December 31, 2009 - Celebrate end of decade. Check. January 1, 2010 - shoot Ken and Desra’s wedding. Done and done. Nice.
After some quick negotiations with the rain gods.. we managed to do a deal to keep the rain away, but retain awesome looking clouds. Nice work fellas. The wedding was an outdoor beach affair (with flags a plenty) so you see how rain would not have been a welcome addition.
Ken and Desra have 3 beautiful little girls, all of which made for some very cute flower girls. Didn’t take long for them to warm up to us either, after a while they were positioning themselves in frame for the perfect shots.
As luck would have it, there was a fair in the park opposite the beach, maybe not your standard photo opportunities, but, Jess and I were as excited as school kids at a… um, fair. But as if all that were not enough excitement for one day… Ken & Desra break open the reception with a little dance routine from Dirty Dancing - very entertaining!.... (see last image)
Yesterday was the first day of the Ideal Bride Expo at the RNA Showgrounds. This is also our first expo we have done (so, little bit excited). We were super pumped with the response we got.
I have uploaded a photo of our booth, but, please excuse the iPhone quality. We will get some better shots today! Share on Facebook
Nathan + Georgie’s Engagement Shoot / Posted on 13 Feb
Last weekend(ish) we did an engagement shoot for Nathan & Georgie - bit of a trial run for their wedding which we're also shooting in a few weeks (5.5 weeks I believe). Jess and I had been wanting to take some photos around the back of our house at Hamilton for quite some time, so we were pleased when N+G happily obliged (which was quite a contrast to where they were wanting their photos - Newstead Park - where we also shot...).
Nathan and I moved over to Dubai in 2008 at around the same time (we were introduced through a mutual friend type setup) and ended up being housemates - so I (+Jess) are pretty excited to be shooting his wedding. Incidentally, Nathan is a town planner - so if you are building any towns, he is the man to help you plan. (However, even his skilled planning hands, could not save Dubai from the brink of financial ruin). Share on Facebook
More from Nepal / Posted on 13 Feb
I thought it was about time I sat down and had a look through some more of our photos from our trip to Nepal. And looking back, it really was an amazing experience!
Now that it's time for me to write a little summary about these photos, I'm wishing I had kept a better travel journal (which is what I think after most holidays - you'd think I'd learn) thankfully, like most of my travel journals, I have entries about the first few days of the trek - I also bought a map so that helps too!
These photos are from the start of our trek. Starting with the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla - my first time on such a small plane. We spent the night in Lukla (2842m) and then had a fairly easy mornings walk to Phakding (2610m) which is actually lower than Lukla, we thought we'd be walking down hill all morning - think again! The lodges were not like we were expecting (in a good way) and to our excitement there was even a western toilet at the lodge in Phakding - hooray! Share on Facebook
Kathmandu from the air - quite hard to get a nice photo as the smog was so thick! Our first view of the Himalayas Yes, that is the landing strip and yes it does look like we were about to crash into it! The run way is really short and just cut into the mountains, so to slow planes down (there is a brick wall at the end of the run way) it is on quite a steep slope. If you look closely you can see a line of prayer flags going down hill - this is beside the run way, so you can see what kind of an angle it's on. Plane taking off - if it doesn't get off the ground, well, it will fall off the edge of a cliff... This is how everything is 'delivered' - there are no roads, only people and yaks to carry food and building supplies to the villages high in the himalayas. Saw some interesting things being carried up - a lot of which is for tourists - beer, cigarettes, pringles (although beer at altitude is not a good idea, and not sure that cigarettes would make breather in that thin air any easier!) Prayer wheels
Free tickets to the Ideal Bride Expo!! / Posted on 10 Feb
We have a small handful of tickets to the upcoming Ideal Bride Expo (next Friday 19th Feb, Saturday 20th Feb and Sunday 21st Feb) at the RNA showgrounds. First in, best dressed. (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)Sorry.. tickets are all gone...
Apart from being able to see all sorts of wondrous wedding type wares.. you will be able to meet yours truly (Steve) and my darling wifey - Jessica Marks - as we will have a stand there for the 3 days.
Also, keep an eye out for the current edition of Ideal Bride magazine, as one of our weddings from last year is being featured (nice, nice). Anyway.. we hope to see some of you at the show.. and seriously, we only have like 4 tickets.. so, you will need to be quick!!!
We had an excellent time sharing in Clare, Michael (and Taylor - their daughters) special day. We started off our day at the Story Bridge Quest Apartments for a few photos of Clare and her lovely bridesmaids getting ready. Their ceremony was held by the river at The Landing, Dockside. Since they didn't want to spend too long away from their guests or venture far from their reception we went for a wander down the boardwalk along the river for their photos. This bridal party were certainly ready for a good night!
Their reception was also held at The Landing, Dockside in the River Room where we set up a Photo Booth for their friends and family - got loads of fun photos, stay tuned for those ones!
I'm an Auntie again! I had the pleasure of shooting my new little week old niece late last week. Although we were after some photos of her awake it seemed she was quite content to sleep the whole morning away - so lots of peaceful, sleepy baby photos it is!
Continuing with our series of photos from our recent trip to Nepal........
This is a little video I slapped together, it was made out of a series of longer exposure photos. Jess right hand can be seen (just) in the left of frame.
Photos from a Museum in Nepal (+ More) / Posted on 20 Jan
I probably should have looked back through our trip notes before posting this. But, here are a few photos that we took in and around one of the Museums in Nepal. The man that sold us the ticket very proudly let us know (several times) that this is regarded as the BEST museum in Asia. It was pretty good I must say, but, not so good that I can remember the name of it :-( I will check with Jess, and report back.
Anywho.. these photos are a little out of the normal (for us). I (in particular) was trying to make more of an effort to get some shots of lines, symmetry, natural repetition, patterns etc I'm not sure how I've really done, but I like these photos.
As strange as it may sound, there were many times I wished that we could have been shooting a wedding in Nepal - there are some pretty amazing spots.
Steve
Extra Extra.. I've added a few more "Street" photos. I really like these ones. I think Jess and I just like taking photos of people going about their day to day business. For me, these are the types of memories that make a holiday memorable. I remember standing on the streets of Nepal, seeing all these people and just wondering what it is they do all day long, or where is it exactly that they are going? Most likely, they are going nowhere important, and doing nothing important.
But, in a place like Nepal, there are less status symbols to identify people with - everyone dresses the same (either in fake North Face outdoor wear, or traditional clothing) - and really, not much else, so, it's not so easy to say: "he's a mechanic", or "he is a business man", or "she is a nurse". Im not really sure what my point here is exactly - but, maybe it is that a) everyday things are more interesting when you are in another country and b) photos have the power to trigger strong emotions and feelings.
On the weekend I had the pleasure of shooting 2 week old little Jack. He slept through pretty much the entire shoot, was a perfect little model. Congratulations to the proud parents Gina and Matt! Share on Facebook
The beginnings of our overseas adventure - Kathmandu / Posted on 08 Jan
Some of you may have known that we (Steve+Jess) have been on our honeymoon for the past two months. After several weeks of arduous trekking to Everest Base Camp (Nepal) and after several rounds and multiple weeks of food poisoning, we are happy to announce we are back!
A big thanks to Jess' sister Mel, who managed things whilst we were away. We were very pleased (and excited) to see how many people had not only made appointments to see us whilst away, but how many people booked us, without meeting. We take that as a huge compliment!
We've been back for about a couple weeks now, and have been crazily busy meeting new clients and meeting everyone who booked over that time as well as shooting a wedding on New Years Day.
Over the coming weeks (months even?) we will upload some photos from our trip to Nepal. So we will start here with our first few days in Kathmandu (Thamel). We think these photos should give you a pretty good feel for the place - busy, dirty, slightly smelly, but definitely full of character. This was Jess' first time to a 3rd World country, and it sure was an eye opener for her.
Interesting cabling... we thought they were power lines until we saw some locals up on ladders hooking some up with bare hands...
All motorbike drivers seemed to wear helmets... no worries about the other 4 people on the bike
Will think twice before I complain about moving house next time...
All sweet and innocent... hmm, she was looking so happy 'cause she just conned Steve out of $4!! Pfft..
That it may be.. but, seriously, how cool is the Malboro man? Very...
I think we picked the worst possible time to go for a walk.
Finally made it to a rooftop restaurant for a well earned rest... Everest beer only came in 650mL bottles and cost about $2... even better, it tasted good too.
Mmm, pork anyone?
Never held so much money in our hands at once - almost needed a suitcase when we changed our money over! We split it up to put in different places in our bags, so for the next 2 weeks we were finding new wads of cash we'd forgotten about... wish that would happen back here!
The stash of goodies for the trek, never a better excuse to eat a few chocolate bars a day!
Carly and Josh’s Wedding / Posted on 27 Dec
It’s been a while between blog posts - Steve and I have just returned from a belated honeymoon trekking in the Himalayas, hanging out in Kathmandu and a short side trip to Dubai. We had an excellent time (apart from a bit of altitude sickness for Steve and food poisoning for the both of us!) Once I’ve sifted through the 3000 photos I’ll post some of our favourites. But for now, a wedding we shot before we left… we didn’t want to post the photos until Carly and Josh had seen them (they too had a lovely long overseas honeymoon) so here they are!
Carly and Josh both got ready at the Marriot hotel where we started for some photos, everyone was quite calm when we arrived which was great to see. Their beautiful flowers were by Bliss Floral and if I remember correctly they smelt great too.
The ceremony was held at the Broadway Chapel in Wooloongabba by celebrant Andrew Sinclair. Once all the formalities were out of the way we headed down to Kangaroo Point for some photos and a few drinks and then over to The Pavillion for a few more photos and a few more drinks. The boys also got the chance to bowl a few balls down on the field while the girls aerated the grass with their heels. Their reception was held at The Pavillion with some of the yummiest desserts on offer - cake looked amazing and the chocolate fountain smelt amazing!
We were super pumped to shoot Sarah and Daniel’s wedding (and no, it was not because it was our last wedding of the year, and it was not because within a week after, we would finally be going on our own honeymoon) - well, actually, they were pretty good reasons for us to be excited!
Yee Haa….*
Seriously, whilst we are indeed super pumped to be leaving for Mt Everest this Thursday, we did have a supertastic day shooting their wedding. Rain 0. Wedding 1. Preparations and the main event were all at Virginia Palms and then it was a quick trip in what I imagine David Hassellhoff would have been driving in the 70’s (no, not KITT) to Boondal for a bridal shoot…
Love Steve.
*(brownie points for who can find this hidden reference in the photos).
We had a great time working with Clare and James, we started off at The Hilton for some photos of the boys getting ready. We then headed over to their house which is in the process of being renovated… James is a builder - Robinson Projects - and has been working on the house. Might sound a little dangerous for photos but they had completely finished their bedroom - which looked absolutely perfect. So we did some photos of Clare and her girls getting ready - was all very calm and relaxed in the house which was great to see. The ceremony was held at Brisbane Boys College where we also did a few family photos before heading over to Victoria Park where we just managed to beat the rain for some nice shots and then it was time to relax at their reception which was held in the Quartz Room at Victoria Park.
A big thanks also to Sheree Burke - who was my trusty second shooter for the day.
We had an absolute blast shooting Justin and Sheree’s wedding - they sure do know how to have fun! We started off the day at The Docks on Goodwin for some getting ready shots of Sheree and her lovely bridesmaids and then headed over to Victoria Park Golf Club for the rest of our day. The ceremony was beautifully lead by Neal and after a lot of bubble action as they walked down the aisle as husband and wife we made our way around Victoria Park for some bridal party photos. Lastly their reception was also held at Victoria Park in the Alabaster Room.
Michaela and Tom are lovely, lovely people and you could really see how much they loved (wow, that’s a lot of love) each other and how excited they were to be getting married! Made our job really easy! We spent the day at a great venue at Montville called The Spotted Chook, the whole place is french and, well, chook themed. Something a little bit different, but so warm and homely. Michaela and Tom both got ready here where we grabbed some shots, had a beautiful ceremony in the gazebo and then drinks around the gazebo. We stole them away for a little while to grab some photos around the grounds before heading back to the party for some more candid shots of their guests. All in all it was a great day!
For all those Masterchef fans out there - check out their cake… it was a croquembouche! Looked amazing!
Melissa and Gareth were an absolute pleasure to shoot. We started off the day at their home for some photos of Melissa getting ready and then headed a few doors down for some photos of Gareth getting ready. Soon enough it was time for the ceremony which was held at St Williams Church at Grovely. Melissa seemed as famous as a rock star with all her little kindy kids gathering around her after the wedding to give presents and cuddles (very cute). We then quickly headed off to Mt Coot-tha before the sun set for some shots and then over to The Lure Lounge for their cocktail reception.
We always enjoy the chance to get out of Brisbane and what better place could we go to than beautiful Maleny. Sarah and Steven had a picturesque location for their wedding with the glass house mountains in view. After a few minor hiccups the ceremony was underway. It’s lovely to see a couple who are so excited to be getting married and even though things didn’t go exactly to plan they both maintained such a happy attitude. After the ceremony at On Mountain View we went to a few spots around Maleny for photos. Then it was back to On Mountain View for the reception. I had so much trouble narrowing down the best images, so many to choose from! There are a few more than usual but I just couldn’t leave any of them out…!
Fresh from our honeymoon, Steve and I had a great day photographing Megan and Chris’ Wedding. We started off at Megan’s parent’s house in Kedron for some pre-wedding photos (I now have a better understanding of just how nervous you get as a bride before the ceremony!) and then spent the rest of the day along the river at Hamilton. They had a beautiful ceremony in the gazebo at Brett’s Wharf and then we went for a wander along the river towards Portside for their photos. Was a small paparazzi with one of their groomsmen shooting away on his trusty iPhone! We then headed back to Brett’s Wharf where they’re reception was held.
September has been a huge month for us with lots of weddings to shoot and our own! So the blog has fallen a little bit behind… apologies for this!
On the lucky date - 09/09/09 - Kristy and Shane had a small wedding at the Conrad Hotel (no excuses for forgetting any wedding anniversaries with that date!) After the ceremony we headed to Kangaroo Point for some photos at the bottom of the cliffs. It was perfect timing with the sun going down just as we were finishing up. Kristy and Shane are a lovely couple and we had a great time shooting their special day. Kristy is also a hairdresser with her own salon, you can check it out at Stunna Hair
Anyone that turns up to a wedding in a Wrangler is A OK with me!
Alison was calm and ready to go when we arrived to do some pre - photos of the girls at Alison’s parent’s house at North Lakes and then headed up to picturesque Mt Mee. Alex & Alison had their ceremony, reception and photos at the Oceanview Estates Winery - which is a beautiful venue. We had a great time shooting up there and will never forget how good the restaurant smelt with all those coffee beans!!! (Check out the table centre pieces)
Palma Rosa is a stunning old house in Hamilton - an absolute fantastic place to have a wedding. I imagine that if I were some kind of statesman, its probably where I would live (or at least pretend to live). Its the kind of place where you would not feel out of place wearing top hot, cane and a monicle (which also suits me well, as that is often how I get around town).
Bonnie was gorgeous in her green wedding dress (Yes, green! Yes, it really was beautiful!!) and with her Australiana bouqet.
Unfortunately, Palma Rosa is no longer available for weddings (this was the last one). So, these here photos are historic as the building itself!
Tis the season for small and intimate weddings!! TIm and Ruth had just a small handful of guests at the beautiful Peppers HIdden Vale resort at Grandchester (out Ipswich way).
The resort has an amazing infinity pool, which looks out over the valley. It definitely provided the backdrop for our favourite photo of the day!
PS: Ruth & Tim are the most ridiculously nicest people you will ever, ever meet.
Amy and Stuart had a small intimate wedding with close family at The Venice Cafe and Bar (along the Brisbane river looking over the Story Bridge). It was lovely to share in such a special day with just a small handful of guests.
They had quite possibly one of the cutest flower girls ever (mental note: check to see if we can hire her for our wedding next month!). It’s great working with kids who love having their photo taken.
If anyone is looking for ideas on where to hold a small reception, definitely check out The Venice Cafe and Bar.
