Following your dreams: Amber & The Invisible Photobooth

In Category: ‘Face Value’

January 19, 2012 Following your dreams: Amber & The Invisible Photobooth

I first met Amber last April at a cafe in Mt Eden to discuss her wedding for March 2012 on Waiheke Island. At the time, Amber was working for GHD Hair. She was completely busy, enjoying the job…. but she knew deep down there was something missing. Amber is so inspiring to me. She is a big believer in following your heart and following your dreams because life is too short! Amber had always been interested in photography, but after a friends wedding where she had been asked to do a photo booth, a spark of an idea was born…..which eventually turned into The Invisible Photobooth! I love that Amber is so passionate about what she has created. The Invisible Photobooth was at my cousin Jess & Jedd’s wedding in December and it was SO MUCH FUN! Amber also took Polaroid photographs of everyone to stick into a Guest Book on the night, so people could write little notes by their photos to the bride and groom! So if you want to have a wedding reception that will keep everyone entertained, and also have a fun Guest Book as a keepsake… you have to check out The Invisible Photobooth! Amber, I’m so proud to call you my friend. I cannot WAIT for yours and James’ wedding in March! xxx

I was honoured to take some photos of Amber for her website…

Gorgeous girl.

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October 24, 2011 Face Value: Phillip

I’m back in Melbourne! My time in New Zealand was (as I expected) a whirlwind, but a fantastic one. While in NZ my Mum, sisters and I stayed in Raglan for a few days. I met Phillip whilst walking the black sandy beach. Phillip is from Germany and has been in Raglan for 4 months, he’s there to learn how to surf. I took this picture of him right before he dived into the waves.

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October 18, 2011 FACE VALUE Introducing….Lydia.

Lydia is the second youngest of my 3 sisters. She is in her second year of a Visual Arts degree majoring in Photography at Unitec and is currently flatting in our old house in Auckland. Lydia is an AMAZING help to me, she’s my second shooter and has helped me on about 5 weddings so far – many more coming up this summer, so exciting. I’m spending this week with my sisters and Mum at a CUTE and cosy (studio style…) little 50′s bach in Raglan, love hanging out with them all again. xx

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October 10, 2011 Face Value: Ruth Farah

We had some friends over last night including this gorgeous friend, Ruth. I couldn’t pick just one photo of Ruth, this girl LOVES the camera and I LOVE her for that! Whenever I see Ruth, my stomach hurts from laughing and my mouth aches from smiling so much! She is a joy to be around. Born to an Egyptian mother and Lebanese father, I can tell Ruth loves her family and I know she ADORES her boyfriend of 4 years, Travis. She is a master of accents, and constantly has everyone in fits of laughter. The moment I met her, I felt like we had been friends forever. This girls loves life, lives it to the full and is a true inspiration to be around. xx

PS- I have major hair envy!

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October 5, 2011 Face Value: Nino from Pellegrini’s

Last night while out on a ‘photo walk’ of Melbourne city with some photography buddies (highly cool, promise…!) I had the great pleasure of meeting the owner of Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar in Melbourne, Nino. Pellegrini’s is a Melbourne institution, having been around since 1954 it is said that Pellegrini’s was the first place (!) in Melbourne to have an Espresso Machine – opening the gates to a city obsession. Nino has owned the joint since 1974. He seemed to know most of the people who passed by, greeting them by name with a wave and a cheeky grin. Nino is quite the charmer… he kissed my hand upon meeting, easily chatting away to me – I felt like I’d known him forever! When Nino discovered I was from New Zealand, the conversation immediately turned to rugby. Turns out Nino is a sponsor of the latest team to join Super Rugby, the Melbourne Rebels – he was rather passionate about the game, one of the few in Melbourne! Loved meeting you Nino, I will definitely make a point of visiting your highly acclaimed restaurant soon x

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September 26, 2011 Face Value: Jeremy Beasley

I don’t know if this is geeky to admit but….. when I knew for sure we were moving to Melbourne for a while, one of the very first things I did was research other wedding photographers living here. When I came across one I liked, I wrote down their contact details and sent them an email asking if they would like to have coffee. I’ve probably met with around 10 different photographers now in Melbourne, lots of whom I can now call my friends. Melbourne has been incredibly welcoming to me, for that I’m so thankful and quite blown away sometimes at just how nice people are over here! Jeremy Beasley is also a newbie to Melbourne, he moved here a couple of months ago from Canberra. I met with Jeremy a few weeks back at the Black Cat cafe on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person more passionate about photography then Jeremy. His energy was contagious. I also got to play with his FujiX100 which is at the now TOP of my Christmas wish list. Thanks for being inspiring Jeremy, it was lovely to meet you, hopefully we can hang out and shoot together again soon.

I know this portrait looks like he is praying, but I think it was when he was stirring the sugar into his coffee…

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September 19, 2011 Face Value: Stacey Nguyen

I met Stacey and her friend on the tram last week in Brunswick Street. I noticed they were holding a camera I used to use, so I struck up a conversation with them. Stacey is Vietnamese, shes just started a Journalism degree at Swinburne University of Technology and has been in Melbourne for 2 months. The more I chatted with Stacey and her friend, I could sense through their broken English that they were excited about something… Turns out they were going to photograph ‘Bohemian culture’ in Fitzroy down Brunswick Street. Stacey explained to me that she tried to dress in ‘Bohemian’ style in order to fit in amongst the locals.

Meet Stacey.

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September 5, 2011 Face Value: Liz Dymock

How often do you pass by people in the street and wonder…. where are they going? what brought them here? who are they…?

I want to start a challenge for myself, that will be documented on my blog every week (hold me to this!), called Face Value. Every week I will take someones portrait- it could be somebody I know deeply, somebody I know at a surface level, or somebody I don’t know at all…. and get to know them a little bit.

This is Liz.

Background story – I met Liz at Essendon Baptist. A week ago she Facebook messaged me asking if I wanted to go check out a park with her. She was planning an event there, and thought I might like to check it out as a possible future photo location. When I asked (nicely) if I could take her picture, she agreed even though she had no idea I was going to bring my camera…had just slept on the floor at the church for a youth event and hadn’t been home for a week, because of a training camp she’d been on for her upcoming trip.

A bit about Liz…

Liz is currently raising money to go and live in Malawi, Africa for 1 year starting next January. Talking with Liz, her passion to help people in other cultures is obvious.

She has a degree in Agriculture Science, and originally comes from a small town called Orange in NSW, Australia where apparently they grow lots of apples.

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