A January Wedding

Last month, I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of two friends of mine: Mark and Kelly. I don't necessarily consider myself to be a wedding photographer, but inevitably I end up doing a few here and there, usually for a friend or acquaintance. I approach weddings in the same way that I approach event photography, focussing on documenting rather than directing, often sneaking around largely unnoticed by guests. 

Mark and Kelly were actually featured in my last blog post, about my portrait series "FoWo Fam," which you can read about here. I've known them for about 3 years, and in that time we've become such good friends that they actually helped me move house in the week leading up to their wedding...

It was a simple, joyous, honest and heartfelt affair at the Children's Farm in Collingwood on a rainy Friday the 13th. Despite the weather, everything was perfect, and I did my best to capture the day in my own special way.

FoWo Fam

There is a little bar in Collingwood called Forgotten Worlds. Well, there WAS.

My friends Graeme and May opened the place in an old pawn shop three years ago after designing and building it from scratch and filling it with arcade machines. My partner Jason and I helped to build the exterior of the log cabin toilets in the courtyard right before I disappeared into central Queensland for 2 months.

It didn't take long for Forgotten Worlds to amass a loyal group of regulars and create a buzzing social hub for gamers, music nerds, artists and bar flies, who affectionately nicknamed the place "FoWo." After deciding that they'd done what they set out to do, May and Graeme sold the business in December. It is a major understatement to say that Forgotten Worlds has been a big part of my life for the past three years, and it was an honour to be able to occupy the walls for their very last art exhibition with a portrait series I'd been working on, entitled "FoWo Fam." 

Forgotten Worlds has also been a big part of the lives of each and every person I included in this series. Apart from Graeme and May, these people were strangers to me three years ago, and now I consider all of them to be my friends. 

To make this portrait series, I insisted on spending time with and photographing my subjects somewhere other than Forgotten Worlds. I knew these people from Forgotten Worlds, I saw these people almost solely at Forgotten Worlds, and I wanted to get to know all of them outside of Forgotten Worlds. Where else do they spend their time? What else do they do in their lives? 

This has all been such an experience. I found myself in places I didn’t expect, with people I knew on such a base level, learning things and growing friendships. I’m grateful to everyone who allowed me to photograph them and invade their lives, but most of all I’m grateful to Graeme and May for being the glue that holds all of us together. This portrait series really is a tribute to you two.

Click the images to enlarge.

May & Graeme

Stingray

Tony

Toby

Jacquie

Kelly & Mark (& Bungle)

Becky (& Huxley)

Olli

Arlo

Laura

Leroy

Sean

James

Brett

Food Porn

Over the past year I've been getting a bit more into food photography, which has been really cool! As someone who owns a camera, of course I've photographed food before, but this year has seen me take it on for a few clients and really get into the styling aspect of it as well.

First up: Trippy Taco. I love working for Trippy Taco. I've done some sign lettering and graphic design for them over the past couple of years (including the recent redesign of their website), and then Simon asked if I could help get some photographs of their food for social media and general promotion. I went for an overall bright, colourful feel to complement the fresh vegetarian fare that Trippy's serves up. We had a fun shoot in Simon's back yard, and I ate far too much chargrilled tofu that afternoon! 

The next photoset I'd like to share was done for my good friend Marion, whom I've written about on my blog before. She runs a catering business and mobile crêperie called Les Crepes de Marion here in Melbourne, making sweet and savoury authentic Breton crêpes and galettes at parties, markets and school fetes. Everything she does is home made, including her salted caramel, chocolate ganache, and fruit jams, so for her shoot we went with more of a rustic feel: weathered wooden tabletop, soft lighting, and subdued colours.

The most recent bit of food photography I've taken on has been a few sessions for Hammer & Tong, a modern cafe in Fitzroy who do a unique blend of Australian and Asian flavours, and really do it well. They've just released a new spring menu, and it boasts things like Breakfast Ramen and Kangaroo Bao. Every dish is so beautifully presented so it was pretty fun to shoot.

I've been really enjoying experimenting with food photography and I really hope to do a bunch more in the next year. I really love portraiture, but it's always good to go outside of your comfort zone. Once I have built up a larger volume of work, I reckon I'll put a section in my portfolio just for food.

Jacquie for The Aquarium

It's been a while since I've done any fashion/editorial style work, and I was craving it this month. I've been shooting a lot of corporate events and keeping busy with my Awkward Portraits side project, neither of which are really all that blog-worthy (I've written about Awkward Portraits a few times in the past). But the other week I was feeling like I needed a change of pace, so I contacted my friend Leah at The Aquarium Vintage & Costume in Northcote to see if she had any items that she needed photographed for her online store. Leah hooks me up with all sorts of awesome clothing for Awkward Portraits, and even hosted us in May for a day of Awkward "Pet-raits," so I felt like giving back.

Leah told me she was looking for something "colourful and fun" so I grabbed a bag of some cute 80s apparel off her and headed home. My friend Jacquie agreed to be my model for the day, so I slapped on my 50mm and we went for a wander. Here are some of the colourful and fun snaps captured that day.

Stefanie

What a busy year it's been! In between video projects for These Vices and Apparition Media, Awkward Portraits sessions, and a whole heap of food photography & web design for Trippy Taco, I scored a few gems such as this headshot session with Stefanie.

I've said it before: I LOVE to photograph musicians. Stefanie Dingnis is a freelance Mezzo Soprano, violinist and voice teacher and such a lovely gal. We were put in touch by our mutual friend Evan of Forest Collective, and we met by the Yarra on one of the first hot days of summer for an hour of wandering around and shooting. 

I just wanted to share a few of the portraits we created on that day. Enjoy!