It seems to be baby season at the moment, I’m seeing so many bumps getting around town and it’s hard to believe we were in the same boat 12 months ago. Another session type we are shooting in the Natural Light Studio is pregnancy/couple shoots.

It’s a great opportunity to have a great time, get some pampering and get some fantastic images of this really special time. If you wanted to bring along the man in your life it can also be a great experience for him too. This is a great way for him to show his excitement and love (rather than just putting together all the flat pack baby furniture… I’m not that great at doing that).

There are a few different styles we can do in these sessions, unlike the perception out there; it’s not all about getting your gear off. You can if you want to but the majority of sessions we do with expectant mums are fully clothed.

We still are offering the outdoor run around and play sessions for pregnancy, the studio is just a new style. We can even do both on the same day if you like. There will be more from Scott and Daisy soon with the second part of this shoot being shot out in the city.

Thanks to Scott and Daisy for helping us test out the studio and good luck on your soon to arrive bundle of cuteness. And to Designer Bride for the great job on hair and make up.

Remember out $110 special for the Natural Light Studio? Well it’s still on for sessions until the end of October. Email me now and we can fill you in on all the details.

Some personal projects are more personal than others. Watching Vikashni progress through the 38 weeks that she was pregnant was really special. We decided to take photos each week and that each photos was to be different, no taking the easy option and just repeating. It was a challenge to come up with different ideas and locations while also showing more of what we were experiancing and doing at the time.

Some locations were extra special, the second image was at the Ross Bridge where I surprised Vikashni with an engagement ring 4 years before. Image 3 with her beloved little Mouse cat and 4 with the ever present liquorish craving. Week 30 was pretty obvious and also was taken because I was 30 when Saffron was going to born.

Vikashni was also blessed with a really awesome pregnancy body so it made sense to take a few more revealing shots, she really loved her pregnancy body.

The last shot was taken in our back yard as the new leaves were forming at the same time for Saffron was getting ready to arrive, a couple of weeks early.

Capturing all the variety and stages is our visial diary of 9 months of memories that Saffron will be able to match up with the written diary that Vikashni kept along the way. I’m sure it is going to be somthing she will cherish as much as we do.

Last weekend I did a few shoots including

A nice couple shoot

A great pregnancy shoot.

And a truffle hunt.

Thanks to Designer Bride Hair and Make Up, Pete and Em, Daisy and Scott, plus Marcus, Kate and the crew Stillwater.

After an epic 3 days last week the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) held the Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPA) in Sydney. I was both an entrant and a judge. Entering takes ages, thinking about what to enter, re thinking about it, then over thinking it and trying to clear my thought to focus on what will be an award image. Even though i’m a judge it is still very hard to get up 4 great images to enter. Knowing all the effort that goes into entering, it can be hard to give a not so nice score to a print when it comes up to be judged. I know what it is like to just miss the mark, it happened to my twice with 2 of my prints comming within 1 and 2 points of getting an award. It proves to the people out there that judges are human and know what it is like to just miss out. I can see what the issues are with those images now, over thinking about it blinded me when I was finalising them. So next year, less thinking, more gutt instinct!

Congratulations to every one that picked up some awards. It was a pleasure to be able to talk up some prints into the gold catergory, a place reserved for really stand out work. When a link to all the award images is avaliable i’ll post it up.

In saying that, i did pick up a Silver in the wedding catergory (above), Silver in the portrait catergory (this image contains artistic nudity, if you are old enough please click here to view, you will need to enter the password “ok” to view) as well as a silver and silver distinction in the wedding album catergory. I really like getting awards for wedding albums, it isn’t just one stand out image from one wedding being judged. It’s the whole story being judged, in my case over 100 images in each of the albums. So i’m pretty happy about that.

So now I have to start thinking about next year now, but not too hard.

I met up with Clare and Jason a few weeks ago in the dying days of autum to take advantage of some leaves and a little bit of end of season light. Their dog came along and behaved really well… well, as long as we wanted her to run about all over the place, destroy sticks and generally be a dog doing dog things she was fantastic.The peanut in Clare’s belly was also most co-operative. Good luck guys on your soon to be arrived little one, look forward to meeting him/her!

Each year the APPA’s come around, and each year photographers hold their breath and wait for the judges to give their prints a score. I had to hold my breath right till the last minute as all my prints were in the last category to be judged. The brand new family category. I had no idea what to enter, the aim of this category is all about a portrait photographers regular day to day work. No spectacular multiple image photoshop compositions, just straight shots of more domestic commissioned portraits.

The results, 2 Silver with Distinctions for these images. The one of the Bird boys above did nothing at the Tasmanian Awards a month but it’s another one of those shots that I believed in and was really happy that it got up. Sometime you just have to believe in the print, even when it’s been stomped on by a previous judging panel! The one below of Olivia did pick up an award in Tasmania too, so it’s now multi award winning, but i like it because it was just something different that i wanted to try and the first pregnancy shot i’ve picked up an award for.

With the APPA’s gone, it is pretty much the end of award season for another year. That means it’s time to get started on next years prints! Well done to all my photo friends (too many to mention) who seem to all have had a great award season too.

When I ran my little competition a few weeks ago, Katie was one of the unlucky winners, coming in second. 2nd place isn’t first looser around here so we all drove off to do one of my favourite pregnancy sessions yet (I think i say that every time, but they are all really fun!). These guys are beach people and there was no option about where we would shoot this one. Andy and Katie came and picked me up and we headed off to explore beaches until we found a perfect one for the portrait. After a couple of not quite right beaches, we found a perfect stretch of uninhabited coastline where we could play.

Katie and Andy were so playful with each other, it was really cute to see them bounce off each other, and you can tell they are going to be fun parents. And little unborn Fin has no option, he is going to surf and even if he doesn’t he will be spending a lot of time at the beach!

The light was fading, so all the fun was over… well… it was supposed to be. Sometimes I see a shot that is a little brave. it is winter here so the idea of getting a little wet isn’t that appealing. I asked them “Do you reckon you could sit in the water? Just for a second? Promise it will be worth it!” So the answer was “Yeah… I guess so… Sure!” So i got the guys into position and I got myself into position (Laying down in the wet sand and water, and it was cold) and for 30 seconds we took the final shot and it really was worth it.
Thanks again yaou guys for being awesome, I really can’t wait to meet little Fin in a few weeks.

You may remember when Lucy was just a bump, but now she is a real life little girl. We had a shoot with her when she was 2 weeks old. The first couple of weeks are the best time for newborn shoots, genenrally lots more sleeping going on and you can get some really fantastic shots. I’m not sure what the dogs thought, but the kept looking in the window to see what we were up to.

 Congratulations again Lucy! You have found yourself some very cool parents who I can tell are going to be fantastic to you!

Getting to know people is one of the best things about this job, so driving up to the beach with Katie and Andy was a joy.
This shoot is right up there with the best pregnancy portrait sessions we have done. I can’t wait to post the rest!

Another high flying preview over at the Photobat Facebook Group

I can’t remember what gave me the idea to shoot a little abstract, possibly one of those miss-fires of the camera where you look down and think ‘”that’s pretty cool”. So here is the result of mucking around with an accident. We have put together this fantastic layout which is going to turn into an interesting piece of art for Olivia and Daniel’s home. I can’t wait to get the print back and give it to them!

 Check out the other shots from this shoot here

These guys are fun, and are about to become parents. I first met these guys at Brad and elisha’s wedding, and Brad got ready at their house. that is where I noticed some of the photography equipment hanging about and realised these guys are a bit into photography. Flash forwards and the pregnancy is nearly finished so we got together and took some shots.

Yes, we were playing around a little with the studio lights, especially the octobox. The stretchy fabric was really cool backlit.

The last spot we shot at was in the backyard, there was a fantastic red wall and nice light.

Thanks again Olivia and Paul for being awesome and planyin, I can’t wait to meet your little one very soon.

PS, This isn’t the end of the photos from this session. There is one more that will get it’s very own post as it is so different and cool that it really deserves to stand out!

More to come…

I’m really looking forward to catching up with Chris and Clare again. I’ve known Clare since grade 7 and only met Chris when we met up for this session. Not only are they getting married next year in Queensland and taking us along for the ride, but they are also going to have a baby later this year.

 These guys were a heap of fun to shoot and I’m really looking forward to meeting the little one and also the wedding. Thanks again for being a fun shoot!

It has been over a year since I first met Anthony and Amanda, at that time Amanda was quite pregnant and gave me a hand in updating my pregnancy folio. I have to say, both Anthony and Amanda are very special people, so friendly and I found myself staying a bit longer than normal for a chat at the end of the session. So now Ella is about and I have been back three times to photograph her so that we could put together an album showing her first 12 months. She is very very cute in both looks and in what she does, she is lucky to have such top parents who are completely in love and in awe of her!

 So below is the podcast that follows the Castray’s progress, from Pregnancy to just after Ella’s first birthday. It has been a preverlidge to spend time with this awesome family and I’m looking to catching up with them again soon, if only for a cup of tea!

Cam and Rosemary are getting a couple of big life events out of the way in a short amount of time. They are expecting their baby any day now and have planned the naming day to coincide with their wedding. So thats going to be a big day and i’m really looking forward to it!So first up it was the pregnancy / engagement shoot. We decided on the seaport area as it is where Cam proposed. So we went on a little walk, which apparently is quite a big walk when you are expecting.

Cam re enacting a famous scene from Alien

And the final shot that says it all, pregnant and engaged! I can’t wait to meet the little one and I know it won’t be long till I do. Thanks again for the really fun shoot and see you again soon.

A few months ago we went off and shot Nicolette’s pregnancy session at her place, we got a few quite different shots.

And then a couple of weeks ago it was time to go and meet little Ava, who did alot of cute and not so cute baby things.

She’s a little bit angellic.

She kept playing with the white sheet we had set up for a background, and alot of the time made it so it was covering her face.! Makes me think she’s not going to like having her photo taken!

The cute looks and little baby noises and turned into some not so happy baby noises and the signaled the end of the session, but an over the shoulder shot calmed her down for that last shot.

Way back in April Rob and Susan were expecting an arrival. So I went out to take some photos. I had heard stories about Rob’s childhood feline companion Arnie, so had to get him in a few shots.

After doing a pregnancy shoot for Susan and Rob we waited for little Max to show up so we could do a newborn shoot… we waited… he waited… we waited… he waited… and finally he decided to show his face well after he was supposed to. Max arrived the day before my wedding so we had to wait until he was a little older to do shoot. I’m sure you will agree it was worth the wait. He was a great little guy to photograph, pity about the dad (just kidding Rob!!)

The shoot ended with a very loud example of Max’s lungs. But by the time we got there we had the all the shots. I even got another one of Arnie!

Thanks again for letting us come and share some time you and your little boy! Also, help feed max by buying ,lots and lots of jewelry from Jim Hughes and Sons, Rob and Susan’s business. It’s where we got our rings from and ever one loves them!

Late last year I had the opportunity to head down to Howden to shoots some photos of Denise, Harko, the baby bump and the horse. I had never had such a large prop for a photo (the horse… not the bump!). It was quite nice to be in a field in such a beautiful part of Tasmania I hadn’t been to before. Plus I had never shot a pregnancy shoot with a horse before, he was very well behaved too.

It was interesting having a chat with Harko too, he’s a scientist working on saving the Tasmanian Devils from their facial tumor disease. It was fascinating to hear what what happening and sad to hear about the creature’s bleak looking future.

Skip forward and we welcomed little Niham to the family! Such a nice little baby and very well behaved. We didn’t even notice her when we arrived, she was a sleep on the couch.

I always love a good hand shot and can never get enough of baby expressions!

When I showed the photos to Denise and Harko, Harko was about to go back into the field and be part of a group setting up social networking for devils… Yes that’s right, the Tasmanian Devil population has their own myspace!

I caught up with the griffins last year when Melita and Paul were brewing a little sister for Vaughan. It was supposed to be a pregnancy shoot but that turned into an after thought as we got lots of photos of Vaughan playing and showing all his personality.

 He was a little shy at first but by the end of the shoot was showing me all his toys.

Flash forward to and little Ava is now around and full of wonderfully cute baby expressions and being loved by his mum, dad and brother.

Such a cute family, it was heaps of fun photographing them.

I took a few photos in 2007, in fact, I took a few thousand.I always have loved showing off my work and am very proud of the way my images have developed in the last 12 months. So it’s time to show you all my favourite shots in an audio visual presentation. This is only on for one afternoon only, and not an exhibition that is hanging on the walls, so this is your only chance to see it.

Some of the highlights will include documentary work on the East Coast bushfires and backstage at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, Holga images, urban and natural landscapes plus heaps of kids,families, pregnant bellies, animals and shoes.

In addition there will be a presentation of some of my favourite portraits of the week taken over the last 5 years. The POW started as a way of practicing and pushing myself by taking a different portrait each week. Some of these portraits are commissioned; others are self commissioned and feature comedians, musicians, brides, animals, fictional characters, photographers and everyday people I have bumped into.

The presentations will take about 30 minutes.

2pm February 10th 2007
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Inveresk, Launceston

Entry is Free and there will be prizes!

Please RSVP here as we have limited seating available andmay have to reschedule more viewings.

PLUS FESTIVALE IS ON, SO YOU HOBART PEOPLE SHOULD COME UP FOR A DRIVE!!!

when I did my mail out asking for pregnant people I was really happy when Nichole got in touch. I shot Nicholle and Brett’s wedding a couple of years back and had a really fantastic time.

So now it was baby bump time and we had some fantastic skies and light to play with.

They are also in the middle of renovating, so lots of things on the go.

Thomas has arrived and I took photos of him the other day. I’ll post the thank you card photos once they have gone out, they are going to be very funny!

Karina was one of the first people to contact me when I did my call out for soon to be mums. You may remember this shot I took at the Show earlier this year.
To give you a little update Jeremy is now an Alderman and Karina is just about to pop, so very exciting and busy times.

I don’t know if Karina really was getting herself into, the bedroom shots were a great start but then it was out to the street with only a sheet. I believe we managed to scare a few neighbours.

And how could we not take some with the new Alderman, Jeremy arrived part way through the session and we all walked up into the start of the Gorge for some appropriate shots in the bush.

And as usual, here are the furry family members as it is at the moment with Molly and Oscar the dogs and Denzel the black cat with attitude.

Emma is one of my previous wedding clients and it was fantastic that her and Greg were expecting an addition to the family. So I made the trip down to Snug to shoot her a few weeks before the baby was due. I knew Emma loved horses and came on the idea of shoting in a hay shed. The above photo was the result. Greg was great in rigging up a tarp to add extra shade and other general photography assisting things!

A few weeks later Otto arrived and this is his first big shoot! He is so expressive, i loved so many photos from the session. I’m really looking forward to visiting again in 6 months when we are booked in for some more photos.

And how could i not take some photos of Zali, the dog who seems to always in trouble for running away!

I overheard Georgie talking about baby names in the York Town French Bakery and decided to ask if she was up for having some photos taken, and as you can she she was.

We did the shoot at Georgie’s place where her and her dad were in the middle of repainint her room, and of course it happened to be the best spot to do the shots. We were helped along by Cosmo the dog who insisted in getting in some shots.

And how can I not take a shot of Miska the cat, who appeared as I was walking out the door. Stay tuned because in the next 6 weeks i’ll be off to do another shoot with Georgie’s little baby girl.

Busy! I’ve had quite a few shoots over the last 10 days, starting with 3 shoots in Hobart

on the one day Sunday week ago! Plus there have been a few from last week and I shot another 3 on the weekend. I’ve been shooting babies, pregnant bellies, kids, rocks, families, a miniature dachshund, some individual portraits and a primary school!

The primary school has taken up a bit of time, the idea is to document the kids for a banner that is going to be places in the school yard and some photos to be hung in a permanent exhibition around the school. Basically, I’ve been walking around the school, popping into classrooms, hanging around the playground at recess and then some more class rooms. Ans no I’m not a stalker! It’s been great to work with the students and staff. It’s the first time I’ve been in a primary school in a long time, and I’ve enjoyed watching all the kids interactions, it all brings back memories of when I was at primary school.

I’m also really looking forward to next week, the AIPP are holding their Southern Exposure conference at Cradle Mountain, about 100 people are heading there, which istehe most people ever! The presentations should be inspiration and educational, but as usual, you tend to learn the most over dinner and a drink talking with the other attendees. I’m also hoping to get out and do some shooting around the mountain, nothing tooextreeme!

Stay tuned, a lot of posts coming up with heaps of shots. I reckon I can almost fill up a new gallery with the new shots!

But for now… some teaser shots!

Angela has worked with my dad for years, so when I put the call out for expecting mothers, my mum gave her a call and we arranged to take some photos.

Like most of my Pregnancy session,s it took place at their home starting off with some more family shots. James had just woken up from a sleep and was a bit suspicious of the strange man with the camera! But eventually warmed up and started kissing his mummy’s belly!

We took some great shots with the full length mirror and then went into the nursury and took some shots there. It was painted for James, and look amazing with the blues, yellows and little critters painted on the walls!

And one last one of James!

I’ve started shooting some pregnancy shots the last month. This is a couple from my first shoot with Fiona, taken at home in the nursery. It’s been fun getting to know the mum’s and I’ve learnt heaps about pregnancy!

I have a few more shoots coming up in the next month, i’ll post some more shots soon!
Any comments??? Suggestion???