portraits (st. stephen): will power band

if you've not yet heard will power play yet, then you have been missing out on some great fun and really wonderful musicianship. they are a blast to watch - their zeal for playing together and entertaining others is infectious, motivating even the most sceptical partygoer to start moving their feet and jump around! there is no doubt that wherever will, rick, paul and chris are playing there is a party! even as i sit here and type these works i am listening to their cover of the black eyed peas "i gotta a feeling" and my toes are tapping and i am tempted to get up and do some jumping around! 

will power is a cover band and their set list includes some oldies (but goodies) such as "johnny be good" and "sweet home alabama," as well as numerous current hits such as katy perry's "firework," and train's "soul sister," amongst many other hit songs spanning the last 30-40 years. also included in their set list is a song written by ssu alumni joel mason (the geese), inspired by his time and love for new brunswick, called "new brunswickers arise."

my esteem for band for the band is not biased, even though will (lead singer) and his wife hannah are good friends of mine; and even though drummer chris and his new wife are new friends and that i had the pleasure of photographing their wedding this past saturday, and even though rick  (electric guitar) and paul (bass) are their respective families played important roles in my life when i was a student at ssu, and continue to be good friends to me. no, my esteem for the band really rest on the fact that they play because it makes them happy, because they love to make music.  these guys are not playing for fame or fortune; they are playing for fun, and for the love of playing music and entertaining others. for real. 

it is my hope to see them playing more and more, and i believe they will be playing at this year's international fest.

back in may i spent some time walking around time with the band and did some photos for them, and also accompanied them a couple weeks back to the arena in st. stephen where they provided some pre-show entertainment before the grand march! spending time with these guys is always great fun and we got some great shots!! here is a collection of photos from our photo shoot, the sound check and live performance!

*seeing my logo/copyright on these photos makes me think i need to make it a little less "girly!"

love & sunshine,

shannon-may

i shot my first wedding today

phew. i just got home from shooting my first wedding. i have been preparing and planning for this since last november when kate and chris first approached me about being their wedding photographer. this is only second official wedding i have shot. whoa. i cannot tell you how appreciate i am that kate and chris took a chance on me and trusted me to document their wedding.

i could focus on the many details and insecurities that continually rushed through my mind. i could focus on the many things i could have done differently. and i could focus on much my feet ache. but i won't. i won't because i know when i begin to cull the images tomorrow and begin picking out the images that captured the beauty of the day, and that tell the wedding love story of kate and chris, that the images will be perfect.

i did my best with the experience and knowledge about photography that i have gained over the last year about and this coupled with my love for people and capturing their special moments. and these first experiences, and the time i take to reflect on them is only going to make me a better photographer, and will motivate me learn more, practice more and have fun along the way. i know this is what i supposed to be doing!

i cannot wait to share these images with you! seriously i am so excited... you saw their engagement photos, right? just imagine how sweet their wedding pictures are! kate and chris wear their love for one another on their faces and there is no question that each one sees how extraordinary the other is when they look into the eyes of their beloved. you'll have to wait though, because kate and chris are off to florida tomorrow for a honeymoon and i promised to hold back until they get home and have their first glance!

i shot my first wedding today and i had fun!

love and sunshine!
shannon-may