Mark Wikkerink Cinema | Stills

At this time last year, so many changes were happening.  I had just quit my full time job, and I was travelling with my family throughout the United States, and we were about to head off to Europe!

Looking back though I can say that the past year has been one of the most amazing years of my life!

Over the past year, I have been working hard on my brand, my website, and myself as a wedding photographer in Calgary.  We have also launched into the market of calgary wedding videographers, which actually has become a lot more popular than I ever imagined!  This summer is looking like it is going to be a great summer with a huge variety of amazing couples that we plan to work with!  I am also excited to do some travelling and shoot some weddings in different locales such as St. Eugene’s in Cranbrook, BC, a small farm near Victoria, BC, and in Edmonton at the Santa Maria Goretti Center - and those are just for wedding cinema! Hopefully someday we will be able to shoot some destination weddings in places like Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, or anywhere else in the Caribbean! I did do an engagement session on the island of Roatan, Honduras (which you can see here) and it was amazing!

I think the biggest change that has happened over the last year though is how much I have grown as an artist and a visionary. When I went travelling last year, I took my Canon 5D, 2 lenses (a 35mm Leica lens and a Canon 135mm), and my Mamiya C330.  Since both lenses were prime lenses (meaning they have no ability to zoom), it really forced me to slow down and take my time composing each image one at a time.  Whether is meant moving backward or forward a bit, or kneeling down on the ground, I purposefully tried to shoot each image at a slower rate and nail the exposure and composition of each shot.

The film camera that I brought along also caused a different effect.  The camera that I use (a Mamiya C330) shoots medium format film, which results in a square image!  This caused me to focus even more on composition than ever!  I LOVE the images that this camera produces though, and I am slowly but surely developing, scanning, and editing the film.

I have to admit though that the past year hasn’t been an easy one by any means.  It’s been a very challenging year, probably the most challenging of all of the 28 years I have spent on Earth! There have been many stressful moments, and honestly most of them have involved not knowing exactly when the next pay cheque is going to be coming in.  The past year has been a huge lesson in trusting God to provide for me, and waiting to see how he will do so!  One of my favourite Bible verses has become Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

It’s also been challenging to adjust to life as a self employed person.  I have always been a rather social person, and I do well when I am surrounded by friends.  Adjusting to working by myself hasn’t been the easiest, and while I am now doing well and getting everything organized for this summer, it has been tough trying to stay on task and get things accomplished at certain times!

Overall I can’t complain a single bit about the last year, and I am very happy with where I currently am (and where my business is heading) in the future!  I am excited for this summer, and of course the many years beyond, and I am very excited to see how Cinema | Stills merge together to create memories that are unimaginable!

Be blessed,

Mark

P.S. The image included with this post is from a stylized shoot we did last fall – you can see other images from the shoot here.

Today begins a new evolution of my business.  Of myself. A shift in this industry.  In my industry.

Today is an important day because it is the start of something new.  Something exciting.  Something scary.

But today is the wedding day of two very important people.  Today they will be united as man and wife, and I will play an integral role in capturing, documenting, and preserving the memories of today, in both new and exciting ways.

Today I am shooting, not for myself, but for them.  Their children.  Their children’s children. Their Mothers and Fathers; Aunts and Uncles.  Their friends, acquaintances, and many other people who mean something.

Someday, people will forget who took these photos.  Who was there that day, when life changed.  Who told the story, of two people in Love, and declaring it to the world for generations to come.

But people WILL know my photographs, and through them, they will know me.  They will see a glimpse inside my head, and through my eyes, for generations to come.

Today is today.

And I am privileged, honoured, and blessed to have been chosen to be a part of it.

And I want them to know that they are unique, special, and loved beyond more then they will ever know.

It is going to be the best day.

THE best day.

2011 has been a year with many faces.  In some ways, it has been the most exciting year of my life, and to go along with that it has also been one of the most challenging! Thinking back though, I can’t help but realize how much I have grown as a man, a son of God, and of course, a photographer. Here are some of the highlights of my year:

-When 2011 started, I found myself working at a camera store here in Calgary.  While I thoroughly enjoyed working with my colleagues to educate other photographers and photo enthusiasts, I was unknowingly working my way towards self employment.

-While the snow was still falling, I made the trip out to Tacoma, Washington for a weekend conference called Freedom Immersion.  It is a Christian conference, and I learned a TON about myself and my faith, as well as who I am designed to be!  The spirit moved so much during that weekend, and hasn’t stopped since!  It was also the start of a beautiful friendship which is also growing stronger by the day! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

-Going on this trip to Tacoma was a huge step, because my family had also planned a 3 week trip to Europe in April, and obviously my amazing bosses weren’t going to give me that much time off from work.  So after much deliberation and prayer, I decided that it was time to leave the camera store, and pursue full time photography!

-In April I left Calgary to travel for a week to the midwest United States to see my younger sister graduate from Dordt College, which I was also privileged to attend.  We spent time with family, and went fishing, ate great meals, and had a lot of fun!

-From the US, we travelled to Europe for a 3 week adventure!  We flew to Amsterdam, and then travelled to Vienna, Austria for a short stay, and then to Munich, Germany for a few more days.  We then spent the rest of the time touring The Netherlands for two weeks.

-While my family flew home, I flew back to the United States to spend more time with my sister and adorable nieces.  It was great to be able to actually spend time playing with them, watching Potty Power (a DVD), and having cheesy Bible time! I had a great time, and was also able to see my best friend from college again.

-When I returned home, I jumped full time into this photo adventure!  I was privileged to capture many different weddings over the summer, and have been so blessed by the couples I have been able to work with.  Switching to full time self employment has been a major challenge, but I have been loving (nearly) every minute of it!  Of course there are ups and downs, but overall I love the lifestyle of being able to set my own schedule and work from home, a coffee shop, or my showroom!

To celebrate 2011 being an amazing year, I am going to be posting my 31 favourite images to my Facebook Page! Please connect with me, and join me in celebrating 2011 being an amazing year!  Click the link below to connect.

Mark Wikkerink Cinema | Stills Facebook Page

Looking forward to 2012, and I hope that it is amazing for you also!

Mark