I am so overjoyed that spring is finally on its way; partly because the warmer weather's on the horizon and partly, if not mostly, because of all the beautiful blossoming trees, which, to me, is simply the epitome of new beginnings.

Last year, in a moment of ingenuity,  I decided not to shoot weddings in the months of July and August,  so that I would have the time to rejuvenate, catch up, tackle a few DIY projects at home and just do all the things that are usually neglected during the busy summer months.

Well, I almost managed to stick to my non-wedding agenda, but, the problem was when July and August actually arrived..... I sooooo yearned for the hustle and bustle of shooting a wedding, so much for rejuvenation ....mmmmm.


So, I circulated some emails to a few photographers, in an attempt to second shoot at couple of weddings just to get away from my everyday mundane.


One of those assignments was that of Jason's and Belle's, which I really have to thank Stella for allowing me to be her back-up lens.

Jason's and Belle's big day had so many distinctive and exceptional elements; such as Jason's walk/shimmy down the aisle, the couple's first dance, which happened to be The Swing and then the pocket watch that Belle sent through to Jason just before the nuptial formalities.

There was a wonderfully authentic and romantic feel to this wedding, which I am battling to put into words, so, without any further delay, I'll let you peek at some more of my favourite photographs instead.











Jason, just before Belle walked down the aisle, with Belle's mom.

Oh.    My.    Gosh.

 
You should have seen Dani's and Wayne's wedding - it was absolutely mind-blowing!

Their marriage ceremony, a couple of weeks back, was one of Christopher Munton's esteemed assignments, in which I was fortunate enough to be the second-shooter.

 

It was an extravagant affair, with a profusion of colourful flowers, decor details and, to top it all off, Dani wore a beautiful Vera Wang.

One of my favoured things about photographing Jewish ceremonies, is that the dancing kicks off right from the word go; at the very beginning of the reception.   The bride and groom are initially introduced and without ado, the traditional hora starts.  The energy levels on the dance floor, which would put Eskom to shame, had me ducking and diving, trying to get in as close as possible without losing my camera.  What a vibe!

It is late Friday afternoon, the chardonnay has been chilled and is now calling my name, cheers.

 

I hope you have a fabulous weekend and enjoy these moments from Dani & Wayne's very special day!

 

 

How awesome is the doughnut wedding cake!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dani working that Vera Wang! 

 

.....and finally in an effort to get fans - sounds so strange...fans. I have uploaded a couple more images on my Facebook Page.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure why it is, when editing for the blog, that I'm actually more disposed towards the colour images.  In fact, on many occasions I have converted a shot to black & white, in an attempt to break my colour addiction, then only to switch it right back to colour.

 

 
It may be because of the time pressure of getting the images onto blog, or it could be a mind block from my side, a mind block that I have a feeling could have been imprinted a while back when I first started. At the time, years back, an in-joke did the rounds, where if you wanted to establish yourself as a "photojournalistic" wedding photographer then all you needed to do, was convert all your images to black & white, and...presto, you are a photojournalist wedding photographer.

 

That being said, once I have finished editing an entire wedding, and am viewing all the edited images in my final quality check, I begin to realise that I am actually very, very fond of black and white images, after all.

 

I have randomly selected some of my favourite black and white images from this wedding and posted a them onto my Facebook page.

Facebook! I hear some of you gasp?

Yes, people, I have finally come out of my dark cave and decided to join the rest of the world on Facebook. 

 

Just one from the B&W series here. You have to click through and "like"  me ;-) to see the rest.

 

 

Oh! and finally, before I forget, my second shooter at this wedding was Stella. I have also included some of her crackers too!

 

 

 

 

Seventeen Canons and one Nikon ,-) along with their respective owners, arrived in the early hours at the Moon and Sixpence, ready for RE.INVENT III.

 

This was the last RE.INVENT, so we aimed for a bigger and better photography workshop and that it definitely was - a veritable explosion of information, with lots to digest and re-assess.
 
I have honestly always believed that the success of a photography business constantly rides on how well a photographer does two things:  produce good images and run the venture passionately.

I, too, have learnt some invaluable bits in this particular regard, so I'll also be revising a few things on this side.

I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!

Upwards and onwards....{ Insert secret wave } ,-)

 

Many people choose to have their wedding in spring or early summer, which on the one hand means warm weather, but you also have the risk of downpours during the summer months. That being said, I am not sure why so few people choose marriage in winter? 

 

Yes, agreed, the days are somewhat cooler and the nights are often particularly chilly, so I suppose, on that basis alone, we're more inclined to hibernation than jollification.   However, winter is, as it happens, a beautiful time of the year in South Africa. There are rainless, clear blue skies with a wonderful soft iridescent light that sits lower on the horizon, casting those magical velvety silhouettes, and beautiful backlighting, nothing beats the lovely winter light.

Which now brings me onto my next post, which was a winter wedding - that of Angie's and Sergio's.

I knew, when I first met this couple at their engagement session, that their ceremony would be a special one.  This is quite simply because Angie and Sergio must be one of the sweetest individuals we have ever been fortunate enough to photograph.

This wedding was everything I expected it to be and represented everything that Angie and Sergio are: classy, elegant, fun, attractive and basically amazing in every way.

Your day was a slice of perfection. Thank you very much, Angie and Sergio.  Stella and I felt extremely lucky not only to witness it, but, to be a part of it, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the wedding cake topper.

 

This flowegirl cake combo is becoming a small obsession of mine ;-)

 

That beautiful winter light...YUM