We woke on New Year's day in paradise again: birds were singing their chorus' while streams of sunlight poured through the windows with a slight breeze to cool the air.

Boy did we fall in love with Argentina!

After a trip to the spa, skyping with our boyz, and a leisurely brunch on the patio, we hunkered down to do something we'd never done before: we converted and retouched 100 images to create a surprise viewing for Rosalind and Jonas to enjoy only only hours after the wedding had finished. We're thankful we brought a set of QuiKeys!

Sure we could have been soaking up the sun by the pool to enjoy the last day in Cafayate with the rest of the crew, but Ros and Jonas are special. They're generous to everyone who's life they touch and we wanted to gift this little treat to them to enjoy while still in the amazing place they had so successfully shared with us all. It was so worth it to just be there with them when they had a private viewing of this micro-story of their amazing Argentina Adventure.

With their blessing, we're honored to share their story with you ....

Ros and Jonas: you two will forever have a very special place in our hearts. We love you guys ...

dq

We've got lots more images from Argentina which we'll be sharing. Just landed at home after 30 hours of travel and need to catch up on life before we jet for Imaging USA on Friday. Yikes!

We had the good fortune of celebrating not only New Year's Eve but the wedding of Rosalind & Jonas on the same day!

We're always honored when we're hired to capture and create imagery for an event. But this NYE was very special in many ways.

Start with a bride who happens to be a *very* successful Chicago-based wedding photographer. To be commissioned to shoot a fellow photographer's wedding is a huge honor in itself. But to be flown 10,000 miles around the globe to Argentina to be among 30 of their closest family and friends, and to be treated like one of their own and included in all events from wine tastings to extravagant meals ... how could we not think we have the best job in the world with clients to match?

Forget the perfect backdrop and wonderful people: did I mention how absolutely gorgeous Rosalind is?

Ros & Jonas: your "Argentina Adventure" was so much more than that and a dream come true. It was the pouring out of two hearts to make one. Thank you for allowing us to bear witness to such powerful love and for not only trusting us, but calling us friends and treating us like family :)

With much love and respect .... xoxoxoxo

dq

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You gotta know there's more coming from this shoot: more images and an assessment on how our new Nikon gear held up under some pretty crazy shooting scenarios. But before that we gotta take a bus, 3 planes and 2 taxis over the next 48 hours to make it back home. Ciao! for now.

so Q just had to take some pics of me working at the TO airport too. Too bad we didn't have a proper table to sit at.

Glad we packed our gear and thankfully arrived in Buenos Aires on schedule!

We arrived on December 28th: our 10th Anniversary :) Q surprised me by booking a swanky hotel, and giving me a gorgeous ring from Tiffany's. It's a torque ring carved out of Ebony wood. What a sweetie!

She's also confessed to booking supper at the best restaurant in Buenos Aires (whos name she won't reveal) where apparently all the celebrities eat, but that will have to wait until we return from the vineyards. After one night's stay, it was time to hop on yet another plane to head north to Salta: far off the beaten path and known as "The Tuscany" of Argentina.

Thankfully it was a short flight, but then we had to bus it for 3 more hours to the remote vineyard hidden in the valley.

In total, it would take over 30 hours to arrive at our destination. At least we weren't traveling like these guys :)

Buenos Aires is suprisingly first world and reminds us of many other bustling big cities in North America. Salta is, in stark contrast, *very* different. Below are some scenes caught from our bus trip.

We were headed from Salta to Cafayate, wine-lovers country :)

We were surprised by the quickly changing tundra of the gorgeous landscapes. Sections were reminiscent of Panama, Moab, Sedona, hoodoos of Alberta and even the Valley of Fire, and changed surprisingly quickly.

Signs you're not in Buenos Aires anymore: Lama Anyone?

It was unmistakably wine country by the end of the trip.

Sure glad our clients have GREAT taste .... our winery at which we'd be staying ...

Just outside our room was this courtyard ...

Can definitely see why they wanted to come back to get married here.

Time to catch some zzzz's. It'll be a couple more days of shooting, but we can't complain: it's gorgeous here and the entire crew of people are wonderful :)

Tough job, but somebody's gotta do it ;)

Stay warm and hug the ones you love!

It's true: we never leave home without them. We're making the most of our 10 hour layover at Toronto Airport by retouching images and designing albums. Can you spot the tablet and QuiKeys?

Also checking out the limits of the Nikon CLS wireless system. From initial tests our SU800 Wireless Commanders seem *much* more reliable than Canon's STE2's. But there's never a free lunch: still need line of sight so it was tough to backlight this image without having the flash in the shot. Too much info? The geek in me wanting out ;)

Almost time to board. Hope to get internet access in Argentina to take you with us on the trip. Looking forward to Buenos Aires! See you on the other side :)

We're headed to Argentina and thankful our delayed flights aren't deal-breakers for the long trip away.

The not-so-glamorous side of DQ includes 4am wake times, extra hours literally flying around Toronto airport waiting for the backlog of planes to land and a 10 hour layover. Joy ...

It's not all bad though. Just before boarding our plane this morning the sun rose in all its glory ...

God is good :) Safe travels to everyone this holiday season!

Hey Everyone!

It's our favorite time of year, and we're thankful to be spending it with our boyz. It's cold outside, but really warm inside and with so much to be thankful for, I wanted to thank you as well for making us part of your lives. Whether you're a client, friend, family, photographer, QuiKeys user or internet stalker, we hope you'll be blessed this season and surrounded by those you love :)

We'll be traveling to shoot a NYE wedding in Argentina, then off to Arizona for PPA's Imaging USA. Not sure how much internet time we'll get, so might not see much on this blog for the next little while.

If you happen to find yourself in Arizona between January 11-13th, please stop by our QuiKeys booth and say, "Hi!" (booth #324).

Merry Christmas and blessings on you and yours in 2009 and beyond :)

In Love,

dq

Just received this email from Anahi who attended YY2 Workshop this past summer. With her blessing, I'm here to share it with y'all :)

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Hope you guys are doing great!

Anahi :)
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Wow! Such amazing news! With the tough economy her investment in YinYang Workshop paid off hugely: shooting less weddings with more profit allows her to better service her clients AND live her life on her terms :)

Congrats BIGTIME Anahi!!

I'm always excited to share such great news from YY Alumni because truly: their success is our success :)

Anahi: we're so happy for you and soooo looking forward to seeing your business AND family continue to grow!

xoxo

For more info on YinYang Workshops and to sign up for the upcoming YY3 April 2009 session, click here.

Almost forgot to share this: when driving home the next morning, we saw this guy dancing on the corner waiting for the light to change.

Yes: we're from Edmonton and PROUD OF IT!!

GO OILERS!! :D

When our good friends hired us to shoot their newborn baby, we just had to make the trek up to E-Town on Tuesday to see them.

Well, I used to be known as a bit of a reckless driver in high school, but that was a looooong time ago. I drive like an old man now ;)

Anyways ... what's usually a 3 hour drive turned into 5. Winter driving conditions and -30 C weather with blowing snow and record snowfall slowed travel to a crawl. Never seen so many jackknived rigs in my life!

Do I look a little tense driving? Don't answer that ;)

Ended up staying the night in E-Town but at least all was not lost: we got a deal at Fantasy Land Hotel and did some Christmas shopping at WEM :) Funny: lived in Edmonton for most of my life, but never stayed there. Was pleasantly surprised by the hotel's accommodations and will definitely have to head back with the boyz for some fun in the water park!

Safe travels to you all this favorite of holiday seasons!! :)

Quick Quiz: What does $25,000 worth of Nikon gear look like?

Answer:

Picked the above up at The Camera Store today and looking forward to reading the many manuals (yes I know: I'm a Geek ;)).

Why switch? More to come ...

Ho ho ho!

Merry Christmas :)