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Ashleigh + Ben, Customs House Wedding

Family.

Its by far the single most important theme at every single wedding that we have photographed.

Its important on so many levels.

Not only because its one of the few opportunities for all of your rellies to come out of the wood works and spend some time catching up, telling stories of bygone days… past marriages, birthdays, “do you remember the time when so and so did this or that…”

Its the day they, your family, celebrate that one of their own, perhaps a daughter or a son, has made the decision to spend the rest of their lives with their soul mate.

Its the day two families grow by one.

Its the day mum and daughter had always talked about. Even our little three year old is already talking about when she finds her king and gets married…

Its the day dad has been thinking about for the last 20 or so years… how will he ever put into words just how special his child is and how overcome with emotion it makes him to see you happy…

If you’re lucky to still have your grandparents, its the day they walk so proudly and then talk about at the hairdresser or at bingo nights or even to unsuspecting strangers for months or years to come… they’ll tell anyone that will listen!

Your wedding is the day a very important story is being written. Its written into your family tree. Its the start of a new branch – if you make it so.

Its likely to be the prologue of many new stories in years to come.

Your family is pivotal on your wedding day.

Ben and Ashleigh wed at Churchie Chapel and celebrated into the night at Brisbane’s Customs House. They were surrounded by family and loved ones and it was an utter pleasure to be witness to their wedding story.

 

 

Ceremony: Churchie Chapel | Celebrant: Fr Ian | Hair: PowderRoom | Make-Up: JLS Makeup | Wedding Gown: Darb Bridal Couture | Bridesmaids Dresses: Carniel Vanden Bergh | Suits: Tony Barlow | Flowers: Mondo Floral Designs | Wedding Cake: Cakestar | Invitations: Talbot Press | Cars: Kenz Classic | Venue: Customs House

 

Grace & Vincent, Portrait Shoot

Coffee is useful. Its a great conversation starter!

Whenever I do a portrait shoot, I always like to meet our couple a little earlier for a coffee. It gets the conversation flowing and helps everyone relax – which is perfect!

I’d organised to shoot Grace and Vincent in West End for two reasons. It has a cool urban feel and we’ve never shot there before… and I’m a big big fan of trying new things!

I got to the Sling Lounge early to check it out and loved the look and feel of the place… annnnd it was empty! TheĀ  Bar Tender OK’d for me to shoot there so everything was going great! Until he asked if I wanted to look at the drinks menu while I waited… and when I casually replied… “Thanks mate, but I’ll just grab a coffee when they come”… he told me that wasn’t possible since it was purely a cocktail lounge.

Uhhh Ohh!

Then began 15 minutes of flicking through the menu looking for something that even remotely came close to a coffee – but it was all cocktails!

When Grace and Vincent finally arrived they were totally cool with it. And even though we didn’t have any coffee, it was still a great conversation starter.

We went on to have one of my favourite shoots and now I know of a great cocktail lounge too if anyone is looking!

And….. if you’re ever stuck for choice, grab a Zombie – you’ll love it. I know.

 

Film is Not Dead

Its not every day you have the opportunity to learn from the best of the best in our industry. What a privilege to learn from their wisdom and a humbling experience to get to know them on a more personal level. So far, I’ve had two such opportunities over the course of my photographic career. The first was having the good fortune of working and learning from the amazing Marcus Bell at Studio Impressions, and the second was attending a 3 day workshop from Jonathan Canlas, film guru extraordinaire, visiting our shores all the way from the USA.

Earlier this year, I set off to Canberra to attend the FIND (Film Is Not Dead) workshop being run by Mr Canlas himself. Jonathan took us through all aspects of film photography. From portraiture and weddings through to the nitty gritty business end. Everyone that attended gave a little of themselves and shared their knowledge, it was a very warm and open atmosphere, perfect for inspiration and motivation.

Jonathan has come back to Australia again and is currently hosting a FIND workshop in Brisbane. We were very excited to be one of the families that were the models for today’s portraiture session. It is always refreshing and eye-opening, being on the other side of the camera and something we think is super important for us to do every so often. To remember what it feels like to see that piece of glass looking directly at us!

In the spirit of sharing, I thought it was time to share my film experience. Here are a few images taken during the time I spent in Canberra.

xx Alex

QinYi - May 11, 2012 - 1:07 PM

Hi, glad to see such nice photos.

I’m a huge film lover, too. And I’m coming down under to canberra for study. I wonder where you get your film processed and scanned? I couldn’t find any shop that does the job while film photography is very hot in my city. I don’t think I could survive without film. :D

Thanks very much!

What we do on our Day Off!

I love Tuesdays! Our Tuesdays are like everybody else’s Saturdays.

The kiddies have the day off from pre-school and we take the day off work to catch up on family time.

Sometimes (like today) the Williams’ have the day off too and we are sure to make the most of it!

Despite the weather forecast, we packed the kids in the car and set off to our little secret spot just over the border in Northern NSW.

It was such an amazing day! We all shared some laughs, muddy feet, paddled Mark’s kayak around the lake and topped it off with a nice warm tea and Becky’s home made Anzac biscuits!

Can’t wait till next Tuesday!

Michael & Lindi, Destination Wedding in William Bay, WA

Denmark is one of Western Australia’s best kept secrets. It would easily be in my top 3 holiday destinations in Australia and pretty much takes out top spot if you’re ever looking for a place to tune out and take a quiet spell from the world for a week or two.

As a kid, my grandad would take me on fishing adventures to Ocean Beach in Denmark. We’d clamber down the rocks (beyond the “King Waves” warning sign) and pull out great big Salmon to feast upon. Grandad was an amazing fisherman and even a greater man and I will never forget those times we spent in our little corner of the world.

In 2012, many many years on, we were invited to document Michael and Lindi’s wedding in Denmark.

There was no way in the world I would miss this one, but unfortunately it was a little too much travel for our little ones (something like 4 interstate trips in 2 months), so Alex stayed home with them. It was a little daunting, doing this one solo, but I knew I was in a safe place.

And I knew just how beautiful Denmark was for all it had to offer!

Perth may be the most isolated city in the world, but if you ever get a chance to plan a trip there, I strongly recommend you spend at least 3 days down in Denmark – the world will slow down for you, if only for a little while, and you will be able to rest easy knowing that you’ve done your heart and mind a small favour!:)

Jennine - May 6, 2012 - 7:42 PM

Andrew, such amazing photos bought back many wonderful memories. After we were first married many many years ago ( 1989 in fact) we lived in Perth for 2 years and Denmark was one of our favourite weekend getaways. Thank you for reminding how special the place was and still is.

Beck - April 23, 2012 - 8:56 PM

wow – looks like it was a fantastic wedding in an AMAZING location!! well done at shooting solo Andrew :)

Ria - April 23, 2012 - 7:33 PM

Absolutely beautiful pictures! These are really lovely and bring back so many lovely memories from the day! What a beautiful bride & groom

T w i t t e r