Updates from AIPP SA

Want to check out the recent national awards given to SA Photographers. You will find a video of the images here…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmajFF3n8D4

Book Sale – Promotional Offer

We are now offering Ian’s first book Tranquil Waters Australia Free shipping to online purchases. We can also organise for Ian to personally address and sign copies of the book to add that extra special touch at your request.

Tranquil Waters Australia – a high quality photographic art book. Tranquil Waters Australia matches Australia’s natural landscapes with ancient Chinese proverbs and poetry presented in traditional calligraphy. Compiled over five years, Tranquil Waters Australia is the first in a series of high quality photography books that weave the arts of photography and calligraphy. The theme of this series draws on the natural wonders of Australia and the five elements of Chinese culture – water, earth, trees, metal and fire. The rivers, streams, lakes, waterfalls and spectacular seascape of Australia set the scene for the first element in this captivating series of elegantly hardbound editions.

Tranquil Waters Australia provides an experience of the precious and diverse Australian waterways with the reflective thoughts of eastern poetry and philosophy. Whether it’s the sense of serenity, peacefulness and rare beauty found in rippling creeks, quiet bays and calm estuaries, or equally a feeling of safety ashore as the ocean surges in all its force, or rivers plummet wildly over waterfalls, the story of this natural life force is conveyed through an ancient and beautiful textual imagery.

The Australian landscape has pervaded the imagination of artists for centuries. Carlson’s inspired drive to capture a new perspective of the continent aims to present an understanding of the land from one of its many cultures. “As it is to many cultures, Australia’s landscape contours with many waterways, all of them beautiful in their own way,” Carlson says. “This is an element of life that is so often taken for granted, yet it is one of our most precious resources.”

Specifications: Hardcover:  95 pages; Dimensions:  265 x 255 mm; Publisher:  Australian Gallery Publishing; ISBN:  0975737317; RRP: $39.95 

Please click here to securely purchase online Tranquil Waters.

Shooting jewellery – reflective surfaces

I photograph for a jeweller and recently he came to me with the idea of a promise ring, its a simple inexpensive version or an engagement ring to propose with. The idea being that the lady will be able to choose her own style of ring… neat idea for those women who know exactly what they want. The ring would be bought for say $500 and when its time to choose the actual engagement ring the jeweller would take the proposal ring back and discount the real engagement ring by $500.

So in shooting these pieces I had the question raised “What’s best to shoot on white acrylic or clear acrylic?

My response is that you can create a beautiful, yet subtle, reflection of a subject in your product photos by laying the subject on a piece of reflective acrylic or perspex. The reflective effect can be acheived by using clear acrylic or glass. Although this effect can also be created in Photoshop, we find it’s easier and quicker to do it photographically, saving valuable time in the post production.

Acrylic or perspex can become quite static and attract dust and minute particles. Try using glass on top of the acrylic or perspex and for a different look use black acrylic or perspex.

1st year Anniversary

On the 5th of July a year ago Felicity and I celebrated our wedding. 

We made the trip back to Sydney to be with our families for an intimate dinner where we traditionally ate the top of the wedding cake and shared stories of the day. Then we spent a romantic weekend together at Manly overlooking the water and the beautiful St. Patrick’s Estate where our wedding reception took place.

The weather of the wedding day was very similar to this day a year later, the morning started out with a bit of rain and a bit breezy, and as the day went on the sun broke through the clouds. Felicity looked gorgeous and we had a fantastic time celebrating with friends and family. 

The past year has certainly flown by very quickly, but over the past 7 years together Felicity and I have been fortunate enough to build a loving home, we have been blessed with great supporting families and have the company of lots of great friends.

It seems fitting that just after our anniversary an article about our wedding was published in the magazine ‘My Perfect Wedding’ – Sydney…  Thanks Melinda from Wills Quills, who did all of our exquisite wedding stationery and put this article together for us.

Here is the article… and if you wish to see some more photos here is a web link.

Cookbook 1st Shoot

Was fantastic to be back to Sydney to shoot the first part of the Joeys Cookbook. We had such a great time, the stylist was a dream to work with, so creative and such a good eye for colours. The was a team of helpers who were preparing all the food prior to each shot and by the end of the week we were shooting 20 a day. Not to mention we had some fantastic lunches! Such a lovely bunch of people, I am looking forward to the next installment. Here are some shots from the first week.

New Website Launched

I’m thrilled to announce our brand new website is up and running! Felicity has spent countless hours sorting through our most recent landscape, commercial, editorial, wedding and portrait work to showcase our style and the result is fantastic. Take a tour of our website and let us know what you think.

Jessica & Luke :: Post Stephens Wedding

Just recently I had the privelidge to photograph Jess & Luke’s wedding. They are such a lovely couple and so much in Love, they just can’t keep their hands of each other. They are going to Peru for their honeymoon and wanted to see their pictures before they left so Felicity edited the images quickly and was able to put together a proof album in record time.

It is always great to do a destination wedding, most guests flew in from Perth and Sydney, and everyone was in such a great mood, I think it is because the guests and families are in holiday mode.

I was lucky enough to be invited on the bucks day. Luke as a great group of mates and the day was a blast which involved deep sea fishing and Luke who works with the rescue helicopters was chartered from boat to boat via winch and chopper – very cool!

Their wedding was held on the beach, and the reception overlooking Harbour as the sunset, it was magical and had a real party feeling.

Usana & Con :: Sydney Wedding

Our last wedding of 2008 with Usana & Con was a terrific day. It was stylish and elegant, Usana looked gorgeous in her designer gown. The wedding was held at the Mandalay in Lane Cove. 

There was a lot of culture with Usana’s Thai relatives and Con’s Greek family, many strong characters, traditions and lots of dancing.

We were hoping that the rain would hold off for us during the photo session but as soon as we arrived at the location it started to drizzle and some times it got quite heavy but Usana & Con were just amazing and nothing could faze them. Couples often ask what happens with the photos if it rains but it is normally not too much of a problem and we always manage to get some great images.

Rose & Richard :: Melbourne Wedding

We had such a great time photographing Rose and Richard’s wedding. The day went by so quickly because we were having so much fun and these guy’s are so easy to work with. Richard loves the camera and Rose is just gorgeous it is hard to take a bad photo of her. We went down to Melbourne Botanic Gardens for the photo shoot, this location seems to be getting popular with photographers as there was another 5 weddings down there but I could see that the other bridal parties were envious because we were having a lot of fun shooting cool and individual things compared to them lining up with stiff poses. 

Their wedding was very beautiful, plenty of happy tears and a lots of love from family and friends. Richard works for Carlton Breweries and had special labels printed up for Crown Larger the reception.

Rowena & Tyson :: Adelaide Wedding

Who would have thought time can go by so quickly. Congratulations goes to our friends Rowena and Tyson who today celebrate their anniversary. They had such a wonderful day and a very elegant wedding.