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Life is colour and warmth and light, and a striving evermore for these.  Julian Grenfell

The secret of happiness is to gather up all the loveliest small things, and hug them to you like an armful of autumn leaves.

Golden and fearless,

you are the key in the lock.

Well,what I can say about this session, except that it was an honour wrapped up in a privilege, and a whole lot of fun as well. I first met Sharon, a wonderful NSW photographer in her own right, a few years back on a photography workshop. We got along so well, and even though we live in different states it has been a joy to watch her family grow (via her blog and various Photo-a-Day projects).

So, I am so very grateful she asked me to capture her family just before Christmas last year in Sydney, and I adored getting to know her beautiful family just a little better. Sharon and Jonathon’s kids are really pretty amazing, and together have the most beautiful bond. I loved my afternoon with the Mallins, and hope you do too.

xx

From love, you bloomed.
Without notice, and almost imperceptibly, you grew.
Warmed by the heat of our hearts, watered by happy tears, you reached.
And now, buoyant and brave, you soar of your own wings, but with the feathers we made only for you.

And I serve the Fairy Queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours.

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

It was with a sense of pure delight that I recently spent a summery afternoon with these three little fairies, and their gorgeous parents, in Mt Eliza recently. These darling girls embodied everything that Shakespeare’s woodland fairies conjured up for me (dork alert: I enthusiastically chose to study Shakespeare for a whole semester at university many moons ago, so I know the play i reference pretty well).

So; a real fairy? Not because she wears pretty dresses and likes to twirl about, although that also is true.  But because she is natural, pure, free, inquisitive, and perfectly attuned to the beauty and wonder of the natural world.

And, real fairies have wings, and are not afraid to fly.

I rewrote a rhyme for this beautiful family. It goes a little something like this:

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?
Slugs and snails
And puppy-dogs’ tails,
And Sugar and spice
And everything nice.

You might notice that I condensed a couple of verses, to make it less stereotypical and one-dimensional.

If you don’t agree, then I am afraid you have never met this family, with three of the most charming and agreeable little fellows you are ever likely to meet.

And actually, what I believe we are made of is ‘love’, and all the rest is just interesting details….

PS Stunning mummy Louise is an uber-talented Melbourne newborn photographer, you can find her over here!

A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, about two weeks before a family holiday to Noosa, I was wondering whether I should take all my ‘good’ camera gear for a family shoot. We did this a few years back on our last holiday, to Port Douglas, and the whole family really treasures the beautiful Queensberry album that I made from that session.
Except then I remembered that I am not in that album. As someone whose mother has passed away, I would give anything for more images which have both my mother and I in them. I have one, and it sits in a frame on my dressing table. It is the 1971, I am about 6 months old, sitting on my mother’s hip, She has fabulous hair, she is young and stunning and looks at me with what we call in my family; ‘the eyes of love’. I treasure this photo immensely.

So I googled ‘Noosa Family Photography’, wondering whether there are any good photographers in Noosa, whom I perhaps could book for a family session?.
I could not believe the beautiful work of Anya Ponti, and was amazed that I had never heard of her before. Which is kind of funny in hindsight because now that I know her work I think that Anya is one of the most talented photographers working in Australia right now. I am incredibly grateful to her for our family images, and the beautiful album she has created for us. She has seen in my family all the beauty that I see, and she has captured for us all the love that we feel, and these are the most important gifts a photographer can offer up, and what we all should aspire to in every session. I am honoured to share my family’s session with Anya over here.

Anya is amazing not just because she understands and uses light beautifully, because she can frame with care or use depth of field thoughtfully, but because she brought those skills to noticing all the things that do matter; the way my baby’s curls catch the sunlight, how eyelash kisses feel, the way I want to hold my children close every minute of their lives, even as I am letting them go.

Beyond all this; there is something else I want to tell Anya. The images she has captured for me, more than making me sublimely happy, will make me a better photographer; she has reminded me of the power of true vision, and authenticity, two things which can sometimes be overlooked in the busy-ness of life and business. I am sometimes guilty of overthinking what a client might ‘expect’ from their photo session, and sometimes I lack clarity on how much of myself to bring to the session. I completely believe that the photographer’s role is to capture a family the way they would most like to see themselves. And to that end, my session with Anya has taught me to speak less, and listen more, and with a quieter mind.

So much to be grateful for.

Like life itself, beautiful days like this one will end, and if we keep awareness of that long enough to breathe it all in, then we have done as much as we can. Shadow gives meaning to light; what every photographer should know in their heart before having the audacity to press the shutter.

Freezing cold, rain and a biting wind (aaah! Melbourne!)  could not dampen the enthusiasm of this beautiful family, who went to some lengths to include their daughter’s love of horses in their family photographs. Starting the session on St Andrews Beach near Gunnamatta, we abandoned soon after and found this gorgeous forest glade along the horse track. Where we were reminded  that the best way to keep warm is always just to snuggle in!

On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.  |  One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry