It's an honour

You know, even I can recognise that it's a privilege and an honour to be asked to photograph someones wedding.  It's such an important milestone in life.  A while back Craig Grant and Sharon Pointon (now Grant) asked me if I'd be willing to capture their wedding day.  We were all workmates at Horizons and I was really pleased they asked.

The day started with Craig making a special delivery by 'airmail', a red rose with a diamante in it... Craig is such a smooth dude.




The sky was a tad grey first thing, but it turned out to be a warm and sunny day.  Not ideal for photography but we still had fun and got a few nice shots along the way.







Then off to see the boys getting ready with some poses in the paddock next door and then back to get shots of the girls.  We ran out of time for some girls together shots as guests started to arrive - so we got them later on.









One of the trickiest shots was to get Craig and Sharon to hold the handles on the front door of Hiwinui Country Estate without actually seeing each other before the ceremony.  I hadn't really spotted the skylight earlier in the day and with the weather as stunning as it was, the lighting was really harsh.  I had to close curtains, make sure that the big mirror wasn't going to give Craig a sneak preview and the side windows were covered.  They talked to each other but didn't see each other... mission accomplished.

Thirteen in a wedding party is somewhat of a challenge... getting everyone with their eyes open and generally looking in the right direction was quite an achievement I think.  I quite liked this shot taken on the wood pile.  I did a shot with me standing on the pile and almost had a little mishap - fortunately no harm done.






Whilst I'm really tempted to show some of the shots that had me laughing while I was processing the shots... I think I'll leave it to Sharon to publish them.  This final shot is taken from their friend Jo's house, looking over the fence at the house Craig and Sharon are building to live in.  I think this is really symbolic of their new life together.

Earlier this week, I delivered several hundred photos to Craig and Sharon.  They've told me that every night since has been a very late night.  They've been having fun designing their wedding books.  The hours and hours of processing are all worth it when you have friends and clients that love your work.

Thanks guys for trusting me to capture your special day.

The shoe fetish?

My facilitator was extremely kind to me last week and gave me the next few assignments... but only because we're moving.  One of the assignments was 'foot'.  I'm not going to share the details but we could also shoot our own shoes.

Well... as it happens I'm developing a bit of a thing for cool (and slightly outrageous shoes).  Natalie and Megan saw these in town and Nat told Megan not to tell me about them because I'd want them.  Megan couldn't help herself!

When I realised that the shoe shop I discovered in Christchurch between the quakes was now open in Palmy I was stoked.  Kicked myself several times for not buying the shoes I spotted in Christchurch.  Nat calls these my Noddy bowling shoes but they energise me and make me smile.

Maher Shoes  have some cool stuff if you're into that sort of thing!

Doing my own thing

So, it's been a while since I did any blogging.  Even then, the blog was work related and whilst it was fun... when I stopped after a year there wasn't a single question or comment.  Go figure.

This time round, it's my own thing.  Some of you will know that for a few years now I've been trying to figure out how to use my camera.  I think at last I'm getting there.  I'm just starting my second year of study at SIT doing a Diploma in Digital Photography.  Each week we get a photo assignment to do but typically we only get to send one or two in for comment.  I thought I'd share a few via a blog and see how that goes...

So here's this weeks effort.  After dropping Nat off at work at 7:00, I went up the Saddle Road.  The cloud was spilling in from the Tararua side and the wind farm was in the clouds.  The theme for this week was landscape.

I took shots from a whole bunch of angles but found that this general area was best.  Believe it or not I actually got wet!!!  No rain for weeks (and still none in Palmy) so this was a real treat.

The noise of the big turbines was like being on a ship.  Obvious background wooshing.

Up on the lookout car park the turbines would occasionally make a big twanging noise, like steel cables being plucked inside the column.  Made me think twice about where I parked!


 Quite like the monochrome look too... makes it a bit moodier I think.

 Saw these guys working flat out on the way home.  They had a pretty good rhythm going.  I just shot from the main road but as I left gave them a wave... a wave back is a good sign.  It's such a little thing to do but I felt pleased that I'd acknowledged them.  Thanks guys.