WEEK 33 - Fun Foto Firday

What a fun afternoon we had at the Ekka last week from the steak burgers and beer to the strawberry ice cream to the people watching (and whoa..... that alone made for quite and afternoon), we had a fun and colourful day out at this years Royal Brisbane Show.  In the end, we probably missed a lot of things but my shoes were giving my the biggest blisters on heel and toe (step 2, 3, 4....) that we ended our afternoon a little earlier than planned but still put in a good few hours enjoying tasty beverages, the obligatory Dagwood Dog and walking through the games and rides.  I managed to take a few shots, dragging my self away from the people watching - what an interesting bunch Brisbane is...... very interesting!!! hehehe :):)

My favourite is probably the bottom left just because of the awesome colours in the middle and funky patterns.  I've been dying to get a good shot of the ferris wheel for ages but when I went to shoot it, I was devastated to find out that there was little to no colour in the carriages, the wheel itself or the uprights..... just plain boring beige so I was left a little disappointed but I'm still happy with my shot.  Makes me feel like a big kid looking at them and I can instantly hear the 'carnival' music

 all over again :) :) :)

Gorgeous Little ISLA

Introducing Miss Isla, newest addition to the McNeil family and daughter to my good friends Kay and Trent.  I had the pleasure of taking maternity photos of Kay just before she gave birth to this little beauty and we had so much fun and I was so happy with what we got.  We spent the morning getting a few shots of little Isla and again, I was so happy with what we achieved.  She was an absolute gem to photograph and a brilliant model.

This is easily my favourite shot of the day and is probably my favourite newborn shot ever. 

I had an idea in my head but no idea really how to make it work so I just played around till I got something I was happy with.  This was the very first frame of the day too and I couldn't be happier with how it looked.  You wouldn't believe that headband was way too big for her.  I am so thrilled with this shot, I didn't care if I got nothing else.  But thankfully we got lots more and Isla was so good to play along with us.

Normally newborn sleep through the majority of the session but little Isla was too interested in what was happening around her but it was lovely to see those big beautiful eyes open :)

Modelling one of my headbands and loving it!!!

We worked really hard for this shot, Kay and I and it's hard to believe that she wasn't in the best mood by now.  It may have had something to do with her feeling a little exposed and cold but we threw the heater on and she was fine and good to go again.

This was also one of my favourite shots but I'm partial to the green and golds but thought she looked just as gorgeous in it as Kay did for the maternity shoot :)

I looooooved this one too and again one of my own headband creations :)

My adorable Grandma has been knitting away for me too lately creating special little beanies for me to use.  This is one she did but I loved it more in B&W than colour (its mainly beige and the dark stripes are hot pink).

Wide awake now but still as cute as ever.  Isla certainly is one extremely gorgeous little girl but with a gorgeous mother like Kay, I'd expect nothing less xx

 

FUN FOTO FRIDAY - Week 32

As you've seen over the past month or so, I've started making my own headbands to use with my photography sessions (especially the little baby girls) and I've gone nuts and made so so so many, I've decide to try and sell some too so I need to get a few shots to use for marketing.  This week I had the always adorable Eden Rose as my model for a few of my favourite pieces.  I was lucky enough that the weather came good for me that afternoon after an overcast start to the day!!  And Eden was awesome!!!  She let me put on and take off 13 different headbands and we changed her outfit 3 times all with minimal fuss and only a few mini m&ms!!

I have many gorgeous shots of Eden from the afternoon and know I've got a lot of work ahead of me editing but this one stood out as a favourite for me.... 1.... because I especially love this headband and ...2..... Eden looks so very grown up.  It's hard to believe she'll be 3 at the end of the month..... already.  I still remember her as a sweet little bubba with such a beautiful little smile and now she's a funny, talkative toddler and will most likely have at least one toy car in her hand/pocket!!  Her mum Renee always has a camera in her face so she is a total natural and always a pleasure to work with. 

Thanks girls for a fun afternoon and for helping me out to get some great shots of my headbands

xx

WEEK 31 - Fun Foto Friday

Feeling like a big kid this week and armed with matches and a packet of sparklers, I took Mark outside and got him to show me his sparkle magic!!  This was just in the back corner of our backyard the other night and for what ended up being just a quick few snaps (they were really smokey and we live in a unit block so I didn't want any of the neighbours to freak out that the backyard was on fire), I'm really happy.  I have a shoot coming up and thought using sparklers in such a way might make for a bit of fun so I'm really looking forward to having another go.

Have a super sparkly weekend :)

xx

One of my best and favourite shoots to date {Maternity}

I was so happy to be able to do something for my gorgeous friend Kay Ellen, before she had her first baby in May.  We waited until almost the very last minute to get her photos done.  Considering some pregnant ladies I've seen and photographed, I thought Kay was really quite small for 4 days shy of giving birth but still ABSOLUTELY stunning, none the less. 

I spent the afternoon catching up with her and her hubby Trent at their home in Glasshouse Mountains before embarking on a small trip to her sisters house on the other side of the mountain, Mt Tibrogargan, for some outdoor photo fun.  We had the best afternoon and everything I wanted to try, either worked or worked exceptionally well and I was so happy with all the shots and my fabulous models!!

We began shooting at her house, taking some nice shots of her tummy mainly, keeping a nice simple black background so she stood out as much as possible.

These couple with the green scarf are easily my favourite of the indoor shots, simply because she looks so happy and so radiant.  Also, the colour of the scarf against her skin tone is just a perfect combo.  But I also love it in B&W with the tones.... I can be very hard to please sometimes hehehe :)

These are the little Converse shoes I gave to her for bubby at her baby shower.... loved them and I so had to get them for her!!

I always do these tummy shots and I always do them in B&W because I really like to see the skin tones difference between the couple..... no particular reason, I just like to see :)

I've always had a thing about bricks..... (cuckoo).... but I love the way you can get a lot of depth and and texture and can really bring out the rich, deep colours.

Also, any opportunity to use my fish eye at the moment.  Kinda defeats the purpose of maternity because she is so far away so I could get the trees in frame but I still really like the effect and the back drop is awesome!!

Before we arrived at her sisters house, we had one quick stop a few doors down and had a few quick snaps in their driveway but what a driveway....

There were many funky locations I wanted to shoot at her sisters place but we started in the field and it just got better and better from there.  I am in love with this field and think I'll be trying to use it whenever I can, it was so perfect.

Then onto one of my absolute, hands down, pick of the bunch, best photo from the afternoon.  I had this idea to try this shot with some material I'd found.  It wasn't even the material I wanted and I really didn't know how I was going to get it to work but as it happens, it was perfect.  The weather helped tremendously, being nice and windy and just picking up the material and flapping it about just right.  Trent was also on hand to toss it up to get it going at the start and it was just all the effort of pinning it up and throwing it around worked just so well so big thanks to Trent for your efforts and to Kay for your patience.  

And I think we can all agree, Kay Ellen is just too gorgeous..... :P

 

The sun was certainly my friend that day, just being there when I needed him the most.

Again, Kay is just beautiful and I love the all round warmth of these shots.

See what I mean about the amazing location........

*sigh*

This was the funky old shed that I totally loved.  Such fun working with people who can have a laugh bit of fun while I madly snap away before the sun completely disappears.

Such a fun afternoon with such great people.  They have welcomed their first child now, a little girl, Isla and I can't wait to share her gorgeous newborn shots too :)

FUN FOTO FRIDAY - Week 30

I came across this shot when I was going through some past clients and working out of all my many favourite shots, which ones would I get printed on canvas as my examples.  This was a wedding shot back in October of my beautiful friend Sophie and her now husband Clive and it was a great day and we got plenty of great shots.  Surprisingly, this shot didn't make it into the first cut, let alone the final choices for editing.  Sometimes I really surprise myself when I see shots like this and can't work out why it was never chosen.  I think in cases like this wedding, there were just so many good shots, it was hard to see all of them.  I have surprised myself and have chosen an additional 8-10 photos from that day that I will be working on..... missed in the initial cull.

I love the way they are just gazing at one another and sharing so much love in such a quick snap shot of the day :)

xx Have a lovely weekend xx

A day at Dreamworld

Mum and I went to Dreamworld to see the white lions a little while ago.  We were left slightly disappointed with the lions as they didn't do anything, they just slept the whole time we were there and when they did move,they went behind a rock (to continue sleeping).  Luckily for us, the tigers were full of energy and we got to see them put on a show. 

One of the tigers (this first one pictured) was apparently put out by the lions which were on the other side of their enclosure and paced the boundary and constantly roaring.  He was a little bit intimidating to the other tigers and the handlers were in the enclosure to keep the peace!

This poor tiger in the foreground knew better than to mess with Mr Cranky Pants as he paced and roared, paced and roared......

This is one of my favourite from the day, capturing him as he was the whole time we watched....... cranky hehe :)

The white tiger was so beautiful - I just wanted to jump the fence and give him a pat!!

This guy is the son of the white tiger which is why he is so light on the tummy.  He was the closest to us during the show and he was just a gorgeous big pussy cat.  I'm a dog person at heart but I could have kept this guy for sure!!

I was super happy with the shots I got, especially the very last frame I took which is of one of the tigers jumping for a piece of chicken.  He got so high - it was impressive :)

And this is the sleeping lion.  There were two in the enclosure but the other one is behind this one and they were both in the land of nod - sleeping away their day :)

It was a lovely day out shooting the tigers and awesome to see the things they can do. 

Thanks Mum for taking me along xx