They wanted to have a party with their friends. They had fun and were happy to show their feelings. The venue was spectacular. We photographed in the hills and the wind was piercingly cold. The event had many personal moments that really made it a wonderful wedding to be a part of.

Dee and Michael fitted together so well and reminded me of the things I love about being a wedding photographer.

It was so cold up in the hilltops.

... so they kept each other warm ...

An absolute joy to be there.

We are disappointed that it isn't happening but we understand that there have been far too many speakers coming through Australia hoping to cash in on photographers with a thirst for knowledge, leaving behind them a now disillusioned group of photographers who are still looking for the holy grail.

At the end of our talk for the AAPP we will be selling holy grails for those that need them ... just kidding. In fact we have nothing to sell you ... we want you to get what you need from our talk not a flash DVD of almost answers.

Its difficult to tell you what you will learn because we have so much to give. If you are hesitating about coming now is the time to commit. and if you are still hesitating this is what Roger Clark said about our last event

"20 years in the industry so it takes a bit to impress me these days, but it was so refreshing to talk and listen to a couple who have "done it all" but do not strut around like the "rock stars" we see so often. One of the best two days workshop/seminar I have ever spent and you CAN "teach an old dog a few new tricks"

I will be speaking with the support of Queensberry.

Steve Saporito is presenting on the second day. I am looking forward to hearing his approach to business.

The whole event is aimed at members of the AAPP but is open to other photographers as well. I hope we get to see some of you.

Take care

Johannes

Lou and Jose (and some amazing scenery)

The weather was supposed to turn foul ... that happened everywhere else.

Lou Anderson and Jose Fernandez were married at a friendly service at St Patricks in Queenstown a week ago.

They had a week of adventures with their friends. Jose is Spanish, articulate, charming, and seems almost ageless. Lou is a Kiwi with a passion for happiness. It was an absolute joy being their shadow during the two days I was with them.

I think I only picked up one speeding fine.

I forget the majesty of our country sometimes but I was grandly reminded of it on this occasion. The weather was amazing and the locations were spectacular.

We started with a rehearsal and then wine-tasting at The Jacks Point Clubhouse

Jacks Point Clubrooms one

Jacks Point Clubrooms, Queenstown

When the light is so right its hard to get it wrong.

The Bridal party at Jacks Point Clubhouse

Lou

The service

St Patricks Catholic Church, Queenstown

St Patricks Church, Queenstown

Over the Top Helicopters took us up to Walter Peak

It was spectacular

It was an inspirational location

The clouds ... the clouds!

And as the sun went down it became even more amazing from the Skyline Restaurant

Touch of Spice organised an amazing event.

There are a few other images here

All the best

Johannes

It was an intimate event with 16  photographers. We shared our experiences and spoke with our hearts. We revealed our personal philosophy and spoke about portraits, weddings, albums, and being in business.

In the end there was still so much more to share. We want to thank those that made the effort to be there (several travelled huge distances to attend)

There seems to be almost too many talks on currently, making it difficult to choose . Speakers promising the answers and delivering a formula for success are becoming more and more evident. We wanted to be unique and shared our lives, not as a set of instructions, but as a stimulus for possible change and growth. We wanted to inspire people not to be more like us but to be better at being themselves.

Des Birt said this.

"Hi Johannes & Jo.

Just wanted to let you know how inspiring, informative and `exquisite' you were during your seminar in Perth. You are both delightful, talented, passionate, business savy and `real'.

The two days were jammed packed with so much info to absorb (I think my brain started to hurt towards the end)."

I have  three more speaking engagements at the end of the month with the Image College  in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, followed soon after by an event that Jo will be joining me at in Adelaide. Then that's it for me speaking this year. Jo has a gig in New Zealand in November.

Again we would like to thank the people who came, the people who organised it, and the ever helpful Saul Frank from Camera Electronic Sales and Service who rescued us from a technical glitch involving projectors

We had a great time and thanks again for the hospitality.

Johannes

In conjunction with the West Australian branch of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography we will be presenting a personal insight into our photography, our business, our development, our philosophy and our albums. We want to inspire, provoke and encourage other photographers to best themselves.

This is a unique opportunity for us to speak in tandem. We never do this. Its easy as photographers to become self centered so having the two of us creates a balance of 'selves'. We want this to be interactive and informative. Its two days on growing, surviving, nurturing, and why coffee is important.

We have nothing to sell but so much to give. We have won too many awards to worry about, we have shot in many amazing places, but when it comes down to the everyday truth of being a photographer for the people, we are singly most motivated by striving to give our best to the ones who gave us the trust to be their photographer.

We look forward to seeing you in Perth

Johannes Jo and Ida

Immediately we were trying to unravel the intricacies of the meaning of love.  This lengthy conversation lasted ten days and never came to a conclusion. We walked across town in the search of the perfect Paella.

I met with Virginia, (the original Barcelona Bride, and sister of the groom for Saturday,) and Desi , the bride-to-be of her brother. We went hunting locations, something there is no shortage of in Barcelona. The one we loved, The Railway Station wanted to charge 2500 Euros for the opportunity ... we declined.

On the Tuesday I trained to Bezier (in France) to meet my friends Rachael, Charlize and Andy. My greatest challenge is photographing photographers. Rachael is a wonderful animal and people photographer. It was an absolute joy to be their guest in their 'under construction' French home. We went out early Wednesday morning and played in some French Light.

She was a Kiwi and he was South African ... luckily any sort of sporting prowess was neutralised by both teams being eliminated from the World cup at the same time.

This wedding was a beautiful disaster on the boil .... So many things that could have gone wrong did ... but for everything that went wrong there came something good. The original wedding planner jumped ship within months of the wedding date ... luggage went missing ... but what happened was a beautiful day with great food and wild dancing.

A combination of strikes, slow trains, trains that weren't operating, bad advice, language issues, and buses that left too quickly led me to miss my flight back to Barcelona for my wedding on the Saturday. Stranded in Marseilles I caught the overnight bus to arrive in time for my wedding. Eight and a half hours on a bus is not my favorite way to sleep before a big day. I arrived in Barcelona at 6am knowing that Today was going to be a big coffee day.

This is the joy of photographing weddings ... the meeting of ideas and visions.

The light in Barcelona is softer than the New Zealand light. I was thankful of this as the wedding was in the middle of the day. It was hot but fabulous.

12 hours and six coffees later my job was done. I returned to Pau's house for a dinner party where I crashed and burned. The next day I was to photograph his family.

Sunday is family day. Lunch Spanish style with the family of my host, but not before being audience to an amazing and personal movie on the marriage of his parents. If Pau Estrada ever offers to show you this movie find a reason to make it happen. It is personal and a classic love story.

The day finished with music at a bar on the beach. I love being in Spain ... but all the time I am there I am missing my girls, Ida and Jo.

An impulsive decision by Maria Via gave me the opportunity to photograph somebody who was willing but reluctant. Maria is famous as the translator of Shutter Island and Mystic River to Spanish ... no easy task. But what is fame?

The beautiful people at H2O gallery allowed us the use of their space to create some images.

The weird thing is that none of these images are what we discussed initially. When I create portraits I want to be fluid in my thinking so that I can be spontaneous and creative.

We talked about the implications of soul stealing .... but never resolved what I would do with it once I had captured it.

The late Autumn light was our friend

Josh and Andrea were married last month near the mouth of the Rangitata River

Josh and Andrea

Team Andrea

Team Josh

I learnt something about how infectious one person's happiness can be. Andrea was a wonderfully happy bride. Josh was calmly proud. It was late autumn and the light was our friend.

It was cold but beautiful

Andrea

Happiness makes a great photograph

It was a great way to end the season, it reminded me of how lucky I am to be a photographer.

Wedding Party

Ah the light

Nice tattoo

It was a great day and a wonderful way to end the season

For the first time since I have been processing images I am seeing a strange and beautiful 3 dimensional quality that is something more than a lighting effect.

Without the technical knowledge to correctly attribute it to the lens resolution or the quality of the capture, there is something very special about the output from this wonderful camera.

I don't normally rave about gear because it is really just a means by which I get to translate what I see into imagery, but I am amazed at the beauty of the files. I know I should expect no less, but it reminded me of why I worked with Leica equipment in my film days.

... now back to processing the images from the wedding of Brett and Sarita.

Cheers

Johannes

Matthew and Lara were married in Tai Tapu

It was a wonderful April afternoon. I was reminded of why I love wedding photography so much as the families reflected on the absence and presence (in spirit) of the bride's father when the released a dove in his memory.

Weddings in Autumn give us a unique chance to exploit the beautiful late afternoon light

The men wore kilts ... handsomely

We had an amazing location to photograph

The eroded cliffs of an old quarry

The evening finished at a wonderful venue called Cossars

Lara in the vines at Cossars

The light is delicious and the colours are wonderful.

Trees become skeletons ... and there is a slight chill in the air that makes couples hug a little closer.

Matt and Rach were married at St John of God  and had their reception at Trents.

Wedding photography for Rach

The car was fabulous

This was a fun wedding to photograph

Matt's marriage proposal was personal and unique

The skeleton trees of Autumn

Matt and Rach got married

Being so cold made them be even closer

WPPI album award (single photographer) ... last page

I'm off to the UK to photograph the wedding of a friend and to do a workshop on album design

"A Day With Me In It" is many things
... the blurb ...

Me talking about album design

May 5th 2010 near Liverpool (Zoe Richards' Dovecote Training in Knowsley, close to the M57 and Runcorn Mainline Station).

£150 plus VAT.

Limited numbers - 12 seats only. One date only.

"I will be talking about my album designs ... referencing award and client work (it's the same but different).

"This is an interactive event with Photojunction discussions, design philosophy, and the importance of storytelling.

"It's not just about the album, but about gathering the material and piecing it together.

"Because there are only 12 of you I will try to tailor my presentation to suit your needs."

I was winner of the 2010 WPPI wedding album award of excellence (first place) for a single photographer. I am a Queensberry album user and have won the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography album award every year it has run.
Contact me directly for details at jvk@inspire.net.nz

PS In the unlikely event that I cannot travel to the UK due to Icelandic flight restrictions, your seminar fee will be refunded.

Cheers

Johannes