Carey’s Bay Hotel

Stu and I went for a lovely Sunday drive last year to the wonderful Carey’s Bay Hotel. All their delicious seafood is locally caught and even comes in right off the boats in front of the restaurant! Such a great place to go for a day out, – and their Seafood Platter is to die for! Thanks Jo & co for a lovely afternoon.

My beautiful friend Chloe

I just couldn’t resist putting up these spontaneous shots of Chloe that I took in a pool of gorgeous natural light last month. She just looks so beautiful! Being one of my best mates, Chloe has been dragged in front of my lens many times, always a faithful model! So I hope this gives her a nice surprise when she wakes up in London in a few hours time xx

Isabel’s Graduation & Family Portraits

Toward the end of last year I photographed one of my previous client’s graduations.

Being her second graduation, Isabel wasn’t that bothered about many shots – so we turned it into an opportunity to get some lovely family photos while they were all together.

Every time I photograph this family, it’s such a fun experience. Along with hilarious confusions between Isabel and I’s names (leaving me thinking that Isabel’s Dad was teasing me, when of course he was teasing her!), they bring out their huge smiles everytime, and I end up with so many good shots it ridiculous. Not even a blink out of any of them!

Some people are just pros!

Relish at the Mercure Hotel

Bit late on this one, what with the business of Christmas and all!

Hope you all had a lovely break away, and that  you got one at all!

I’m feeling slightly more refreshed after an amazing trip to Central Otago, so nice to be able to swim every day, and the weather was just perfect! Topped off by a few trips to some wineries and a fun trip up the Dart River with Dart River Safaris – which I can totally recommend! We live in such a gorgeous country.

I’m busy updating all my pricelists for 2012, and designing a new website – nice to finally have a bit of time to sort these things out before Polytech and Tourism Dunedin start up again for the year…..and the madness continues!

If you’d like to see my Portrait and Wedding Pricelists for 2012, head to the ‘About’ tab above and send me an email – I’ll get one to you quicksmart.

Other than that, Happy New Year and hope all your resolutions come true!

x Bella

Sam & Lauren’s Gorgeous Vintage Wedding!

A few weeks ago, I traveled up to Christchurch for a Vintage themed wedding.

Sam & Lauren (and baby Max), – who are both really into photography – were keen on some casual doco shots of their day, and I’d been told there was to be no cheese under any circumstances! Which of course is preferable to me!

Lauren had spent the past year making, gathering and sewing all the little details of her wedding, and was keen for her photos to fit the theme.

I have to say, this was the most amazing wedding I’ve ever shot – every single little detail was perfect, from the amazing Venue (Valley of Peace) to the table settings, and the people. Shooting was a whole heap of fun with these guys, and I had a hilarious day!

Lauren is starting a wedding hire business – so keep a look out for her amazing creations – I’ll post a link once she’s got her website sorted.

Have a great Xmas and New Year everyone! Swim & drive safe!!

xx Bella

Madly British

First stop on our journey around Dunedin’s restaurants was Madly British.

I ate so much here I could hardly move….portion sizes are very generous and it was too yummy not to eat!

For Stu Todd’s story on Madly British – Head to Dunedin NZ, or check this week’s D-Scene!

52 Restaurants in 52 Weeks

Back in July, I was approached by Tourism Dunedin to shoot a project that I just couldn’t resist.

Who would say no to photographing 52 restaurants in 52 weeks? Not me!

So, Stu Todd of Masterchef fame and I set out on an amazing culinary journey around the restaurants of Dunedin, and sampled some incredible food in the process.

Look out for our weekly food section in D-Scene, starting with next weeks issue on Tuesday, and keep an eye on my website for weekly images from each restaurant!

Happy eating! xxB

Summer days…..

It’s slowly beginning to feel like the weather is changing here in Dunedin. Although I say this as the wind is howling down the side of my house into my drafty studio. Yesterday it knocked over my 10 foot high cactus, that has been standing for 20 years. So it’s safe to say that these winds are some of the worst we’ve seen in recent years!

Last week though, it finally got warm enough to start shooting some kids outdoors, rather than being all rugged up inside. My first booking of the summer season was for another Photographer, who was wanting some family photos (can’t take them yourself when you’re a photographer!). I have to admit, I was rather nervous at the prospect of shooting for another photographer, – but after discovering that the wee one absolutely LOVED being in front of a camera (heaps of practice I’m sure!), it was a breeze. We took advantage of the lovely state of the Gardens at this time of year, and found some long grass to run around in. Here’s a few images from our fun morning.

After a long week shooting a wedding in Chch, and commercial stuff in Auckland – I’m exhausted! No sign of a weekend either with 4 shoots + 16 shoots to be processed….. lucky for me, my lovely house husband is back from the UK and has taken over all of the cooking and cleaning….so I’m not complaining too much!

Here’s to the end of this wind and some more warm weather!

A whole lotta Billboards…

Some of the past few years of my work for Otago Polytechnic has been plastered around the campus lately, on backs of buses, and down on Andy Bay Road. I love it when I spot a new one, gives me a kick every time!

Here’s a few snapshots, for those of you who are interested in what I do in the 95% of the time I’m not shooting families and babies!

I’m waiting on a few ok’s to put up a lot more commercial work, so keep an eye out! And there will be a sneak peek of the 52 Restaurants Project with Stu Todd shortly….nom nom nom……..

Women in Trades Campaign 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I’ve been working on this great initiative for the past few weeks – Otago Polytechnic’s drive to get women into trade careers. There are so many amazing women out there who are ruling it in the fields that are normally dominated by men, and we decided it was time to show them off!

After the Chch earthquake, there is a major need for people in all trades for the rebuild. This campaign has been designed to encourage women to take advantage of the great opportunities out there, and great pay! Not to mention, highly interesting and rewarding careers.

Here’s a few screen grabs of the campaign, if you haven’t come across it in real life.

And don’t worry, there’s going to be a Men in Trades campaign too in the not-too-distant future!

If you’re interested in studying a trade, head over to Otago Polytechnic and get some more info!