I like to think I am an easy-going guy. I love to laugh. I think I tend to take a lighter side approach to life. Of course, I am extremely serious about being or having the best. I am the type that never settles, I only want more. I have no problems working for it, but I won’t stop until I conquer. And then tweak it and enhance it again, to make it even better.

As a kid, I played a lot of hockey. I played winter and summer hockey. A lot of hockey. I was a pretty decent goalie. I think my family expected me to pursue it onwards and make it a career but I had different plans.

Growing up, I knew I wanted to be a Police officer. My dream was to be a Windsor Police Officer. I would have made a great cop. But it wasn’t to be. There are many factors regarding this, so maybe another article at another time. But my not making it, I never saw it as a failure.  And now in my “old age”, I realize that my desire to being a cop, and playing goal, even being a parent…. they all share a certain characteristic.

I need to be in demand, I need to be depended on, and I love impacting people’s lives.

Being a wedding photographer demands the same things. I am motivated when people consider me to photograph their wedding. I love knowing I’m depended on to properly photograph their wedding. And I love how my work, my efforts really impact people’s lives. Isn’t that what life is all about?

So how did this wedding photography thing begin?

18 years ago, when my daughter was born (2001) I was so happy and proud to be a father I demanded I photograph every moment of her life. And it actually annoyed those in my family. I had a camera everywhere. Remember this was before today’s craze where everyone has a camera. In 2004 a friend of the family decided to get married and have a wedding in a backyard. I would be a photographer. I read as much as I could and studied other photographer’s websites to “learn” how to do it. I was very happy with the images.

My second wedding took place when a friend of the family’s wedding photographer flaked out on them, and they were desperate. I bought a new camera and a flash and went on to cover the day for them. It was the third wedding however that made me. There were a handful of images from that wedding that launched me as a wedding photographer.

And there is on bigger high for me than photographing a wedding. Of course, the stakes are high. But the reward is so fulfilling. The relationships I’ve built through the photography business… easily replace any money I may have made. Photography and family have kept me busy… but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Each year, the wedding photography season ends for me by the end of October. This gives me at least two weeks to clear out my wedding photography obligations, as I move onto the Christmas season. Starting in mid-November, life again becomes busy for me as I turn my focus into being one of the premiere focal points of the season. Santa Claus!
Yes that’s right, I am Santa Claus. I am the feature in the Windsor Parade Corporation’s 4 Santa Claus Parades- Windsor, Amherstburg, Essex and Kingsville. I’m the one who stands alongside Mrs Claus and the Mayor Santos of Kingsville as we turn on the lights to open their Festival of Lights Celebration.
I take those same attributes that built my wedding photography business and incorporate it into my Santa visits. Make an impact with your guests, each and every time!