Brendan Maunder Photography – Event and Portrait Photographer

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RIP Max “Tangles” Walker

Today Australia is morning the lose of an Australian legend – Mr Max “Tangles” Walker. He was one of our best cricket bowlers in the 1970’s and although I am not really into much sports as an adult, I have fond memories watching cricket as a kid as it not only kept us off the streets but allowed for mate ship and bonds to grow that were and are life long.

Well today he bowled his last ball and is now an umpire in the great cricket pitch in the sky.

He was one of the boys and a real Aussie block even after spending nearly all his life in the spot light in cricket and then TV broadcasting. He had an infectious smile and a personality made everyone turn their heads when he entered the room.

Cheers to you big fella, may your eternal life be filled with hat tricks and you be surrounded by golden ducks. 🙂

Max “Tangles” Walker and I

Boy that was fun….

A day in the sun chasing the riders down that were participating in this years Distinguished Gentleman Ride, leap frogging them along the route from Fyshwick, up to Black Mountain, then off to the National Arboretum and then for a quick stop into the Governor Generals residence to say a quick hello to his excellency, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd). I must add what sort of an event photographer would I be if I didn’t let him get a photo with me. 🙂

It was a great turn out with the Canberra ride raising $30,000 – Everyone should be very proud.

His Excellency, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) taking time out to get a photo with your truly.

Canberra Australia – 25th of September 2016. The distinguished gentleman ride is sponsored by triumph and was held on a sunny day here in Canberra. This is a charity ride, whether riders pay to participate with all funds going to prostate cancer research. It started off in Fyshwick ACT progressed to Black Mountain, National Arboretum and onto the governors generals residence before the riders headed off to the Kingston hotel for Raffles and an afternoon drink.

Riders brief before we leave.

Not sure what the names mean but I feel there is some importance there

Government House in Canberra – His Excellency, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd)

Canberra Australia – 25th of September 2016. The distinguished gentleman ride is sponsored by triumph and was held on a sunny day here in Canberra. This is a charity ride, whether riders pay to participate with all funds going to prostate cancer research. It started off in Fyshwick ACT progressed to Black Mountain, National Arboretum and onto the governors generals residence before the riders headed off to the Kingston hotel for Raffles and an afternoon drink.

Calling All Distinguished Gentlemen

Well it looks like it is time to get my stuff ready to once again photograph the DGR (Distinguished Gentlemen s Ride) here in Canberra. It is one of those events that is not only a fantastic photo opportunity but you get to see some of the crazy outfits and bikes that I am sure only come out of the shed this one day of the year.

Last year it was filled with lots of dapper and class so I expect this year to be the same. For anyone that wants to come along it starts off at Joes Motorcycle in Fyshwick for breaky and then they head for a casual and gentlemen like ride around town before ending at the Kingston pub where things kind of lose the dapper. lol

If you see me wondering around slinging a camera of two, say hello and I will promise to get your photo. 🙂

Canberra Australia - 27th of September 2015. The distinguished gentleman is ride sponsored by triumph was held on a sunny day here in Canberra. This is a charity ride, whether writers pay to participate with all funds going to prostate cancer research. It started off in Braddon ACT progressed to the National Arboretum and then on to mount Stromlo roo group photo was taken before the writers headed off to the Kingston hotel for Raffles and an afternoon drink.

The distinguished gentleman ride

Say Goodbye to the Snow!

I would love to hear what you think of this image?

With the onset of spring and hopefully warmer weather it’s a great time to go back to process some of the images I captured over the colder months.

This photo was taken as the sun was rising and hitting the Brindabella mountains as seen from my backyard.

The whole week was cold but not quite cold enough to get snow here in Canberra but it was cold enough to keep a good dusting of snow as you can see.

Snowcapped Brindabella mountains

I figured if I can edit this photo I mail is well recorded so you guys can get to see the process and hopefully it will help you to improve not only a landscape photography but also your postprocessing.

Of course if you want to learn more on landscape photography and postprocessing keep an eye out for my workshops or send me an email.

Now onto the weekend. 🙂

New Bulbs Will Help!

You ever get that feeling when you are out on location shooting and your studio lights stop doing that flash and POP thing that you have grown to love????

I have and it’s not a nice feeling especially when you have people standing in front of said studio light waiting for the blinding flash…

Lucky for me (ok ok ok not really luck but more planning as I like to be prepared for just about anything and have a backup plan for my backup plan) I have backup lights so I can swap them out for new ones. 🙂

The trick to this little plan is that you have buy replacement bulbs and when they are 200$ each you tend to put it off for as long as you can. So with the splash of 800$ I now can replace my old bulbs and have some spare as a backup plan. 🙂

All I can say due to the cost of each of these bulbs I am glad they last more than a few shots.

Elinchrom Replacement Bulbs

Put Your Hands Up If You Love Gala Events and Conferences!!!!

I think it goes without saying that my team and I love Gala dinners. 🙂

Once again we had the opportunity to photograph the state iAwards Gala dinners and had the pleasure to photograph the national iAwards and Gala Dinner for AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association) at the MCEC (Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center) which included the conference during the day dedicated towards innovation.

National iAwards 2016 – One of the great parts about my job is I get to follow leaders in lots of industries and on the odd occasions I get photos with them.

2015 was a great event and this year did not disappoint, if I was being honest I think this year was better. 🙂

I don’t know about you but where else do you find the industry leaders in the ICT take time out of their busy days to talk about innovation? I must add I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the major supporter again for this year was the Victoria government. Too bad the rest of the country doesn’t follow their lead and start coming up with real plans on expanding our ICT capability through innovation.

National iAwards 2016 – The other two members of our team taking peoples photos before the Gala Dinner.

My teams day started at 8am when we started packing our gear and heading over to the MCEC from our hotel room which I must admit wasn’t that far as we stayed at the Hilton which is effectively the same building as the MCEC so it was a short elevator lift down to level one. 🙂

National iAwards 2016

This year we decided to do things a little different and instead of processing the images after the event one of the team would post process them on site and have them ready for the iAwards organizers to use for social media, while myself and my other photographer covered the different area of the event. In general it seemed to work well with images come from the photographers and moving through post with not many issues which was nice.

National iAwards 2016 – Me photographing the handing our of the the awards

As the day moved through the conference, VIP lunches and into the Gala dinner my team sat back for a bit to take stock of the day so far and I think it is fair to say that not only were we having a blast but the information that was shared with the people that attended the day was outstanding. I think we all had a new appreciation for innovation and some of the amazing things that are happening in the ICT industry across the nation. very very cool.

National iAwards 2016 – Do you think they have enough screens?

The break in the event also meant that it was time to setup the portable studio against the media wall before all the crowds flocked in as we were setting up in the reception and pre-gala drinks area which is nice as we attract a heap of people to get their photos take. 🙂

Last year we had David Huey “Hueys” as the MC, this year we had the please of photographing Shane Jacobson www.shanejacobson.com.au (aka Kenny – The Dunny man) and without sounding a bit biased I can say he is really a great bloke. Not only did I get to photograph him on stage but I followed him around chatting and watching him interact with the people that attended the Gala dinner. He was more than willing an open to make everyone feel at home and was super dooper accommodating to my photographic needs. One of which is a selfie with me. 😉

National iAwards 2016 – Get down low and go, go, go

The night went off without a hitch…. oh… that was until the got to the pointy end where the person that won the $50,000 prize money had already left for the evening as she had a 6am flight. hahahahahahaha Someone in the audience had her number so Shane was trying to get her on the phone to let her know….. but no answer.

National iAwards 2016 – The team

Talking with Shane after we were both bummed that the winner didn’t answer as that would of a hoot to get her on the phone and add to was already was a very entertaining night. Oh well. They did get in touch with her and she did come back for her official photos.

National iAwards 2016

Well we knocked off a bit after midnight, went back to the hotel room to process the media photos for the 6am deadline which only took me until 4am as the post processing during the day saved many hours.

National iAwards 2016 – Having a bit of fun with Shane Jacobson while a video was running in the background.

At the end of what was a 20 hour day it was time to hit the sack and wake up early to pack up and head home. My other photographer go a flight out at 6am so I said good bye to him at 3am so he could get to the airport. 🙂

National iAwards 2016 – Packed house and WOW what a room and setup.

Lets bring on the after party… hahahaha

National iAwards 2016

I have to admit the lighting and the volume that these lights have was fantastic. The give sooooo much feel to the room and for a room this size it was a mighty feat to get them to be so effective without fogging out the entire room.

National iAwards 2016 – After party band

At the end off all that it was time to have a nap and that my friends is the day in the life of a corporate conference and gala event photographer. 🙂

The Calm Before The Storm

Tonight my team and I sit looking over the heart of Melbourne and admire the view from our room while we chat about what tomorrow will bring and our plan of attack.

For tomorrow we are going to photograph the national iAwards convention and the following Gala event at the Convention Center in Melbourne where they will hand out the national ICT awards to the Australian finalists .

The day for us will start at 8am when we get on location to start setup for the day where we will erect our portable studio to get media shots throughout the day of the convention. We have a full day ahead as we capture the convention and the different rooms and sponsors along with the VIP areas and networking that is the life blood of such an event. The day will finish with us capturing the Gala event where they will hand out the iAwards for this year and close at midnight. We should get back to the hotel room at around 1am where I will have to process the media shots of the day so they are ready for media release by 6am. 🙂

So to say that tomorrow is going to be a big day is kind of an understatement but boy it will be a fantastic and we are all itiching to get into it…. but for now we look out the window and enjoy the quiet before the storm. 🙂

Melbourne iAwards Convention and Gala Event

The Cost Of Taking Your Photos.

There is lots to say on the subject of the cost to run a photography business so I thought I would share the cost of what I have in front of me.

I am running out of space on my storage and need to buy some more hard drives. Now the problem is I can not put any more storage in my main PC so I will need to purchase an additional storage unit where I can move the images from my main PC to. Doing some investigation the unit to do this will cost me anything from 1,000$ that will hold 8 hard drives or around 1,800$ for one that will hold 12 hard drives. The cost of hard drives is around 500$ each. Yes I can by cheaper drives and a cheaper unit but I value your images more than that so I buy the best equipment to ensure your photos are safe. 🙂

Lets run the figures – If I wanted to buy and fill the 1,000$ unit it would then cost me 4,000$ in drives that makes it a 5,000$ purchase, for the 1,800$ unit it would cost me $7,800. Yay!!!!!!

So when you ask me how much are my photos are, I hope this will gives you some understanding as to why I do not do it for free and why my services do not cost the same as your mate Joe who has a camera and used it once. 🙂

I think I need more hard drive space.

Good night….

Oh wait a second……

Who said the night life in Canberra was boring, especially on a Wednesday night!!!! hahahahaha

Just when I thought I was going to have a early night tonight I get a message from one of my clients to come and photograph at one of their clubs from 10:30 tonight till late.

So as I pack my camera gear and flash units let me ponder this statement!

There is no rest for the wicked!!!

Have a great night and I hope to catch up with some of you tonight. 🙂

No Rest For The Wicked

Take Advantage Of Man Flu!!!!

The last week or so I have been struck down the the dreaded man flu; one of the worst strains of flu around. Much more potent than the general sniffles and sneezing…with full on delusions and rash decisions that come with man flu are the only way I can explain why I am putting on a full day photography workshop this Sunday the 21st Aug with the beginner in mind that will either be FREE or very very very cheap…….

I must be sick to be giving away a half day beginners guide to portrait photography workshop

ok ok ok before I go on let me tell you exactly what I am doing.

This Sunday the 21st of Aug I will be running two half day workshops.

Beginners Guide to Portrait Photography – 9am to 12:30pm

The first half I am putting on for FREE, nothing, nada, zip, zilch ZERO!!!!!! This first half is for people that want to start photographing people but don’t really know where to start or what to do. After all, how do you go about asking what things you can do to make the photo look better, when you’re not quite sure what to ask?

How do you extract the best out of a person and what is there to extract?

How do I know what best suits the person I am about to photograph and how do I make them feel comfortable and relaxed so I can get the best photograph?

What types of poses make different people look great and is there a difference between the sexes when it comes to posing?

Where should I stand or where should they stand?

If you have asked yourself these types of things then this morning workshop is for you.

Cost: Man Flu has taken hold and affected my better judgement so this work is FREE

Beginners Guide to Photographic Lighting – 1pm to 5pm

The second half of the day will talk you through What Lighting Is, how it effects us as photographers and how you can take control of it.

If you have ever asked yourself questions like:

How can I use flash when I don’t want to make everything bright?

I hear a lot of photographers hate flash!! Why?? Why are you teaching it if it is so bad?

When is the best time to use flash?

What types of flash are there and when is one better than the other?

Are there any things I need to know about flash photography that I can use every time?

Is photographic lighting just using flash?

Cost: $49 Per Person – Yeah I know I must be really sick if I am only charging $49 per person for what would usually be much more, clearly my high fever is affecting my common sense.

While there’s clearly something wrong with me to be doing this, there’s nothing wrong with what i’m offering: a FREE workshop and another stupidly cheap. Come to one of come to both its up to you!

$49 is fantastic value for a full day of beginners workshop and one I don’t think I will ever repeat. If you were ever going to go to a beginners photography workshop then now is the time or you may miss out forever once I come to my senses!

Numbers will be strictly limited so you must get in super dooper quick if you want to take advantage of this outrageous offer!

The ONLY way to book is to send an email to Brendan@BrendanMaunder.com letting me know which workshop or both you want to attend and I will send you a confirmation email with further details.

Don’t wait a second longer or you will miss out.

I Hate You Mother Nature!!!!!

Don’t you just hate it when you drive to the Snowy Mountains so you can get a shot of the Milky way above the snow away from light pollution but mother nature has other ideas and brings on the clouds…… 🙂

Oh this image was created by 37 images and the original is a size of 18644 x 12342.

Milky Way – Snowy Mountains

Want to know how to take these types of shots? Shoot me a message as I conduct workshops that walk you through the process of capturing and processing these images.

I Will Sleep Well Tonight Because I Have a Blanket!

Every year St Vincent de Paul helped thousands of people within Canberra and around Australia. This requires thousands of dollars in funds to keep this going, the motorcycle community both here in Canberra and around Australia pitching a few times a year to go along and help with donations and support. Tomorrow is one of their major ways in which they can help the unfortunate.

Tomorrow is the St Vincent DePaul blanket on the ground in Canberra were motorcyclists bring donations of blankets and other warm clothing which St Vincent de Paul handout or sell to assist people that are in need.

Myself and my daughter will be there to support what is a fantastic motorcycle community and to help less fortunate in any way we can. I will be there as an event photographer to capture the moments and give them back to the people which have given up their time and money and blankets to help other people in need.

If you are motorcyclists living in Canberra I urge you to come a all long to the blanket run which starts at 8:30 AM at old Parliament.

Here are just some of the photos which I took last year!

The Salvation Army ‎ Blanket ride 2015 held at the old parliment house in Canberra. It raised around $4000 from the Canberra Motorcyle community

What Does The Smell Of New Studio Lights Smell Like?

Bloody awesome I would say. 🙂

Last year one of the schools I teach Photoshop, Lightroom and photography at asked for my advice on what they should get in the way of new studio lighting as their existing equipment was aging and needed replacement.

I gave them a shopping list that included 3 x Elinchrom 500, with some light modifiers that included med softboxes, umbrellas, and grids. With stands and remote triggers I also recommend Canon 600 speedites with remote controllers, collour correction and theatrical gels.

When all the gear arrived the other week they asked me out to help them set it up and give them a quick run down of what was what and I would hate to leave them in the lurch, so I jumped at the chance. hahahahahaha

It didnt take too long to get the stuff out and put it all together giving them some tips along the way.. I did learn one tip

Where you are setting these types of lights up dont look directly into one when it is on full power from only 30cm away and make it pop…

If you are interested in lighting, Photoshop, Lightroom and photography shoot me a message as I know we can work something out. 🙂

New Elinchrom Lights With Modifiers

Tell Your Mum You Love Her!

Last night one of my Facebook friends suffered a major motorbike accident where are a car pulled on in front of him at 80 kph. He is now in hospital with bleeding on the brain, busted pelvis, spinal injuries and multiple hand fractures, if he does pull through I would think he has a very long road of recovery in front of him.

This accident reminds me how fragile life is and how, what we have today, can be taken away in a heart beat.

Today is mothers day, take some time to be with or talk to your mother. Give back some of the love attention that she showed you over the years as she too needs love and attention.

There are so many people out there, where their mothers have been taken too early and I am sure some of them would give up anything to be with their mothers on mothers day. <3

Sunset Over The River

The Night before the Dawn!

101 years ago on this ANZAC day eve there was thousands of Australian and New Zealand men ordered to board ships and take hold of what was Gallipoli but in reality it was one of the ANZAC’s major defeats.

I look at this photo some time ago and it shows the peacefulness of the sunset also the hectic and fire of nature

The ANZAC’s must have been going through a similar thing. The orders were to take Turkish land must of been a standard order until they hit ground where they were fired upon by multiple machine-gun posts that they were unaware of. The battle turned into what was a prolonged and devastating offensive on both sides it became our pinnacle of hope through ANZAC Day.

Without the sacrifices of these men in this battle and every battle before and every battle after we would not have our way of life. The ANZAC spirit is built into the Australian culture, they are us and they always will be, for we are a nation that is not afraid to fight, we are not afraid to die for what we believe is right and that is true today as it ever was.

Tomorrow attend ANZAC Day memorials, respect and love our country and respect and love your family but remember and pay back to the ones that gave up everything and the ones that continue to do so even today.

Spend some money on 2-up and have fun, if you see anyone with metals be it theirs or the relatives show them the respect which they deserve, have a conversation, ask them about their history as am sure you will find some amazing stories.

RIP our ANZAC’s and Let’s We Forget!

A sunset to remind us of the sacrifices of the Anzac’s

Behind the Computer Once Again

In my business people have an idea that we spend all our time photographing but the reality is that we spend most of our time sitting in front of a computer screen. 🙁

Today was one of those days but I must say I learnt a lot, made a heap progress with some ideas I have bashing around my head and I got to capture a fantastic sunset.

How was your day?

What a Way to End a Mentally Draining Day

Want to see how I post process photos?

Have a look at my latest post here:

Models, Firepits and Bush

Happy Easter From My Australian/Bilby Family To Yours!

Oh thank God it is Easter once again!!

I don’t know about you but I like the Easter holidays even though they only four days long, it’s a great time of the year to get out about spent time with the family. It’s not too hot and is not too cold is so the risk of being burnt to a crisp in the Australian sun is somewhat on our side.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family happy Easter and I hope you spend today relaxing with family, eating a shit ton of eggs and chocolate and if you can do one thing today. Put down the phone, turn off the Internet and spend some quality time with the people that you love!

Be safe and I’ll see you on the other side! 🙂

Easter Bunny versus the Australian Bilby

Nice…. A Day and Night Off to Sit Back and Relax!

With a shoot that was postponed as the client had to go away I had the day to myself to relax and catch up with house duties… yay for a day off!!!!!

With half of the day cleaning and shampooing carpets and the other half watching “Highway Thu Hell” on Netflix which I think I am addicted to (thank god there is only 23 episodes) I grabed a wine and watched the sun set from my back door. 🙂

And That Ends Another Day!

I feel so relaxed that I think I am ready what another week…. Except tomorrow is a public holiday in Canberra, oh well what ever will I do with my time…… 😉

I know how about I organize a 5 hour shoot with a model, makeup artist and agent on a private farm, where we can capture natural and free spirit images.

If you have to work tomorrow have fun but those of us in Canberra will be enjoying the day and thinking of you…. ok ok ok maybe not..

Eat When You Can!

In my line of work as an event and portrait photographer I get to cover a lot of events but as with every event, one thing is key…. and that is time!!!!!

You are always running around getting shots here and there, with generally little or no time to rest, drink or eat, so as I race home tonight and ready for tonight’s event I get to:

charge my batteries,
download cards,
swap lens
get changed
whip up Veal mignon with mushroom butter, wrapped in bacon served with veg and baked capsicum, washed down with a chocolate milkshake. yum yum yum

What wonderful things have you whipped up for tonight’s midweek meal?

Veal Migono with mushroom butter wrapped in bacon

Veal Mignon with mushroom butter wrapped in bacon

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