Merriest Christmas 2010!

I hope you all have an absolutely fabulous Christmas this year! May your festive season be filled with happiness, joy, love and peace.

My little furry elves love this time of year because they know they get to pose extra special just to bring you some holiday cheer!

Left to Right top row: Boof (you should see how excited he was about the tinsel), Lobo (mellow kitteh), Harry (yes, he is sticking his tongue out!)
Left to Right bottom row: MatildaLily (super jolly beach goggie), Dora (refined & resigned to her fate)

Merry Merry Christmas &
Happy Holidays!

NEWS: Last chance for prints in 2010!

Just a quick head's up for all of my wonderful clients who are thinking of ordering prints soon - I must have your orders by the end of this Sunday (19 December) if you want to receive them before the end of the year!

Yes, that is tomorrow so don't put it off :)

If you miss tomorrow's deadline, it will be the second week in January before prints will be delivered due to the shut downs at the labs over the holiday season.

Let me know if you need any assistance or have any questions.

Happy Holidays!!

Exmouth Beach Family Portrait Session - sneak peek

A moment between mum & bub from a recent family portrait session down on Town Beach in Exmouth.

Exmouth beach wedding - sneak peek

Alana & Matt had a gorgeous day for their beach wedding earlier this month. After the ceremony the bride & groom wanted to do some photos on a B-I-G sand dune...the wedding party were troopers trekking up the mile high pile of blistering hot white sand but I think they all had more fun running back down!

Exmouth Beach Family Portrait Session - sneak peek

I had an excellent time with the Wilson Family for their second portrait session (their first was way before my blog was going!) the other day.

B & Z had a great time burning off some energy running up and down the sand dunes!

Thanks to you all

I want to thank all of you who took the time to offer condolences to me and to my family, especially those who have reached out to my Dad. It's meant a lot to know there are so many of you thinking of us.

I also want to double thank those of you who have gone out of your way to check in with me after the initial condolences - grief is ongoing and your continuing show of friendship and support has been invaluable.

And thanks to my fabulous clients for being patient as my processing and communication timelines have been pushed back over the past few weeks. I am back in the swing now and expect to clear my backlog of all those things you are waiting on by the end of next weekend. Thank you guys, too, for your hugs, emails, messages and phone calls - makes me love you even more!

My Grandmother brought such joy to me, I am truly lucky to have her as such a big part of my life.

My Grandmother

My Grandmother died yesterday.

I'm at a loss on what to say as a tribute as everything I try to put down seems awkward and incomplete and totally inadequate. The feelings are still too raw and too close to the surface for me to start sharing all the wonderful times we had, all the strength she gave to me and all the love I have in my heart for her. I'm holding those things close for now.

I loved her beyond measure and she was enormous part of my life. I will miss her terribly. Her passing leaves an huge hole in my life, my heart, my soul. She was such an incredible lady to me.

Her love and support and belief in me were some of the most powerful forces guiding me as I stumble along life's path.

She thought I was better than I am, stronger than I could ever be and kinder & more generous than I ever showed.

I aspire to make her proud and to be even half the person she saw.

I love you, Grandma.

Exmouth Bundegi Beach Wedding - sneak peek

Torri & Blake had a gorgeous October afternoon & evening for their beach wedding on the jetty at Bundegi Beach! Their backdrop was almost as gorgeous as they are.

My perfect lunch break

Sometimes you just have to get out of the office and enjoy an hour floating in the sea with a good friend.

Exmouth Novotel Ningaloo beach wedding - sneak peek

I came back from my holiday just in time for Gus & Carly's beautiful late afternoon wedding on the beach on Sunrise Beach in front of the Novotel Ningaloo. Even though it's named "Sunrise Beach", it's pretty nice as the sun sets, too!

Gus was my most emotional groom ever and it wasn't too hard to see how happy they are together!

Ningaloo Reef Exmouth dive - shark!

Popped out with some good friends for a dive on the Ningaloo Reef since today is glorious here in Exmouth. I made a new friend and wanted you to meet her...introducing Fluffy.

Say "Hi", Fluffy



More underwater shots coming soon...

California family portraits - sneak peek

At the end of September I made my way to the Bay Area for an excellent family portrait shoot at Muir Beach, north of San Francisco. We had a thick cloud layer hugging the coast that didn't burn off completely and I've decided that I kinda love shooting in those conditions - not very common in Exmouth, Western Australia, so I hope I get to do more photography sessions next time I'm back in the US!

Love this northern California backdrop for portraits!

Worldwide Moment Photo - Exmouth, Western Australia

Today was the Worldwide Moment Photo Project so at 10:10 on 10 October 2010 GMT people all over the world took a second to grab whatever camera they had handy and snap a photo of what they were doing and seeing right at that very point in time. I did this last year, too, and it's very cool to wander through the galleries to see what others were seeing at one specific moment.

For those of us here in Western Australia 10:10 GMT was 6:10pm local time and the dogs and I were having an evening stroll on the beach along Exmouth Gulf. Dora and I had stopped for a little rest at just the right time; I wanted Tilly in the shot, too, but she was off doing doggie things of her own and wouldn't get in the frame for even a second!



The 2010 Worldwide Moment Gallery is already up and running - they will be updating for days yet, so make sure to keep popping back! My shot is now up on page four :)

Ningaloo Reef Exmouth dive today!

I zipped out for two awesome dives around in Lighthouse Bay here on the Ningaloo Reef this morning. It was one of those perfect days: flat seas with clear, warm water and plenty of gorgeous sun. And underwater was phenomenal - I even had a huge humpback whale swim RIGHT UNDER ME!

I've been flat out this afternoon working hard on projects for my photo clients, so haven't had time to go through my images from the dives, but couldn't end the day without a little sneak peek - this is my second to last frame. A very cute way to end the day!

Trio rescued off Exmouth's coast

Received a call from the West Australian early this morning about a trio of men who had been rescued after their boat hit an unidentified object late last night. Some are speculating it was a whale, but that hasn't been confirmed according to those I chatted to. The West wanted me to head to the marina to shoot some images for their news story - I agreed and scooted around the office getting camera gear ready.

Totally forgetting that my car battery was dead and I had no way to get there!

But Dave came round to help me and I ended up jumping in one of our dive shop buses for the morning. Whew!

Here's the West Australian's online story so far and don't forget to grab a paper tomorrow for more!


Update: here's the photo gallery of nine of my images over at the West Australian's site.

Exmouth Novotel Ningaloo wedding - sneak peek

Lisa & Rob got married just before I jetted off the US so their sneak peek has been a while coming! They got married poolside at the Novotel Ningaloo and then the wedding party headed to the beach for some fun as the sun set. This was one fun, wacky and fabulous group - the boys were super silly (I think they secretly wished they could have had their very own bouquets)!!

Here I am!

Who would have thunk that it would be over two whole months between blog posts from me? This is not what I intended - I had grand designs of being a good blogger, with many beautiful photographs, tons of interesting tidbits, a few special offers and a myriad of other posts that would keep you coming back for more and telling your friends to visit, too. Clearly, that ship sailed away on a little journey of its own!

My ship has been wandering the high seas during a few busy months of shooting weddings, family portraits, real estate, commercial & advertising projects, classic cars & drag races as well as quite a few changes in my personal life and a fabulous vacation to the U.S. to catch up with friends & family. I'm exhausted - I need another holiday, I think!

Just kidding! Actually, I feel great. Totally refreshed, buoyant and bursting to get on with the good stuff. I am ready to tackle the rest of 2010 and to start hitting the To Do List that grew exponentially while I was away during September.

So, don't be a stranger, coz that promise I made way back on the 1st of August? I'm ready to keep that, too!

This is me doing the tourist thing at Marin Headlands (north of San Francisco; thanks to Mumster for taking such a great shot!) on a stunning September day as my mom and I drove back after I finished doing a fabulous family portrait session at Muir Beach (photos from that shoot are coming later - they are a surprise giftie so the client has asked that I not share them until after the giving of said giftie!)

Where did July go?

Hello and welcome to August! I'm not sure how all of July disappeared with no posts from me, but the time just flew past. It was a very busy month with family sessions, a last minute wedding and lots of time helping my 2011 brides with their wedding planning! I'm sure August will be just as busy but I'm making a promise to make sure I am a better blogger so please keep checking in.

No post is complete without a photo so here's a roo from my beach walk to get this month started right. Enjoy!

Beautiful Novotel Ningaloo Exmouth wedding

I apologise for my delay in getting Kylie & Julian's lovely wedding at the Novotel Ningaloo up for you - it's been a long time since their sneak peek!

Their day started a little overcast but as the time drew closer we had the perfect temperature and nice soft light for their ceremony overlooking Exmouth Gulf. Both the bride and the groom got ready at the Novotel and there were plenty of family & friends surrounding them the whole day.


Kylie's dad finishing off his speech out on the patio

Testing out the specially decorated golf cart


Kylie peeking out to check to see if everyone else was ready

Her dad doing his part helping with the dress





A bride has to travel in style







After the ceremony we drove out to Bundegi Jetty for a few shots with the wedding party

and then on to Vlaming Head Lighthouse where we hoped for a great sky as the sun went down. It started off merely pretty


then got more intense


and then went to AMAZING

And amazing is nothing short of what these two deserved - I loved being with them all day. Both of them are just the sweetest, nicest people ever - the good vibes just radiated!

Congratulations and I wish you the very best of everything!

Bubbles on the beach in Exmouth

I have some friends up from Perth and we headed to the beach for some fun in the sun on the weekend. Their daughter loves bubbles and the breezy conditions helped her spread them far and wide!

Exmouth - rain, sunshine, horses

I popped out to take some photographs the Exmouth Horse & Pony Club's Gymkhana last weekend (remember the sneak peek) and we had it all, weather-wise: dark foreboding clouds, blind you painfully sunshine, dull flat grey skies, brilliant blue skies with bright white floaty clouds, happy fat raindrops, torrential downpours. Luckily the rain held off on day one until all the competitions were done but then it bucketed down all night and part of the next morning. There was doubt about the upcoming jumping events due to the havoc caused by the heavy rain, but the sun came out strong late in the morning and they were able to move the jumping area to more suitable ground.

This was definitely a family event and the kids watched the action intently.

The barrel racing was great fun to watch and there was only one rider who went flying off his mount at barrel three. I loved watching the concentration and joy on each rider's face - these guys were having a great time!





Cowboy

Day two had lots of fun team games followed by jumping events after the lunch break. I never would have thought balancing a tennis ball on a traffic cone from the back of a horse would be so difficult, but it did appear to be a challenge for some! This little girl made it look easy though.

I do so love to watch horses & riders jumping!



This guy patiently waited his turn but kept creeping a little closer and a little closer to us, the spectators! He had a bit of a mischievous grin, but was very well behaved.



And the same rider also rode a gorgeous dark horse


It was an excellent weekend and everyone who was there got involved in one way or another - even the little ones

I liked some of the more rustic bits I found about the place and of course, what would a horse & pony club be without the appropriate loo signs?


If you were there or if you'd just like to see more the whole gallery is up at Kristin Anderson Photography. Images are available for purchase and I am donating 20% of every sale to the Exmouth Horse & Pony Club plus offering a great deal for those who book a new portrait session, so check it out!