Author Archives: Brendan Maunder

Thing that you will forget on Fathers Day!

Father’s Day wouldn’t be complete without breakfast in bed, carefully wrapped socks , and the sound of laughing children!

I just want to take the opportunity to thank every father out there, including mine, and yours. Without them we would not be the people we are today, and with that they continue to be a very important part of our lives. The foundation that they set in our early years something we carry for a lifetime and is something we will always cherish.

As we grow older tend to forget things, we tend to distort memories, we sometimes don’t appreciate and understand the earlier years.

So on this Father’s Day, grab your camera and go out and take photos of your father, husband, partner, and especially your children. Because in the years to come, in the decades that follow from today you will always be able to look back on these photos and remember the day as if it was yesterday.

That my friends is the power photos!

Have a fantastic Father’s Day! 🙂

 

Cheers to Fathers day
Cheers to Fathers day

Lookout! It’s spring!

What do you get when you combine warmer weather and longer days with birds, blooms, and the occasional fresh morning? Why Spring of course! September 1st just passed and that means it’s time to get outside, breathe, and shake off cabin fever. For me, this couldn’t come soon enough – they know about you but the perfume and the smell blossoming trees in the springtime in and around Canberra brings back memories of being a child running through the bushes and trees with the amazement of the buds popping out to create new life.

I also love feeling like I can get outside more, stretch my legs, and enjoy the earlier sunrises.

Speaking of sunrises, spring is a great time for getting some awesome shots. The lighting is ideal for dramatic portraits, the street scene starts buzzing as the city wakes up from slumber, and the flowers are getting themselves ready for their annual show. Trust me, you don’t have to wait until Floriade to see gorgeous flowers—keep your eyes out for daffodils, jonquils, tulips, hyacinths, anemones, freesias, gladioli, iris and snowdrops. Another cool thing is that dawn isn’t as frightfully early as it is in the height of summer, so it’s much easier to get up and capture great shots from all that warm light, mist and dew.

With that in mind, this weekend’s theme is “Get up and get outdoors.” Let’s see your best spring photos—photos that unequivocally shout, whisper, or sidle up to you and say “It’s Spring!” The best one will, of course, be featured on this blog.

So get out there early tomorrow and over the weekend and capture the meaning and feeling of spring. He can send these to me through my multiple contact avenues have a look at my contact page for more information.

A single Poppy
A single Poppy

Guest speaker and photographic instructor

Last week I had the privilege of being a guest speaker and photographic instructor at one of the private Catholic schools here in Canberra called St Clare’s College.

And what a class it was! The class started off as every class does, with me giving a brief introduction of myself and some of my ideas and thoughts around photography and the industry. While the girls were fairly timid at the beginning it didn’t take long once they had cameras in hand to start getting into it and taking all sorts of photos of each other.

As I only had couple of hours I wanted to share as much information with them as possible to give them an understanding of what it is like to take portraits on a professional level. To do this I took in and set up my portable studio in one of their arts classes so they could see and touch the equipment while also getting a chance to use some of it in the practical component of the class, and I must say once they got over their initial shyness they had the studio lights popping as if it was popcorn at the movies.

We walked-through the process of postprocessing an image in Photoshop and some of the skills and techniques I use when dealing with portrait images, like skin and eyes, and not to mention hair, an I must say I was very surprised with how quickly the girls picked up all the information that I was throwing at them with not one of them having any issues using Photoshop and in post.  The amazing amount of enthusiasm that the class had made it a real pleasure to instruct, while the lab where we conducted the practical photo shop part of the lesson was outstanding. Each of the kids had a PC to their own motor with photo shop so they could follow along while I demonstrated on the projector.

After talking with the teacher she tells me the girls had a fantastic time and not only enjoyed the lesson but also learnt a lot in the short time we had. We are now in discussion of how I can go along and assist in future classes both for that year and the senior years where they get more into the lighting, and I must say that be a very exciting class to give.

I was hoping to get the chance last week to video and upload me editing the same image which I gave to the class, but unfortunately I spent most of last week on the road and out of town, so today is catch up day and with any luck I should have the video up this afternoon for the girls to view and follow the process.

Looking for a guest speaker or instructor for your photography class? Drop me a line as I would love to come along.

If you run a work in education and are looking for a guest speaker for your photography classes please don’t hesitate in dropping me a line is I’m always very keen to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with the younger generation.

Instructing at St Clare's College CanberraInstructing at St Clare's College Canberra
Instructing at St Clare’s College Canberra

Here comes the paparazzi

Well, I must say it is a bit of a turn up for the books when someone actually wants me to show up as the paparazzi.

Yes, it is true, I am attending an event this evening where it was specifically requested that instead of me hiding in the shadows taking shots of the unsuspecting victims, that I show up in the form of the paparazzi.

It should be an interesting event and I hope to share more details with you later, right now I have to go along and packed my car so I can head off into the wild blue yonder and pop speedlights in a blinding fashion faster than Spiderman and shoots a web.

Wish me luck and I’ll see you on the other side.

Relaxing photos

One of the coolest things about photography these days is that the world of the digital camera is big enough for just about anyone. Whether you’re a professional photographer, a budding amateur, or someone who simply loves capturing snippets of life on your mobile, photography coaxes and sometimes even cajoles us to explore the world around us.

Another awesome thing about photography is that pictures truly can say a thousand words. Take this photo submitted by Sandi Weeks on her favorite way to relax where she wrote:

“Relaxing – I relax the most when I am on the beach. I try to plan our yearly vacations near the beach. We don’t live close enough to one or in an area that promotes year round beach enjoyment, so I have to take what I can get.” Sandi Weeks

The simplicity of the subject matter combined with the solitude of the footprints on empty sand carry a thousand nuances that words alone could not capture. Have you managed to capture scenes like the one below, ones that drag you into a photo so that you feel yourself there walking along the foam, sniffing the salt on the air, and feeling yourself unwind with each step?

Members submission - relax by Sandy weeks
Members submission – Relax by Sandi Weeks

And if you still need more convincing to get yourself out and about with that digital eye, consider this: aside from causing us to feel more focused, alive, and creative, survey results show that photography makes us feel good about ourselves, increases our contact and connection with other people, and even helps to improve out memory. And at the end of the day, we get to surround ourselves with glimpses of life that might have passed us by had we not been holding a camera.

So if you haven’t picked up your camera lately or you find that you’ve been shooting the same old material for a while now, see if you can find something you’ve never shot before, or better yet, a new way of looking at something you see every day. What new and engaging perspectives are out there waiting to be discovered? If you find any good ones, I’d love to see them! Send in the old with the new and if any epiphanies or “Aha’s” happened, let us know that, too.