Matthew & Isabella

Matthew and Isabella have come to NZ on holiday with their parents Justin and Carla.

Justin is an award-winning wedding photographer from New South Wales, so I was thrilled that they asked me to be their photographer for their family portrait session. I hope they had as much fun as I did!

Sisters in the Sunshine

I had a lovely time photographing these two gorgeous four-year-old girls, Zoe and Taya, at the beach this morning. We were lucky to have a sunny break for our photo session, amongst all the rain!

The girls had a blast pretending to be pirates, peacocks, parrots, and koala bears. They even taught me that koalas have opposable thumbs. It's quite humbling to learn something new from a four-year-old!

Smiley Fin

Melanie and Ken brought their adorable son Fin to the studio today.

Fin is just two days away from his first birthday, and I really enjoyed capturing his wonderful smiles. What a fabulous job I have!

Snow, magical snow

My son Zachary turned six yesterday, and to celebrate the big occasion, we went down to Ruapehu for the day (with a sleep either side at Grandma and Grandad's house in Matamata). It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for young Zac!

Seeing snow for the first time ever!

Ruapehu cloaked herself in cloud, but was beautifully framed by a rainbow...

Jasmine and Daddy had a blast on the sled.

Making a snowman (with an icicle nose).

Finally, warming up inside in the cafe.

Not long now...

Michelle, Brett and Tye are awaiting the arrival of a little brother for Tye. Not long to go now!

Indoor Portraits Workshop

It's just as well the topic for Sunday's workshop was Indoor Portraits, because the weather wasn't too flash outdoors!

We had fun photographing our fabulous models Rebecca, Terry, Bailey and Baby Alex in a variety of settings and lighting situations.

Max

Wonderful little man Max, with his Mum Alison and Dad Rob, came for their photo session on Saturday. Luckily it was nice and warm in the studio, while a storm brewed outside.

8-month-old Max was just adorable and I really enjoyed capturing his beautiful blue eyes and winning smile.

Sofie

I had a lovely session with Sofie at her grandmother Rosie's place on Wednesday.

Seven-year-old Sofie looked gorgeous and Rosie's lovely garden and beautiful character home made a perfect setting. Rosie's vintage doll, Elizabeth, featured as well.

Sonja

Sonja is our lovely au-pair from Germany. Not only is she great with our kids, she is a wondeful model, too! She posed for us during our Mastering Light workshop, held on Sunday.

And here she is during a candle-lit shoot in our living room.

The Aussies love 'em too

The APPAs - Australian Professional Photography Awards - have just been held and my four entries were awarded with two silvers and two silvers with distinction.

I'm thrilled to have the quality and creativity of my photography recognised across the Tasman!

A big thanks to Mike Thornton of Giclee Print, who did the printing. He does a wonderful job of printing beautiful fine art photographic prints.

All four images will be published in the Australian Professional Photography Awards 2009 book.