It has been an exciting and busy end to the year, with what felt like an endless flow of photography work!
I feel so lucky and grateful, to have such a wonderful network of friends, that have come to me to capture their special family moments.
As always, for me, the nerves are always there, but it feels great to work with new situations every time and come away with great results that my clients treasure and love.
Peace to the world, and here's to a prosperous 2016!
The land is such a big part of our being; our memories. Places were and are witness of time. In aboriginal mythology or 'Dreamtime', ancient beings became part of the landscape; the places we see around us today. Their hearts are part of this beautiful island we call Australia.
Back in June, I had the opportunity to capture a special landscape, most precious and dear to a friend of mine. The sun set, and it brought out the golden beauty of this land. The trees that were once small, are now adult trees; they bear fruit that will change the landscape once again. The ever happy and sad and complex cycle of life.
It is always a nerve wracking experience, to work on creating something. The feeling of accomplishment at the end, however, makes it all worth it.
This family was wonderful to work with, and even though the day got cooler towards the end, the experience and the photographs are filled with the warm cozy feeling of home, family.
I thank them for choosing me in creating these wonderful memories.
I'm still getting used to my full frame camera! :D. But I'm testing it out every opportunity I get.
Can't believe it is nearly November, and Christmas is just around the corner.
Last week was full on, busy with family, work and inspiration coming in from many directions.
On Saturday we headed to Semaphore Beach; I'm prepping up for a photo shoot at the beach and needed to scout a few locations.
The place was buzzing with families but it was easy to find a park which was great!
Mother Nature put on a spectacular sunset and I captured to beautiful shots. Will definitely print one or two shots :). The last image above was very touching to watch: three people hugged each other as the sun went down, made me wonder about their life stories.
This year is flying! We celebrated book week last month and I had the pleasure of doing another photo shoot. I hope I can do this every year; these kids are a wonderful inspiration :).
Last weekend was Father's day. I made this little stop motion which I'm really proud of :). Will definitely make more!
Wherever I go, I take any opportunity to capture something special.
I have been having a lot of fun playing around with video and stop motion.
I've also been watching a lot of Casey Neistat's work. His Vlog is amazing, inspires me every time.
It is simple, entertaining and real. Attempting to use some of his ideas makes me realise how much effort and work he puts into his videos; this in addition to running a business.
My first business card!
I wanted it simple; as in my view it is just a method for people to contact me. It has my Facebook page URL (https://www.facebook.com/dreamalittleportrait) on the back with my phone number and email address. Currently, Facebook is my online gallery.
I've been very busy doing family portraits and a bit of commercial/ graphic design work.
It is amazing how life turns out. Back in high school I wanted to be a graphic designer. To get into the course I needed a portfolio, but I didn't have one, so I chose my second preference which was Information Management (Information Technology as a study path was in its infancy back then).
They offered photography at my school, but I was scared. I wasn't confident speaking English and I thought it would be an extra study burden I didn't need. My goal was to pass, and excel if I could and go to University. And so I did.
I set out, almost 3 years ago now, to master the craft of photography, and it is getting done. I am going out there, fear and all, and making good stuff.
+Sue Bryce is now presenting 'Portrait Startup' and I continue to learn so much. It is helping me find the value of what I do; what I create for families, businesses, people.
As an introvert/ creative it is sometimes difficult to surpass my own blocks, so I'm constantly getting in my own way.
But time and time again, when I do get out of my way; things happened. Stuff has been made. The 'stuff' may not be perfect, but it is crucial for it to be out there. If nothing else, you feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Below is the result of an idea I started pondering on over a year ago: show 'behind the scenes' and showcase local businesses work through photography and video.
It is always nerve wracking to walk into a new situation, start a new project; but it is all part of the work, the process.
Special thanks to Marden Continental for being part of this idea :).
This week we were able to take some time off and I took advantage of this to execute an idea that has been tickling my brain for the last year or so.
In my attempt to capture as many memories as I can for our family, I've been wanting to document some family rituals or traditions, such as those that happen in the kitchen.
In our new home we have an 'open plan' space, and the kitchen is at the heart of this space. This is also true for past generations, and in our families, our mothers have been at the centre of these spaces.
So this week I documented the ritual of making gnocchi!. I filmed and photographed the making of this wonderful dish.
Our daughter (who gave me this idea) joined in and it was great to see her connecting with her grandmother and doing what she could around the kitchen. The end-result was a beautiful slideshow piece with photos and video, oh, and beautiful home-made gnocchi :).
Here are some of the images of the event.
Head-shot photography is something that's been at the back of my mind; an interest I've wanted to explore. In the last couple of weeks I've been experimenting with some head-shot photography, and I've enjoyed the experience :).
In this digital age we all seem to need a digital 'shop-front'; every time I look for someone to come a do a job at my house, a product or a shop, I google. I also google the business names, etc to see if they have a website, to see examples of their work.
So I think it's becoming important to present a good image of yourself; to along with the body of work we do.
My setup is quite simple: large glass double-doors let the light in, and I use polystyrene sheets that act as v-flats. One side is white, the other beige. I'd like to get black ones in the future as I think they would look great. I am making notes on the things I need to work/ improve on.
Here are some of my favourite shots so far :).
Due to the Sampson Flat fire we had to postpone a trip we had booked to Kangaroo Island. We managed to re-book everything and re-schedule our leave, and off we went!
We had never been to this wonderful place and everyone we spoke to told us it was going to be fantastic. The island didn't disappoint :).
I'm not a food critic, but I must say some of the food we tried was amazing and of the best quality.
The people were friendly and helpful. We went on a couple of tours and they were not at all monotonous and full of great information.
Traveling with a 5 year old meant you had to choose activities that appealed to her and with the required facilities! and we no problems with that and she enjoyed every minute of it :).
These are the places we visited, together with a little slideshow to show off the beauty of this beautiful place in our beautiful State of South Australia!
* Zest & Thyme - make awesome bruschettas!
* Seal Bay - Recommend the Twilight tour if you can afford it. Worth every cent!
* Parndana Wildlife Park - Kids get to feed Kangaroos and Wallabies
* Marron Cafe - Beautiful service and food. Prepare to be tempted by the Marron lobster!
* Kangaroo Island Outdoor Action - try the Quadbikes! :)
* Cliffords Honey Farm - lovely honey you won't find anywhere else in the world!
* Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch - another MUST
* Island Beehive at Kingscote - another MUST if you have a sweet tooth :D
"When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art.
I’m serious. Husband runs off with a politician — make good art. Leg
crushed and then eaten by a mutated boa constrictor — make good art. IRS
on your trail — make good art. Cat exploded — make good art. Someone on
the Internet thinks what you’re doing is stupid or evil or it’s all
been done before — make good art. Probably things will work out somehow,
eventually time will take the sting away, and that doesn’t even matter.
Do what only you can do best: Make good art. Make it on the bad days,
make it on the good days, too." - Neil Gaiman
This quote by Neil Gaiman has resonated with me, time and time again this past week.
A lot of people in Adelaide are now counting their losses due to the terrible bushfire in the Adelaide Hills. We never thought we would be caught up in such a thing as we only ever think of these disasters happening in the hills or out in country areas. But a lot of us live near vegetation and in our case, where the suburb meets the outskirts of the hills, we had visited the area where the fire started just a week ago! And here we were, evacuating our home.
We managed to collect the important documents we could think of, data, cameras and computers. We left in the middle of the night, and it was a surreal experience to watch people leave. It was like peak hour, with some people just trying to get pictures of the glow you could see at the back of the suburb.
Overnight as we waited for news, all sorts of things went through my head. I was checking my tweeter feed for any (bad) news, but that never came. The next day we were able to go back home and everything was intact, with just the smokey air.
I had booked a shoot for the next day, but I managed to reschedule it for the following day (Sunday). We went to a park in town and we made it for early morning. The temperature had dropped and the park was cool and peaceful. I watched the family I was photographing and they reminded me of my own. I felt nothing but gratitude for having passed this hurdle; all we lost was a bit of sleep.
I'm now working on a series of mini photo shoots, with the proceeds going to the bushfire relief effort.
