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Trash the dress – Innisfail wedding (Cairns)

Melissa made contact with us when we were in Innisfail on the Rick Faulks charity cycle as she was hoping to have RFP do the photos for her wedding that was planned for October 2009, unfortunately RFP was already booked for her date. So after Brendan and Melissa’s big day I flew up to Innisfail on the following Monday to do this trash the dress shoot.

You may have seen trash the dress on many other photographers sites, so I too decided that I wanted to have a play and challenge myself with different locations and environments, and this I did.

Teel Wade, my handy assistant and second shooter also flew up with the plan to test some of her skills and play with the camera. When it rained this changed things a little unfortunately so Teel didn’t get to shoot as much as what we had planned. I have to say a big Thank you to Teel as she was a god send with the help and kept the camera covered from the rain so that we could still do the shoot, Teel didn’t get to play with the camera and take pics like we had planned due to the wet weather, so just means we have to do another one hey Teel!

As we got off the plane we went straight to Brendan and Melissa’s house and it was raining at this point before the shoot even begun, so this changed some of the things we wanted to do as we also had to now keep in mind keeping the camera’s and other equipment dry. When we got a break in the weather we took off to our destination of the Babbinda Boulders and rock pools.

On the way we stopped off at one of the sugar cane’s and got a few shots and I have a few favourites in those ones, it was definately worth the stop. Being that these guys had only just had their wedding at the weekend prior to me getting there they were still exhausted from all the organisation of it all and the wedding was still quite fresh for them.

Melissa was a trooper, she did whatever I asked of her and being in the rain didn’t bother her at all.

I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the Babbinda Boulders with the spectacular surrounds and scenery. With umbrella’s in hand and trying to conceal and protect our  camera’s the shoot began.  With the rain not letting up we kicked off some shots with Melissa taking the limelight. Brendan was quite happy to climb rocks and slip into the background of the pics. Being that everyone and everything was wet we had to take our time to make sure Camera’s and people stayed safe, Melissa was also keen to eat and have lunch – I think she was just keen to see some of the pics on the camera, but an excuse to eat was good.

In saying camera’s needed to be safe I did actually manage to slip over with my camera’s around the rocks, I was happy that my cricket skills came in with keeping the camera in the hands and dry.

After lunch we kicked back into it with merging into the water, both for Melissa and I. I did try to work quickly whilst Melissa was in the water so that she was not in the water long as it was cold, but as with anything I found that I was seeing new and different things that I wanted to try and of course I was having fun so time went very quickly for me – possibly not for Melissa with being so cold. We did some pics half in and half out of the water and it soon became time for Melissa to go all in and what a better way to do this but a big flop back into the water, this was a pretty cool sight and with the water temperature Melissa did extremely well to pull of the shots.

For my first time at the trash the dress style of shoot I would have to say I do have a wish list now to go again and out do myself with more spectacular shots. I got to spend a bit of time in Cairns and caught up with some family and friends whilst there too, I also got to take in some of the local sights. Another Innisfail photographer Raelene Buchanan Grace who is also a friend of Melissa’s came out to have a play with the shoot and she also got some great shots from what we set up and had a good time.

As for the travel side of things between flights and driving around for the few days that I was in Innisfail/Cairns I did approx 840kms on the road and still nearly missed the flight home, it was a tight line and I thought I wasn’t going to make it home. Nothing like testing the flight companies to see if they aren’t going to let me check in when running late.

Thank you again Melissa and Brendan for the crazy yet fun trash the dress shoot, you both did well with what we had to work with and Melissa you rocked. Enjoy your pics and can’t wait to see any of the facebook comments if you put some pics on there.

Any one that would like to experience this sort of shoot please don’t hesitate to contact me as we would love to help out with taking some different pics for you.

Again thanks and enjoy.

Greg & Cassandra – Wedding

After many years of being together Cassandra and Greg finally got to formalise their love on the 17/10/2009 and it was quite evident that these guys were full of love for each other .

As I do with all brides, I had spoken to Cassandra a number of times on the phone about all the plans for their big day, but it was only a week before their big day that I was able to meet up with them both and show them more of what RFP could do for them. I walked away a little chuffed after the consult as Greg seemed to be very impressed with all the photos, albums, canvas’s and acrylics that I showed them and said that he was more than happy with having me do their photographs for the wedding as he knew that I was doing the pics but made the comment of  ”I didn’t realise that we were having a professional photographer to take our photos.” Like I say – a little chuffed.

I had Leah Andrews come out and help me with some pics and the organisation of the day, this was a benefit to both Leah and I as it gave Leah a bit of an opportunity to take some pics and see how the whole photography of a wedding day goes or can go and it is always helpful to have someone carry my bags – just jokes, it is good to have a helping hand. Thank you Leah.

Cassandra got ready at their home address in Springfield and I got to meet plenty of family, having 5 their daughters as part of the bridal party and many other family members at the house to support Cassandra kept the house hold busy and buzzing with excitement. It was fair to say that Cassandra at some points of getting ready was feeling rushed, pushed and a little nervous. When she first came home from getting her hair done there was about 18 missed calls and messages on her phone. Well done to you Cassandra for keeping it all together through all of this.

After some pics at the house with all the girls and family, I moved onto Kookaburra Park where the ceremony was being held. I arrived about 20minutes before the ceremony to get some pics of Greg, but their was no Greg to be found. This was the first time that I had turned up to the ceremony location and the Groom to be was not there, so I was hoping that there was no cold feet syndrome was happening – reassured Greg arrived and he was in his element of socialising and catching up with family and friends. We got a few pics in before Cassandra arrived.

Poor Cassandra did get a little anxious when she arrived as the music hadn’t gone to plan so I had the job to try and stall Cassandra so they could fix the music and get it all right before she entered into the ceremony area. This caused a lot of stress for Cassandra at the time, but hopefully there is a few giggles about it all now.

Kookaburra Park is a nice back drop for the pics and a good location for the ceremony, it is by the river, so having water around is always calming and with the natural surrounds it was all picturesque.

After a beautiful ceremony and some family pics we then a few formal shots at Kookaburra park and then ventured off to Limestone hill with the grand old fig tree – one of my favourite trees for a shot. This location went well and after we got what we needed there we headed fairly quickly to the Japanese Nerima gardens within Queens park, this is one of my favourite locations, I love taking pics in these gardens. The gardens are always so grand and it is always a pleasure when a couple say  they would like some shots in there. As you will see in some of the pics below the waterfall is a win win spot – love it.

We did have to move on from the gardens quite quickly as we were about to get locked in as we were pushing as much in before closing time. Being that we still had some time up our sleeves we went to the Parklands near the new Riverlink shopping centre at North Ipswich and got some bridge shots.

With tired feet (Cassandra had very high heels on her shoes and all I can say is thank god that I wasn’t the one who had to wear them for the day) and being on the go all day Cassandra and Greg were glad for the reception time to come around, a short drive to St Joseph’s hall let them rest before settling into the reception. This was the first time that I had been to a reception at St Joseph’s, the decorations were done very well and it looked great. After a home cooked great meal and some drinks and socialising Cassandra and Greg could both relax a little more and enjoy their celebrations with their friends and families.

Congratulations to you both on your big day and Thank you to you both, Cassandra and Greg for allowing me to share in and capture your wedding day. Enjoy your pics.

Gabe & Dee – Family Portraits

Gabe and Dee had their family shoot organised by my bother in law and his wife as a birthday gift for Dee, as they hadn’t had a family shoot before.  I drove up to Mooloolaba and took the shots near the marina where the beach setting is just beautiful. I went for as much shade as possible due to the sun still being very high in the sky for that time of the afternoon.

It was only a week earlier that I meet Dee and the girls Jamima (5 years) and Mia (12 months) at my nephew’s birthday party.  I got to take some pic’s at the birthday party and got to experience trying to capture Mia on the go – she is a very bright eyed and bushy tailed gorgeous blue eyed girl and was full of life at the party and for this shoot.

I must say that I do enjoy the challenge that children sometimes give as photos are not always the funnest of things that they want to do and for little Mia teething and having no sleep didn’t help with her wanting to stay still for too long. In saying this, we still managed to get some great photos of the kids at the  beach and at their best.

Getting to use the sun setting was a highlight and I used it to my advantage. I even got to surprise Gabe and Dee by dropping a bomb on them by telling them that they will be getting wet in some of their pics, I think it was about then that Dee panicked a little about the shoot – but we got things under way and the shoot turned out great.

Naturally we started with shooting some of the dry pics and then after a bit jumped into the cold water, we certainly got the attention of some of the people walking by as Gabe and Dee were entering the water fully clothed. With the sun starting to drop it was starting to shape up for a photo shoot for them to remember, waves were crashing in and Gabe & Dee were slowly getting lower and lower into the water, WOW what a back drop.

I thoroughly enjoyed this shoot, it was a lot of fun and definately got some great shots. Thank – you to Amber and Bren for arranging the gift and shoot for Dee & Gabe.

 A big thank you to Gabe & Dee for just going with the flow and trying something different.

Hope you all enjoy the pics – sneak preview below.

Dean & Amy – Wedding

Dean and I have known each other for a number of years through playing cricket together. Dean has done a bit of travel and this is how he met Amy, after some time Amy moved to Australia and their relationship has just grown and now being celebrated with marriage.

I did their engagement shoot at Springfield lakes back in November of 2008 and was so looking forward to photographing their wedding. Their wedding was at the sunshine coast at Mooloolaba which is always beautiful and I love the idea of such diverse locations that are available with beach shots.

I first meet up with Dean and the guys at the Mooloolaba surf club, this was nice and casual for the guys as we found a trolley and used them as some wickets whilst the guys gathered round and had a hit and some fun with playing a bit of cricket. People walking past weren’t too sure what was happening but we had fun and got some great shots before the formalities of getting ready kicked in. It was quite entertaining watching faces of those walking by whilst they were playing some very different back yard cricket out in public areas.

After spending some time with the guys and getting some great pics I headed off to Amy and the girls at the Peninsular beach front resort. This was a great venue with plenty of light, having light when a bride is getting ready is a treat and gives that angelic feel to such a sentimental and important part of the day.

Amy had her family over from England so not only was Amy shinning due to the excitement of having family travel and be with her on her wedding day but the day was only beginning and you could just see that the best part of the day was still to come with meeting Dean at the other end and you could just see that she couldn’t wait to see Dean and get married.

I got some stunning shots of Amy getting ready and with her bridesmaids and then had to quickly move onto to the lovely Arkwright point to meet Dean and his guests where everyone was eager to see Amy arrive. Dean was looking a little nervous by the time I got back but I think he did ok thanks to his groomsmen I am sure.

The ceremony was very nice and of course having the sun just breaking through the trees was perfect. After the ceremony time and light was running out very quickly, so it was a bit of a rush to get moving and get some shots in before we lost all our light. We made the most of the beach whist there. Dean and Amy even had the wonders of nature be a part of their celebrations as they had some breaching wales approx. 800 metres off shore whilst we were doing some pics – just a gorgerous thing to witness on such a special day.

Dean & Amy had checked out a few places before their big day so they knew where they wanted some of their pics, we headed off to Mount Coolum to the board walk and got to capture some great formal shots. Dean and Amy were happy for me to play a little and I felt as though my creative flair got to get out and play for a bit, so I was able to play with lighting around the Wharf area and I liked having the board walk lights in the background.

After finishing with the formal pics we headed off to the reception which was held at the Mooloolaba Surf life saving club. The surf club surprised me a little as it is a venue that definately is of high standards, it was very proffessional in its presentation and I would highly recommend it if you are getting married up that way.

Thank you Dean & Amy for letting me (Richard Faulks Photography) to be a part of your special wedding day. I had a blast and it was great to see both of you shinning on your big day. I hope to catch up again soon, thanks again and enjoy your pics.

Johnson’s Family portraits

Back in January I  did some baby belly shots of Dik and Jacinta. Now their not so little Mitchell is growing fast and it was time to update and do some family pics for them.

We meet up at the Rocks Riverside Park to do some very casual and playing shots of Mitchell, they are a very casual and relaxed family so this sort of location and styles of photos were just perfect. Being that Dik and I have been friends for around 22 years it was also a good excuse to catch up at the same time.

Mitchell is a very contented little man and it is very obvious that he is spoilt with lots of love, he is such a gorgeous boy and when he smiles and giggles he screws up his face and just does some gorgeous expressions.

Thanks guys for again letting me take some pics of your beautiful family, enjoy.

Family Portraits

It is that time of year again where families like to update their photos for themselves as well as be gifts for friends and families. You may recognise Tim and Hailee  as we have done a number of shoots for them now with their beautiful growing family.

Here is some pic’s from their latest shoot, thanks again guys and to all who receive a chrissy card or gift from them we also hope you enjoy their photos.

Adam & Lauren – Wedding

Adam and Lauren were living in Canberra at the time they first contacted me, I was stoked firstly because people from Canberra wanted me to shoot their wedding and secondly their wedding was going to be in Maleny which is just prime location for a wedding.

I got to do some work with these guys when I did their engagement  shoot back in March 2009 at the Noosa Headland. Adam like many other of my grooms was not real keen of the camera and out of ear shoot of Lauren mentioned that he was not good with photos. This was not true and it has proven to be incorrect as you will see below Adam and the guys worked well with the camera and we got some great shots. I was also very lucky to have a second shooter on board with me today, Teel Wade from Bundaberg decided to make the big trip down to have some fun and experience as my second shooter.

Well the big day kicked off with Adam and the guys getting ready at Tranquil park resort, needless to say anywhere in Maleny is beautiful but this place has gorgeous views and is just so inviting. After some time with the guys and few giggles I moved over to Lauren where she was at her parents place getting ready. Lauren’s parents place was even more of a treat, 70 acres located in the Maleny Hinterland, as soon as I drove through the gates their property had all the scenic attributes you could ever want as a photographer.

Lauren and the girls were in the middle of getting their hair and make up done when I arrived, this gave me plenty of time to play and capture some of the finer details of the day. Lauren’s Mum and Dad’s house was also lovely and perfect for the land surrounding it. Lauren was relaxed with the camera and worked it well, time at the house went pretty quick and before I knew it I was off again to the guys to capture some more of Adam arriving at the ceremony location and before the ceremony kicked off.

The ceremony back drop was the hills with Fig-Trees and the sun breaking through the leaves, more than picturesque is all I can say. During the ceremony one of Lauren’s bridesmaids, Rebecca sang a wonderful song and all I could see was Adam and Lauren looking at each other with so much love.

Once the ceremony was finished and everyone had shared in their congratulations we moved into the formal photos moving around the awesome maleny property. Lauren’s flower girl Georgia also did a fantastic job, as it was a huge day for her.

I took advantage of the light disappearing and snuck the newly weds away during the reception to utilise the huge fig trees, they looked fantastic lit up and the trees made a fantastic back drop.

Adam & Lauren thank you very much for having me along to capture your big day, a fabulous day with fantastic people unbelievable surroundings and natural back drops, what more could I ask for – Thanks again so much.

Also a big thank you to Teel also for coming down from Bundaberg to help out as second shooter, your help was greatly appreciated and it made the day so much easier.

Paul & Kelly – Yeppoon Wedding

I had been looking forward to this wedding for a while, this was my first big travel for a wedding and I had been to Rockhampton before but not Yeppoon. It is nice to know that there are local couples wanting me to photograph their wedding day, but it is another thing to travel to North Queensland to capture a wedding.

Paul & Kelly invited me to Yeppoon for their special day, these guys actually arranged all their wedding plans from Victoria and it all came together for them perfectly.

I meet up with Paul, the groom of the day and his best mates Fez and Chef. Paul has been friends with these guys for years and you could tell that these guys were good friends. We went out onto the Marina to take some shots of the guys before heading over to Kelly. The marina was great with plenty of boats and yachts around. i managed to knock one of my lens hoods (the part that keeps the sun off the lens) of my camera and it fell into the water. I didn’t bother trying to catch it or go after it as I knew as it touched the water that it was gone, but Brett (AKA Chef) tried desperately to save it by rushing to the water edge on the jetty falling to his knees throwing his arm and whole shoulder into the water trying to reach for it. To no avail it was now soon to be a new home for Nemo.

After some pics with the guys I headed over to see Kelly at her parents house, her parents live on a 30 acre property 5 km’s out of town and it was just beautiful and a perfect set up for a wedding. When I first arrived and laided eyes on their property I knew that their wedding day was going to be special and with views to the bay and beauty surrounding in every horizon it was brilliant for me with taking the photos.

Kelly’s parents have recently had some major renovations done on the house prior to the big day, so over the day I heard plenty of compliments about the changes, the place was just gorgeous.

Kelly arrived back from the hairdressers and looked sensational, as final touches were being done with the make up I was taking the opportunity to do some creative shots. Kelly was just stunning and looked like a magazine bride and probably the most relaxed and calmest bride I have ever photographed. Having her family around her helped I think as they appeared to be very relaxed people also.

Cynthia Mooney was their celebrant, I have worked with a number of celebrants now and Cynthia was very calm, warming and gave a beautiful service. After the ceremony and all the congratulations from friends and family, I moved Paul and Kelly onto the start of their formal pictures taking them around the property and utilising some of the wonders of the acreage.  After some time on the property we ventured down to the local beach, Lammermoor beach to capture a few beach shots, we were limited with time so we didn’t get to spend too long at the beach.

The reception was at the Roslyn bay Inn, as part of the reception Kelly had arranged a singing telegram from her theatre group that she has been a part of to sing and entertain Paul, it was very funny as the singing telegram was a male dressed as a long lost bride and singing lines such as why have you left me to Paul. It was entertaining, well done Kelly.

It is very clear that Paul and Kelly have some very close friends and family. When they were announced as Mr & Mrs Ruiz their guests applauded so loud and for at least 2 to 3 minutes it was a very proud moment I think for many people at the reception.

A big thank you to the McCosker family for your kind hospitality and allowing me to stay at your lovely house I had a great time at the wedding. Thank you to Paul and Kelly for having me along to photograph your special day, I hope that you enjoyed the big breakfast with your family and friends as I flew out and I hope that you got to enjoy and relax on your honey moon.

Monique’s Baby Belly pics

Monique and Adam wanted to capture their soon to be addition in way of getting some baby belly pics done, initially Monique didn’t want to do the photos in her house as she didn’t think there was much there to work with and enough room.

After a number of suggestions and ideas Monique decided to give it a go and I think both Adam and Monique were surprised with what we were able to work with and what pictures were captured.

Monique is about 35 weeks pregnant when we did these pics and as you can see is glowing full of pregnancy and beauty. Adam was relaxed and both were happy to do whatever I suggested.

I liked how I got to play with lighting, both artificial and natural – I enjoyed this baby shoot and love the pics. Good Luck with the up and coming weeks Monique and Adam and hope that your new bub brings you much happiness and joy. Thanks for letting me capture this special moment in your lives and look forward to hearing about the news of your new little person venturing into your world.

Anthony & Kelly – Wedding

I knew that when I had my meeting with Anthony and Kelly and looked at some of the locations they were going to utilise for their wedding, the settings were going to be fantastic for photos.

Plans didn’t go to plan a week or two before the wedding as they did get stuffed around with their hire cars, the company ended up double booking them with their cars and they ended up having to pay the higher price to have other cars for the day due to the short notice and stuff up from the other car company – this did end up ok for them in the end!!

Anthony and Kelly were referred to me by Lisa and Richard Grund, as Anthony is Lisa’s brother.

The big wedding day was the 18th of September 2009 and when I turned up on the day to Cedar Creek lodge, Thunderbird park where Kelly was getting ready I soon realised that I actually knew her Father, Ian. I had worked at Investment castings back in 1993 and Ian was one of my bosses then.  Cedar Creek lodge was a beautiful location, the rooms were very tiny and a challenge to work with, but we managed to get some great shots of Kelly in preparation of her big day.

Kelly was a little stressed as her makeup lady did not turn up, so Kelly’s sister who was also a bridesmaid kicked in and helped Kelly out and did a fantastic job of getting her ready on time. Kelly also did well to keep herself composed and together whilst all of this was unfolding.

When I caught up with Anthony he was chilling with the boys at the Avolon Gardens (Mt Tamborine). This was the first time that I have shot at this location and my word I do hope that I get back there one day soon as it is a very nice location.

These guys had a 3pm wedding and the ceremony location was just fantastic, being up in the mountains we lost light a little quicker than expected, so unfortunately we had to move quickly through the formal photos. The reception was back at the cedar creek lodge in Thunderbird park. Before arriving back to the reception we ducked over to an old rustic shed that was at the same location, in doing this we got to excite and entertain some of the local campers when Anthony and Kelly were walking along the camping paths.

The reception was an outdoor venue, so with great weather and pictureque settings it was a perfect way to end an already close to perfect day for Anthony and Kelly.

A big Thank you to Lisa and Richard Grund for their now 2nd referral for weddings, have you recieved your bottle of Zibibbo yet for this one?

Thank you to Anthony and Kelly for having me shoot your beautiful wedding, I hope that you enjoyed your honeymoon and enjoy your pics, catch up with you both soon.