Akesson PhotoBlog

I’ve always liked the effect of grain on photographs. I remember how much I liked the effect Sarah Moon got with pushing fast films back in the 70’s and 80’s. Such effects can make incredibly stunning viewing.

Today I was finishing off preparing the proofs of a family shoot for uploading to their gallery and saw this first one - this young lady was really fabulous in front of the camera,…. bit of a natural …. well I thought it might go better into a contrasty grainy sepia. So I gave it a go. 40+ minutes later from careful preparations I had an end result was a strongly grainy pic. I like it heaps. I showed it to one member of my family - she says she prefers the colour version. Hmmmm. That was a just a bit deflating,… but I’m strong and I WILL GET OVER IT. It is a somewhat subjective art isn’t it!

Despite the full effect not being easily seen on the computer screen without it being a bit too big to upload, I just know it is going to be fabulous printed on Metallic paper or even an art paper. So this pic heads up my last post of 2007. Along with it is another taken around those rocks during the same shoot.

For the family they can see their proofs up on … Akesson Gallery … password will be obvious to the family.

Have a fabulous end to 2007 and start the year with some fresh goals to aim at. Let it be an amazing 2008.

WOW! Christmas 2007 in Perth is scorching summers day - around 38c and the air-con is running hard. Weather Bureau says this is going to be the hottest Christmas Period since 1919 - 36 yesterday, 39 today, 40+ tomorrow and the next day will also be a hot one. So very different to many of our friends and readers around the world who haveChristmas as a winter experience.

Nonetheless we are celebrating the Birth of Christ and the beginning of the story. So this morning before the gifts were dispersed I took a pic of the Christmas tree that bore the handiwork of each contributing member. Blue lights on the tree contrasting to the normal lighting. It was great. My pic of the day is our 2007 Christmas Tree!

My hope and prayer is that wherever you are for Christmas that it will be a blessing to you and the year ahead will be a positive experience. Happy Christmas.

Last week our work folk all got together for an afternoon lunch and celebrations for Christmas down the Nedlands foreshore. Absolute glorious early summers day in Perth. Fab time and it really was well earned after a really busy year at the office.

Two of our colleagues have been on Maternity Leave for a little bit. Well they came along near on an hour after we had started. Guess what suddenly took all the attention,……. yep! two little babies. And it wasn’t just the ladies getting all gahgah over the bubs. The blokes too. Fari crack of the whip! Well I decided I should record some this for our staff photoshow tooooo Took just a couple or three. [if you go back a couple of months you will see some earlier shots - especially of a very pregnant Ange]

So I decided that it was probably appropriate for two photos to herald both the end of one year and the beginnings of the next. And in our case what more to reflect that newness but the new babes of the Verigen family. The oldest first of course - by around 3 months.

One more from yesterdays shoot in the marvellous Harold Boas Gardens. The whole area is made up of little cameo places - as if it was designed by a horticulturalist who had an interest in painting or photography. Even the placement of the park benches for people just to sit and contemplate. And it’s so peaceful despite being right next to a very busy shopping precinct.

So I’ve pushed this one into a watercolour and significantly reduced the rich healthy saturation of colours and tonings to allow the view to ’see’ into the photo.

Have been doing a project for a while now - a family shoot extended over a longer period of time.  Tried this with a few people but for one reason or another, til now, it just hasn’t got to completion stage.  Today was time for the couple themselves,… alone,… 3 young children not tagging along,… just husband and wife alone in a fabulous park right in the centre of Perth city.

Now this park just has to be the best kept secret in West Australia.  Awesome place.  Great lighting. Fabulous opportunity to relax and take some romantic pics like they haven’t had since they were married a million years ago.  Well maybe not so long but sometimes when the little feet start pounding the household all attention seems to permanently go there too. Got some brilliant photos - they were right into one another and quickly got the hang of ignoring photographer and assistant.

So a couple of pics…

Someone once said, … before me that is,… life is a journey; sometimes the pathway is paved in gold and sometimes a herd of cattle has been there before we travel over it.  Someone else said that… life is not a sprint,… it’s a marathon.   So I suppose in the end it’s not really what we do in random moments but rather what we leave on the pathway for those that follow us.

When I was preparing this photo I thought for a moment or two about Frank’s progeny. Many years separate them.  They will ultimately travel their own journeys.  But Frank has, and is still, sowing into their lives.  His legacy is not really what he does or how much money he makes but rather has he prepared them for their own life journey?  I reckon he must have done something right - both seemed pretty well balanced and relational to me.  And they certainly relaxed as we took these formal pics in the surrounds of Kings Park.

Want somewhere to go with your family and relax and enjoy the peacefulness of the Aussie bush in the midst of the bustling city? Maybe a picnic one summers evening.  Go to Kings Park.  And if you take me along with you I can take some fabulous relaxed photos at the same time. Give me call - contact details on the ABOUT page top right.

Sometimes we need to look right outside of the box to satisfy a client.  What we had was a really amazing Gold frame - that once held a mirror - and great casual photo of two families - but it was a full frame size pic and the dimensions of the frame are somewhat squat.   So  instead of cropping severely or other alternatives, what I did was stretch the base photo and push it into a slightly blurred and strongly texturised background, and then placed the finished photo on top and some words of love from the family - creating a personalised framed photo for mamma of her loving children and grandchildren.

We like the result,… so here it is - without the big golden frame of course

Late yesterday afternoon my drive home was abruptly interupted. I actually took a detour to buy my wife flowers - hint hint to the married guys - and suddenly the sound of choppers filled the sky. Two water choppers flying back and forth to blast the life out of a fire on the central island in Carine Glades Swamp.

Seems some “teenager guys” [though this is an allegedly!!!" had once again set fire to the native fauna sanctuary. By the time I arrived the main blaze had been quelled but I still got some pics of the airborne & seaborne assault and the mopping up. Fortunately I only had one camera and an 85mm portrait lens and a wide - no long telephoto. But the lighting was fabulous for it.

Enjoy a few of the pics - one of the choppers dumping his water bomb load in seconds,... and then some great ground shots of the hovercraft assault.

Click on READ MORE [below] to see fabulous pics of the ground force (our fearless fire brigade) using a small hovercraft to launch a seaborne assault (crossing the 25 metres of water to the central island) following the air bombing. The massing spectators loved it.

Read more »

In our culture the extended family seems to have broken down irreparably.  But every now and again I come across examples of it being alive and healthy.  I reckon there is nothing better than when extended families interact together and actually like each other.  Here we have a couple of young lads who seem to get on really well.  We were taking family photos and this pic was  quite spontaneous.  They just like each other!

So I put it through a bit of an antique photo feel to reflect two modern kids expressing old time values. Great stuff.

I have a theory on this.

It’s such an obvious thing but most people cannot grasp it. But for most of us the main time we get our pictures taken is at parties or events when the camera toting person either sneaks up and flashes the tiny point ‘n shoot in our face or else says get close and say CHEEEEEEZE! We’re never relaxed. And we end up having this really dumb look on our face and people laugh thinking it’s funny and so we cement that perception that we don’t look good in photos But listen - THAT IS A LIE! It’s just not so.
Yes the reason so many people don’t like having their photo taken is that they have rarely, if ever, seen a good photo of themselves. But I have yet to meet the person that I can’t take a photo of that they will love. It’s true. Everyone can look fabulous in a photo. Granted that if they think they are going to look like a movie starlet who has multitudes of make-up artists and hair dressers and designer clothiers,… well then they may have trouble. But if we get beyond the perception that we have to look like someone else,…………… then we will start to realise how great we each can look in photos.

That’s a mouthful isn’t it. Don’t believe me? Then make a time for me to take your photo and I will give you a money back guarantee that you will love the photo’s I take of you. My contact details can be found in the “Contact” tab up top right hand of this blog.

TODAY’S photo is of someone I have taken a month of Sundays to get her to give me 15 minutes. That’s all it took. She made some really funny faces to begin with … but I won’t show them. The end results are stunning. She’s a natural. Look for yourself.