Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Mini Sessions …

It has been a whirlwind few weeks here in “the Clouds” … and a huge highlight has been the amazing success of our wonderful mini sessions … Held just last weekend at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, we met so many new Adelaide families as well as caught up with past clients and of course our families who book their mini session in every year to keep their portraits up to date.  Mini Sessions are a fabulous, convenient and affordable way to update your family photographs regularly and capture some fun moments for you to display on your walls!

Here are just a few of the absolutely gorgeous families we met on Saturday……..

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If you are still thinking about booking in for a Mini Session in Pt Elliot THIS SUNDAY, be quick as there are only a couple of spaces still available – we would love to meet you!!

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‘These are the gifts that are far above priceless.

These are the memories that are made of pure love.’

- Douglas Pagels

Over the past few years we made the decision to become more involved in the amazing community of photographers within Australia.

The best way to to do this was to join the professional bodies

- The AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photographers) and

- the AAPP (The Australian Accredited Professional Photographers).

Both of these Associations work very hard to promote and maintain the highest standard of professional competence and business ethics in the industry.  It is essential that you choose a Photographer who is a member of at least one of these associations.  It ensures that they are of Industry Standard and that you will be provided with a quality and professional service bound by a Code of Ethics of which all Photographers comply.  The AIPP and AAPP websites are a great place to start when you are looking for a Photographer that suits you.

The AAPP is very active in South Australia (thank you!) and if you are a South Australian Photographer and are not a member you should join immediately. One of the opportunities that you are offered is to submit prints to be judged by a panel of expert judges.  This in itself is an experience that is incredibly valuable on its own.

As Photographers we are on a continual learning curve.  There is always new equipment, new trends, new techniques, all of which we must keep up with.  To be able to have a print judged and feedback given is an invaluable experience to learn and build upon our skills.  The best Photographers in the world will tell you that there is always something more to learn.  The AAPP print judging days are a wonderful opportunity to soak up the knowledge and critique shared by some of the many AMAZING and TALENTED Photographers that South Australia has to offer.  Like I said, if you are a Photographer in SA and are not a member you really should join.

We are absolutely delighted and truly humbled to share this news with you.  Our very own Kate Ellis entered prints for the very first time for last Tuesday’s Print Judging.  Of the 4 prints Kate entered she was awarded 2 ‘Silver’ awards (prints scoring 78 or above) for the following images.  This is a fantastic result for which we are very proud of Kate!

Congratulations Kate, a bottle of champagne is on its way to you!!

~ Merryn

I heard this great quote today which I think applies to all of us:

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‘The important thing is this:

To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.’

- Charles Dubois

There are a few professional bodies who support the photographic industry. The Australian Institute of Professional Photography is one of the best known associations. The AIPP supports members in achieving excellence and promotes the profession of photography. So, in essence, you can be sure that a photographer who is a member of the AIPP upholds strong ethics, professionalism and provides superior quality work. And I’m sure that anyone who has seen Merryn’s work would say she certainly encompasses these traits.

It’s not the kind of group you just pay your money and suddenly you’re a member. There is a full portfolio assessment which, in Merryn’s case, was assessed by Masters of Photography and critiqued. It is quite  a process, but I am super, super proud to announce that Merryn is now a fully accredited member of the AIPP! Congratulations darl! ….

It also gives Merryn the right to use their logo, so here goes!

Merryn Gomez – Accredited Member of the AIPP

Kate x

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“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place … I’ve found it has little to do with things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. ”

Elliott Erwitt

Merryn …

You’ve held my hand through the darkest of darks. You’ve cried with me, and laughed with me. You’ve shared my joyful, and my sorrowful. You have wisdom well beyond your years. You give all of yourself, always and without hesitation. And without you I would not be the person I am today. Thank you.

You are inspirational, more than you would ever imagine. I am honored to share this life time with you as my closest friend. I couldn’t have wished for a better ’sister’. *mwah*

Happy Birthday babe.

Kx

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“Friends are the bacon bits in the salad bowl of life.”
- Anon

Today is a very special day. Today is the birthday of my best, most trustworthy, most loved, loyal and beloved friend.

I met her when I was 4 years old. I know her so intimately close that we often say the same thing at the same time. We chat on msn and we cross post, only to laugh at ourselves as we have typed the same words, come up with the same idea, reacted the same to something. If I were lucky enough to have been given a sister, I know it would have been her.

She is one of the most amazing people I know. She makes me want to be a better mum, a better wife, a better photographer. Just by watching her and what she does. She is inspiring and creative and is one of the most patient, compassionate human beings I have ever met.

She is the kind of mum who chases her kids around the playground pretending to be a monster instead of just sitting on the bench. She is the kind of wife who doesn’t need to be told he needs a hug, she just hugs him. And she is the kind of friend who is just there, all the time, any time. For anything.

Most of our clients do not realise how close Kate and I are and how well we know each other. This is why we work so well shooting together… we just seem to know where the other one is and what they are doing… we barely even speak and we don’t get in each other’s way!

Thank you Kate for everything you are. You are amazing and I adore you.

Happy Birthday my friend. xoxxo.

This is my Kate.

Love you.

M xx

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‘Friends are like stars…. you often can’t see them but you know they are always there….’

- anonymous

Some of my current clients know that I escaped for a few days with my beautiful family …

We headed off for some R&R to a little place called Point Turton on the Yorke Peninsula. And I was very proud of myself! I even left my mobile AT HOME! …

We stayed in a beautiful little (big!) beach house with the most amazing views from the huge picture windows …

Lucky us, having a two year old who likes to get up VERY early, we never seem to miss a beautiful sunrise …

The beaches near where we stayed were very uninspiring for the kids (no sand = boredom) so we went for a drive and found a gorgeous beach near the Corny Point Light house …

This is our little boy, Max, 3 … the lighthouse can be seen way off in the distance …

Morgan, 5 …

Morgan and her little-sister-who-loves-her-to-bits, Iliana, 2 …

So, thanks to all our beautiful clients who wished us a good break. We really had a relaxing time, which we needed as this year has been super hectic!

Merryn did an awesome job of taking on the work of both of us for a few days (thanks babe!) …

Kx

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A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours.
John B. Priestly

We just wanted to share an awesome video that we saw while we were away in Sydney. A brilliant graphic designer and photographer, Netra Chetty, gave a great talk on how to deal with business branding in the amazing world we live in today, and the massive expanse of information that is the www. 

What will the world be like … in 10 years time …. 40 … 80 years? What issues will our grandchildren be facing? …. When we complain about ‘having to cook dinner’ .. .which might take 30 mins – maybe an hour? … it used to take all day only 150 years ago …  

It is scarey, and amazing, and humbling, and funny ….. and we wanted to share … using … technology! lol … 

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All of the biggest technological inventions created by man – the airplane, the automobile, the computer – says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness.  ~Mark Kennedy

And we’ll be back next week! 

Heading over to Sydney for the ACOCP workshops and AGM, the ACOCP Heartfelt Exhibition opening and PMA (talk about busy!) … 

Our internet access will be sporadic, so if we don’t return emails straight away, we will get on top of them upon our return on Monday next week. 

M & K x 

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When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money. 

~Susan Heller

Today our little girl turned 2. 

I know I’m biased, but I think she is totally gorgeous. We’ll be doing her ‘two year old shoot’ this coming week, so I’ll show you just how gorgeous then … 

We had a little celebration at home on a very wintery and wet day … but it was warm and toasty inside, and she had a ball … 

For those who know Iliana, will know her obsession with food. It is total and unyielding. Show her food, and it will be gone in a flash. She’s a 4 weetbix in the morning kind of girl. The only time she really fights is if one of her older siblings has either taken her food, or is eating something that she wants. So needless to say, she LOVED her party food …. and the chocolate eggs and marshmallows from Great-Grandpop! …

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A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.
Jerry Seinfeld

Well … the whirlwind of life doesn’t seem to slow down. 

On Monday evening I flew out of Adelaide and headed towards Melbourne to stay with a great friend of mine, Jessie Broome, of J-Studios, and to attend the Business Bootcamp run by Liana Lehman, a photographer from Atlanta. 

Besides being completely shocked by the Tiger Airways terminal in Melbourne (it is seriously, like a cattle yard with a luggage collection section!), I was collected by the beautiful Stacey, and Jess and we headed back to her home in Point Cook. By the time we got there, Liana and her new husband, Mike, had arrived also – (not so) fresh from their flight from New Zealand. 

It really was a case of getting straight into it, starting at about about 8 am each morning, and going through to 8 pm. (I now know why she calls it a bootcamp!). But it was a wonderful experience. To hang out with 10 awesomely talented photographers, and chat and dream and laugh and cry and, above all, overhaul our business practices and policies until they are shining bright … it was  a fabulous thing to experience, and something that will hold me in good stead for the rest of my life. 

Amazingly enough, we didn’t even touch a camera until very late on the last day, when we finally got the chance to snap a few images (Gemma and Janet raced home and got their wedding dresses for a quick bridal session) which was a heap of fun and a great way to end the workshop. Here’s a couple of images of the gorgeous Gemma from Iris Creations Photography. 

For a few more images, check out Jessie’ blog here. I have made some wonderful friends during the last week, and I can’t wait to see the changes that my other ‘bootcampers’ begin to make in their businesses too …  

Edited to add: I forgot to say … (just a small brag about how wonderful my darling husband is) … not only did he survive a week alone at home with three kids during school holidays, but he completely re-decorated our bedroom, painted, de cluttered, painted the bed and bedsides and made it look like a million dollars … it felt like ‘Domestic Blitz’ as he and our eldest daughter lead me down the hallway with my eyes closed! …. *mwah* I love you so much babe. 

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“A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself.” 
- Sent by Lysha