Fairytale Wedding NZ

This really was like a Fairytale wedding.

We had the beautiful princess bride, an awesome woodland setting & of course the handsome prince!

Set in the outstanding Pararie Holm Gardens south of Featherston, it was just a magical day.

I shot the first photo just before the sun set & the series turned out just the way I wanted it to, so I was stoked. The second one we went down to the lake for a few minutes with just the Bride & Groom & got some awesome photos with the old car they had.

They held their reception in an army tent under the pine trees & it was the perfect finish to a woinderful day.

I know I've been a slacker on the updating front... but normal service should resume next week!!! :-)

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Wildernness Wedding

This seemed like an unlikely place for a wedding ... it is the site of an old quarry & now is a 42 acre gardens & scuplture park.
However it was an absolutely stunning set to get married in.
The wedding had a 40's airman theme & they had taken great trouble to keep the theme going throughout the whole day.
The Bridesmaids had flapper cocktail style dresses, the boys had Biggles hats & goggles & the invitations were done in the form of airline tickets.
It was really well though out & made for a unique event.
We did all the photos at the park ... as there was plenty of room to choose from!!
They were a great couple & bridal party to work with & we even had an audience comprised entirely of cows at one stage.
They then had their reception at an airport hanger at the Hamilton airport .... which fitted in perfectly with the overall feel of the day.
A great time was had by all.
Plenty more to see & watch at www.AFPNZ.com
Cheers for now ,
Faith.

Crazy Cool Fun Wedding

This wedding was so much fun... the couple had come back from the UK to get married in thier hometown of Napier.

She was one of the funniest Brides we've ever had, between her & the bridesmaids we were in hysterics all morning... & they were all so laidback about everything.

The ceremony was the Mission Estate at Napier & I bet it's the first time they have had a Bride get into thier fountain!!!

He was really cool to, just went along with everything & kept on smiling all day. We got some great photos of him & the groomsmen prior to the service, which was a bit of a treat for us!

Then when we went to do the Bridal party photos after the service the whole lot of them got into the act. :-)

We all had a great time & meet heaps of really nice people, both their families were so nice.

Another wonderful day was had by all.

Plenty more to see at www.AFPNZ.com

Cheers,

Faith.

Irish Catholic Beach Wedding

Well, it's not every day we get a couple that has flown all the way round the world to get married on the beach in the Hawkes Bay!!

They found our website on the internet ... booked & came out trusting that we were A) for real & B) would show up for their big day:-)

As it was the Hawkes Bay produced an absolutely stunning day... everyone got sunburnt & it was the most beautiful intimate wedding with a total of 11 attendees.

After the ceremony we went up Te Mata Peak to do more photos & by sheer chance there were paragliders up there & one had a purple sail that exactly matched the wedding colours!!

Awesome!!!

They were such a cool couple too, the Groom did so well in his suit in the sweltering (especially for them) heat & the Bride was just radiant.

A fabulous day was had by everyone.

As always plenty more to see including the Movie trailer at www.AFPNZ.com

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Sarnia Park Cambridge Wedding

This was another wedding at the beautiful Sarnia Park just outside of Cambridge.
We had a beautiful day & a fun bridal party, who were very good about walking heaps in the heat.
The first photo was one of the last ones we took before the reception started... they are stading on the wall outside the reception hall.
The Bride had the most awesome champagne coloured dress & she looked stunning.
The Bridesmaids dresses were also really cool, long & chocolate brown.
The boys went with the always popular black on black with brown ties.
The second picture is one of my favorite ring photos ... if you look closely you can see the Groom's reflection in the rings.
Well, I have plenty to update this week so check for more tomorrow.
Cheers,
Faith.

Forest Wedding

Well this was a beautiful wedding...
Held in a park next to Otorohanga's Kiwi House.
It was a great setting ... there was a bit of consternation about the weather as it started drizzling just before the bride was due to arrive, all the guests had their brollies out.
But the wet held off & the service went ahead as planned under the gaint pine trees.
Afterwards we went into the foresty part for the photoshoot & got some brilliant pictures.
The bridesmaids were so good they were freezing cold but they kept on smiling the whole way through & the Brides parents were the official brolly holders & kept up all the way through.
As for the groomsmen they were funny as a fit ... especially when we loaded them into the van on the way to the reception & I told them I only had a learner's liscence ... talk about backseat drivers!!!
All in all a great day was had by all.
Check out the video at www.afpnz.com

Elegant Auckland Wedding

Hi There,
well here are a couple of photos from Adrian's elegant & sophisticated wedding last Saturday.
They were quite a young couple, but she looked just like a 50's movie star.
The ceremony & reception were at Butterfly Creek in Auckland & then the bridal party headed off to the Botannical gardens for the portrait shoot.
The boys had a great time with the whole group & they had one of the best behaved flowergirls we've ever encountered :-)
Both of us really love this second shot ... it seems to have a Hollywood quailty about it.
All in all a great day was had by all.
Plenty more photos & the Movie Trailer to see at www.afpnz.com
The DVD has turned out absolutely superb.
Cheers for now ,
Faith.

Laidback Raglan Beach Wedding

Well this was one of the most casual weddings I ever been to.... it was all about being relaxed & enjoying time with their family & friends for these guys.

The bride was so lovely & was just so happy to be getting married that she wasn't going to let anything bother her.

They had planned on an outdoor hilltop ceemony, but the weather was a little diffident so they settled for the verandha of the surf club, which worked out just fine.

After we went down to the beach for the bridal party photos, lovely walk down the hill.... bit of a struggle on the way back with all the gear. :-)

Everyone was having a fantastic time the whole day.... which is what a wedding should be coming together with your family & friends to CELEBRATE one of the most important milestones in your life.

OK... rant over ... tomorrow will be Adrian's elegant, sophisticated wedding.

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Rock On Auckland Wedding

We had an awesome weekend with 3 weddings... they were all quite different & all fantastic.
These photos are from Fridays.
This was a great wedding with 3 of my favorite things...
1) Rock music,
2) Stunning Bride,
3) Candles.

This first photo I just love as it was a lowlight shot which I love doing & it was one of those times where you couldn't plan it better.
The second one is another of my asthetic fetishes... Brides & mirrors... what can I say ... its cool.

We have plenty more excellent pictures from the day at www.go4photos.com & video at www.afpnz.com
We all had a great day with these guys... the boys photo shoot before the wedding was an absolute riot, they were great.
Then the girls all looked so beautiful & elegant, they were all a real credit to their family.
So tomorrow there will be pics from my extremely laid back beach wedding & then Wens some of Adrian's from his sophisicated elegant wedding.
Cheers for now,
Faith

Cambridge NZ Wedding

Saturday was on of the rare occassions that we did a wedding in our hometown of Cambridge... usually we are running around all over the country.
They were a great young couple so we got some really funky photos of the 2 of them.
This first one we took on the staircase before the service, then they got married right in front of it.
In the second one we had him pick her up & twirl her ... love it when we get a groom that can lift his bride easily! :-) He spun so much he got dizzy & we had to stop it before he fell over.... An awesome day was had by all & the weather was in our favour for once.
More tomorrow,
Cheers,
Faith.

Once, Twice, Three Times a Bean

Well, they are off & racing now.
A bit of sun yesterday & a whole lot more rain :-(
But still they are getting there, proving they are not has-beans :-)
And look how much the single one has grown again in a day!!!
Just in case you think I have gone completely mad ... this is also a good learning curve as I have bean taking the photos at about the same time every day & every day the light has bean different ... which is quite fascinating. ..... Well to me anyway.
That's about all I have to say on the bean topic today.
Cheers for now,
Faith.

2 Bean or Not To Bean

Well after torrential rain all day yesterday & last night, I thought the beans may have washed away!!
However when I got out there this morning ... heaps more were up!
I got a better angle for the distance shot today & you can see how many more have sprouted.
And as for my number 1 bean ... look at him go !!! It's incredible how much it grew in one day. And now it has friends.
So I'm going to put slug & snail pellets down today so that they don't all get eaten.
It's also a much nicer day today the sun is out & it's going to be quite warm, so it will be interesting to see tomorrow's progress.
For all the regular readers, don't worry this has become a beans unlimited blog, there will be weddings aplenty from next week on.
The bean thing is just to keep my mind occupied & to share my love of vege gardens.
Cheers for now,
Faith.

Beans

Well for something completely different...
We always put in a vege garden & this year I thought I would follow the life of our Butter Beans from start to finish.
The first picture shows the first day of the first one brave enough to poke it's head out.... soooo exciting !! :-)
There was actually 2 this far through, but this one was a little bigger.
The thing is we plant heaps of veges & then we forget to eat them !!
In the second photo you can see the whole row & our spade... as you can see there is not much to see just yet.
Maybe tomorrow more will be up & the distance shot will be a little bit more exciting :-)
Your usual programming will be back next week as we have a wedding & an anniversary... actually it's all go for us from now on so there will be lots of weddings to see over the summer.
And of course probably a good 2 months of bean photos :-)
Cheers for now,
Faith.

Portrait

I took this photo of this young lady yesterday... a bit of a departure from photographing Brides!

We were trying out new lighting techniques & this was the result we got.

My new assistant is still at high school so am making the most of the holidays to get out & train her & get some practise of my own in.

The other good news is that Adrian now his own blog featuring our videos.... he can be found here

http://afpnz.blogspot.com/

He is going to embed all the latest Movie Trailers on his blog so you will have more access to the wonderful world of AFPNZ.com :-)

Well it's a bit of a slow news day here ... practising more lighting today so tomorrow I should have something new to show you.

Cheers for now,

Faith.

Home Town

I took this picture yesterday morning.

I shot out of bed at the crack of dawn ... literally I woke up & it was light & I was panicing a bit as I thought I might be too late...

You see we have a Farmer's Market every Saturday on our town square & I wanted to take photos of them setting up...

Anyway I get down there at 5:45 & theres no-one there.

So I took a photo every 15 minutes for an hour & a half & I was still the only one there !!!

What I didn't know was that yesterday one of the neighbouring districts had their big yearly fair & most of the farmers went out there instead.

So what the hell... I got this great photo of the sun coming up over the town hall, which was better than nothing :-)

Adrian thought I'd truly gone mad ...

Oh well , never mind.

Cheers,

Faith.

More Favorites

Well... this first one was from a great wedding at the Mission in Napier. They were a really fun young couple ... first time we have heard "Highway to Hell" as recessional music!! We all had a fantstic day with them & their families, it was the second in a cluster of weddings for the same group of families. They had this picture done as a huge canvas.
The second one was a lovely wedding on New Years Eve last year at Taupo.What a beautiful couple ... it was one of those wedding where you could really feel the love ... awesome.
Adrian & I really enjoyed this one & once again the families were great ... we have been so lucky most of the weddings we have done the families have just made the day by being so nice. Maybe it's just a natural part of being a Kiwi.
We had a beautiful day for this multiculural wedding. They had a Catholic service & then at the reception they had Cook Island dancing & Nuiean dancing. This picture is one of my all time favorites as I caught it when they didn't know it was being taken & it just captured their essence perfectly.
This Bride was so excited to be getting married ... she was almost beside herself! It was also our first traditional Maori wedding & what a wonderful experience. It was a really moving day seeing all the emotion that everyone in family had put into making sure that these guys had a truly wonderful wedding. At the reception everyone that spoke had to also sing a song & some of the singing was just fantastic, especially the bridesmaids & their brother.
We have been so lucky to experience so many peoples big day & to share with them the joy that they have felt.
Then to be given the privelege of capturing those moments forever is truly an honour.
This would have to be one of the best jobs in the world & I can honestly say we don't do it for the money.
If you wanted to go into wedding photography with just the money in mind you are probably not going to last.
It is one of those things that you have to put your soul into & by the end of the day you are absolutely exhausted & just want to crawl home.... then when you get home you just can't wait to download the footage & see what you got :-)
Well that's it for me.
Cheers,
Faith.

Action Shots

Well I was going to post more favorites & then as I was looking through my folders I found some great action shots of the boys from the last wedding... So here we go :-)
First one is Adrian showing the Groom how to do the dip which ended up resulting in a great photo ... both this one & the actual one of the couple.... wedding photography is a crazy career !!!

The second one Adrian is adjusting the off-camera flash before he gets into position for the photo. He ended up standing off to the side of the bridal party so he could throw in some side lighting.
Last one I took to show how the team works together on the day.... so any photographers reading ... don't panic the video guy is not in the way :-) This is how we work taking turns to get the shots we need for both video & photos.
Hamish is getting walking shots of the bridal party & Adrian is getting into positon with the flash light for when it's my turn.
Movement shots generally look better on the video than in stills, so I tend to hang back & let the boys do those & just grab the odd one that looks like it might work well.
We work this way at every wedding & have found it makes it a lot less of a trial for all involved as we have to remember that the people in the photos are not professional models & it is THEIR big day not ours. So we try not to drag the photos out for too long as they really want to get back to the party ( especially the boys !)
So that's me for today.
Cheers,
Faith.

More Favorites

Ok... so more favorites today :-) The first one I just love ... it was one of those things where everything was just right... I have also done it in Black & White & have it as a big canvas ... awesome!!!
This second one ... well this young lady was such a beautiful Bride & as a couple they were just fabulous. In this picture it was one of the first times I have tried getting the girls to do more fashion model poses & this just worked for her.
Number 3 ... we had a great venue with lots of different options & I saw this bridge & thought "Got to be a good one here" & this is what I got. Again just a fabulous couple, she is an aircraft engineer, so being all dressed up & having her make-up & hair done was a real treat for her.
Last one ... animals & weddings always unpredictable .... the usually well trained horse got stage fright & was VERY reluctant to co-operate. However before it all went pearshaped we got this one & a couple of others that were also what the Bride had in mind. They liked this one so much that they had a huge canvas done of it.
We have also had weddings with dog ringbearers, dog flowergirls, several horse & carts etc
This is what I love about wedding photography you just never know what you are going to get!
Well that's me for today ... I think there may be more favorites tomorrow ... I still have lots :-)
Cheers for now,
Faith.

Some of My Favorites

So, something different again today...
these are 4 of my favorites from weddings in the last 2-3 years.
I like them for different reasons... none of which is their technical excellence ( which is quite often lacking)
They are mostly favorties either for the emotions they captured or how they well represent the day we had with that particular couple.
So....
In the first The Doves ... this was shot at Willow Glen near Hamilton & straight after the service they ring a bell & all the doves come & land by the couple.
Photographically it makes for stunning pictures ... for the bride it makes for a bit of a worry about dove poo on her dress :-) But they all love it as symbolically it is so cool.
The second one I love for it's colour, the bright blue, the reds & the greens ... awesome.
The balloon release idea was a really touching way to remember loved ones who have passed on.
We had so many great pictures from this wedding ... it was one of those days where everything goes just right.
And she was the most laidback Bride we've had & that's saying something as our Kiwi Brides seem to be of the laidback variety on the whole. Third one ... this was from our first big traditional Samoan wedding, & it just tells the story of the day perfectly. Such a happy Bride she spent the whole day laughing & being so happy to be getting married. Considering that they had to start their hair & make-up at 5am in order to get it all done for the 11am service she did really well.
Last one ... this I took at my very first wedding, I was so lucky they were an absolutely beautiful couple both inside & out ... Just wonderful to work with & they had a stunning venue near Tauranga. We all have great memories of that day as it was so lovely.
Well that's it today ... I might try & find some more for tomorrow .... I seem to get a new favorite every wedding ... It is my goal to shoot a new favorite evry time that way I know that I am constantly trying to improve.
Cheers for now,
Faith.

Sunset Over The Desert Road

So ... here a couple of photos I took going up the Desert road at sunset.

This was just before the mountains came into the shot.

I was really pleased with them, especially as I took them out of the van window as Adrian was racing along :-)

We were very lucky to strike it at that time when it wasn't raining!

It's such a beautiful place & we'd love to do a wedding there just for the scenery!

Well that's about it for me today, I have a couple of weddings to finish so I really should get on with it.

Cheers for now,

Faith.

More Rotorua Wedding

So here are some more form Saturday's wedding...
In the first one the sun had just gone behind the hill where the gondolas & luge are & the light was awesome!!!
The second I took at the Bride's Parents home ... I just really like the compositon with the tree & the sunlight coming through her veil. I could have stayed there all afternoon ... but I was getting "Faith, hurry up, we have to go" from the boys!
The night shot we did outside the reception.
They had hired these 2 huge searchlights which apperantly you could see all over Rotorua.
So we just had to get a photo with them.... I love low light photos you need some patience but so worth it if everything goes to plan.
So that's probably it for this wedding... maybe some sunset photos tomorrow.
Check out www.go4photos.com for more weddings.
Cheers,
Faith.

Rotorua Wedding

These are some of my favorites from Saturday's wedding...
What a great couple .... they were up for anything & even when we went & dragged them outside halfway through the reception for MORE photos they were so obliging.
The cool as photo of the Bride with the veil flying out was done at her parents place which was probably THE best garden we've ever had to do the before photos in.
Holden's are the Groom's passion so we had to have photos with their cars & this one of them with him dipping the Bride was just fantastic.
We were also so lucky at the timing of the photo shoot just on sunset .... & the one of the 2 of them with lake Rotorua & Mokoia Island in the background made my day.
There were so many great ones I'm going to add some more tomorrow... as we did some night shots that I really love.
Both their families were awesome, her parents were as funny as a fit & his Mum was just lovely.
So...
Cheers for now,
Faith.
PS To see more photos & the Movie Trailer of this wedding check out www.afpnz.com