Naked Cubby / Breakfast with Dinny
Earlier in the year I photographed the launch of Dinny - a new addition to the Naked Cubby Co. family at Mount Majura winery. It was a cosy breakfast amongst the vines, featuring some of Canberra’s awesome local businesses - Three Mills bakery had their incredible pastries and were making damper rolls over a fire pit; Redbrick coffee were pouring their best blends; Mount Majura winery were keeping everyone’s glasses topped up with their sparkling; and Tea Garden ran tea tasting and a tea blending workshop.
Dinny, of course, was the star of the show. A solar powered and self contained ‘tiny home’ with the most luxurious and stylish finishes. I’m keen to have a staycation here when this lockdown situation improves. The toddler is not invited.
NGA Sculpture Garden Marquee Wedding
Like many couples in 2020, Polly and Sander threw away the rule book and got hitched their own way. They had their stylish wedding reception at the National Gallery of Australia Sculpture Garden Marquee with an intimate group of their closest friends and family- and then a week later, they flew to Melbourne and had their registry ‘ceremony’- then left Australia a week after that to start their new lives in China. Never a dull moment with those two!
Senate Rose Gardens / Evie and Rob Small Wedding
At the start of a beautiful Canberra Autumn, Rob and Evie tied the knot at the gorgeous rose gardens at the grounds of Old Parliament House, surrounded by a close knit group of family and friends. They had a beautifully intimate reception at Lamsheds restaurant in Yarralumla (by the way, that place is just incredible, I booked a table for date night the next week before I left!)
Scroll to the bottom of the post for a list of the wonderful vendors from the day.
Whisper // Beauty Editorial
Winter is the time of year for me to recharge my creative batteries, after months of non-stop deadlines over Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
I spent a fun morning playing with Aida (Alchemy Foliage')‘s delicious velvety orchids, fluffy pampas, and a huge array of dried botanicals that I can’t remember the names of and sadly did not have time to capture on camera. You wouldn’t think it- looking at the serenity on Zoe’s face- but it was a 1 hr of crazy frenzied shooting. 3 looks at triple speed. Zoe, Amy, and Kathryn are such rockstars that triple speed was fun!
National Arboretum Elopement / Delaney and Ryan
Delaney and Ryan had their intimate elopement last year, accompanied by a very excited baby James. We had an adventure exploring Nishi / New Acton as well as the National Arboretum, where they had their formal ceremony, presided over by the awesome Annie from Aisle Meets Annie.
Celebrant : Aisle Meets Annie
Ceremony location: Margaret Whitlam Pavilion, at the National Arboretum Canberra
Makeup : Steph Church Makeup
National Portrait Gallery Wedding / Grace & Tim
Tim and Grace had a cracker of a wedding at the end of 2020 surrounded by lots of family and friends (thankfully at that stage restrictions were fairly minimal in Canberra).
One of the highlights for me was rendition of “My Heart Will Go On’ (Titanic) by Tim and his best man on some sort of home made flute; the atmosphere set by the swaying lights held up by the guests (via their phones- candles were too much of a fire hazard I suspect).
Old Parliament House Gardens Wedding
It was a joy to photograph Shehara and Dan’s intimate small wedding at the Old Parliament House Senate Rose Gardens in Canberra. They had to make a few changes due to COVID related restrictions- instead of one large wedding they decided to have a small casual wedding and then a larger wedding reception in 2021 on the same date. Celebrating twice - that actually sounds pretty great.
Their closest friends and family attended, including their adorable doggy special guest Flo (she may have stolen the spotlight a few times during the ceremony with her charisma and good looks but we were all prepared for that).
Flowers // Laurel and Lace
Dress // Bec and Bridge
Makeup // Jessica Peris Makeup
Groom’s suit // Mawson Ossa
Venue // Senate Gardens at Old Parliament House
Acro Alliance Dance School Photoshoot
I’ve been very fortunate to be good friends with the lovely “Miss Andy” for the past few years- shes’ an incredible acro dance teacher who teaches dancers as well as acro dance instructors around the world.
We did a photoshoot to create content for the Acro Alliance website as well as some headshots for her in mid 2020 with a group of her demonstrator students from the Pointe to Pointe studio (where she teaches out of in Canberra). Those amazing little bodies are OUT OF THIS WORLD.
Aya Yves / EP album art photoshoot
Had the best time running amok in an open field with these two insanely talented women AYA YVES and Lou from Moxom & Whitney at the end of last year.
Thrilled to see the images come to life with the release of the new EP 'What We Look Like With The Lights On'!
Je Fleur Florist Shop Launch Photoshoot
I absolutely loved spending some time in the beautiful new space at Je Fleur, photographing the store, some of their gorgeous creations, and headshots for the team.
Je Fleur Florist bring European style floristry to Canberra, they do bespoke bouquets, wedding styling, and cute gifts like candles with plantable seeds inspired by the scents. They’re right next to Intra and Mrs Fray in Campbell - such a great little spot to spend a morning.
To take a peek at a campaign shoot I photographed for their website, go to this blog post.
Canberra on Portra 400
I’ve been trying to make some time for myself after jobs to walk around and have fun on my film camera. After photography became my job I’ve spent less and less time shooting for myself.
Got some film scans back! Here are a few snaps from my travels around the traps. A few abstract exposures in there that were pure accidents (I shot those on a leaky Pentax K1000 with a lever that kept getting stuck) - my favourites. Gotta love the magic of film!
Oat Studios Textile Design / Capital Collection Campaign
had the pleasure of shooting a campaign for Oat Studios for their Capital Collection. The campaign also features ceramics from Gingerfinch, a bench from Skeehan , upholstery from Jute Upholstery, and ball cushion from The Creative Muster
Studio BW -Black and White Lightroom Preset
Studio BW is a black and white desktop preset for Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop ACR. It is designed for portraits taken with studio lighting- great for fashion, product, and creative work. This preset works for both bright (high key) images as well as darker moodier portraits.
There are 2 versions of the Studio BW preset - a standard and a version with increased contrast.
Hope you enjoy this preset!
All images photographed in my home studio and edited by me. Model credits: Vendulka Wichta, Teig Sadhana, Samantha Lear, Ashley Feraude, Craig Rhodes (hair).
Hayley and Tom // Parlour Room Nishi Wedding
Hayley and Tom, like many of the couples during this interesting year, had to rethink their wedding plans after COVID lockdown measures were announced. They went from a big Hunter Valley wedding to a more smaller wedding closer to home. After months of uncertainty, the situation improved in Canberra, and everything just fell into place perfect for their wedding day. They said that they actually preferred the intimacy of a smaller wedding.
Celebrant // Mel Thompson
Ceremony // James Avery Gardens, Nishi
Reception // Parlour Room
Makeup // Steph Church Makeup
Hair // Rachel Kate Hair
Flowers // Moxom and Whitney
Dress // Lola Varma from Mrs Fray
Accessories // Veil by Prea James, Earrings from Brie Leon, all from Mrs Fray
Flowers // Moxom and Whitney
They were surrounded by some of their nearest and dearest, with others that were unable to attend in person watching through Zoom.
Thea modeling portfolio shoot
Thea booked me for a modelling portfolio session at the end of last year.
My modelling portfolio sessions work like this: we start with moodboarding, and brainstorming the concept / direction of the shoot (which guides the styling, makeup, and location). Depending on the level of experience of the model, I direct posing and movement with some tips on how to make it look great in camera.
Thea wanted a modern take on the 70s french cool girl vibe that was stripped back and chic without being overdone. I think the team absolutely nailed it!
Makeup // Amy Capeda
Stylist // Style by Tala