It is that time of the year again when I get to slow down for a moment, look back through my photographs and remember all the beautiful people, stories and moments I have been lucky enough to photograph over the past season.
And, as always, choosing the favourites is not easy!
There are so many photographs that bring back a particular memory — a wedding day filled with laughter, a quiet moment between two people in love, children running along the beach, a beautiful sunset, or a split second on the ice when everything comes together.
This season has been another wonderful mix of weddings, engagements and couples, family sessions and figure skating competitions.
Weddings
Every wedding is different, and this is one of the things I love most about photographing them.
Some days are big and spectacular, surrounded by lots of family and friends. Others are intimate and relaxed. Some involve beautiful locations and dramatic landscapes, while the most memorable photographs can happen in the simplest moments — a look between newlyweds, a parent wiping away a tear, friends laughing together or someone dancing when they thought nobody was watching.
I love photographing all of it.
My approach is still very much about looking for the moments that happen naturally while also creating beautiful portraits and photographs with a sense of place.
Because years from now, I hope you won't just remember how your wedding looked.
I hope you remember how it felt.
Couples & Engagements & proposals
There is something particularly special about photographing two people who are simply enjoying being together.
Engagement and couples sessions give us the opportunity to slow down, explore somewhere beautiful and create photographs without the time pressure of a wedding day.
I love searching for beautiful light, interesting landscapes and those little interactions that show the connection between two people — the way they look at each other, laugh together, walk hand in hand or simply feel comfortable being themselves.
Sometimes the most beautiful photographs are the ones where nobody is looking at the camera.
Families
Family photography is another reminder of how quickly time passes.
The little people in your photographs won't stay little forever, and I love creating images that preserve not only what they looked like, but who they were at that particular moment in their lives.
The laughter, the cuddles, the running around, the slightly chaotic moments and all those little expressions that make each family unique.
These are the photographs that become even more meaningful with time.
Figure Skating
This season also brought many incredible moments on the ice.
Figure skating has become a very special part of my photography work. As a photographer, I love the challenge of capturing movement, emotion, expression and those tiny moments when technique and artistry come together.
Over the season I have been fortunate to photograph skating competitions around New Zealand, including major events with skaters of all ages and levels.
There is something incredibly exciting about standing beside the ice, watching a skater prepare, listening to the music start and knowing that within the next few minutes there will be hundreds of fleeting moments — and only a few fractions of a second that tell the whole story.
In many ways, photographing skating isn't so different from photographing a wedding.
Both are about emotion, connection, movement and anticipation.
You wait, you watch, and then suddenly — there it is.
That moment.
Looking Back
When I look through this collection, I don't just see photographs.
I see people.
I remember conversations, locations, weather, laughter, nervous excitement, happy tears, beautiful sunsets, long wedding days, early mornings at the rink and all the little unexpected moments in between.
I feel incredibly grateful to everyone who trusted me to document a small part of their story this season.
Thank you to all my amazing couples, families, skaters, parents, friends and fellow photographers who made this season so memorable.
Thank you for inviting me into your lives and allowing me to capture these moments.
Here are just some of my favourites from the season — a little collection of love, light, laughter, movement and memories.
Enjoy!
And if you are planning a wedding, engagement session, family photoshoot or skating competition and would love me to tell your story through photographs, I would love to hear from you.
Let the adventure begin.
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