Dominion Arboretum Ottawa Adventure Session | Josée & Lukas
This gang - Josée, Lukas, and their handsome dog Hudson, made magic all evening wondering through fields, climbing trees, walking along the banks of beautiful swampy rivers, and dancing under the long, extended arms of willow trees. This was also the place Lukas proposed to Josée, so the Ottawa Dominion Arboretum was the place this needed to happen. Ottawa is roughly two and a half hours drive from Montreal and the drive is easy. I’m always surprised to see warning signs for moose and deer along the way because moose isn’t the type of animal you’d expect to see in these parts, yet we’re north enough for these lunky big dudes to wander straight onto the highway and say hello. What do we do on an Adventure Session? We look for trouble. No, really I look for light, space, and areas where there is a lot of contrast (brightness / darkness). And, we have fun the whole time. Tips - bring music - music is 100% essential to help create a good vibe during the shoot. Bring cold ones. We didn’t bring anything to drink this time, but a little bubbly can jazz up the scene, and it does help change the environment from a ‘photoshoot’ to more of a relaxed hangout. The trick here is to always change what it is we’re doing into something fun, instead of some photoshoot, which can make people anxious, or nervous, and think too much about how to stand, where to look, and what to do with their hands :)
Great styling is key ~
Its true. Many couples ask me what they should wear for their shoot, and I almost alway encourage them to wear things that are simple. Neutral tones, earthy tones, no crazy patterns, or bright colours. Bring along an accessory or two, bring a hat, bring three hats. Comfortable shoes are very important since we generally go into areas where you may not want to be wearing heels. In this shoot we eventually climbed some trees and sat in some branches for a while. Hudson wasn’t happy about not being able to join us up there, but for sure comfortable footwear I’d say is up there in must haves.
Ottawa is kind of great :)
The more time I spend in and around Ottawa, the more I like it. Its clean, lots of interesting shops, restaurants, lots of artists, the roads aren’t 100% crap like in Quebec, and there is a uniquely Ontario vibe about Ottawa that I never see anywhere in Quebec, and I kinda miss that. The Dominion Arboretum is a gorgeous massive park connected to the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture. Cool huh? And the location was also in an area of Ottawa that I had never seen before, more south-west area, which is flipping gorgeous. The Arboretum covers roughly 26 hectares of rolling land between Prince of Wales Drive, Dow's Lake and the Rideau Canal. I found an excellent cafe when I started my drive back to Montreal, and everything they had was delicious. I loved that little neighbourhood.
Bring me back to Ottawa ~
Just kidding, but not really. I want to do more shoots at the Arboretum. There is plenty of space (20 acres or so) we didn't even look at, and I’d love a round two version of the space. I believe it can look a lot of different ways depending on the time of day and the people in the frame. There are a million options in my head for next time I’m there with a couple, but they all look incredible just as every couple has their own vibe and energy, that I can frame in a way thats right for them.
