4 more awards scooped up at the Iris Awards

This year at the Iris awards I submitted a total of 10 images and 6 out of the ten picked up awards at the National Print Judging held in Queenstown this year.  The 6 awards pushed me up from
Qualified to Associate Photographer of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography.  I even got to go up on stage and get my little blue ribbon and medal....how exciting.  Next stop is Master of Photography... Here I come!!!!

Gorgeous Grace | Wellington Newborn Photographer

I had the privilege of meeting Kerry Graeme and Amie when Grace was still neatly packaged inside.  It was challenging for the ADD aspects of myself to do the Pregnancy photo shoot when Amie was so obviously stealing the show.  She was just so darn cute.  But we finally knocked it out when I could be brought back to Kerry...but as you can see Amie featured in most of the pregnancy shoots as well.  When gorgeous little Grace made an appearance on the scene, I got to spend time with her as a Lactation Consultant first then I got my lens turned on her.  The shot above of her asleep on Kerry just makes me want to cry she is so beautiful.

The music track can be downloaded from the Expedia website.  It is Tend to Me.  I love this song!!!

Fairy Trina and Family | Wellington Family Photographer

8

The Gorgeous Fairy Trina and her handsome  husband Greg from Wellington came to visit us on the farm for a photoshoot with their gorgeous twins Zavier (Zuzu) and  Nazir (Nunu) and the forever happy even with a gunky eye baby Kasra.

Trina is a popular Children's party Fairy based out of Wellington you can find out more about her and book her for your children's parties by going to http://www.fairytrina.com

When Trina came into the house to do her ordering session my assistant said to me. " It is like the room lit up when she came in."  I have to agree completely.

Little Mr. Jamie | Wellington Newborn Photographer

 This shoot was a lot of fun but it is not done yet.  Dave and I are on a hunt for the perfect piano to do the next stage of the shoot. Dave is a Blues pianist and wouldn't it be cool to do an hommage to the house of Blues with Little Jamie as the centerpiece.  But in the mean time we had a grand old time putting this very patient little man in all sorts of locales.  He sank into the pillow set up I had for him and it looked like he was stuck in the grass.  It was gorgeous.

I think my favourite part was seeing the beautiful tattoo on Nessa's back.  I had never wanted a tattoo until I saw hers.  It is gorgeous.  It is common in New Zealand to have beautiful tattoos featuring in the newborn shoots but it is usually on the dad but I have to say that Nessa's tattoo kicked butt.

King Kwayde | Wellington Newborn Photographer

 Bless this new families heart.  I am not sure who was more tired Kwayde or Daddy Leigh.  Poor dad had been pulling night shifts at work and I am pretty sure he hadn't slept in days.  But he was a great sport and rocked up for the photo session anyway.  At one stage Leigh fell asleep on Megan while she was feeding Kwayde, he was out for about 5 minutes but when he woke up it was like a different man was in the room, he went from being a near zombie to almost chirpy...now that is what I call a power nap!

Dreamy little Erina | Wellington Newborn Photographer

 Isn't she just a honey!  My goodness she is cute!  We had such a lovely time cuddling and shooting.  What a gorgeous moppet.

The Big Latch On 2010 | Mamalicious

You could get high from all of the Oxytocin flowing at the Big Latch On held last Friday at the Wellington Town Hall.  Mamalicious put on a fantastic event gathering breastfeeding women from the Wellington Region in a celebration of this special part of motherhood.  Mayor Kerry Prendergast presided with granddaughter in hand over the celebrations.  On the day, 108 mothers simultaneously latched their babies on and kept them feeding for one minute.  This celebration of the bond between mother and baby then continued on at the exact time all over the Globe.
It was the friendliest collection of people I have ever run across....there is just something about a room full of babies feeding and playing that could turn the coldest heart into a clucking fool.

Sonia Gray handed out the lovely prizes donated to celebrate the day.  For those of you that missed out on the second chance draw for the photography vouchers you can enter here just fill in your details and enter voucher code: (Latch On2).

To Order a Print
If you are fond of one of the images of yourself and you would like to purchase a copy of the high resolution file so that you can print it,  the cost will be $25.00 and the profits will be donated to breastfeeding support charity.  To order one of the high resolution files please go to the ordering page.

In New Zealand, the last totals were as follows:

Venues with more than 40 mothers latched 
Big venues in Big Towns Big venues in smaller towns:
• Wellington Town Hall 108 Timaru 41
• Turuki Health Care in Auckland 50 Port Chalmers 57
• Howick Auckland 47 Masterton 44
Venues with more than 25 mothers latched
• Christchurch 38 Nelson 38
• Blenheim 36 Greymouth 30
• Swanson – Auckland 29 Pukekohe 27
• Otorohanga 29 Cambridge 39
• Upper Moutere 29 Marlborough 36
• Whanganui 33 Hillsborough Christchurch 25
• Palmerston North 25

Kayden and Trey - Bodacious Brothers | Wellington Family Photographers

These guys were fun.  I mean a lot of fun.  The thing I loved the most about them though was that they were such cuddly boys still with there mum.  I adore cuddly boys...expecially cheeky ones!

Nicole the Explorer | Wellington Children's Photographer

Nicole was one of the first little girls to come and be photographed for the Blueberry Farm Kids Book.  What a charmer!

Look at the Hair! | Wellington Newborn Photographer

The Hair on this little one is to die for!  I hated actually putting a hat on.

Miss Milly | Wellington Newborn Photographer

Collectively stunning family!

India + Germany = GORGEOUS | Wellington Family Photographer

One of Yavhi's favourite things to do during our Blueberry Farm Kids Book shoot was apple picking.   You don't get much cuter than this that is for sure.  All personality and looks taboot.  What a charmer!

Mandi Lynn Racks up awards at the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography

>Press Release:

Mandi Lynn Photography based out of the Blueberry Farm in the Akatarawa Valley has just racked up 3 more medals at this year’s New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography Awards in Wellington this year. The competition was extremely stiff with record entries from all of the top professional photographers in New Zealand and incredibly harsh judging. There were images of other New Zealand Photographers that had received Gold’s in the Australian equivalent of the event but only received a Bronze at the New Zealand awards. But in her first complete year in business Mandi Lynn was able to rack up a Bronze Award in the People Category and a Bronze and a Silver in the Editorial Illustrative Category.

“I am shocked and chuffed” said Mandi about her success. “I feel like my artistic style has really come of its own this year, and I was pleased to see it recognized nationally that was very exciting for me.” Mandi’s winning image featuring a Morepork and Virginia Griffin was recognized as outstanding by the owner of Basquesse a haute couture fashion house in Wellington. Vivianna, the owner, was so impressed that on the spot she commissioned her to create an image to highlight Basquesse’s designs in the upcoming New Zealand Fashion Week in Auckland.

Many know Mandi as the co-owner of the Blueberry Farm as well as the Hutt Valley District Health Boards Lactation Consultant. It was her role as a Lactation consultant that put her in the right place and right time to capture one of the winning images of a Breastfeeding baby that received a bronze in the illustrative category. “I walked in to help the mother who had engorgement and I started laughing. Here was this stunning mother sitting up perfectly manicured in her bed wearing a Laura Ashley floral type top, a beautiful pink bra, and had two perfect cabbage leaves stuffed in to help with the engorgement. It was beautiful. She looked at me and said, ‘I feel like a salad’. I told the mother about the Charity Parent Centre calendar I have been asked to photograph for Egg Maternity and she agreed to be a model. What a hoot . I went down to the cafeteria after the shift was over and came up with a salad and we had a blast getting the shot. When the image came up for viewing at the awards the audience laughed. That was exactly what I was looking for and I was chuffed. Unfortunately the judging panel was all male save one and I don’t think they got the joke, but they liked the image at least enough to give it a Bronze.”

“My goal is to have people recognize that my studio is a relaxed place where individuals and families can come and have not just their photos taken but have an actual piece of stunning art created for them. I have been painting portraits for about 18 years but since moving from mixed media to multimedia I feel that my creativity has skyrocketed and the sky is the limit. It just feels wonderful to have that validated with awards now.”

Mandi’s work was recognized by the Ministry of Health and they have hired her to photograph for the New Zealand Breastfeeding Campaign as well. Earlier this year Mandi was a finalist in the Wellington Photographer of the Year competition which was held in Featherston. “ I was just blown away to have been selected amongst such accomplished photographers in my first year. I can’t wait to see what I produce for next years awards.”

Mandi is currently looking for a space to hold an exhibit of the award winning images that were submitted as well as some of her newer multimedia art work. She is available for commissions of one off pieces of art by contacting 04-526-6788, or 0211412646 or you can look at her portfolio on her website at www.mandilynn.co.nz