So we went off to the ruins on the farm—my first official shoot there—to take some photos before she jets off to her new job. The location is simply wonderful with old walls and empty window and door frames. Here are some of the pics.
August 15, 2010
August 11, 2010
I want to take ‘Peep’ photos
Our grandsons, Daniel (2) and Cameron (1), watched Nicole’s shoot on Friday evening while they sat quietly in the corner with a bowl of Smarties. (Bribery is OK if you’re the grandparents.)
On Saturday Daniel said he wanted to take photos with the ‘Peep’ noise. We pretty quickly worked out that he wanted the sound of the studio lights as they reached full charge. So we went into the studio with two grubby kids and last night’s lighting setup to take some quick pictures. I like them. I just sat them in front of the big soft box to get a nice high-key look while I lighted them from camera right with a diffused beauty dish.
These two are of Daniel…
Nicole’s Matric Dance
There comes a time when a young girl becomes a young woman—a crossover time when the fun girl lives in the same body as the sophisticated lady. That’s where lovely Nicole is. She popped over on Friday evening after the hairdresser and before her Matric dance, dressed in a beautiful evening dress and bright red takkies! We had such fun in the studio.
July 11, 2010
Rietvlei again
It really is a little crazy to get up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning when it’s freezing cold to go out and take some pictures. But sometimes crazy pays off with some great pics. And that’s what counts (I hope).
We got there around 15 minutes before the sun peeped over the hills. The lake was shrouded in mist and the birds were all over. Magical! Eugene and I were absolutely spoilt for choices! The biggest problem at that time of day is that the light is continuously changing so there’s a sense of urgency about getting the shot now, often with less concern for exposure or using a tripod. In the end I have 64 photos that I think are keepers. That’s pretty good.
More after the jump…
December 30, 2009
Raising the Bar and Choosing a Photographer
The information overload that has swept over us from the Internet has created a secondary effect—being good at any skill has become an ongoing process of learning, practising and perfecting more than ever before. There are new techniques to be learned all the time, they’re described out there and there’s no excuse for not learning and progressing!
Strobist, my favourite lighting blog, recently published this article on lighting corporate headshots. An hour of fun in the studio later and we’d managed this shot of Greg. It’s not quite there but I like!
But what does this have to do with a wedding photographer and his clients?
December 18, 2009
text editor
There aren’t many editing environments where there really aren’t any distractions. While I’m editing a document I play a continuous game of checking the spelling, checking grammar, fiddling with heading styles. The list goes on and on. I don’t know how many times I’ve ended up in Microsoft’s utterly useless online ‘help’ searching for something I don’t really need right now. Or ever probably.
Well, now there’s this fantastic little editor. (but wait, there is more…)
December 16, 2009
Tarryn and Marco
Tarryn and Marco tied the knot at Zebra Country Lodge on Saturday—and what a day it was! The wedding day was full of laughs, love and some serious partying. The venue is idyllic even if the chapel is a bit of a photographic nightmare—it’s pitch dark in there! The photos we got out on the game drive are fantastic!
December 10, 2009
Hayley and Riaan get married
A while ago we photographed Hayley and Riaan’s engagement shoot out at the farm. Time has flown by—2009 is dead and gone, it seems—and now they’re married! The wedding was at Shelanti in Centurion, just outside Pretoria, in their wonderful little gothic-style chapel. First, though we were at Hayley’s parents’ house for the preparations.
Having a new camera, a Canon 7D, that has high ISO and therefore very good low light ability opened new opportunities. We ended up with some awesome photos that would previously have been impossible.
The first set of bride’s formals were taken in the lounge at a window at between ISO 1000 and ISO3200. This one’s at 1000 and the next at 1600. Neither of these was possible on my old Canon 400D!
October 29, 2009
Finding the Light
Canon 7D, 200mm, ISO 3200
Generally I am a strong supporter of the philosophy that better equipment doesn’t make you a better photographer. But there are times when good kit makes all the difference…
When Canon announced the new 7D camera recently, I immediately decided that it was time for an upgrade from my (very) old and trusty Canon 400Ds that I have been shooting with for ages. (but wait, there is more…)
September 27, 2009
Tarryn and Marco engagement shoot
As a matter of principle we always scout wedding venues before weddings so that we have a feel for the place and photo opportunities that are available there. I believe it’s an absolute requirement if you want to be professional not to arrive at a venue ‘cold’ but forwarned and hopefully forearmed about the venue’s challenges and opportunities. Tarryn and Marco are to be married in December at Zebra Lodge, about 40km Northeast of Montana in Pretoria, so we grabbed the chance to do their e-session there on Saturday. That way we could kill both birds with one trip into the bush.
Zebra Lodge is one of those typical bushveld game lodges that abound in that part of the world. The countryside is hilly with dense thorn bush and dusty gravel roads. (That’s ‘dirt roads’ for some of the English-speaking world.) We arrived there at around 11 in the harshest possible sunlight so we did most of our photography under the massive, shady bluegum trees. (Thank you, Australia, for exporting those thirsty, beautiful monsters to every corner of the planet!)
