What happens when two Finns (who hope to be international wedding photographers) hop on a plane and go to Canada?
Lots of awesome things. And LOTS of photos.
This was our first big long trip and the third time on a plane. And let’s just say – the travel bug totally bit us. One week wasn’t long enough. Our main reason for this trip was Canada Photo Convention 2013 (2014 website here) but this also was our honeymoon. Yeah. You did read that correctly. We got married in 2005 and this was our honeymoon. :) We just didn’t have a chance to go before last April. And also, I turned 29 during this trip, so it also served as the best birthday gift ever.
We flew to Heathrow with Finnair and continued to Vancouver with British Airways. We found out that BA upgraded us to World Traveler Plus class so we traveled quite comfortably eating mini pretzels, watching movies and sleeping.
We arrived to cloudy Vancouver and couldn’t get enough of it. Everything was so pretty – the mountains, the high buildings, the nature. And c’mon – PINK portable toilets? My kind of city! We stayed at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre which was convenient since the convention was also held there.
The convention was full of magic. So much that I only took one photo during the days. Ooops! And we didn’t take any notes. Stupid. Note to myself: when going to a workshop/convention – ALWAYS TAKE A NOTEPAD AND A PEN (or a laptop if you live in the 21st century). The lineup consisted of awesome speakers like Nordica Photography, Fer Juaristi, Ryan Brenizer, Jeff Newsom, Sam Hurd, Jonas Peterson and many, many others. We felt completely inspired. So inspired that this was the last kick I needed to become a full-time photographer. I know it sounds like the biggest cliche but this trip totally changed me. It’s safe to say that it changed both of us. Sometimes you need to travel to the other side of the world to find yourself and your voice.
I was also very overwhelmed by all the people and information. I became quite shy, actually. There were many people I was looking forward on meeting and some of them I met. I kinda just took it all in quietly. Except for the after party at The Pint – even Jouni danced! The party was so awesome.
Besides the convention we didn’t have many plans. We’re more of a “go with the flow” kind of people. We mostly just wandered around the city and explored. I had dreamed of Tim Hortons for months and my birthday breakfast consisted of their panini, doughnut and frozen lemonade. And I was so happy. Small things make me happy. Food always makes me happy! Haha. During this trip we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Stanley Park and Metropolis at Metrotown. We also spent many, many hours in the airport since our trip to see the mountains fell through because apparently the one who rents the car needs to also pay the rent with a credit card. Well, these things happen. At least we had a lot of time for shopping, eating and taking photos of cute little fish at the airport.
My best memory from this trip is my birthday. Because of the jet lag we got up really early and decided to go for a walk in Stanley Park. It was a beautiful sunrise, beautiful morning followed by a beautiful day. And a room full of people sang Happy Birthday to me. It was awesome. :) (And Jonas Peterson made me cry, but I forgive you.)
And like I mentioned, we took many, many, MANY photos. Here’s around 150 of them, from one of the best weeks of our lives.
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