Cassie and Shaun’s wedding was featured on Once Wed today. Go there for more details.

All images edited with VSCO FILM.

music credit: Where I Found You – Future Islands (iTunes)

In a place that is archaic, exceptionally isolated, surrounded by 130,000 people living under plastic tarpaulins, no running water, no electricity, no food, no shops, no money…nothing….  In a place absent of all life pleasures, I found romance.

I found a man who I would want to spend the rest of my life with.

It was the 1^st of February 2007 …Darfur, Sudan.  The largest refugee camp in the world.

There were 20 expatriate humanitarians living there.  I remember an incident happened in camp where many people were injured and laying on the ground.  We all worked so hard to assist these people throughout the darkness with no light and no water.

I turned around and Gerald was standing there. From the darkness where he had stood for hours observing the carnage, he stepped forward holding a box of Belgium Chocolates.  He wanted to share them with me. We had spoken briefly prior to this of our mutual love of chocolate, such a rare and precious thing in a place like this.

But right there, a lifetime away from the rest of the world, stood a Belgian man oozing of humbleness.

For me the rest was history.

Download audio file (2lc4u2pdkje4jdad2mhs.mp3)

All images edited with VSCO FILM.

Jacqui and I decided to cut back a little bit 2011, but once we reached that decision we already had over 35 weddings booked, many of them interstate and international.

I shot some weddings in Australia before we both traveled together to The Bahamas and Waverly and David’s wedding on Harbour Island. In many ways that wedding was perfect for us. We managed to take some time off and recharge our soul batteries and the wedding and the people we met there were fantastic. From the Bahamas we traveled to Las Vegas for WPPI where I met an overwhelming amount of people. I also shot my friends’ wedding/vow renewal out there and when we flew back to Australia I was pumped for the wedding season to come.

On my way to shoot two of my best friends’ wedding, I received an email from American Photo Magazine. They had named me one of the top ten wedding photographers in the world 2011. In many ways that was actually hard to deal with. What I do, how I approach my weddings and the couples I meet, is so basic, no frills, nothing…special. A “Top Ten In The frrrrrigging WORLD” hat didn’t fit too well with that approach. At least not at first. I soon realised I had to keep doing what I do and not worry about hats. Of any kind.

I kept working and shot some truly wonderful weddings around Australia before Jacqui, Noah, Joel and I packed our bags to go to Europe for the summer there. We started in Italy and there we met Mitra and Fabio. Their wedding and the week we spent with them around Italy will always stay in my heart. I shot more weddings in Europe, some I still haven’t had time to share here, before we said goodbye to my family and traveled back to Australia. We shot Craig and Nina’s wedding in Bali (coming soon) before we took some time off in Ubud. As soon as we got back I had to leave again, this time for a workshop in San Fransisco and later a wedding in New Hampshire.

In a way it’s funny. I’ve hosted a number of workshops and seminars this year and every time I’m done, I see things clearer, I walk away knowing where I want my work to go.

Finally meeting Rachel and Jeff after months and months of communicating was liberating. If you’ve followed me, you already know what shooting their wedding meant to me.

Since then the months have flown past. I’ve had an amazing spring here in Australia and the other day I shot my last wedding of the year – number 48. I also hosted a workshop with my friend Sean. I think we both want to do that again.

I’m tired, but not as emotionally drained as I was last year. I’m already looking forward to 2012. It’s going to be another year of traveling, but that’s something I’ve realised I *need* as much as I enjoy it. Traveling recharges me in so many ways. I’m going to share a wedding or two before the end of the year, but after I’m done with my editing I’m going to enjoy some time off.

My love for weddings and what I do is stronger than ever.

Download audio file (fm2kgzte5mu7109zkyf3.mp3)

I met Jackie and Stephanie at Jimmy’s house in Sydney and I think that was the first time I started to realize these people were famous. There were roadies and PR people walking around the house while I chatted to Stephanie about their upcoming wedding.

Forward to October and I arrive in Bangkok. A driver picks me up and drives me two hours south to the coastal town of Hua Hin. It’s hot and humid. Very, very humid. At this stage we didn’t know Thailand would soon be facing catastrophic floods, we only noticed the weather was relatively shitty.

I met up with Stephanie and Jackie and their families and it felt like any other wedding to be honest. Excited family members, friends and relatives all happy to see each other again.

On the day of the wedding I thought about the fact that there were many celebrities around, but nothing was different compared to other weddings. The fact that one of Jackie’s mates used to be the captain of the Australian National Rugby team made no difference at all. In hindsight it’s pretty funny, because again, I had no clue at all who he was. To me he was just a friend of Jackie’s hanging around, having a laugh and a beer. When I got home my family told me who he was. And Johnny Diesel? He’s uncle Mark to me.

I took a few images of Jimmy that day, partly because the magazine who’d bought the rights to the images asked me to, but mainly because he was the father of the groom. Throughout the day you could see the smile on his face, looking at his son and new daughter-in-law with love in his eyes. The same love I saw when I looked at Stephanie’s dad – proud fathers surrounded by friends and family, sharing a very special day with their kids.

Because at the end of the day, at that very moment, that’s all they were.

Proud fathers.

Sharing a special day with their kids.

And that’s what I set out to capture.

Nothing else matters.

music credit: Matt Corby – Big Eyes (iTunes)