Instawalks

TUESDAY 22 JANUARY, 2013  /   COMMENTS [0]

Instagram has to be one of the most relevant forms of social media today, and awesome for people who are more visual than wordy (ie. me!). Instagram has gone huge worldwide and is taking over locally too. Headed up by Gareth Pon @garethpon (managing the @IgersSouthAfrica account), he has been involved in organising instawalks (or instameets) all around Joburg and South Africa encouraging a community of iphonographers to explore interesting parts of the city and capture it through the lens's of their phones. This weekend @IgersSouthAfrica is hosting a combined instawalk across a few cities. If you follow @IgersSouthAfrica you can get the details of the different walks. So far i've seen @igersGrahamstown, @igersGeorge, @igersDurban, @igersCapeTown, @igersPretoria, @igersPortElizabeth and ofcourse @igersJozi (I hear East London is all in the pipeline). By taking part you can win some cool accessories for iphone namely an Olloclip which is a lot of fun, an iphone 5 lens (1st prize), or a framed print by SnapGram (2nd prize). Go to the @IgersSouthAfrica page for more details, and to find out when and where the instameet is happening in your city. I'm going to try make the Jozi walk. It's starting at Main Street Life in the Maboneng precinct on Sunday at 17:30. Perhaps i'll see you there!  

The future (and some news)

FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [12]

I have some pretty big news.

Today is my last day working at my advertising agency Net#work BBDO. I've been here for a year and have loved the people, the cool clients and agency life, but i've also been involved in a lot of cool things outside my day job that have started to take over significantly.

So I took the leap and resigned at the beginning of the month. (eek)

It's a huuge, exciting risk adventure and I think most people think i'm crazy for doing it but why not? Who says you have to work in the corporate world for x years and do this and do that. You don't always have to do what everyone else is doing, and i'm quite keen to give this thing a try ; ) at least while i'm still young and foolish.

I love this quote by E.E. Cummings.

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting"

We have a crazy December and a lot of cool things lined up for next year but if you need or know of anyone who needs a freelance photographer or designer please let me know : ) I am available for part time work.

(I'm also pretty keen to change some things around here on EmmaJaneNation in the next few months to make it more awesome and more worth your time ; ) so look out for some new things here too.)

On powdered ground

TUESDAY 13 NOVEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [1]

These beautiful images by Katerina Sokova really make me want to do some fashion photography. Any independent local labels interested?

Floral typography

MONDAY 22 OCTOBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [1]

A few weeks ago I made some floral typography for our new walls. Our walls were quite ugly at the time and desperately needed something nice (and temporary) on them. So I made these letters spelling out GO FORTH. I really love these words, they remind me of a bible verse that says "Go forth and multiply" hehe. I always thought it would be a nice name for a design agency, or perhaps for my own design projects. (These letters now live below in my office)

I thought my plastic flower type was pretty great until I saw this beautiful fresh floral typography by Anne Lee. I love how the letters look like they're dancing. See below for details - they're insane!

How incredible do the letters look up close? I think I need to remake mine asap.

What Katie ate. The recipe book.

FRIDAY 28 SEPTEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [1]

I've been following What katie ate for a few years now and I always leave her site hungry and inspired. Everything about her site is pitch perfect. From the incredibly mouth watering recipes, to the decor and the photography it's no wonder that she now has her own book. To launch her book she created a few of her favourite recipes to photograph (and eat of course!) in a really beautiful setting in Melbourne. There's a lovely behind the scenes video below of the creating of book launch shoot - it's so nice to see how she collects everything she's going to use from the ingredients to the props, to the way she sets up the shot. I'm so inspired - I have to make and photograph more food!

As far as I know the book is only for sale in Australia and New Zealand at the moment but can be pre ordered on Amazon here. How delightful.

Being a wedding photographer

TUESDAY 18 DECEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [2]

We've just finished our second double wedding weekend for the month. That's 2 x weddings in one weekend.

This last weekend was actually pretty much a triple if you count the Mendhi celebration on Friday night. Phew. It was exhausting yet so beautiful and incredibly rewarding.

We've been so lucky to play a small role in capturing such incredible stories. The Friday/Saturday wedding was of a friend of ours, a white South African girl marrying a handsome Indian boy. The amalgamation of cultures was an absolutely amazing thing to see. We were part of the Mendhi which was probably the biggest best party ever - a lot of food and a lot of dancing! We then went on to capture the white wedding the next day which was also one of the most special weddings i've witnessed. Think henna covered feet peeking out beneath vintage english lace.

I could go on and on about it, but will save it for the wedding post.

It's strange, but i've never considered myself to be a photographer until recently. I've had no formal training, I don't even know how we ended up shooting so many weddings but i'm so grateful we are where we are, and i'm looking forward to all that next year will bring us and will take us to.

One man who constantly challenges me and who sets the bar pretty high in wedding photography is Jonas Peterson. He is one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world, he shoots in the most incredible locations all around the world and he is just SO good at it. His photographs are so full of life and real moments, here is one of his latest weddings, shot in Sweden.

New work

TUESDAY 20 NOVEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [0]

There's some new work up on Lad & Lass. Have a look and let me know what you think.

Abi & Eben

Tracey & Chris.

I love love. I can't believe I get to take pictures of it for a living.

A+E

MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [1]

A few snap shots of the wedding we photographed on saturday.

We had a proper Highveld storm but it cleared up so beautifully for photographs. Will do a full post of the day on Lad & Lass by the end of the week.

New from Lad & Lass

MONDAY 22 OCTOBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [1]

So you might have seen by now that I take wedding pictures on the weekends with my husband Dylan. We used to be called Hello Harbour (which is our overall company name) but we now go as Lad & Lass wedding photography.

These are a few pictures from our latest wedding, which i'm so proud of. It was such an epic wedding. 400 people and the most ridiculously good looking family you've ever seen. The whole bridal party (including the kids) looked like they had just stepped out of a magazine. It's weddings like these where taking pictures doesn't feel like work at all, it feels like you're hanging out with awesome fun people all day long. We only left at 1 am and the party was still going on.

For the full post go here. Do it.

Lad & Lass branding

WEDNESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 2012  /   COMMENTS [13]

Today Hello Harbour photography officially became "Lad & Lass Wedding photography". We're still keeping the Hello Harbour name, but more as an umbrella body over all the crazy things we come up with, so it was essential to separate our photography name from that. I had so much fun creating this brand and all it's elements that I had to share a bit of what i've done so far. I miss designing according to my own brief! Below is a break down of the logo, elements and colour palette. Our business cards - fresh out the printer. Our website has beauty and brains. It senses the screen size and adjusts it to look great for whatever size screen you're viewing it on. And that's it for now. Still have stamps, stickers, packaging and post cards and whole lot of other things i'd love to do! We have a lot of exciting weddings booked for the next few months so check the site for updates - www.ladandlass.co.za What do you guys think? You like? : )