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The Adelaide Adventure: Must do Food, Wine & Experiences

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The Adelaide Adventure: Must do Food, Wine & Experiences

A visual journey by Emily Clarke of Life Portraits

When you think of Australia’s ‘must visit’ cities , Adelaide isn’t one that immediately comes to mind. However, with all the covid advertising for exploring Australia, Adelaide sparked my interest and after doing some more research, I was blown away by this beautiful city. How had I not visited this incredible city yet?!

My partner, Corey, and I love travel experiences, so as my early 30th Birthday getaway, we booked a long weekend adventure to Adelaide to celebrate. It turned out to be a much bigger celebration with him popping the question while we were there! <3

The Adelaide region is renowned for its wine & food, hills and coastlines and it’s beautiful churches and old buildings, and boy, did it deliver! Take a visual journey through our 4 day adventure of Adelaide and the surrounding regions!

Adelaide City

We were lucky enough to stay in a beautiful North Adelaide cottage walking distance to the city (check out the airbnb HERE). The picturesque streets are filled with heritage mansions, villas, and worker’s cottages shaded by the canopies of perennial trees. With its renowned Melbourne and O'Connell streets for cafes, restaurants and trendy boutiques, it’s a beautiful area to stay while you’re Adelaide.

We spent a full day exploring Adelaide city on foot and if you’re not a big fan of getting 25,000+ steps in one day haha there is the free city connectors running two loops – an inner city loop and an extended loop around North Adelaide providing a link to popular city attractions and shopping, dining and services destinations. Walking from our Airbnb in North Adelaide we saw the City Botanical Gardens, Zoo, Adelaide Oval and the beautiful gardens surrounding the city. Our first stop was on the other side of the city the Adelaide Himeji Gardens, stepping past the ornate gates to the beautiful little wonderland to experience the beauty of Japan. We then walked to the renowned Adelaide Central Market, the premier food destination for multicultural cuisine and fresh produce, a must visit for your food and culture fix! We explored the many streets of the Rundle Mall, the main city shopping precinct and then made our way over to the MOD. MOD is is a futuristic museum of discovery, sitting at the intersection of art and science. We loved experiencing the ‘It’s complicated’ exhibition and interacting with the installations.

Of course one of the most memorable parts of our trip was our food experiences! After a lot of research, we had two places on our must-visit place while in Adelaide, Africola and Luigi Delicatessen.

Africola is one hell of a food and dining experience. The restaurant offers a set menu of incredible North African dishes that you can allow the chef to choose to bring out and changes according to seasonality. As quoted by The Fork, “Africola brings serious funk to Adelaide’s dining scene. The tasty North African cuisine, crafted by head chef, Duncan Welgemoed, is sure to lure you in so that you can experience mini flavour explosions with every bite. Enjoy African specialties of meat and vegetable dishes as well as breads, dips and pickles.” And they were spot in! We got to experience the full kitchen experience at the bar, watching and capturing the food as it was crafted on the plate. One of the BEST food experiences i’ve had in my life! PLEASE, book in advance and experience Africola, we booked a month in advance, it’s HOT!

Luigi Delicatessen is your first class italian experience by passionate owner Luigi from Naples. Upon entering his beautiful atmospheric restaurant you are greeted like family. There is no menu, he and his staff join you at your table and explain the fresh and authentic meals being cooked that day in the kitchen and they help cater your choice to your taste and needs. WOW, is all I can say! We were celebrating two occasions, my early 30th and Corey proposed the night before, so it was an experience to remember. Luigi chatted to us like friends, told us the story of his Mamma and her influence on the restaurant before she passed, celebrated our news with us with a champagne and guided us with our food choice - three beautiful pasta seafood and ragu dishes with fresh garlic bread. We cannot recommend this experience highly enough! You will not be disappointed, you only have to look at the 1200+ 5 star reviews on tripadvisor haha with another from me!

Adelaide Hills & Hahndorf

A trip to Adelaide isn’t complete until you’ve visited the Adelaide Hills. We hired a car so we were able to do day trips from Adelaide and LOVED the atmosphere of Adelaide Hills and Hahndorf. Must visit spots on your way up the mountain is Mt Lofty Summit for views to die for, Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens for your nature fix and a drive by Mt Lofty House to see the 5 star boutique hotel with views to die for.

Our next stop was the gorgeous township of Hahndorf, Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. The streets had so many beautiful touches of character like you were in Germany! We visited The Haus Restaurant and had their HUGE platter featuring a pork hock, schnitzel, sausages, double smoked bacon, sides and of course accompanied by a German Beer. Before heading back to Adelaide we had to visit the renowned ‘The Lane Vineyard’ to do some tastings. Such a beautiful winery with breaktaking views. We walked away with their 2016 ‘Reunion’ Shiraz for our special occasion weekend, superb!

Barossa Wine Tour

You haven’t experienced the full experience of Adelaide until you’ve been on a wine tour. With so many options for wine tour regions, the hardest decision is choosing which one! We went with the “Taste the Barossa” full day wine tour. Our incredible experience included Chateau Yaldara, Peter Lehmann where we had a gorgeous lunch platter of cheese and meats to pair with our wine, Lambert Wines & Wolff Bass. Our tour guide Dallas was wonderful and made a fun experience with lots of knowledge along the way.

Fleurieu Peninsula

South Australia has some spectacular natural attractions however a lot of them are long distances from Adelaide - Great Australian Bight, Mt Gambier, Coober Pedy, Flinders Ranges, Murray River (for another trip!). So we explored closer to Adelaide, only 40 mins south, the Fleurieu Peninsula. We LOVED exploring Hallett Cove Boardwalk area learning about the vast arrays of geological features, past ice ages, climatic changes, prior shoreline positions and erosion activities and how they have impacted the coastline. We walked down to the beach side and embraced the beauty of the many layers of sediment and beautiful colours on the cliffs. We couldn’t leave without bui8lding rock towers out of the beautiful smooth rocks!

We drove inland and visited some of the renowned wineries and breweries D’Arengerg Cube, Swell Brewery, Shifty Lizard Brewery and Hugh Grant Wines. Finishing the day with a trip to Port Willunga Beach & Caves, these unique caves which have been carved into rock, were once used by fishermen to store their boats and fishing rods.

The Tasmanian Roadtrip Adventure Itinerary, Hobart to Launceston: Brisbane Portrait & Commercial Photography

My partner, Corey, and I live for adventures together, quality time, food & drink experiences, going out of our comfort zones and exploring the beautiful world around us. Earlier in the year we planned ourselves a Tasmania roadtrip as we’ve never been to the beautiful state and had heard many great things from our friends who had travelled there and lived there.

So here goes, here is our 1 week itineary of all the amazing adventures, the moments captured and all the information you need to plan your own trip. I just love seeing new places and documenting it through the lens as you will see below.

Day 1: HOBART
Salamanca Markets, fresh seafood, Mount Wellington, Lark Distillery & Preachers for Beers!

Up at the crack of down, we caught the the early flight to Hobart on Saturday morning, arriving into the beautiful historical city, picking up our hire car and explore the famous Salamanca Markets (only on Saturdays 8.30am-3pm)! There was so much variety in this market; food, wine, gin, crafts, more food, plants, produce, singers, art and much more. We explored grabbing a german sausage on the way before trying the famous “Fish Frenzy” for our dose of fresh Tasmanian seafood on the waterfront.

Our accomodation, Macquarie Manor Hotel, was positioned right in the centre of town so everything was within walking distance which was great! We found ourselves a craft beer shop, got ourselves some specials and made our way up to Mount Wellington, 1,271 metres above sea levels, only 20 mins from Hobart city and with views to die for. Don’t forget to bring a few layers it was 10 degrees colder up there. We finished our day with a visit to a creative and quirky spot called Preachers in the city, followed by the Whisky distillery, Lark, for some tasting paddles. What a day! To be bed early for our sunrise ferry to Bruny Island.

Day 2: BRUNY ISLAND
Bruny Island Cheese Company, “The Neck” Lookout, 3 Hour Wilderness Tour with Bruny Island Cruises

Up before sunrise, we made the jounrey from Hobart to Kettering (30 mins) for the first Ferry of the day over to Bruny Island. We went straight to the famous “The Neck” to see the beautiful views before the crowds arrived, then back tracked to Bruny Island Cheese Company for them to open. We tried some beautiful cheeses and came away with some cheese and alchohol for our romantic night in Adventure Bay. We were lucky enough to check in to our accommodation before our wilderness tour, at 43 Degrees at Adventure Bay, WOW is all I can say. Right on the beach, beautiful wooden luxury rooms with a spa! It was beautiful. We checked-in for our 3 hour wilderness tour and as we were getting onto the boat it started to POUR DOWN! It really added to the experience haha it was a memorable one that’s for sure. The images speak for themselves…. Cruising around the cliff faces of Tasmania seeing nature, animals, seals, dolphins and taking in the beauty! Breathtaken by this experience we came back to land, had a beautiful seafood dinner at Hotel Bruny, we recommend the Seafood Chowder and grilled seafood. Finishing the night with a spa and relax with cheese and wine - ‘This is living Barry’

Day 3/4: ROADTRIP TO COLES BAY

Hobart Bakery Jackman & Ross, Devils Corner Winery, Freycinet National Park

“On the road again…..”

Being on holidays, it was nice to start our morning off nice and relaxed with our 43 Degree’s hosts bringing us some contintental breakfast snacks to start our day, waking to the sound of the ocean by our door! We packed up and caught the Ferry back to Kettering, drove back through Hobart and called in at the renowned Jackman & Ross bakery for a scollop pie and lamb and rosemary pie (and a cheeky bit of nutella cheesecake for the road haha). We stocked up on fresh salmon, prawns, cheese, wine, and salad goods for our trip to Coles Bay. The 2 hour drive flew by, calling in at the beatiful Devil’s Corner winery to do some wine tastings and take in their beautiful views. We walked away with a lovely bottle of Pinor Noir. Once we arrived at Coles Bay, we checked into our little ocean view cabin at Big4 Iluka @ Freycient and started our afternoon with a cheese platter, prawns and a glass of wine looking over the ocean.

The next morning we ventured out to Freycinet National Park to see one of the world’s top 10 beaches, Wineglass Bay. What an unreal sight to sea, crystal blue waters, beautiful rock formations and colours to die for. We also explored the Honeymoon Bay, Sleepy Bay and the Cape Tourville Lighthouse lookout for views like we’ve never seen! We finished our stay with a nice meal down at the Coles Bay Tavern, walking distance from Big4!

Day 5/6: ROADTRIP TO LAUNCESTON
Full day Tamar Valley Wine Tour, city exploring, Cradle Mountain trip

To say the trip went out with a bang is an understatement, these last 2 days were UNREAL! We packed up and got on the road for our 2 hour trip to Launceston. We arrived at our hotel, Adina Apartments, to be conveniently picked up at 11am for a full day wine tour with Tamar Vlley Wine Tours. We were greated by the very polite, experienced and delightful Terry. On our 6 hour journey through the Tamar Valley in our mini bus, we got to experience wine tasting at Clover Hill, Pipers Brook (with a beautiful gourmet lunch), Sinapius and Delamere (with a delish cheese platter). The day was delightful, with Terry educating us along the way about wines and the region. We came away very happy with our experience, our beautiful lunch and cheese platter, with a lovely bottle of Clem Blanc from Sinapius. Also a little tipsy haha. We got Terry to drop us into the local craft beer bar called St Johns Craft Beer Bar, enjoying some yummy chicken breast and chips and Tasmanian craft beers. We then moved onto the close by spot Tandy’s, ending the night with a ‘to-death’ match of connect 4 haha

The next morning we were excited to tackle the breathtaking Cradle Mountain. From Launceston, the drive is 2 hours up the mountain and the views along the way are sensational. On arriving, we had an idea of the tracks we wanted to do, but we JUMPED out of our comfort zones and decided to do the hard tracks up to the summit, we travelled all this way! And that was the BEST decision we ever made. Corey and I started with the beautiful Dove Lake Circuit then hiked our way up Marion’s Lookout (very steap with chains) to reach the beautiful lookout. We caught a glimpse of snow, so we had to keep going haha. Corey had never seen snow before so we had to venture on, up and up the mountain towards the summit. We played in the snow, it poured down rain and we loved every minute of it! We chucked on our ponchos and we continued on the journey on the top of the mountain on the breathtaking Horse Track. We nailed out the 4-6 hour route in under 4 hours it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. A MUST DO! On our route back down, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a number of wombats too. On a high, we drove the 2 hours back to Launceston, made ourselves some beautiful salmon and salad for dinner and went out for a few final drinks to celebrate our trip!

DAY 7: FLY OUT OF LAUNCESTON
Morning Trip to Catrat Gorge

We would have loved to have spent more time at both Hobart and Launceston! We will be back again soon. Before dropping our hire car back we took a morning visit to the beatiful Catarat Gorge right in the Launceston city. A beautiful gorge with hanging bridge, cable chairs over the water and playground. It was the best start to the day and we were sad to say goodbye.

WHAT A TRIP TO REMEMBER!

The Must-Visit Beauty of Tenterfield, NSW... Brisbane Fitness, Family & Wedding Photographers

Tenterfield is a breathtaking regional town in New South Wales, just 3 hours from Brisbane. This little town has become my second home since my partner Corey started working out there on an engineering job.

The town has so much history, beautiful sites to see, national parks, the scenery is to die for! I sometimes spend my weekdays there when I don’t have photoshoots, so I can focus on the business in a lovely environment. My early morning consist of ‘rugging up’ (yes, it gets very cold here) and going out for a morning walk to see what stunning scenes I can find.

I wrote a blog about my experience here and in the Granite Belt with their wineries and national parks HERE and the beautiful White Cottage Flower Farm HERE.

See my visual journey of Tenterfield below.

Check out more on the town at Tenterfield Tourism

Em x

A Real Indian Wedding Experience: Brisbane Portrait & Commercial Photographers

It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to travel to India with your Indian friends to be a part of a traditional Indian wedding. When Amit and PJ jokingly said over dinner that we should come, at first we laughed and said “that would be unreal” and then we though more after they said the offer was there. How could we not!

In reflection of this trip, this experience was an opportunity of a lifetime, travelling to India with our friends for 2 weeks of celebrations for a traditional Indian Wedding, their cousins wedding.

Our first stop was Mumbai - Staying in a lovely 5 star hotel and venturing out to explore the streets, to do some shopping for traditional clothing and try some of their famous food.

We then flew to their hometown of Goa - We stayed mostly in Magao with our friends family and each day when we didn't have wedding events, they organised a driver for us! We travelled through North and South Goa, exploring their beaches and most renowned attractions and of course ate at some incredible traditional indian shacks and restaurants.

While in Goa, we got to be part of the wedding events of PJ and Amit's family. Including the Sangeet Dance event, ladies Henna day, traditional male and female religious functions, the wedding itself and the reception. All spread over a 2 week period.

With a gap in the wedding events, my partner, Corey, and I flew to Delhi and booked a fully personalised 4 day Golden Triangle tour - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. This opened us up to the culture and history of India and some of the unreal monuments this country has to offer.

See an insight into our travels below, explaining some of the wedding events and traditions, some of the memories, food and the indian lifestyle captured on the trip. Each section details where it is in India and some explain the meaning behind the images. I hope you enjoy this visual journey as much as I loved taking it!

Em x

Exploring Goa

During our time in India we were based in Goa with our friends families. We spent some time in South Goa in Margao, exploring the beaches and attractions, markets and shops of this area and then to North Goa to Panjim to explore the Latin area, old Goa and the shopping and monuments.

The Sangeet

The pre-wedding dance celebratory event. This musical night is a celebration of the union of not only the couple but the bonding of both families. The families choreographed 14 dances to display on stage to the family, it was UNREAL!

Mehndi Day

Mehndi Day before the Wedding - A form of body art originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant. 

The Wedding

The Wedding is the official traditional religious function where the bride and groom’s families and friends witness the marriage of Sanju and Sohal. There are many traditional processes including the families gifting the bride/groom gold, jewellery and other gifts. The bride and groom do not see each other through these religious events until they are on stage where they are revealed to each other. Watching these moments was incredible!

Delhi

To begin our 4 day Golden Triangle tour we flew from Goa to Delhi. We began the day nice and early at 7am starting at Qutub Minar with no one in site. I was blown away by this building and it’s unique structure and details. We also visited the Indian Gate, Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), took a rickshaw through Old Delhi, visited the site of Gandhi’s ashes, the Lotus temple and some local shops of craftwork. Our driver then began the 4 hour journey to Agra, stopping at the Akshardam Temple on the way out.

Agra

Arriving at our 5 star hotel Jaypee Palace was incredible! Marble featured throughout, beautiful views over the 25 acre property, surrounded in grasslands, pools and our room featuring an unreal balcony over the views. We rested up that night ready for our 5.30am rise to catch the Taj Mahal at sunrise! Witnessing the Taj Mahal in person was incredible, especially capturing it’s beauty at sunrise. After this unreal experience we also explored the red fort, local craftsman stores and saw a lot of the major buildings in Agra. After a full morning in Agra, we hit the road with our driver to Jaipur, seeing the famous Step Well on the way there.

Jaipur

Jaipur was my most anticipated place to see with it’s pink city, beautiful buildings and unreal monuments. We started our morning with a great buffet breakfast at our 5 star hotel Holiday Inn Jaipur, then took on the day with a tour of the Amber fort, probably one of the most impressive buildings Corey and I have both witnessed. What used to be a palace is now a large fort that is incredible to see! We then ventured through the Pink City seeing the Palace of Winds, we visited a textiles manufacturer and saw how they created carpets and printed clothing and finished the day with a tour through the incredible Jaipur Palace. Corey and I got an Olla around the city and went for a romantic dinner at the rooftop Peacock Restaurant in the city. It was unreal! What a way to end the trip.

The Great Ocean Road Road Trip Adventure: Brisbane Portrait & Commercial Photographers

A TICK OFF THE BUCKET LIST... THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD

I've always dreamed of travelling to the Great Ocean Road and capturing it's raw beauty. So this year I planned a 4 day getaway road trip with my partner Corey to explore the coast.

Starting in Melbourne with a hire car, we travelled all the way down the coastline visiting the towns of Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay (for a sneaky scallop pie and brewery beer) and Port Campbell. Some of the most unreal locations to see were of course the 12 Apostles, Loch ard Gorge, The Grotto, London Bridge, Gibson’s Steps, Bay of Islands, the Californian Redwoods Forest and some lookouts along the way.

We stayed at a beautiful cottage 12 Apostles Cottages, 5 mins drive from the Apostles, so we could easily enjoy the many natural beauties along the coastline at sunrise and sunset (and to miss the crowds)!

Here's a few of my favourite memories along the way! We are so lucky to have such unbelievable natural wonders in our country!

Em

Brisbane Portrait & Commercial Photographer | Brisbane Commercial Photography

5 reasons why you MUST visit the Southern Downs & Granite Belt Region: A Photographers Journey

In the past month, both Andy and I have experienced just a small taste of what the beautiful Southern Downs & Granite Belt has to offer and we are BLOWN AWAY! Find out why below....

Only recently under the LP Commercial Photography brand, Andy photographed for the Southern Downs & Granite Belt Council as part of a new marketing campaign, opening my eyes to its beauty. As a result, I ventured to the region for the weekend as my partner is now working in the Tenterfield area for the next 2 years and I wanted to explore some of the amazing things the region has to offer! See some of my top reasons why you must visit the Southern Downs & Granite Belt Region below.  

1

The Amazing Tours: Sit back, relax and enjoy the numerous wineries, breweries and beautiful food tours on offer around the region.

Southern Downs & Granite Belt: Brisbane Portrait and Commercial Photography

You can base yourself from a number of towns in the region - Stanthorpe, Ballandean or Tenterfield and be within close proximity, 30-45mins, to many of the highlights of the region! There are some breathtaking cottages and homely accommodation in these areas, however you have to get in quick as everything sells out quick! We were based in Tenterfield and due to the sell out in Stanthorpe and close by, we organised a tour from Tenterfield to the winery region. 

I was very lucky to get in contact with Kevin from Tenterfield Tours, who picked us up from Tenterfield and took us for a private half day tour of 5 wineries in the region (only a small portion of the nearly hundred on offer!). This was the best experience and Kevin had so much knowledge and his customer service was 5 star! He's definetly worth contacting if you want to explore the region as he offers winery tours and nature tours!. Here's a little look at the 5 wineries we got to see, experience and enjoy taste testing at below.

BALANCING ROCK WINES

2

The National Parks: The perfect place to explore with the family for the weekend

There are so many national parks in the region, however we were able to explore one while visiting for the weekend, Girraween National Park. Known for its 'The Pyramids' and 'Balancing Rock' we had it down as a must see. 

Located outside Stanthorpe in the Ballandean area, Girrawean is known for its huge granite boulders, it's 30km of walking and bike trails and Castle Rock or Bald Rock Creek camping areas.  We parked at the Bald Creek Day Area and walked to the amazing Granite Arch, followed by the climb up the hill to 'The Pyramid' (not for the faint hearted, it's a steep climb!) for breathtaking views over the region! 

Bald Rock National Park is next on our list with the natural beauty of their smooth rock formations as well as Boonoo Boonoo National Park and falls.

3

The beautiful locations and scenery for photography: The entire Southern Downs and Granite Belt Region and Tenterfield Shire is filled with the most beautiful photographic locations and lookouts!

Between the Stanthorpe to Tenterfield regions is just glorious! Crossing the QLD border to NSW to explore another beautiful region. See some of the beautiful locations below. 

 

4

The Breweries: Explore the new craft breweries around the region

My partner and I are brewery lovers and on a mission to visit all the breweries across QLD. The Granite Belt Brewery was on our MUST VISIT list! Set in the outskirts of Stanthrope with beautiful cottages alongside the brewery for your weekend stay, winery vines and the natural forestry surroundings, it was just beautiful! Stepping inside the brewery was like being transported into a ski lodge in Canada with the high roof wooden, cost feeling with lovely couches and welcoming feeling. Corey and I had to try the tasting paddle and ordered 4 of their beers to test the palatte. A MUST DO if you're travelling to the region. We missed out on booking here due to being sold out, but we plan to return to stay in their homely cottages with spa bath and fire! The perfect romantic weekend away!

On our next visit we plan to visit the Deepwater Brewing near Tenterfield and explore this area and national park, as well as Brass Monkey Brew House near Stanthorpe. 

5

The Food: With so much on offer between the wineries, cheese factory and local restaurants you can't go wrong in the Southern Downs & Granite Belt region for food!

Find out all the best places to go HERE.

Insomnia And Your Camera Can Be The Perfect Partners

4am Saturday morning. It's the end of a franticly busy couple of weeks and it's my first day off in a while with no commitments and the first real chance for a sleep in... but I'm wide awake.

No matter what I try and do, sleep is not coming back to me.... 5000 sheep have jumped the garden gate in my head and nothing is happening. The reality is I'm not going to sleep as the jobs and images of the past two weeks are still playing through my mind... my body may have switched off but my brain won't.

You might think at a moment like this it's not the time for someone to pick up their working tools, but for me, grabbing the camera is exactly what I need. It's at times like these I pick up my Pentax medium format 645Z a couple of lenses, a ten stop ND filter and head for the car.

Outside it's a crisp pre-dawn morning, the first morning this year when you can feel winter in the air and the last vestiges of sleep are torn away in one chilly bite.

20 minutes later, the stresses and strains of the previous couple of weeks are fast receding in the rear view mirror. I'm chasing the sunrise to a wailing soundtrack of guitars and vocals. Eric Clapton, Blue Oyster Cult, Jimi Hendrix and a host of others are blasting out of the wonderful Bang Olufsen sound system in my Audi to a backing track of a purring V6 engine. I no longer care about sleeping, I'm wide awake with a road trip wide grin on my face.

Watching the crescent moon fade and the deep black of the sky slowly change to an indigo blue I pull off the highway at Currumbin at the tail end of the Gold Coast with just 20 minutes to spare before sunrise.

It's perfect, a cloudless sky, fishermen creating silhouettes on the rocks and as the yellow and orange hues start to creep over the ocean horizon heralding the rise of the sun I'm set up on the beach, Pentax tripodded and waiting for the day to begin in earnest.

For me this is the ultimate relaxation. The waiting moments that come with landscape photography, the calm and peace of studying the sky and colours and light waiting for the right moment to press the shutter. It's such a trance like contrast to the invariably fast paced photography that fills my working days, particularly when working with the Pentax. It is an amazing camera but one that demands that you take your time and think things through to get the best out of it. I'm using a ten stop ND filter to slow the exposures down and mist up the crashing waves taking my shutter speeds over the five minute mark, again slowing down the photographic process and making me take my time. As a consequence, heart beat and mind slow as well and finally for the first time in a while, with the chill sea breeze, the crashing waves and the sun finally coming over the horizon, I start to relax. 

Ten exposures later that's it... the day has begun the sun is up. It's time for a trip to a nearby Surf Life Savers Club for a steaming cup of coffee or three and a decent breakfast.

On the way back home the sound track changes... Lene Marlin, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars take over where Clapton and Hendrix left off. At home a little bit of time is spent processing up the pictures then an easy dinner and finally the mind has switched off and a night of wonderful, restful sleep begins.  

Andy

"Up in the air I fly"..... A day in the life of Life Portraits

After photographing commercial portraits for client Josh under our business LP Commercial, I was lucky enough to also have the honour of photographing Josh's family under the portraiture side, Life Portraits. 

A rare opportunity I couldn't pass up, Josh went out of his way to pick me up from Archerfield Airport in Brisbane and fly out to Chinchilla. It was an early morning, taking off at 5am, flying out of Brisbane to the view of the sun rising behind us and fog covering parts of the city. I was fortunate enough to be able to capture the journey on my camera as well as footage on my GoPro Hero 5 Black. Josh also records his journeys for YouTube. With both of our footage and images I created the below video insight into my journey. 

Upon arriving in Chinchilla, it felt very homely, very much like my hometown of Clermont (which is where I met Josh). I photographed Josh's family nearly 5 years ago when his youngest was a newborn. I was very excited to be meeting the girls again and capturing their personalities, characteristics and their fun antics on the land. Capturing a family in their home environment is a very special thing - you create a story, capture a special moment in time within a home they've come to love. I captured the Adam family in their home environment, with their animals, their gardens, surrounded by stunning rural countryside. I have delivered their gallery for proof and blown away by the results. 

Em x

The beauty of the Northern NSW Coast: Ballina, Lennox Head & Byron Bay

Being a Central Queensland country girl, I never really ventured out of QLD throughout my childhood (except to the other side of the world to Ireland to see my family). Only in the last 3 years have I started to explore this beautiful country. With 5 days free between Christmas and New Years I couldn't resist the opportunity to get in the car with my partner and explore a new area I hadn't seen before. So... I did some research around the NSW coast, booked a flat on airbnb and away we went.

The NSW coast is an unbelievable location with prestige beaches, breathtaking lookouts, fresh seafood and a mix between the beach lifestyle and relaxed country living. Only a close 2 hours from Brisbane, this is easily a weekend trip away. Below are the places we visited and some of the highlights, also featuring a video of our little adventure. 

Ballina

We stayed at Ballina Heights at a lovely house (through airbnb) overlooking the countryside. This was a close 2 min drive to the Ballina Shopping Area with all the shops you would need - Woolworths, Target, Kmart, BWS, Anytime Fitness etc. On our first day we visited the stunning Killen Falls which was only 15 mins from Ballina at Tintenbar and only a short walk down to the water - well worth it!

That afternoon we drove to Shaws Bay and walked the North Wall scenic walk. Capturing a glimpse of some young boys jumping off into the deep waters where the ocean and the Richmond River meet as well as capturing a glimpse of some dolphins swimming in from the ocean. At the peak of the break-wall is Lighthouse beach which seems to be a popular spot for the surfers and also has the Lighthouse beach Cafe and Life Saving Club. There are information plaques along the walk about the history of Ballina for those that like their reading - we did!

We enjoyed some fresh prawns and barra from the local seafood shop and got to see the giant prawn, we played some cricket at the sports field and we even still went to the gym (thanks to Anytime Fitness being all over the world). 

Lennox Head

My favourite place was Lennox Head, it's a hidden gem! Tucked away close to Byron but much more quiet and relaxed. Not only did it have a number of beautiful beaches, it is blessed with Lake Ainsworth, a tea tree brown coloured lake right next to the coast. The water is beautiful and warm, calm water for stand up paddle boarding and we made the most of a cheap blow-up radio inflatable from K-mart to enjoy sun-baking in the lake. We admired the views from Pat Morton lookout, where tandem hang gliders were taking in the views of Lenox Point from above. There were locks lining the fences at the top of the lookout which was beautiful, we even found one from a wedding! We went to Sharpes Beach and took a boogie board to ride the waves and enjoyed some fish and chips at Fishy Fishy on the main street. 

Byron Bay

This time of year was very busy for Byron due to Falls Festival and the Christmas period. We ventured out at 5am to get to the lighthouse before things got busy and enjoyed the early morning sun, wind and beautiful lookout. We went to the Byron Bay beach for an early swim and packed our own lunch for a picnic. For those wanting to explore Byron I would take advantage of the hop on-hop off bus that goes around Byron from 10am-5.30pm so you can explore all of the town without having to worry about parking. 

A big thank you to Discover Ballina: Ballina Coast and Hinterland for their amazing visitor guide that helped us plan our journey - https://www.discoverballina.com.au/visit/

Coldplay lights up Brisbane City

While much of Brisbane flocked to Suncorp Stadium last week for Coldplay, I watched (and listened) from my balcony in Milton. I didn't have a ticket to the show, but I witnessed the concert from a different view. The sound erupted from the stadium across the city and I heard the entire concert from the comfort of my home. 

This was an opportunity I could not pass up! I set my camera up and captured this beautiful, tear drawing experience through the lens.

Let's create something beautiful!