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i spend a lot of time on the road

i hardly ever post personal things to my blog. this is something i really want to change this year. i want to share with you my thoughts, things as meaningless as tea at midnight to the photos and stories from my roadtrips around the countryside. these pictures might not be much, but i need to start somewhere! i hope you like these small nothing pictures for now. i've been taking photos every day so my next blog post will include even more. if there is anything you'd like me to blog about in particular, please let me know! 

this bench belongs to the backyard of my second home by the mountain side and the shoreline in wollongong. my mum and her partner live here with my sister and his son.

this is the view now just outside my old room. the edge of the forest used to be lined with beautiful and lush bamboo trees before the awful council came around and chopped them all down. now my view is dead trees.

pile of bamboo.

dan came to visit me while i was staying in wollongong for a few weeks at the end of the year. 

we saw a mini carnival being set up on the way home from visiting my dad's so we stopped to have a look. last time we went to a carnival we ate too much fairy floss and felt sick after going on the same upside-down ride five times in a row. we had the best time. this time the carnival had a few 'try your luck' games and a ghost train, so we ended up standing by the river for a few seconds before heading off.

we stopped and sat in the car until it went dark, waiting for our table for mexican food. it's becoming my new favourite thing to take photos when it's almost dark. 

my younger sister learning how to drive.

too windy to take photos.

the beautiful roads my mum, sister and i explored one afternoon. 

me by the river, taken by my sister.

soundtrack when driving with dan.

 two pictures of me in the front yard, taken by dan on australia day.

lunch dates with dan and realising i need to take more photos of us together.

morning light through the window.

the first photo i took with my 35mm. the day before i was going to shoot a wedding i had my mind made up that there was nothing else that i wanted more but to get a 35mm lens that day. i called up countless of places until i found a camera store that had just one left in stock. dan and i drove into the city just before the store closed and it is now happily part of my little family.

stray cats around the city streets breaking my heart.

my first self portrait in a long time. it was a gloomy day outside, it had been raining non stop for two days by then and my shoot was cancelled. so i thought i should take some pictures against a blank wall.

 our cat, dean (named after supernatural), the attention seeker.

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competition: lightroom light leaks preset

*EDIT*

after spending time going through pages and pages of amazing submissions my competition has sadly come to an end! i really love all the photos everyone submitted, thank you so much for taking part in this! i have ten lucky winners who i will announce in a second, who will be able to use the lightroom 4 light leaks preset before anyone else.

here are the winners + links to their entry, in no particular order:
1. Fae - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44661754086/sun-rose-fae-faes-book-at-facebook

2. Anna Sophie Shams - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44894072310/used-the-digital-film-curve-anna-sophie-shams

3. Molly Lichten - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44661551349/molly-lichten-ambers

4. Mandy Tan Jing Wei - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44091690888/name-mandy-tan-jing-wei-mandy-faith-name-of

5. Hannah Goerges - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44091814233/hannah-goerges-i-used-the-actions-queen-of-hearts

6. Marcelo de Coghlan - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44606427501/edited-with-alice-in-wonderland-marcelo-de

7. Tess Janssen - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44255348630/tess-janssen-film-light-leak-in-original

8. Nathalia Pavon - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/43931814192/nathalia-pavon-curve-used-window-warmth

9. Ulysses Gaygay - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44661809803/ulysses-gaygay-digital-film

10. Barbara Carneiro - http://digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com/post/44174492072/name-barbara-carneiro-the-name-of-the-colour


congratulations!! i will be contacting you all individually over the next week to have your prizes sorted out :)

thank you again for sharing all your beautiful pictures xx


--


in anticipation of the release of my new lightroom 4 light leaks preset, i thought i would hold a little competition! i've never done this before, so it should be fun!

5 lucky winners will be chosen at random to win my new lightroom 4 light leaks preset. here is a little example of what it looks like:


 light leaks contains two different presets, with two varying light leaks to add colour to your image. it hasn't been released yet, so the winners will be able to use these presets before anyone else. see more examples in my latest blog post, aurora.

the winners will also receive a free unreleased photoshop action that i was going to put up on digital film but decided to make an exclusive prize for this competition. but that's not all! on top of that, you get to choose one more product from digital film actions of your choice to be all yours.

now, onto the finer details of the competition!

prizes:

- a free copy of the lightroom 4 light leaks preset before it is released on digital film actions
- a free unreleased & exclusive photoshop action
- one free copy of anything from digital film actions

how to enter:

 - submit your photos edited with the colours from free curve friday or presets and actions from digital film to this blog: www.digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com
- every entry must include your full name and the name of the action, curve or preset of mine that you used to edit that photo
- like my facebook photography page (so i can match your entry name + notify the winners)

details:

 - the competition will run for 7 days, starting today! (saturday, 23rd of february)
- submissions close on saturday, 2nd of march. no submissions count after midnight (EST - sydney, australia time) on this date
- if you don't like my photography facebook page, i will have no way to tag you/be able to notify you that you've won
- if you don't include your name in your entry, i won't be able to match your name up through the likes on my photography page and notify you if you win
- submissions that don't include the name of the curve, action or preset used to edit them will be disqualified
- 5 winners will be chosen at random and will be announced on my facebook photography page + an edited version of this blog post
- you can enter as many times are you like!

how to submit your photos to the blog:

 - go to www.digitalfilmactions.tumblr.com
- click on the 'submit' link on the top menu
- choose your competition entry
- add your name + the name of the colour preset used to edit the photo
- accept the terms of submission
- press submit!

your entry will be published no longer than a day after it was submitted if it follows all the rules!


don't forget to have a look through all the other submissions on the blog. i see this blog as a lovely collection of work from creatives just like you and me! so please try to support other photographers just like you'd like to receive support from them!


good luck! x

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yesterday

behind the scenes of my first shoot of the year. we took photos until the sun disappeared behind the mountain. i'm so excited to share these photos with you all soon!

model: megan

makeup & hair: lisa

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some thoughts from yesterday


i’ve always been a lover of the ugly pretty. i don’t mind shooting in harsh sunlight or when my model is looking the other way or has a tangled mess of hair on her face. my camera clicks when someone takes a deep breath in or are tying their shoelaces on the side of the road. this year i want to shoot that more than ever. i want to shoot knees with bruises and hands rubbing tired eyes with dirt underneath plain fingernails. i want to run around barefoot in the forest with the wild bird i am taking pictures of in the few minutes of blue light after the sun sets and before the night sets in. i want to shoot designer clothing in the ocean and climb trees in dresses. 

so i would like to start. this is me. dan took some pictures of me in the blue light after the sun sets and the night sets in, in our front yard. this is me with bruises on my arms from listening to live music and bruises on my legs from being clumsy. my messy hair on my nape, barefoot and sitting in the grass. i hope this year is the start of something different - something more natural and more honest.

i want to breathe life into my photography like it breathes life into me.

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tara at the caravan park

on a heatwave friday, we wandered through the gravel pathways around a caravan park which slept next to the river and under the busy bridge of speeding cars. we shot in the front yards of the caravans, amongst the empty beer cans, piled up bicycles and conversations of the locals. we were so tempted to jump in the muddy water while we were shooting, the heat was unbearable during the day. but instead we giggled insanely when we were shooting under the sun and took refuge in one of the empty cabin rooms the owner of the park, a man by the name of cowboy, so kindly let us use for the day.

model: tara

makeup: lidija

stylist: jessie 

sourcing her clothes from

here

&

here

.

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2012

2012 was an amazing year. it is the last day of the year today (only three hours to go until midnight) and i thought nothing would be more fitting if i wrote a blog post about all the wonderful things that have happened in the past twelve months. i've met with more talented and creative people than i can count on two hands, traveled everywhere beautiful, and have grown so much as a person and as a photographer. here is a little list of the things that happened to me: 

i started off the year exploring and

traveling melbourne

with dan.

i officially make a living only from photography.

i set out to shoot a

music festival

and ended up shooting

two

.

i am part of the

evoke images

team shooting weddings.

i was

printed

in culture magazine.

i shot for some

pretty

amazing

brands

.

i hosted a

photography workshop

. and taught a few one on one workshops in between.

i went to a

photography meetup

and made lots of new friends.

i thought i would show you some things i got up to this year in pictures as well, after all i'm better at talking with pictures than i am at writing: 

i spent a lovely day with kiara rose. she showed me around her forest backyard and we took pictures and sat and talked in the long grass.

i became part of evoke images. a wonderful little team i am so proud to be shooting with! matt and i drove past forest fire burnt landscapes and stopped on the side of the road to get some pictures.

his camera bag vs. my tiny bag!

dan bought a ukulele which he records music for my short films with.

i went on lots of long drives. most of them with dan.

abbey love taking a photo of amelia zadro on one of our shoots. and some more behind the scenes:

the top of the world.

lauren was lovely enough to come along with me to two of my shoots to take behind the scenes pictures. i can't wait to share them with you!

lots of test shooting throughout the year. this is the lovely krystal from ava models.

my cat who jumps on my car the second i get home from shooting weddings in the middle of the night.

some self portraits on rainy christmas day.

bright fish swimming on the pavement.

a moment in between with ellie on our oh deer shoot.

sunsets while exploring.

walking down to the river at shoots and being tempted to swim in the muddy water on heatwave days.

visiting my dad.

a couple daydreaming in the park.

shoots on the side of the road (this is emma sabjan) where police drove past and put their sirens on to scare us. they drove away laughing when we all jumped and screamed.

self portraits by the creek.

outtakes from lookbook shoots.

wise words on the side of the street.

exploring the streets of sydney on shoots.

lunchtime with the lenni vintage team.

we made the street turn red.

blue rocks from smoke bombs.

wrapping up the lenni vintage shoot.

drives to the beach a few days ago.

detours through the countryside.

2013 will be different. simple, i guess. this is what i want to do:

travel somewhere outside of australia.

love more and be kind.

it's a short list i admit, but doing these two things will make me the happiest soul in the world. i guess i will see you all on the other side where i've got lots of new blog posts to make of pretty pictures and short films full of colour and wonder.

have a happy new year everyone! xo

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sydney photographer meet up

 not too long ago i had a wonderful day with 6 talented and down to earth photographers. we decided to all meet up, just so we could spend the day talking and taking pictures. 

this is a group shot taken by christian at the end of the day. from left to right we have: alexandra benetel, kiara rose, asher lilly, myself, caitlin worthington, jessica christie & christian benetel.

it was so lovely to be able to meet all these talented people. we had such a fun time taking photos of each other (which at times was quite daunting when out of nowhere there are six cameras pointing at you rather than just the one you had to begin with!) while climbing trees, walking across giant rocks, laying down in the middle of the road just as photographers do to get a good picture.

this day was so inspiring and i would love to go back at the first chance i get to photograph with all these guys again <3>

here is a little video of bits and pieces that i filmed on the day:

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summertime blues

 model: bree (bambi) fry

makeup: jessie mcnaught

stylist: jessie mcnaught

tee shirts: tee pee by jessica brennan

i met a girl on the side of the road, who skipped school and liked to wander the suburbs in the rain. she set fire to her lungs and held onto the summertime blues tightly in her pocket like a secret.

these photos are of the lovely designs of jessica brennan. she is an amazingly talented artist and if you are interested in getting any of her pretty tops, you should have a look

here

.

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naomi in the backyard

before we left for out shoot, naomi and i spent five minutes in leah's backyard and took some simple portraits in the clothes naomi was already wearing, with warm sunlight peeking over the metal fence. i will be blogging our final photos from the day soon!

model: naomi

makeup: rebecca

stylist: leah

by the way, all these photos (except the black and white one) were edited with

white lace

from

digital film actions

! x

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this weekend

 we left early in the morning.

long, winding roads and trees everywhere. 

 the sun slowly peeking over the tree.

 location scouting at the wedding venue, acres and acres worth of land to explore.

shooting the lolly table and hanging up the wedding dress in the tree.

we had two cameras to shoot with thanks to our lovely friend max! these tree photos are edited with 'white lace' from digital film.

a pretty wooden window with a pretty view in our temporary home.

sitting outside in the sunlight.

we had the most wonderful home-made breakfast.

the sights in the beautiful town of bundanoon.

markets with lovely home-made things wrapped up in flowers and vintage colours.

the best coffee shop, ever.

midday lunch before newly married katie & austin and their family joined us.

edited with 'white lace' from digital film.

parked on the side of the road.

day two of taking photos was at this beautiful location.

the long drive back home.

a wall of trees.

i spent this weekend with dan shooting katie & austin's wedding, who are both dear friends to me. everything was amazing to say the least. dan and i left early on saturday morning and drove a few hours to get to moss vale. when we got to the location of their wedding, we spent a little while walking around the acres of land scouting for locations to shoot at, these were the last few quiet moments we had for that day.

from there, the rest of the day was a wonderful blur of laughter and tears, family members rushing in and out of rooms to try and get ready. trying to take photos of katie without austin suddenly rushing past and peeking at the bride before the ceremony (which luckily didn't happen but was a little too close for comfort!). but, i'll tell more of the story of their wedding day when i post the final photos!

we didn't finish shooting until about midnight and my hands felt glued to my camera after taking photos for fourteen hours straight! none of it would have been possible either if i hadn't had dan by my side helping me and second shooting throughout the day. we drove back in the middle of the night, going fast down the winding dirt roads lined with forests and i was so excited that i saw my first real life wombat scurrying back into the trees as we were driving past.

when we got to our temporary home, we fell onto the beds and fell asleep without a second thought. in the morning, the owner of the bed & breakfast had the tastiest home-made goods waiting for us to eat. she told us stories of escaping the loud city years ago to retreat in bundanoon and her husband and dan chatted away about their similar interest and job (dan's current and his past) of being a music engineer. after checking out, we headed into the main town (which is old but well taken care of and full of life, even if it's in the middle of nowhere) and sipped on more coffee at our now favourite coffee shop. 

the rest of this day will come soon in photos, we took more portraits of katie and austin at a home with acres of land (all the properites at moss vale seem to have giant backyards) filled with flowers and landscaping, buzzing with bees and mosquitos but beaming with colours.

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