Justin + Hannah | The Lake House, Denmark WA | 18 August 2018 {Perth, South Coast, Avon Valley & Wheatbelt Wedding Photographer}

With its rolling hills, forests, and vistas of ocean blue, Denmark is truly a spectacular place to host a wedding.  So I was very excited when Justin and Hannah announced that we'd be travelling south for their big day, to be held on the grounds of The Lake House in the hills just out of town.  

And I was even more excited to discover that Hannah was adapting her Mum's wedding gown into her own, especially given I had photographed her Mum in it 8 years previously.  And then, as if that wasn't enough to get me pumped, I discovered that she'd be arriving in her Dad's HK Holden, and the jokes were on - being a fellow HK owner, I was warned not to take too many photos of the car (unless the B&G were also featured!).  So I behaved myself as best I could, but I did manage to sneak this first shot in, because, well, who can resist a Holden parked under a date palm beside a farm shed?!

So many highlights from this special day, and even though I'm still buried in editing, I thought I'd share some of them with you now, because let's face it, we all love to see pretty pics in the days following a beautiful wedding.

All cred to the following vendors for helping make it what it was. The Lake House (venue), Anna Jane Celebrant (celebrant), Albany Event Hire (marquee), Starfish Lane (invitations), The Floral Folk Co (flowers), Entice Food Co (cake), Kate Samiotis Hair (hair), Makeup By Carissa R (makeup), Elvi Design (dressmaker), and Ferrari Formal & Bridal (suits).

Congratulations Justin and Hannah, and thank you so much for asking me to share your beautiful day with you.

The Wheatbelt Way | A Road Trip | May 2018 {Avon Valley & Wheatbelt Documentary Photographer}

With my Autumn weddings done and dusted, I took the opportunity for a three day Roadie earlier this week, heading north-east to the shire of Mt Marshall on the edge of the Wheatbelt, where the Emu Proof Fenceline divides our farmland from station country.  

Late Autumn is such a beautiful time of the year out there.  The days are warm and still, the flies are (mostly!) gone, and the evenings cool.  But it's also the driest time of the year, normally following a long hot Summer, and before the first rains of Winter settle the dust and germinate the newly sown crops. 

Founded on a nomadic pastoral industry, which later included the cutting of sandalwood, the Shire of Mt Marshall takes in the tiny towns of Bencubbin and Beacon, running north to the Emu Proof Fenceline. Nowadays it mostly consists of vast areas of flat, open cropping country, pockets of bush teaming with native flora and fauna, long straight gravel roads, the remnants of small settlements, and some very large rocks.

So, armed with my Fuji XPro2 + 18-135mm lens, plus a few other essentials, like food, water, my coffee machine and a Wheatbelt Drive Trail Map, I headed east to the Beacon Caravan Park, to set up camp - ever conscious of the fact that I was going to be far more comfortable in my Donga than my great great great grandfather JS Roe would have been, when he first discovered and explored this country in 1836! 

  And for the next three days I drove long distances, trekked through bush, climbed rocks with easy to spell names names like Billiburning, Elachbutting and Beringbooding, and watched farmers kick up trails of dust across the landscape with their seeding machines.  I also walked through towns (both existing and extinct), and met a few of the locals, including Bruce and Mal, who offered me a stiff cup of black tea and a rollie, and took me through the Beacon Men's Shed, and a short history of the tractor in Australia. 

But mostly I just hung out on my own.  Sometimes it's good to just quiet the chaos, to switch off and celebrate the simple things in our own backyard. That's what this trip was all about for me. And maybe a little bit about taking photos too, because, well, that's just what I do! 

Australian National Balloon Championships 2015 | Northam, Avon Valley Event | 24 August - 6 September 2015 {Avon Valley & Perth Event Photographer}

This year we were blessed to be able to host the Australian National Balloon Championships, right here in Northam, in the picturesque Avon Valley of Western Australia.

Last held here in 1981 and 1984, this event saw balloonists from Australia, China, Hong Kong and Japan fill our skies each morning at daybreak, in an explosion of colour, as they competed for the national title.

And I was lucky enough to be there. On the ground, and in the air. Over four mornings of 4am starts. And mostly on and over our family farm, which made it just that little bit extra special!

The following set of images were shot over those four mornings, as I tailed, launched and flew with local balloonists Pete, Mick and Andrew Clements from 'Team Jenna'. 

And all I can really say about the experience, is that it was completely stunning. We were blessed with morning after morning of soft light sunrises, fog in the hollows, and incredible Wheatbelt landscapes of canola and wheat, mixed with little pockets of Salmon and York Gum bushland.

It was a photographers dream come true, and I even learnt a thing or two about flying...