Cliff tops, Tunnels and Open Fields

I really do love shooting engagement sessions with couples, And Bri-Ellen and Nathan's shoot was as awesome as could be! After having her makeup beautifully done by Stacey Hipwell, they arrived at my studio so we could have a sort through some of their clothing options and work out what items of clothing would be best for each location.

Our first stop wasn't too far away at all, being the lounge in my studio. After spending a bit of time there we set off for one of my favourite local fields. We were lucky to get the images that we did in there, as the next day it was mown short. After spending some time in the field, we jumped back in my car and made our way towards Newcastle so we could use a variety of locations. Bri and Nathan's shoot took us everywhere, from Merewether, to Redhead and back to Newcastle.

While shooting at Merewether, the moody clouds finally decided to give way to a small downpour. So after running back to the car, we decided to head to the Fernleigh Tunnel so we could get some images without getting drenched. Thankfully the rain held out long enough for us to get a few images on top of Redhead Bluff, but by the time we got down to the beach, we could see the band of rain making its way up the beach. But instead of running for it, we made the most of it and whipped out the umbrella for a few photos dancing in the rain. By now it was starting to get darker, so we headed into Newcastle to get a last few images with Newcastle Beach lit up in the background.

What a great shoot! And thank you to Bri and Nathan who were happy to keep working with my crazy ideas in the rain!

Church Cats, Train Stations and Abandoned Shacks

After resting up from Jessie and Anthony's wedding the day before, I awoke to yet another glorious sunny day. Just perfect for Kristi and Timmy's magical day! I set off for Telarah to photograph the girls preparing at Kristi's parents house, while Merindah headed off to Rutherford to spend the morning with the boys.

The girls were so calm, watching some cartoons, eating party pies and sausage rolls and preparing speeches, while it was a bit more of a mad house at the boy's house as it had been discovered that Tim did not have a tie! But after a few phone calls, a tie was waiting at the church ready to go! The ceremony was held at the beautiful St Peter's Anglican Church at East Maitland. I love this church, not only because its absolutely stunning, but because of the two resident cats that wander in and out as they please! My kind of church!! It nearly bought tears to my eyes as Kristi walked down the aisle and Tim started to get a bit tearing watching his bride walk towards him. After the ceremony and family photos had finished, we took Kristi and Tim back into the church for a few more photos before heading off on location.

First stop was the old Train Station at East Maitland. As it was Steamfest day, I had strategically timed being down at the train station for when a steam train was coming past, but after much waiting, we decided to call it quits on waiting as the steam train was obviously running very late. So we made the most of the awesome location and then set off for Pokolbin. When we got to Pokolbin, Tim and Kristi jumped into my car so we could set off on a little bit of an off road trek to a beautiful field to make the most of the glorious orange light that was beaming through the trees and across the grass. After much skipping around getting excited about the light, we decided we should head back to the bridal party. From there, we set off to a cool little shack Kristi had found while they were setting up the reception venue. It was the coolest little shack, and we had a bit of fun there with some off camera flash. We nearly lost Kristi through the rotting floorboards on the verandah, but luckily, Tim was there to grab her before the wood snapped. After peering through the windows of the shack and discovering many many bottles of wine, we decided we should probably not keep everyone at the reception waiting any longer.

The reception was held at Ironbark Hill Estate, and was beautifully adorned by lovely handmade decorations that Kristi had made herself. After all the formalities had finished, XYDJ got the part started and everyone (including myself and Merindah) hit the dancefloor for a bit of a party!

It was the best day, and my cheeks hurt so much by the time I got home from so much laughing. There was so many hilarious photos from the day I could almost dedicate a whole blog post just to those! Thank you both for having me there to be a part of your day! It was incredibly fun, and thinking of it still brings a huge smile to my face!

Grafitti Walls, Old Forts and Danger Zones

The 11th April was a windy, but beautifully sunny day, just perfect for the special day of Anthony and Jessie! My morning was spent with Jessie and the girls preparing at the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle. The girls all joked and laughed over a bubbly, the young flower girls colouring in and playing with their princess dolls on the floor. Once Jessie was all dressed in her stunning gown, we made our way down to the foyer to wait for the 57 Chevs that would be taking Jessie and the girls to the ceremony.

The ceremony was held at Memories Function Centre in Newcastle and was officiated by one of my favourite celebrants, Phillip Greentree. There ceremony was full of meaningful rituals and nervous giggles. After the ceremony had finished and we had done all the family photos, Kylie and I went outside to check the weather situation. We were fast loosing light and a dark threatening looking cloud was coming over, so the bridal party quickly jumped in the cars and we set off for the location portraits.

Our backdrop for the first location was one of my favourite graffiti walls. After many laughs, and the groomsmen sniffing Jessie's hair (not 100% sure why :-P) and grabbing a random to pose for a photo, we set off for the next location. We stopped in Hunter St for a few photos of Jessie and Anthony in front of my favourite door and then ignored some danger tape to have a few photos on the steps of the old post office and then set off for more photos at the top of Fort Scratchleys. We got the briefest bit of golden light before it disappeared behind the clouds. After that, we made use of the storm cloud hanging over the ocean with the slightest bit of pink peeping through and the streetlights all starting to come alive.

After we finished our location portraits, we made our way to Longworth House for the reception. The reception was a blast, with everyone enjoying the photo booth supplied by The Booth Fairy. Kylie and I also jumped in for a bit of a play. My favourite part of the reception would have to be Jessie and Anthony's awesome Lego cake!!! So cool!!!

Thank you both for having me there to share your day with you! It was so much fun! Can we do it all again??