Abandoned Barber Paper Mill Engagement Session
Shooting at an abandoned location of some sorts has been on the bucket list for Diego and I for quite some time. There is just something so eery and fun at the same time about abandoned locations – maybe it’s all the colourful graffiti that often covers the walls of abandoned places, or the bursts of light that come through the broken windows and cracks in the ceilings, but whatever it is, we saw the potential of creating some epic shots in an abandoned place. All that was left was to find an adventurous couple to take us up on the idea of shooting their engagement photos at such a spot. Jenn and Arvin were just that couple!
When we started planning Jenn and Arvin’s engagement shoot, the only request was that the shoot takes place in the fall and someplace outdoors with a lot of nature so we could capture the stunning fall colours. Other than that, they were open to ideas and suggestions. Their fun and outgoing personalities, plus their openness to unique ideas, immediately made us think of the Barber Paper Mill in Georgetown. Diego and I discovered the Barber Mill earlier this year and knew that we just had to do a shoot there, but it required the right couple, a couple brave enough to explore every nook and cranny of this dilapidated mill with us, so we were ecstatic when Jenn and Arvin replied with a big Yes to the idea! It was right up their alley and we simply couldn’t wait for the shoot.
When Diego and I first visited the Barber Mill, it was very early on in the spring and we were not sure what the space surrounding the Barber Mill would look like in the fall, but when we arrived at the Barber Mill with Jenn and Arvin, the trees and bushes were bursting with all the fall colours while wild bright yellow flowers lined the paths leading to the mill. Inside the mill, the symphony of colours continued. Every room of this mill was decorated in vibrant graffiti, which Diego and I had a blast compositing with and incorporating in to their engagement photos. It was thrilling exploring the space with Jenn and Arvin, who bravely climbed rusty ladders and shattered stairs, walked over giant gaps and cracks in the floor, and masterfully avoided muddy puddles, but once the sun started to set and the light inside this abandoned space became dim, it was time to get out.
The area around the Barber Paper Mill is surrounded with nature spots, including a ravine that runs alongside the mill. It was just perfect for what Jenn and Arvin had in mind for the outdoor and naturey part of their fall engagement photos. The intensity of the fall colours in this area was absolutely unbelievable – I don’t remember the last time we’ve seen such firey reds and oranges. To finish off their engagement shoot and celebrate the date (it was exactly one year away from their wedding date), Jenn and Arvin popped open a bottle of bubbly and brought out all sorts of sports equipment, a representation of their shared passions and love. Jenn and Arvin, thank you so much for jumping at our idea and trusting us in shooting your engagement photos at an abandoned location. We had such a great time shooting with you guys, but now we cannot wait for the big day, because as you guys said, the best time is yet to come! 🙂
You Might Also Like…
Tips on how to choose your location and date, what to wear and not wear, what to bring, things to consider, and what to expect from your engagement session.
One of the perks of being a wedding photographer is that you get to discover your own city and its surroundings. There are so many hidden gems around, so many parks and historic locations that we’d have never heard of if it weren’t for our awesome couples. Just last month, Christina and Travis introduced us to Rouge National Urban Park. Believe it or not, it’s a HUGE park located right in the outskirts of the cit,y next to the Toronto Zoo. So huge that apparently it contains one of the last working farms in the GTA, Toronto’s only campground, one of the largest marshes in the region, a beach on Lake Ontario, AND even some of the oldest known Indigenous sites in Canada. Yep, all here in Toronto!
Oh how we missed shooting! How we missed meeting our couples! It’s so good to be back, and there was no better way to restart the wedding season than with a romantic Prince Edward County engagement shoot featuring the cutest couple, Emily and Jon. It’s always a little funny to me when we first meet a couple and we hear one of them apologize in advance because they are “awkward” in front of the camera. Yep, it always takes a couple of moments to get used to the camera and to us running around you, but that’s all – it never lasts more than that. When we met Emily and Jon, we could immediately tell by their fun-loving personalities that this shoot was going to be a blast and they were going to rock it! And with the locations that they picked out, there was no way to go wrong.