little mrs emma

We did it.

We're married.

Happily.

Finally.

Exhausted.

We are packing up Brindabella as I type, in an empty study, just my computer left. Surrounded by boxes and packing tape and newspaper and bubble-wrap. The moving truck comes tomorrow. And then we hit the road on the weekend. Just each other. The husband and the wife, chasing the sun and our dreams and our unknown future.

I will check back in soon, promise xxx

Image by Louise Buma for sunny + scout photography

it's beginning to look a lot like...

...Christmas!!!

As you may or may not know, I am a lover of all things Christmas. Give me some baubles, some ribbon to wrap up gifts and some carols to sway along to and I am one happy little elf.

This year I am putting my graphic design and photography skills to the test forefront with a series of custom Christmas cards available to order with your own images and supplied as a digital file. This way you can print as many as you like as a 6 x 4 inch (standard size) photo and send them all off with sprinklings of merriment and good cheer to your loved ones this Chrissy! A custom digital Christmas card to do with as you please (print it, email it, homing pigeon?) will set you back $26.00.

If you don't have any recent photos you think perfectly fitting for Christmas cards, that's ok too. I am offering a Christmas special portraiture shoot fee of $240, which includes a CD chock-a-block full of high resolution images and your personalised custom Christmas card to boot. (Usually my portraiture sitting fee with a full CD is $300). 

You can head over to my photography website or my facebook page to find out more.

So what are you waiting for - which one's your favourite? I'd love to hear...

wordless wednesday: you are my sunshine

Playing along with Faith, Hope and a whole lotta Love.

Image by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella

oh snap

What???

Doesn't everyone carry a humungus camera with them to bring in the washing?

No?

Ok.
Just me.

Image by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella

new digs

After many a late night fiddling about with margins and slideshows and fonts and cropping and re-sizing and culling and adjustment...well you get the picture - I am very proud (and relieved) to present my new website for Emma Durkin Photographics...

Pop over to have a squiz, I am not quite finished yet as I'd like to add some of my landscapes, more family sessions as well as a few weddings I've done plus some new additions to The Lifestyle Collection.

The hardest part? Writing the 'About Me' page. Self promotion? Cringe.

I am available for bookings on all days ending in 'y' so drop me a line if you like what you see :)

Screen capture of www.emmadurkinphotographics.com.au

simple pleasures

Last night Mr M was working late, he called me from the tractor to ask if I could give the dogs a bit of a run around as this is usually his job and he wouldn't be home before dark to do it. I usually potter about with him doing outside jobs whilst the hounds bound about the garden and the surrounding paddock, Pippa generally making a nuisance of herself. Problem is that if Pippa gets a scent or hears a far away barking dog, bleating lamb or mooing steer she takes of like a bat out of hell after it, over the horizon and never to be seen again. Well, a lot of yelling, whistling and stock whip cracking by Mr M usually does the trick, but she rarely listens to me, so I had a little discussion with her about this and told her that there was to be no funny business. Her attention span is, lets just say...lacking.

To keep her entertained I stayed outside to 'supervise' at all times. I had washed some sheets that morning so needed to get them in off the line, it was just on sunset and the light was absolutely streaming in from the west across the dam, through the gum trees and onto our washing line next to the shed. Sometimes the simplest of ogjects and tasks can make the most beautiful images.

The light was absolutely begging me to walk the extra few hundred metres down to the gum trees and edge of the dam, another excuse to keep the dogs entertained whilst I was 'babysitting' them. Sometimes I really miss our outlook from the cottage, but last night was magic of a Thorpdale variety with the smell of 'spud dust' in the air and hum of nearby potato harvesters.

Thorpy.

Home.

 

Hounds entertained, Emma's shutter finger satisfied for the night, sheets dry, dogs fed and dinner in the oven. Come on Pip, let's go home.

diddly dee: getting in early

As part of the Blogging Your Way e-course which I am taking part of this month, the lovely and uber-talented Leslie has been giving us some pointers on photography, styling and building colour stories. I have been playing around in my makeshift studio (read: my Ikea table next to my sewing room window), bouncing light around and screwing my studio photographer's head back on after a long hiatus. 

From this little Catholic potato farmer of Irish descent - oh the cliche - I wish you all a very hearty, merry, jiggy and jolly St Patty's day for tomorrow. I will be wearing my leprechaun earrings like I have been for the past 20 years on the 17th of March (yes those earrings are that old, I did get my ears pierced when I was 4 and I have re-possessed the little green men off my mum) and my 'Kiss Me I'm Irish!!' badge. Diddly dee indeed! Now where's the green Guinness...

the day i got my groove back

Today was the day. Definitely. Returned to sender day. After about seventeen (okay maybe not that many, but a lot) of phone calls between myself and our local 'reliable' camera/phone/electrical shop I finally got my baby back into my hot little hands. 

You see on the 28th of January I took my poor, yet beloved, Canon EOS 30D into said shop and asked if they do professional cleaning. My photos were coming out incredibly dirty, not even a bit of stuff on the lens, more like an entire possum family had taken up residence inside the camera and were depositing bits of fur and gunk all over the show. Yukky. With a wedding coming up I knew I had to act fast. Three weeks they said. Hmm I think, ok it's either that or wait until I'm going to Melbourne next to go to a place that does it on the spot, which would be after three weeks anyway. I hand over my baby. 

Four weeks comes and goes with no response from camera/phone/electrical shop. Turns out it's three weeks before they even get a response as to whether they will be able to do the job or not! Then finally this week they said it would be ready Wednesday, no Thursday, definitely Thursday. I picked her (him?) up this morning and all is well in my little world again. Phew. 

I can't begin to describe how naked and lost I felt without my camera. It was so weird. Everywhere I turned I was like 'Oh no...no camera...hmmm' Really made me realise how much I rely on my photography as a creative outlet, as I have been feeling totally drained and in a rut. It has definitely made me feel better about the fact I often feel guilty I don't shoot enough - I see now I actually do, and I won't take having a lovely camera at hand for granted any more. Promise.

Welcome home baby :)

{ images by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella }

wordless wednesday: spuds from the air

Playing along with Faith, Hope and a whole lotta Love

engaged - part deux

Welcome back to the never-ending bombardment of photos of myself! Well and Mr M. It all seems a bit self-indulgent doesn't it, but I just love these images so much. Mr M was so skeptical about all this engagement photography business, I explained to him that they weren't photos of us, but they were photos of us, can you just see his confused look?! But that is exactly how the photos turned out - no thanks to Louise who was the perfect combination of relaxed friend and professional photographer, totally making us feel at ease and making us shine :)

Enjoy!



All images copyright of sunny + scout photography. Please do not use or take these photographs without asking either myself or Louise first.

engaged - part une

I was originally undecided as to whether we would do an engagement photo session. Mr M's theory was that we would be putting our wedding photos on the wall - what do we want more photos for? I tended to agree, until I saw these and conjured up all sorts of ideas, props to collect and shots I could create. Plus I thought it might help the uber-shy Mr M be comfortable in front of a camera.

So I asked the lovely Lou if she would like to take some photos of us in all our loved up glory (I know, almost four months after we got engaged but better late than never!) I do kind of wish we had organised something earlier as we did live in a lovely bubble for awhile after Mr M popped the question, but life got in the way, moving, new house, new jobs yadda yadda yadda...

A few weeks ago now Lou (along with her super-nice hubby Jacob and gorgeous children Sunny and Scout) swung past Brindabella on their way to Melbourne. I had all my props ready to go - my picnic basket, my Laura Ashley blanket, my wrought iron book ends, my growing collection of cloth and leather bound vintage books, Mr M's dad's milk bottle plus my Queen Anne dressing table (ebay baby!) and a chair we found in the shed when we moved into the ramshackle farmhouse. Lou kindly donated her vintage camera for the occassion in a nod to my photography as well as an apple in a nod to our farming lifestyle which I tied a luggage tag, stamped using my stamp set, similar to our engagement invitations. I was stoked to find the 'Armed With Love' book a few days before the shoot in a local op shop. 

We are beyond in love with our photos, they are exactly what I had envisaged: casual, relaxed, country, beautiful light, props, wide open space, long dry grass and us in our home. So in love with them am I that I couldn't possibly bombard you in one day with all the eye candy! Pop back in tomorrow for round two.

All photos copyright of sunny + scout photography. Please do not copy or use without asking either myself or Louise first.

wordless wednesday: sneak peek

Head to Faith, Hope and a whole lotta Love to see more Wordless Wednesday's.

wide open spaces

Amanda over at Calico & Co. is going to attempt to do one thing off a list of 55 things this year. One which appealed to me was to write a favourite scripture on your mirror. I want to get one of those chalkboard white thick pens to do that to my mirror which is standing upright in our bedroom (remember it used to be above our mantlepiece in the cottage?).  In this case though I thought I'd have a crack at all of those photos you see on flickr and tumblr and weheartit with scripture or quotes. This photo really resonated with me, and my favourite verse from Jeremiah seemed fitting.

 

Between Christmas and New Year we headed north. A whole five hour drive north now we live way down here. Our friends up in the Mallee were (still are) harvesting their wheat crop, and Mr M loves nothing more than to jump in the header for hours on end. Crazy much?! Grass is always greener I say, or in this case the wheat is always calling him and if he sat in a header for too long the green hills and spud dirt back here would be calling him too. I can tell he is already missing his Angus and Charolais of Ythanbrae when so many times he would come storming into the cottage from a bad day in the yards swearing that he hated cattle and wanted to farm sheep.

The beauty of the area around Boort always captures me at this time of year, the wide open plains of cropping and stubble, big skies, glorious sunsets and starry, starry nights. It all seems very Australian and I love it. Tyler and Matt spend all day and basically all night harvesting whilst Kate and I have endless cups of tea, made yummy caramlised bananas, lunches and dinners to pack up and take to the boys out in the paddock. Dinner delivery is at an amazing time of day and I was only too snap happy with the beautiful light.

  

P.S. Notice the new blog header? What do you think? I have a feeling I may just miss my chippy flaky paint on the ramshackle farmhouse when we paint it...

P.P.S. I love the photo of Mr M and his best man Tyler above, working together, mateship.

wordless wednesday: maya

Playing along with Faith, Hope and a whole lotta Love

the start of something big



Freedom #2

Remember way back when (think I few months back) I used to live in the little cottage, on the hills of Ythanbrae, and on weekends I would make yummy yummy coffee and sell pretty art at the gallery? Well we returned to Yea only a week after moving to Brindabella for the opening night of an amazing exhibition. An exhibition by our friend Ben Simpson, an incredible photographer who is the brains behind OGA Design, a rural marketing company which is getting bigger and better and busier than ever! Ben's wife Julia also works in the company as well as being an accomplished silversmith, her works are also available at Gallery 34.

Well, how could Mr M and I walk away from these works of art and not take at least one or two home?! As soon as I saw Freedom #2 I fell in love with the movement, the colouring, the shape and the sheer scale of the canvas. It is definitely going to fill up our lounge room! Mr M couldn't bear to leave without purchasing his favourite Winter Muster #1 also, a beautiful image which captures a moment Mr M loves, mustering cattle in the late afternoon or early morning sun. I told him whenever he has a bad day with livestock to meditate on this photo!



Both pieces are being shipped to us as the exhibition has now closed. I can't wait to hang them in our new home, the first of what will hopefully be a lifelong collection of artwork.

Oh and did I mention Ben has kindly accepted to take the photos at our wedding?! He is perfect for our occasion, with our focus wanting to be on the rural outlook and landscape rather than on us and he is someone we know and trust to make for a relaxing and casual affair.

(Apologies: I can't seem to get Winter Muster image to work - but will have a photo of it soon on our wall hopefully!!)

down on the farm

Good morning :)

Over the weekend I got out and about with my camera again to take some shots of the farms, our growing potatoes and fattening sheep. If you an observant little follower you will see I have updated my tabs up there so you can read all about me, Brindabella, our old home the cottage at Ythanbrae and our wedding.

 

 



I also did a photography job last week of a little blonde cutie, feeling good to get back behind the lens after our move and starting my new job here in the family business, I feel the craziness is somewhat subsiding. Potato harvest will be upon us soon though (will start in January) and we will be busy little bees so am savouring the (short-lived) calm before the storm. The last photo I took just near our house at Brindabella, I love the giant gum trees and looking west over the dam.

Check some other people's weekends out here.

point + shoot

Hello!

I've hit the ground running back from a super busy weekend, on Saturday I had a family portraiture day as a fundraising effort for the Yea Pre-School - seventeen families, forty children (mainly all five and under), eight hours of shooting, very sore feet and a terrible cramp in my camera-holding-hand later and I'm so happy with how the photos turned out...

 

{ Baby Tander } 

 

{ Cheeky Riley }

 

{ Brothers Ethan and Dustin }

Now only 2,400 to sift through just to create some proofs...am chaining myself to my computer for awhile. Must. Not. Be. Distracted. By. Pretty. Blogs. 

 

 { Jordyn and her big brothers }

 

{ Pretty Rose and her exhausted dad Tai! }

How was your weekend? Catch any glimpses of Spring? I'm yet to see many around here but I'm sure it's on the way...Head over here to see some other snaps of Spring.

All images copyright of Emma Durkin Photographics