A Renewed Passion

A couple of weeks ago I photographed a wedding. "So what" I'm sure some will say, but this wedding was very important to not only the bride & groom but also to me as a turning point in my photography.

I'm no stranger to wedding photography. In years gone by I have photographed well over a hundred of them - all on film. Mainly due to the limited free time I have had over the last five years after becoming an owner of a retail business, the Hub Photo Shop, my professional photography has taken a bit of a back seat. In that time, other than being a guest at a few, the last wedding I photographed was for some friends of mine a couple of years ago, and my first on digital - and I loved it. I was pretty happy with the results, as where they, and that little feeling, that little itch, started to come back - the one where you just want to keep on making pictures; officially you're doing a job but underneath that official veneer you are just loving making great images & having fun.

Well, that feeling was back again with a vengeance two weeks ago, and I am so glad I said yes to shooting this wedding. I have turned down many over the last five years - initially due to just not having the time, but then through lack of confidence & not wanting to do a bad job - having been out of the game for a while and all. I know Rhonda through the Hub Vet Clinic where I took both my Shepherds when I had them - she had asked me a couple of times throughout the year if I would photograph her wedding, and I had declined her on each occasion, but she wouldn't give up & something told me that I should say yes to her. Thank you Rhonda, and Torey, for letting me share your special day, and for reigniting my photographic passion in regards to weddings.

They couldn't have asked for a better day, especially considering the crazy weather we have been having recently. Everything was outdoors, within the grounds of Old Government House in the Belair National Park - a beautiful place surrounded by natural bushland and an almost endless supply of photographic opportunities. I had an awesome day, as did the happy couple, and I am really pleased with the images - winners all round.

Over the last five years, despite my lack of actual professional work, I think I have done the most reading, watching, researching & learning I have done ever - I think the inability to go out and shoot for real was replaced to a degree with an almost unsatisfiable thirst for new knowledge. So in a way this wedding was also a means for me to put a lot of that newly acquired 'text book knowledge' to practice in the real world. The contrast between the last 'payed' wedding I shot years ago and this one was huge in regards to the techniques & equipment I used - nothing amazingly startling, and common practice for many - but highly enjoyable and satisfying for me.

Thank you again Rhonda & Torey.

Some of my favourites from the day...

Indi

This posting is not an easy one to write.

A few days ago I read a blog post of Joe McNally's that really hit a spot in my emotional psyche. Joe is one of the photographers / people I look up to and have followed for a while - and who writes as well as he photographs. About 4 months ago I lost Indi my German Shepherd due to an extremely aggressive case of meningitis. She went from being normal, happy & full of life, to being placed in an induced coma within 24 hours. She was only three and a half years old. Outside of my wife, she was my best friend - she seemed to understand me on a much deeper level than most people did. I could always count on her to provide me with inspiration when working on something at home or away, whether that be photography or paperwork...  whatever. She would often watch over me in a sense, sleeping on the couch in the study where I am often working late at night. I still expect to see her now when I look over my shoulder...

 
I still don't understand why this happened the way it did. There were no warning signs. She was young, fit & healthy. She was one of the nicest natured animals you are ever likely to have met, in fact she often gave people a completely different view of German Shepherds after they met her. Life just sucks sometimes.

Looking to the positive side, I am very privileged to have known her for those three and a half years (had her since eight weeks old). She taught me a lot - without the need for one single spoken word. She is still teaching me. I thankfully have hundreds, maybe thousands even, of pictures of her. I have one hundred times that in precious memories, which have now become priceless. At my shop, she has become the face of 'Hub Photo Shop' to many as I have more framed pictures of her up than anything else. I have never sold one picture of her, and don't intend to, they are there purely to make the frames look good (and to keep me company if I am being honest). Since she has been gone, it has been hard answering questions about her pictures in the shop to people that don't know the story but in a strange way it has been good therapy too. I'm sure there would be many more questions if I were to suddenly remove all those pictures. Not many people know that she, and my previous Shepherd Elle, are the reason behind the 'running dog' graphic in my logo - they are a part of me, and I wanted to make that a permanent part of my photography in some way.

1st birthday

I have written this as part of a healing process I guess.

It hasn't been easy, and has brought back tears that I thought I was past. It has also made me recall plenty of happy moments too, which I am eternally grateful for. She will always be alive in my heart & my mind, as will the wisdom she left for me, and the inspiration she provided me.

Thank you my friend, and may you rest in peace. One day we will walk together again I am sure.

young Indi & me

a favourite spot

Food for thought

The other day I got asked a favour by the owner of the cafe in the shopping centre where I operate my photographic store. He just wanted some basic shots of some new dishes they were going to put on the menu, so they could put them on display in their window to entice customers in. No problem. I have never really photographed food, and don't consider myself a food photographer, but hey - I don't generally pass up a challenge or an opportunity to make some nice images. I thought I would have a little warning and some time to prepare the shooting environment etc. Instead, a couple days later, with me on my own in the shop (my business partner on holidays), a freshly made breakfast dish arrives in store with a request to "do your best please". Okey dokey. I sent the waitress back to the cafe to bring back one of their tables along with some salt & pepper shakers and other items you would typically find on a cafe table.


There were three separate dishes to photograph. I arranged them as close as I could to receive the light from our main light we use for passport & ID images (small flash firing into a silver umbrella), and then hand held a difussed SB-900 I had in my bag (luckily) off to the side to add some light fill. Bearing in mind this is all set up in an area about 1metre x 2 metres as there is nowhere else to set up, there are customers coming in whilst this is taking place (retail store), and this food looks & smells really good and I'm starving. All were shot within a bout a ten minute window. Everything went surprisingly well considering. Customers who came in whilst this was taking place, and hadn't had lunch, I suspect may have been lured to the cafe upon leaving by the lingering aromas in the shop. As another surprise too, I got to keep and eat the last dish - pancakes with ice cream & berries - yum.

I still wouldn't consider myself a food photographer but I'm happy with the results, especially under the circumstances - as is the cafe owner. I'm now slotted in to do some more work for him - with a bit more lead time next time around.

the prints on display in cafe window

DIY Time

I'd forgotten how much I love the DIY side of photography, and these days it can be too easy to avoid going down that path when we are surrounded by technology & computers doing everything for you at the touch of a button, the click of a mouse. I needed to get some new sync cables to connect some wireless receivers to my flashes & I needed to get them sorted for the weekend...  was planning on buying some tomorrow & then gave myself a slap to the back of the head Gibbs style. I've already got all the bits I need in a box of 'not sure what I'll ever want this for but you just never know'. Thirty minutes later with the help of a pair of wire cutters, soldering iron and some heat shrink we're good to go!

I don't think a photographers bag is complete until there are some home made bits and pieces in it, held together with gaffers tape or whatever else was on hand at the time.