One of our couples has been featured on Easy Weddings!

The ever lovely Bec and Ty were gracious enough to allow us to submit their photos to be featured on Easy Weddings 'Real Weddings' profiles, showcasing the day they had and the suppliers that they worked alongside.

It was a pleasure to be able to work with these two lovebirds and their photos are proof of the strong connection that the two of them share.

I'm thrilled to have been able to capture their special day, and I know that there are lots more couples out there who are looking forward to their big day, too. 

You can check out the full article by clicking here:

Lost In Love: Bec and Ty

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Bec & Ty - Married at Ripponlea Estate - Saturday 14 January 2017

Weddings, Babies and Family Fun

What a busy end to 2015 we had!

With multiple Portraiture Shoots, our first Maternity/Newborn shoot, Wedding Bookings coming in left right and centre, we haven't had time to showcase some of the work we've been doing!

Amongst all of this, I was working on the World Premiere of my new Show, 'Green Acres Receptions', which I have to say, went off remarkably well. The folks at Adlib Entertainment put on a great Season, and the audience feedback has been humbling to say the very least.

Good news is, our scripts are all available for hire for your own school or theatre productions, and you can visit our Script & Show Hire page to find out more.

Onto Photos...

We shot our first Maternity/Newborn Shoot towards the end of 2015! Some of the photos are in the Portrait Gallery, but these are two of my faves.

In addition, we've worked with some other children and even a few older 'kids' too.

The best part is, towards the end of 2015, we took a record number of bookings for Weddings, so we'll be able to showcase even more in the coming months!

Stay tuned. 2016 is going to be BIG!

Cheers,

Matt.

Rehearsals, Wargames & Cards Against Humanity

Over the weekend, I was sent packing (literally) off to Camp with my talented cast for our Rehearsal Weekend with Adlib Entertainment for our third and final season for 2015, the irreverent Romantic Comedy, 'Green Acres Receptions'. 

Fourteen students, three tutors, three days, two nights, a lot of workshops, down time for gaming and many trays of spilled soup later, it was a weekend that left me feeling drained, both emotionally and physically. 

While this show has very little drama within it's nearly 60 page script, it can be safe to say that a cast needs to work twice, sometimes three times as hard, to make it work. It's much more difficult to pull off a decent comedy than a drama, as most of my friends in theatrical circles will tell you. However, these guys and girls put in the hard yards this weekend, and I think everyone involved came away feeling very comfortable about where we are in the rehearsal process. I mean, it's not often that you find your show is completely blocked with more than three months to go! It gives us heaps of time for character development, and polish, polish, polish!

We were also able to take in the beauty of the area we were camped out in.

AYP Senior Production Class - 2015

On the border of the Emerald Lake Park Reserve, the Wombat Corner Camp boasts some amazing forest walks, and I took the students up into the wishing well and greenery to conduct a projection workshop - in the middle of nowhere.

Sitting around the wishing well, I had them screaming into the wilds, but they just ran with it, speaking out loud and proud - even when some onlookers screamed back at them!

After all was said and done, it was time to get down to business and focus on the real task at hand: Risk, Halo Edition. 

We commandeered a huge trestle table and I took on some of the more hardcore gamers amongst the group, and while the game went on (four hours+) I'm ashamed to say that I was eliminated second out of five... I'm just glad my directing is better than my Commanding of military forces.

With the occasional vulgar Cards Against Humanity session thrown in for good measure, and outdoor workshops under the fabulous Spring weather over the last few days, it was a rollercoaster of epic proportions, but one that I'm incredibly proud to have been a part of.

Using the Amphitheatre for some Impro Games...

Thanks once again to Roxy and Aaron, my cohorts, for putting up with my rambling (that always leads to a point) and to Donna and Peter, for their blind trust in me.

Green Acres Receptions will be performed on December 12 and 13 at the Smtarbright Theatre, and is my homage to the Wedding Industry. I hope to see you there!

Book your Tickets now!

Until next time,

Matt.

Father's Day Out

Yesterday, to Celebrate my second Father's Day, I was fortunate enough to be off work, and my Family met up with my brother and his growing family for a day out at Melbourne Zoo.

Now that Charlotte, our daughter, is a little older, she could see the animals, really watch them doing their thing in their enclosures, and hearing her giggle and laugh and gasp with surprise as these wonderful creatures that share our world moved about was hands down the best present I received.

Charlotte inspecting the tortoise shell...

Later, as we were heading around the zoo and seeing all of the different enclosures, I was lucky enough to be able to capture the images of the gorillas in their habitat. Again, the care and love shown between mother and child is something truly spectacular.

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There is so much love in this shot.

The brooding, watchful eye of the male was a constant reminder of the power and strength of these beasts, and while there were no issues during our visit, we spoke with a zoo handler who mentioned that there had been fighting amongst them over their newborn.

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Always watching...

Watching my little 9 month old nephew experience the Zoo for the first time was equally as pleasing as watching Charlotte enjoy it. Little Caleb was very alert, and with his Dad for the day had a grand time, giggling, smiling and even chewing on toys for most of the morning and early afternoon. He was even picked on by a little butterfly as we made our way through a very busy Butterfly House!

Caleb and his Dad get a visit from a Butterfly.

While we saw other animals, including the tigers and lions in their respective enclosures, we also were able to meet up with and have our families over for an early dinner, which is a rarity these days. Being able to catch up properly with my own Dad was an extra treat, and allows me to appreciate the Family that I have, and the Family that has grown around me. 

I think we arrived just before lunch time... Mr. Tiger was on the prowl.

Watching Charlotte grow up and learn, listening to her as she starts to hum, or sing, or copy pretty much everything I say (and I know I need to be careful!) makes me proud of who I am and how far I've come. 

Happy Father's Day to not just all the Dad's out there, but also to all the families that were able to be with their loved ones. Don't just catch up because of the special day, catch up often. You never know when you may have that opportunity taken from you.

Until next time,

Matt.

Wedding Bubble Magic...

I was out shooting a Wedding - well, to be more accurate, it was an Engagement Party that turned into a Surprise Wedding - and managed to capture the image below, and it prompted me to take a moment to point out the value of adding some simple gifts to hand out to your guests during the Ceremony, for shots like this.

Wedding Photography is not an exact science. Shooting a Wedding in Melbourne requires experience, and a lot of luck. We might take a thousand shots to get 'the one'. I myself work on a 30% rule. Of all the shots I take, only about 30% will be 'keepers' - the rest take up space on hard drives somewhere for 12 months, then are archived to free up space.

Adding rice, rose petals, or in this case, bubbles, just adds a touch of something special. It brings out the inner-child in every guest, regardless of if they blow bubbles or not. 

The way they catch the light, can pick up a little sparkle here and there within the frame, greatly increases that 30% into a much greater margin.

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Even better, it gives the assembled guests a reason to go nuts during what can sometimes be known as 'the awkward group photo', and turns a potential shot filled with random frowning faces into one that's bright, exciting and most importantly, a fabulous memory.

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A little bit of colour, a little bit of bubbly-magic, and everyone will be celebrating the Wedding Ceremony in style. It's also a great ice breaker for the Wedding Reception, too!

Looking forward to showcasing a few more shots later this week, so check back and see what else we've been up to!

Feline Photobomb!

So, today, I had the opportunity of taking some wonderful Maternity snaps for a lovely couple, getting ready for the arrival of their little bundle.

They requested some full family photos, including their four-legged member, Mouli.

Sometimes, though, as the saying goes, we should never work with children or animals.

Here's a classic that we'll remember for a good long while!

"Surprise!"

HP Photography Goes Live!

Very, very excited to have our brand new website up and running for all things photographic!

Have a look around, check it all out, and please, we welcome constructive criticism. 

Looking forward, we'll also be launching something else later this year, which is shaping up to be a big one for all of us here at HP PHOTOGRAPHY.

                                            C A N D I D .   C A P T U R E D .   Y O U R S .

New Website, New Era

It's been a long time coming, and now, after some great feedback from some colleagues, we're here now, with HP PHOTOGRAPHY.

I've decided that to complete my goal of world domination, you need a few things, and one of them is a clear business structure. This is something our original website didn't have. It was confusing. Too much going on in one place.

But now...

We've got a dedicated Website for Photography, and we can keep that separate from all the other stuff I like to do, that's theatre and event based. 

Stay tuned for more updates, as they keep on coming!