sneak peek - eban and manon

This was a treat. Introducing Eban and Manon who I met for the first time in NZ. They are the children of my cousin, so essentially they are my second cousins. Manon was adorable and kept this static 'Mona Lisa' smile while I clicked away. She has a complexion that people would die for - me included! Meanwhile Eban was chasing Ben around the house and when he saw the camera he would burst out in a smile realising he was being watched while playing chasy. Thank you Eban and Manon, and a big thanks to Mum and Dad too for letting me take your pictures. I hope you like them!

puppies!

I love photographing dogs. You really have no idea what they are going to do, or the expressions they are going to pull but it very rewarding when you nail it. While staying at the Higgins home in Whangamata we had 3 dogs at the house; Bounce, Tahn and Marley. It created an interesting dynamic and this is a short summary of how I think the dogs were feeling. * Bounce was happy to stay indoors in the bedroom away from Marley who kept making unwanted advances (!) * Tahn was exhausted, most likely from telling Marley off from invading her "personal space" being the backyard * Marley had obviously exhausted himself after harassing everyone else and was surprisingly still for most of the portraits I took. I was ready to sit there patiently but Marley was an angel and really turned it on for the camera. So here are some of my favourites of Bounce, Marley and Tahn.

NZ Part 1

Our first 5 nights in New Zealand were spent in Whangamata, approximately 1.5 hrs south east of Auckland. It is the home that I knew my Grandparents at, spend some of my favourite summers and is where my father spent alot of his youth. I have some great memories that were made here and I was so excited to be able to share new memories with my "extended" family as well as catching up with my immediate family in New Zealand. These are some shots around and about Whangamata over the 4-5 day period. We went hiking, swimming, boogy boarding, musselling, walked to Clarke Island at low tide, did lots of eating and drinking and in general had a great relaxing time before starting the "travel" leg of our holiday. More to come of Whangamata and then onto Rotorua, Whakatane, Taupo and finally Auckland. Lots and lots of photos to come. Oh, by the way. That insanely over-the-top smile that Phoebe is putting on is her "Whangamata Smile". She looks so somber that I asked for a smile and said "How about a Whangamata smile. Show me how much you like the place". That's our Pheebe's. Over the top :)

lulu stinkibelle

My little girl, Lulu, turned 3 years old today. In dog years that makes this her 21st birthday so I thought I would celebrate with a short post and some "so cute its a crime" photos. Lulu came to us from Queensland quite by accident. We initially had our name down with another litter for a blenheim girl but unfortunately the litter were stillborn and it wasn't to be. The breeder was kind enough to pass our name onto another breeder who was expecting a litter very soon and we were lucky there were enough girls to go around and we got Lulu. She came to us on Easter Weekend of 2005 and has been ruling the house ever since. She has become my shadow and one ritual I love is opening the bedroom door each morning to find her sitting there staring at was once the door and is now my feet. Lord knows how long she actually sits there and waits for! At least Lily is sensible enough to lay on the couch while waiting. Lulu quite confidently struts in, jumps on the bed and snuggles up to the cushions while watching Grant and I get ready for our day. I love the little things like this that make up my memories of our pets. Happy birthday Lulu Stinkibelle! My little fluffy girl.

we're back!

We're baaaaaacckkk! We arrived home safe and sound last night and I have just finished sorting my gazillion photographs for editing. The past 12 days are kind of a blur as we did so much in such a short time, but it was a great holiday. I was desperately in need of some sun, surf and fresh air. More to come soon . . .

Grant's 40th Birthday

Wow - quickest editing ever! I am pretty pressed for time and not feeling the best so this was a record editing process. Yesterday was Grant's 40th birthday. We celebrated in style at a restaurant/pub/brewery at the Mindarie Marina with lunch and beers. Grant is 11 years older than me so I have taken much delight in rubbing in the fact that he turns 40 before I turn 30 (which is way too close now). The day finally came and he was lavished with gifts, as he should be. These are just some of my favourite shots from the day. Gotta get movin'. We have some serious organising to do still for our holiday to New Zealand which happens TOMORROW NIGHT! This will probably be the last post of the year so I want to wish anyone out there reading a happy new year and all the best for you and your families in 2008. I can't wait to see what the year brings :) See you on the other side.

sneak peak - the big 4-0

Happy Birthday babe. Love you! More to come later - hopefully tomorrow ;)

Christmas Day

Christmas Day this year was celebrated with a small gathering of family at our house. The air conditioner was on all day and night because we reached 44 degrees yesterday! Holy cow! I am so glad we have the air con. We would have died without it. Overall a great day was had by all and everyone enjoyed the food and company. The usual goofy Christmas traditions were conducted such as the silly jokes, noisy noise-makers and the paper hats. I took the cooks perogative and declined to wear one. I just can't do it :) We had a turkey main course followed by profiteroles and chocolate tart with fresh berries and the juiciest cherries ever for dessert. I have to say the jokes were pretty much the worst I have ever heard in all of my christmas's. The joke of the day? What do you call a blind dinosaur? A Do-you-think-he-saurus. LOL I love Christmas. Its such a great excuse for getting everyone together and acting silly. After all. If you can't be silly in front of your own family, when can you be? Merry Christmas everyone and best wishes for the new year! Who could resist this hunk 'o spunk!? Ooh la la ;)

Christmas Eve

My family have developed a tradition over the years of celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve. As our extended family has grown dramatically recently it is a really great way of making sure we catch up while still getting to keep up our other "family" committments as our own families grow. We have dinner at my parents and this year it was preceeded with a small game of backyard cricket and some frivolity in the pool. We had some great laughs - in particular the marsh fly that flew up Grant's shorts as Sean was coming in to whack it. I have never seen Grant move so fast to avoid Sean's hand coming down on his nether-region! LOL I took the opportunity to play around with a little lens flaring as the sun set and got some nice shots. My nephew had a small accident a few days prior where he ran mouth first into a coffee table. Poor little guy. It looked so painful but he played and laughed like nothing was wrong. He still made an adorable Harry Potter. He looks like a real old man in one of them with his belly out, shoulders down and his upper lip hanging over his lower lip. Kids make Christmas so much more enjoyable. Merry Christmas! Just because I can't believe the height Sean got with Liam - here it is in full shot. Must be the closest thing to flying ;)

Christmas prep

Let me paint the picture for you. Its 32 degrees, I have the air con on while I am glazing our ham and making cranberry sauce trying to get a leg up for Christmas lunch. Bing Crosby is serenading me with Let It Snow and I am being stalked by one of my dogs while the ham bakes. Ah. Christmas in Australia. Don 'cha love it! Without all the contradictions it just wouldn't be the same. Lily keeps hovering around my feet waiting for some morsel to fall on the ground - perhaps she's thinking if she's lucky it may be an entire 4kg ham shoulder that falls. I caught her gazing into the oven at the ham while I was out of the kitchen. Busted! She really looks like she 'needs' that ham!