The Waiheke Photographers Collective exhibition is showing at Toi Gallery for one more week so pop on in and check it out!  The show is a mix of professional and amateur photographers so is quite varied and well worth a look…

[Thanks to the lovely Linda Young for taking my photo]

I received this lovely email from one of my brides last week… it made my day so I thought I would share it!

I kept meaning to tell you at the wedding – Just after I booked you a year before the wedding, I was in this gorgeous designer bridal store in Dubai called Frost and the Lebanese owner was asking where I was getting married. Long story cut short – when I said New Zealand she said the most stunning wedding photos she had ever seen had been of a bride she sold a dress too who got married in New Zealand, but she couldn’t remember where or any of the details.

Even though I was telling her I’d already booked my photographer (didn’t mention your name) she keep persisting that I find this “amazing photographer” and so she ran off back to her office to find out the details. Mean while I standing there thinking “There’s hundreds maybe even thousands of wedding photographers in New Zealand… what’s the chance…” A few minutes later she appeared with her laptop and a shot of this bride at Mudbrick by Emma Hughes!
I nearly fell over!

Just thought you’d like to know how amazed people are with your photography – worldwide!
Have a great day!
Pepita

Lovely.

And since a post is not really the same without a photo, here is a studio portrait I shot recently of my dear friend Selina Tusitala Marsh…

Selina is an exceptionally talented poet, whose live performances are just amazing; evocative, emotive and downright moving.  She was wonderful to photograph.  This portrait is part of a group exhibition from the Waiheke Photography Collective which opens at Toi Gallery on Waiheke Island this coming Friday at 6pm… all welcome.

This year’s Small Things Exhibition is on until the 26th April at the Waiheke Island Community Art Gallery. Catch yourself a thing of beauty from the large selection of small works from a variety of local artists including Matthew Muir, Wendy Bennett and Stuart Jobling. All items priced at $150, $200 or $250 – BARGAIN!

We have recently returned from the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography Annual Epson/Iris Awards which was held in Wellington.  It was a great conference again this year with keynote speakers Yervant and Rob Imhoff (both from Australia) and NZ photographers Johannes van Kan, John Crawford, Tony Whincup, Nick Servian, and John Doogan all giving excellent and informative presentations.  There was also a presentation from Weta Workshop guru Karim Sahai about the use of still photography in movies.  A busy and informative conference this year!

This year, I received a total of three Silver Awards (one of my silvers was also given a “distinction award”) and four Bronze Awards for my photographs.  The judging was really hard again this year so I was absolutely delighted with this result.  I was also one of three runners-up for the coveted title of Wedding Photographer of the Year.  (This accolade was won by Tony Carter who is an awesome wedding and portrait photographer from the Taranaki region.) AND in addition, I gained my Masters Status this year

I am now officially a Master of Photography with the NZIPP!

Wedding category winners…

Thank you to my gorgeous brides Mon-Wei, Jodi, Wendy and Leslea!

The People Category winners…

This last shot is our annual family portrait!   It’s one of true pleasures of my job that I get to capture and record other people’s families and special events.  I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of recording your visual history as life ebbs and flows so every year we make sure that we do a photo of ourselves together as a family.  Not a snapshot, but a “real photo”.  This ALWAYS gives me new appreciation of how hard it is to co-ordinate all members of the family to be looking in the same direction at the same time (and this is noticably more difficult when using a self timer!!).

This year I have started working on a project/exhibition idea that I am loosely thinking of as “the things that betray us”, i.e., the outward signs of the things we feel or choose and what they tell others about us (either intentionally or unintentionally).  So, this family portrait ties in with this thinking; we went for a long walk along the beach one afternoon and I asked the kids and Lance to select their favourite shell for our photo.  At another time, on another beach they would have selected a different shell and I love that this image is a combination of random chance and thoughtful consideration and serves as a portrait which tells you a little about the subjects while still leaving a lot to the imagination of the viewer.

OK, less talk, more photos! … 

ABOVE: Emma on Bubbles!  
BELOW: Receiving my Masters at the Gala Dinner…

I am part of a great group of enthusiastic photographers here on Waiheke called the Waiheke Photographers Collective. The members of this group are a mix of professional and amateur photographers and every year as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography we have a group exhibition around a particular theme. This year, the theme was Participation and the wonderful folk at Gulf Accountants added an extra element to the exhibition by putting up some prize money for first, second and third placegetters.  It was  judged by commercial photographer Brian Moorhead and I am very happy to say that I received the Premier Award! 

The photo that won was a panel of Lance and our lovely son Joe discovering things in our garden.  Lance is the full time house hubby in our family and I wanted to capture the special connection that they have.  Joe is almost ready to go to school so all that wonderful time that they spend playing during the week day is becoming even more precious.

Well, as some of you will already know, Weddings On Waiheke is not ONLY about weddings! We shoot all kinds of great assignments, including portraits, pregnancies and some commercial work too (check out www.coastaldesign.co.nz for some awesome outdoor furniture!). The New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers (NZIPP) is the professional body of photographers that I belong to, and we have an exhibition of images up in the Vero Centre in Auckland as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography this year. The subject matter was People, and we could enter in anything we liked on that subject, so I chose an image from a recent series I’m working on about the roles of women. Anyway, thought it might be interesting for you to see something other than beautiful brides!

Thanks to Lauretta and Blair (www.gpd.co.nz) for the piccie. The exhibition runs until the end of June.