Halifax Wedding Photographer Dustin Hall - Serving Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Ontario - Blog » Engagement

Halifax Engagement Photographer – Andrew & Ciara – Wedding in Ireland

Dustin Hall — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 02:30:41 +0000

I’ve known Andrew for about 15 years and it makes me feel old just writing that. We went to high school together in Burlington and also played hockey against each other. My younger brother Preston and his younger brother Cory did the same. After high school I lost touch with most people, but I would see a few from time to time, Andrew was one of those people. I saw him more than a lot of other people actually just because of hockey, he reffed the league I played in 3 times a week. We also had one really good friend in common and I think the last time I saw Andrew before these photos was at Johnny’s Christmas/Birthday party something like 3 or 4 years ago.

Andrew went off to work in London (England, not Ontario) and I heard that he had met this beautiful girl while working there. That was about all I knew for a while, so knowing only where they met, I just assumed she was English. That was until Andrew contacted me about doing some engagement photos and mentioned that they were going to be getting married in Ireland in 2013. Since I was going to be in town for a full week between 2 weddings, it was the perfect opportunity to meet up.

When I met Andrew and Ciara at the Distillery District in Toronto, I noticed that physically, he hadn’t changed a bit, except he had this pretty little thing standing next to him. The rumours were correct, he had indeed met a beautiful girl and they managed to stay strong through a couple years of a long distance relationship, not an easy thing to do.

We made our way through the Distillery District encountering a security guard asking questions about a photo permit, we of course didn’t have one, but we charmed him enough to turn a blind eye. After getting some photos there, we decided to try to get a shot with the Toronto skyline in the background. This meant going through the traffic of downtown Toronto with the Gardiner closed (as I mentioned avoiding the previous day). We got to Billy Bishop Airport (AKA City Centre Airport) only to discover that the parking lot no longer existed. It took about 20 minutes to find somewhere to park and by the tine we got to the ferry we were first in line…because we missed the previous ferry by less than a minute.

We waited and chatted for 15 minutes for the next boat and when we got on the island, we quickly went to the location I had inadvertently scouted a month earlier while waiting for delayed baggage when arriving in Toronto from Halifax. The sun was gone by this point leaving us with a lit skyline. As we approached our location Andrew pointed out that the C.N. Tower wasn’t lit and I think my heart dropped for a moment. Then the tower went up red and bright. I guess it was just in between programs (for those who don’t know, a few years ago, lights were installed on the tower enabling it to be lit in an infinite number of ways).

We got a bunch of photos in and then I noticed people starting to board the returned ferry. We literally ran to the boat and as I came up the stairs (first because Andrew was playing the role of gentleman with Ciara), the attendant was closing the door. He saw us running and held up for us. We were happy to have made this boat for sure.

As we got back to our cars, we discussed their wedding in Ireland and we agreed to discuss some details later. I am happy to say that I will be there with these 2 great people and their families next September in County Dublin for their wedding. I’m sure it will be a great time, and I hope to get some beautiful pictures.

Here are a few of their Engagement Photos:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Andrew & Ciara – Preview

Dustin Hall — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 04:50:50 +0000

I spent this evening in downtown Toronto with Andrew and Ciara for their engagement photos. Here’s a quick preview from today:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Nicole & Aaron

Dustin Hall — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:11:49 +0000

The Sunday after Amanda and Adam’s wedding in Burlington, I met up with Nicole and Aaron for their engagement photos. We met under the Skyway bridge in the morning at around 7:30. We were all a little surprised at how many people were there at such an early hour on a Sunday.

We took a number of photos on the pier and under the bridge and then the beach. Nicole and Aaron even braved the ‘crystal clear’ waters of Lake Ontario for a few shots. I don’t think I’ve ever been in Lake Ontario before, and I lived in Burlington for over 20 years.

I’m looking forward to their wedding in September, it should be a good one.

Here’s a few shots from their Engagement session:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Valerie and David in Waterloo

Dustin Hall — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 03:01:20 +0000

I met up with Valerie and David at the University of Waterloo on a Saturday evening. Like David, I went to Wilfrid Laurier University which is just down the road and as David said, being on the UW campus felt a bit like walking into the lion’s den. That being said, Valerie is currently finishing up her degree there, so we were in good hands.

We started off at the Earth Sciences Museum. The curator was kind enough to come to the museum and open up the dinosaur exhibit for us. There was an Albertosaurus fossil as the focal point of the room until Valerie and David arrived. From the campus museum we made our way to the library and got a few shots in various places in there. At last we went to one of their favourite places, Sweet Dreams Bubble Tea shop, just off the UW campus.

I think we got some great shots and we had a great time too. Their wedding is coming in August and I’m looking forward to it.

Here are a few shots from our Saturday evening together.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Cottage Engagement Session – Erin and Tony

Dustin Hall — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 17:09:28 +0000

Tony proposed to Erin at Erin’s family cottage on Bayfield Inlet on Georgian Bay. The Cottage was a few hours from my parents house (where I stay when I fly to Ontario from Nova Scotia for weddings) and when the idea for doing the engagement session arose, I was all for it, even with the drive. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, Tony and Erin’s dad met me at their boathouse and we went out to the island their cottage is on. It’s such a beautiful place, it made me want a cottage.

Erin’s grandparents have their cottage about a hundred metres away on the same island, so we made use of both cottages for photos. We grabbed a canoe and took some photos on the water, something I don’t get to do very often, or ever for that matter which was a lot of fun. When sunset came, the cottages had a spectacular view. It was such a great experience to go photograph Erin and Tony somewhere important and meaningful to them, and I know they got home late on Sunday night after the drive back home, so Thank You to Erin, Tony, and Erin’s parents for sticking around late with a work day looming, it certainly made for better pictures.

Here are a few photos from their engagement session.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Erin & Tony in Cottage Country – Preview

Dustin Hall — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:27:56 +0000

When Erin and Tony told me that they got engaged up at Erin’s family cottage, I thought that sounded like a great place for an engagement session and I know they agreed. I liked that it had meaning to them and was different than what most people would have for engagement photos. When they told me the cottage was up on Georgian Bay, an hour North of Parry Sound, I didn’t bat an eye, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Here’s a preview from the evening at the cottage:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Halifax Wedding Photographer – Oxana & Kris – Toronto

Dustin Hall — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:19:40 +0000

It was quite a while ago, I believe close to a year, that I was approached by one of my mom’s coworkers. Her brother had eloped and they wanted to make sure he got some photos with his new wife. She didn’t have any sort of time frame for when they might want to take the photos and told me to wait for them to contact me. Enough time had passed that I had nearly forgotten. I had moved from Burlington to Halifax and if they were to call me, it would be tricky to schedule something. Just before Christmas I received a call from Kris asking if we could setup a time to do the photos. Since my phone number is still a 905 area code, he had no idea I had moved. Lucky for both of us, I was coming back to Ontario for a couple of late 2011 weddings and I had one free day.

Oxana and Kris were married exactly one year to the day that we scheduled the session for. They had wanted to go to Toronto for the photos and number one on their priorities was a shot with the Toronto skyline in the background. We were lucky that the weather wasn’t too bad, there was a little bit of fresh snow and it was cold but not freezing. I can say that since I was wearing my coat the whole time. Oxana was a trooper and took her coat off and did her best to look warm. She’s from Russia, St. Petersburg to be exact so the cold is not something foreign to her.

From the pier we went to Dundas and Nathan Philips Squares for a few photos and then we went back to the waterfront to get the Toronto skyline at night. Unfortunately the CN Tower wasn’t visible through the clouds and snow, but it was still nice.

Congratulations Oxana and Kris! Here are a few photos from our session together.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

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Halifax Wedding Photographer Dustin Hall – Kris & Oxana in Toronto – Preview

Dustin Hall — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:30:48 +0000

Here’s a quick one photo preview from my Elopement session in Toronto with Kris and Oxana. I will be posting more soon.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

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Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Amanda and Adam – Rattlesnake Point

Dustin Hall — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:25:39 +0000

I don’t think I had ever been to Rattlesnake Point before, and it had been a while for Amanda and Adam. We entered the park about an hour before sunset with just over an hour until the park closed. I don’t think any of us realized that the park would close that early. We made it work though. The Niagara Escarpment can be beautiful at any time of year, but the time of day is important, and sunset or sunrise can be gorgeous. We went right out to the edge of the cliff and started shooting. At one point I jumped over the wall to take some shots from a different angle and I dropped my camera. Don’t worry it didn’t go off the cliff, I caught it after one bounce off a rock. That’s why professional photographers cameras are more expensive; durability. A lower quality camera, like a Canon Rebel, would have smashed. With that heart pounding experience over, we moved along. We came across some rock climbers who had heard my camera drop. The Escarpment is a great place for rock climbing, it’s no Yosemite, but it’s good for us.

We found a couple other little places for photos and just as we were wrapping up, we spotted a crevice with a little family of raccoons. We of course didn’t get too close. Amanda and Adam are getting married next year, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it. Until then, I hope you enjoy a few shots from their Engagement Session:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

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Halifax Engagement Photographer Dustin Hall – Rattlesnake Point Engagement – Amanda and Adam – Preview

Dustin Hall — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:28:18 +0000

This evening I met up with Amanda and Adam at Rattlesnake Point for some Engagement photos. here’s a preview of our session. More to come soon.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

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