Looking thorough my bookshelf the other day and I came across a photography book that I had been involved in almost 20 years ago.1.1.2000  24hours in the life of Australia was a photo book that documented all aspects of life in Australia on the first day of the new millennium .65 photographers from all over the country spent the day taking pictures and the best were collated into this book, I went fly fishing with my mate Jack Quinn, and as luck would have it, he caught a very nice little trout just as the sun was setting. quintessentially Tasmanian, the image made it as a full page image in the book.20 years is a long time, Jack is no longer with us, and I really miss the times we spent walking the lakes and rivers in search of trout! Happy to catch one, but also not at all fussed if we didn’t.   It was the company and being out in the fresh air that kept us going back.Jack taught me to fly fish, one of my goals when we left Sydney in 1988, but it was almost a decade before I got around to it.I still will have a little bit of a cast every now and then, but losing your fishing buddy changes things a bit, and it is no where near as often as we used to go.The other thing that has changed is me! Check out this head shot from the back of the book! I know many of the other photographers who were involved in the project, and I can see that it was not just me that has aged over the last 20 years!

Where does inspiration come from? and how can you use it to make your photographic journey more rewarding? These are questions that all photographers ask themselves at some stage or another. Recently, I found a couple of books that sent my mind off on a journey of discovery. During the 1940’s and 50’s, the Hollywood studio system was in full swing, with many of the major stars of the day contracted to one studio or another, and a constant supply of would-be stars and hopeful actors and actresses arriving in Hollywood every day. Your publicity head shot was one of the keys that could unlock tinsel town for you and there were a number of photographers who specialised in these sort of images.In those days they were shooting on huge 8X10 inch cameras ( that's the size of the sheet of film that the camera took!) They were using big studio hot lights to light their portraits, and  compared to today's offerings, the lenses that they were using were slow and very unsharp. These factors came together to produce images of a certain style that are very hard to reproduce now days because our equipment if far too good!But the feel of the images has a quality that I like , and that I would like to investigate, so it becomes a technical question. How do I make images with that same feel while bringing up the quality to today's standards? I have invited some people into the studio in a couple of weeks time, to model for me while I play with this problem. I am sure that somewhere between the Hollywood portraits of the 1940’s and 2019, we will find with some images that have the best of both worlds, and have a bit of fun doing so.

Your image needs to convey in a clear and concise manner all the attributes you want your clients and potential clients to see in you. Charming, approachable, trustworthy, confident and professional. In the corporate world, a selfie shot with your iPhone just doesn’t do the job. Save them for your personal Facebook page and treat your corporate image with consideration and respect. There is still plenty of room to show your character, and the spark in your eyes while still adhering to a very high level of professionalism and sophistication.

How do you want the world to see you? Strong, Friendly, Trustworthy, Knowledgeable, Creative,??? There are so many different personas that you can project, which one is right for you?

When you come into our studio, we will help you relax, guide you through the process and help you with your expression, posing and posture so that we get the very best images for you to choose from.

Book your spot here

I love it when kids bring their energy and personality to a photoshoot. Charlie and Edmund are not “sit quietly and pose for the camera” type of guys.

Their interaction with the world is done at full pace, and I envied their energy and enthusiasm for what ever they were doing. They bounded up the rocks and they laughed full heartedly when they found something funny. But they also listened, and engaged in conversation , and we were able to find things to talk about that they were interested in.

The results speak for themselves, and these pictures on the wall will remind them that family is the centre of the home. They will hear friends and family who visit their house talk about how great they look and how wonderful it is to have these pictures. I am convinced that hearing nice things about yourself, on an ongoing basis,  can only be good for your self image and confidence.

Earlier this year we decided to go to Japan in September.Neither of us had ever been before, and  it coincided with Vicki and my birthdays. As an added bonus,  the Rugby World Cup is being played there so we thought we would go over, have a holiday , and catch a couple of the  early, Wallaby games to put us in the mood to watch the rest of the tournament on TV when we got back to Australia. Great plan, and the first part panned out perfectly. We organised to be in Sapporo for the Wallabies first game against Fiji, and got good tickets for the game. After that, it got more complex, the next game was in Tokyo, and when we go online to order tickets ( the minute the box office opened ) we found ourselves 117,000th inline!! by the time it was our turn ( 5 hours later ) the only tickets available were $850 each, and given that we were playing Wales ( who had just won the 6 Nations tournament ) that was too much to spend to watch our team get beaten. We will find a pub in the city somewhere and I am sure we will have a great time anyway.

So how come I am showing you pictures from Japan already???

I got home after a full day of shooting in early February and Vicki said " How do you feel about going to Japan for a Taster?" Jetstar was doing a special $350 return flight to Osaka and she had bought some tickets!  We have recently returned from that trip, and these images are a taster of what I hope to shoot when we go there for real in September. Hope you enjoy them!

Its the 1st of May, and already we are being bombarded with special offers for Mothers day!I have just come back from Sydney where I joined with my 2 brothers to help celebrate our Mums 80th Birthday with a party and weekend of family time.Mum was only 20 when I first met her, and I know you are amazed at what a good looking kid I was!Over the next 60 years a lot has changed, I grew more hair, and then lost most of it, we moved countries a few times and and I got two brothersAt 80 mum is doing great,  living a full life, and showing no signs of slowing down.It’s always good to catch up with family, it seems to get harder and harder as the family grows and kids and grand kids get complex lives of their own, but every time we make the effort, I come away thinking that it was worth it. and we always try to make some pictures.

We go back a long way! I photographed Louise and Bruce’s wedding back when wedding photography was something I did! I remember it was a fun filled day out at Marions Vineyard, with a trip down to the jetty and lots and lots of laughs.When we started looking for Families for our next Faces of Launceston projects, Louise was one of the first to get on board and it was a great pleasure to see them again and to make a new set of pictures for them.  Looking through the house, it was great to see the pictures that I had done for them so many years ago, on display and taking pride of place in their lounge room.When asked to tell us something about their family, Louise wrote this:

Parenting at an older age due to close to 10 years ivf. Kids very close in age and one with an autism spectrum disorder! Every day is a challenge!

All I know is that the photoshoot was anything but a challenge. we had a beautiful day and decided to use the big old tree in the front yard as our location. In the swing, up the tree and around the tree gave us so many different backgrounds, and we ended up with a wonderfull selection of images that really showed the love and closeness that typifies this family’s relationship with each other. We were lucky to be able to include Louise's mum in some of the shots, and the wonderful relationship  that  exists in this extended family was obvious for all to see.For this family, these images will join the earlier ones to re-enforce that feeling of belonging that is so vital to all of us.

Sign your family up to be part of the next Faces of Launceston Exhibition.  This year we are proud to have the opportunity to partner with the wonderful team at the Examiner to raise funds for those who need a little help. We want to celebrate what it means to belong to a family and we need your help.

By booking in your family for a photo shoot and participating in this project you’ll be supporting Examiner’s Empty Stocking Appeal ,your family will also be included in our ongoing Faces Of Launceston Project, and  you can also end up with some awesome images of your family to display on your wall!

We know your life is busy and that Christmas is busier than ever so lets get together in the New Year to plan your family photo shoot.

However the Empty Stocking Appeal needs your donation NOW so please pay the participation fee of $100 and we will put a $100 credit in your account to be used in the New Year towards photos from your shoot.

The actual photography session needs to be done by September 2019 to give us enough time to put the book and exhibition together.

While there are the typical Mum + Dad + 2.4 kids families, there are also so many other different combinations that make up a family. Blended versions of the Brady Bunch, single parent families, same-sex families and everyth

ing in between. This is a project I am really looking forward to getting in to.

This year we are proud to have the opportunity to partner with the wonderful team at the Examiner to raise funds for those who need a little help. We want to celebrate what it means to belong to a family and we need your help.

By booking in your family for a photoshoot and participating in this project you’ll be supporting Examiner’s Empty Stocking Appeal ,your family will also be included in our ongoing Faces Of Launceston Project, and  you can also end up with some awesome images of your family to display on your wall!

We know your life is busy and we understand that time goes by so quickly. This is a great opportunity to have some beautiful and meaningful portraits made of your family before the kids grow up and move out. We would love to invite you to apply to be a part of this project.

For a limited time, we are offering our new Behind the Garage Door Book PLUS a $250 gift card for just $100.

The Gift card entitles the recipient to have their car photographed in the same style as the cars in the book by Philip Kuruvita, ( normally $150 for the session ) plus $100 credit to use towards the purchase of prints or wall art from the session.

The gift card needs to be registered on our website, and we will then organise a time to sit down with you to discuss the various options for the photography such as style, location, time of day etc. we will also be able to show you the various options for using your $100 credit, and once all the details are settled, we will book a photography session. This gift card can not be used in conjunction with any other offer from our studio.

The perfect Christmas gift for the car person in your family!

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Chatting to Rachel at My Gym this morning, and for the second time in as many weeks, I found myself in a conversation about cheese fondue!That oh so sophisticated dinner variation that took the 1970’s and 80’s by storm and then all but died out except for some isolated pockets of gastronomy.Of course the Swiss have been doing it for ever, it wasn’t a fad for them, so there was no reason for it to go out of fashion (Rachel’s Dad is Swiss)Taking about it with friends the week before, we all agreed that it was a dinner party theme that we had all enjoyed and no one was quite sure why we didn’t do it any more. All that cheesey goodness with crusty bread or boiled potatoes , and don’t forget the wine!It made me remember that when we were making  Tamar Valley Pantry, my first book with John T Bailey, John used a cheese fondue to match with Josef Chromy’s beautiful Sauvignon Blanc, and I remember being impressed with how tasty and fulfilling this simple dish was. I am sure that the very thought of this would bring back many happy memories for those of us who enjoyed them all those years ago, I think I might have to introduce the next generation of my family to the pleasures of a three cheese fondue. I've included the recipe below so you can introduce it to your family too.

50g gruyere cheese, grated225g raclette cheese, grated225g tilsit cheese, grated15g cornflour500g Josef Chromy Sauvignon Blanc3 cloves garlic, whole2 sprigs thyme20g lemon juice5g mustard powderpinch ground cloves + white pepper

In a bowl mix the cheeses with the cornflour.Bring the wine to a simmer over med- high heat. Remove from the stove.Add thyme and garlic cloves. Infuse for 10 minutes then strain and allow to cool.Bring the wine and lemon juice to the boil and add the cheese mix a handful at a time, whisking continuously until smooth and creamy.Add the mustard, pepper and cloves. Stir until the mixture thickens.Transfer into a fondue pot and serve with cornichons, bread and crudités of your choice.

You can get your copy of Tamar Valley Pantry, as well as a wide range of other cookbooks from our store by clicking here

When Nicole came to see me about a family portrait shoot, it became obvious that we should do the shoot on the farm. Photographing Jono and their two boys Campbell and William in the studio didn't make any sense at all. They were farm boys and we needed to capture them in their element. We had so many options, the cubby house, a wonderful old tree, a rustic farm gate and a shearing shed gave us so many options for locations and backgrounds, and the boys didn't get sick of having the picture taken in the same spot. There was a bit of resistance at the start of the shoot, but that is quite normal. The one thing that I can offer in situations like this is time. Time for everyone to relax, and get used to the fact that I an there, and that I am taking pictures, and eventually we get what we need.

They shed hair all over the carpet,They shake water all over you when they are wet,They drink from the toilet bowl  even though you have given them perfectly good, clean water in their own personalised bowl……but we wouldn’t be without them in our lives!!…their biggest flaw is that they live their lives 7 times faster than we do!Capture all those endearing qualities in a series of images that show what it is like to be a family that shares its home with a dog!

Tips for a successful photoshoot with your pooch:Most importantly, don’t think that you should get to the location early to give the dog a run and wear him out, that rarely works, all it does is increase the energy levels, and results in tongues out, and heaps of slobber.If you want to wear them out, a long walk in the morning is the best course of action, and then, when it is time for the shoot, keep the energy levels as low as possible.Home is always a great place for family portraits, it places you and your family in that particular house, at that time of your lives, and in years to come it will be nice to look back on not just the people but the location as well, especially if you have since moved. Home is the easiest option for including pets in your family portraits.If you are not doing your portrait shoot at home, there are a number of really good locations for doing family portraits that include a dog.We are generally looking for a quiet location that doesn’t have too much going on that could generate excitement in your dog. Arbour park in West Launceston has some nice quiet areas. Just beyond the dog park at Kilafaddy there are some nice locations which get wonderful afternoon lightand don’t forget that you can always bring your dog (or dogs) with you if you are coming into our studio for your portraits. The worst thing that could happen is that they don’t like the studio conditions, and would prefer to sit outside or in the car while the rest of the family has their portraits done, however, if they are happy, we can get some great pictures.

Quiet moments just sitting and watching baby sleep, the delight in their eyes when they see your face, the amazing strength with which they can grasp you finger.Beautiful, quiet moments, captured in black and white, which will capture forever just how tiny this little person was.

In years to come, you will look at these images and shake your head in amazement as you pick up size 13 basketball boots that are lying around on the bathroom floor.Capture the closeness and security they feel when being held by Mum and Dad and marvel at the contrasts in size and texture.I don’t believe that your newborn needs to be dressed up in cute outfits or photographed in a birds nest or flowerpot!

They are an amazing, unique, wondrous person in their own right and in some ways I feel that it is disrespectful to the person to play dress-up at this special moment in their lives.If you don’t need to be in fancy dress to have a meaningful portrait taken then maybe, neither does your newborn child.Lets just concentrate on how special they are and the love and family that surrounds them, and we will end up with images that will be meaningful for the rest of their lives.This is a fleeting moment that is passed through all too quickly.

who our family is and why the bond is so strong.

The fact that I get invited photograph peoples families is a very humbling thing for me and I take the responsibility and trust that these families have put in me and my skills very seriously. To capture the essence of each member of the family , and then to make an image that describes what it means to be a part of this family unit is a big responsibility , and over the years I have worked hard to hone my skills to a point where I can now deal with just about anything.  You can’t rattle me, not even with preoccupied Dads , opinionated 2 year olds , or 6 month old labradors    (Although I would prefer that they don’t all happen at the same session! ) The secret for me, is to engage with each of my subjects on their terms, and to give them enough time and space for their real personality to shine through - I get told a lot that I am a patient man!I believe that what we do is important, and the results of our work, the images, will grow in importance every year. In 2 years time, in 10 years time in 100 years time , the single moment captured will take on more and more meaning. It is therefore vital that the photographs we produce are made in such a way that they can stand the test of time, and that their archival integrity remains intact over time.In this age of selfies and snapchat, a beautifully shot, archival produced art print is a rare thing, but that’s okay , because the  true moments  that describe a relationship and which form the basis of memories are equally as rare to capture in a single image - its something I have been training for my whole life.

We have photographed Lilly and Poppy every year since they were born, and  parents Tracey and Andrew were keen to try out some new locations. Winter is a fabulous time for portraits, and we were looking for a  dramatic location that would capture the joys of a Tassie winter. All rugged up , with Liffey falls in full flood, there was just a light sprinkling of snow. This was more than just a photo shoot, it was a great day out with the family, with bush walks and adventures, some photos and snowball fights, and a great lunch with big hot chocolates at the end. These images will bring back many happy memories for the whole family ( and their photographer )

There are still days, as I am returning home from a shoot, when the light gets that special quality that you see no where else in the world , when I feel a certain smugness. Next year marks 30 years since Vicki and I  packed up or lives in Sydney and moved to Tasmania. Not once have we regretted our decision, and we still marvel at the clarity of mind that our younger selves had about the move all those years ago. After 4 books devoted to the amazing produce grown in Tasmania and the talented people who turn it into world class food, it was time to look at what else this island had to offer. The food is important, and the wine has been well known around the world for decades now, but all of a sudden, its the single malt whiskey, the hand crafted gins and the experiences that are woven around these fabulous products that has been bringing more and more people to visit us.A field guide to an awesome trip around Tassie! If you get to experience, taste and enjoy half the things in this book you will have a trip to beat all others.

Take a look inside here

 Happy to sign and personalise it for you if you want to let me know what you want written

“Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.”

~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

This is a series of posts which lay out when we think is the key moments in life that deserved to be captured by a professional photographer. Everyone has a camera or a smart phone and we are taking more photographs than ever. In fact, it is estimated that 10 % of all the photographs taken in the history of photography were taken in the last 12 months! so everyone has heaps of photographs of their lives. What you are employing when you hire a professional photographer is not a camera, or someone to operate it, what you are employing is the photographers vision, his or her expertise and experience, their understanding of light and their artistic vision. You are asking a professional to create an interpretation for you, and they will use their knowledge and experience to use the light, the location, and their people skills to coax out an expression and reaction that  shows each persons personality. It is a complex job that takes years to master, and goes well beyond just pressing the shutter button on a good camera. This interpretation is then continued into the production of your prints or canvases. The final image is often quite different to the original camera capture. There are many subtle adjustments that are made to bring the viewers attention to the important elements in the picture while drawing your attention away from distracting ones.

In April I had the pleasure of joining the Rotary Club of Tasman Peninsula on their annual fundraiser excursion to Tasman Island. Each Year the club organises a trip to this isolated lighthouse which stands just off the coast of Tasmania south of Cape Pillar.This year the weather gods were against the project and by about 10 am thick fog had descended and made helicopter flights impossible. With only a fraction of the people who had booked on the trip already on the island a decision was made to cancel the remaining flights, and to use whatever airtime was possible to get those already on the island back to the Tasmanian mainland. By the time the helicopter was grounded for good, there were still about 20 people still on the island, myself included, and we settled down to spend the night. As the friends of Tasman Island group had been on the island for the preceding week doing maintenance, we had plenty of food, sleeping bags and the 3 light house keepers cottages made for were comfortable accommodation.The fog lasted well into the night, so there was limited possibilities to take useful pictures at sunset , but the following morning we were met with a clear sky and I was able to take some images before the helicopter came to get us .The image of the lighthouse high on the cliffs ended up being awarded the Epson Signature Worthy Award at the Tasmanian Professional Photography Awards, and the portrait of Karl, who had spent time as a lighthouse keeper on the island, was also awarded a silver award at the awards.

Rotary has done a story about the excursion in the September issue of their monthly magazine Rotary Downunder, written by Rod Oliver which you can see here

Having your family portraits on the wall in your home is more than just decoration. It is an unequivocal statement that Family is important. Portraits encourage, nurture and promote a sense of Belonging  and celebrate the special  bonds and relationships of your family.   Contact us if you would like to chat about your family portrait