Meanderings {M.J. Dies + We Scout for You + Wicked Photog Combos}

My 1983 Thriller Jacket is Now Priceless

Holy @#$%!  The world has lost a legendary icon…….  breaking news confirms that the King of Pop has died, allegedly of cardiac arrest. While it is refreshing to break from CNN’s current story du jour <Jon & Kate: Separate…….puh-lease; we don’t care anymore, people!>; we at Bliss find ourselves saddened by this loss.  It’s hard not to respect all that this man has done for the music and indeed entertainment industry in general; the dude was as inventive as they come.  Salacious rumours of pedophilia notwithstanding, we pause for a moment of silence to reflect and honour the iconic legend who was: Michael Jackson.  May you moonwalk wherever your spirit now takes you. 

Trade Secrets: Why Bliss Works Harder

Without opening up the vault too much, we wanted to give prospective bride *lurkers* one more reason to consider making Bliss Pictures your photographic/cinematic partner in crime for your Big Day.  Plain and simple: we work hard for you.  What many clients don’t realize is the amount of pre-planning that goes into ensuring you are blown away with the art you’ve invested in. From the moment you sign on the dotted line, our creative juices begin to brainstorm and the research begins.

Case in point: where to do the photo shoot?  Well, let’s just say that we get über excited when given a wide berth of latitude for going outside the realm of ordinary.  Today we met up with Dave + Cynthia, clients originally from Thunder Bay but now living in Ottawa.  This Saturday, they will exchange vows in front of 120 adoring fans at St. Dominic’s Cathedral on the South Side of town.  And sometime around 2:30 pm or so, we shall be whisking them away to a top secret grain elevator for an exclusive photo session in an environment that is rugged, raw, removed and beautiful.  Make no mistake, this is no Vickers Park <thank goodness>.  We are equally excited that Dave + Cynthia have such open minds and have put their faith in what we believe we can capture for them.

But the point is quite simply this: our clients are promised an experience that is authentic yet unique; timeless yet edgy.  This is our signature style.  To fulfill this promise, we will go the distance to scout around town, pull strings with our contacts and discover the undiscovered.    Your images are the unwitting beneficiaries of this exploration.  We want to think differently.  We want to capture the essence of your union in a setting as distinct as your love story.  And because we do a lot of our shooting outside, many brides will — rightfully — ask how we handle their photo shoot if it rains.  ”No worries,” we say.  Because quite frankly, the weather does not bother us; bring on the rain…… the elements produce such wicked opportunities to work with varying escarpments of sky and light.  <Disclaimer: we do want it to be lovely and sunny as much as you do; but we can work in any situation, really.>

So if you want Vickers Park, we may not be a fit for you.  But if you are up for something fun and unique, give us a call!

Converging of Creativity: Bliss + Shannon Lepere

Thanks to circumstances beyond our control <namely, open heart surgery to replace one doomed aortic valve>, we are eager to pair up with a hot local photographer we’ve been eyeing for quite some time.  This Saturday’s wedding shoot will allow us just that opportunity.

This spring we were faced with the gravity of Alvi’s health crisis and immediately knew that a small handful of our clients would be impacted. Recovering from open heart surgery is not like getting your tonsils out!  Our fallback plan was to try and secure the services of an available photographer whose style and vision best aligned with ours.  We found that fallback in Shannon Lepere .

Shannon is a young, formally educated photographer with a degree from Fanshawe and a style that would knock anyone’s socks off.  Her signature *jump shots* are known around town and if you are at all artsy and have not been living under a rock then you will be well familiar with her work in the fashion and music industry.  What initially started out as disappointment <to have to forfeit a wedding as the lead photographer> has turned out to be — we think — a cool blessing in disguise.  We are eager to pool our collective good ideas with Shannon and are confident Dave + Cynthia will be blown away .  Moreover, let’s face it, in this business there is always a need to grow and we look forward to learning from Shannon and all that she has to offer.