Who can stop in Melbourne for just day or two………? We were lucky enough to be there to photograph Anna & Harley’s awesome Mornington Peninsula wedding last weekend & managed to plan a stay in St Kilda & copped the tail end of the 2012 Festival.

I love these two shots, the first because it reminds of the special relationship my daughter has with her grandparents & the other because I always said we would not get one of these contraptions…………never say never eh?

]]> http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/gran-the-st-kilda-festival-melbourne-wedding-photographer/feed 0 http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/do-you-do-family-portraits-northern-rivers-portrait-photographer http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/do-you-do-family-portraits-northern-rivers-portrait-photographer#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:04:13 +0000 Blue Tulip http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/?p=3485 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Yes we do…….we just don’t have time to blog them all. They are one of my favourite types of shoots & get better every year as we learn more of want makes people tick & what presses their buttons. Yet this past year I seriously considered not offering family portraiture at all. I was slowly getting worn down by all the unrealistic assumptions & the ignorance of what goes into making someone a professional photographer in the domestic market in the year 2011. I had people think that our sitting fee of $150 should include all the images on disc. Seriously. Some even think it should not only include that but also the copyright to our work !

I have had people leave the studio in a huff because I would not sell them a disc of images for next to nothing, but I have also had people leave in tears, holding a new family heirloom created for then by us. But what clarified things in mind was a shoot we did in September. A family who I barely knew came to me to book a shoot. They had been going to book one for years………but now there was an unspeakable urgency…….a family member was gravely ill. The shoot was done, & amid the tears & the heightened emotions the true raw beauty of this family & their love for one another burned through with a blinding intensity.

I have never walked in their shoes, & honestly don’t know what it feels like to have your life turned upside down like that but it hurt me to see them in pain. But to know what the images meant to them & to see it on their faces…….it was like wake up call for me. I remembered the value of what we do. I remembered the power an image can have when it reveals more than just a two dimensional representation of a person & who they love.

I remembered that it was worth all the other stuff, the time wasters & the knockers. I am glad I still offer family portraiture.

I grew up in Casino & it is always exciting to return & work there………….& in November you are almost guaranteed a few things there. Gorgeous Jacaranda blooms carpet the earth in their stunning violet hues………the afternoon air, still, stifling & cloying in the strange quiet of the cbd………I have wanted to shoot here again for while now. Below is a tree I have driven past many, many times in my life & imagined it in my photographs. And it did look as beautiful as this…………

We have a well kept home, but I have to say I am not comfortable when visiting a home that’s overly neat to the point of feeling like display home/. I feel as though I can’t touch or move anything & worry if I spill something I’ll never be invited back………..perhaps this is why I LOVED Stella & John’s family home. It feels like a family live there, & is almost a living breathing museum of generations of family history. You know that more emphasis is placed on food & eating & talking & just spending time with one another than worrying about small things that ultimately matter little.

This is not to say at all that it is untidy, rather that life here is lived & felt through conversation & shared experience, often over a meal or a scotch & that the sprawling communal areas & rambling, quiet little corners would welcome you back time & time again. The first thing I noticed was the amount of clocks. I lost count after 10 & I think they all had a slightly different time displayed.

At 12.30 it was 39°……ouch ! This is use what I felt like doing too !

The ceremony was swift & measured with many nuanced glances & an obviously powerful connection between them. Dan even asked Father, in his gentle way,  if could kiss his bride.

Greg, up to his usual standard!

It was so lovely to be immersed in the Italian community of our little part of the world & their warmth, love & laughter. Merry Christmas & best of luck in the new year. Emma & Dan have a blast in the States & I look forward to having you over in the studio when you are home next year.

Love & hugs Ben, Jodie & Elsie xoxo

If you have followed us for a while you may have seen this beautiful family when we photographed them at Toonumbar Dam back in June 2009………

Well a few weeks ago Tracey, Garnett, Garnett Jnr & beautiful baby Noah became the Donnelly family at the Ballina Lighthouse in front of much of their family & community. On this day the sky looked as though the clouds were painted onto it & had been gently brushed across the whole expanse. The trees & the grass seemed to whisper a gentle blessing & it was just warm enough to feel on the back of your throat.

I think any wedding is an achievement, while loving someone is an honour & having someone love you is a blessing but the overwhelming impact from this day was one of a celebration of something wonderful & deeply beautiful. There was no doubt that a great accomplishment was made.

They must have lost count of the number of hospital visits & hours of lost sleep they have endured with little Garnet’s illness, wondering where it would all lead. There were tears, certainly, but only tears of pride & of joy. There was more laughter though & more smiling, the type where you find yourself smiling until the corners of your face start to go slightly numb.

While I am at it there was also lots of Lynx, lots of tattoos, lots of frangipani’s, lots of Panama Hats & lots of thongs & diamantes……….there were 11 attendants ! On each side ! I am not sure if she was having a lend of me but I was told by an Aunty that this was a relatively small wedding party……..!!

After all the speeches, heartfelt & beautiful I left still smiling & thinking, believing, knowing that life is there for the taking & that only if you stopped loving & learning would it wear you down……..& there is no substitute for family. xoxo

And another thing about having a child born into your life is the community that surrounds you & your new life. There is more than one birth as the grandparents are new people with a different take on their lives & are reborn in their own way. This has been one of the best & unexpected eventuations in my life. Hats off to the grandparents of the world ……….& to seeing them in a new light. ]]> http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/grandparenthood/feed 0 http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/sheree-dan-lismore-wedding-photographer http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/sheree-dan-lismore-wedding-photographer#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 04:51:19 +0000 Blue Tulip http://bluetulipimaging.com.au/blog/?p=2390 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

So after many years together, two beautiful children Summer & Thomas, (possibly) a bit of nagging from the McClean sisters Dan married his beautiful lover & partner Sheree & a few days after Christmas. The Old Church in Wyrallah fitted the bill & ensured the intimate nature of the day & the rain disappeared for the day turning everything bright

Thank you for having me along……. I really do feel part of the McClean family. Congratulations to you both Dan & Sheree I hope this was a christmas that will live long in your memories  & you are still talking about it back home in Sydney. My life is richer for having been able to share in your family’s joy & celebrations of life. See you all soon xoxo

Congratulations Sarah & Tim, your wedding day was truly the way it was meant to be. It was about the two of you & the union of your families & no amount of wind & rain was going to deter you.

Welcome to the family from Eliza to Charlie………….

See you all soon…….we are going to have to create excuses to get together & photograph you all…….xoxo

Happy New Year!!! A beautiful wedding to start the year & time spent with a beautiful family to precede that…………made getting chased up & down the coast & even inland by torrential rain & scary, scary lightning that made our car shake, well worthwhile.

Oh to eat & enjoy ice cream like a child again………..