There are four ways I know to get to The County. Two big bridges, a ferry and a little swing bridge. Each of them makes entering The County a unique experience.
Look down from the Bay Bridge and watch the sunrise over Quinte. Boats stop traffic as they pass through the Murray Canal. It's at least a 5 minute wait so we let the kids out of the car to go watch as the bridge swings. Then there's the ferry. We never need to use the ferry, we just ride for the fun of it.
No matter which route I take, the moment I get to the County, time disappears. It's a world connected mostly by back roads. Sometimes I drive the roads in The County just to see where they lead. No matter how lost I get, every inch of it feels like home. Which is strange because I've never lived in the County.
When it comes to photography, it's fun to meet up with a young family or several generations who've gathered together at a cottage or park or a secret stretch of shoreline.
Sandbanks Provincial Park
Picton, ON
My photography has been about adventure of some sort. So I weave adventure into my family photo sessions. I know what you're thinking, "adventure takes so much work." It doesn't have to though. Sandbanks is the perfect setting for adventure.
We'll skip the crowds at the beach, and head down a back road to a stretch of rocky shoreline instead. The kids will have fun chucking rocks in the water. Dad will have fun throwing further than them. Your photos will have rocky shoreline and waves as the setting. Then we'll follow the road a little further to a chain of sand dunes. It's almost like being in the desert, except for the big lake. Once you see the sunset there, you'll never be able to forget it.
All the adventure, away from the crowds, no plane ticket necessary.
Vineyards
Prince Edward County
You can't throw a limestone without hitting a winery in The County. I know running a vineyard is hard work. But what better reward for that work than watching the sunset over rows of grapes, knowing the laughter and romance this has all inspired.
Whether it's friends or lovers, awesome moments come naturally in a vineyard.
Generations
Prince Edward County
My mom inherited a big box of my Grandma's photographs. One day as I sifted through 20 years of my family history, and decades more of my grandma's. I found an envelope of photos of a trip they took with me. The photos had her writing on the back. "Picton campground," "Lake on the Mountain," "Aunt Beat's."
My great-great-aunt Beat had an A-frame deep in The County. My Grandma and Grandpa took me there one summer. We picked peas from her garden and I remember racing grandpa to finish supper and get to desert. I said prayers before bed and I still remember how the room looked in the evening light.
Maybe this is why even though I don't live in The County, it always feels like home.
I love to photograph generations of family who come to gather in Prince Edward County. Big reunions or 50th anniversaries. Sometimes no reason at all. Just to be together and laugh about old times over a bottle of wine.
Point Petre Conservation Area
Prince Edward County
Family and adventure get all tangled together when it comes to having a baby. You can barely see the baby bump in some of these photos, just a first hint of the adventure to come.
North Beach
Consecon, ON
North Beach is like Sandbanks' little cousin. You still get the Lake and sand dunes, but in a smaller package. There's something about North Beach where most sessions end in the water.
Lake Ontario Shoreline
Prince Edward County
I just love it when a family says, "We know a good place. But you have to go down this road quite a ways, then take a right, but it's not marked. We'll meet you there and show you where the trail is."
"Wait, can I just find it on my GPS?"
"No."
"Perfect."
That's what I love about the County, you just drive anywhere and you'll find an awesome place. So you take a couple who have fallen in love, or a new little family, or four generations. You take a good family, put them in a nice place, and the adventure unfolds all by itself.
I realized something as I sifted through so many family photos (both yours and mine). We think we make our own decision to come to The County. But we don't. As the sand finds it's way between our toes and the wine to our lips the County weaves itself into our memories and our family story. It's The County that calls us to come.
Hi, I'm Mat!
I want you to round up the people you love most and create an adventure for your family photo session.
It could be on the shores of Lake Ontario, along the sand dunes, or at a vineyard. Maybe even your own place in the County.
Get in touch with me to book a photo session. We'll call it family time and make some memories.
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