The Desert Sessions
After a weekend shoot in Brisbane with bride and groom to be Melanie and Dan (photos to come), I jumped a plane to Perth, in Western Australia to hang out with my friend Kim who recently moved there. We headed out to the edge of the desert where we did some shoots and had some fun in the blistering heat. Click to view them bigger. We had spent the day before getting props and Kim had the idea to fly a kite in her undies. As the sun set in the west we drove to the Pinnacles and got some cracker shots there, with Kim in an awesome blue dress. As twilight descended, I got out my speedlights and had a play around with some set ups. These next few shots are straight out of the camera, no post-production at all. Amazing what the world gives you when you least…
Little Ditty ’bout Tone and Stax
Part of my trip home to Australia for the holidays was to get some more portfolio shots in the bag and to try and capture some of the Australian landscape. I did a shoot for my friends Tony and Stacy, who got married last year, up in a region called Somersby Falls which was just great. I think it took a bit for the guys to get comfortable in front of the camera but they relaxed after a bit and it was nice to be out in the bush anyway.
The sideshow is the main event
In my home town right now for a wee holiday and after overdosing on greasy fish and chips we thought we’d hit the local funfair. Click on the pictures as they look much better bigger. I’m not sure if it was the Chiko Roll or not but man it was a bit tripped out. Down right creepy if you ask me. Gosford’s finest. Micky got to shoot a few rounds in to a Shrek doll. Dónde está el pollo loco? No bumping? What kind of bang up job is this?! Scared I might lose a finger, but I won a fairy poster instead! Careful kids! Those Koalas look a little too happy! Whereas Santa… well.
Custom made lighting bag
I’ve been carrying around my lighting gear in the bottom of my travel bag for the past few trips and I decided that it was not really working for me. It takes up a lot of room and if i just want to take it to a shoot I either have to take the whole bag, which is quite large, or carry it all loose. I had an idea for a carry bag that would be padded enough for me to just check the whole lot in when I fly and also double as a ground matt for me to lay my gear out on when I’m on an outdoor shoot. After drawing up a little plan, I coerced my mum to help me with the sewing part. She’s got an old pedal sewing machine that is just beautiful and she drives it like a pro. Dad helped out with…
Family portrait shoot – beach styles
Last week I had a cool shoot with some friends of mine who wanted to get a nice Family Portrait to hang on their wall. Family is a loose term but they all do live together… Whilst they were waiting for me to turn up at their house, they got a little bored and decided they would like to try and recreate the lounge room on the beach. There was some great cloud action going on and since it was uncharacteristically calm that day I took the chance to get my lighting gear out and have a wee play. Managed to coax a few action shots out of the girls too. Well, more than a few actually. We got a bit adventurous, and although the water was bloody cold the girls still managed to have fun. I took my light stand out in to the shallows and we did a…
Super Sweet Promo Deal
Having been a musician and involved in theatre myself over the years, I know how hard it can be to get good quality promotional photos at a decent price. You’re a struggling artist but you still need something to autograph for those flocking fans, which is why there’s this super sweat deal: 1hr photo shoot DVD of final images $100 for Individuals, $200 for Bands. Why so cheap you ask? Well, I’m going to be in Australia from the 16th Dec and it’s a great opportunity for me to work with some interesting people. I did a shoot with my friends Kim and Kita last time I was back and it was so much fun I just want to do it again. For more of my work and to get in contact you can go to my portfolio at www.brettstanleyphoto.com or email me direct at info@brettstanleyphoto.co.nz.
Ignite your imagination!
Lately I’ve had the great pleasure to work with the guys and girls from Fuse Productions, a Wellington based circus and physical theatre company. I met them through the calendar shoots I did for the Wellington Circus Trust, which I will blog about real soon I promise. You can see the images we shot on my portfolio site. One studio shoot we did was for a burlesque show they were doing, which was great fun. We had The Magenta Diamond, Tom Beauchamp and Vinyl Burns getting their sauce on for a thoroughly naughty xmas. The Navigators is a new show by Fuse and it was one of the most rewarding shoots I’ve done so far. The theme was all about travel and discovery, so we set out for some locations around the Wellington south coast and managed to get some amazing images, even if i do say so myself! The…
Run for your life
Last year my good friend Kim lost her mum to cancer. It was a long battle but Kim and her mum were strong right to the end. Kim’s friends were a great support for her and even now the support keeps coming. As part of the Cancer Council Australia’s Relay For Life events, Kim’s mate Kita has been working on a song that can be used to raise money for the council. They had an idea that they wanted to try and asked me to take some photos for the cover…
Tuscan Wedding
A little while ago I had the honour of being my sister’s wedding photographer whilst on a holiday in Tuscany, Italy. She didn’t say it was going to be a wedding, just that she had the idea to have a family holiday in Italy and since I was planning on being in France around that time so it worked out well. Our parents and a few of her friends came, unfortunately our brother couldn’t make it (not realising what the hidden agenda would be). We rented a villa in the hills of Umbria and had a great time drinking, eating and sight-seeing and then one night she handed us all envelopes and inside was our invitation to her wedding the next day! It was to be held in the Cortona townhall and she wanted me to be the photographer. Here are a few pics, and remember I was NOT prepared…
New Zealand wedding season retrospective
Wow the year has just flown by and whilst I’m gearing up for the next summer season of fun photography I thought I’d share some of the highlights of last season. I shot a few weddings in the first part of the year, including these: John and Denise (Gisborne, New Zealand) Eden and Suze (Auckland, New Zealand) William and Carolyn (Martinbourgh, New Zealand)