Food, I love it. I am actually addicted to it. I display all the traits of an addict: I eat alone, I eat when I’m emotional, it’s the first thing I think about in the morning, I plan my day around it, and sometimes I even lie about it! I have friends who eat only to survive, they wish it was all just just encapsulated in a pill that they could take and forget about it. I don’t understand that. Then again, I am an addict.

So whats the best job for a photographer with such a vice? Food Photography!

Osteria Del Toro

I was introduced to John and Kelli of Wellington’s Osteria Del Toro by Jen from Eloquence World Design, they were after some new shots of the restaurant and the dishes for their website and the upcoming Wellington On A Plate festival in August.

It was a nice project and I enjoyed working with the great dishes and having the run of the place over a few days. It’s always difficult shooting interiors with low, mixed light so it was a bit of a challenge but I think it worked out well.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to eat any of the dishes, they all disappeared in to the mouths of our models like some bizarre torture!

The brief was:

• Capture their staff with an open, friendly but still professional look.
• They also wanted shots of their Wellington and Auckland offices which gave me a reason to travel.
• Grab some shots of their mascot (A beautiful Red Vespa!) out and about in both Wellington and Auckland.
• Shoot some stock photography they could use on the site.

We had a ball chasing Richard (a very hands on CEO!) around both cities and posing the vespa to capture the city and surrounds.

I also took off by myself to shoot a range of stock for them to use to highlight their staff’s interests. As you can see from the profile images they have a wide variety of hobbies!

We shot their staff portraits against white as they would be clear cut for the website. Red Vespa wanted a very approachable style with the individual’s personality coming through, so we got them to bring in a prop each!

Thanks to everyone involved and especially the staff for hauling in their toys

I’ve got to say, not being a native to New Zealand, that I’ve got enormous pride in this adopted country of mine. Not only is it one of the most stunning places I’ve been but the people are just amazing. So friendly, welcoming and smart. Check out these inspiring projects:

Genie – Motion control time lapse device

I’ve always been interested in timelapse photography and the recent push in motion timelapse has been great to watch. Whilst it’s not something I’m going to rush out and get in to I’m in awe of the footage that people are showing. These guys from Syrp have created a great little timelapse unit that seems to be the 4×4 of motion, being able to be used in so many different ways. Here’s their rundown:

The Genie! A simple, affordable and extremely easy to use device used for motion control and image capture for Time Lapse Photography + more. The Genie is an all-in-one device used to combine image capture with motion control, capable of either panning or linear movement that’s commonly used in Time Lapse Photography. Simply attach your camera to the top of the Genie, plug it in, and program it to move and shoot to your desired needs.

The Panning and Linear accessories provide ultimate flexibility for a range of movement and it’s transportable size means you will never have to go without the option of motion controlled Time Lapses no matter how constrained your location may be. Visit our website www.syrp.co.nz.

They’ve got a kick starter campaign going too so jump on over and support these guys.

ioShutter – SLR camera control from your iPhone

Along the same lines as the Genie is ioShutter. This little app and accessory allows you to control your DSLR from your iPhone and makes long exposures really easy. It also has the ability to set triggers such as noise or movement making it great for capturing motion.

ioShutter^™ is the world’s first SLR shutter release cable for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Use your ioShutter^™ cable with the free ioShutter^™ app to unlock incredible functionality like Time Lapse, Timer, Bulb for long exposures, Sound Trigger and the awesome ShakeToTake^™!

I won one of these from the Enohpi Project and can’t wait to get my hands on it (hint hint!). I’m sure they will have updates to it as well but I’d love a GPS based trigger that allows me to take shots every 100m for example.

Damn I love Gadgets!

I’ve been working with Jen from Eloquence World Design recently and one of the jobs I’ve had has been with one of New Zealand’s up and coming Opera stars, Bryony Williams.

The shoot was for her promotional material and website so we wanted to give her a range of looks to choose from.

We shot in the studio and on location around Wellington and the team was just great. Sanchia did a great job on the hair and make up, Jen was our stylist and Laurel came along to assist me.

I was using my Paul C. Buff Einstein‘s for the first time and they were amazing when plugged in to the mains, had a little trouble with them on portable power but I think I’ve sorted that now. I used the pocket wizard controllers for them too and when they work they are amazing. So good to be able to change the power on a strobe without moving!

So I just spent a bit of time updating the look of the blog and it took me on a little trip down memory lane. How often does one look back over their posts? I thought I would link some here as a bit of a “best of” for the past few years.

My first front page photo

Swimwear & fashion shoot with Samantha Frost

Glamour Shoot with Nadine

Discovered Fashion Shoot – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The Desert Sessions

Album cover shoot with Miss Kita

The Rock Show With Jon English!

Family portrait shoot – beach styles

Pulp Emerging Photographer Competition

Gospel Fashion clothing shoot with Carla

Photography: Brett Stanley-Photographer
Stylist: Roc Travers
Make up: Olivia Wild
Model: Petrice Mccarthy

Coming over from Melbourne to Wellington for their wedding, they needed to be very organised and they knew exactly what they wanted; I was very flattered to be included!

We met at a wonderful farm near Carterton, Wairarapa where they were getting ready, Kat in a gorgeous vintage dress and Fiona looking dapper in a very smart suit.

So much laughter with them, makes everything just go smoothly!

After some portraits around the farm we headed to the Gladstone Vineyard for the Ceremony.

Speaking of Ying and Yang, Fiona loves her Rugby. Kat not so much, we had to bribe her to do this shot

They had the perfect weather which made for stunning images, everybody was just amazing.

Even one of the guests couldn’t resist taking a creative shot, either that or all the chairs were taken!

The reception kicked on with the Photo Booth and The Beat Girls setting the pace.

The ceremony was held at St Mary of the Angels church on Boulcott St, central Wellington.

Having Chilean heritage, Jess wanted to incorporate parts of that in to the proceedings and her dress was great mixture of red and white.

Isn’t this church just amazing?

They also had live butterflies that they released to mark the occasion. They were fast buggers too!

The photo booth was a total hit as well!

They also had a Candy Bar set up at the venue, which was 3C – The Colonial Carrying Company down in Chews Lane.

Just needed a some latex gloves and a power drill to complete the mood.

Luckily it wore off and I set to work capturing my subjects in a far nicer way.

Having a client who knows what they want makes my job so much easier, and Jamie and Scott had a pretty good idea.

Scott’s a good photographer himself and he had hired me because my style matched what he was picturing in his head.

After our initial chat he went off and rounded up some reference shots for me, shots that he really liked and wanted something similar. Not that I was going to copy them, but it’s great to have a starting point. I must admit, some of the shots he found we stunning and I had a little performance anxiety going on..

The reception was at the wonderful Silverstream Retreat and the day was a scorcher.

After the ceremony we headed off to the Train Museum and had some fun.

Thanks Jamie and Scott for letting me be part of your day and, although Scott set the bar pretty high, I’m very happy with the results!