Stop and Smell the Roses... Family Xmas Photoshoot.

Solstice Siren Song

Up before dawn on the Sunday before Winter Solstice to meet for a 6.00 AM call, I made this image with my new Olympus XZ-1 while assisting on a photoshoot with my friend Richard Alma. It was a stunning morning, with the eastern winter sun rising over the seaside cliffs at Clovelly in the photographer's Golden Hour of divine light in which these mermaid/sirens could bask.

Kundalini Yoga

Lots of fun was had by all during this warm-hearted photoshoot for two Kundalini Yoga Teachers. The studio is a lovely, bright, open space, with abundant natural light coming from a huge glass-wall on one side and the other white walls and sloping ceiling being perfect for bouncing the two SB900 flashes to give a clean, even light.

Photoshop Post-Production

After reading an article on New Photo Pro Blog today about Photoshop Post-Production, I was inspired to give it a go and deepen my (currently ripple-thin) understanding of Layers. I took some lovely textured art papers, scanned them into jPegs and then spliced them in Photoshop with some of the images we made on the shoot with Melinda. I feel like I learned some useful things. Here's my first three pieces:

Tonya and Jess - Happy Valentines!

Here's a really sweet portrait of Tonya and Jess, from a photoshoot we did at Coogee Beach.

Picture Postcard Family Photoshoot

My friends asked me if I could do a family photoshoot so they could share some pictures with their family and friends. So we went to Bicentennial Park at Homebush where the kids could run around with lots of lovely peaceful landscaping. The day was over-cast, making perfect soft light for portraits. I worked this one in Lightroom to create a 'post-card' effect. Thank you my dear friends, for such a fun day and for making such beautiful and heart-warming photos!

Family Photoshoot

Family Photoshoot - Jenni

Family Photoshoot - Emma

Elsewhere - An ABC Radio Travel Programme

ABC Radio National has a new Travel programme in the making called Elsewhere, presented by writer Beth Yahp to broadcast every Saturday at 4pm. Beth asked me to make her a head-shot suitable for the web-page, so it was a great opportunity to test out my new glamour Ray Flash extension - and I'm impressed!

The Elsewhere programme details can be found here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/elsewhere/about/
The program comprises documentaries, features, interviews, readings, performances and talks drawn from ABC Radio's vast back catalogue, but will also include new work, blogs and essays from travellers near and far.

For those keen on tech specs:
Camera: Nikon D300s
Lens: Sigma 150mm macro at f3.
Flash: Nikon SB900 Speedlight on-camera with Ray Flash extender.

Here's a Ray Flash video link, if you want to see the flash unit in action - the ring light info is about half-way through the video. It is available in Australia from DCW in Canterbury.

Photoshoot for Melinda McDonald

The 2010 Portrait Project got off to a great start. Jeremy was in town for the weekend so we met my friend Melinda at Coogee Beach at 6.30am and the 'paparazzi' got going! Melinda was keen to have some portraits made for her web-page for her work as a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She was a fabulous model, keeping her serene smile glowing for the whole two hours, all the while experimenting with different styles and settings. Here's a handful of the day's best:

Afro Moses Concert Sydney Opera House

The multi-talented Brad Robinson of FIG also moonlights as the guitarist in the Afro-Moses Band. They recently had a series of gigs at the Sydney Opera House, playing back-to-back concerts to large groups of two, three, four and five - year-olds in a kind of African version of The Wiggles. They invited me to make pictures during some of their concerts. I lacked a really fast lens, so some shots are a bit fuzzier than I'd like, but the energy of the performers more than made up for it.

The Afro-Moses band members include:

Afro Moses Baidoo singer/ leader
Sibo Bangoura on percussion/ djembe drum
Wendy Anggerani on keyboards
Aicha Keita dancer Rebecca Bryen dancer/ singer
Victor “Worldwide” on drums
Junichi Shiomi on bass
Bradford Robinson guitar.

Annika Stagg - Cello

Yesterday I took a loooong lunch so I could do a small photo-shoot with my friend Annika Stagg who is due to go back to Germany on the weekend, where she has been playing in symphony orchestras. It was my first chance to give the D300s and the 50mm f1.4 lens a proper run - and I have to say, I love the results! The day was overcast and threatened to rain, but the afternoon light was lovely down at the end of Glebe Point Rd under the two huge fig trees that look out over Blackwattle Bay.