Christchurch Wedding and Portrait Photography by Johannes van Kan » Weddings

Gary and Sarah were married up in Coromandel

jvk — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:42:05 +0000

Jo had a wedding up just out of Coromandel. I came along as her slave ... and it was a good reason to get out of Christchurch.

It was a beautiful emotion-filled day celebrating the union of two amazing people.

Jo's blog has great selection of images if you want to see more.

Actually there a lot of great images there for you to browse.

Gary and Sarah got married and had the most fun ever.

January in a nutshell part 2

jvk — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:31:03 +0000

Some more images from January.

Christina and Ben's Wedding at Trents

Trents has always been a great place for photography.

Christina and Ben's Wedding at Trents

From Trents to a farm in Timaru.

From the day the wedding was announced Josephines' parents family and friends worked some amazing magic to turn the family home into a beautiful place for a wedding ... the weather Gods were on our side!

Wedding Photography in Timaru

Josephine and Simon in Timaru

Wedding Photography in Timaru

Trough-henge in Timaru

Josephine

January in a nutshell

jvk — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:06:30 +0000

It (January) came and went, leaving another backlog to clear ... not for want of trying to be more bloggy.

I love being a blogmeister but sometimes keeping up can get in the way of a good days work ...

So here are the weddings of Trupti and Alex, and Scott and Ruth.

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

Ruth

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

And then a lovely wedding celebration at the fabulous Cossars

Alex and Trupti at Cossars

this photograph does little justice to the colour of Trupti's dress ... however this one does!!!

Hot Pink at Cossars

and ...

More Hot Pink at Cossars

Wedding at Cossars

It was a big job

jvk — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:25:36 +0000

... and big jobs sometimes take a while ...
Here are some weddings from last year.

Celeste and Peter were supposed to get married on a cliff overlooking the sea.
But it rained.
A lot.

That didn't stop them from being happy.

Celeste had a happy beauty

... all day

Did I mention the rain?

But the rain didn't matter because they had a cave

... and a bunch of their friends.

From a wedding in the rain to another wedding in the rain ... Last year had its fair share of wet days.

Theo and Brigitte were married by Brigitte's father. It was a very moving ceremony. Very powerful and lots of fun.

I love the series that this image comes from ... you can almost imagine the dream of one day having a fancy wedding already forming in the flowergirl's mind,

With bad weather comes some amazing opportunities

Brigitte

Theo

This connection. This feeling. This is what I crave in my images.

... a connection that is real

At weddings I am looking for the stuff of relationships ... but especially the happiness.

Then there was the wedding of Olivia and Mike ... it didn't rain for them.

in fact it was brutally hot.

It started with a dress for a wedding

These guys were trouble ... the good kind

The bridesmaids

... and put them together and you get some kind of wedding chaos

and again the happiness

Who would have thought it but we then had another sunny day for the wedding of Jacob and Sarah

It started out at Rangiora and ended up at The George Hotel in Christchurch.

I wasn't worried about the competition ... he was analog, not wearing a shirt, and inexperienced in spite of having a definite 'eye'

Sarah and her dad

... and sometimes at a wedding it just doesn't feel real

... but this certainly was as real as it gets

... and tender

.. and lots of friends

At the George this photograph begs to be taken

And then it was away to Tekapo for the wedding of Ciara and Emmet.

And it was very hot and very sunny.

There was a moment when the wedding could have gone horribly wrong.

As the cut cake was being returned to the guests by the caterer it slid off the plate and into the garden.

There was a deathly silence.

And then a beautiful Irish laugh came from the bride ... It was the funniest thing.

Go Ciara for your sense of humour.

With the kind permission of Earth and Sky we were able to photograph at the Mt John Observatory

Ciara and Emmet travelled by horse and carriage to the lake

Did I mention the Lupens as they rode from The Church of the Good Shepherd

Ciara

Ciara looked like a fashion model

... and then it was Christmas.

Speaking in Tandem on Photography in Perth.

jvk — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 03:31:54 +0000

Jo Grams and Johannes van Kan are coming from New Zealand to Perth in a couple of weeks to talk their heads off.

In conjunction with the West Australian branch of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography we will be presenting a personal insight into our photography, our business, our development, our philosophy and our albums. We want to inspire, provoke and encourage other photographers to best themselves.

This is a unique opportunity for us to speak in tandem. We never do this. Its easy as photographers to become self centered so having the two of us creates a balance of 'selves'. We want this to be interactive and informative. Its two days on growing, surviving, nurturing, and why coffee is important.

We have nothing to sell but so much to give. We have won too many awards to worry about, we have shot in many amazing places, but when it comes down to the everyday truth of being a photographer for the people, we are singly most motivated by striving to give our best to the ones who gave us the trust to be their photographer.

We look forward to seeing you in Perth

Johannes Jo and Ida

Wedding Photography in Ashburton

jvk — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:20:45 +0000

The late Autumn light was our friend

Josh and Andrea were married last month near the mouth of the Rangitata River

Josh and Andrea

Team Andrea

Team Josh

I learnt something about how infectious one person's happiness can be. Andrea was a wonderfully happy bride. Josh was calmly proud. It was late autumn and the light was our friend.

It was cold but beautiful

Andrea

Happiness makes a great photograph

It was a great way to end the season, it reminded me of how lucky I am to be a photographer.

Wedding Party

Ah the light

Nice tattoo

It was a great day and a wonderful way to end the season

Matt and Rach got married

jvk — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:30:50 +0000

I love wedding photography in the Christchurch Autumn

The light is delicious and the colours are wonderful.

Trees become skeletons ... and there is a slight chill in the air that makes couples hug a little closer.

Matt and Rach were married at St John of God and had their reception at Trents.

Wedding photography for Rach

The car was fabulous

This was a fun wedding to photograph

Matt's marriage proposal was personal and unique

The skeleton trees of Autumn

Matt and Rach got married

Being so cold made them be even closer

A wet wedding at Clearwater

jvk — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:33:09 +0000

Bethaney and Lee were married under the threat of heavy rain last Friday.

Their ceremony was personal.

Once they were married the rain cleared.

I love the challenges and experiences of photographing weddings.

Bethaney

Lee

They had a crazy combination of flooding and sunshine

The video of the WPPI album

jvk — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:17:18 +0000

This was a presentation I did with my talks in the UK last year.

I am curious about any interest in a talk in May this year on the album design process.
I am looking at two or three locations in the UK ... Let me know if you are interested.

We won … again … but this time it is really big … its WPPI

jvk — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:45:15 +0000

WPPI Category winner for album by a single photographer.

It is still sinking in. Ian Baugh from Queensberry contacted me this evening with this picture and his congratulations from Las Vegas.

This is our trophy!

I want to thank Queensberry and my beautiful wife Jo Grams for all their support.

I also need to thank Virginia and Richard the beautiful bride and groom.

Suddenly it was March

jvk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:41:41 +0000

Look here for all February weddings

Not much more than 28 days ago it was the beginning of February.

8 weddings later I have much to catch up on .... my apologies to everyone for not giving you all separate posts. Actually in compiling this one it becomes very obvious that each wedding is unique. My aspiration is that I treat them all individually to meet the needs of each couple.

WEDDING ONE

February started with the wedding of Jacqui and Henry ...

Jacqui at Muddy Waters

and

Jacqui in the vines

and then

Jacqui and Henry

finally

It was the most beautiful day

WEDDING TWO

The next weekend was a wedding at Newbery Lodge with Sheryl and Mike

Sheryl and Mike were married at Newbery Lodge, Christchurch

and

Fab cars and a huge boat

Sheryl not running away

The boat and the bridal party

WEDDING THREE

two days later we went to the wedding of Jacqui and James in Queenstown at Stoneridge

Jacqui looked amazing in her Louise Anderson dress

Skippers Canyon was a perfect setting for drama meets beauty.

The image says it all

Not forgetting James

Jacqui, James, and Skippers Canyon

Thanks to the people at Heliworks for getting us up there

Heliworks took us to Skippers Canyon

and then the sun went down ...

Sunset photo #1

And they had fireworks

WEDDING FOUR

Then a wedding in Hororata for Adam and Jenna

Another hot and sunny day ....

Jenna looked stunning

The cemetery at St John's Anglican church in Hororata

The light worked with us ...

Not to forget Adam ....

and then the reception in this fabulous marquee from Hyde Park Hire catered by White Tie in famous style

Marquee at home in Hororata

WEDDING FIVE

From rural Hororata to an hour South West of Auckland, at Castaways, near Waiuku, for the wedding of Gabriel and Janet.

Gabriel and Janet were married on the 22nd of February 2010

Colin, the unlisted bridesmaid, proved his worth and athleticism during the photography

Janet

Gabriel we had picked out as the energetic type, but Janet impressed (and surprised) us with her 'no mountain too high to conquer' attitude in getting to this amazing spot.

Janet and Gabriel

Photographing weddings is a mix of many skills. The test of a really good photographer is their adaptability to changing conditions.

light, water, a tailored suit, and a fabulous gown

Many photographers 'pooh pooh' the sunset photograph .... but sometimes you just have to ...

Sunset #2 .... dare I say it

WEDDING SIX

Then out to the Rakaia Gorge (Terrace Downs) for the wedding of Katie and Simon

Katie and Simon were married on the 26th of February 2010

Katie at The Rakaia Gorge

Katie

....and Simon of course

... I nearly forgot to mention the chopper ride from Terrace Downs along the Gorge ... brief but very cool

WEDDING SEVEN

The next day was at French Farm (under new management) with Jeremy and Jane

They had an interesting bridal party

... Jeremy was in charge of catering

Canterbury gave us great clouds and some 'not too bad' light.

Happiness is the greatest compliment to beauty

They feasted into the evening on fine foods, stories, and great wine .... long table style.

French Farm

WEDDING EIGHT

Although this was the beginning of March, it brings me up to date.

The wedding of Kate and Greg in Winchmore

Kate saw these sheep and chased them down for our picture ... I was impressed!

From sheep to veils ...

and in spite of the rain ....

Greg and Kate

The day started off with rain ... but we got lucky .... as we always do.

Thanks to everyone for a crazy beautiful month ...

We had a lot of weddings .... but that is the thing with this time of year ...

What is important for us is that each story is different, and the images are too.

We pride ourselves at Moda Fotografica in treating each couple uniquely. This is my point.

Zoe and Nick were married in Christchurch

jvk — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:19:51 +0000

The weather was predicted to go bad .... REALLY BAD.

I'm not criticising the judgment of weather forecasters but it created an unnecessary sense of foreboding for the day as ugly weather was on its way (supposedly). The ugly weather never showed .... Ballantynes made a few extra umbrella sales that day.

I love the crazy unpredictable energy that happens at the time I arrive at the brides place. My arrival is an undenible signal that there is not much time until she has to get out there and sign the contract.

Everybody deals with that differently.

Zoe had a calm approach to it. Maybe because she's a doctor, maybe because a little bit of rain was no worries compared to her dress getting lost in transit from Australia ...

It was a wedding that had personal and special written all over it.

Zoe

Nick

The both of them ... I know that seems obvious.

Zoe at one of my favourite spots

At my other favourite location ....

I love shooting weddings ... and I hope that you can see this in my work.

Take care

Johannes

Carly and Pete were married in the country … and it rained

jvk — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:33:36 +0000

This summer has seen the best and worst of weather in Canterbury.

One day it is sunny then the rest it rains ... well it seems like that

There is a wonderful myth ... we call it an optimistic truth ... that when it rains on your wedding day you will have a marriage filled with good fortune.

Does that mean if you get married on the single day that it doesn't rain you are somehow destined for bad luck?

It rained for Carly and Pete. Their plans involved a wedding in a paddock with a view of the local countryside ... it rained ... no paddock ... and not much of a view.

Somehow the rain worked for us and we got puddles, broody clouds and soft light ... so in truth there was some luck in it.

They had 4 glamourous bridesmaids

There is some great countryside out in Oxford

Carly and Pete

Cheers

Johannes

A quick look at a recent wedding

jvk — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:34:25 +0000

Time suddenly disappeared as I spent last week photographing four weddings, the buskers festival, and having a birthday.

I have seen enough acrobats and jugglers to see me through the year. Weddings I can never get enough of, And birthdays ... even though I was spoiled, one a year is good enough for me.

I will post some more images from All the weddings shortly but I am compelled to put these up to show that I am still here and very much wanting to get something up.

A Kaikoura Wedding

jvk — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:26:56 +0000

Actually this was a wedding in two parts.

A Laotion service in Christchurch

Laotion wedding ceremony

Part of the ceremony required the bride and groom to ask their families for forgiveness for any wrong they may have done in their past. This allows them to make a fresh start in their new lives together. Very cool.

Mash and Dala

And a few days later they had another ceremony at the Marae in Kaikoura.

I loved the contrasts and interweaving of traditions with this wedding.

Many thanks to Dala and Mash

Cheers

Johannes