Akesson PhotoBlog

When a couple plan a wedding they spend oooooodles of time on the details.  That’s why the night is such an awesome celebration. Like where they want the reception and all the bits and pieces that make it special. Last Saturday’s was at the Tawarri Reception & Function Centre.  Their service was absolutely magic.  They even treated me and my wonderful assistant like guests.

We I decided before last Saturday’s wedding to try a few things new - like get some creativity into a couple of places.  The Ring Shot was high on the list.  So here it is.  The first one is on the fabulous sweets that the chef created.  A swan no less - the West Australian state emblem.

The Rings - How Sweet It Is!

Delicious.  Second one from the button hole flower of the Best Man.  Rose will wither and die but the rings symbolise undying commitment.

And finally, cannot finish talking the night without a mention of Jon Lennon.  This guy was a fabulous Wedding DJ and MC for the night.  Had  a special sense of humour that just gelled in with the guests. Check out his web site.

Fabulous wedding Saturday.  Forecast for early clearing showers proved true - light covering of cloud with occasional breaks for a bit of sunshine.  Now that’s a first for me - the photo opportunity was amazing.  Bride was beautiful in her pale blue gown;… & quite relaxed.  Bridesmaids excited and helpful.  Groom and his guys were great - terrific sense of comraderie among them.  So here’s a few pics  taken out at random to whet the appetite.

Dad was SOOOOOOO proud of his girl.

Groom was cool, totally besotted with the love of his life, and living his dream.

Young flower girl was living a fairy tale and just had fun.

They made an awesome couple.  My assistant spotted this great red door with an iron grill.

The First Dance.  As you can see, there is a whole lot of love in those eyes.

It’s amazing how baby animals can stop a workforce.  They have this inbuilt cuteness - must be a divine survival technique!!! So today along comes Mandie with 6 week old Bailey who then proceeds to make 101 friends of anyone who cared to stop and pat her.  An absolutely beautiful Golden Retriever who is obviously going to rule the roost in that household.  Two of the pics that I took in my office while 40 people crammed around (give or take a couple).

Finally, late Sunday afternoon we headed down south of the river to catch up with this couple.  They just love each other’s company.  Totally relaxed it seems to me.  I can’t wait for next Saturday to take their wedding photos.  It will be fantastic.  A few of that shoot. Have so many favourites… too many to put up now.

And a technique I am trying to to perfect - making great use of brightly coloured walls.  I got inspired by Yervant on this one and I just have to get something like this in every wedding.

After getting loved to bits (and licked clean) by Max and Meyer, Sunday’s shoot on the beach was a breeze.  Bit of wind but beautiful weather.  Just a couple of pics for now.  Loved taking these. Wish I could conjure up some mid level clouds to soften the shadows - but that’s life.  This family was great. The kids had fun with it all. Sand-dunes are great to use.

But my favourite setting is just simply walking along the beach.  Fabulous.

Wow! What a busy weekend this ended up.  Saturday morning we traipsed down to Wattle Grove to have huge fun on a shoot of two 15 week old German Shepherd pups and 3 young folk .  The pups were just full of run.  Max was so laid back though.  He is going to be a fabulous pet.  Meyer.  Well - boundless energy.  As the song goes,… “girl’s just wanna have fun”.  A couple of shots where they momentarily stayed still.

And then, just to make it really interesting, we added 3 young folk to create a few memories in the park!!! It was great.

I’ve always liked black&white and toning (sepia, bluetone, combination of both…) of photos.  Seems that you can gaze deeper into a picture when it is not in colour.  Not that don’t like colour - there’s many on this blog.  Love saturated colours.  Bright, rich. But toning - what is pleasing is always in the eye of the viewer.  Two photos below I have been working on recently.  Different presentations.  Second one bit like what we used to get in the darkroom.  The first allows a hint of colour in foliage.  Have a look. Make a comment - I’m interested in the type of toning other people like.

Dave ‘n Lil are about the nicest couple you could meet. Helps that beautify any room that they walk into! They’re great. Fabulous sense of humour. So easy to talk to. Passionate about life. Love their kids. Making a humungous difference in the Port Hedland community. Dave is also an excellent painter. Does some fantastic landscapes. Sells them too. And works hard at developing the artistic culture in the community. And as a vocation they’re growing a lively CCC church in Port Hedland. When they get their web site up I’ll give you an address to check out what they’re doing. We grabbed a few minutes just after 6pm one night last week up in Brisbane for a few portraits. I reckon they make a great picture.

Australia is made up of lots of characters.  Wouldn’t it be boring without them.  Dr Bob (Alias Jeff Crabtree) is a great musician.  Has a few other attributes along with his musical abilities, but we wouldn’t want to give him too much of a swelled head now - especially when you take into consideration his T-shirt.  Just check out what it says. Wish I had thought of that one!!!

Last week a mob of us flew to Brisbane (in Queensland) for an annual C3i National conference. Had a fabulous time there making oodles of connections. Took hundreds of photos. The ones below are Connor Adams. I know her dad but had never met Connor. Was fantastic to have her singing alongside some well known people during the worship sessions. She certainly added to it. Have a listen to a couple of her songs. More pics will come.