I wonder how the Vancouver photographers do it – we arrived a couple days early and it felt like I was constantly checking the weather as the forecast was changing every hour.  In the end though, the clouds parted almost as if on cue and we were treated to a nearly perfect spring day.  And if the Vancouver photogs have to deal with more rain stress, I guess the incredible scenery more than makes up for it.

The day started with Shuen and Chris getting ready at a character home in Kitsilano – a really cool house that I could have spent a whole day in.  But that was just the start of our tour de Vancouver as one of Shuen’s bridesmaids picked us up in her school’s yellow bus and drove us out to UBC.  Deep dark woods, beaches on the ocean, cherry blossoms in full bloom, mountains in the skyline – what a treat for a Winnipegger!  Then we capped off the tour with the ceremony and reception out at Simon Fraser University.

Shuen and Chris’ big smiles and general sunnyness matched the day perfectly.  I hope they had as much fun as I did!  Some sneak peeks:

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When I first arrived in Winnipeg back in 1999, I thought that it was simply going to be a short stopover on the way to other roads in life.  But as all you Peggers know, Winnipeg has some kind of crazy siren song that lures you in and keeps you here.  Despite all its quirks, warts, snow, and mosquitoes, I’ve grown very fond of this city which has been home to me for the past twelve years – watching my kids grow up; becoming part of the community in our neighbourhood; enjoying good times with some of the best friends I’ve ever met.  What was supposed to be a short stopover has become one of the defining chapters of my life.

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It was early last year when my father surprised us with a health scare. It shouldn’t have been unexpected as he is an elderly man, but being blessed with good health for most of his life, I guess we just thought he was going to keep on trucking forever. Although the episode was brief and he made a full recovery, we finally came to the realization that after all these years, my father was now in the sunset of his life.

A small business owner his whole life, he remains devotedly involved in running the business that’s been in the family for over fifty years. Even before his illness, though, he was starting to slow down. After the episode, it became clear to him that he would soon need help to keep the business running. It was then that he approached us with the prospect of coming home to help him out.

And so we spent the fall and winter doing a lot of thinking, talking, teeth-gnashing, and soul-searching. If you’ve been a follower of this blog, I apologize for the lengthiness between posts but there’s been a lot of stuff going on in the background. It took a long time to get there, but we’ve finally made our decision and I just wanted to post a quick note to let you know my family and I will be making the jump and moving to Edmonton this fall. Family is super important to me and while we’ve very much enjoyed being close to my wife’s family in Manitoba and getting to know them all better, I’ve been away from mine for nearly 20 years now. With a narrowing window of opportunity for us to spend time with my dad, for my kids to be closer to their cousins on my side, for me to be closer to my siblings and their support… it just feels like it’s time to go back.

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So what happens now? I’ll certainly be taking my camera with me and will be hanging my shingle up there, but between the transition to a new market and the time I’ll be devoting to other endeavors, I’m guessing that I’ll be stepping back a bit from the professional photography world. Who knows?  What I do know is that Winnipeg has been very good to me as a photographer. I never imagined when I put up my first website back in 2002 that I would be where I am now, and have had the privilege to work with so many wonderful people over that time. It’s truly been a blessing to be able to call photography my “job” and to be able to earn a living off of something I enjoy so much. I just wanted to say how much I’ve appreciated all the clients and colleagues I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years.

In the meantime, there’s still this summer and fall left, and I look forward to working with all my clients to make this last shooting season in Winnipeg one of my best yet.

Cheers,

William