Fusion Photography

Angelique & Chris

Congratulations to Angelique & Chris. Getting ready shots at Rydges Capital Hill. Photo Shoot at National Gallery. Reception & sunset at Devine Function Centre.

                        

Natalia & Blake - Extended Family Portraits

                 

Lauren & David

Lauren was one of my ex-bridesmaids, now a bride, and I was really looking forward to shooting her wedding. I had an idea this couple were going to be a lot of fun and they certainly were - and up for anything! They had a lovely ceremony by the lake just behind the Yacht Club. Luckily the rain held off just long enough to finish, though we did have to run inside to do the family photos. Some of my favourite photos are of Lauren & David running around in the rain amongst the empty chairs from the ceremony. Thanks so much guys for being so brave and getting so wet! 

After that we headed off to Parliament House (where I've been shooting a lot lately due to all the rainy Saturdays). By the time we finished drying off inside the rain had cleared again leaving a dramatic cloudy sky to play with as a great backdrop to romping around on the Parliament House lawns. The reception was back at the Yacht Club which brought back some memories for me as it was where I was married nearly 21 years ago! I couldn't help taking one last photo as I left of the sunset over the ceremony site. 

I should also mention that Lauren is a very clever girl. Virtually everything at the wedding was hand made by her. For instance, the bird cage with the peacock which you can see (which was used for gifts instead of a wishing well) was her creation. Her mum is a bit of an artist as well. She painted the murals in her house that you can see in the getting ready images - no they were not taken at some villa by the sea!

                                              

Hotel Realm Wedding Fair

Last weekend Hotel Realm held their inaugural wedding fair. As befitting a 5-star hotel it was a very posh event! Unlike many larger wedding fairs they made the decision to keep the standard very high by only inviting the best of the best in wedding suppliers - the cream of the industry both here in Canberra and also from Sydney. I was honoured to be amongst the 4 photography studios invited to participate. The fashion parade was gorgeous and featured gowns supplied by Annabel's Bridal Studio - www.annabelsbridal.com.au/. Here are some images from the parade plus an image of the Hotel's fabulous chapel. If you ever need a great indoor venue but don't want to get married in a church this is a great alternative.

         

Nicola & Ian

Nicola & Ian were a lovely couple who had a very small &  simple ceremony at St. Christopher's, which Nicola's brother who is a priest conducted for them. They are both very musical. Nicola sings and Ian plays the viola professionally. They came all the way from New Zealand to get married here and unfortunately they didn't have room in their luggage for Ian's viola - I would have loved to get some shots with him serenading Nicola while she sang to him. In leu of that we did do some musical numbers at the Hyatt piano as they both play that as well. It was yet another miserable rainy day (I can't remember anymore when the last sunny Saturday was!) so we did most of the photo shoot inside at Parliament House.

     

These two images have no special effects - it was done in camera by shooting their reflections in the black marble wall opposite the chairs.

 

                

Suzi & Domenic

Well it was another miserable, cold, windy day in Canberra for Suzi and Domenic's wedding. After a beautiful ceremony at St.Christopher's we went into civic, danced around in the rain with umbrellas for a while, then went for some warm drinks! We took some final photos at the Hotel Realm before heading off to the reception at The National Convention Centre. Domenic, your Elvis impersonation was very brave - well done!

                           
These last two shots were taken through the first floor window inside the Realm looking down on their cars parked outside. In the second shot they are outside with the car, but in the first on they are actually inside and the image is of their reflection.

Tara & Paul - Wagga Wagga

Well this was one of the hardest wedding shoots I've ever done due to the foulest of weather. After a beautiful sunny day in Bowral (see Laura & Jason below) we travelled to Wagga Wagga to shoot the fabulous Tara & Paul. Unfortunately the rain came through at exactly the same time as the dust storms and it was literally raining mud! It was pelting down as you can see in some of the photos, it was a miserable 5 degrees or so, the poor bridesmaids had nothing warm to wear and were covered in goosebumps. 

There were not really any good publicly available indoor venues to use in Wagga so we had to make do with the eves of the buildings in the main street. Every inch of ground was covered with a thick layer of dust/mud and Tara's poor dress got filthy. Even my battle hardened dear wife who came on the trip to assist me decided to hide away in our hotel room. Thankfully Tara & Paul were such good sports and endured the conditions, and then just towards the end of the afternoon the sun came out briefly to reward their stoic bravery. I'm so thrilled with the results we got despite the circumstances.....

                                                 

More from Floriade Workshops

Well the Floriade workshops that I run with Geoff Comfort are over again for this year and they were a great success. Most of the classes were at capacity and we even had a few repeat students from last year come back again. It was also interesting to see how far people had come to do the workshops. We had students from Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Sydney and even one from the US! Here are a few more of the images I managed to snap off while working with the students, except for the last image which is from one of the students. We were helping her experiment with using her zoom in combination with a slow shutter speed for some wild effects and I particularly loved the one I've posted here.

                   

Laura & Jason - Hopewood Estate

Recently we were privileged to shoot the wedding of Laura & Jason at the gorgeous grounds of Hopewood Country House in Bowral. With 11 acres of formal gardens and a French & Country theme I was spoilt for choice with photo locations. I highly recommend this venue if you're looking to get married in the Southern Highlands. Laura & Jason only had their ceremony and photo shoot there but the owner Suzie was opening up a superb function centre for wedding receptions as well. I had a sneak peek and I think it's going to be a fantastic venue. Check them out at www.hopewoodcountryhouse.com.au. Here's my favourite images from the day:

                                                  

Ballooning

This year for our 20th Anniversary my dear & gorgeous wife bought me a balloon ride which we took yesterday morning. I was quite nervous about going as I'm scared of heights. However it was lots of fun and taking photos helped keep my mind off the fear! Actually it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined - the ride was very peaceful and the landing very smooth. We had some great views of the Governor Generals house, the new arboretum, the Royal Golf Course, Scrivener dam, Parliament House and the rose gardens all of which feature below. It really is an interesting perspective on Canberra and I highly recommend ballooning to anyone now.... even if you're scared of heights!