Digital photography course in Hunter Valley

Last weekend I ran a digital photography course at my studio at Millfield, here in the Hunter Valley. After several days of pretty ordinary weather, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.


Shadow the alpaca loves to have his picture taken


What a great shot by Vanessa. I wish I'd taken it!



Here, James showed how he could control depth of field

Elahe took this shot of 'lambs ears' to illustrate texture

I run courses every month unless I'm too busy shooting weddings. I only take eight students so I can give individual attention and this month I had to turn away a few (sigh!). For those who missed out I'm running another in August.

Anyway this month's class was great fun, everyone so enthusiastic and keen to learn more about their cameras. As usual there was a swag of Canon and Nikon SLR's with the odd Sony and Olympus thrown in to keep me on my toes. It's always great to see those 'lightbulb moments' when the penny drops and the student really starts to understand what's going on with their camera.

The alpacas are used to having their photos taken on my course days but once again the students found lots of interesting subjects to photograph around the property, some I would never have thought of.

Combined portrait shoot and tuition

Brisbane couple, Duncan & Amelia McHugh visited the Hunter Valley last week. Whilst here they booked me for a studio portrait session and asked if I could also give them some photography tuition. I really enjoyed working with Amelia & Duncan, we had a lot of fun doing the shoot and I was able to give them a few tips which should help them become better photographers. Here are a few pics from the day...

Holiday in Europe and Thailand

What a fabulous holiday... I'm just back from 5 weeks in England, France and Thailand. Trish and I had a great time...the weather was even good in England so it's a bit of a shock to the system coming back to winter in Oz.
Especially good was the 10 days we spent in the south of France. Don't want to bore you with too many holiday snaps but couldn't help posting a few!

The three shots above are of Montpazier, a 13th Century 'bastide' town in South-West France


Recognise this lily pond? It's Monet's Garden at Giverney (NW of Paris)


Whilst visiting my brother in Exeter, we called in to the Earl of Devon's castle nearby.


A few days R & R in Koh Samui, Thailand on the way home. Our cottage was metres from the beach...oh well, back to work!

Bad weather but a fine day.

Every bride (and photographer's) nightmare. The rain started just before the wedding ceremony and didn't stop all day. This wasn't enough to dampen Myra and Justin's spirits. They still really enjoyed their big day at Peppers Creek, Pokolbin even if I was a little worried! In spite of the terrible weather we still managed to get some great shots even though most of them were indoors.

Elopement in the Hunter

It seems elopements are growing in popularity. This was my fourth this year! Melissa and David decided to get away for a very private ceremony in the gardens of the Grand Mercure, Hunter Valley Gardens. Well-known Hunter celebrant Maree Callaghan performed the ceremony and once again I was honoured to be a witness to the marriage. (I'm really quite romantic for a bloke!). The weather was great and after the ceremony the couple were off for a wine-tasting whilst I had a short break before another wedding in the afternoon.

Autumn Wedding in Wollombi

The autumn leaves provided a fantastic backdrop

The photoshoot was great fun

Lining up for drinks afterwards at Wollombi Tavern

Paula and Lachlan making a wish

The theme for Paula and Lachlan's wedding was Autumn...and it worked out perfectly. The wonderful Father Graham Jackson officiated at St John's Church Wollombi and after the ceremony the bridal party and I went to nearby Undercliff Winery for the photoshoot. Thank-you to my friends Peter and Jane Hamshere for letting us use your beautiful property. The grounds are absolutely stunning in May. The shoot was great fun and afterwards we called in at Wollombi Tavern for a drink and a couple of photos before going on to the reception at Laguna Hall.