I don't like mushrooms

I really don't like mushrooms. I am trying to eat them lately because they are good for me and I am trying to be better to myself. So far I've been able to choke them down when they are "hidden" - in a soup with lots of other vegetables, in spaghetti sauce, buried & broken into small pieces in a stir fry. But I always know. And I always do a little shudder.

I think it's predominately the texture that gets me. Nasty. I mean, I think they are kinda cool underneath, but only to look at and maybe run my finger over, definitely not to put in my mouth.

And I like looking at pictures of mushrooms in the wild- wide angle, green forest, early morning fog rising, beams of golden sunlight streaming through the trees. They do grow in some very picturesque areas and I've been known to go looking for them myself for photographic goodness.

But on my fork? Not so much.

Add an album, a frame or a disk!

I just delivered the gorgeous prints from Baby Jacob's newborn shoot to Noni along with the extra prizes she won in my Newborn Session Competition:
Brag Book

10x20 inch composite print (I am totally in love with this print - it ROCKS in real life! Can't wait to see it on their wall.)

Disk of images for printing and web sharing

All of these items - and more - can be added to your photo session with me as part of a package or a la carte. I have a wide variety of Brag Books, albums and frames available and composite prints are available in a variety of sizes. Each composite print is custom created, just for you. Contact me and we'll create the best options to show off your photographs!

Sneak Peek - Sandy & Terry Exmouth wedding

Sandy and Terry met in Exmouth in the early 70's so having their wedding poolside at the Novotel Ningaloo was the perfect choice. They were a joy to be with - their love for each other so clear on their faces all day.

Reason #4398 why I love my husband

This huge freaky spider snacking away on some nasty spider treat was camped out on the window next to my bed last night.

Hubby - who doesn't like spiders AT ALL - courageously scooped Spidey up in a tupperware bowl and took it outside.

Sweet & brave hubby!

Thank You for helping to spread the word

I just wanted to give a big shout out to Karma at Lady Diver Magazine and to Ruth over on Flickr & DOL for helping me spread the word about my Comments for Christmas fund-raising endeavour!

Lady Divers spread Christmas cheer went up on the Lady Diver Magazine blog the other day and over on Flickr Ruth's gorgeous Chopper steals the show as the poster child.

I really appreciate the support, Chicas! Let's get those comments happening!

And as this post needs a photo, here's Tilly all set to spread some joy & happiness with me

Stephanie - Toddler Portraits

My Grandmother always says that I was a ball of fire when I was little.  After hanging out with Stephanie the other day, I know exactly what she means now (and I should apologise to my parents a little bit, maybe!)  Stephanie is cute as a bug, full of energy (my Grandmother might say "beans") and super independent.

I like that in a kid!

Brooke, Stephanie's mom, put her in a gorgeous little outfit complete with matching headband. We spent a lot of time adjusting said headband :)

The lure of her private playground was too much so we headed out under the shadecloth to play on the slide for a while

She'd slide down so fast it was impossible to get more than one frame each time so Brooke would scoop her up and we'd do it again and again and again

Steph thought I was hilarious

A quick trek down to the beach in front of their house seemed like a good idea, but Stephanie was totally captivated by what was IN the water and not so much in what the silly adults were doing


Even the humpback whales swimming just off the shoreline only held her attention for a moment

before she went back to calling all sea creatures to her!

Baby Faith - Newborn Portraits 21 days old

Amy was the second winner of my Newborn Photo Session. competition I love this family - last year we did a multi-generational portrait session for them and had a great time. I met Faith at the same oval for my first outdoor newborn photo shoot. They had only returned from Perth the day before and Faith was a trooper! I know it's been a while since I teased you with some tootsies so I won't keep you waiting any longer!




It's my binkie!



Ahhh, binkie is better!

Faith's dad gave her this awesome giraffe

A cause that you need to know about

I want to thank my friend (who I haven't met in the flesh...yet) Bobby Earle for giving his time and energy to a cause that needs more attention and action - Not For Sale.

He's just posted some images & thoughts from his coverage of the two day Global Forum on Human Trafficking held in Carlsbad, California, and you need to go check them out.

Exmouth wedding - Beck & Craig 3 October 2009

Beck & Craig had a glorious Saturday morning for their wedding ceremony at Sandy Bay in the Cape Range National Park here in Exmouth.  The day was hot, sunny & bright with the perfect breeze coming in to take the edge off. The sky and water made a gorgeous background with their exceptionally vibrant blues, aquas & greens. You couldn't have expected anything less than perfect for this great couple - check out their engagement story (scroll down after clicking the link) and the symbolism of their rings.

This was a super fun event filled with an enoromous amount of laughter including tall jokes during the vows, Beck boogeying down the aisle with her Mum and Brother instead of sedately walking it and more kisses and touching by the not-yet husband & wife than I've ever seen in one ceremony. I admit to tearing up and feeling my heart fill with joy more so than at any other wedding I've had the pleasure of being involved with...and I wasn't alone.

They designed their own rings to incorporate gold nuggets Craig's father had found while prospecting & added the Southern Cross to the backs so they would always remember where they came from.



Beck's mum stood up with her for the ceremony

When asked "Are you ready today to take this woman to be your wife" Craig's answer was "I've been wanting to do this forever!" After Beck placed the ring on his finger he was fast to show it off for all to see - and Beck did the same!



After the ceremony we stayed on the beach for some group shots and then a few quiet minutes with the bride & groom


Beck & Craig were surrounded by good friends and their wedding party had fun all day. The Girls had a little trouble when we were trying to get a shot of them all because the Boys were standing behind me telling them to "Work it! Show me the tiger! Grrr! Show me the tiger!" This is one of my favourites from the day.


Beck & Craig were too busy having more kisses to jump for joy, but their wedding party got some good air for them!

We had to do some serious 4x4ing to get to the top of the Cape Range to get the shots they wanted and it was totally worth the bumps and jolts and getting temporarily stuck.



For those who don't know Craig, he's a big guy - 6'7" or something, I think. So we decided to have a little play around with the standard Groom & Groomsmen Hold Bride shot

The Girls thought they could do just as good a job on their own

Congratulations to Beck & Craig - may your lives always be filled with joy, love and laughter!

Sneak Peek - Baby F

Who can resist baby feet?

More cute baby coming soon!

Comments for Christmas

I'm a big believer in paying it forward and in helping give others a little something to smile about whenever possible.  We're heading into that most festive of times in the lead up to the Holiday Season so I thought I'd recruit you all to help me give more this year.

All you have to do it leave comments here on my blog throughout the upcoming weeks. Link my posts and encourage others to comment, too. The more comments you leave, the more I donate!

I am pledging to donate $1 per comment so get commenting and we can make some very deserving people have a little more happy in their holidays this year. Please note that you must leave your comments here - not on Facebook or via email - for them to qualify in the count!

I'm feeling the spirit, so I'm going to count all comments already made in October plus all new comments on any October posts that are already up.

I'm also going to be giving away little gifties (prints, discounts, free sessions, trinkets, who knows what fun stuff?!) to random posters throughout October, November and December. The more posts you make & the more people you recruit to make comments, the more random winners I will pick (& the more we'll raise to donate!)

And because no post is complete without a photo, here's an octopus

Such a cute puppy!

I walked out of my office while on a phone call earlier this morning and was gone for about 25 seconds.  I try to always close my door if I am not physically in my office, but sometimes I space it off when I know I'm only going to be down the hall pacing on the phone. I never even saw Stealth Dog go in.

It takes a lot to destroy a CF card, but I'm fairly certain it won't recover from Ridgeback lovin'.

Beachy morning all to ourselves!

Finally!  Light wind, early daylight, no hustling to work early.  Dora, MatildaLily and I hit the beach just before the sun rose this morning and it was so great to be out there again.  We were a little later than I'd like to be, but at least we finally had a morning suitable for a big romp. I took my new toy - Canon SD1200 baby camera - out for a spin and it didn't even get knocked into the sand or water. A miracle really.

I tried to get a shot of Dora & Tilly sitting pretty, but they were most uncooperative. What a shocker. And Til gave me about 7 seconds before deciding that was enough cooperation altogether. Once again Cesar would have a cow.

It may appear that Ms D has, ahem, put on a few pounds. I'm thinking the camera isn't lying as when I hoisted her posterior into the car my back screamed in protest. (Why is it that she is perfectly capable of getting all the way in when we GO to the beach, but coming home can only hoik that front half up? Cesar would have a whole HERD of cows with our family.)