The Polar Bear Dip!!

Would you go for a dip in Lake Ontario in -17 degree weather?? Well these brave guys did! And they did it all for a good cause....Inn From The Cold, which is a homeless shelter in Newmarket, Ontario. My old friend, Carmine, organized the charity to raise money for the shelter. I gotta admit......it was soooooo much fun to photograph!!!!!! Check out these pics!

Here's Carmine......the 1st to go in!This is the official 1st Annual Dip.......so I hope we can get others more involved next year. (I'll be there to shoot it)

Mauro looks nice and toasty....doesn't he?? :o)

You can see Carmine in the back getting interviewed by CTV News. The Toronto Star was also there. The event should be in print either today or tomorrow.

Helping the Homeless on Photo Night

On a cold, winter day, Bobby walks through the doors of the soup kitchen at The Knight's Table. He slowly approaches the hot table as he starts to take his gloves off. There, he is served with a delicious home-made meal. He sits down, all by himself, and enjoys his meal. His smile is warm. I ask him...."Bobby...come over here, I'd love to take your photo". "Me? Really? Are you sure?" he answers. "Okay". His face radiated in front of the camera. He felt special...and rightfully so...for he is very special. Shortly after the shoot, all I could hear for a long time was "Thank-you....thank-you so much.....thank-you")

I really enjoyed photographing all of the wonderful people that night, along with their families. Each one received a few 5x7's for Christmas. Many were either homeless, or struggling barely able to make ends meet. Not being able to afford a photographer to capture photos of their children, they did not hesitate in showing their greatfulness.

This mom and daughter pair were so cute. When in front of the camera, mommy could not stop laughing, which was so contagious that it got passed on to her daughter! They were giggling like little school girls and could not stop! It was so cute....I just had to laugh myself!These twins, David & Kevin, were so adorable. They kept on asking me on-going questions about my camera equipment.Here's our young single mom Tia and her family.......with her newest arrival, Violet, who is only 2 weeks old!

Me and Glendon photographed about 25 individuals and families that night. It was an awesome night! And we were blessed. Thank-you to the staff and volunteers at Night's Table for working so hard in order to keep this kitchen open, and especially to Castro and his team for preparing all the delicious hot meals daily. (Oh...and thanks Paula for helping me put the prints into frames :o)

1st place for Maryam + Ali !!!

I'm so excited to learn that one of Maryam & Ali's photo which I took this summer from their e-session came in 1st place at the 2008 WPPI 8x10 International Competition!!! Congratulations to my very sweet couple....I know it was that special look that Ali gave Maryam. :o)

Here's the storeyline: It was one of our last photos of the session.......very hot summer day.....downtown Toronto cafe. Maryam was feeling the heat and so she spontaneously just roughly tied up her hair. I was observing Ali watching her and just had to capture his priceless expression. Can you just see the passion in him for her?!?! I titled this: "She's So Incredible"