Darren + Jess | WA Ballet Centre & Oakover Grounds | 21 May 2016 {Perth Wedding Photographer}

Earlier this year, Darren and Jess tied the knot with a beautiful ceremony at the incredible WA Ballet Centre in Maylands, Perth. This stunning art deco building, with its porticos, piers and defined plinth features, is a relatively unknown and little used wedding venue in Perth.

But I'm betting that's set to change, because its high ceilings, rustic wooden floors, exposed brick walls and wide, spacious rooms, make it absolutely perfect for weddings, especially if you're after an industrial or classical feel on your special day. 

And what a perfect venue for a wet weather day too!  And we should know, because on the 21st May, the wind blew sideways all day, broken only by intermittent, sleeting rain, and the odd burst of hail.  So we shot almost entirely indoors, from the bridal prep, to the ceremony, family photos and bridal party photos, using a mix of wide open apertures, high ISO's and on-camera flash - something we don't often need to do here in WA, where we are blessed with bright sunny days more often than not. 

 Then it was on to the reception at the rustic Oakover Grounds in the Swan Valley, where we did manage to grab a few outdoors shots, when the skies cleared for all of five minutes!  But despite the weather, and its best efforts against us, it was a fabulous day, and I'm just super glad that Darren and Jess chose me to be a part of it with them...

Bali + Lembongan | Travel | August 2015 {Avon Valley Documentary & Travel Photographer}

A seemingly endless run of frosty nights and icy days has me dreaming of warmer places, so I'm casting back to a year ago, when I travelled to Bali and Lembongan with my girlfriends from school, for a week of R&R...

No husbands, no kids, just us and a week of lazy days spent by the pool and on the beach, drinking G&T's, laughing till our sides split, and savouring the most amazing array of food this special place has to offer.  Plus a heap of shopping, countless massages, a couple of crazy motorbike rides, and a few random nights out.  And then an ash cloud to keep us there for a few more days! 

So who wants to pack me in a suitcase, take me on their next holiday, and have me document it all in beautiful pictures?

National Tidy Towns Awards | Event | Toodyay 18th March 2016 {Avon Valley Event Photographer}

I was thrilled to be asked to cover the recent Keep Australia Beautiful National Tidy Towns Awards, which were hosted by our very own 2015 winner Toodyay, and held right here in the stunning surrounds of the Avon Valley in WA.

Held in the historic Memorial Hall, which was transformed into a veritable wonderland by Sean from Christmas 360, and members of the wider local community (complete with dripping festoon lights, table settings of native flowers, and moss coloured chairs!), these awards aim to recognise communities who actively undertake to improve the environmental health and well being of their towns and landscapes across Australia.

The awards include categories such as Waste Management Resource Recovery, Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Education, and Community Action and Well Being (to name just a few), with nominations being drawn from across the country.  Category awards were given to towns from as far away as Orange (NSW), Horsham (Vic), Liebig (NT), Roma (QLD), Triabunna (Tas), and as close as Albany, right here in WA (once again, to name just a few!), with the overall winner for 2016 going to Triabunna in Tasmania. 

A beautiful dinner was served as guests listened to inspiring speeches from the Hon. Kerry Sanderson AO, Governor of WA, and the Hon. Albert Jacob MLA, Minister for Environment, as well as guest speaker Rhys Williams and past winner representative Greg Warburton, amongst others.

From a technical viewpoint, it was a challenging event to shoot, due to low lighting inside the venue, contrasty stage lighting, and some heavy colour casting.  But these things help create the lovely dreamy, celebratory mood of an event such as this, so wherever possible, I left my flash off, bumped my ISO up to 3200 - 6400, and opened the lens up to F1.8.

I think the results are just delightful, and I hope that all those who contributed to, and attended this amazing event feel I have done justice to their hard work and vision.  Congratulations rural Australia, you have done it again...

A Portrait of Harvest | Personal Project | November 2015 {Avon Valley Documentary Photographer}

I've just spent a month working on an exciting personal project, documenting the story of harvest, from paddock to bin, while I drove a grain truck for my brother on our family farm.

This was a special opportunity for me on a number of levels, but mostly because I was able to return to my farmy roots, and at the same time, have oodles of time to record the story of a unique and ever changing season on a farm in the Wheatbelt of WA.

All shot on a Fuji XPro1 mirrorless camera, with the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 and 35mm F1.4 lenses, this is a collection of spontaneous, opportunistic 'grab shots' which were taken while I was working, often as I pulled into a paddock or sat in line waiting to deliver my load of grain at the CBH bins. 

In most cases I didn't have the luxury of waiting for the best light, or taking time to position someone better for a portrait, or even to shoot on anything but aperture priority mode, because, well, I was meant to be working, which for the most part includes holding the steering wheel in a truck! Which is why you'll see lots of loosely composed images, and shots taken through the windscreen, bugs, dust and all.  But as many of you will know, I kinda like to shoot like that anyway, so really, I was completely in my element on this one!

Following are some of my favourites.  But there are so many more, so I suggest you settle in and enjoy them all in slideshow format, because that's where you'll see plenty more of the farm, my fellow truckies, and the friendly staff at CBH Avon Yard, who so kindly allowed me to poke around with my camera for an entire month!

Paige | Family Portrait Photography | 18 May 2015 {Avon Valley Family Photographer}

I have been itching to find the time to blog this one, and already 6 months have flown past!  I loved everything about this session.

From the moment Paige's mum called me, I knew this was going to be a special shoot.  A 10th birthday present to her daughter.  Not an ipad, or any of the latest fads, but a photoshoot to mark that special day you hit double digits, and to celebrate the magic of childhood.

And a daughter who loves dolls and matchbox cars, vintage dresses and her amazing big brother, who wanted to incorporate all these things into her shoot.  Someone who wanted to style it with me.  Someone who had her own ideas and vision, and who was clearly excited about what might unfold.  And all at the age of 10 - what a dream client!

So at the end of Autumn, with the first cold Winter winds blowing in, we found ourselves an open grassy space, a railway line, some tin sheds, tracks and puddles just over the back of our place in Grass Valley, and this is what we came home with...