so we drove down to Parachute Festival on sunday to spend time with friends and catch Casting Crowns and some other bands in the evening concert performance. here’s a few of my shots from the night – lots more on facebook of Casting Crowns if you’re interested

sunsets are beautiful, aren’t they? partly because of the vibrant colours and ever-changing display – and partly i think because they are only with us for a short moment and then they are gone. why am i talking about sunsets?

brie the golden lab has had a sad life until recently: tied up unloved and unable to walk in a yard for several years. now she is in her sunset years, only with us for a while longer – and she has been fortunate to be rescued and fostered by Animal Rehoming, which means recovering health, fun, companionship, and love.

and she is beautiful. who can argue with a sunset?

to help Animal Rehoming with their mission, donate towards their vet bills or become a foster carer. www.animalrehoming.co.nz

…and thanks to RCR Cat Rescue and kind people sharing posts like this online, they will get good homes and have happy lives. there are 19 kittens here but she currently has 20… one kitten decided to remain invisible throughout the shoot. while i do have a certain level of skill & proficiency when it comes to pet photos, i still have the annoying limitation of needing to be able to see the animal

if you wish to donate to help Raewyn out, she gratefully accepts good quality kitten & cat food, cat litter, and financial support towards vet expenses & care.

i posted the sneak peek so long ago that i’ll share it again here:

alice was such a peaceful baby – but in common with most of mine, she didn’t get sleepy during her session! so we got lots of lovely awake pictures with huge gorgeous eyes – and the funniest expressions too…

i just loved her in this shot but i thought for the internet i would give her a little bit of modesty

a shoot and a big shout-out here to my lovely friend Michelle Hala and her new business. Happy Tummy has been created to provide kids (and grown-ups) who have food intolerances with tasty and attractive allergy-free options for snacks and lunchboxes. you don’t need nuts and gluten to enjoy a special yummy treat – as these kids below have proved!

some of the kids who joined in the hands-on cooking session have allergies and some don’t, but all agreed (and so did we) that the treats were tasty and the baked items easy to make. here’s a couple of pics from Michelle’s very popular shoot…

do you know someone who would really love to have a beautiful professional family photo shoot AND all their images on disc to keep for Christmas this year – but could never afford it?

well this could be their lucky year, because i will be giving away two Christmas gift sessions including photos this year to two deserving (Auckland-based) families, and all you have to do to suggest your friend’s family is send me an email with a brief description about who they are and why you believe they should receive one

photo(AT)availablelight.co.nz (i will choose the winners just before Christmas Day)

so let’s see these stories people – make it REALLY hard for me to choose and do something lovely for your friends!

ok – i think the heat might be getting to me, because i have decided to give away multiple Queensberry Press Albums worth over $1,200 each to my portrait session clients this summer! to find out how you can win one, check out my specials page

Queensberry is a top of the line industry-standard international album supplier – and they are based right here in NZ which i love, cos i’m all about supporting the locals. so, to celebrate the release of their new range of beautiful Press Albums, i have decided to really get the word out there and offer these for FREE to every winner.

…don’t you want to be one?

here’s some of my faves from the red riding hood styled shoot which i shared with Paula from Second Nature Photography some of the kids are hers, and some belong to her friend – but they all went home in a mess except for wee red riding hood! such a fun shoot though; surely every family needs photos like these to remember their kids’ silly days, when they are all grown up & serious?

sneak peeks here and here (two photos)

and now: the rest…

my friend Paula

july! woops – i better get blogging more often lol. ok – this was such a fun session to shoot. it was the dad’s birthday, and his gorgeous wife decided to treat him to a surprise: a full-on stunt plane flight down at ardmore aerodrome! so i headed down early in the morning to shoot the before and after – and then we stayed for fun family photos with their two children. the light was AH-MAY-ZING (sorry about that, won’t do it again) and it really was just a joy to shoot. right – photos!

here’s one of my faves, which was also the sneak peek…

now – a little storytelling, before the portraits:

waiting (and waiting) for the flight – very patiently

resident of the aero club

nervously getting in the plane with parachute on

takeoff! with mixed reactions… mason really wanted to go

dad’s back! safe and sound (and relieved)

and now for some faves from the shoot… just look at this stunningly photogenic family

just one quick photo for now – this one makes me laugh! what great personalities