Ok, so I’ve been trying to catch up on weddings before we close down for the year, which is why we’ve only been having a couple of images per wedding. A couple of weekends ago, Kim and I went up to Bela Bela (I love saying Bela Bela, try it in a deep Elvis voice) to photograph Bern and Guy at the Shangri-La hotel. A place which evokes a million memories of going on holidays in the 80’s with my parents. My dad would have loved that place, or maybe he would have hated it, but we definitely would have stopped over on the way to somewhere us kids definitely didn’t want to go to.

The burnt out forest where we did our portrait shoot had a very fairy tale quality to it. I loved it, and Bern and Guy insisted that we wait for the sun to hit that crucial golden hour before we finished the shoot. My kind of couple. So we waited just on the side of the forest, the grass was an amazing green color on the other side of the fence, the sun hit it just right and suddenly we were looking at a postcard. Sometimes the moment is just too perfect you know, too saccharine, like the cover of a chocolate box, or a hallmark greeting, you need to find something to add a bit of an edge. Like a bunch of blackjacks or thorns, or a worn out building. Our edge was a bit of rusted barbed wire fence, which for me, lifted the photo out of the kitsch category and into something I’m happy to show on the blog.

Anyway, Bern, Guy, thanks for treating us like old friends, traipsing through a black, burnt out forest, avoiding beetles the size of my fist, and not looking at me like I fell on my head as a child when I insisted that the moment was too perfect. Beautiful wedding, an amazing bunch of friends and family, killer images – pretty much what you’d expect from a couple living in a place called Christchurch.

Just a quick reminder that we will be closing for our annual Dec leave as of Friday

Grand weekend! A road trip, totally rockstar couple and a burnt out forest.

btw Kabluey … big thumbs especially if you’re into flicks about alienation and mascots, I laughed till tears came out my eyes. Stunning images, especially as he crosses the fields and from inside the head. The Happening on the other hand … boring as beans, badly shot, cheesy overdone concept, and all of this from the master of the dark and lovely, M. Night himself. We expected better, and we’ve waited a long time since Lady in the Water.

UPDATE: A couple of people have asked about this effect. It is an on camera flash set to 1/8 power, post production and vignetting in Lightroom 1.4

Its been a while since I’ve put up a blog post. I think the next month or two while we roll on to Christmas are going to be tough ones out here in the studio. Still a couple of weddings left to shoot, quite a few to finish up and well, what can I say its one of the wettest, darkest summers we’ve ever had out here in Johannesburg. So expect sporadic postings from me, occasional images of dark sky weddings, and some late night ruminations. I apologize in advance, its the lack of caffeine.

Yep, I’m still off caffeine, although at around 11pm when my eyes are ready for bed and I still have a couple of hours work left its always touch and go. I was reading a paper recently, yes I do still read, and it turns out that the act of remembering a memory changes that memory, sleep deprivation makes it worse, actually causing us to make up memories. The cheap and easy cure for false memories, a cup of coffee!

But I’m still off caffeine, its hard to explain why, I just feel I need to. Other than that not much to report, I’ve stocked up on series 4 of LOST and Grey’s Anatomy (which V loves and I pretend to hate) and we’re working our way through them while editing.

And just before I end off, I often get asked what advice I have for people starting off in photography and I know a lot of people who read this blog are photographers. Abbas, who shoots beautiful black and white images exploring various religions, was recently asked what advice he had for young photographers. He replied “Get a good pair of walking shoes and…fall in love”. I still can’t find a decent pair in Joburg.

We’re taking a short break from the studio for a week or so. Just to recover and get things ready for the second half of the season. If you’ve sent in album requests, print requests etc before the 31st, our designer is working on them. Our last wedding for the season was a complete blast, I think I’m slightly more deaf in my left ear than I was when I got to Oakfield, but more on that wedding when I get back cause it deserves its own blog post.

A quick image, because I know LJ and Brooke will be back from their honeymoon before I get a chance to put up their blog post.