Meet Scott Mackinnon….and choose to either live vicariously through him, or follow his lead.  Heck, maybe even somewhere in the middle. 

Scotty Mack is a friend of mine from high school….way back when.  Although we have not seen each other in over 8 years, we have kept in touch from time to time via facebook, email, etc.  Scott has lived in Hawaii for the last 5+ years - and has recently taken on a project called “Myxtraordinary - 1 Year, 1 Life, 1 List”.

You gotta know a bit about Scott first.  You know those people that say extravagant things, have extravagant plans - but never actually does it?  Scott is not that guy.  For some strange reason, if Scott told me he was going to the moon, I’d believe it.  Many times I think that we discount those people that tend to brag about their dreams and goals - rather than do them…..but the difference is that Scott doesn’t brag about it, he does it.  And he wants to include people too, which instead of wanting to turn our backs and say “yeah, okay” - we want to watch, believe it - and sometimes even wish we were there!

I have not gotten to know Scott very much since our fork in the road.  My life went to babies, marriage, and busy cities……his to surfing, hiking and meeting people in paradise.  (Not saying either is bad - have you seen how cute my kids are?).  When I think of Scott, part of me thinks of the movie Cocktail….but with more adventure, and less mack-daddying.

Anyway - Scott has saved money, to experience one year in a way that no one ever has.  He has a list of accomplishments and goals, covering each week of the next year….ALL OVER THE PLANET!  A different place each week.  That includes boar hunting, signing on open mic nights, shark diving, paragliding, and climbing.  (Seriously check out his list - as it is impressive!).  Check out his thoughts, and his list here.

It is inspiring to see someone representing what we all struggle with.  We have to choose to create our life into something that we are proud of, full of no regrets, and full of excitement.  It has definitely got me thinking.

Anyway - Scott was on his way up to Toronto for the first leg of his plan, so I begged him to take 20 minutes or so for a photo op.  I just wanted to get a good portrait, and to grab the “superhero-ness” out of him…..but instead I connected with a good friend.   I cannot wait to catch up with him after his 50+ weeks of adventure!

 (Photographers Note:  this was my first attempt at using a full CTO gel on a 580EX II bare.  The first shot - the flash was not used)

I was so excited to cap off a very busy week with a beautiful little wedding at Toronto’s Old Mill.

I met Diana and Glenn as a referral from another great photographer, Jeremy Sale.  When a referral comes from another photographer, it is extra special.  I love the camaraderie and network that is shared among photographers.  Thanks Jeremy!  (Check out Jeremy’s blog here, when you have a chance - Jeremy = awesome work!)

Glenn and Diana have a great story.  Simply, they have been married for 15 years to each other and decided to get re-married to each other.  For a second wedding, they pulled out all the stops -  It was gorgeous!  What a great looking couple as well.  I was very impressed with the whole evening - and the atmosphere of being completely surrounded with your closest loved ones. 

Diana had a special request for the day, which was so thoughtful, that I couldn’t say no.  Diana had asked me to print portraits for her guests, and have them back to her before the evening was over.  That way, she could include these individual portraits (of her guests) inside a custom portfolio, along with a poem, to give to each one of her guests.  It was so great to see everyones’ reaction when the prints arrived! 

Here is a few shots from the evening.  Thank you so much Diana and Glenn for including me in your day.

Last week, I had the pleasure of shooting with Melissa…….

I am not going to bore you with my typing (because if you peeked at the images below - you are not listening to me anyway).  Melissa is definitely one of those GORGEOUS models that makes a photographer look good.   As I joked with her, “I am just pressing a button.”  Check out the shots of Melissa below, isn’t she beautiful?

And no - you cannot have her number.

P.S.  Melissa is a vetran cheerleader for the Toronto Argonauts.  If you would like an autographed Argo Cheerleader calendar from Melissa - they are $10.  Let me know, and I will figure out a way to get it to you.

Krista and I had an awesome time during Natalie and Andrew’s maternity shoot.  It is always great to meet new people, and in this case we left meeting some really GREAT people.  Have you ever met someone, and after you leave - you just sit back and think “Wow, they are just good people.”  That is how it was for Krista and I. 

…add to that fact - that Natalie ROCKED IT!  Look at these pictures…she is stunning! 

P.S.  I think “Adam” is a great name - FYI. 

Wow.  I need this day to be a do-over. 

After coming off a great night last night at a Jason Mraz concert (which was so great!), I’d like to give this day back.  Can someone point me in the direction of the “returns” counter? 

Don’t get me wrong - there were a lot of great things about today.  Lots of gratitude for the opportunity that I had to document the Quinte Ribfest 2009 event.  After the Quinte Home Show Event that I participated in last year, I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from the Toronto Argonauts.  Through out the day, I took pictures of various events and stations.  One area encouraged the fans to donate to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters charity in exchange for an autographed portrait with the cheerleaders, (Hi Tasha, Melissa, Casey and Hailey!) as well as Walter Curry - the Argo’s defensive tackle. 

Also, Walter and the cheerleaders each took some time to show off their respective talents by helping the kids run through some routines.  Walter ran through some agility/quickness and passing drills……and the Cheerleaders put together a routine with the kids to perform for their parents.  It was great!  Also, throughout the day - we went around to the “Ribbers” and took some pictures with them too.  (That was hard for me - because the ribs smelled SOOOOOO good.).

So you are probably thinking “That sounds like a great day…..why do you want to give the day back”?

Well, after a great day shooting - it was time to head over to a jiffy print type place - and get the prints ready for autographs.  “Wait a second……something is missing.  I feel naked.”  I start to panic….WHERE IS MY iPHONE?!?!?!?!?!  Not in my pocket…not in my car….not in my camera bag..

We retrace my steps…..nothing.  We call it.  Nothing.  45 minutes goes by and  I give up - I will just wipe it out remotely when I get home, and cry.   I head off with my memory card in hand - ready to get them printed.  When I hit the 1 hour photo type place - I realize that I shot in RAW mode - which is not recognized by this photo kiosk!  Strike Two - Lost the love of my life, my phone - and just screwed up over 300 pictures.  I don’t have my laptop to convert these images to JPEG.  I decide to give up on the day - I just want to go home.

I hop in the car - with plans to speed home (1 hour away) and quickly convert these images, and get them printed.  The plan was to have the cheerleaders stop through on the way back to Toronto and sign them for me.  They are going to go have some yummy ribs, so I thought time should be good.  I think my speed bumps are behind me. 

I was supposed to meet up with a high school friend for dinner, and to catch up and wish him a happy brithday.  But with no phone, and being en-route to fix my mistakes - I had no way to contact him.  (Sorry Scotty Mack).

I jump on the highway - traffic is slow.  It’s moving, but there is nowhere to open my car up and risk getting my license suspended for doing over 150km/hr.  I had to live with a steady 80-110km range.  I actually even drove the entire drive with no music!!  I just wanted to mourn the loss of my iPhone and marinate in the involuntary disconnection of the world…in silence.

It gets worse..but there is good news.  I get home, say hi to my kids - and my wife tells me that they found my iPhone!  Someone picked it up, and called some of my friends and family to track me down.  (But how do you track me down?  By my phone of course).  Thankfully, between everyone - and one of the cheerleaders-Melissa, they arranged to have the iPhone brought back to the cheerleaders.  (Big Shout out to Melissa…Dad told me all about it.  Thank you!)  WOW.  I am so appreciative to everyone knowing how important (and expensive) that phone is to me, and so thankful that a good Samaritan had enough honesty to find my iPhone it’s home. 

So - I get home and race down to my office to import the photos to quickly convert them.  “Lightroom has encountered a problem and needs to close”.  Ugh.  It restarts - and is checking for errors at a snails pace.  I decide to use my wife’s laptop to download the pictures to take over to the print kiosk.  When I get there - what is supposed to take 15 minutes, takes over an hour.   GREAT.   When the last 4 pictures are about to print….the machine needs a new roll of paper.  GREAT.  The person that knows how to switch the paper - is on lunch.  GREAT.  Thankfully - they get that worked out, but I am late.  The girls are waiting for me near the highway.  YIKES.

I finally make it to the meet-up spot, disheveled and dehydrated.  The girls are chilling in their sponsored Nissan Cube….umm….vehicle.  (Is that a truck, car, SUV….what is that thing?  I think the Argo’s logos, and the human contents are the only things going for it.)  They quickly sign the photographs for the charity event - reunite me with my iPhone - and hit the road again.

My day sucked but the girls were so awesome to help me out with fixing the problems.  I hope they weren’t mad - and if they were, I hope it was just because they had to drive that Nissan thingy.

I’m going to crash now, but as my Grandmother used to say “Tomorrow will be better”.  Until then - I leave you with a little snap of the girls.  (Okay - so looking at the following picture makes me think that my day was not THAT bad.  It had some issues - but getting to hang out with these awesome girls all day - I shouldn’t complain.)

It’s the middle of August already?  WOW - summer is flying by…and I am letting it.  I have been so swamped with so many exciting things - that it is tough to set aside some time for anything but a nap.  With the weather finally shaping up - I am looking forward to some time at the beach, as well as the Jason Mraz concert this weekend with friends.

I have been meaning to dedicate a post to a fun little photo shoot that Krista and I did for our 5 year anniversary.  At the beginning of this month was our big milestone - but with kids, and all the coming and going - we were excited to have a nice night in. 

We started with an amazing steak dinner - with all the trimmings.  It was so good - one of my favorite meals for sure!  Then after we put the kiddos down, we set up the paper, lights and camera to have some fun with a little photo shoot.  Here is some quick samples of our fun little shoot. 

Remember is are not fully edited!  When GQ and Vogue comes knocking….I will re-do these….ha!

Although the weather this summer has not always felt like summer - for this shoot, the weather was our friend.

Erin and I got together for a great bridal session, using some great locations that I will definitely use again!  I love the contrast of beautiful Erin in a beautiful wedding gown - against the really rustic and simple backgrounds.  This was such a great shoot, that it was REALLY tough for me to pick my favorites to post here.  If you have time, and curiosity - check out the rest of the initial edits/set here:  www.williamainsley.com/erin

Isn’t the red wall, and the old fire/rescue truck awesome???

I love your comments, let me know what you think!