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Armitage portrait family album

By Brook Desmond Thursday, June 2, 2016 0 Blog, Portraits family album, family portraits Permalink 0

A Portrait in the Hills and a gorgeous family album

This is the story a family album, who joined me for a portrait in the Perth Hills. While in Melbourne photographing a Wedding recently, I took a little road trip through the countryside to a beautiful little place called Mount Gambier. Here I stayed with my good long standing friends in Brendon and Vanessa. Brendon or Ese as he is affectionally known as own a Telstra shop in town. He, Vanessa and their beautiful and athletic kids relocated there only a couple of years ago.

In the last visit as a family back to Perth, they booked me to do a family portrait for them. Time quickly slipped away from us as both during the busy month of January. However several days before making their return to their new home state of South Australia, we met for an early morning portrait session.

Ese and Vanessa, both originally from the Swan Hills region like the sound of having portraits in Mundaring close to where they are building their dream home. A few days earlier I scoped out the Mundaring weir to see if it would suit our requirements. Early on a Saturday morning we met at the gorgeous little setting under the big trees. The light was already coming through strong and bright which is typical for a Perth Summer morning. Our plan was to get the best of the light before the heat set in.

Their delightful kids came with plenty of laughs and smiles. That was until the ants turned up to. Picture this; the light is perfect, the big tree provides a magical backdrop, I’m about to click away a few snaps…. and ouch…there is ants crawling on the kids. Only little harmless ones mind you. Lucky they make the kids tough these days and shortly afterwards we had plenty of lovely pictures to complete a family album. Even if one particular older brother was not so super keen on giving his younger sister a nice hug.

So the pictures were ordered and some nice sized portraits for their beautiful home in Mount Gambier. So what do you do with all the other pictures that you love? I designed this cute little family album for them. It not only has their favourite images that they put only their walls, but it has also all the cool moments in between. This is the story of the Armitage family. I hope you enjoy.

The album is a Jorgensen matted art album and the pictures are reproduced and printed on archival photographic paper. The images were photographed using natural light with a Canon 5Dmk3 and an assortment of pro series lenses.

The armitage family album

Maia & Paki’s Wedding in Kings park

By Brook Desmond Tuesday, May 31, 2016 0 Blog, Weddings No tags Permalink 0

The beautiful Wedding album design from Maia and Paki’s wedding day in Kings park.

Maia & Paki Wedding album31

Maia & Paki Wedding album35

Aaron & Vanessa’s Wedding album

By Brook Desmond Thursday, May 12, 2016 0 Blog, Travel, Weddings autumn, bride, ceremony, melbourne, natural Permalink 0

The Wedding album of Aaron & Vanessa Petaia

This Wedding album is the story of two very wonderful people. Vanessa is Filipino and Aaron is Samoan. She is Catholic and he is Mormon. Luckily they have a love of travelling in common. They are currently on their honeymoon, travelling through the Caribean and USA. When they return they will get to relive their amazing wedding day.

The 8th of April was a beautiful Autumn Friday in Melbourne. Aaron and his groomsmen prepared themselves for the Wedding at Hoppers Crossing while 10 minutes away Vanessa and her bridesmaids and her family were getting themselves ready for this momentous occasion.

The ceremony was in a lovely little catholic church and was conducted by the wonderful Father Paul. Family photographs were swift and to the point. This was a bonus considering the large contingent of family members from both sides travelling from many parts of the globe.

With the sun appearing and providing warm radiant light we set off for a series of bridal party photographs in Williamstown. The botanical gardens proved to be a great place to start things off. Our next location was the foreshore in Williamstown which provided a beautiful backdrop of Melbourne city. There was one more location on the way to the reception in Richmond, and that was along the winding South Yarra banks. As the light dimmed down we squeezed in one last set of wedding portraits of the bride & groom.

The reception was beautiful celebration embracing the coming together of 2 cultures. The lavish venue was finely decorated and the music from the live band was exceptional. Later during the night, Aaron showed us his talent in singing by joining the band on stage. Confidently he took the mic and in perfect key sang a cover of “My Girl” to his stunning new bride. His young nephews and cousins brought the house down with their synchronised dance moves, and even Vanessa joined in on the party.

As the night proceeded so to did the formalities. Parents of the bride and groom spoke highly of their children’s achievements and toasted them their best wishes during the speeches. This was followed by some heartfelt speeches from several members of the bridal party. Aaron capped off a memorable night with a beautiful speech and a tribute to some beautiful women in his life including his mother and his new wife.

A rush of blood erupted on the dance floor as bachelors and single ladies lined up for the traditional garter toss and the throwing of the bouquet. There is only ever one winner in these contests, and it was obvious who was after the mantle of the next Mr & Mr’s. Aaron and Vanessa celebrated their first dance as a husband and wife. This was followed by a traditional Samoan custom, with family dancing with the bride and groom and launching money at them.

The night quickly came to an end and it was time for the wedding couple to depart. They did this in fine style with a boat picking them up from the jetty at the bottom of their reception centre. As they walked down the stairs, their dear family and friends lit sparkler to guide them on the way out. And so ended the Petaia Wedding in Melbourne.

For me as the professional photographer, it was a big week. I had flown over from Perth a few days earlier to prepare for this beautiful wedding. A couple of days had been spent scouting out locations and meeting the bride and groom to be. Plans and timelines had to be finalised gear to prepare. After the Wedding, I was able to travel to Mount Gambier to attend to some other business. This included some glorious sight seeing along the way, stopping at the 12 apostles and several other magnificent sightings in rural Victoria.

The images for this Wedding album were photographed on the trusty Canon 5D Mk3. A variety of lenses were using including wide angle, prime and telephoto. Images were created using a combination of natural light and off camera flash. Images were processed in Camera raw/Photoshop and the album custom designed using Indesign.

Aaron and Vanessa have chosen one of our popular and contemporary “LifeArt” series for their Wedding album. This style of Wedding album is printed on archival photographic paper and flush mounted for a sleek and modern style. ‘The LifeArt’ Wedding album comes with a minimum 20 sides included as standard. As we photographed so many gorgeous images from the day, the lucky bride and groom will have over 70 sides to choose from to fill their wedding album. A complete “LifeArt album for our clients can contain anywhere from 20-80 sides. In larger wedding where more than 80 sides are available, our clients can consider adding a complete 2nd volume wedding album to compliment their main volume.

Countdown to a South West Wedding

By Brook Desmond Monday, February 22, 2016 0 Blog, Portraits, Pre Wedding, Weddings No tags Permalink 0

This week is the countdown to a South West Wedding. Its always a nice week leading up to a trip down South, and its especially nice with all this marvellous weather forecast for the day. Scott and Candice are a lovely couple, in fact they are pretty cute together. Their story is interesting. They went to the same school, chose the same elective subjects and were both interested in the same field for a career. In fact their journeys together have been more parallel than what meets the eye. From high school to Tafe to work experience to church and finally to marriage. Its all pretty exciting this week, but try tell these guys that. They are happily cruising along taking everything in their stride and without any fuss whatsoever. But what you can tell is that there is a real magic between them, a genuine love and yes I think a couple of nerves floating around too. Come this Saturday though we will really get to see the magic between them as we witness them tie the knot at the beautiful Yallingup Brook just out of Dunsborough. After their intimate ceremony where they have asked for people to unplug and just enjoy, the bridal party and co will head to Castle rock for some bridal party portraits and some stunning images of the Bride and Groom. As part of the lead up to the Wedding day, we try to make some time to produce some pre wedding portraits. This session is a great way for couples to eliminate any camera shyness or nervousness before the real deal of the wedding day. It just so happened that on the day this lovely couple decided to get some pre wedding portraits done, that the Perth heat wave was in full scale and the temperature was well into the 40s. For a few brief moments in the sweltering sun and under the mango trees at Kafarela’s vineyard we were able to click off a couple of shots.

Binar holds off Latter day saint team in Basketball fixture

By Brook Desmond Monday, February 1, 2016 0 Blog, Personal No tags Permalink 0

Last Saturday a couple of rep teams from Binar played a game against members from a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints congregation in what hopes to become an annual fixture in the calendar. A few of the Greenmount saints team dusted off the boots from their playing days to tackle these young slick stars of the future. There were 2 main games played with Binar winning the 1st game. The main game was a pulsating clash with several lead changes and great intensity played right through until the end. Binar lead by 3 with 11 seconds to go in the game, when the Congregational leader Bishop Armitage dropped a huge 3 pointer to tie the game up. Some desperate defence then stopped the Binar boys from making a last second winning basket. The spectacle played in front of a huge crowd seemed too good to settle as a tie, and so it was decided that 3 minutes overtime woud be played. The Young Binar boys lifted the intensity at both ends of the court and even though baskets were traded at both ends, the young men were able to come up with some solid stops and control the ball with composure to win by 2 points. A great effort by all who participated and helped organise and run this fantastic event. The main game was followed by some round robin competitions, a kids game and BBQ. Bishop Armitage praised the young team on their high quality skills and excellent level of sportsmanship. He said ” Its great to see the next generation of young leaders from our community rising to the challenges on and off the basketball court. We will continue to support and encourage these boys to make a difference in our community in all that they do…….It would appear we also need to sharpen our skills up before the next match against them.” A further match will be scheduled possibly later in the year when the boys have completed SBL and WABL commitments. More pics and other results to follow.

Australia day Lifestyle

By Brook Desmond Sunday, January 31, 2016 0 Blog, Personal No tags Permalink 0

Australia day this year was spent with some friends on their lifestyle property in the Swan Valley. Its not just a beautiful place but also a fun place to hang out. It also happens to be right next door to another horse property owner who had me do some family lifestyle portraits for them a few years back. That particular photo shoot was quite fun and included some portraits of the kids doing jumps on their horses, playing on their tree rope and mucking around with their dogs.

Today was a bit of fun for everyone. We had a wonderful BBQ even with some Kangaroo cooked up and then the play fun began. Of course I had to get the Drone out and film some footage of the things we got up to. The kids and everyone else who did not have a popped eardrum (From my dive off the diving board at Bilgoman) splashed around in the pool to cool off from the 36 degree heat, while some of the adventurous prepared the horses and began riding. And of course boys will be boys and the Quad also got launched with some seriously flicks of gravel. Of course it wasn’t just the boys. The ladies and the kids showed plenty of spirit when flying around the paddock too. All in all it was a wonderful day and we even got a last dessert treat to finish it all off (YUMMO). I love the Australia day lifestyle. I love living in a safe and well off country. I love the old cultures and I love the new cultures becoming part of Australian culture. I’m glad that I could spend an Australia day with a bunch of friends from all different cultural backgrounds and have a lot of fun. And get some nice photographs of us doing so.

nephews and nieces attending a Wedding

By Brook Desmond Tuesday, January 26, 2016 0 Blog, Weddings No tags Permalink 0

My Bunbury family came up to Perth for Wedding the other day. I wasn’t working this day and I just happened to pop into my Mum’s house where my nephews and niece were getting ready to celebrate a big day in their family. Many people question whether it is right to have nephews and nieces attending a Wedding. Well how could you not let these little ones attend, they are so gorgeous and bring life and personality (and sometimes a tantrum or two) to a Wedding.

Three little Gems

By Brook Desmond Monday, January 18, 2016 0 Blog, Personal, Portraits No tags Permalink 0

So as the School holidays come to an end and I reflect on the wonderful memories that we have created. I just don’t want it to end… I must love the school holidays more than the kids. That must mean I am still a kids at heart ( and in mind). But I really have loved doing lots of different things with these 3 little gems and these gems mother. I have snapped off many photographs from our adventures and have so many stories to tell, yet the time just slips away so fast and I barely get to post any of my family photographs. While doing a family portrait last week, and talking with this particular family about all the fun adventures they were having over their holiday break, I challenged myself to start by posting some of my family photographic treasures and then follow up with some stories. After all being a professional photographer does put in me in the best seat in the house to take beautiful portraits of my own children. Well here is three little gems of mine, just being themselves. Hopefully you can see the inner happiness and the joy they have spending time together as a family. Hope these holidays never end!!!!

Family Christmas 2015

By Brook Desmond Saturday, January 2, 2016 0 Blog, Magic moments, Personal No tags Permalink 0

Don’t you just love Christmas. Its a great time to be together with family and share some good fun and create some wonderful memories. Of course there is a greater meaning and spirit to Christmas day, and as a family we take a little bit of time away from opening presents and filling up on food and goodies.

In our family we take a bit of time to go through the Christmas story and reflect on our feelings before we begin seeing what Santa has placed under the Christmas tree. Of course it is a joy to watch our children, with excitement opening their presents, and it such a blessing to see them interact and play with their Cousins, Aunties and Uncles and Grandparents.

Christmas day goes by in such flash and it then the 365 day cycle builds up again. I hope we take more than one day to enjoy our family and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Here is a few photographs from our Christmas day celebrations including the annual rushed Desmond family portrait.

Family camping in Busselton

By Brook Desmond Friday, January 1, 2016 0 Blog, Magic moments, Personal No tags Permalink 0

Its about that time of year that I take a well deserved break. Well I think I deserve the break anyway. Not only has a massive Photography season been completed for the year, there has been all the windups from the kids school and of course the Christmas season has been upon us.

This year between Christmas and New Years my immediate family and their children congregated together in the South West for a magical week of camping in Siesta Park halfway between Busselton and Dunsborough. And I do mean magical. The weather and company was fabulous and we couldn’t have asked for a better week away. It probably all didn’t go to plan, however we all made a go of it and enjoyed the the summer rays, the cool nights, the sparkling crystal water and some pretty sensation cuisine.

Here is the first glimpse from our big holiday together. Can’t wait for next years camp.

Merry Christmas from the Mormon Missionaries

By Brook Desmond Thursday, December 24, 2015 0 Blog No tags Permalink 0

We have some Mormon or Latter Day Saint Missionaries (LDS) serving full time in our area here in Greenmount Ward. Missionary work is a tough slog. I know from my own 2 year experience about 20 years ago how hard it can be. One of the most challenging things is the separation from family and loved ones. Luckily at Christmas time the Missionaries are privileged with Skype calls (only phone calls back in my day) to their families.

This Christmas time we have been hanging out with the Missionaries a little. The other night they came carol singing with us and earlier in the week we rode our bikes out to play some sport with them on their P-Day (preparation day).

The other involvement we have been enjoying (not) is getting up at 5:30am in the morning to take them on a walk/run/hike through the beautiful John Forrest national park. There is nothing better first thing in the morning as the sun comes up, than running through thick overgrown Australian bush on winding and hilly tracks with the possibility of an Australian dugite snake waiting around the corner for you. Its one of those adventures you just live for.

Seeing as it is Christmas the Missionaries are after some photos to send home to their families and so I was fortunate to roll off a few shutters from my camera for them. Well one broken Elinchrom light later and maybe a slight riff between the Elders and Sister (what Mission doesn’t have that) and we have a lovely set of images for them to enjoy from their Mission. As their families are from far and wide include USA, Tonga, New Zealand and Straya, I thought the best way to show might be through this blog post.

Merry Christmas to all their families and loved ones. Be assured that they are doing well and are well looked after.

Jamie & Linda’s Wedding in Sydney

By Brook Desmond Friday, October 23, 2015 0 Blog, Weddings professional photographer, reception, sydney wedding, tongan wedding, Tongan wedding photographer Permalink 0

Anzac Day

By Brook Desmond Friday, April 24, 2015 0 Blog, Portraits anzac, Anzac day, black and white, black and white photography, family Permalink 0

Anzac day – from a Photographers viewpoint

Anzac day is one of those special occasions, you know the ones. The ones that bring a smile and a tear to your eye at the same time, where silence for a small moment feels like eternity and can help bring back countless memories and emotions in the blink of an eye.

The Dawn service scramble

For the past few years we have been getting up early in the morning to attend the dawn service at Blackboy hill. This site was once a training camp for the early Anzacs, and holds a special place in history. Our kids have ben eager although very tired to get up and go to the dawn service, and we see many of our family and friends there. There is also a fantastic group of volunteers that put on hot drinks, scones and Anzac cookies for the people braving the cold mornings.

Well this morning wasn’t that cold, but due to baby having a rough night, we had a bit of a sleep in. In fact Baby, Kembry and Mesha didn’t get up at all, While Cumoram and I scrambled for the door to get there before it finished. This year seemed to be even more packed than previous years, but it was great to see such wonderful support.

Marching with pride

After attending the Dawn Service, the family and I caught the train into the city to watch the Marching Parade. This was an event that we would attend regularly when we were younger, especially when my Grandpop was alive and would March with the other returned soldiers. We would march with him often, which was a great delight to us. Dad really got into it too and so Anzac day has always been a special day for us as a family.

One year I went to March and took my younger cousin Paddy out with me to be alongside our Grandpop. Well the West Australian newspaper thought that would be a great shot and so they snapped a picture of us to be published in the paper.

A portrait of my Grandparents

Another great memory is of a very early portrait I did of my Grandpop and my Grandma sitting together at Langley reserve after the march and while we waited for the main service to begin. I loved that moment and still have the photo I took of them those many years ago. I had given them a framed picture of it as a gift and it was the one thing I asked to have back from them when they passed away. It holds a very special meaning to me.

This year we found a spot to watch the parade down by the Bell tower. We met with friends Tim and Jess Batten and took in with us Jessy Fallon. Jessy and Cumoram road their scooters around most of the time, but Kembry and Jairom had great joy sitting and watching the soldiers and marching bands in full motion. I snapped a few pictures of the day and processed them as Black & White images. I love black and white photography especially on days like Anzac day. Its a great way to show expression without the colour distraction.

As I saw these men and women march, I saw many things in their faces. Many carried scarring of what they had been through or what they had seen. They also had a look of dignity and pride. As I looked at their expressions I wondered what they thought now. I hope they have a place in their heart of peace and joy, knowing that what they did those many years ago has been of great benefit to us and our kids. Because it has. We live in a land of peace and plenty, where we have liberty to choose. Our freedom is our greatest blessing. Sometimes we moan and groan of our circumstances, but we are so blessed and have so much. And we OWE so much to those who have fought for our freedom and prosperity. To all those ANZACS and all those affected by the sacrifices of their family in the past, I would like to say THANK YOU….. LEST WE FORGET.

I hope these black and white photographs tell a story and find meaning in your heart

Just a quick preview of some pics from Anzac day 2012. A full blog of images soon. LEST WE FORGET!!!

Ziesel Wedding album preview

By Brook Desmond Tuesday, March 31, 2015 0 Blog, Weddings album, bridal, cultural, samoan, temple Permalink 0

Ziesel Wedding album preview –

We photographed this beautiful bridal couple as they celebrated their Wedding day in Sydney with an intimate LDS temple ceremony and a Samoan cultural reception. The album planning was done via skype, to assist with their wedding album changes.

Once the family photographs were completed, the small bridal party chauffeured by the grooms parents had the Bridal portraits photographed, firstly in a vacant field in Campden, then on a beautiful horse property not far around the corner.

The weather and light was stunning and comfortable, with most of the wedding images captured using natural light.

Family and guest attended from many parts of the country including Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Distinguished guests also journeyed from New Zealand and Samoa.

Even the very impressive Photographer (lol) and his lovely assistant came all the way from Perth. The Bride and Groom later honeymooned in Samoa.

Click below for the the latest Album Review – The current version has 40 double page album spread (80 face page sides) and plans for a metallic acrylic album cover.

Ziesel Wedding album – Latest Version

The Lovely Mr & Mrs Ziesel

Judging digital entries

By Brook Desmond Friday, March 27, 2015 0 Blog, Tutorials, workshops/tours digital, judging, photograph, photographer, photographic Permalink 0

Preparing Digital entries for Photography competitions –

Judging digital entries for photography awards can be a complex process. The main reason is for the diversity of art and the subjective viewpoint that can be taken for each an every photograph.

Since being involved in judging photography award I have seen a variety of different elements that can influence the way in which a photograph is judged.

Film V Digital

Early on I saw may film produced photographs presented as a print for judging. This meant that the final presentation including printing choices of paper, colour and even size came into consideration.

The art of printing

Printing is an art in itself and always has been. In this day and age printing has taken on a whole different meaning with so much control moved from the darkroom to the digital darkroom.

Each year when preparing for the professional photography award, countless hours are consumed on fine tuning the final print. Test printing is not just a thing of the past.

Paul Dowe of Paul Dowe Galleries, my close business associate would tirelessly in producing magical print results to match our photography skills. In some way I believe this is the complete photographic process.

A Digital world

Apart from professional photography awards, where most of the entries are printed, most photography competitions call for digital entries. This encourages more entries from participants because of the low overhead cost of producing the final image.

We use digital cameras now and work in a digital darkroom, so it makes sense in many ways for the final presentation to digital too.

Challenges in Judging digital entries.

My personal opinion is that there are some challenges with judging digital images. The first being, that as a judge there is just so many more entries to judge.

Often I am finding that entrants are presenting not only their best work but also images they are not sure of hat they want critiqued for personal feedback. It’s a great way to broaden you skills.

The other challenge for digital entries in photography competitions is the viewing platform.

Photography in a new direction

In professional photography circles, photographic prints are presented under a specific and constant light setting. Photographers work hard to reproduce the most please results to be viewed under those lighting conditions.

Photographs are carefully printed and prepared so that the judge and other viewers can enjoy the image that has been created and compare the image evenly against other entries.

Getting it right for the screen

With digital entries it becomes more difficult to reproduce the image on the viewing screen identically as seen on your screen when editing.

As a Photography judge it becomes more difficult to determine what is correctly exposed, how much detail is actually within the black and whether an image has good tonal range. ( I will share another post on these elements soon).

Keeping with the rules

These elements are an important consideration when judging photographic quality and are just as important as rule of thirds, leading lines and generally good exposures. In it is in the final control and detail that we are able to micro adjust and lift the quality of the photographs we take.

Tools for finer results

Professional photographers and accomplished amateur photographers alike are taking correctly exposed photographs with sound compositions and refining those more precise techniques to present beautifully crafted photographs.

Learning the secrets

Tools like Photoshop are important in the final process. Dezire Studios and Paul Dowe Galleries combine to teach people the finer tips in photography and image making, including the important printing process and preparing digital files for photography competitions (and facebook album galleries too).

You can check out some of our photography workshops and the accompanying critique and training sessions here at Wildlight tours.

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