Abigail Boyle the Tui (behind the scenes)

Had a great shoot this weekend with the beautiful Abigail Boyle and her boyfriend Sergio Torrado, of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.  OK Sergio was more of the pack animal of the day as it was the Tui shoot  of the Gaia Aotearoa series. In this series, I am exploring how I see Mother Earth's manifestation in New Zealand.  Abbie is our Tui/Kowhai mix.  So beautiful!  I had such a great time and they are both such fun to hang out with.  I designed the dress and Kaarin Macaulay the head costume design tutor at Toi Whaakaari made it for me.  Love it!  Nicole from BodyFX did the hair and makeup and body painting and feather work.  It was amazing working in a collaboration like this because everyone got to play.  So much fun!!! Now I just need to figure out how I am going to use Sergio in shoot....

I have to hold off showing the final image to you until after I submit them for the Iris Awards this year but I can't wait to!  

Kicking Up a Rainbow | Wellington Dance Photographer

Some days are just winners.  I got up extra early today (Easter Sunday)...like at 5:40 am.  Not quite sure why but started working on an image for the Iris awards and it turned out beautiful.  Then went scouting with my stepson Wills for the perfect Kowhai tree to photograph Abigail Boyle who is going to be the model for my Tui...scored it...found the perfect tree and backdrop...Then it was such a beautiful day that Craig and I decided to take the kids to the river to chuck some stones.  I managed to capture Emma kicking up a rainbow.  This image is straight out of my camera with no retouching.  So pretty.  I love Indian Summers and serendipity. 

Thirza our beautiful Island Princess | Wellington Portrait Photographer

Isn't she beautiful, Daddy's little girl has grown up into such a beautiful woman.  Thirza is such a beautiful person on the inside and the out.  We had such a blast on this shoot.  She is the sort of person everyone wants to hang out with.

Georgia Peach

Georgia is one of those beautiful creatures that walks the earth.  She is 12 years old and about as tall as me and I am pretty tall.  Then there is her flawless skin, and wicked sense of humour.  This girl has got it going on.  She is a tomboy with three big brothers.   One dropped by the shoot, shook his head and started trying to figure out whether he needed to keep a baseball bat handy to keep the boys away.  I love shooting girls this age because in one frame you get the lovely innocence and in the next frame you see the woman she will become.   Gorgeous.

Gorgeous Gwen and her lovely mum Jane

Really?  Is it possible to be this cute? Gwen is the size of a newborn..granted a big one but she is 6 months old which means that she is possibly the cutest little thing in a nappy.   Huge grins and personality in the most adorable little package.   Poor Jane having to pick from her images...normally I have about 50-80 that I show people...ummmm, there were over 280 on this babies viewing images.  I was a bit embarrassed but this kid just wouldn't stop being cute, and adorable, and wonderful, and amazing.  I struggled to cull what to show so in the end we had to struggle to cut down what we were going to print and put on the wall because seriously  you could have wallpapered her room in sheer cuteness.

Double your fun in April

$99.00

Handmade 2012

Attention all Crafty types come join me at Handmade 2012.
I will be teaching a couple of courses on basic photography but then jumping into the classes as well.  So incredibly excited.
Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Mandi

Nicole Broome | Wellington Model Portfolio Photographer

Nicole is one of those special creatures that walks the earth in light an beauty.  Flawless skin, translucent eyes, and a nature that is just simply lovely.  What a joy to work with!

A day of Contrasts

Some days you just gotta love.  I mean really love and thank you lucky stars you are alive and get to play the game.  Today as rainy and crappy as it was outside was quite another thing in our studio.  It was a day of magic.  Seriously creative awesome magic.

Katherine had planned on doing a shoot that was significantly out of the ordinary.  She went and hired an Elizabethan costume because she wanted to have a portrait that reflected her favourite Era...with her cast as the Queen of course.  My favourite part was after we got the strait shots was when Katherine started doing the Makerana...that series of images will be one of my favourite of all time.

Lovely feedback from the Beginners Photography Course last weekend

Hi Mandi,

I have been buzzing since the course on Sunday - it was just what I needed - nothing too full on but a simple understanding of how the manual settings work.  I now just need to practice HEAPS!!.  As you suggested,  I have taken some ssshhhhhiiitttty photos!!!!!!  But it is good to be able to play around and then go back and see what went  wrong.   I think you have an awesome nature and you are such a good teacher - not making anyone feel uncomfortable for not knowing something - I am really keen to do another course with you.  

Emma