Well, I can’t believe its nearly 9 months since we have written a blog post! I thought it was about time I officially welcomed myself back, even though mini Moko started back last year. I have had my hands full with a gorgeous bundle of joy who arrived 31st May 2011. Little Freddie (who is not so little…) is pictured below!!
Thanks to my lovely friend Shannon McDonald who happens to be an amazing photographer for the beautiful pictures.
Shannon McDonald is a Melbourne-based photographer specialising in family photography, wedding photography, portraiture and photographic art. She describes her style the way she describes herself: original, colourful, artistic, down-to-earth and full of humour and realness.
Shannon’s photographs are more than just pictures. They are a celebration of relationships. As an artist and mother she understands the bewildering ride of family life including the tears, tantrums, joy, laughter and everything in between. And she often sees all this and more on a shoot!
See what a recent bride had to say:
“Oh Shannon. Really. What can I say. Each time I see more photos of our wedding I am speechless by how utterly beautiful each shot is. I feel truly blessed to have had you as our wedding photographer. Your love of the photographic craft shines so brightly and I can only say to others “run, don’t walk” to book you for any special event they may have.” Caroline
What I love most about the photos taken at this wedding is that you can see that the bride and groom are completely at ease with Shannon, their love shines through. It’s a beautiful intimate wedding and my, isn’t the bride stunning. I am truly looking forward to seeing more wedding photography from Shannon. See her website for more stunning work www.shannonmcdonald.com.au
And now for a few snippets of what Shannon gets up to in her down time:
1). What’s your favourite way to relax at the weekend?
Uh, we have a very active 3-year old boy so relaxing is not really on our radar at the moment! Weekends generally mean family time so we take trips to parks, playgrounds, museums, cafe’s, hang out with friends, grab the Saturday Age somewhere in between and maybe enjoy a shandy or two once the little guy is in bed.
2). Favourite restaurant?
Uh, see above! Restaurants and 3-year olds are no fun for anyone. What I am dying to do again though is Melbourne’s Restaurant Tram. It’s probably not one for the foodies but it’s so much fun watching Melbourne’s amazing views slide past your window whilst you wine and dine with your favourite people. Hilarious.
3). What book are you reading at the moment?
I’ve just started Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I also always have ‘At Work’ by Annie Leibovitz on my bedside table for a quick burst of inspiration at night.
4). What did you last go and see at the cinema?
Black Swan. I went with a group of girlfriends and we frequently winced at each other in the dark.
5). What is your favourite wedding story?
Probably my own! The dressmaker finished the dress hours before the wedding, my husband’s ring got left in the limo, one bridesmaid had drunk one-and-a-half bottles of champagne before we even got to the ceremony (bad boy), and I felt nauseous all night … probably from too much stress. Apart from all of that we had friends and family fly in from all over the world to celebrate with us in a gorgeous little cabaret bar in South Melbourne and that meant everything to us. And, although our wedding day was a bit shaky, our marriage is as solid as rock and that’s the most important thing.
Thanks Shannon, it’s been awesome!
As promised earlier in our sneak peak,
‘My business is Natasja Kremers Photography. I specialise in a mix of fine art and documentary photography. I love what I do as I’m a hopeless romantic and I adore documenting love stories. My studio is located in Subiaco and I photograph mainly in Perth and the South West of Western Australia.’
I think that the romantic in Natasja is certainly captured in her photography too.
1) What’s your favourite way to relax at the weekend?
LOVE watching movies with my boys on the weekend, I have 2 sons and there’s no better way to relax than watching movies and going out for dinner.
2). Favourite restaurant?
Favourite restaurant at the moment is Wagamama’s in Subiaco but it changes all the time.
3). What book are you reading at the moment?
Just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4). What did you last go and see at the cinema?
Haven’t been to the movies in a long time, would love to go see Eat, Pray, Love though 
5). What is your favourite wedding story?
Such a difficult question, I love all of them, cry at most and there’s not really a stand out one for me!
Thanks Natasja, such stunning and beautiful photography!
Later on today, I will be introducing you to a fantastic photographer called Natasja Kremers. Here is a sneak peek at what’s install for later….
and part three of Kalimna’s beautiful photography….
And here is part two from Kalimna! I’m loving the heart sparkler at the end 
I recently came across the talented Kalimna from TKM productions and thought that you would love to see some of herbeautiful wedding photography too. Here is a little from Kalimna herself:
‘TKM productions is a photography partnership between myself and my husband. He is the T (taras) and I am the K (kalimna) and our surname is Mohamed. We are both trained commercial photographers from RMIT in Melbourne. And after starting our family I changed career paths to pursue portraits and weddings. Which has been a great decision as I truly love the work. It is not for everyone, but suits me wonderfully.
I work from home around my two children and hope to dedicate more and more time to this side of our business as the children grow more independant.
So for now when Taras and I work together on photographing beautiful weddings we have a ball. It is still work, but it is work and time we love spending together.’
As Kalimna provided so many beautiful photographs we have split this article into three parts, so keep a look out for part two and three later on in the week!
1) What’s your favourite way to relax at the weekend?
We are AFL football fans – so normally we head to the park early; play with the kids and head home in time to either listen or watch an AFL match. When footy season is over it is more free time to be spent relaxing and pottering around our home.
2). Favourite restaurant?
Pizza Mienne Liebbe – fabulous local pizza with a great attitude to families. They bring the kids dough to play with and are so friendly.
3). What book are you reading at the moment?
Eat, Pray,Love.
4). What did you last go and see at the cinema?
Inception. Terribly interesting. Hope that I understood the end but love hearing what others made of it!
5). What is your favourite wedding story?
Almost all of them. Being in love and planning a life together is always so special.
Thanks so much Kalimna. For more eye candy visit their website at www.tkmproductions.com
We are so lucky to be introducing you to yet another talented photographer this week. I love the work of Marzena Wasilewska. Her work has a dreamy, ethereal quality about it that makes her engagement and wedding photography look so romantic. We have some beautiful photographs below from some recent engagement and wedding shoots as well as a few words from Mazena herself:
‘I’m passionate about telling people’s stories from a unique, artistic perspective. My approach to wedding and portrait photography is to create natural, dreamy and nostalgic pictures. Marzena Wasilewska Photography was established in Australia when I lived there for 7 years. I am now based in Warsaw, Poland but I am also available for portraits, weddings, and travel assignments anywhere in the world.’
and here is where we get a little insight into the women behind the lense:
1). What’s your favourite way to relax at the weekend?
Walking, riding a bicycle and meeting my friends.
2). Favourite restaurant?
There are many! I’m a big fan of Japanese food so if I have to choose one from Sydney area it will be “Sushi Suma” – small Japanese restaurant in Surry Hills .
3). What book are you reading at the moment?
“Shantaran” by Gregory David Roberts. It’s a story of an Australian who escapes from jail, makes a new life in India and gets involved with the people who live in the slums. I went to Mumbai 2 months ago. It was amazing to visit so many places mentioned in the book .
4). What did you last go and see at the cinema?
I recently came back from Asia where I traveled for 5 months so unfortunately I haven’t got time to watch movies.
5). What is your favourite wedding story?
One of the most funny story was last year. Just one hour before the ceremony, groom realized that two of his shoes are left ? He had 2 choices: to appear at the ceremony wearing old sneakers or borrow too small and not so pretty shoes from his groom mate. It was a bit painful but he choosed option 2.
Thanks Marzena!
Well, I’m very excited today to introduce you to a great photographer I’ve discovered called Kelly Gilbert from Alex Road Photography. She has sent though some beautiful images from a wedding she recently shot – and I just have to mention that I am loving the brides head piece! As well as the beautiful wedding photographs there are also some stunning child portraiture shots to follow. So over to Kelly:
‘A big thank you to Ellen for featuring my business on Link Love. I’m so glad I discovered Ellen’s blog. I’m always filled with inspiration & ideas every time I visit. I’m a Melbourne based photographer, specialising in wedding & portrait photography. My main aim is to capture moments, emotions and feelings through my images. My style is very relaxed and natural. With my wedding work I like to create the romance and emotion that the day brings. Every wedding is different and unique and no two wedding albums should ever be the same. I like to work closely with my couples, creating a relaxed and friendly environment. I work the same way with my babies and families, capturing personalities. Whether it is a cheeky grin, a toothless smile or making mud pies in the back yard! The best images are the ones that are un-posed and natural, giving the viewer a little insight or story about that person.’
And here is a little insight to the girl behind the lense:
1). What’s your favourite way to relax at the weekend?
Anything with the family, picnic in the park, riding on Melbourne’s fabulous bike tracks, a day at the beach, movies. Anything, as long as we are all together. I’m finding as the kids grow older, family time together is getting less and less.
2). Favourite restaurant?
I love Thai food. We have some great local thai restaurants nearby, Thai Tables in Bayswater is a new discovery.
3). What book are you reading at the moment?
Trashy magazines and The Age.
4). What did you last go and see at the cinema?
Toy Story 3. The first one is still my favourite. And yes, lots of tears during #2 and 3.
5). What is your favourite wedding story?
My favourite wedding story starts even before the wedding day. The couple, both originally from England, invited all their relatives to their Melbourne wedding. I’m told all 30 relatives flew over on the same British Airways Flight and it was one long party that lasted over 23 hours! Most of the guested stayed with the bride and groom for the 2 weeks they where in town. By the time the wedding day arrived, the poor bride & groom were exhausted from non-stop sight seeing and party going. They were defiantly looking forward to their honeymoon!
More images and information can be found at:
www.alexroadphotography.com.au
Facebook
Flickr
Thanks so much for sharing with us Kelly!
Todays Link Love is Mckay Wedding Photography. I had the pleasure of being introduced to Darryn last year whilst working on some wedding stationery for a client of mine. Here is what Darryn has to say about his work:
‘My approach for wedding photography is fairly simple: I want to capture beautiful, classic, memories of a wedding day that people will cherish forever. So much happens on the day, there is so much emotion, and so many beautiful moments, and you want to capture all of this….. so I try not to miss a single thing!
I aim to have a relaxed and natural style on the day because often the best photos are taken when people simply laugh, smile, and enjoy their wedding. I’m based in Manly on the Northern Beaches but shoot weddings all over Sydney.’
and a little about the man behind the lense himself!
1). What’s your favourite way to relax at the weekend?
A swim at the beach with my family
2). Favourite restaurant?
I’m a big fan of Ashiana’s Indian restaurant in Manly
3). What book are you reading at the moment?
Aside from reading the The Hat in the Cat and other children’s books to my son…. I just finished a book of the best Rolling Stone Magazine interviews
4). What did you last go and see at the cinema?
Avatar in 3D
5). What is your favourite wedding story?
Hmmm, hard to choose with so many lovely memories. A funny story a few years ago was halfway through the ceremony a phone began ringing. Everyone looked around disapprovingly to see who it was…… the groom sheepishly reached inside his suit to switch off HIS mobile!
Thanks Darryn, loving your wedding story – gold!
