These 4 Walls (T4W) was the perfect venue for a photoshoot. It's one part art gallery, one part café. The space is large with high ceilings, a beautiful decor, and plethora of gorgeous paintings. There's a warmth that's felt as soon as you enter into the space. Maybe it's due in part to the friendly greetings and responsive from Collins, or the professionally catered and delicious food options, or perhaps maybe it's just because it seems as though the owner has paid close attention to detail. Quinte West, Ontario needs more places and spaces just like this for us grown folk to take advantage of during the evening. Think poetry nights, singer song writer circles, or paint nights over a glass (or bottles) of wine. It's got a vibe to it.
Last year, I had the privilege of being present to photograph my lovely mother in-law, Georgina. This woman is beautiful. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to spend time with her in-person. Our relationship is largely sustained over long distance video chats via Whatsapp these days. She spends most of the year outside of the country. It's definitely not the same experience as being in-person. Fortunately, she was able and generous enough to come stay in our home for a couple of months in order to help support our growing family. She cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, went grocery shopping, entertained our first born daughter Selah, went for walks with her daughter and just generally kept all of our spirits up.
Shortly after the birth of my second daughter, Somi, I knew that I wanted to treat her to something special. While sitting in the living room, each day Georgina loved seeing our family photos displayed on our large screen tv. So for her thank you gift / birthday, we decided to do a photoshoot.
I suggested that we go somewhere nice to have a mini-session. Weeks earlier, I noticed that a new place had opened up in downtown Trenton, Ontario. It had large paintings that were visible in the shop window as I drove by. I was curious to check it out. After all, I'm an artist. So I called ahead to make sure that we were okay to use the space. Within 20 minutes of our call, we were there.
Needless to repeat, the art gallery / café space is gorgeous. The photography captured from the session resulted in some lovely imagery. And I hope to continue using the gallery for many portrait sessions in the future.