There is someone that you just have to meet and I am so proud to tell you all that at 12:30am on Sunday the 15th of April we welcomed Juliet Fiona into our family at Burwood Hospital! She is beautiful and we feel so privileged to have her join our family. This photo was just a few minutes after she arrived.

A bit later as the midwife’s did some checks under a warm halogen lamp Daddy took advantage of having a bit more light to get a photo of Juliet wondering who this man making noises with a big camera is.

Juliet weighed in at 8 pound 2 and was 55cm long so wasn’t small by any means but she sure seemed tiny!! So out came the macro lens for some photos of her dark eyes and gorgeous button nose.

Our midwife Kathy (and student midwife Rachel) were fantastic but the real hero of the day is my amazing wife who did such an incredible job. I have to admit I was overwhelmed by the whole labour process but more overwhelmed by how incredible my wife was throughout the ordeal. And to top it off she still looks amazing just a few moments later… I don’t know how she does it!


After a smidgen of sleep I was back at the hospital again overwhelmed by my two amazing girls Anna and Juliet! Lots of sleeping and feeding meant Daddy could get lots of nice photos.

And even some awake time still be-puzzled by this clicking behemoth (that’s the camera not her Dad by the way!)


My hero Anna after a feeding session.

Different expressions and she seems to be changing every day. It really is true that they grow up so fast, I thought that was just something old people said to explain why they are so old…. oh wait… maybe I’m getting old?

I love these photos of my girls framed looking through the various hospital paraphernalia!

 

Pretty much the last couple of days have been a blur of cuddles, nappy changing, sleeping when you can, tears, visitors, photos and just stopping to stare at moments like this.

Although I often only use a Macro lens for ring shots at weddings, I was pretty glad to have it to get some nice close ups when we arrived home.

The bath at hospital didn’t go so well but the bath at home was a lot less stressful which bodes well as Juliet is going to be around lots of water growing up!

As you’d imagine, there are so many things to do when you have a newborn in the house and such little sleep to be had so I will finish this post with two photos that make my heart melt.

A huge thank you to:

All the Grandparents: Lloyd, Renouf, Kitto and Leeves for their practical help, food, encouraging texts and gifts.You are all incredible and we love you very much!

Friends and church family that have bought gifts and food over so I don’t have to cook. Seriously we really appreciate it! (and are glad that there is a trend of generous people = good cooks as well)

Our midwives Kathy, Wendy and Rachel from Midwifery Associates and the staff at Burwood Hospital Birthing Unit that were fantastic throughout our stay there.

For those interested in the photography aspect of this; My primary kit for all these photos was the Canon 5dmk2 with my two favourite prime lenses (50mm f1.2 and 85mm f1.2) and a 100mm 2.8 Macro lens… I have to say that using the macro lens when you are.. A) Excited or B) Tired or C) All of the above, is so hard to get the millimeter of focus on the bit you want to, while not getting camera shake! Perhaps time to visit the great team at Photo and Video for an upgrade to the image stabilised version!

Posted in People,Personal

A perfect summer’s day greeted Danny and Michele as they vowed to spend their lives together at Majestic Church. Set to the song “I will always love you”, which was written by Danny Robertson (the groom) and performed live by Nadia Reid and Julian Hay as Michele walked down the aisle, this was a magical day filled with laughter, popcorn and Polaroids.

Also, make sure you check out the photos we took of Danny & Michele’s special day here.

 

Posted in Wedding Cinema

When we arrived to photograph the guys preparing they were incredibly chilled out but quickly jumped into action with a quick shave and a few moments later they were dressed and ready to go. Guys really have it so easy when it comes to getting ready for weddings!

Next up we headed to the girls where again we found them so relaxed and sitting around talking and laughing. Having a bridal party of five with four hairdressers meant that getting hair done wasn’t an issue and Jumee Wardlaw was doing an amazing job of the makeup!

Six girls means there are a lot of shoes to fit in the photo and plenty of detail shots at every turn.

Michele was such a relaxed bride and it shows in the photos.

It’s always special watching the parents of the Bride as they help her prepare. Mother of the Bride, Angela helped get the dress on and did the final touches for Michele and her father Peter got the cars ready. The pride on their faces all through the day was so evident and so beautiful to watch!

Then Michele emerged to join the rest of the bridal party; here is Team Michele!

Meanwhile Team Danny didn’t have long to wait for the Bride to arrive. Michele and Danny had chosen their home church Majestic to be their ceremony venue and it looked amazing done up with “Baby’s Breath” floral arrangements and gorgeous glass orb tea light holders.

Nadia Reid and Julian Hay performed the entrance song… a song that Danny had composed the music and lyrics for. This wasn’t singstar styles, Danny is a professional music producer so this song was the real deal! How people kept dry eyes is beyond me.
Majestic Church Pastor Leo Hanssen did a beautiful job leading the ceremony, then there were some rings, a kiss and a prayer of blessing from both sets of parents.While the bridal party were signing the register I caught the newly married couple having a beautiful moment together out of the limelight.Michele and Danny hand made chocolate moustaches and bows that were given to all the guests so I managed to take a lot of unsuspecting photos as people played with these. Then some family and friend group shots and we were away.

We headed out into the hot summers day to a farm I thought would be just perfect for a picnic.

Time for some refreshments and some Polaroid photos.

After I got some photos of Team Danny we headed into the shade of an empty barn for some big group photos munching on popcorn.


This quickly turned into an all-on-all popcorn food fight however! Okay, so perhaps I encouraged it… but they didn’t need much encouragement before the popcorn went flying!

Then we headed off to a forest on the way to the reception venue for a bit more shade. I gave Team Danny a selection of vintage camera’s and we put the girls to the task of a photoshoot with seven photographers! They were well up to the task and could easily pursue a career as part time models. 🙂

I just had to turn the camera on to the photographers and got some amazing photos of them too.

Then we were off to the reception at Melton Estate and the boys got to have a breather while Michele changed her hair. With that many hairdressers in the bridal party it would have almost been rude not to have had a hair change wouldn’t have it! I have to tell you that Tracy from Melton Estate was absolutely brilliant; the bridal party had left the hair straighteners at home (sadly I don’t carry any on me either) but no worries as Tracy just dashed home and came back with supplies! Truly amazing customer service Tracy!

Michele and Danny’s attention to detail is superb; the reception was beautifully decorated including an incredible chandelier that Michele’s dad made out of vintage glasses!

A beautiful cake, two hilarious MC’s and a very touching father of the bride speech ensued.

Michele’s maid of honor is her sister Amy, so you can see as their Dad made his beautiful speech there was a lot of smiles, tears, more tears but then more smiles. Peter and Angela you have brought up two incredible daughters that have made great choices about marrying exceptional men!

Once the mains were being served, Danny and Michele snuck out onto the grounds of Melton Estate to make the most of the magic light as the sun set behind them.
Then it was off into the sunset and back to the reception where Michele’s dad sung their first dance song so beautifully and the dancing began.Michele and Danny, it was a privilege to be part of your special day. You are truly a match made in heaven that has such a great part to play on earth.

Lovelight Photography Team: Photographer: Clinton /// Photographers Assistants: Evan Christieson and Dan Bell  /// Polaroid Photographer: Sarah Kirner

Lovelight Wedding Cinema Team: Lead FilmMaker: Craig Forster /// Cinematographer: Mike Henderson

Celebrant: Pastor Leo Hanssen

Ceremony Venue: Majestic Church

Musicians: Julian Hay, Nadia Reid and the Majestic Team

Hair: The Bride and bridesmaids… check out Balayage Hair

Makeup: Jumee Wardlaw from MAC

Dress: Elizabeth Wemborn

Reception Venue: Melton Estate

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Posted in Wedding Photography

Tina & Ryo tied the knot on a cloudy Summer’s day at Clearwater Resort, Christchurch. Ryo suprised Tina by writing some thoughts down on a card, and we were there as he wrote them, then later as he gave it to her. Her reaction was priceless. Photos were taken at Huntly Lodge and around Clearwater as we zoomed around on Golf Carts. When the sun faded all of the reception guests enjoyed a great game of Bingo, and Tina & Ryo spent a few intimate moments on the dance floor…

Here’s what Ryo had to say about their wedding movie:
“I just viewed the DVD. The DVD is AWESOME!!!!!, and you guys are really talented. Tina looks absolutely beautiful on the video, and I really love it. The video flows really well and story telling style is excellent. Great job and well done : – )” – Ryo Yamamura
Lovelight Cinema Team : Craig Forster & Mike Henderson

 

 

Posted in Wedding Cinema