I'm a photographer, I'm a poet ...

All of a sudden a year passed me by

Today's photograph is about hope, happiness, and fun.

2012 02 22 002 226x300 All of a sudden a year passed me by

Happy

One year on we have done so much but feel we haven't even started.

We have a new and exciting design for the replacement of our old home and studio.

We are putting down the floor for our new office in town. It took us a long time to get to a point where this was possible but we are excited about what happens next.

Our empty section is being protected by a dinosaur.

2012 02 22 001 All of a sudden a year passed me by

A dinosaur at my side

So even though things have been difficult over the last year, we still have a dream. Its a new dream with a happy ending. The path might be difficult, but the outcome makes the journey worthwhile.

After promising so much to write more on my blog here is the beginning.

With a dinosaur at my side I am ready to address what the next year holds for me.

Look out for our new space in town.

And finally, a huge thanks to everybody who helped us through to the point where we can once again see the hope, happiness, and fun.

 

Johannes

Since May

Since May so much has happened.

This year I am a Canon EYEcon Mentor.  I feel honoured to have been asked, and excited about the opportunity of sharing our experience, knowledge, and philosophy, with the winner.

Two months ago our building was brought down under the jurisdiction of CERA.  What was meant to be a cathartic experience turned into a psychological disaster as halfway through the actual demolition Christchurch experienced yet another major Earthquake.  It was a huge blow as we stood there realising that the end was out of our hands.  We finally accepted that it was out of our control, and the process of recovery was going to take a long time.

We left town for a month.  We had a window, and a payment from insurance for the furniture we lost in the demolition.  For 30 days we escaped.  We returned energised and full of hope.

We have started making progress with our insurance.  We have sought out an architect, and the process of building a new castle has started.

Susie (our studio manager) has gone away for a few months.  We are excited for her travels and experiences.

We are back in business.  Our current home is an amazing place for photography.

We want people to know we are working hard to get through what will be a long and difficult, but worthwhile, time until our rebuild is completed.

We want more portraits, weddings, and commercial work.

This will get us through.

Thanks to everyone for their help and love.

 

Our best wishes

 

Johannes

 

PS Today I am thinking about things that tomorrow I will enjoy.

 

 

 

Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

Too many days weeks and months have passed and I haven't even mentioned weddings, loves, or crazy brides.

At Easter ... too long ago now ... we were in Wanaka for the wedding of Anna and David.

It was a great day with lots of beautiful skies and happy people. Anna looked amazing and Kevin polished up well too.

Enough chit chat! Some pics:

M661 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

Anna and Kevin were married in Wanaka

M821 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

There was wild dancing

M260 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

The sculptures at Rippon winery made up for the absence of a church

M411 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

The scenery still was no match for the bride

M528 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

Anna

M564 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

Their Autumn cake

M538 20110423 Anna and Kevin had a colourful Autumn wedding

Anna and Kevin

Perth Speaking venue

Camera Electronic in Perth have very kindly let us use their facilities for our Earthquake Relief talk on the 10th of May.

We are excited and looking forward to an intimate day with all of those people who put their hands up to come along.

The address is 230/232 Stirling Street in Perth.

Its not too late.

Hearts

Johannes

PS I am also doing a Leica Presentation on the Saturday with Camera Electronics.

Overwhelmed

Jo, Ida , and I are overwhelmed and humbled by the by the generosity and kindness of the people we have known. (And some we have never even met)

Yesterday was  a sad day for both of us as we came a significant step closer to our building coming down. We received notification that the Historic Places Trust was getting sign-off on full demolition.

As probable as that always was, it shook us up to be told so by the people who were trying to save it.

We came back from a trip into the city to find an incredibly generous gift from a local resident, and then last night somebody gave us a very significant donation. Their timing was astounding. It was as if they knew.

We have had many generous heartfelt gifts, wishes, and help from so many amazing people. We don't know how to thank you all.

We cannot express enough, our thanks for everything that has taken away the harshness of the impact of the Earthquakes.

Thank you everybody.

Johannes Jo and Ida

We are doing a speaking tour

The first date set is Perth.

We decided to work our way through the things that happened this year.

People have been very good in supporting us and many have asked how they can help.

'Come to our seminar!' is the answer.

We need help but we want to be able to give something back for it. So here it is

'The Disaster Relief Master Class - Everything we know for 300 bucks.'

perth2011 sm We are doing a speaking tour

The Disaster Relief Master Class

We want to do Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

We also wil be speaking in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin.

Dates to come after Easter

Come along and learn.

I'll put up some more information very soon.

Cheers

Jvk


What next …. a month after the earthquake

We have so much to do!

A stranger came up to us the other day and said we weren't trying hard enough.

She was referring to 'saving the building'. I just wanted to cry. There are realities that we are facing which do not need the interference of the uninformed.

We have engaged the efforts of experts to tell us what is real. They are able to do it without attachment.

We love that the fate of our building matters to other people in our community but we want them to trust that we, through our insurance company, will do something that will be deserving of its location. We want it to be iconic, and we want it to belong in Lyttelton. The new Lyttelton!

This is real.

MG 5691 What next .... a month after the earthquake

This was my office

MG 5760 What next .... a month after the earthquake

This cracking belongs to a structural wall

MG 5765 What next .... a month after the earthquake

The internal structural wall is failing in many places

and we can see a lot of daylight!!!

MG 5784 What next .... a month after the earthquake

Another structural wall that is broken

This week somebody told us that they had heard that our building was being demolished on Monday.

Its news to us. I hope that's not true because we have a very busy day on Monday doing more important things like getting a lease on another place to live, and sorting out some furniture. There are meetings to go to, people to see, banks, and of course there will always be Ida.

Our new place is a total opposite to what we had. ....It has a garden and trees and fabulous outside areas for photography.

We are really looking forward to photographing people there.

We are looking forward to not being gypsies any more.

This earthquake has made us stronger and more resilient.

We are looking for people to photograph.

We are looking for Weddings and Engagements.

We are positively going to work our way through this.

To all of the friends and family that have helped out with kind words, gifts, donations, and loving, I just want to say a huge thanks for everything that you have done. We are very lucky to know you and call you friends.

Take care xxx

Johannes

PS since I wrote this there was another biggish earthquake. We went through again with the engineer and things are definitely getting ugly inside the building.

One week later – The Lyttelton Earthquake and Moda

Its weird that in 20 seconds the personal rituals built on over a lifetime of self obsessed needs suddenly change.

The dreams of a future get destroyed, and the life we had has suddenly changed.

No longer does the morning start with a cup of coffee and a paper down at the Lyttelton coffee Lounge. The Lyttelton Coffee Lounge is now a pile of rubble.

IMG 0497 One week later   The Lyttelton Earthquake and Moda

They came with tanks

No longer does it end with sitting in my office finishing off the work I hadn't done through the day because Ida (in a good way) was too much of a distraction.

Earthquake 3b One week later   The Lyttelton Earthquake and Moda

Our home - Lyttelton Earthquake

Earthquake 3crp One week later   The Lyttelton Earthquake and Moda

Just in case you didn't notice the crack

Ida is our leveller. She makes us laugh, she makes us stop thinking about ourselves, she makes us look for a future that is happy, she makes us change her nappies and feed her.

Now we have a new future that is ours for the dreaming. We get to start a new set of dreams.

That is the key.

We want to work our way into a new life. People ask us for ways to help ... we have an account for donations. Pete Jones, a friend from school, made us face the reality that we need to overcome our pride and accept that people genuinely want to help. More importantly we want to work our way through this, we want album requests, portrait commissions and weddings so that we can channel our energies to growing and stop asking ourselves how are we going to get through it.

We also are planning a speaking tour around NZ and Australia for April/May. This is to keep us employed and give us a project to focus on. We are adamant that we can work our way through this and be stronger for it.

So with Ida keeping us level and the amazing support of friends, clients that we want to call friends, and a determination to get up when we get knocked down, we can overcome our losses and turn what we could easily call a nightmare into a dream.

We were lucky. There are many people who have lost family, homes and livelihoods. We have each other, our families, our friends, and a vision for a future. Our home and work place might be a big pile of rubble. but we still have a dream.

Thank you to everyone for your support.

If you feel that you need to send us money, we would feel most comfortable if we were able to thank you personally. Email us and we will send you details    e mail  jvk@inspire.net.nz

If you have work for us (even better), let us know and we will rise to the occasion.

If you are a photographer, come to our seminars and help us earn your money and respect.

Many many thanks from us.

Jo and Ida and Me

Day three after the quake

Today a crane suddenly arrived. It hoisted two men into the air to take down part of the wall for safety.

Earthquake 2 Day three after the quake

Earthquake in Lyttelton

It al started with a bunch of guys standing around an pointing high

Earthquake 11 Day three after the quake

They broke off loose bits of building

Ouch that hurt

 Ouch that hurt

our building is broken

but we are safe thank goodness

Mel made me an amazing birthday cake

I wanted a small gathering of friends ...

I wanted no fuss.

I wanted good food and wine. Pegasus Bay winery was perfect.

... I escaped reasonably fuss free until this amazing cake came out ... and blew me away.

Mel makes amazing cakes

(Check out Ida's birthday duck)

IMG 0088 Mel made me an amazing birthday cake

Ida's cake by Mel

... but then there was my cake .... whoa!

Cake 2 Mel made me an amazing birthday cake

Cake by Mel ... Design by Canon

Secretly I had wished for a new camera!!!

Unfortunately birthday protocol dictated that the cake should be shared.

Cake1 Mel made me an amazing birthday cake

The detailing was fabulous

I am lucky to have friends like Mel. Thanks Mel for the coolest cake!

Gary and Sarah were married up in Coromandel

Jo had a wedding up just out of Coromandel. I came along as her slave ... and it was a good reason to get out of Christchurch.

It was a beautiful emotion-filled day celebrating the union of two amazing people.

Jo's blog has  great selection of images if you want to see more.

Actually there a lot of great images there for you to browse.

L1006291 Gary and Sarah were married up in Coromandel

Gary and Sarah got married and had the most fun ever.

January in a nutshell part 2

Some more images from January.

u0479 110111 January in a nutshell part 2

Christina and Ben's Wedding at Trents

Trents has always been a great place for photography.

u0449 110111 January in a nutshell part 2

Christina and Ben's Wedding at Trents

u0406 110111 January in a nutshell part 2

Christina and Ben's Wedding at Trents

u0416 110111 January in a nutshell part 2

Christina and Ben's Wedding at Trents

From Trents to a farm in Timaru.

From the day the wedding was announced Josephines' parents family and friends worked some amazing magic to turn the family home into a beautiful place for a wedding ... the weather Gods were on our side!

778 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Wedding Photography in Timaru

775 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Wedding Photography in Timaru

256 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Wedding Photography in Timaru

453 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Wedding Photography in Timaru

461 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Josephine and Simon in Timaru

526 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Wedding Photography in Timaru

761 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Trough-henge in Timaru

067 110129jv January in a nutshell part 2

Josephine

January in a nutshell

It (January) came and went, leaving another backlog to clear ... not for want of trying to be more bloggy.

I love being a blogmeister but sometimes keeping up can get in the way of a good days work ...

So here are the weddings of Trupti and Alex, and Scott and Ruth.

j0119 110106 January in a nutshell

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

u0173 110106 January in a nutshell

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

u0506 110106 January in a nutshell

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

u0674 110106 January in a nutshell

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

u0846 110106edit January in a nutshell

Ruth

u0613 110106edited January in a nutshell

Ruth and Scott in Christchurch

And then a lovely wedding celebration at the fabulous Cossars

u514 110109 January in a nutshell

Alex and Trupti at Cossars

this photograph does little justice to the colour of Trupti's dress ... however this one does!!!

u534 110109 January in a nutshell

Hot Pink at Cossars

and ...

u529 110109 January in a nutshell

More Hot Pink at Cossars

j036 110109 January in a nutshell

Wedding at Cossars

It was a big job

... and big jobs sometimes take a while ...
Here are some weddings from last year.

Celeste and Peter were supposed to get married on a cliff overlooking the sea.
But it rained.
A lot.

That didn't stop them from being happy.

Celeste 11 It was a big job

Celeste had a happy beauty

celeste 2 It was a big job

... all day

Celeste 51 It was a big job

Did I mention the rain?

Celeste 7 It was a big job

But the rain didn't matter because they had a cave

Celeste 31 It was a big job

... and a bunch of their friends.

From a wedding in the rain to another wedding in the rain ... Last year had its fair share of wet days.

Theo and Brigitte were married by Brigitte's father. It was a very moving ceremony. Very powerful and lots of fun.

Brigitte 1 It was a big job

I love the series that this image comes from ... you can almost imagine the dream of one day having a fancy wedding already forming in the flowergirl's mind,

Brigitte 2 It was a big job

With bad weather comes some amazing opportunities

Brigitte 7 It was a big job

Brigitte

Brigitte 3 It was a big job

Theo

Brigitte 4 It was a big job

This connection. This feeling. This is what I crave in my images.

Brigitte 6 It was a big job

... a connection that is real

At weddings I am looking for the stuff of relationships ... but especially the happiness.

Then there was the wedding of Olivia and Mike ... it didn't rain for them.

in fact it was brutally hot.

Olivia 2 It was a big job

It started with a dress for a wedding

ol1 It was a big job

These guys were trouble ... the good kind

ol2 It was a big job

The bridesmaids

ol3 It was a big job

... and put them together and you get some kind of wedding chaos

ol4 It was a big job

and again the happiness

Who would have thought it but we then had another sunny day for the wedding of Jacob and Sarah

It started out at Rangiora and ended up at The George Hotel in Christchurch.

Jacob 7 It was a big job

I wasn't worried about the competition ... he was analog, not wearing a shirt, and inexperienced in spite of having a definite 'eye'

Jacob 5 It was a big job

Sarah and her dad

Jacob 6 It was a big job

... and sometimes at a wedding it just doesn't feel real

Jacob 2 It was a big job

... but this certainly was as real as it gets

Jacob 3 It was a big job

... and tender

Jacob 4 It was a big job

.. and lots of friends

Jacob 1 It was a big job

At the George this photograph begs to be taken

And then it was away to Tekapo for the wedding of Ciara and Emmet.

And it was very hot and very sunny.

There was a moment when the wedding could have gone horribly wrong.

As the cut cake was being returned to the guests by the caterer it slid off the plate and into the garden.

There was a deathly silence.

And then a beautiful Irish laugh came from the bride ... It was the funniest thing.

Go Ciara for your sense of humour.

Ciara 3 It was a big job

With the kind permission of Earth and Sky we were able to photograph at the Mt John Observatory

Ciara 4 It was a big job

Ciara and Emmet travelled by horse and carriage to the lake

Ciara 5 It was a big job

Did I mention the Lupens as they rode from The Church of the Good Shepherd

Ciara 1 It was a big job

Ciara

Ciara 2 It was a big job

Ciara looked like a fashion model

... and then it was Christmas.

Why did we go to the show?

Thousands of people with absolutely no interest in farming machinery form the longest queue in the world on the hottest day of the year to hustle and bustle their families past a collection of tractors, chainsaws, postdiggers, utes, hotdogs, candy-floss, lost children, sheep, alpacas, cattle, and bad coffee. They pay for this privilege. Its a time when men get to indulge their interest in engines, woman get to try and keep the family in sight, children seek adventure, and the not so clever get to fry in the searing sun. Why do we do this?

Is it the chance to win a large fluffy animal at the sideshows? Is it the test of love and endurance for partners and parents? At the end of the day laden with a knife that is so sharp that it cuts through tomatoes and steel, that big fluffy toy, bags with brochures for a tractor you will never need on your urban section, a red balloon, a hat with a naff slogan, dreams of a bigger chainsaw, a beer cooler that you won, a gadget so useful you will never use it, a large blow up hammer that was a bargain at $5, and a bad case of sunburn, you head home with a car full of scratchy children hyped on sugar and adventure, swearing to yourself that next year you will stay home and work in the garden.

These are the joys of family day at the agricultural show.

And then you look back at the photograph you took and you remember what it was really about

photo1 Why did we go to the show?

Chicken

Cheers

Johannes

Two more to go

Last weekend we had the first of the three Lyttel Bridal shows.

It was a wonderful intimate event.

We had the chance to talk to brides and grooms at a personal level without the rush and busy-ness of  the bigger shows.

Thanks to Louise Anderson, Craig from Lovelight, Jo from a Grand Affair,  Georgie from White Tie, Sarah and Susie from The Wedding Assassins and us of course.

The next one is this weekend. If you didn't make it to the last one ... there's hope for you yet.

A Bridal show for Christchurch

The Lyttel Bridal Show is a wedding expo for people who want personal attention.

We call it the World's smallest Bridal extravaganza.

Its on the 30th of October and the 6th and 20th of November.

Each day is unique.

We have wedding experts at our studio to discuss with you what they can do to help for your big day.

We wanted this to be about YOU the bride (and the groom.)

we'll be there with our photographic partners The Wedding Assassins

There aren't enough Bridal shows .... and the beauty of this one is that it is FREE!

83web Lyttel Bridal Show A Bridal show for Christchurch

Andy and Ragni were married in Christchurch at the Roses Chapel

It was an absolute joy to photograph the wedding of Andy and Ragni.

They wanted great photographs and worked with me to get what they were looking for.

I have to say that their bridesmaid did an amazing job of helping out and Chelsay the makeup artist did a fab job as well.

U261 20101002 Andy and Ragni were married in Christchurch at the Roses Chapel

This was the last wedding dress to be made by Ragni's dressmaker

U1073 20101002 Andy and Ragni were married in Christchurch at the Roses Chapel

... and it was stunning on

U368 20101002 Andy and Ragni were married in Christchurch at the Roses Chapel

... again

U1041 20101002 Andy and Ragni were married in Christchurch at the Roses Chapel

Ragni

U1201 20101002 Andy and Ragni were married in Christchurch at the Roses Chapel

Andy and Ragni

A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

It started off well but when the sun was hijacked by bad weather and the rain made an appearance we had to change our plans.

Michael and Danielle were married in Queenstown at the end of September. They wanted something simple in their photography. This is the thing I love about being a wedding photographer. Every bride (and groom) is different and we get a new experience with each wedding.

u673 100925 A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

Danielle and Michael were married in Queenstown

We love our job as observer and recorder.

Love and happiness are not things that we can create with a trick of light and a dose of posing. It is a thing that exists already. When we see it, and get to turn it into a photograph, it gets a reality of its own.

For every person it has its own way of being expressed.

u731 100925 A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

Dancing

When people forget about being photographed they start to reveal more about themselves.

Its the forgetting that makes people photogenic.

u688 100925 A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

Michael and Danielle

u297 100925 A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

Danielle and mum

LL921 100925 A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

Danielle

j048 100925 A rather bleak day for a wedding in Queenstown

It was cold ... but not quite cold enough for snow.

Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
Proudly powered by WordPress & built by Develop Daly.