Penny Lane (Canberra Children’s Photographer)

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 / Canberra children's photographer, Canberra family photographer, Canberra portrait photographer

 25 lovely comments 

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Busy season is upon us. I know this because I’m frantically trying to download as many “productivity” applications on my iPad, iPhone, iMac and MacBookPro. (Downloading these apps won’t suddenly make my lists shorter… but they’ll make them prettier!) (And yes, I listed out all my gadgets because I am a NERD and revel in all things technology. Please, Apple and Stevie Jobs, for the sake of my bank account and marriage, do not make any more gadgets. Unless they’ll help with my productivity.)

Busy season means that I’m behind in emails. Really really behind. So if you’re waiting on a response from me, a million gazillion apologies. It also means that I’m trying to revamp everything: website, products + packaging, perfectionising my Mentor Sessions (yes, perfectionising is a real word), and possibly getting a new studio manager. As well as an intern. But all of these things require lots and lots of time and money, the latter of which is being spent on aforementioned Apple products. And this is my dilemma. :)

But in spite of all this, I’m happy. Incredibly happy with everything that’s happened and happening. I have so much NEWS to share with you and I’m bursting at the seams to write it all out now. But alas, the timing just isn’t right. Perhaps the next blog post? Or the next next one? Yes. Until then, please enjoy these photos of pretty Penny and her beautiful family. Thank you oh beautiful family for being such wonderfully willing subjects. But most of all, thank you Penny for your ability to crack me up with your affable + extremely lovable nature. :)

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What’s news in your world? Anything exciting to share? And on the subject of iPhones and iPads, Consumer Christine would appreciate any application “musts” that she should download!! :)

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Super Siblings (Canberra Children’s Photographer)

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 / Canberra children's photographer, Canberra family photographer, Canberra portrait photographer

 24 lovely comments 

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Super siblings. What are super siblings? Well. They have a keen sense of cuteness and more cuteness. They are a united front of two or more. And they inexplicably say and do the funniest things.

Case in point “a”: When asked what outfit he was going to wear, Caleb said he needed big sister Serafina to help. But when she put together a pair of plaid shorts and a Paul Frank hoody (yes, they have ridiculously trendy closets), his eyes widened as he dramatically said, “But they don’t go with my Paul Frank pants!” Not an emphatic “NO” to the plaid shorts; but rather, the top just didn’t match the pants as he’d hoped. (Note to self: Concerned that children know more brand names and labels than you? You should be.)

Case in point “b”: While wandering through the woods to find the “perfect” spot for our photos, I nearly walked right into a spiderweb. I stopped just in time, but that didn’t stop me from letting out a bloodcurdling scream. “What happened??” the kids asked. I pointed to the web and the tiny spider that was dangling from it and explained how I had almost died. Serafina agreed that it was a ‘scary spider.’ “That’s why I let Caleb go first.” Hehehe. Brilliant. (Second note to self: Make children walk ahead during shoots so to destruct the spider webs before I walk through them!)

Case in point “c”: Caleb and Serafina proved to be quite pros in front of the camera. Little Isabella, however, was a bit more shy. Both her sister and brother warned me that Isa wasn’t going to ham it up for me… until Serafina said, “Ooh but she loves to dance!” and started singing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” at the top of her lungs. Sure enough, within seconds Isabella started wiggling her bum with her hands on her little two year old hips. It was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen. (Third note to self: When dealing with shy children, start belting out “Single Ladies” and see what happens.)

Super siblings. They make my job fun. And they give me super duper tips for future photo sessions. :)

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Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2010

Monday, August 23rd, 2010 / Canberra portrait photographer, Personal

 36 lovely comments 

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There are lots of art prizes throughout the world. Local, state and national contests. International competitions. And while each of these contests add much value to the art world, only one can boast the title of “the wealthiest photographic and portrait prize in the world”: The Moran Prize (consisting of both The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and The Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize.)

Every year, thousands of photographers and artists submit the best of their best to The Moran Prize: work that symbolises contemporary Australian life. When the contest deadline came about a few months ago, I thought about it for a few seconds and thought, “What are the odds of ever getting anything out of this thing?” and thought nothing more of it. Until my good buddy Dan rang me up. “Pookles, you’re entering, right?? The deadline is tonight!” he exclaimed. “Nah… I’m still a newb. I think I’ll focus on the local awards and try to enter next year,” I said. I was being totally sincere – I didn’t want to stress myself over entering something only to be disappointed. (My new little art ego is sensitive and needs a bit of hand-holding.) “Christine.” (He never calls me ‘Christine,’ so I knew he was trying to be serious.) “Christine, what have you got to lose? Enter that image of the boy in the woods. You have to. It’s brilliant.” What did I have to lose, aside from a bit of pride? “You’re right Dizz. I’ll get to work on it. Eeep! Hope I make the deadline!” And off I went.

I entered.

I waited.

I told myself to forget about it and thought nothing more.

Until.

That beautiful fateful day. I had just flown from Sydney to Los Angeles (en route to Seattle) and checked my email while waiting for my connecting flight. In my inbox was a message from The Moran Foundation. It read:

“Dear Christine, Congratulations on your selection! Your work titled, ‘Alone’ is one of the 2010 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize finalists. Please find attached your image and instructions for your attention. I wish you every success for the winners’ announcement on Tuesday 10th August 2010.”

I immediately called my husband to share the news. And then I forwarded the email to Dan, along with this brief message:

“HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!! PS just landed in lax PPS thanks for encouraging me to enter this, dizz. Loves you!!”

Out of over 240,000 entries, I was selected as one of FORTY finalists for The Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize. I KNOW, RIGHT???? To say that this moment was momentous is a vast understatement. It was exhilarating. It was inspiring. It was goosebumpy. It made my heart jump and pound and leap. I wanted to tell everyone at LAX but I knew no one would care. :) However, all of this excitement wasn’t only due to the fact that the Moran Prize recognised my work; I was excited because I knew that I had such a supportive group of peers and family members that had my back. I was excited that I could share this moment with them; and this moment served as a reminder that none of my successes are ever achieved alone. (Which is ironic as the work I had entered into the Moran Prize was entitled, “Alone.”)

Thank you, Dan, for convincing me to put myself out there. And congratulations on becoming a fellow finalist (two years in a row!!) AND Commended Awardee! I can’t be more proud of you than I am right this minute. :) You deserve all of your successes and I’m so happy to know you and have you in my life. And thank you Todd + Alyda for accompanying us to the State Library of NSW on the Awards Night (all the portraits and photographs are being exhibited here for free until 5 September, so check it out if you have a chance!) – it was so great to spend the evening with you all! :)

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And the finalist-making shot (in case you were curious):

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