I want to consume less and create more...

It made my day when I got an email from photographer Clay Enos that said simply: I dig your mantra.

I'm Travis Jon Allison. I'm a photographer from Southern Ontario, Canada and making art has always been my passion. Getting to be a photographer was one of my goals since I first borrowed my mom's Pentax Spotmatic camera and took it with me to camp for the weekend.

I thank you and my clients who have allowed me to share that passion and keep creating. It makes me very happy.

This blog is all part of my creating bug. I use it to keep a record of what's going on with me so that my clients can get to know me better and so my friends and family can keep up with what is going on in our world. One part photo album, one part journal and all me. Thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoy the blog. Please add me into your  feed reader.


London, UK Wedding: Joanna + Phil

This past fall Beth and I travelled to the UK to shoot Joanna and Phil’s wedding in Shenfield, Essex. It’s hard to believe that a wedding could change your life but it certainly developed our passion to become London England wedding photographers!

This was my first trip to England and I loved everything about it:

  • super friendly people
  • great curry
  • nice small towns like Shenfield and Billericay
  • train travel
  • the architecture
  • the wonderful cosmopolitan-ness of London (most of the people we saw in the city were not Anglos)

Joanna and Phil were such gracious hosts to us and we really look forward to going back to visit them for longer!30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1-24.jpg30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1.jpg

30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1-13.jpg30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1-26.jpgEngland beside Canada on the bookshelf!  A match made in heaven.30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1-33.jpg30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1-94.jpg30-09-10_Joanna-Phil-Wed1-100.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-6.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-110.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-143.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-260.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-283.jpg

02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-323.jpg

Joanna’s Canadian moose.

02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-357.jpg

02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-366.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-483.jpg

Phil and his best mate Chris in the church yard.

02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-527.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-560.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil2-571.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil3.jpg

The first recorded wedding in this church took place in 1536. I don’t have a lot of pictures of the inside during the ceremony because of a church policy but it was beautiful.

02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-77.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-108.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-128.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-158.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-169.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-322.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-354.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-386.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-417.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-419.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-433.jpg 02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-509.jpg

The wedding reception took place in this cool old orphanage dining hall called Poplar Hall.02-10-10_JoannaPhil3-517.jpg02-10-10_JoannaPhil4-161.jpg

First Dance:

02-10-10_JoannaPhil4-242.jpg

Heart FM DJs

Between Christmas and New Years I got a call from Monica from Heart FM.  They were looking for a Woodstock photographer to take a picture of their on-air personalities for the up-coming What’s on Woodstock.

Everybody was very gracious as I worked around them in big studio and the news room to set up and test my lights for this shot.  Getting the light right in a room this size involves a lot of testing and Liz Wismer had an umbrella and flash going off over her shoulder for half an hour.

Thanks to Heart FM for having me over!

The DJ's of Woodstock radio station Heart FM as shot by Travis Allison Woodstock Wedding Photographer

Toronto Wedding: Liza + Andrew

It was a rainy day in pizza-ville…

It was, but it was still great day for Liza & Andrew’s wedding at the Gardiner Museum. I had a great time being a Toronto Wedding photographer for the day. When you shoot the wedding of two architects you spend the day around cool buildings. I was in heaven.

Letter-pressed and stamped invitations made by hand:

a beautiful wedding invitation shot by Toronto Wedding Photographer Travis Allison

First stop Liza’s parents for getting ready pictures. Liza and the bridesmaids did their own flowers and the make up was done by Al Fortier from A List Beauty.

a beautiful bride's makeup by Toronto Wedding Photographer Travis Allison a palette of makeup set up for a bride The father of the bride holds a small dog while the bride is getting her make up done The mother of the bride gets her bracelet done up by one of the bridesmaids a beautiful wedding dress hangs in a window surrounded by Christmas decorations beautiful black bridal shoes outside with boughs and red Christmas balls A large engagement ring hangs from a pine bough above a red Christmas ball A beautiful bride poses by a brick wall in her dress and white mink shawl a black and white full-length picture of a beautiful bride in her long dress and white mink shawl a bridesmaid poses outside in winter in her beautiful black dress and fuchsia shawl a bridesmaid at a wedding poses outdoors in her fuchsia shawl and black dress a bride and her sister, the maid of honour, pose with their heads together in a backyard in Toronto

Second stop (after a little short moment of the small towners getting turned around in the big city…) Hart House at U of T – an amazing space to shoot!

A bride and groom pose together in a window of the University of Toronto's Hart House A bride and groom pose together in a window of the University of Toronto's Hart House A bride and groom pose together in a stairwell of the University of Toronto's Hart House A bride and groom pose together in a stairway under a light at the University of Toronto's Hart House A bride leans against the rail of a stairway at the University of Toronto's Hart House A bride and groom pose together in front of a fireplace at the University of Toronto's Hart House A wedding party with bride and groom pose in front of a fireplace at the University of Toronto's Hart House Handsome best-man in front of a fireplace at the University of Toronto's Hart House  a handsome groomsman in front of the fireplace at the University of Toronto's Hart House a groom smiles while standing in front of the fireplace at the University of Toronto's Hart House The bride, groom and their bridal party pose on chairs at the end of the fireplace room at the University of Toronto's Hart House A groom, leaning on a grand piano, and groomsmen pose together in a window of the University of Toronto's Hart House

And lastly the Gardiner ceramic museum for the ceremony and food.  The ceremony was held in (and catered by) the Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner Cafe. The food was brilliant!  The turtle tarts put me in chocolate heaven.

The groom, surrounded by his groomsmen and holding his daughter, watch the bride coming down the aisle at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café The bride and her parents come down the aisle during an evening wedding at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café The bride and groom exchange their vows in front of a Christmas tree in this evening wedding at  Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café The groom wells up during the exchange of bridal vows at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café a bride and groom stand in front of a giant Christmas tree exchanging their vows in Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café the bride and groom have their first kiss in front of a giant Christmas tree in Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café The bride and groom have their first kiss in front of a Christmas tree in this evening wedding at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café

The ever beautiful Allison – her wedding was the first professional wedding I ever shot and some of those pictures are still on my business cards to this day. Allison and Ian are getting ready for baby #2!

former Subtlevox photography bride, Allison, at the evening wedding at the Gardiner Museum

The groom's grandfather after asking the blessing for the meal at the Gardiner Museum The groom poses with friends at an evening wedding at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café the groom's siblings gave them at road trip care page during their wedding speech at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café a smiling bride and groom laughing at speeches at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café the groom's sister holds up his Cub Scout shirt covered in badges at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café The bride and groom's first dance at their wedding at the Gardiner museum The bride and groom dancing in front of their wedding guests at Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café a little girl in a pink dress dances with her parents in Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner Café

Thanks to Liza and Andrew (and wee Maeve) for a wonderful wedding.

Throwing Blanket at Summer Camp

A couple of times a year I get to be a summer camp photographer – it’s one of my favourite places to be!

young woman being thrown into the air by a throwing blanket at summer camp

The power of story: Leave Me

Leave Me from Ryan Dunlap on Vimeo.

I’m working at catching up on blog posts of my own for here but I just can’t put this video aside. It is amazing.

Be a story teller.

WordPress Loves AJAX