If you have ever been to Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape (also known as Seal Point)  you will know exactly what i mean by the next sentence.

Seals has a particular smell!

It smells of Fynbos, raw landscapes, salty sea air, wind, surfboard wax and happiness! Its smell sends tingles through my soul similar to those that envelope me when I walk into an ancient church or temple.

The peace that I find in Seals is exactly what I needed to calm my nerves after a very busy 2010. I didn’t take as many photos as I usually do …. but here we go. Have a peak at my special place ….. now our special place (Stu loved it!!!!)

View full post »

I have already featured Part One of Tarryn and Jacques’ special day which included all the bridal and groom preparation as well as their service. Todays post will feature all the fun bits.

Before I get onto uploading the pics I just want to give a bit shout out to Bo and Lindy from La Bola who were the wedding planners for this whole big bash. Not so long ago I photographed Bo and Ryan’s big day, Bo loved planning her own wedding so much that she decided to make wedding planning her business and joined forces with Lindy to create La Bola! The words: “This wedding is just so Tarryn and Jacques” floated around the reception area constantly . I really do commend these two girls as they took Tarryn and Jacques dreams and ideas and made them a reality. I also want to credit and thank my brother in law Tyrone Bradley who is a brilliant photographer for doing all the table shots for me. In this case I really couldn’t be in two places at the time so Ty came to my rescue.

To Tarryn and Jacques …. I wish you both a lifetime full of joy and happiness. Looking forward to our next meeting!

View full post »

Sometimes I get so engrossed in work that I forget to actually LIVE, taking photos (as opposed to editing them)  really forces me into the moment. A while back I made a pledge to take pics of my everyday life to ground myself.I decided then to do a monthly post featuring my house, my life … my now! I am officially on holiday for a couple of weeks starting tomorrow so I thought it best to get Januarys post up before we head off. So here we have it, some more photos from our wonderful Umdloti cottage and the special folk I share it with. PS How delicious is our freshly painted Indigo Mexican Frieda Khalo inspired verandah wall in this first pic!!??? Yuuuummmmmmm!

View full post »

It feels like just yesterday that I was doing an engagement shoot for Tarryn and Jacques, and now they are officially Mr and Mrs de Kock! Yaaaay! I know I am repeating myself but I love doing engagement shoots as i get to know my couples. And I knew from the get go that: no1 the photography was extremely important to both of them, no 2 that Tarryn would be very nervous, no 3 that they would have a big party on the night.

A week before the wedding we all met at the church to go through everything, Tarryn was all nerves and very stressed and I tried to placate her by saying “nothing else really matters except whether you are marrying the right person”. She smiled from the inside and beamed “Of course Jacki there is no doubt about that!”

Perfect answer!

This was my last wedding of 2010, and what a wedding it was!!! Thanks so much for picking me.

I am going to be doing this wedding in two posts … so here we go with part one!

View full post »

Gary and Mary live in London and were out for a quick visit to see family and sort out wedding stuff. They also threw in a quick jaunt to Mozambique and an engagement shoot! I love doing engagement shoots as it really gives me the chance to get to know my couples, and what a pleasure it’s been getting to know these two!

When we first sat down to discuss our shoot we planned to use all sorts of props and locations but these all fell by the wayside on the actual day. Our first appointment was canceled due to torrential rain (goodness me Durbs has been hectic on the rain front!) The next day it poured too, and the shoot almost wasn’t going to happen as they were due to fly back to London. On the day they had to leave Durbs the weather report predicted sun so we slotted in a quick early morning session. Mary specifically wanted to shoot at the Umhlanga lighthouse as it has special meaning to her so we all met there at 5.30am ready for some fun … and guess what … the heavens opened up again as we got there! Luckily the Oyster Box Hotel was kind enough to take us in for some extremely early morning coffee while we waited out the squall.

Eventually the sun came out and we all went back down to the beach. Whilst photographing Mary and Gary I realised that we didn’t need props or anything fancy …. their sweetness and obvious affection for each other, along with some beautiful scenery, the seaside which they love, some splashes of red and the summer sun was all I needed to visually talk about this very gorgeous couple. I am so excited to photograph their wedding this year as there is a farm involved (and they’re awesome too!) It’s still a long wait though …. they will be getting married in December. Hope you guys aren’t too cold back in London! Much love to you both.

View full post »

I have never been much of a new years resolution person but I strongly believe that if you think about something, talk about something and tell the world about something … this something has a funny way of happening!  A couple of years ago I was tearing my hair out about how on earth I would afford the upgrade of equipment that I needed. I kept thinking about my new camera and lenses, talking about it and seeing it in my mind. Next thing you know, Top Billing called me to ask whether they could profile me on their TV show and suddenly I was zipping round the country doing workshops … and before I knew it … I was calling ORMS and ordering my gear!!! Last year I also spent alot of time moaning about how I needed a new car! Next thing you know mine was stolen and I had to buy a new car!

2011 is now here and I have been thinking of how I am going to take better care of myself and my body and of how I am going to be kinder to myself.

I have also been thinking about how I am going to get fit for our family surfing holiday to Madagascar in July!!! (yaaaay)

How I can be a better photographer and business person without killing the rest of me.

I also want to make some art and win the lottery so we can buy our house.

Now that I have told you I am sure it will all happen! Heh heh

This pic of me surfing in Lombok Indonesia was taken by Trevor Lowe 2 years ago.