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 :)

I was delighted to have a respected photographer, Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert and long-time QuiKeys user, write about QuiKeys and how it's revolutionized her business and life.

"I can say, without hesitation, that QuiKeys changed my life," she writes.

"Ask anyone who has spent any time watching me edit a wedding and they will attest to the quality and speed with which I can edit. Based on my calculations, I estimate that it has saved me 52 days in 2008 (and I believe that estimate to be conservative). FIFTY TWO days to spend time with my family or allocate my time working on my business, rather than in my business."

Wow! Thanks Heather for so freely sharing how QuiKeys has impacted your life for the better :)

We all know that time is money. So what are you waiting for to invest in the tool which is already saving hundreds of photographers just like yourself MONTHS back a year?

You can read the entire review and see more of Heather's awesome work here.

A woman and her shoes are such a personal thing, it's hard for a guy like me to write about it in a meaningful way without seeming false.

What's in a $700 pair of shoes? Style ... attention to detail ... status .... and the luxury of knowing your feet are being caressed and supported by something worthy of their attention.

Then comes your wedding day with DQ.

If shoes are part of your life, you bet we're gonna shoot em.

After all, designer footwear starts with the word "design." And what's better than to invest in a pair of gorgeous shoes that are functional pieces of art you can wear on your most special of days?

Of course if you choose to get married in the mountains in your Manolo Blahniks, we'll ask nicely before requesting you scale a rocky mountainside.

And the heels may even help in climbing to crazy beautiful spaces.

And you gotta know we're gonna deliver on the images ...

It never hurts to have a gorgeous bride and groom to help a pair of shoes fulfill their destiny ...

Thanks Ivy & Ray for trusting us, and for sacrificing your Manolo's for the sake of the call ;)

But what happens to a great pair of shoes after a wedding in the mountains?

Note to shoe lovers: this pair of Manolo Blahniks were personally chaperoned to New York by DQ to be repaired by the able hands of skilled shoe smiths at Jim's Shoe Repair. After having been re-leathered and hand-painted, they have been happily reunited with their collector, Ivy.

*sniff* ... I love happy endings.

Love you Ivy & Ray!! You two are truly special people :)

Your friends,

dq