24 From '24 | A Snapshot of 2024 {Avon Valley, Wheatbelt & Perth Wedding, Family, Event & Commercial Photographer}

As the year draws to a close, I’d like to thank all the amazing folk who have supported me in my business, and helped make 2024 such a joy for me.

When I look back over the last 12 months, I find that 90% of my work has come through regional clients located in the Wheatbelt, contributing to the wonderful mix of family, events, workplaces and rural landscapes you see below.

And while I’ll always love a heartfelt wedding or a crazy family shoot, my commercial, tourism and agricultural work has increased steadily over the past few years, to form the majority of the work I do now.

But by far the biggest change to my business in 2024, was the switch to a Sony mirrorless camera system, after being with Pentax for 38 years. Unfortunately Pentax announced they had no plans to develop a full frame mirrorless camera, so with my gear reaching the end of its usable life, I was forced to look into other brands - because mirrorless is where it’s at now. And although it took a bit of adjusting (in both shooting and editing) to get my ‘look’ right, the advancements that mirrorless cameras offer have made shooting so much easier, which put simply, means a better overall result for my clients.

This past year has also seen me increase my involvement with Northam Women in Business by becoming a committee member, to both shoot and organise many of the events and small workshops run by this amazing group of local business women. I also joined Wheatbelt & Beyond Youth Mentoring, and have begun mentoring high school students at some of our District High Schools, which has been incredibly rewarding. And with 2025 approaching, I see myself continuing both this and the wide variety of photographic work that I do, with the expectation that the next 12 months will be as rewarding as the last 12 months have been.

So following are 24 images that I feel best represent both my style, and the people and places I’ve collaborated with throughout 2024. Just a random mix showcasing the variety of work that I do, which I feel incredibly honored to have been part of – and all thanks to you, my fabulous clients! 

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and I’ll see you all again in 2025!

20 From '20 | A Snapshot of 2020 {Avon Valley, Wheatbelt & Perth Wedding, Family, Event & Commercial Photographer}

It goes without saying that 2020 has been different for most of us, but just how different will depend on where you are based. Those of us in WA were lucky enough to continue working after an initial shutdown back in March, and as a result, I finished the year on par with 2019.

But I had to implement some changes, and do things a little differently to get there. On the day the first image below was shot, I had 40K worth of bookings either postponed indefinately or cancelled outright. Most of these bookings were weddings and large events, which are core business for me, and for the first time in 25 years I was facing a year of neither.

So I spent the time at home restoring our ‘78 caravan and revamping my website with the help of Jo from Joanne Tapodi Creative. And I had a new computer built by Colin at Avon Computech, to give me greater storage capacity and allow me to work faster, and to introduce videography to my services. I also learnt the basics of filmmaking (mostly by shooting little clips of my family as we worked on the caravan!), and I started offering Mini Clips to those I was shooting commercial and event work for. All of these things had been on my ‘to do’ list for the last 5 years or so, but I just hadn’t been able to find the time for them while working fulltime.

Then as WA began to open up again, the bookings started coming in - cautiously. Not for weddings or big events, but for family, commercial and business based shoots. The time at home had inspired a shift in thinking. The importance of family became more apparent, and many businesses had more time on their hands to spend ‘on’ the business, instead of ‘in’ the business. In addition, an online presence had become increasingly important for business owners, which saw many updating websites and social media pages, and in turn, their imagery. At the same time, the Shire of Northam introduced a Small Business Support Grant Scheme to assist those who had suffered a downturn due to Covid-19, and much of it was spent on doing the above.

And so I found myself filling the gaps with families and businesses, rather than couples and events. I worked closely with Anna from Creative IQ to produce images for her website builds, and I partnered with the Northam Race Club to cover their social evenings throughout Spring. At the same time, I was out and about in the Wheatbelt shooting my usual array of agricultural work for growers, plant breeders and researchers. The result was that Spring 2020 was both busier and more profitable than it has ever been for me, and I am truly thankful for that, when I know it hasn’t been the case for so many.

So following are 20 images that I love, and which I feel are reflective of 2020 for me. It’s mostly a mix of family, commercial and agricultural work, with a bit of travel thrown in - mainly because I feel so lucky to have been able to squeeze both trips in while the borders were open and it was considered safe to do so! My shooting and editing style remain similar to last year, with a rich warm vibe, and golden, brown and green tones throughout, which I don’t see changing in 2021 - it is, after all, a big part of what my clients love about my work!

So thanks 2020, you can go now - bring on 2021!