byron bay

leaving sydney across harbour bridge

we noticed this chap on the way back from the showers in the tree next to our tent...

road patterns

my sister coaxing a possum with food

i love trees

our home for three days at byron bay arts factory

sand artist at byron bay

it's been so long since i've posted because i've had friends and family visiting and have therefore been off acting the tourist.  yesterday we came back from an awesome road trip up to byron bay and it did rain and we were camping but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless and finally the sun made an appearance on the sunday.  happy leap year day.

secret thursdays: how to remove under eye shadows in photoshop

Ok so this weeks tutorial is how to remove the under eye shadow/bags in photoshop.  It's a very quick tutorial you can spend a little longer on your photos than I did, sorry about the sound of my computer taking off again ;)

I've had some of my work published this month and a small interview about me in NeverLazy magazine, if you're interested check it out here, it's on page 106.

sleepless summer

  

Model: Courtney Palmer

Styled by: Courtney Palmer

Make up: Heather Davern @ Illamasqua

The best way out is always through: Robert Frost

secret thursdays: how to add a vignette/lens fall effect in photoshop

 before and after

Model: Courtney Palmer

Stylist: Courtney Palmer

Make up: Heather Davern @ Illamasqua

More photos to come when my computer starts working a bit faster...

I'm starting a new feature on my blog called secret thursdays.  Here I'll be putting editing and photographic tutorials up to show you some things I do to my photographs in photoshop as I've had a few questions from people.  This first tutorial is one of the first editing techniques that I learnt and I still do it to most of my photographs.  It's a very subtle vignette effect.  If there's anything you'd like to know about editing please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to do a tutorial on it.  Sorry about the bad sound quality in some parts it was a bit of an experiment.

vagabond part II

Model: Leslie Marks
Designer: Laura Marshall

The truth is that it is natural, as well as necessary, for every man to be a vagabond occasionally:  Samuel H. Hammond

My cousin's wedding

Ocean and Cub
Taken two years ago on the beautiful beaches of South Australia

Only when we change and grow, we'll see a world we never know: from Wisdom of the Orange Woodpecker

a goal without a plan is just a wish

Happy New Years everyone!  I spent mine having a house party with friends followed by a walk down to rosebay in sydney where we sat on the beach and watched the harbour bridge fireworks going off in the distance.  They out did themselves this year, best fireworks I think I've seen :)

So plans for 2012..
I've come to realise how important it is to make goals for yourself, even 'to do' lists are mini goals which help towards the final aim.  Writing down a goal makes it even more powerful and breaking the goals down to smaller monthly chunks or daily tasks is more manageable. So spend a little less time on your shopping list and a little more time on a getting most out of life list.  Start with the big goal and a date when it is to be achieved by and work backwards along the steps to work out how to accomplish it.  My new years resolution is to keep on top of my to do lists that lead to my goals.

Here's a list of 2011's main events and achievements

• we left Australia to backpack around asia-thailand, cambodia, indonesia and complete the top gear challenge of biking from the south of vietnam (saigon) up to the north (hanoi)
• back home for visits and to meet each others family in england and wales
• returning to australia, sydney this time to stay still
• I started studying business to get a student visa to stay longer in Australia
• I did some assisting for an awesome fashion photographer
• I was booked for my first wedding photography job
• I had my work published in an online magazine

For 2012 I want to/will be:

• getting onto a sponsored visa to stay in Australia
• going back to england to be a bridesmaid (so exciting)
• assisting more fashion photographers regularly to learn as much as I can about photography
• have some photos printed in a real life publication 
• reading more again
• taking photographs with film
• learning french
• have many more blog followers!

the vagabond

It's been a long time since I did any fashion stories with a male model.  I was asked to do this shoot for the very talented mens' clothing designer, Laura Marshall from New Zealand.  Our model was cancelled last minute and we were about to postpone the shoot but luckily for us Leslie kindly stepped in.  Shot at Watsons Bay, Sydney.

model: leslie mark
designer: laura marshall

lets be naughty and save santa the trip

model: alexandra bromley
make up: lisa boswell
Merry Christmas to all my blog readers and thank you so much for all the comments and support it keeps me going :)  I'm having a not so traditional orphans christmas this year at bondi, friends coming over for a bbq followed by the beach.  Hope the weather holds out I've been working so much that I haven't had a chance to make the most of it.  This link is a shoot for russh magazine that I assisted on recently, awesome photographer who I've learnt so much from.

So any ideas for new years resolutions?

weddings, weddings

I've been waiting to share these photos with you but I didn't want to spoil the surprise, I've finally finished editing, and now the photographs have all been received so here's a peek at the special wedding day. It was the last week in November that Lana and Ash chose to wed and I was lucky enough to be chosen to photograph their day in Western Sydney.  So off we went, that's James and I, a good friend who chauffeured me around and assisted me.  The forecast was torrential rain but fortunately the weatherman is often wrong so umbrellas were abandoned when thankfully the sky cleared up.  It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful bride and groom who were very in love and and surrounded by amazingly supportive and fun, family and friends.  What an amazing experience to be a part of though we were both exhausted when we returned and no wonder, I'd taken over 1600 photographs!

one person's craziness is another persons reality: tim burton

model: alexandra bromley
hair and make up: lisa boswell

moon flare and birthday cake

I haven't done a diary type post for a while so if you're interested in the life of an english twenty something living in sydney then read on.

The last couple of months have been quite stressful, and crazy busy and as a result have completely flown by.  D (on the right, above) and I have been going backwards and forwards and backwards again trying to get d sponsored so meanwhile I've been studying away to keep us in Australia. I'm still working as a photographers assistant but it's pretty sporadic, and trying to fit it around college is pretty tricky so I've had to pick up more consistent work and am now working part time in the photography department of a retail store.  It's tough.  Going from a job earning loads of money to not having much at all is a hard transition to make but it will be worth it in the end and I'm glad I've experienced high paid work early on as it made me realise how much more important it is to chase something that you love for work.

Last weekend was my birthday and it was beautiful.  A good friend of mine was lucky enough to grow up in the basin, on the northern beaches of sydney.  Our birthdays are a few days apart so to celebrate a group of amazing people spent the weekend camping there.  We spent the day kayaking around the lagoon, climbing the waterfall as high as we could go, feeding the wild wallabies and eating lots of chocolate birthday cake followed by drinks and drinking games around the fire pit. Amazing, and a well needed break.  It made me miss travelling but we vowed to do a trip like this once a month to see more of Australia and generally spend more time enjoying life.  These are some long exposures I took around the fire pit - love the moon flare.

fairytale forest

Some of you may have already seen these photos from my Facebook page but I completely forgot to put them up here so here they are. This is Sabrina from Elite models, a fairy tale themed shoot I did one or two months back in centennial park, sydney.  Make up by Bekka Handley.

Thank you for all the lovely comments you've been leaving me and to those who have already voted for my photo, for those that haven't, I have entered a competition and really need public votes to get through to the finals.  Only the top five highest ranked photographs get through and I'm currently in the top eight.  So please please vote, all you have to do is click here and then click 'like' under the photo next to my name.  I need about 140 more votes in the next 3 days so if everyone who read this over the weekend voted I would make it.   Thank you all in advance!