e-mail, please go to the Make an Inquiry page and send me an e-mail. I’ll be glad to send you a copy of this ASAP for your convenience. Take care, and best wishes for a great wedding and a happy life!

I first discovered animoto back in 2008, and have used them a couple times for different projects. I really like the diversity they put into their slideshows, and how they keep the action in them!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Take care.

Roger, Bernadette, and I had a great time at this shoot (my most memorable characteristic of Rog was trying to get him to smile, but Bernie helped me out with that!) We toyed around with their instruments a bit to get some creative shots, and then also tied them together back to back for fun!

Here’s a quick photo of the day. Thanks again to the Back 2 Back band for stopping by, and best wishes for a successful and fun year!

Roger and Bernadette from the Back 2 Back band.

This year, the Chudokan Dojo had 4 participating students. Two were testing for Shodan, while others were testing for higher ranks. All in all, it was a very eventful day where many Aikidoka put forward all their energy to show that their years of study have paid off.

Sensei Kevin Blok (Blok Kyoshi) not only tested his students on physical techniques. He asked them questions on the history of Aikido, and where certain movements came from in order to see if they had studied the art and not just shown up to class. This made the test something that pushed his students to their physical, mental, and spiritual limits.

I’ve highlighted a few photos below, and a gallery of 50+ photos is at the end. Please share and enjoy, and congratulations to all the participants of today’s event. Osu!

Many Aikido students (Aikidoka) showed up for the Shodan Testing.

Weapons testing is required as part of a Shodan test. In this photo, Aikidoka Joe M. and Mike S. face off.

Aikidoka Alex (Michigan) demonstrates that Aikido movements can be done in traditional Seiza (kneeling) position as well as from standing.

Part of testing is that you teach Blok Kyoshi exactly how to perform a movement as if you were teaching it to a new student of Aikido.

The last part of the test consists of a Randori - a multi-person attack in which you must defend yourself from all attackers.

As a few of you may already know, I have been a member of the Forest Glade Optimists for almost 2 years now, and doing what I can to support youth activities in my area. I was asked by fellow Optimist Brian Adler to take some photos at this event, and was happy to get out and shoot somewhere that isn’t cold this time of year!

The object of this event was to participate in three basketball challenges, being shooting, passing, and dribling. Each challenge had a points system attached to it, and every youth’s points would be written down and added together when all youths had completed every challenge. The highest points won a medal, plus the opportunity to participate in the Regional Basketball Challenge at the WFCU Center in Windsor Ontario.

Without further delay, here’s the photos. Thanks again for stopping by, and please support your local Optimist group, as they help keep youths active.

Coach Brian Adlam gives directions to youth about how to participate in this year's Tri-Star Basketball Challenge.

Optimist John Post helps a youth in the basketball passing challenge.

For the dribbling challenge, youths had to run around three pylons and points were awarded for every twelve inches they ran.

A youth takes a shot in the basketball shoot out challenge.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals were awarded at the end of the day to those who scored the most points from all three challenges.

If you go to www.jdphotography.co.za you’ll be able to see some of the best wedding photography I’ve seen. The way that Jaco captures the moment and composes his photographs is brilliant. He truly has a real gift for this art.

My best wishes to him for a successful year in 2010, and to pushing the envelope even further for his art.

A Screen shot of Jaco's Website

As you might know, I’m a big believer in social media, and use a lot of it to help out those who need my photography services. It’s more convenient and really cool that these mediums are available, and because of my background in computers (I’m a computer geek!), it’s really easy for me to relate to all this.

Have a look at this video, and let me know what you think. Take care!