I'm not criticising the judgment of weather forecasters but it created an unnecessary sense of foreboding for the day as ugly weather was on its way (supposedly). The ugly weather never showed .... Ballantynes made a few extra umbrella sales that day.

I love the crazy unpredictable energy that happens at the time I arrive at the brides place. My arrival is an undenible signal that there is not much time until she has to get out there and sign the contract.

Everybody deals with that differently.

Zoe had a calm approach to it. Maybe because she's a doctor, maybe because a little bit of rain was no worries compared to her dress getting lost in transit from Australia ...

It was a wedding that had personal and special written all over it.

Zoe

Nick

The both of them ... I know that seems obvious.

Zoe at one of my favourite spots

At my other favourite location ....

I love shooting weddings ... and I hope that you can see this in my work.

Take care

Johannes

We were lucky enough to be a part of their great day, We were proud to be there.

St Barnabas Church is a cool place to get married

Joanna and Jeremy

Joanna ... but her friends call her Jo

They hate having their photographs taken.

Well actually hate is a strong word .... but it certainly isn't one of their favorite pastimes.

I think we did okay

Charlotte

The Arts Centre of Christchurch

Autumn is an amazing time to photograph weddings

Megan

Megan and Jared

Lansdowne Homestead had many amazing locations

Megan and Jared got married at Lansdowne Homestead just out of Christchurch

Nick and Vanita were married at Okains Bay

Sometimes you get the amazing sunny day and then the fabulous clouds ... and then less often,  you get the beautiful day with the extraordinary clouds and it is the same day that you are photographing a wedding.

Okains Bay .... and a bride

Love knows no age

Cheers

Johannes

I am a self appointed coffee tester ...

But my testing is limited to once or twice a day, (three times on a sociable day,) and is void of any skills. Although I was once a Food Technologist.

After a run of really bad Soya flat whites (Yes I used to drink coffee diluted with Soya milk, until one day I became frustrated by being considered as 'special needs' - which was true because I was very particular about all of the aspects of that coffee) brought on by having to have coffee elsewhere because of  the Christmas closure of The Lyttelton Coffee Company.  I decided to revert to the coffee of the Europeans.  The Espresso - so intense but colourful - a true test for a coffee maker as there is nothing to hide behind. There is no fluffy frothy cocoa covered mousse of a cappuccino, no trim, light, skinny, half, or low fat. There are no diluents. It is the pure extraction of the essence of coffee from  roasted beans.

Where s the enjoyment in almost just a sniff of coffee in the bottom of a cup?

Yes, but what a wonderful sniff it is. It has the scent of darkness. there is a whiff of the promise of a kick, and then the sweet brown smell of roasted beans.

It is in the purity and simplicity. It is in the intensity. It is not some crazy cocktail. It is Coffee!

What is my testing procedure? It is incredibly unscientific.

I drink it slowly and thoughtfully just as I would an aged scotch.

What am I testing for? I am testing for the need for another.

Coffee is not an addiction!

A Wedding

A couple of images from the wedding of Travis and Julie in Christchurch.

Travis and Julie

Julie

Travis and Julie

The wedding was at the Provincial Chambers in Christchurch on the 10th of January

I love it!

I started on the 1st of January with a beach wedding ... not your tropical paradise style of wedding, more down to Earth than that ... more like a black sand, murky water, incoming tide type of wedding.

It was great to see two people so incredibly happy about getting married.

Ann is a photographer.  I have a rule about photographing photographer's weddings .... I don't do it.

I don't do it because most photographers have an opinion about how things are done, Ann promised that she would leave it up to me.  She did okay!

Bridal Shows

We hate them and secretly love them.

Every year there are two shows in Christchurch  within weeks of each other. That is something that we can never understand! So twice in a month we give up our weekend to stand cheerfully greeting every bride to be, mother of bride, friend of bride, sister of the bride, wedding stalker, and occasional groom to be, we meet, hoping that they will like us and choose us over the other options. Every year we say NEVER AGAIN! and then the next year we do it again. Is that an addiction! some sort of sociological weakness. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Is it the secret stash of sugary drinks to get us through the day? Is it the cool stuff people say about what you do? Is it the connection with other people in the industry?

Is it the previous brides that come by just to say Hi. Or is it some perverse affliction that only a trained psychologist or another photographer could understand?

If you see us at a Bridal show in Christchurch .... or anywhere, actually, say something nice and make it all worthwhile.

Staying in business

In what has come to be affectionately known as 'these difficult times' (but will historically be referenced with some oppressive phrase like "the financial collapse of the first decade of the new Millenium") it is important for us to look ahead.

We know that in many places things are hard.

We are working to a positive future. We are not cutting back but building up.

We do this because we love what we do ... actually in this moment I can feel a Winston Churchill speech coming on !!!!

Maybe a good time to stop!