Grace Photography

Some exiting news !

2011-02-16T02:32:00.000-08:00

So I have had the privilege of shooting for Wendy Barker Dance Studios for a couple of years now and as most of you would know my daughters have enjoyed being one of the students for a few years more.
Whenever I get into a bit of a photo funk, I go through the work done at each of the Christmas concerts for drive and inspiration. During the full dress rehearsals I get so drawn in.... its hard not to forget myself , leap out of the chair and yell out 'I *know* that girl!' and fumble and fuss in the dark trying not to drop thousands of dollars worth of lens and camera body- and act like a clumsy idiot skipping through the isle chairs while dropping replacement cards and aa batteries (you could never accuse me of doin any kind of cool). This years concert was 'Out Of the Box' and on concert day there was standing room only. Well I know this girl...... its Matilda - this year she really shone in every single frame.

Added to shooting for the school, I will this year be covering the La Sylphide proffesional production set to take place in August dance by the Young Dancers Company of Central Queensland. You may remember last year the company performing the Nutcracker over Christmas 2010.
There is so much work going on every day of the week by the company to bring our region the beautiful art of dance. I hope to be able to post updates on progress, and document some of the blood sweat and tears that go into putting on a ballet. In the next little while I will have done some research on La Sylphide so we can go on the journey to gether and by performance night - you can come along and support our local fabulous dancers like Matilda and know exactly what its all about.
STAY TUNED

Double Figures

2011-01-29T03:58:00.000-08:00

This past week my darling eldest daughter turned 10.
Jazlyn ?...Please stop growing so fast and so tall ( I am not sure jeans can be made with longer legs in them than you wear right now - I have no intention of learning how to sew at this stage of my life)
If you keep growing so much you'll be left home in no time at all - so you're only allowed leave a couple hours drive from me at most !
When ever my girls have birthday's I stupidly suffocate myself in nostalgia and quietly plead for time to turn just wee bit slower- (unlike when they were teeny tiny babies I would wish away time to see them reach milestones).

I am so proud of who she is !

On with 2011

2011-01-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

As you probably know by now I do sneak off to my favourite place for a few days here and there...
It really refreshes me to be surrounded with laughter, nature, and intelligent conversation.

The new year really kicks off for me when the children go back to school. I get back into business mode. I feel inspired to be a better business person - and free up some time and energy for more creativity. 2010 wasn't the very best year for me, I struggled, cried learned - and grew. Who knows what 2011 holds ? But I am really looking forward to it- & will hopefully have plenty more I can blog about this year.

This little guy

2011-01-12T22:53:00.000-08:00

This little guy turns up every night. We leave the light on over head so it attracts moths geckos and other hideous critters. He has been here for nearly two years... at least. In the begining he'd model for me while I played around in every other mode on my camera than manual ...because I was afraid I wouldnt' get it all together in low light. He still turns up, even when the weather cools off.

And although I love to see him - its from a little way back... well more like a way way back.

A new year ! and some great changes.

2011-01-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

This is the address to my brand spankin shiny new flash website and I am really hoping it serves the purpose of being able to browse latest work, with the option of visiting me here to read about how things are going on the family and photography front.
http://gracephotographyonline.net

So.. let me know how you like it !! I hope after a few days of little sleep and a brain bleed the effort was worth it.

Some Dance

2010-12-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

As you all know both my girls love to dance and each year I round them up into the outfits they've worn throughout the year and document them all... its just too rushed for me to get nice images on important days and the last thing they appreciate is being pulled up and told to 'smile' for me. Doing it this way gives us a girly day and the chance to re-live some great times we had in the year.
Here are some of our favourites... ( yes family these are some that'll make the calendar ;) )

Schools out at our place !

2010-12-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

School is finished, dancing is done and dusted. So at the moment my kids days are filled with days with long swimming sessions icecream and soft drink. Visits to parks and the beach are just too hot for my girls - they burn so easy. Jazlyn and her cousin her are showing all kinds of awesome ;) for the camera and Chloe just took along time to think about it

After the stunt work I made them play in the shady part of the pool (a) so we didnt get any scrunchy face photos and (b) so I wouldn't have to buy my Mum a new set of teeth because although you cant see her in the frame she dilegently waited just in front of them their in case they needed to be caught....

I lo

I love this photo of Jazlyn - there was SO much strong sunlight and blue cast due the white surroundings and pool lining I was playing with some vintage ...

I think its soft - & all three girls were of course fabulous models... they're not camera shy. At all. Their cousin wasnt allowed in the pool yesterday due to being too burned on the top of his little ears but I can hear them just outside my lounge today in full swing as he stacks marshmellow Christmas Trees on some Kabana cheeze and dip stacks they tucking into. An interesting combo.

My hope is they can always remember how to play.... with sweet abandon and joy. No one has been allowed the Wii or Playstation and you should hear them create play... its pretty funny (Chloe is SO bossy)
They will all want a look at their photos when they come inside and see them selves on Gina's (or Mummy's) blog so this is one of Elijah when he was being a good boy with his sun hat on.

Now he'll like being here with all them girls... :]
This weekend I have a photoshoot at the beach with a toddler and a puppy. Good times lol... I cant wait to share them its going be cute business I can tell.

The wonderful Gibbins Family :]

2010-11-09T01:38:00.000-08:00

I have been awol with regards to my blog lately and I think it has missed me much. I have been a busy army of one when it comes to my photography and joined with my other most important role as a stay at home mum the blogging side of the photos has taken a backseat.

But this family shoot is one I wanted to share staight away and will post other recent shoots when school and ballet settle down some.

Anyway- enough of my excuses and on with introducing Karen and her VERY patient family. We met at what I think might be one of everyones favourite locations and got to work. I hope they enjoy their images as much as I enjoyed working with them.

Thanks so much to a great family to work with !.
*And* some time in the next little while I should be back with lots of pics of our busy lives and all things Christmas...(yes its chasing us down bigtime :] )

Where I've been this week...

2010-09-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

I am visitng one of my favourite places in the whole world.... yes even though its raining. I was up at the 1770 lookout this morning and captured some fabulouse images of the lookout point... its impossible to not get great images up there and the rain and dark sea make it all that more dramatic. But i have totally enjoyed appreciating and taking notice of the perfection in small things we so often miss. Its been an absolute dream to just take pics as a project weekend.

This is my favourite image of today, its so perfect but so small and silent - its amazing how beautiful the nature walks are with some rain.

I think I must have got my love of peace-&- quiet and nature from my Pop who passed away just this year, he worked for many years as the National Parks and Wildlife guy and the Ravensbourne National Park above Toowoomba . If he was here I'd ask him just what species that little bird is ,it turns up every day.
I will be loading up some more images through the week but thought I would just share these from today. Thanks for scooting through and reading some personal odd and bodds ! :D.

(( Dusty !!!))

2010-09-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

We had a family photo session on Saturday with this little guy being included as part of the crew...

We started out really well, he was pretty happy with the whole idea. So we got on to some lovely family photos with different combinations of who was to be in each image.

This was an amazing family ! they were helpful and nothing was too much trouble to try- They even brought an assistant to watch Dusty and he was kind enough to carry my bag. :] Was nice to be spoiled.

After a little while we decided to move Dusty back into the photos as he'd had some time to settle in and get relaxed with such an outing.

So we were all getting set up with some bribes for Dusty then.. this happened :0 he knocked over one of his little biscuits, so no matter what we did in this part of our shoot he couldn't take his starving little eyes on just WHERE that little sucker fell too.

We did get lots of shots with Mum and Dad and at the end of our morning we thought we'd have one more try of getting Dusty to look at the camera at the same time the kids did :] and in the end what worked was for Mel to stand be-hind me and sit the biscuits on the top of my head. (We do what we must ! lol )
Thanks so much to a helpful and easy going family it was great to get our location shoot done on a beautiful sunny day.

Don't forget !

2010-09-11T02:12:00.000-07:00

To get out and about this weekend and get your images to me for Fridays Photo Bliss :]

Gentlemen ?....please stay in your seats ;)

2010-09-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

All was going FANTASTIC... but Nic had reservations about getting in the grass....*shrug*...

She was such a great sport :]

We had a great afternoon- Nic and I have been friends for 23years..... I dont think we've ever had an afternoon / social session that wasn't full of nonsense and tear induced laughter. Good times

Fridays Photo

2010-09-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

This was great ! This beautiful image was created by Rosie. I have been so spoiled in the last weeks with images that are already beautiful and both photographers have trusted me to have a play :]

Rosie is looking into doing more photography and I think she should go for it - its a wonderful art form and one in which you can continue to grow with and learn .Above is our 'before' image. Looks like such a pretty place.
I wanted to make the most of the light and bring the home into more of the foreground. So after cropping it
I went to work by duplicating the original and putting into a softlight overlay. This is a great way to give an image attention upfront. I then went to work with the sharpen tool on the shadows of the mountain. And of course finished with some MCP actions 'fingerpaint' small to 'pop' some of the foreground colours of brown and gold.

I soo hope Rosie loves it ! and I every much hope she takes up the craft.
Keep the photos comming - I am getting plenty of positive feedback, and most images are great to start with but its really nice to get a new take on an old fave.
cheers everyone and have an awesome weekend. I have been shooting today in one of the most gorgeous places I know and cant wait to share that work with you all.

g :]

Friday Photo Bliss

2010-09-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well much thanks to you Sheila for being the first person to submit to our Fridays. Bellow is the image Sheila sent me of a building she really doesn't like at all... lol she doesn't go inside because it looks scary. I think so too ! I chose to play with the snow covered image because I dont get to work with this sort of thing much at all. Ok, so below is the original Sheila sent for me thats been resized for the blog and watermarked. But other than that no editing has been done

I worked with CS5 on this image - I'm stretching its legs and learning with it, as up till now I've been on CS4.
Below is the edited version

The original really IS pretty but because of all the white it needed to be popped a little - and defined in around the tree area so we get a sense of 'place' and depth - not a blanket of white.
Receipe ?
Duplicate the image from background,
Then I put it into Highpass to sharpen - at about 24 and then flattened the image.
I am a huge fan of the MCP actions sets and ran the 'fingerpaint' selection over the back ground.
To bring out the red in the truck I just used a low opacity red brush and the sharpen tool..I wanted to keep with the mood of the building looking a little ominus so didn't soften or add to the pinkish/beige of the first pic. I went with the blue/grey.
Have a great weekend everyone and I hope you liked the tweaking :] (specially Sheila - she's one of the BEST ) lol

Friday Photo Bliss

2010-08-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you who love photos, are pathological picture takers and would love to share your photos - send me your recent favourite, I will edit it for you, share the photoshop receipe and post it to the blog so we can enjoy the before and after.
I will choose one each Friday - Fridays Photo Bliss,...

On my recent weekend off....

2010-08-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated with my parents for their 40th wedding anniversary down at Agnes / 1770 for the weekend.

On the Saturday we were booked into a tour with the LARC. We all got on and started out on their tour - This is a 'before'of Chloe, I'll post the 'after' once your done looking at our day of views and sliding down the dunes at Middle Island ;]
Our morning tea was provided, but my daughter and her cousin decided to get straight off and put their brothers/cousins to shame by rounding up and catching little soldier crabs.

So after morning tea was done we were taken up to the lighthouse - I loved it up here and got all 'photographer' on the views as we went up, gorgeous..

I was going to just take snaps of the kids and family having a fun day but this and the lighthouse really got my attention.
We were given a guided tour of the lighthouse area and its history before heading back down to lunch.
Jazlyn was made sit by me and eat this time instead of slushying around in black mud - however her and some new mates made time to bury this little dead bird they found....I had no idea they'd found it until I heard her organising someone elses little boy on exactly how to get the job done :\
Then we were off to the sand dunes,

These dunes were pretty big but the tour had a great mix of all ages and any one who wanted a go did, this is where you ended up if your feet weren't dug into the sand or you didnt mind getting wet.. and muddy. J was the first to slide down and give her self a drench but i like this pic of my nephew better.

http://www.1770larctours.com.au/
this is the link to the LARC tours addy so you get an idea of what they provide and what it looks like. We all loved it and I really needed the down time.
I had forgotten how much I loved it down in 1770 & Agnes -
Oh here is Chloes 'after' image...

And the last one is of my ever happy eldest in her second set of clothes and pants full of sand and mud.

Thanks everyone at the LARC tours for a great day out.

The Big Day !!!

2010-08-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

After a few days of cloud cover, we were all absolutley chuffed to wake up to a perfect day for a wedding.

I knew this pretty-girl would make a stunning Bride

Mr Intense ! I love this image... its hot.

John and Sarah had the BESTEST Bridal Party ever. By this time they were looking for that guy... with the esky.

There are so many great images of the day I just cant post them all,

They had the most wonderful day -

I wish them all the very best for a happy and loving future.

Thanks so much for choosing us to be part of it.

Remember John and Sarah ?

2010-08-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well its their Wedding Day this Saturday !
I am getting organised to head to Hervey Bay for the weekend to photograph their wedding and am busy and exited to the lead up.
We're keeping our fingers crossed for perfect weather and a happy and relaxed day.
I look forward to meeting up with John and Miss Maynard(I've been calling Sarah Miss Maynard in our emails ect as she will soon be Mrs Morton :D )this Friday to re-group and plan for a wonderful wedding.

Beautiful Baby Boy...

2010-07-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

He is so perfect . :]

A great photo session with the Hill family

2010-07-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

I had a great afternoon session recently with the Hill family, They were relaxed, helpfull and I walked away feeling really blessed I could do what I love to do with such a friendly and happy family. Hope you enjoy the pics every one!

Hello Hayden Family :D

2010-07-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I had really good chat to Jesse about magic rocks... He was kind enough to give me one of his, I still have it Jesse. He was also kind enough to give me a couple of HUGS - BIG ones !. I have put them in a safe place too ;]

Tamzyn was a natural :]

As little girls usually are.
A big thankyou to everyone for being great to work with and with lots of help from Mum and Dad we have plenty of family pics to last a life time- ( I've put a few in the Family Gallery in case you'd like a look at those. )

Hunter, Tyler and Gracie

2010-06-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

These guys we're great to work with ! The kids were comfortable in their own skin and Rachel (Mum) had creative ideas of her own we could try which always makes for an individual session :D

We got some great one on one piccies which are lovely and then *someone * suggested we should just hang out and play ... like you do at home....

I have a little evidence of Tyler giving her brother an absolute toweling for this one... but thats for Rachel to put out at his 21st ;]

We have some football kicking and splashing...

And i am putting up an extra of Gracie... cause she's so cute i could slurp her up with a biscuit

The Long Family

2010-05-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

We packed snacks and walked through the gardens like a bunch of tourists last Sunday to get some great photos for our extended family session. The grass was way too wet cold in the orgional location.... so off we walked.... ;]

We had quite the group of little people and they were pretty busy ! I was lucky to have a very happy bunch .

There were plenty of sibling shots but I love this portrait of Jess

We managed a few nice couples photos too-

Thanks so much everyone for your patience and co-ooperation to make a very smooth morning.

Kevin and Crew :]

2010-05-18T01:34:00.000-07:00

I was thinking we might have to re- shedule due to rain this Sunday but the overcast skies made for some nice soft lighting for skintones. Kevin had bought this photosession for his Mum for Mothers Day - which I think is very thoughtful !

Well thought out Kevin :] these will last far longer than a bottle of perfume for you Mum.

Do you guys remember Ayden ?

2010-05-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

I was going through what to keep and what not this morning and I found Aydens 'cakesmash' - that really wasn't a smash at all.

I don't think in the beginning he quite knew what to make of just being sat in a strange place ... and fed cake.

He soon got the hang of what one yr olds can do with some cake... but he's was still ever so tidy - carefully and lovingly putting it away, see the top pic? the neat tidy bite? My kids would've had it nuked.
There was no chance of cake surviving once bis sis helped out.

But he had the lions share...

And although he didn't totally 'smash that cake' he quietly neatly sat and got ' cake drunk'

He did a remarkably neat job of he's cake- so NEAT tho for a 1yr old boy! Dont you think? I will be keeping these for a wee bit longer :] they're pretty cute business - and no matter how much I plan for a shoot they OFTEN take me on a whole other path. So that said I should go back to what I came back at 10.00 this morning to do instead of my photo addiction. Have a great weekend everyone- and I will be seeing Ellouise and her gorgeous crew on Sunday! Its going to be a great session (I can tell) :D

Brooke and Jai

2010-05-09T01:17:00.000-07:00

I was so glad we moved this shoot to earlier in the afternoon than we first planned because we might have just run out of light ! These two cuties were so well behaved and keen to have their photo taken I felt very very lucky to spend an afternoon with them,... we had some lizards to play with :\ and horses to feed ;]
*waves* "HELLO BROOKE AND JAI" I know you'll love looking at these with your very special Mummy tonight.

And as always you can check out some more favourites in the Gallery - Family

The Invitation

2010-05-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

It doesn't interest me, what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for - and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine your own; without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want o know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wilderness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realisitc, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me, to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me how old you are, I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. (Oriah Mountain Dreamer)

John and Sarah

2010-04-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great afternoon at this engagement session. John and Sarah are a fantastic couple ! He proposed in Queenstown :] while riding on the chair lifts *sigh* I think you can see the lurv.

I dont think its possible for Sarah to take a bad photo - The girl is BEAUTIFUL

We're all looking forward to their wedding in August and think a beach wedding is just right. I have a few more images over in the couples gallery if you'd like to check out s'more of this wonderful couple.

For the Love

2010-04-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

For the love of something dramatic

For the love of peace

For the love of being still

For the love of cupcakes and PARTY cakes

For the love of beautiful beginnings...... and beautiful endings

For the love of dance and the love of play.

and for today?
I do this because I absolutley love it. Did you do what you did today for the love of something or someone?

Pretty Girl

2010-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Texture...

2010-04-13T04:28:00.000-07:00

Been playing with some texture in Khaels pics..

My Milk and Honey Child

2010-04-13T03:55:00.000-07:00

Madalyn and Khael

2010-04-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

I have so many cute photos of these two....

I just cant pick a favourite.

The Fowler Family :D

2010-04-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

After spending such a great afternoon in perfect weather I think we all came away wondering why we dont enjoy our region more... Harry Tom and Logan were great value and I am ABSOLUTELY certain they'll want to see as much of yesterday as possible so if you go to, Gallery you'll see a 'test'drop down - click on to that if you'd like to see more of our photo session.

I hope the family had as much fun with the soccer and tree climbing as much as I did joining them.

What she should know.

2010-03-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

If there is something you want to do - do it.
There are only so many tomorrows.
If you would like me to capture your loved ones doing what they do email me via the addy in the 'About me' drop down. :D

The very best job in the world

2010-03-11T01:20:00.000-08:00

I have had a wonderful little helper this week. So I took advantage of some Mummy time in the days off from prep we had together. Chloe loves one of the ducks at our park and has named her Jemima (Puddle Duck). If you'd like to see the pics nice and big just click on them.
Her and her besties roll up the causeway like highwaymen - lol to get their fresh bread.
Have a drink and move on.
Its a very exiting time when they have ducklings Its seriously way too cute. If they let me close enough I can hopefully get their photos in about Sept.
On about day two it was time to do some cake makin...
I know.....I know. Its exactly what it looks like.
This is it. After mixing Miss Chloe left. To more exiting company like her Polly Pocket crew.. I would love to post a picture of a stunning beautifully risen cake but it ended up a boring old teacake ;] Its been a great week and although I am busier than I ever thought I could or would be - the people around me to 'do life' with are the BEST kind. Although somebody was tragic about comming off second best with Nannas treadmill....I had some nice days because of it.

Actions and Textures

2010-03-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

I have been playing with new actions and textures this week before my next photo shoot.
I also have a thing going on for some vintage. It could be cabin fever because of ALL this rain, but I think we should get Ayden to do some Easter pics for me, with a bunny :] Are they illegal? Rabbits? In Queensland?

Anyway - He was left behind. This is Chloes bear - called Simon after the guy on playschool. He wasn't lonely for long. She thought Mia was taking him home.

Great Family Photos

2010-03-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

For fantastic photos at a very reasonable price contact me via my email in about me. You don't have be a follower or fan for quality and affordable prints of you're family/sporting or special occasion.

Abby & Sarah

2010-02-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

We had an action packed afternoon for Abby and Sarah on their photo shoot ;)
After trying to blow bubbles with bubble gum for the first time Abby decided spit was easier to work with....(but those pics are for her mums eyes only.)

The studio shots were first - then a play in the park was in order.

Thank you for a fun afternoon :]

I have uploaded my work through blogger (you can upload in other ways for a larger image but if you just click on the image you like it will enlarge to a great size if you want a really close look. During the week I will add some more to the Gallery drop down - click on test for some different images or favourites over time.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to check in on Grace Photography its early days yet - I hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoying creating them.

Ayden & Mia

2010-02-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well... here I am at Grace Photography's first blog post.

WELCOME.
My first shoot was this weekend with Ayden and Mia. They're so cute & and we have so many shots to choose from I need to put some up in Gallery Mia was busy & Ayden got busy eating cake ;) I will be back later this week to add more to our Gallery. Thanks for a fun afternoon guys. :]

Couples

2000-04-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

This is just a nice pic of Allison and Damien to check if my drop down link is working properly ;]