Fusion Photography

The Blog Is Moving!

2008-07-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Our blog has now moved to here. This new blog server allows me a little more control over the look & feel - I think it is a lot classier. This one will stay here for a while as an archive, but please visit & bookmark the new link now for all the latest posts.

We are also refreshing our main website www.fusionphotography.biz this month with a new look & new content - it should be launched about the 12th July to coincide with the Hyatt wedding fair - check it out!

On that note, I am happy to announce that we are now officially the preferred high-end photography supplier for the Hyatt Hotel. Please come & visit us at the Hyatt wedding fair, July 13 10am - 4pm, if you are in the process of planning your wedding.

2008 APPA Print Awards

2008-06-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year again - the annual National AIPP Print Awards were held last weekend in Brisbane. The judging is always very hard, but in talking to my colleagues the consensus seems to be that this year they were even tougher than usual. So I was very happy/relieved to come home with 3 Silver Awards & 1 Bronze. Here are the 4 images I entered:

Mr Fusion Meets the Prime Minister

2008-06-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the cryptic title. Those of you who enjoy the TV show "Monk" will understand. Well, what an interesting morning. Today I had the opportunity to photograph our Prime Minister. FACSIA hired me to cover a special function at the Hyatt which the PM attended. What was really bizarre was getting caught in the media scrum (my first!) when the PM arrived - trying to jostle for position with about 6 other press photographers & television news crews as well. I felt like a paparazzi trying to catch a celebrity on the red carpet at a Hollywood movie launch! The fun part was getting to boss the PM around...... well not really, but I did get to tell him where to stand & when to smile......... :-) Unfortunately I can't post any of the photos as the Department will probably be purchasing the copyright & the image usage will be restricted.

Brooke & Michael

2008-06-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

Brooke was also one of my photography students - you can see below she couldn't resist taking a few photos of her own...... She married Michael in a simple & elegant ceremony at Peppers Manor House in the Southern Highlands. Lovely! The gown was beautiful raw silk & the venue just perfect. Peppers was a delightful place to photograph - so many possibilities & not enough time. Hopefully I'll get to shoot another wedding there in the future to try out some more ideas I had. Anyway we still managed to get a lot of great stuff in the short time we had - Brooke has over 1100 photos to choose from! Congratulations guys!!!

Joanne & Gavin

2008-06-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Joanne & Gavin! Gavin is one of my many photography students & it was in one of our classes I first learned he was getting married. They too wanted some autumn colour & the photos you see are taken in the park just next door to the lodge that I've mentioned before. As we had half an hour to kill between sunset & the reception we also popped into civic & did a bit of night photography including some shots with a Canberra landmark - the "CUBE".

Renee & Michael

2008-05-26T22:49:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Renee & Michael who got some of the last of the autumn colour for their wedding shots & who (through a lucky turn of events) managed to score the Presidential suite at the Hyatt. This room is soooooo expensive, way beyond the budget of normal mortals, but through some mix-up on the Hyatt's part they got upgraded. I only had a couple of minutes to grab a few shots (see comments below) before we had to rush off to the reception. But it was enough to get jealous about the sort of things the rich & famous have to put up with! :-0

The presidential suite is like a whole house - has a separate grand dining room & this huge study..... the boys had fun pretending they were the president & his advisor's.

It also has its own baby grand piano!

And what an amazing bathroom - it just goes on & on & on.....

Katie & Steve

2008-05-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

Katie & Steve had a nice country wedding at Goolabri Resort just north of Canberra near Sutton. Unfortunately I was sick as a dog on their wedding day, but dosed myself up with lots of drugs & plowed on. I think we still managed to get some lovely shots.....

Jett & Brody - Kids Portraiture

2008-05-19T23:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a little break from wedding photos - a fabulous kids shoot we did a few weeks ago with the last of the autumn colour & two cute models, Jett & Brody. These were taken at a lovely little spot I like, a park right next door to the Lodge! We knocked, but no, Kevin wasn't home.........

Lara & Rob

2008-05-19T04:10:00.001-07:00

I first met Lara when shooting for the Queanbeyan Players production of "Seven brides for Seven Brothers". I was immediately struck by her gorgeous red hair (I'm a sucker for redheads - a long time Nicole Kidman fan etc) & her vivacious persona. We used Lara for the cover photo of the program - see first image below. When I found out she got engaged during the production I knew I just had to do her wedding. I could tell she would be so much fun to shoot. So I pestered her until she came for a consultation & felt very privileged when she agreed to hire me as her wedding photographer. And the wedding lived up to all my expectations...... Congratulations Lara & Rob - thank you for the privilege of sharing in your wonderful day!

This was also the first opportunity I had to shoot getting ready photos at the new Hotel Realm in Barton. This is a panoramic shot of the view from the room:

Janet & Steven

2008-05-19T01:43:00.000-07:00

Another Hyatt wedding - a lovely simple affair. Congratulation Janet & Steven! I got some lovely feedback from Janet via SMS the day after the wedding: "Thank you Ben, you are a true genius. Your support to me just before I walked down the isle was so helpful. We are amazed at how creative you are, we can't wait to see the photos." Thanks Janet - it's always wonderful to know your work is appreciated! :-) It was such a pleasure doing your wedding....

Courtney & Gordon

2008-05-19T01:30:00.001-07:00

Well sorry to all you blog addicts out there - I know I've been slack in posting over the last month. But hey, we've been in the peak of the wedding season & I've been drowning in work! Patience, patience.... I'm finally catching up so I'm ready to post a whole heap of fantastic weddings. First up we have Courtney & Gordon - married in the Botanic Gardens with some photos at the Hyatt as well.

Best Bridal Portrait Award

2008-04-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

We were very honored this week to win the Best Bridal Portrait category at this years WPPI Rangefinder Best of Weddings Competition. This is an international competition based in the United States. 4 of our entered photos achieved silver awards, another 5 achieved silver with distinction, 2 were finalists & this was the winning image. It is currently on display in an exhibition in Las Vegas! Yay!!!

Clare & Lee

2008-03-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

Last week we enjoyed traveling to Robertson in the Southern Highlands for the wedding of Clare & Lee. Clare wore a beautiful antique style wedding dress that went superbly with all the antique furniture & the beautiful garden settings at Fountaindale Manor House where they had their ceremony. Congratulations to them both for a wonderful wedding day that I'm sure will live long in their memories. Here's a selection of my favourites taken in & around Robertson:

Thereasa & James

2008-03-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Thereasa & James! A beautiful elegant wedding with one of the most gorgeous dresses I've been privileged to photograph in ages. Thanks guys - you were so wonderful to work with! :-)

Sarah & Dane

2008-02-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sarah & Dane who were married last Saturday. Their wedding illustrated a point we are always telling brides - don't get too hung up on particular locations & be flexible; anything can (and often will) happen on your wedding day. Sarah wanted to take some photos on the road to Government House, a very popular spot. However last Saturday was the annual prom concert. When we arrived there were cars parked from one end of the road to the other & crowds of people wondering all over the place! Impossible to take the usual photos...... so we tried something completely different instead. As they got married & live around Weston Creek I took them up to Mt. Stromlo with it's beautiful views of the area & we found this burnt out observatory from the bush fires in 2003. Made for some unique shots & something special for their album........

Baby Photos

2008-02-15T21:59:00.001-08:00

Well it's not often i get to pursue my other passion (children's portraiture), being so busy with weddings all the time. Though I am probably going to have to make some more time for them soon as 6 of my brides from this past year are pregnant already & soon expecting little cute versions of themselves. This week I had the opportunity to do a baby shoot. Here's little Charlie......

Louise & Adrian

2008-02-14T22:49:00.001-08:00

Another fabulous wedding in a great location. Congratulations to Louise & Adrian who were married at Mona Vale country estate just outside of Braidwood. They were both fabulous fun to work with & game for anything. This is the first time we've shot at Mona Vale & what a lovely estate it is. There was so much to do there photographically that we didn't have nearly enough time! We also went into Braidwood itself to get some shots with some beautiful old stone buildings & vintage doorways. Hope you enjoy the results....

Kathryn & Thomas

2008-02-14T03:59:00.000-08:00

From the time I was first contacted by Kathryn & learned she planned to get married in Tilba I was really looking forward to this wedding. For those who don't know Tilba, it is a beautiful historic village set amidst gorgeous rolling green hills on the south coast just inland from Narooma. They had their ceremony in Foxglove Spire gardens - a place I've always wanted to shoot a wedding. We spent some time taking photos there then moved onto the actual main street of the village using some of the old buildings & even an old red phone box! What made this wedding even more special for us was an amazing bit of serendipity. My wife Melinda & I spent our second wedding anniversary in some cosy little cabins in the hills behind Tilba 17 years ago. Katheryn offered us accommodation for the wedding in some cabins her family owned & it turned out to be the very same ones we stayed in all those years ago! So not only were we privileged to shoot a wonderful couple in the most gorgeous surroundings on the south coast but we had a lovely time reminiscing on our own happy romantic times in the area.....

I often find inspiration for photos at the cinema, especially European films. In this case, these phone box photos were partly inspired by a famous scene in the first Matrix film.

This "fun" shot came about because we had the bride & groom walking down a narrow country lane & we had the groomsmen watching for traffic!

We went into Narooma for the reception and these photos were taken at Australia Rock, a famous landmark in Narooma.

Jo & Jake

2008-02-14T02:39:00.000-08:00

Well yes, I know, I know, it's been ages since I've posted & I'm sorry OK! But you know how it is - life gets so hectic sometimes. I've been flat out with albums lately - everyone suddenly ordered their albums at the same time & ganged up on me. And I've been busy helping out lots of new brides with their wedding planning. So anyway here's the three latest weddings a lot of you have been waiting for. Lets start with the first wedding of this year - the wonderful Jo & Jake.......

No, it wasn't raining but this was a special golf umbrella from Jake's sponsors. They tell me he's good, really good, like the next Tiger Woods - go Jake! Don't forget us when you're rich & famous....

This photo was taken at the Boat house. This is a venue we shoot a lot at & I wanted something different from the usual shots I get here. I noticed how her dress was reflecting in the door & really liked it so we carefully positioned Jo & both doors to get a reflection on either side! Those of you who are familiar with my work know how much I love using mirrors/reflections etc - this is one of my favorites of the whole day.

Caroline & Ash

2008-01-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

The last wedding of the year proved to be quite a challenge for all concerned due to gale force winds. As you can see it was great for dramatic veil shots, but our poor bride was getting very buffeted & windswept. Still a great wedding to end the year with. Thanks Caroline & Ash - you were so great despite the trying circumstances!

Natalie & Nathan

2008-01-16T21:38:00.000-08:00

Natalie & Nathan had a lovely, elegant & simple affair at the Botanic Gardens followed by some photos at the National Museum. Congratulations guys! Can't wait to take photos of that cute baby that's coming.... :-)

Eleisha & Kevin

2008-01-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Eleisha & Kevin, a delightful couple who got married on the 8th Dec at St.Johns Reid & the Hyatt. Just hope nobody from the Hyatt reads this & sees how I get my bridesmaids warmed up for their photos!

Lorrette & Chris

2007-12-20T02:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a wedding - exotic bride, exotic cars, cute kids, tough guys & completely rained out! Congratulations to Lorrette & Chris who got married on Dec 1, a very wet weekend. Lorrette is of Sri Lankan background & has the most beautiful chocolate coloured skin along with big beautiful eyes. They were married at St.Christopher's Cathedral & the photos we had to take at the Hyatt as it was way to wet for our original photo shoot plans. As you can see though we tried to incorporate the rain in some of the photos (as on the car windows) to create something unique & remind them of the beautiful rainy day that it was! The car you see is Chris's special pride & joy, otherwise known (according to Lorrette) as the money pit! :-) We just had to get a shot of that despite the rain so this was taken under one of the bridges that span Capital circle. Another fabulous wedding. They, like so many of my recent couples, ended up with close to a 1000 photos...... here's my faves:

Liz & Tim

2007-12-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Liz & Tim, an absolutely gorgeous couple. Liz is an Aussie but has spent a lot of time overseas, particularly in Morocco, & has picked up the cutest accent. They were both lots of fun to work with & we all had a great time. They had a huge bridal party as you can see from one of the photos of the boys which presented quite a challenge but it all worked out well in the end. Hope you enjoy this selection of my favourites.

P.S. It was so nice to have a lovely long veil to shoot. So many brides are choosing not to have a veil these days, but it makes such a nice prop to play around with on a photo shoot. So if you're a bride, please, please, please consider having a veil. Even if you don't wear it in the traditional way during the ceremony it makes for some great photos later on. Nothing says "bride" quite like a beautiful veil.

The New Nikon D3 - The Ultimate Wedding Camera

2007-12-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

Well it's here - the camera I've been coveting ever since it was first announced back in August - the revolutionary new Nikon D3. It just arrived today & I can't wait to play with it & get accustomed to all it's new features. I think I'm the first one in Canberra, possibly the whole country, to get one! I had to order it directly from Japan as the Australian importer is only getting very small quantities in dribs & drabs & probably not until January even though the camera was officially released on Dec 1.

This new camera has an entirely new auto-focus system & extraordinary high ISO capabilities that will really enhance our ability to get fantastic shots in low light situations such as the getting ready shots & dark churches. I hate using flash & generally only use it if absolutely necessary as natural light is usually so much nicer. With this new camera I will virtually be able to throw my flashes away.... Yay!!! The camera is also amazingly fast & responsive - with the ability to shoot up to 11 frames per second we won't miss a moment of your wedding day action. This fits in really nicely with how I like to shoot weddings - a sort of combination of portraiture & sports photography; rather than being glued to a stiff tripod & getting static poses, I love to move around quickly and also get my bride & groom active & moving to create something more dynamic.

We also invested in Nikon's stunning new 24-70mm f/2.8 lens - a beautiful piece of glass & engineering. After these two purchases my bank balance is feeling $10,000 lighter, but as promised in our marketing, Fusion will always be at the forefront of the latest technology to make sure you get state-of-the-art quality. Oh, and did I mention the other reason - that I'm a total gadget freak!!! :-)

Louise & Paul

2007-12-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Louise & Paul got married the same weekend as Rebecca & Jamie below. November was such an incredibly hectic month this year - we did 9 weddings in the one month! I'm still working round the clock to keep up with all the post production..... phew!..... it's making me tired just thinking about it. Louise & Paul had a nice civil ceremony at Cockington Green which I loved as it's the first time I've had the opportunity to shoot there. It's a great place for photos & hopefully I'll get to do some more weddings there in the future. We also took some shots at Old Parliament House as Paul really liked the architectural elements there. Here are some of my favourites:

This is Louise modeling with her make-up layouts! These was done by Rachel Judd. Have I mentioned what a fantastic make-up artist she is? She's definitely the girl to get if you're getting married. I was surprised to learn how when she does a trial run with the bride she goes to all the trouble of sketching these fabulous make-up blueprints to make sure everything goes exactly to plan on the day - they are a work of art in themselves!

Paul comes from a German family (most of whom flew over to Australia for the wedding) & I believe the heart shaped balloons & the action below are both German traditions that they brought with them. Certainly livened up the wedding ceremony & made for a great splash of colour!

Louise & Paul at Stonehenge!

It was getting very stormy & windy by this stage of the afternoon, just in time for Louise's Hollywood glamour shot.....

Rebecca & Jamie

2007-12-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

Rebecca & Jamie were a lovely couple from Melbourne who came to Canberra to get married as their family was all here. They booked everything via email & I didn't get to meet them until the wedding day which always makes me a bit nervous. However, I needn't have worried as we all got on fabulously well on the day - they were a real pleasure to work with! The dress was elegant & gorgeous, as were the shoes. I heard from one of the bridesmaids that Rebecca had them hand-made & they were very special to her. So we made sure we got lots of detail shots featuring them... They were married on the 17th November. It rained a bit later in the afternoon so we got the umbrellas out & also got some beautiful shots with our parasol down at Weston Creek. We were even fortunate enough to get a beautiful sunset - the shot below was taken on the deck at the Royal Canberra Golf Club where they had their reception.Congratulations guys.... hope you love your photos as much as I do. :-)

Lauren & Simon

2007-11-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

Rachel & Ben

2007-11-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Rachel & Ben. They were the cutest couple to photograph. Willing to try anything, they had lots of fun as you can see from the photos. They had a friend bring along his Harley for some great shots. The light at the Museum was just beautiful. All in all another fabulous wedding I was very proud to be a part of.

Check out those eye-lashes & they're absolutely real - I asked!

These three photos were taken on State Circle around Parliament House. I drive past these beautifully textured rock formations all the time & always think what a great backdrop for wedding photos. Not your typical wedding location & a bit tricky to get to, so thanks Rachel & Ben for letting me finally get some photos here... :-)

Wedding AFL?

Emily & Ben

2007-11-18T23:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but this is going to be a long post again. Emily & Ben's wedding was just fantastic - congratulations guys! One of the best weddings this year. They got married at the new chapel at Gold Creek - a great venue if you're looking for somewhere indoors but don't want to get married in a church. The photo shoot was around the sculpture gardens at the National Gallery & at Commonwealth place. Reception was at the Abbey, also at Gold Creek. This venue has an organ that makes a fantastic backdrop for dramatic photos. I highly recommend it, especially if you're looking for a larger venue. Chris & Lesly Barnes, the owners, will really look after you & give you a lot of personal attention. Well, soooo many great photos. They ended up with over a 1000 in the final cut, so editing it down to a handful to show you was really hard work. So anyway, here's 25 of my favourites. Enjoy! :-)

Vicki & Gerard

2007-11-15T22:37:00.000-08:00

Vicki & Gerard were married at beautiful Narooma on the South Coast. As you can see like a good husband he was always opening doors & staying ten paces behind! :-) And, being an triathlete we had to show of his athleticism.....

Olivia & Nam

2007-11-09T15:38:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Olivia & Nam who got married on the 5th Nov, though these photos were taken two weeks earlier. Yes, they tried something different - having a photo shoot on a different day from their wedding. It worked brilliantly. They were far more relaxed than they would have been with all the stresses of the wedding day & had lots more time to get the variety of shots they wanted. We started at the mist gardens at the National Gallery, went onto Commonwealth place & finally finished up at Weston Park.

Jaala & Bob - Wagga Wagga

2007-11-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

Last month we enjoyed a trip to Wagga Wagga to photograph Jaala & Bob's wedding. A lovely relaxed affair in a very cute country church followed by a photo shoot at the botanic gardens. Jaala was very easy to photograph & had a sort of Audrey Hepburn quality about her! Here's some favourites.....

Tia & Michael

2007-10-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

This month I was very privileged to do a couple of weddings at Floriade. This is the wonderful couple Tia & Michael. I had shot Tia previously as a bridesmaid a few years ago & was very happy to be able to photograph her own wedding. It was a delightful day & we had a ball. Floriade is not actually the easiest place to take wedding photos in - it's very hard to get a shot without a hundred tourists in the background! So as well as flower photos we tried something different with the ferris wheel. This was a nice out of the way spot behind the ticket booth for the teacup ride, which you will notice they also had a go on.

I'm a sucker for dimples & Tia had gorgeous ones!

This is how I make extra money from weddings - I use these candids as blackmail shots... :-)

Don't try this at home, ah um, I mean your wedding. Great fun, but not so good on dresses.

Eva & John

2007-10-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Eva & John. They had a wonderful ceremony at Tulip Tops (the other Floriade) out on the Federal Hwy & then went to Lambrook Winery for their reception. It was a very emotional day - I think the groom actually cried more than the bride! The getting ready shots were taken at Crowne Plaza in civic.

This shot was taken through the wedding veil. They had it hanging on the shower rail, so I hopped into the bathtub/shower & took the shot through the veil looking back into the bathroom.

I'm not sure if you can see it in this small photo but this shot was taken just after she was kissed & I love the smear of lipstick on her cheek. Goes so well with her winning smile!

Playing around with bathroom mirrors....

This was the beautiful setting for their ceremony - surrounded by spring daffodils.

I just loved the leading lines created here by the walls of wine barrels.

New Logo

2007-10-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it was time for a logo change. The old one was getting a bit tired. When Fusion Photography first started out it was mainly selling stock photos for greeting cards etc. Our original logo was created to reflect that nature/floral theme of most of our work. For many years now our core business has been weddings & we thought it was time to have a logo that was more reflective of our whole business instead of just the nature side. Also a good opportunity to refresh our image with something more modern & stylish. Hope you like it as we're going to be plastering it everywhere!!! :-)

AIPP Awards

2007-09-28T05:07:00.001-07:00

This week saw the judging of the ACT AIPP Awards & I was thrilled to get a Silver award for each of my 4 wedding prints. Silver's & Gold's are extremely hard to come by (there were no Gold's awarded in the wedding category this year at all) so I would have been happy to get one, but pleasantly surprised to win 4!

Here are the winning prints. They will be on exhibition along with many other award winning prints from this years competition including landscapes, portraits, illustrative & commercial work. The exhibition runs for a couple of weeks at The Canberra Centre from Oct 22. Come along and have a look at some fantastic photography.

Make-up

2007-09-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

This week we were helping a friend who is a fantastic make-up artist with some folio shots for her business. She got a group of friends round for a make-up session and we photographed the results. Rachel is the best we've found so if you looking for a talented make-up artist for your wedding, contact us and we'll pass Rachel's details on to you. She should have a website up & running soon - we'll post a link on our website. She is particularly good with different skin types like Asian or African, that many other artists really struggle with.

Melbourne Holiday

2007-09-20T04:31:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I posted sorry. Life has been pretty hectic & we took the chance to have a little holiday in Melbourne to see Phantom of the Opera. In a way we were reliving our 2nd anniversary - 17 years ago we saw the same production in the same theater (Princess) & with the same leading man (Anthony Warlow - who just gets better & better with age!) A fantastic show not to be missed.

Here are some photos showing the view from our hotel room along the Yarra river at night:

While we were there we also took the chance to do some night photography with my associate photographer Lindsay & his wife Amy who joined us on the trip. While shopping during the day (Ahhhh Melbourne - a shopaholics paradise) I found some beautiful hand-made venetian masks. So we got Amy dressed up in hew wedding gown & the mask and off we went into the night. Here are some of the results:

Kerry & Michael

2007-08-06T23:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kerry & Michael who braved the cold weather last weekend to have their winter wedding. It was a lovely, simple & elegant affair - usually my favourite type of wedding. This one was especially dear to me (and I must apologise in advance for the unusual amount of photos in this post) as I have known the groom since he was a little kid & am a friend of the bride's family as well. It was a real honour to be able to take their photos and be a guest!

Like most of my clients they left locations up to me. I had a few ideas in mind but knew I would probably only have time for one spot....... decisions, decisions..... however, when I walked into Kerry's room and saw the red curtains, I knew we had to go to the National Museum. The dramatic red walls & lounges there would just suit her perfectly! The poor things were so cold on the day we had to shoot mostly indoors. I hope you enjoy this (poorly edited) selection of my favourites:

Kirsty & Adrian

2007-07-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

Kirsty & Adrian were married at St. Andrews on July 14 - congratulations guys! :-)

They were terrific fun to work with, really got into the spirit of the photo shoot & were game for anything. At one point we even had them throwing autumn leaves all over each other! We took some photos around the church, then we tried a spot near the lodge (no John was not home...) to make use of some interesting trees in the park there, & finally over to Nara Park.

In this entry I'll try and explain the background to some of the photos & how they were achieved.

This shot was taken with the bride just sitting on the end of the bed with her bouquet. I just positioned her to make use of the natural window light & then darkened out some of the room distractions in post-production to give it a sort of clean studio feel.

I usually like to do something a bit silly to warm the bridal party up a bit for the photo shoot later on - to help them have fun & be less conscious of the camera. In this case we simply got the girls to jump up & down on the bed!

The hotel where Kirsty got ready had some really nice paintings in the walkways. This one was situated just nicely with a skylight to the left throwing some natural light onto the scene. I filled the frame with the painting, again to make it look like a studio shot, when in actual fact it was just taken on location in a hotel!

When I first went to Kirsty's room I noticed this lounge on the floor below hers & pre-visualized a shot from above with her draped across it. The high angle gives it an different feel.

This was shot directly under another of the hotels skylights. In this one I was experimenting with the vertical panorama format & the negative space above the bride.

Another painting, this time a black & white one that went well with the B&W theme of their wedding.

This shot was taken coming in from the balcony at St.Andrews. I rarely get the opportunity to shoot out there due to the time constraints of the church, but this time we were the last wedding of the day. Unfortunately the outside shots I wanted to get didn't quite come out as I'd hoped as the light was in the wrong place, but I loved this candid shot of the couple framed by the door & the strong back lighting. Serendipity sometimes makes for great photos even when what we intended doesn't work!

Love this ornate door. I have added a vignette & some darkening in post-production to bring out the texture in the bricks & wood a bit more.

These are the trees I wanted to use - I thought they looked quite dramatic with the shapes of their bare winter branches.

I thought this shot had a nice feel to it, like they're out for a stroll in their country estate with the beautiful, warm, late afternoon light.

We wanted to have some more fun with the veil but it wouldn't behave itself. I had my wife behind & to the left throwing the veil over them a number of times before we finally got this shot. Shhhh.... don't tell anyone we cheated!

Kirsty & Adrian wanted to get some photos with a bit of foliage in them if possible. There wasn't much around & it was fairly drab. This was taken with a wide angle & enhanced with some Photoshop magic to make the foliage more vibrant.

This photo just cracks me up.... The boys were trying to "synchronize" their jumping & clicking heals, but they just couldn't do it, they were all over the place - I think they were laughing too hard after the first go!

A silhouette shot to show off the fairy lights.

Amanda & Stan

2007-07-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Amanda & Stan who were brave enough to have a winter wedding in Canberra! It was absolutely freezing by the time they got out of the church. We managed to get a few shots on the church grounds before it started pouring. Then we went back to the hotel for the "photo shoot" and did lots of indoor stuff..... Hopefully this selection of my favourites shows you can still get great photos even if the weather is foul. Please enjoy......

Sheree & Branham

2007-06-25T20:45:00.001-07:00

This couple were fantastic to work with - thanks guys! Sheree was lots of fun & up for anything - a photographer's dream. She couldn't help but smile radiantly all day..... and what a cheeky smile it is too sometimes. You will have seen some of their shots on our website including the home page, but here are some extra favourites:

Bam & Gerry's Photography Workshop - Melbourne

2007-06-24T20:03:00.001-07:00

This week I was down in Melbourne at the beautiful Montsalvat Estate for a photography workshop with two of my favourite photographers - Bambi Cantrell from the U.S.A. & Gerry Ghionis who is a Melbourne local. What a pleasure it was to learn from these two masters - they certainly deserve their reputations as being two of the top ten wedding photographers in the world. I picked up some great ideas on honing my lighting & posing skills as well as lots of inspiration. It was a truly wonderful day & lots of fun. So thank you Bambi & Gerry & also thanks to the wonderful brides who modeled for us. Here's a few shots from the course:

Canberra Dramatics

2007-06-07T23:27:00.001-07:00

Aside from weddings & portraiture I also volunteer my time to do a bit of theatre photography for some of the local amateur production companies in Canberra. My wife Melinda & I love live theatre, especially musical theatre. Over the 18 years we've been together we've seen hundreds of musicals & plays. If you're ever at our place & you like musicals ask to see our huge collection of programs & memorabilia!

A new company I've just started working with is Canberra Dramatics, who are based at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre. They are currently working on a production of the classic Brittish comedy by George Farquhar, "The Recruiting Officer" which will be playing from the 21st to the 30th June 2007. Check out their website for further information & to learn more about their company: (And don't forget to get some tickets to see the show while you're there....)

http://www.canberradramatics.org.au/

Here are some promo shots we took for the poster:

My Two Nephews

2007-06-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well I did warn you I'd post some family photos!

We visited my sister & her family last weekend. This is her with my nephew Jett & recently arrived new nephew Brodie:

He doesn't smile yet, but it almost looks like he is here...

I had beautiful curly hair like this too when I was his age...

This was taken at the Max Brenner chocolate shop/cafe at Erina Fair.
A chocoholic's paradise - highly recommend a visit if you haven't experienced one of these places before. Only, if you bring a kid, be prepared for a lot of mess!

How to eat an iced bun!!!

The Rocks Glamour Shoot

2007-06-01T03:32:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we headed off to Sydney for a photo shoot at the Rocks. We are intending to introduce a new service soon and wanted to get some trial shots to illustrate the concept. We plan to offer two new types of photo shoot for after the wedding: "Glitz & Glamour" - a special glamorous shoot at a dream location of the bride's choice, where she can really enjoy being a star or princess or whatever, without all the stress of the wedding day; or "Trash that Dress" - a similar thing but with a more adventurous bent, a chance to do all those crazy things you wouldn't dare do on an actual wedding day for fear of spoiling the dress!

The Rocks near Sydney Harbour is one of our favourite places for all its interesting alleyways and gorgeous sandstone textures. Here's some of the results.....

Oh, and a very special thanks to our wonderful & long-suffering model Christina Foudoulis!

Last Wedding of the Season

2007-05-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

Phew! We shot our last wedding of the season on the 5th May. It's been a crazy year. We shot over 50 weddings, including 11 in March alone! I'm looking forward to a well earned rest, though we do have a few bookings in July & August before the next season kicks off with a bang in Sept.

Over the winter I will be doing some theatre photography & kids portraiture, so I won't get too much time to relax, but it should be a nice change.

So, going back to the 5th, this was Kristy & Joe's special day. I had already shot Kristy at her sisters wedding on the 3rd March down at Bateman's Bay (i'll post some photos from that one later). She was a wonderful bridesmaid & I was really looking forward to doing her wedding. In fact both sisters are just fabulous - two of the best brides I've worked with this year, we had lots of fun!

Kristy & Joe got married at St.Christophers in Manuka & wanted some autumn colours in their shots. So we took them down the road to the outskirts of Fyshwick of all places to a beautiful grove of poplar trees. I havn't any proof, but I'm pretty sure no one alse has ever had wedding photos here! Then it was off to Dunrossil dr. before the reception at the Federal Golf Club. What really made this shoot successful & enjoyable was the fact that they allowed plenty of time & we were not rushed. Here's some of my favourites - hope you enjoy.....

Welcome

2007-05-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

Well I've finally done it - joined all those self-indulgent people in cyberspace! It seems that once upon a time if you didn't have a website you didn't exist. Now if you don't have a blog it's much the same story.

So for anyone who cares to know what's going on at Fusion Photography - all you friends, clients, fellow photographers, fans (if I have any....) - you can find regular updates here. I will be posting my favourite images from recent weddings, with maybe some hints or too for all you prospective brides out there, as well as other misc stuff, photographic & personal. I may even bore you with my holiday snaps!!! :-)

Your comments, questions, ideas etc will all be welcome so please share & stay tuned.......