Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone. Stay safe, don’t eat too much and enjoy the time with your freinds and family.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
February 5, 2010 - 12:12 pm - Way too adorable!! :o)
February 4, 2010 - 12:00 pm - That is a lovely and cute shot, Sam!
January 29, 2010 - 10:46 am - Yes there is a Santa! Beautiful Portrait. Thanks.
January 28, 2010 - 4:51 pm - Such a cute picture, those eyes are just fantastic!
January 18, 2010 - 8:18 pm - What an adorable little baby. Great job capturing this cutie!
January 10, 2010 - 9:24 am - What a cute little Santa!
January 8, 2010 - 1:56 am - Very very cute!!
December 23, 2009 - 1:42 pm - oh little fuzzy cutie!
Murder Mystery
With the wedding season over and the holidays kicking into gear I’ll be busy catching up with some personal work that I’ve neglected over the summer. But until the season starts again with engagements shoots and weddings I’ll do my best to keep you entertained with some personal photos I’ve taken in the past and over the coming winter. Call it little sneak peek into my life!
To start here are some fun photos I took from a Murder Mystery party a friend of our’s hosted for the second year in a row. When I first tried it last year I was skeptical as I wasn’t interested in dressing to character but it ended up being a lot of fun. Good friends, good food and good wine is hard to beat regardless of what you are doing. I’ll admit this year wasn’t as much fun as last year but we all blamed the game maker (different than last years).
To give you an idea of theme here is an excerpt from the game:
This mystery is set in the wine region of Napa Valley, California. Five years ago, Barry Underwood, owner of the prestigious Underwood Estates, mysteriously disappeared during the valley’s annual wine festival. A massive search at the time failed to turn up any clues and the case has been in the FBI’s unsolved files since then.
Now, five years later, it is once again the annual wine festival in Napa Valley. Last night family and friends gathered at the stately Underwood mansion to celebrate. At midnight, a minor earthquake shook the mansion, causing an old wooden floor in the wine cellar to buckle. Barry’s well preserved body was discovered under the cedar planks.
Enjoy and seaon’s greetings!
January 24, 2010 - 6:05 pm - I'm so jealous. That sounds like fun!
January 17, 2010 - 11:48 am - We will be going to our first murder/mystery in a couple months. It was a hard sale for me but after looking at your photos it seems like it will be a blast. Glad I came across your site. Amazing work by the way!
December 29, 2009 - 4:03 pm - I love all of these shots, you did a great job capturing the essence of the event and brought out everyone's personality. Well done!!
December 16, 2009 - 5:02 pm - Now that looks like fun. We were out there earlier this year for a wedding and it's such a great place. Except the traffic in St. Helena. Fun stuff.
Malina & Jeremy’s Wedding at the Manor
What’s the saying – when it rains it pours?
For most of my life, I have checked the weather channel numerous times, several days leading up to a weekend event. First it was cross country skiing, then downhill skiing, motorcycle racing, track days, my own wedding, and now other people’s weddings.
Despite the nice forecast they had been calling for in the days leading up to Malina and Jeremy’s wedding, the morning of their nuptials I woke to the pitter patter of rain hitting my skylight.
Oh well, that’s life in Canada.
I wasn’t too worried as Malina and Jeremy are two of the most relaxed, easy going people I’ve ever met. I was confident that it wouldn’t faze them and their day would still be perfect. I was right, it didn’t and it was.
The day started with an easy drive to Newmarket to meet Jeremy at Malina’s cousin’s house. From there, I headed to the Manor in Kettleby where Malina was getting ready and where the wedding ceremony and reception would take place late in the day.
One of the best things about Toronto is its diversity. The city is filled with people from around the world. Jeremy is Filipino and Malina is Laotian. Their wedding was, for the most part, very Western with a little dash of Laotian culture.
Before the wedding ceremony took place, Malina’s family dressed in traditional Laotian attire and said a prayer. Later during the reception, they did a Laotian dance and a band played their traditional music.
Before you enjoy the photos, I wanted to share one small story.
I met Jeremy’s mom just over a month before the wedding, although I didn’t know it at the time. I was at Mount Sinai Hospital a week before my son was born. My wife and I went in early one morning because we thought it might be the day! It was Jeremy’s mom who took care of us while we waited it out, helping to calm us by telling us stories of the birth of her two sons. How cool is that? As you can assume, it turned out to be a false alarm and we went home later that day.
Enjoy the photos…
When I first met with Malina & Jeremy one of the first this they told me was they were not really interested in posed portraits but that they do like the Photojournalist style that I shoot in. So instead of your traditional formal portraits we decided to have some fun despite the rain limiting us where and how we could shoot outside. Here are few from the day.
Don’t forget to leave some comments and feel free to share with friends and family. Want to see more of Malina & Jeremy? Check out their engagement shoot here http://samobeid.com/?p=448
January 21, 2010 - 6:41 am - I love asian people-weddings. Nice captured!
January 8, 2010 - 2:30 am - Really beautiful work!
December 15, 2009 - 10:53 pm - Exquisite use of off-camera lighting, particularly during the reception. I also enjoy your writing style very much. Very relaxed and comfortable. Great work.
December 9, 2009 - 6:51 pm - Wonderful documentary approach. I love your style, Sam!
December 8, 2009 - 2:34 pm - Love this couples style and the photography truly captures it! The black and white images are amazing and do a great job of showing the emotion. I am sure your couple is extremely happy with the gorgeous pictures.
December 7, 2009 - 5:29 pm - Very nice work, Sam. I love the in-the-moment shots. Very clear and nicely captured.
December 4, 2009 - 1:25 am - Fantastic! The reception shots are so full of light and colour and everyone just looks like they're having an awesome time. VERY nice!
December 3, 2009 - 5:21 pm - Great photography! Love the B&W's and the detail shots, beautiful work!
December 2, 2009 - 7:33 am - These are great Sam - you really captured the atmosphere here. Superb.
November 27, 2009 - 12:30 pm - Solid set Sam! True photojournalistic style.
November 26, 2009 - 7:08 pm - What a stunning stunning day! They look like a wonderful couple to work with and I agree, your black and whites = divine!
November 26, 2009 - 12:36 pm - Brilliant work! You’ve done an fabulous job once again. You’ve got such a keen eye coupled with great technical talent. Well done.
November 25, 2009 - 10:28 pm - Sam!! We absolutely LOVE the pictures! It's a great mix of classic wedding shots and fun, non-traditional shots (just what we were looking for). We can't THANK YOU enough for the amazing work you did. You really knew exactly what we were looking for and you executed it beautifully. We're so happy to have had you be a part of this whole experience. Can't wait to see the rest :)
November 25, 2009 - 8:53 pm - Great stuff dude! Love every one...well the one of the couple in the hallway chairs I may like a wee bite more.
November 25, 2009 - 8:14 pm - I started off by thinking, oh I love the shoe shot, oh I LOVE the dress shot and I wanted to make a list of favs for you but I lost track :) Stunning work as usual Sam. I have a wedding in a few weeks at The Manor...we're hoping for a dusting of snow, not rain! I just looked at these for the 3rd time now and I keep going back to the dress shot. It's perfect. You managed to create such emotion from an object. I can feel nervousness, tension, playfulness, subtle sexiness...fantastic shot!
November 25, 2009 - 7:32 pm - Absolutely exquisite work! I love your black & whites, very nicely done.
November 25, 2009 - 7:16 pm - You've done it again, Sam. Lovely, unique photos of a lovely couple.
Elizabeth & Heath’s Toronto Wedding
Traveling from Canada to New Zealand and back and then to Europe and back again, Heath and Elizabeth, madly in love, chased each other around the globe.
To read more about their love story, check out their engagement photos here http://samobeid.com/?p=252
Spanning two major suburbs and fifteen hours, this is probably the longest wedding that I have shot from start to finish, but it was definitely WELL WORTH IT! I think the photos speak for themselves, but I must say, this was a beautiful wedding and Heath and Elizabeth were great to work with.
I started the day by shooting both Elizabeth and Heath getting ready. Since Heath was getting ready in Etobicoke, Elizabeth was in Mississauga and I was the sole photographer, it took some crafty coordinating and a little rushing around. I shot Heath first and then quickly headed to Mississauga to capture the bride.
The church ceremony was held at St. Monica’s near Yonge and Eglington. The reception, dinner and dancing followed at The Old Mill in Etobicoke.
I’ve posted a lot of photos below, more than I would usually post. Since so many of Heath’s family and friends travelled all the way from New Zealand I wanted to make sure they got to see the entire wedding story.
Elizabeth and Heath – Thank you so much for choosing me as your photographer (and for the kind plug during your speech) . You and your wedding party were so much fun and I appreciate your willingness during the formals despite the rush! I wish you all the very best in the years to come.
…and that’s the END…..literally
Like it, love it? Let me know below and share it on FaceBook, Twitter and e-mail!
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January 23, 2010 - 11:53 pm - Great photojournalism! Especially the dancing images.
January 21, 2010 - 6:42 am - Huh, these are people addicted to have fun. :)
December 8, 2009 - 2:38 pm - I love your sense of humor in the shots, the tie tying instructions was great and the last image took the cake. Great use of available light the images are spot on, congrats on a great wedding.
December 8, 2009 - 6:23 am - Looked like a really fun wedding! Great job.
December 3, 2009 - 11:02 pm - Ha, the shot of the pants ripped! Wow, that is funny. I enjoyed those two shots of the bridal party...nice mixture of the party.
November 22, 2009 - 1:17 am - Nice work from beginning to end!
November 13, 2009 - 2:10 pm - Absolutely fantastic eye for catching a feeling on film. Beautiful couple and wedding make for many shots, terrific work.
November 13, 2009 - 10:17 am - Man... you had a great build up in story telling with your photos there.. and then the last one just took the cake... Looked like a great time ! Congratulations to them and you on a really fun and special day!
November 13, 2009 - 12:04 am - Among other great pics, I like the one where the boy with the camera is taking a picture of the photographer. The dancing pic where his and her feet are above the ground. Finally the unique artistic flavor of your wedding pic style.
November 12, 2009 - 11:55 am - LOL at that last photograph, I love it! Wonderful emotion throughout the set and excellent coverage of this wedding. The dance photos are awesome!
November 11, 2009 - 10:04 pm - I love those briadl party photos, different.. aWESOME ALL AROUND!!
November 11, 2009 - 6:54 pm - Heath - they are CLASSIC photos!! absolutely hilarious!! gorgeous photos of you & liz, congrats again, and hope it's a fantastic start to a brilliant chapter of your lives together! the photographer really captured some 'choice' moments :D
November 11, 2009 - 12:52 pm - OMG!!! AMAZING PHOTOS!!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the candidness, the colours, the ambience, the happiness captured - WOW. my fav. is the bride at the long dinner table, looking toward the camera.. :)
November 10, 2009 - 11:46 pm - What can I say.....beautiful photos Sam!!! Love the candids :)
November 10, 2009 - 11:09 pm - Very nicely done on the candid moments, some great expression!!
November 10, 2009 - 9:17 pm - You made the day live forever Sam! What a beautiful memory. Thanks heaps.
November 10, 2009 - 8:13 pm - LOVED LOVED LOVED the fotos! um I look slightly crazy in that last shot haha!
November 10, 2009 - 7:43 pm - Hey Sam, THANK YOU!! You really did get some fabulous shots here!!!! You were a trooper from beginning to end and you were such a key part of our wedding day! You're magic!We'll never forget it! I'm going to share you're details with everyone I know!! Can't wait to see the whole shebang. :D
November 10, 2009 - 7:06 pm - I love the one of the bride maid pulling the strings on the dress, great moment!
November 10, 2009 - 7:00 pm - great angles. That garter toss is perfect. And that last shot...Priceless!
November 10, 2009 - 6:24 pm - Nice Sam! I'm pretty sure I owe you something horrible for that photo of me yawning though... some day!
November 10, 2009 - 4:32 pm - That's some logistical, physical and mental feat you pulled off Sam! And you collected the whole story en route with a load of high quality images and a great many moments of amusement and peak emotion. A fantastic job!
November 10, 2009 - 9:28 am - Each wedding you post gets better and better. There's A LOT of really awesome moments you captured in this set. The group shots are rockin'. Keep it up, Sam.
November 10, 2009 - 8:42 am - Great Photo's Sam, really captures the fun of the day. Can't wait for the whole set
November 10, 2009 - 6:38 am - 1 for the last shot! I also loved the shot of the kid holding the old SLR.
November 10, 2009 - 2:18 am - Great stuff Sam....especially love the reception shots!
November 10, 2009 - 12:02 am - Nice work!! Love the emotions... the last shot is priceless!! ;)
Changes!
I’m in the middle of moving the blog and main site to a new server. Because of this there are going to be some broken links and some other gotchas.
Hopefully I’ll have the move done by tonight.
Tabatha & Matt’s Kingston Ontario Wedding
Despite living and working in Toronto, Tabatha and Matt decided to host the celebration of their wedding in their home town of Kingston, Ontario where they grew up, went to school, met and fell in love.
Lucky me was asked to photograph their special day!
The early morning drive from Toronto to Kingston brought back many great memories of when I was young. My mom and I would visit Kingston several times a year to visit her oldfriend and her family. Great memories of playing Colecovision with Michael, teasing his little sister Amy and renting VHS movies from Bandito Video popped into my head.
When I arrived in Kingston I went straight to a local patio to grab some lunch and was entertained by the Queens University frosh week antics on the street in front of me. When I was done I went to the Raddison hotel on the waterfront where Tabatha was getting ready. The mood in the room was calm, cool and collected.
Makeup, check! Dress, check! Bridesmaids, check! Flower girls, check! We’re off to Rideau Acres Banquet Hall to meet up with Matt and the rest of the guests for the outdoor ceremony. The weather was awesome and the lush green grass and trees were the perfect setting for these two to tie the knot.
After the ceremony and some family photos, the three of us jumped into the car and headed to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Authority where Matt and Tabatha used to work for a relaxed and fun photo session. Without a moment to spare we rushed back to Rideau Acres for grand entrance, dinner, speeches and of course, a lot of dancing!
Tabatha and Matt, thank you so much for putting your trust in me to provide you with the lasting memories of your very special day. I had a lot of fun working with you and wish you all the best in the future.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below and feel free to share on Twitter, Facebook, E-mail or even better, all three!
December 16, 2009 - 5:05 pm - I love the capture of emotion. Also later on capturing the dancing and fun, you did a great job.
December 15, 2009 - 10:26 pm - I love your gorgeous black and white wedding images, the color ones mixed in give them that pop! :)
November 5, 2009 - 12:39 pm - Sam – what can we say other than thank you. The moments that you caught are the ones that we were unable to see during our big day. I myself was brought to tears while looking through the full set of pictures. Both Matt and I found you easy to talk to and take pictures with. We also both found you to be not just an amazing photographer but an amazing person. You have given us the most incredible photos and we are soooo happy to have had you as our photographer. Thank YOU sooo much for being part of this wonderful day and capturing such amazing moments. It is very clear that you truly enjoy doing what you do - your photographs show it. Tab & Matt
October 31, 2009 - 3:15 am - Hi there. I know Tab and Matt through school. These photographers are quite breathtaking. You are quite the artist. I was moved to tears when looking through the pictures.
October 28, 2009 - 9:53 pm - These are beautiful, Sam...lovely couple!
October 28, 2009 - 6:09 pm - Sam, I know both Matt and Tabatha through work. You've done an amazing job taking the moments of their day through your view. Honestly, the best pictures I've ever seen taken professionally! Well done!
October 28, 2009 - 6:03 pm - Beautiful set, Sam. I can tell you used the awesome 35 quite a bit. It has a certain look!
October 28, 2009 - 3:36 pm - Great stuff as usual Sam!
Epic Engagement Movie!
Do you like engagement photos? How about something different, an engagement movie! The people at Pacific Pictures have done something really amazing here!
Megan + Narbeh’s Sweden Thriller Concept “Snow” from PACIFIC PICTURES on Vimeo.
Now check out the couples reaction as the movie is shown to the guests for the first time….and themselves!
“Snow” // A Reaction // Megan + Narbeh’s Sweden Concept Movie Premiere from PACIFIC PICTURES on Vimeo.
Lisette & Mohammed’s Pickering Ontario Wedding
From a balcony overlooking the local marina, Lisette and Mohammed said their vows on a hot but beautiful August evening. Moments later we walked down to Sandbar Road to take some formals by Lake Ontario which provided the perfect backdrop as the sun set down on us.
Soon we were back at the Lake House in Pickering Ontario to join the guests for the reception and dinner. You could certainly tell that Lisette and Mohammed were highly regarded by their family and friends from all the kind words that were spoken during the speeches. Soon it was time to party and this small but lively crowd could dance with the best of them as young and old danced into the wee hours of the night.
If you haven’t seen their engagement photos you can check them out here: CLICK
Lisette, Mohammed, you two are great, thanks so much for choosing me as your photographer on one of the most significant days of your life!
The sunset was amazing that evening!
What a cool cake!
It’s moments like this that make this job so much fun!
October 19, 2009 - 5:55 pm - Great shooting, Sam!
Thank You Emails
I love getting e-mails like this from brides. It reaffirms that I am headed in the right direction and it adds an intangible value to what I am doing!
“Hi Sam,
I wanted to let you know how glad I am that you were the photographer at my wedding.
Not just because you are an amazing photographer but the moral support you provided and the positive attitude you had throughout the whole day. It really helped me.
Thank you!!!!
Lisette”
“Hey Sam,
We LOVE the pictures and so do all our friends that have seen them! And to think, Jeremy and I were so hesitant to do an engagement session lol. But you really made it work for us so, THANK YOU! We’re excited for the wedding pictures now!
Malina”
Malina & Jeremy’s Toronto Engagement
I know I know, it’s been a while since I posted anything. Fear not, I haven’t closed up shop and stopped shooting amazing couples and their weddings. If you know me or even follow me on Twitter or Facebook you’ll know my wife and I had a little baby boy on August 25th he will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. It’s been a whirlwind but so amazing and rewarding. Check back soon for my blog post and some amazing photos of our little boy Connor!
Anyhow, this post isn’t about me, it’s about Malina and Jeremy who are from Newmarket. They are one amazing couple, newly engaged after spending a year in Korea teaching and oh so thoughtful. Yes thoughtful, when we met up to shoot the first part of their engagement at Ashbridge’s Bay they greeted me with a present for our new baby! How amazing is that? Totally unexpected and but so gracious. Thanks guys, Jenn loved them and so did Connor!
Despite a few cancellations because of rain, we finally made it out on an amazing day to shoot. We started off at Ashbridge’s Bay and then worked our way downtown to Queen West. Jeremy, you’re a lucky guy, not sure why it took you eight years to propose! 
Looking forward to the wedding!
They wanted a sign greeting guests at their wedding, this is one of the more playful shots we took.
Like em? hate em? Leave a comment below and share with your friends and family.
October 24, 2009 - 10:20 am - what a cute shot [the one on queen st. next to the 'hug me' tree. i remember the original tree [i have a pic of it from YEARS ago] - and just saw this revamp of it a few weeks back when I was on queen]. love your work ;-]
October 6, 2009 - 4:34 pm - Love the lighting on the last two shots Sam! Great ones!
September 24, 2009 - 2:33 pm - Beautiful pictures Samy!!!!
September 22, 2009 - 7:58 am - Love the last four frames Sam. Oh and congratulations on the addition to the family!
November 2, 2009 - 11:59 pm [...] From Malina & Jeremy [...]
November 25, 2009 - 8:28 pm [...] friends and family. Want to see more of Malina & Jeremy? Check out their engagement shoot here http://samobeid.com/?p=448 Share it with Family & [...]
by Sam Obeid
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