Bethan and Alex were waiting with baited breath whether or not that recent bout of bad weather in Adelaide was to pass before their scheduled Kuitpo Forest couple shoot. Thankfully, despite the cold temperature, the weather cleared just in time to make use of the spectacular Kuitpo forest for their couple shoot. Bethan and Alex made use of my offer of a discount couple shoot made to all those who voted on my yearly wedding photo of the year contest, and I’m so glad they did.
The atmosphere given to the forest after such bad weather made for some fantastic scenes, and it was all done within an hour! My job was made easy of course by the fun loving attitude of Bethan and Alex who were keen to playfully run about in front of the camera to create some ‘loveydovey’ photos. Which was fantastic as I love doing things like this!
Kuitpo forest was the first of many forest plantations in the Mount Lofty Ranges, established in 1898 to ensure a sustainable timber supply for South Australia. Today it serves as both a stunning place to go for a walk, in in this case, a Kuitpo Forest couple shoot and a commercial logging area. The area also plays host to one of the most popular hiking trails throughout SA, being the Heysen Trail.
Sinclairs Gully winery is the type of venue you just have to jump at the opportunity to shoot a wedding at, which is exactly what happened when Jessica and Adam asked me to be their Adelaide Hills wedding photographer. In order to cater to their short wedding plans, they asked to use my engagement shoot rate to cover their wedding for only 90 minutes which was enough time to photograph their ceremony and a few glamour shots after.
They held their wedding a little later in the day so by the time their ceremony was scheduled, the sun was already fading, and the overcast skies weren’t helping either. However this kind of light is pretty much perfect for photography so I was having a blast 🙂
Before the wedding
As usual I was on site at Sinclairs Gully early, in fact only Adam and his groomsmen were there putting the finishing touches on the venue. So I wandered about taking photos of all their personal touches and the boys helping calm the nerves of Adam. Once the girls arrived I was able to take a few shots of them together with their adorable VW van.
Line of groomsmen
Groom walking about
Wedding sign
Girls looking pretty
Groom’s flower
Blushing bride
Girls arriving
Groom looking nervous
Sinclairs Gully wedding ceremony
Sinclairs Gully is a winery hidden away in Norton Summit, and when you’re there it feels as though you’d only even know about the place if you already knew it was there. The incredible privacy the venue provides due to the lush Australian bushland is perfect for an intimate wedding ceremony such as Jessica and Adam’s. The bushland provides for beautiful bokeh when used as a backdrop to wedding photos and it really is just beautiful. There’s even a Australian animal reserve on site too!
Jessica and Adam’s wedding ceremony took place in a small clearing situated at the foot of the Sinclairs Gully winery carpark, so the setting was completely surrounded by gum trees and scrubland. During their ceremony they held a time capsule ceremony where they placed a bottle of Sinclairs Gully wine into a home-made timecapsule, along with love letters to one another only to be opened on their 10th anniversary. It’s a lovely gesture and a fun thing to put on display in their home.
Time capsule
Married!
Grooms first look
First kiss
Smiling bride
Smiling groom
Wedding Ceremony
Wedding ceremony
Bride and Father
Saying their vows
Sinclairs Gully wedding ceremony
Sinclairs Gully Wedding Glamour Photos
After the ceremony and family photos, we had around 30 minutes for some glamour photos around the winery grounds. It was quite an easy task to create something epic and eye catching as the surrounds just simply lends itself well to the task. I was really looking forward to getting around to editing this wedding as I knew some of the shots I took were absolutely stunning!
Embracing within the trees
Looking through foliage
Tree hugs
Sinclairs Gully winery wedding
Private kiss in undergrowth
Hugs
Walking along the driveway
Bride and groom in front of the combi van
I had an amazing time capturing Jessica and Adam’s Sinclairs Gully wedding, despite the short coverage. The wedding was filled with love, happiness, and unforgettable moments that I was honored to witness and photograph. It was a pleasure to be a part of their special day and to create images that will serve as treasured memories for years to come.
I hope that when Jessica and Adam look back at the photos, they will be transported back to the joyous atmosphere of their wedding day and relive the love and happiness they shared. It was a privilege to document their love story and to provide them with visual keepsakes that will last a lifetime.
Once again, thank you to Jessica and Adam for choosing me to capture their special day. I am grateful for the opportunity and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness together.
Malith certainly timed his proposal to Melissa perfectly with an incredible sunset on the famed Pt Willunga beach.
His secretive Pt Willunga Proposal was maticulously planned by Malith leading up to the big moment, and oh my goodness, some of the scenes were just incredible!
Pt Willunga Proposal
The biggest concern for any of us leading up to the big moment was the weather – as both leading up to and beyond the day Malith planned his big Pt Willunga Proposal, the weather was pretty bad, and the tides during the winter is often so high that there isn’t much beach to stand on at Pt Willunga. But all that worrying was for nothing as the evening could not have gone any better.
Despite a bit of a hiccup having Melissa and Malith arrive a bit later than expected due to being served a rather late lunch in nearby Mclaren Vale, Malith proposed in front of a delightful little arbour set up put together by a small company sepcialising in this sort of thing – Fox Meets Charlie.
The fun part of the whole set up was trying to keep Melissa in the dark as they walked towards the arbour set up, with the group of us standing nearby ready to pounce and start taking photos/video as the big moment happened. Surpisingly Melissa had no idea until Malith presented the ring and everyone was all smiles :).
After the big moment, then we went off for a lbit of a walk along the beach to take some pretty photos in front of the amazing sunset and what many consider to be the most photographed beach in South Australia!
Congratulations go out to Melissa and Malith!
pt willunga proposal set up
pt willunga proposal
pt willunga proposal putting on ring
Holding her up
Kiss under will you marry me sign
Newly engaged couple
Newly engaged couple walking along beach
Engagement ring in sand
Couple standing on rock
Newly engaged jump
Newly engaged couple in fromt of Pt willunga jetty
Holding her up in front of ocean
Kiss at sunset in front of Pt Willunga Jetty
Kiss at sunset in front of Pt Willunga Jetty ruins
Last weekend, I found myself with no weddings booked so I figured it would be neat to offer my services at a very cheap rate in what’s known as a ‘minishoot’ or mini session. It was one week prior to mother’s day so I figured it might be a fun way to get some nice photos of the family for Mum!
The best thing about a mini shoot is that it’s really geared for people who aren’t overly keen on being in front of a camera, as the session only lasts for 15 minutes – and if the photos dont turn out as expected – ie the little one was upset, or the dog wasn’t looking, etc – then it’s no big deal as it was not that expensive!
It’s also great for people who want some nice family photos done, but don’t want to spend too long getting them!
The mini shoot was an up front cost of $65, which included the shoot and editing of the photos before being supplied via my online store, and each shoot received a $30 credit to spend – making the whole thing effectively only $35 and you get to go home with either some prints, or digital files – however you’d like to spend that $30 credit!
As a result, the sessions booked up fast, with 12 bookings coming in – the majority being young couples, with little kidlets in tow, but also a few couples and whole families. I held the shoot at the Cherry Garden’s Soldier’s Memorial Gardens with the aim of using the autumnal colours from the falling leaves with the park, while also making use of the impressive memorial trees that cast quite a bit of shade.
Each booking received an average of 54 photos in their album to choose from – which surprised myself, as generally I like to have 100 photos done for an hour photo shoot, let alone 15 minutes – but I guess that’s the benefit of a minishoot, it means that i am familiar with the surrounds and know what will work when for each group coming through. I can then use this knowledge to move quickly and get each shot.
All in all, I think the winter minishoot results speak for themselves – the autumnal colours of the leaves, and the happy smiling faces of each group really made for an awesome experience, that I’d be looking forward to doing again in the future – I’m thinking Christmas? Watch this space.
Southern Adelaide Winter Minishoot Results!
Little Ones
All the little ones who came through were really well behaved and quite enjoyed being in front of the camera! This made things rather easy, as the surrounding autumn leaves did the rest making for some awesome shots!
Boys climbing tree
Boys throwing leaves
Smiling girl under autumn leaves
Bothers hugging in leaves
Boy under autumn tree
Boy climbing tree
Sisters in autumn leaves
Brothers laying in autumn leaves
baby under autumn leaves
baby girl in autumn leaves
baby talking to stuffed elephant
happy baby sitting on fluffy mat under tree
Baby lying in autumn leaves
Baby boy sitting in autumn leaves
Smiling baby girl under autumn leaves
Family
The autumn leaves also made for some nice family portraits. I had the family groups walking through the trees, sitting on the dry leaves and basically treating their time with me as if it were a quick family outing to a nice park.
Carrying baby through trees
baby flying in sky
Lifting baby into sky
Family sitting toegtehr under autumn trees
Baby peeking over shoulder
Family sitting on ground with baby
baby getting cheek kisses
Family sitting in leaves
Family sitting on bench
Family sitting in autumnal leaves
Family hugs for baby
Holding baby in the sky
Family standing behind long grass
Family standing under autumn leaves
Holding baby girl
Couples
I had two sets of couples come through, which was treated as a simple date idea, and they got some nice photos out of it at the end!
Couple standing looking through leaves
Couple walking under autumn leaves
Couple sitting in the autumn leaves
Happy couple leaning against tree
Couple holding one another
Couple walking between trees
As far as winter minishoot results go, I feel as though we got some incredible photos, using the stunning natural light that filtered through the autumn leaves nicely. If there was one thing I would have done differently would be to schedule the last session a biut earlier as the light was fading quite a bit – but we still got some great shots!
Vancouver’s Capilano River Couple Shoot – Clancy & Rob
I was super lucky to have had the opportunity to head over to Canada for a bit of photo shooting in amongst the incredible scenery on offer in Canmore and Banff! But on the way home I spent a few days in and around North Vancouver with Clancy and Rob!
Clancy and Rob’s Capilano River Couple Shoot began at the top of the canyon area, where we walked over the huge Cleveland Dam. The water was quite low in the gorge below, so we were not only able to make the most of the incredible pine trees on display along the paths, but also the rocky outcrops that would otherwise be under water if it were to be flowing more heavily.
It was a rather hot day for Canada – well from my experience anyway! and as we began at the top,and walked down to the water level – we had to walk all the way to the top again, which was pretty hard going! once we had our fill of photos we head to a local Sushi shop for lunch 🙂
The last few photos in this collection were taken the day after on a short trip up to Whistler, but the majority are from the Capilano River Couple Shoot!
Couple in Vancouver forest
Couple hugs in Vancouver
Capilano river couple choot
COuple standing between pine trees in Capilano river
Couple lift in forest
Capilano river park couple shoot
Couple by Capilao river
Lift by Capilao river
Couple in Capilano river vancouverCouple in Capilano river vancouver
