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.'

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

Their ceremony was personal.

Once they were married the rain cleared.

I love the challenges and experiences of photographing weddings.

Bethaney

Lee

They had a crazy combination of flooding and sunshine

The Eastern family (includes Banjo)

They have a new CD out

The Eastern 'Arrows'

buy it now ... no questions!

These guys deserve success ... they work hard and they sound great!

Say no more.

more ...

Not much more than 28 days ago it was the beginning of February.

8 weddings later I have much to catch up on .... my apologies to everyone for not giving you all separate posts. Actually in compiling this one it becomes very obvious that each wedding is unique. My aspiration is that I treat them all individually to meet the needs of each couple.

WEDDING ONE

February started with the wedding of Jacqui and Henry ...

Jacqui at Muddy Waters

and

Jacqui in the vines

and then

Jacqui and Henry

finally

It was the most beautiful day

WEDDING TWO

The next weekend was a wedding at Newbery Lodge with Sheryl and Mike

Sheryl and Mike were married at Newbery Lodge, Christchurch

and

Fab cars and a huge boat

Sheryl not running away

The boat and the bridal party

WEDDING THREE

two days later we went to the wedding of Jacqui and James in Queenstown at Stoneridge

Jacqui looked amazing in her Louise Anderson dress

Skippers Canyon was a perfect setting for drama meets beauty.

The image says it all

Not forgetting James

Jacqui, James, and Skippers Canyon

Thanks to the people at Heliworks for getting us up there

Heliworks took us to Skippers Canyon

and then the sun went down ...

Sunset photo #1

And they had fireworks

WEDDING FOUR

Then a wedding in Hororata for Adam and Jenna

Another hot and sunny day ....

Jenna looked stunning

The cemetery at St John's Anglican church in Hororata

The light worked with us ...

Not to forget Adam ....

and then the reception in this fabulous marquee from Hyde Park Hire catered by White Tie in famous style

Marquee at home in Hororata

WEDDING FIVE

From rural Hororata to an hour South West of Auckland, at Castaways, near Waiuku, for the wedding of Gabriel and Janet.

Gabriel and Janet were married on the 22nd of February 2010

Colin, the unlisted bridesmaid, proved his worth and athleticism during the photography

Janet

Gabriel we had picked out as the energetic type, but Janet impressed (and surprised) us with her 'no mountain too high to conquer' attitude in getting to this amazing spot.

Janet and Gabriel

Photographing weddings is a mix of many skills. The test of a really good photographer is their adaptability to changing conditions.

light, water, a tailored suit, and a fabulous gown

Many photographers 'pooh pooh'  the sunset photograph .... but sometimes you just have to ...

Sunset #2 .... dare I say it

WEDDING SIX

Then out to the Rakaia Gorge (Terrace Downs) for the wedding of Katie and Simon

Katie and Simon were married on the 26th of February 2010

Katie at The Rakaia Gorge

Katie

....and Simon of course

... I nearly forgot to mention the chopper ride from Terrace Downs along the Gorge ... brief but very cool

WEDDING SEVEN

The next day was at French Farm (under new management) with Jeremy and Jane

They had an interesting bridal party

... Jeremy was in charge of catering

Canterbury gave us great clouds and some 'not too bad' light.

Happiness is the greatest compliment to beauty

They feasted into the evening on fine foods, stories, and great wine .... long table style.

French Farm

WEDDING EIGHT

Although this was the beginning of March, it brings me up to date.

The wedding of Kate and Greg in Winchmore

Kate saw these sheep and chased them down for our picture ... I was impressed!

From sheep to veils ...

and in spite of the rain ....

Greg and Kate

The day started off with rain ... but we got lucky .... as we always do.

Thanks to everyone for a crazy beautiful month ...

We had a lot of weddings .... but that is the thing with this time of year ...

What is important for us is that each story is different, and the images are too.

We pride ourselves at Moda Fotografica in treating each couple uniquely. This is my point.

I know that in essence I get to recount a story for a couple.  This story is personal and meaningful.  It is not laden with special effects. It is a personal truth, possibly glamorised, but still a truth and definitely personal.

I came across this, which is part of a collection of short videos about a photographer/teacher, Dave LaBelle,  who puts it all into perspective.

Dave LaBelle | The Lesson from Francis Gardler on Vimeo.

There are a whole series of these and they are all worth a look ... he never even seems to mention the word wedding.

Cheers

Johannes