My dad has a thing for MG cars. He’s restoring this one.
Love those little paws.
What’s on the other side of the fence?
Another nature image today. I love this photograph. :)
I love nature! Here is a tiny little bit of it for you. Beautiful.
I love days like this. :)
Noosa. Some years ago.
An old medium format film scan of Dexter cat. Lookin’ rather cute, actually.
It was Luke’s birthday last week and the lucky birthday boy got a quadcopter as a present.
After carefully watching the instructional videos online, we trekked across the road to the park to take it out on its maiden flight.
When we weren’t dodging swooping, territorial birds or awkwardly avoiding people walking through the park, flying the quadcopter was pretty super fun. :)
Woohoo! Make sure you take time out to sit in the sunshine and do something you love. :)
It was a pretty bizarre feeling, finally having to plan my own wedding. I had been photographing weddings for so long, and seen so many different kinds of weddings, and to be honest, I hadn’t really ever thought about my own! I know some girls dream about their wedding day for years, know exactly what they want, and can’t wait for the 1 day in their life when they can feel like a beautiful princess – but that was not me.
Serious.
I never pictured myself in a white dress (I’m practically as white as you can possibly get already, have you SEEN ME? Scottish/Welsh ancestry pretty much took care of that. So really, putting me in white dress would basically mean I would DISAPPEAR). I don’t like a lot of attention (despite this fact) and Luke and I are both pretty laid back, non-fancy people. So yeah. Planning a huge event was something that I (like a lot of you future and former brides out there!) didn’t really have any experience in.
In the end, we had a fantastic day! Luke and I kept all the decisions as simple and uncomplicated as possible (which had my mother FREAKING OUT) and the day was total smooth sailing. But what, if anything, I did I learn from my OWN wedding?
I guess this qualifies to go in my ‘advice from former brides’ category that I do on here, but this time I’M the former bride!
SO.
Have the wedding YOU both want.
Your wedding doesn’t have to be a huge, lavish, expensive affair (unless, of course, that’s what you WANT!) Let your wedding reflect who you ARE as a couple. Are you a bit goofy? Do you guys love 90s dance music? Are you into making references to your favourite TV shows that others probably won’t get at all*? Then let your wedding show all of that! You and your guests will enjoy a day full of your combined personality. That’s why they love you, right? There are a lot of old traditions that still buzz around ‘the wedding’, but you don’t have to have any of them if you don’t want. I didn’t wear a veil because I thought it was terribly old-fashioned (plus, I didn’t like it’s traditional connotations). Both of my parents walked me down the aisle because they both raised me equally (if anyone is ‘giving me away’ [insert roll eyes here] then it can be both of them!!). I didn’t wear a garter or toss a bouquet, and Luke and I didn’t have a traditional ‘waltz’ (we danced to Huey Lewis and The News instead. :D). We just wanted to have a really fun party with all our friends and family and that’s exactly what we had!
*I may or may not be describing myself and Luke here.
Do your best to take time out for yourself before the wedding.
You’re going to have A LOT of people around you in the days leading up to, and on the day of, your wedding. Which could result in an almighty headache! (I woke up with one on my wedding day!) I recommend some quiet time, if you can get it. Go for a walk or have a bath. Chill out. It’s not supposed to be stressful, it’s supposed to be fun and joyous. And if you’re not sure that you can be responsible for yourself chilling out, have a family member or a girlfriend be your guardian! “She can’t see you right now, she’s taking a nap!”
Chat with your photographer about the little things.
Of course – there has to be a photography tip in here! This is something that, as a photographer, I really try to concentrate on anyway at every wedding I photograph, but it hit home just that much more when I became a bride! Did you do heaps of DIY for your wedding? What did you do/make? Is that ribbon around your bouquet that colour for a reason? Do you have people playing a part in your wedding who are really special to you? Are there elements of the day that are particularly important to you? Maybe you won’t think of it 'photography-wise' at the time, but if you chat with your photographer about details before the wedding, he or she might be able to take a photograph of something seemingly insignificant to everyone else but really important to you!
Wedding videography is underrated.
DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I FREAKING LOVE OUR WEDDING VIDEO? Ahem. Look into it, because it’s super fun and you’re only doing this once right? RIGHT?
The biggest thing I can say to you is – be yourself. I know it’s a little cheesy, but it’s the heart of the truth. And enjoy the whole process!!
Having now been a bride myself I feel like I’ve got something more to take in to each wedding that I photograph. I’m now seeing weddings through two sets of eyes – bride and photographer! Double the vision! Woah! Or four eyes? Mmm.
My sister has had an au pair from Japan staying with her for the past few months. Her name is Maiko. My sister lived in Japan for a number of years before she was married; she’s studying Japanese at the moment, and I learnt it for many years at school (though, alas, I fear I’ve forgotten most of what I learned!). We both love Japan – we love the people and the culture.
Maiko was out here to improve her English (which, I have to say, was pretty good to begin with!). But the time has come for her to go home; she’s gone off on a fantastic holiday around the country with her mother for a month before they both return to Japan for her sister’s wedding.
Maiko loves mangos! New Years Eve, 2012
Before she left, Maiko gave us a little gift. It’s called shisa, and it is symbol of protection and good fortune in Japan. One creature’s mouth is open (to keep the good spirits in) while the other’s is closed (to keep bad spirits away). Maiko’s father, a potter, made it for us. It has our names carved into the back:
It’s one of my most favourite things in the house right now. There’s nothing like a handmade gift; something that is imbued with love and care. Luke, Dexter and I are now connected to Maiko’s family. Whenever I look at it, I see something very special. :) It’s these kinds of gifts that I love the most.
I hope I get to spend more time with Maiko and her family in the future! Time to plan a trip to Japan, perhaps?
I figured it was about time for me to share my 2013 dreams with you, seeing as 2013 is well and truly underway.
New Years Eve 2012 bonfire
I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions – or should I say, I never been one for being able to tick them all off the list when I write them down at the beginning of the year! Too many times I have written them down in a diary, shiny with hope that by the end of the year I will be able to put a big line through all of them (did I mention that I like writing lists?), and only ever really accomplishing maybe half, if I’m lucky. Which just makes me frowny by the end of the year, really.
So this year I’m not doing that, instead I’m going to tell you some dreams that I have for 2013. And maybe I’ll achieve them in 2013, maybe not. Maybe they will carry on! We’ll see. So here goes!
Dreams for 2013
To grow my photography business.
A no-brainer, right?! I’m totally motivated to grow my business, not just in the number of weddings or portraits that I photograph, but also in the level of service that I provide and the joy that I get out of every job. I want to learn more about my clients, really get in to the details of what makes them a great couple, and then use that to produce gorgeous pictures for them. :)
To photograph more!
Sort of following on from the last one, I just want to photograph more! I spend so much of my time photographing other people that I forget to photograph my own life sometimes! I think that my day-to-day must be so boring as to not warrant any pictures, but I think I will regret that once I get older when I want to look back at my younger years. And now that I’m married (!), I want to document more of our crazy life together!
To go to America.
Luke and I have never been to the US, and we’ve always wanted to go. Finally, this year, we might be able to do it. But it’s dependant on a lot of factors that I can only hope will come together for us! I REALLY want to go to Broadway and see every musical conceivable that’s currently playing. If it doesn’t happen, we will just have to push this dream back a little bit, but that’s okay. An on-going dream, perhaps?
To learn something new.
This could be anything, really. A new skill, a new way of living? A new philosophy? I’m not sure! At the beginning of the year I bought a bunch of books on gardening, so maybe it will be gardening! That is definitely something I would like to learn more about. Attending Matt and Katie’s workshop last month started me on a path of learning for 2013, and I’m already inspired. I love learning; I don’t think we ever stop really, right? At any rate, I don’t want to stop!
What are your dreams for 2013? Maybe it’s something simple, or maybe it’s something huge? Maybe you’re getting married and your dream is the fruition of your wedding! That was certainly my dream last year. Whatever it is, let me know! Join my Team Awesome Dreams 2013!
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