Dec 31 2013

2013… Retrospective

On the last day of the year I found it only fitting to create a retrospective of the year that has just passed. A year that saw me travelling the countryside, being invited into the lives of relative strangers to document and take part in the most enchanting ceremonies of our time. What an amazing privilege it’s been.

To look back over these images I can only say that I have one of the best jobs in the world. Not only do I get to travel to breathtaking locations, but I am lucky enough to photograph people enjoying the best day of their lives, sharing that day with the one person they can not live without.

Until getting married myself this year, I had NO idea how powerfully that day can change the very core of who you are. It is more than just a ceremony and a big party.. It is a rite of passage that declares your commitment to devoting yourself to something bigger than yourself.. that is Love.. and Life.. and all that forever stuff.

Kurt Vile – ‘Blackberry Song’

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Feather Finish

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Sep 24 2013

Belinda & Dane {Byron Bay Wedding}

When two creative souls decide to get married a symbiosis evolves.

Their poetic visions reserved for a song, become ideas for a vow. The aesthetic fibre that inspires them, spawns romantic gestures delivered to each other in the most personal and bespoke way. The experience created is one of absolute beauty and mysticism.. crafted from ethereal dreams and transformed into enigmatic reality.

THIS… was what I witnessed through my lens that day. Something that can only be remembered like a dream. Where I question the absoluteness of my recall at seeing these two love birds actually lift off the ground and float through the ether like a sparrow learning to fly.

Lucky I have the photographs to prove my imagined apparitions. And they are just as spectacular as they are in my dreams.

Belinda & Dane.. I tip my hat to you.

Bravo!!

(be sure to play the song below. It was written by Dane himself and performed to his blushing bride as the first gesture of the ceremony. I don’t think Belinda was the only one blushing either)

Dane Tucquet - ‘Lighthouse Song’

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Jun 07 2013

Engaged?

It often takes a while for a couple to feel comfortable with me taking their photo. I don’t blame them really. Having a relative stranger following you around snapping shot after shot isn’t something you do on a regular basis.

The only time that this is ever a real possibility, is if you happen to find yourself an overnight celebrity OR you are sharing your vows with the one you love on your wedding day.  And in the case of the latter, it is something that you expect (whether you’re comfortable with it or not), to have a photographer there to capture the day.

The most challenging part of an engagement shoot for me, is helping the couple feel at ease. I can’t say that I am particularly gifted at it, but what I try hard to do is not be a ‘try-hard’. To just be myself is my goal. If I am relaxed and comfortable with the scenario unfolding before us, then that usually rubs off.

One thing that Lee said to me once he saw these photos was how happy he was that he actually went ahead and organised the shoot. As superfluous as an engagement shoot might seem, I think it would be hard to regret having such beautiful photos of you and your beloved before your wedding day. Not to mention such practicalities like how we all engage with each other, you in front of the camera and me behind it.

Let’s say that this is the perfect ice breaker so you won’t feel so weird on your wedding day. Not that you would anyway, as having a photographer at your wedding is as important as saying ‘I do’.

So you’d think that would be enough to make you feel comfortable.. right?

Buddy Holly - “Dearest”

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May 10 2013

Angela + OJ

I’ve know Angela since I was 9 years old. We went to primary school together up on the Sunshine Coast. We lost touch since leaving school, bumping into each other every now and then. One of those run-ins happened only a few months ago, and Angela informed me that she was getting married. Well, after my congratulations I aptly reminded Angela that I was a wedding photographer and inquired whether she had one booked yet. There was a tentative plan to use a friend who was a photographer, but it wasn’t something she had really given much thought.

I sent her my details and didn’t hear back from her. It so happened that we serendipitously ran into each other for the second time in so many years, and I asked whether she had received my email. She said she hadn’t so I sent it again. Then I did finally hear from her and this is what she wrote -

“I love your work Luke!!! It’s truly incredible!!… I just showed Oj some of your photos and we’ve decided we must stretch the already blown budget and simply must have you! I’m so glad we ran into each other today!!!… I just realised I’m using a lot of exclamation marks. I guess I’m pretty excited!!! :)”

I am a big believer of serendipity. I’m thanking the stars for that second run-in. I’m sure Ange & OJ are as well. I think this was one of those weddings where everything just fell into place so magically.

Maybe that was Angela’s plan all along?

:::

Astrud Gilberto - “Goodbye Sadness (Tristeza)” 

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