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Australia has been home for Tenielle  nearly all her life. For me, it’s been my home for nearly 8 years. 

Since we’ve lived in Australia, we’ve travelled to faraway places, met beautiful people and had amazing experiences. 

Experiences that will last a lifetime.

Friendships that will last a lifetime. 

Each time we travel, we come back to Australia happy to be settled in our little city of Brisbane. 

6 months ago, that all changed. 

We decided to travel to Africa, however unlike many of our travels, it wasn’t just a holiday. It was an experience that changed us, an experience that had nothing to do with photography. 

It was confronting, inspiring and humbling all at once.

It’s motivated Tenielle and I to have an honest look at our life and after much thought, a life changing decision was made. A decision based on the wise advice that “there is more happiness in giving then there is in receiving”. 

In 2 ½ weeks Tenielle and I will no longer be based out of Australia. 

We’ll pack our life into a few boxes and fly across great oceans.

From that point on, we’ll be based out of Botswana, Africa. Our new home.

In Botswana we’ll predominantly be doing volunteer work, it’s something personal and dear to our hearts however it’s not something we’ll be promoting on our website. 

We’ll still be documenting destination weddings and holding our Field Trips both abroad and in Australia. More details, dates and locations will be announced over the next few weeks,

This year we’ll be shooting weddings in South Africa, Germany and France as well as Australia when we return to visit family in October and November 2013. 

For 2013 our itinerary looks  a little like this: 

March – August {Africa}

September {Europe & UK}

October – November {Australia}

Whilst we’re abroad we’ll be available for destination weddings and for a number of commercial assignments. 

If you’re interested in keeping up to date with what we’re doing you can follow us on instagram, facebook and twitter. 

To our  dear friends. 

Thank you for being the type of friends that never change. We love you so dearly. 

It hurts us to think that we’ll be so far away from each other but just know that it doesn’t change a thing. 

The words of this song echo in our hearts and say everything we feel about you.

Song Credit // Robert Ellis / Friends Like Those //itunes

Beautiful water colour world map by Poppyandpinecone.

In January 2013 we held our first ever Field Trip in Byron Bay, Australia.

It was an incredibly humbling experience for us and we feel, the start of something very special.

Here’s what just a few of our lovely attendees had to say about their experience.

Kylee Yee

“The Field Trip was amazing from the moment I stepped of the bus and was greeted by the smiling faces of Seth and Tenielle, to the final sad goodbye on the last night. Amazing styled shoots were organised over the 3 days with both models and real couples, and Seth and T shared the way they interact and draw real emotions from the people they are shooting. Business, marketing and post processing knowledge, built up over years and years of experience was shared with us with no hesitation and all questions answered with real insight and honesty.  I learned to appreciate the beauty of slowing down and taking the time to compose a picture, which is so easily lost in this digital age. I came away from the field trip feeling so inspired and confident in the fact that I definitely will be continuing on this journey that is film photography.”

Laurel Alexandra

“When we arrived you could feel the vibe between you guys was different from normal workshops. It was so much easier, and I felt I learnt heaps more. I loved the way you guys were totally approachable and I felt at ease to ask anything throughout the whole three days, thank you. It is so hard to put into words all the emotions and thoughts and info I received from you guys. I felt like my tank was so full, and like I was in a ‘light glow’. So content. What I felt was love and emotion. I know where I want to be in photography, and how I want to feel about my work – always did really, just had lost my way slightly. I now have that inner belief back that I can and will get to where I’m happy with my work and what I’m producing and I trust I will one day become the photographer I want to be.”

Bri Hammond

“I cannot adequately put into words how much I LOVED every minute of this Field Trip and what an amazing and fulfilling experience it was. Seth and Tenielle far exceeded my expectations (which were already super high)! I have gained from them an invaluable amount of knowledge that will resonate with me for a long time to come. Thanks Seth and Tenielle for not just being our mentors but for becoming our friends.”

Mitch Jones

“Dear Seth and Tenielle, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done over the past three days. Your enthusiasm to teach & help myself and all the girls is an inspiration not only for me as an artist but also as an educator, a teacher. I have learnt so much. My eyes are seeing things differently. I just walked around Maclean, grabbed a coffee – just as i did on Wednesday morning. And may I say that I literally am seeing things differently – light and composition. I cannot emphasize enough the impact the last three days has had on my life. I really cannot quite describe the emotion i have had over the past three days and now as i write this. It has been not only an artistic journey but also a spiritual one. I will continue to follow your work as I always have and I hope to meet up with you at some stage again.”

Needless to say our Byron Field Trip was just the beginning. 

With overwhelming interest from photographers worldwide, we’ve decided the next location for our Field Trip will be in Provence, France 2013.

Don’t worry Australian’s if you aren’t able to make our France Field Trip, we are planning a nationwide tour in Australia Oct/Nov 2013. 

We’re only accepting 15 attendees per Field Trip as we want this to be an intimate experience. Tenielle and I want each and every photographer to come away feeling understood, inspired & armed with practical skills & knowledge.

So pack your bags, bring your favorite film camera and get ready for a three day adventure with us in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Next up for 2013, France:

• Date:  17-19 September 2013 
• Location: Provence, France
• Venue: TBA
• Investment: $2,300 AUD per person
• 15 attendees

We will be taking bookings for this Field Trip in a few weeks so if you haven’t registered your interest already please do so here. Those who have registered will get a 48hr head start on the public when we open up bookings!  

Want to know what to expect at our next Field Trip in France?

This amazing film was made by Nicole and Digby from Lester and May.

 Day 1:

 

Venue: Deux Belettes / Catering: Leela, Your Gourmet / Stylist: Natalie, Intique & Co / Hair & Make-up: Ava Belle / Gowns: Claire Pettibone from Intique & Co / Florals: Natalie, Intique & Co / Models: Stephanie & Billy, Division

Day 2:

Venue: Deux Belettes / Catering: Leela, Your Gourmet /  Hair & Make-up: Ava Belle / Gowns & Accessories: Babushka Ballerina / Menswear: Pistols at Dawn / And a special thanks to our lovely, real couple Josh & Michelle 

Day 3:

Venue: Deux Belettes / Catering: Leela, Your Gourmet / Cake: Sally, Panache Cakes /  Stylist: Trudy & Nadia, Lovebird Weddings / Florals: Roberta, Green & Bloom / Hair & Make-up: Ava Belle / Gowns: Kelsey Genna & Karen Willis Holmes  / Menswear: Wil Valor / Veil: Babushka Ballerina / Stationary: Suey, Eske / A special thanks to our beautiful, real couple Emma & Dylan

 Lastly, Tenielle and I would like to say thank you to everyone involved, we couldn’t have held this Field Trip without the support and contribution from so many talented people.

Of course, all of those involved are credited beneath each day so if you’re in search of amazing talent, you know where to look.

In saying that, we want to say a special thanks to Suey and Ben from Eske for helping us with all things design. We’re so grateful for you hard work, patience and friendship.

We would also like to thank Louise from Frankie Magazine for taking the time to share her many words of wisdom on the first day of our Field Trip.

A huge thank you to Brian, Angela, Bill and the incredible team from Richard Photo Lab. We couldn’t do it without you all. You’re true artisans  and we’re so greatful for your amazing support.

Lastly, thank you to all of our attendees for entrusting Tenielle and I with the role of being your teachers, it was an honor. We sincerely hope each and everyone of you loved the experience as much as we did and we look forward to watching each one of you grow as artists.

 

We never planned on shooting weddings. No. Never at all.

Our beginnings were very humble.

One old film camera, our imaginations and high hopes.

We scoured editorial magazines for inspiration and dreamed of shooting stories like those splashed across the pages.

After a little time and lots of practice, that old film camera, our imaginations and high hopes had us shooting new faces for a local modelling agency.

Our tiny unit became our studio. The furniture was moved and soon replaced with studio lights, backdrops, racks of clothing, chattering models, stylists, make-up artists and hair stylists. All of us excited, bursting with ideas and eager to make amazing images.

Inspiration was endless, we could shoot whatever our imaginations lead us to try.

And so we did.

Fast forward many years later.

Though much time has passed and an immense amount of hard work has been invested, we still have our film cameras, imaginations and high hopes.

It turns out the subjects in front of our cameras nowadays are quite different, but don’t get us wrong, we love shooting weddings, it’s one of the most amazing experiences you could have photographically.

What hasn’t changed is that we’re just as eager to make amazing images.

So having a chance to return to our roots with this editorial for the very first edition of Hello May Magazine was a breath of fresh air.

The memories came flooding back and we reflected on how far we’d come from that teeny, tiny studio unit full of creatives all those years ago.

This day our studio was in the middle of the woods, surrounded by an amazing group of creatives, all of us excited, bursting with ideas and eager to make amazing images.

Thank you to the team of incredibly talented people involved, it was an honour to work side-by-side with you.

Hello May Magazine

Dresses // The Babushka Ballerina, Jennifer Gifford Designs, Amanda Garrett, Beska

Flowers // Green and Bloom

Hair + Makeup // Tracie Weaver

Stylist // Brittney Moroko

Assistant Stylist // Bree Anketell

Models // Talisa and Blake at Division

Equipment // Canon 1V, Mamiya 645, Contax G2

Film // Kodak Tri-X, Kodak Portra 160, processed by the amazing RPL