welcome...

Hi there! I'm Natt - a Sydney based wedding and portrait photographer. This space is for me to share my passion for photography, my latest work as well as bits and pieces of my life. I'd love to hear from you so please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email. Thanks for stopping by!
nattnee twittered...

jasmine star workshop

Thursday, 14 January 2010
I still remember how blown away I was when I discovered Jasmine Star. This was at the very beginning of my career when I had just switched over from an office job to wedding photography and was blog stalking many wedding photographers. Her work inspired me greatly and whenever I felt unsure about my decision to switch career or felt like I wanted to give up, I would go and look at the stunning images on her blog and I was reassured that this is definitely what I wanted to do, what I wanted to become good at. I was blown away then and I was blown away now, after meeting her and attending her workshop.

Jasmine is so real. What I mean is, she shares a lot about herself and her life on the blog and I feel like I know her but then she is just somebody I read about, so what is she really like, you know? Well, I can tell you that she is very real and honest. She's down to earth and funny and just so...real. (And for some reason, something about her reminds me of Reese Witherspoon a little??)

This was my first workshop ever and I really enjoyed it. I was so captivated that I kept nodding like an idiot sitting there in front row! The workshop left me with a lot of food for thoughts in regards to the branding and marketing aspect of the business. As for the shooting, I was very impressed with how J* directed the models. I didn't shoot all that much and preferred to watch her at work. She really knew what she was doing and boy does she look fab doing it too!!

JD, her wing man and the love of her life, was also there helping out on the day. JD is seriously one of the nicest guy I've ever met and it was such a pleasure to meet and chat with him. Oh and I was stoked when he said they ate at Ichiban!! Ha! Out of all places in Sydney, they went to my fav little noodle shop =p

Before I share some pics from the day, I would like to give a big shout out to the people that made this wonderful workshop happen. So big big thanks to:
Jasmine Star + JD - For bringing your fabulousness down under.
Cathy Crawley - For hosting this workshop.
Lacy & Evan Shelton and Kristie Jane - Our beautiful models.
Daisy Chain Florist - For the pretty bouquets.
Catherine Colubriale - For the gorgeous wedding gowns.
Elle Vierboom - For the awesome hair and makeup.
and the lovely lady behind the bar =)

The fabulous Jasmine Star showing us how it's done!












































And lastly...the dorky little me with Jasmine and JD.





I hope someday I will meet the two of you again. For now...I'm happy as a clam. Thank you =)

Labels: , ,

  1. add a comment(4)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

You are so not dorky Natt! I'm so happy that you could come along, it's always nice to see you :) I know you would have learnt a lot and I can't wait to see how you grow from this experience xxx (14 January 2010 10:23)  

Hi Natt, you don't know me but I come and check your blog often. You are not dorky at all! And I love your work, you have a great style and I like the calmness of the pics! (15 January 2010 01:48)  

Oh I just love your captures!! Wasn't it just a fab day, and weren't JD and Jasmine the most bee-you-tiful people. Totally gorgeous. I've still got a whirlwind going on inside my head. :)
Oh - and love your t-shirt! :) (15 January 2010 22:44)  

^^
I knew since you started to become wedding photographer that you made the right decision!

Don't feel unsure with your decision , you are great and I'm totally proud of you !! (18 January 2010 22:27)  

hello 2010

Saturday, 2 January 2010
Last year went by so fast! This year is going to be the same. Blink and it'll be July I reckon! So did you make any New Year resolutions? Apart from my recurring one of shedding some kilos and getting fit and healthy, I have a lose one of "do more". It may sound very broad but I think it's a good one for me. Working on your own business takes a certain amount of discipline and really I could pick up the pace and achieve more than last year, so hopefully I will reach the end of 2010 feeling like I did more =)

This month is going to be very exciting with a wedding in Adelaide and Japan and a workshop with Jasmine Star!!! When I started this biz, the thought of photographing anywhere else other than Sydney NEVER crossed my mind and J* is an idol I would only ever read about on the internet. So I say this month ain't a bad way to kick start the year at all!

I'm also traveling around Japan for 3 weeks and I just can't wait! Bring on the cold and the snow, I am not going to miss the heat at all =)

Labels:

  1. add a comment(0)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

fat joke and a happy tune

Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Good morning. I'm up early today for a preschool shoot with Kylie in the Rocks (there's a preschool in the Rocks?). Just got dressed and having a cup of coffee now before I run out the door. I stepped on the scales before hitting the shower today and while I stood under the warm water, I was thinking about a short conversation I had with a little 3 year old from the last preschool. I was taking some portrait shots of this little blondie and it went like this...

blondie: (pointing at a toy i had hanging out of my jeans pocket) what's that for?
natt: that's for little babies but you don't need that 'cos you're a big girl
blondie: you have a baby
natt: (stopped taking pics and squatted next to the kid) what baby?
blondie: the baby in your tummy
natt: why did you say that?
blondie: 'cos your tummy is growing
natt: ..........

I was blank for a few seconds. Thanks kid. I was devastated for the whole day after that! Got called a fattie by a kid! Anyway, you have my permission to laugh. Sure I'll be at the end of a fat joke for your enjoyment.

Anyway, been a while since I shot anything other than people. I snapped this quickly last week before an e-session. I used to do this kind of simple stuff all the time. This is a "good morning" kinda photo methinks =)





Before, I run off, let me leave you with this which has been stuck in my head all morning. I love Glee - it's freaking hilarious =)





Have a great day everybody!!

Labels:

  1. add a comment(2)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

I love lavender! And don't worry, we all have fat days, I've had about 1000 in a row, apparently it's not going to change any time soon.

Pass the tim tams please! (20 October 2009 23:29)  

oooh that's not cool! brush it off though because that picture is the bomb dot com! (25 October 2009 23:19)  

first time fritters

Thursday, 14 May 2009
Has anyone been watching Master Chef? I've missed a couple of episodes but I love this show. It's so inspiring and it makes me wanna try new things.

My mum is a great cook and of all things she passed on to me, her culinary talent didn't quite make it through the umbilical cord. I did have many opportunities to learn from her but I was a lazy daughter. I'm Thai and I can't even make Tom Yum soup. I've tried a few times and it never tasted right, my last attempt involved a jar of pre made paste 'cos I've given up on trying to make it from scratch. Oh how my mother would be so proud.

I can't cook anything that is too complicated or has long list of ingredients. I love looking at all the pretty pictures in cook books and just wish I could snap my fingers and have it appear right in front of me. Sure I've tried recipes but sadly, I don't follow instructions well. I'm definitely not a calculated type of cook, I am more intuitive...but with um...bad intuitions.

Anyway, being inspired by Master Chef, I was determined to try something new. I came across this rather simple looking recipe in a magazine - Haloumi & Zucchini Fritters. I love love love haloumi, it's my favourite cheese. I've never made fritters but I have haloumi and zucchinis in the fridge so why not, let's have a crack.

Now, the smartest thing I did was to halve everthing 'cos I knew there was a high chance of failure (eventhough this looks VERY easy). Recipe said to grate zucchinis and haloumi:








After that, I read that I'll also be needing eggs, plain flour and spring onions. Umm perhaps I should've read ALL the ingredients before I started 'cos I didn't actually have flour. Argh fine, I'll get off my ass and go buy some flour.








Then you just mix it all up (with a bit of pepper) to make a batter and then fry it.








Notice how it looks kinda burnt? Well, here's the thing...you know how the stove has a dial where you turn the gas on. One end is low heat and one end is high heat right? So I figured, if I put it in the middle...then it's medium heat which is what the recipe required. Wrong! Go on and laugh, I already got laughed at today and a question to boot "well, if you leave an empty pan on low heat for an hour, is it still low heat?". I'm such a doofus.

The fritters:





The verdict: They were so freaking salty but that ain't my fault 'cos I didn't add extra salt. A bit burnt on the outside (due to my medium heat geniusness) and a little soggy on the inside 'cos I couldn't leave them on the pan any longer. BTW, half and egg and one egg is the same diff right? Hmm the batch was meant to make 12 but I only got 7...maybe I made them too fat.

Looks like I won't be auditioning for Master Chef next year =p

P.S. I feel ick. That's a very sizable chunk of haloumi in there.

Labels:

  1. add a comment(1)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

Yum Yum!! Can I have some..... (20 May 2009 16:05)  

grey's anatomy

Saturday, 9 May 2009
Gery's Anatomy is my FAVEST show on the planet and it's the only one I could watch over and over again. Every episode would make me smile, laugh, gasp or well up with tears but for the very first time, after watching the show's latest episode (Season 5, Episode 22), I totally balled my eyes out!!!

If you haven't seen it and don't want to ruin it for yourself then I'd suggest you stop reading this post right now =)

If you've been following the show, you'd know that Izzie (dying of cancer) has been planning the perfect wedding for Mer and Der. She was about to get ready to attend the wedding when Meredith came in and said the dress wasn't hers. Alex then popped in the door dressed up as the groom and it was that moment when it dawned on Izzie (and me) that the perfect wedding will now be hers and Alex, that was the moment that I broke - no joke. I was balling, sobbing and wiping my eyes with tissues. Eric was sitting next to me laughing his head off 'cos he's never seen me do that before. He was thoroughly amused!!





Loved the part where she wobbled and it was her best friend, George, that helped her walk down the rest of the aisle.








Love the groom's vows and wow how impressive is Alex. He has pretty much been a jerk for the most part of the show but boy how much has he changed and grown into a loving man.








Aahhh great episode, awesome show, totally satisfying....I heart Grey's Anatomy =)

Labels:

  1. add a comment(2)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

I got all excited all over again seeing these photos. Grey's is my secret addiction :) (10 May 2009 06:52)  

We're not even up to this part yet, I don't even want to know where you watched this! What a great story line! (12 May 2009 14:04)  

green tea goodness

Friday, 24 April 2009
I'm more of a tea drinker than I am a coffee drinker. I especially love green tea and that's green tea anything including chocolates, cakes, ice creams, noodles and really anything else you can think of.  If they made green tea toothpaste I'd probably buy it.

My sister recently got me this cute little glass tea set and a stack of green tea to continue my obsession =)








Can't wait for Japan trip next year. I plan on eating green tea Haagen-Dazs til the cows come home!

Labels:

  1. add a comment(1)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

HAWT DIGGIDY DAWG!!! I'm going through a green tea phase. I was just sipping some traditional green tea out of a mini ceramic tea pot! Yes, that's how I roll.. No need for a cup! Anyhow, I love your shots! T2 should guy these off you! (24 April 2009 23:37)  

izzie

Wednesday, 22 April 2009
"My place is a mess", I whined down the phone and usually Ken would say ok but today he did many of those "Oh c'mon!!" so I finally caved in and let him come over to check out our apartment. It wasn't as big a deal as I made it out to be and I even got free lunch haha. He also brought along his daughter Izzie who is a real cutie and such a smart little thing too. So cute Auntie Natt even let her play with the camera...for a few seconds =p

Here's a couple of quick snaps.





Desat version:





Izzie said "when I grow up I wanna be a photographer just like Auntie Natt". Ok fine, I made it up =p

Labels:

  1. add a comment(0)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

three-o

Monday, 13 April 2009
I tried with every fiber of my body to resist but I couldn't argue with nature. I turned 30. No no, wait, scratch that, I'm 29 forever =p

I had a long day yesterday shooting a 12 hours wedding. Once I got home, I showered and put my feet up, bumming on the couch. I was so tired I didn't even think about my birthday but when midnight rolled around, the light went out in the living room. Eric came out with a slice of green tea cake singing happy b'day.

I made a few wishes as I blew out the candle (do ppl normally just make the one? I must be greedy) . Can't tell you what they are 'cos then they won't come true and while most of them is in my power to make happen, one isn't and probably only has a 0.1% chance that it would happen but isn't that the point of making wishes?

My b'day card started with "From a little girl of 3 in a photo you are now a girl at 30 taking photos!" and had two photos inside. This was the one at age 3:





The other photo was taken on a mobile phone from a really long way away. I saw a bridal party in the photo and thought it was a pic from our wedding but when I looked closer I saw ME lying on the ground taking the photo!!! How hilarious that Eric was there at Martin Place yesterday. He was in the city looking for my pressie and happend to see me there as he was going home haha. The photo was shockingly small so I didn't bother uploading it from the phone.

Here's 30 y.o me (less a few hours) with the bride & groom before I left last night's wedding reception. Gosh don't I look a tad tired and don't laugh at my hair ok. I recently got a very stupid looking fringe and totally regret doing that before going to a wedding!





P.S. I didn't make my 7kg weight loss goal either...only got half way. Maybe I'll make it for my next 30th (29 forever remember? =p )

Labels:

  1. add a comment(1)
  2. link to this post
  3. send to a friend

Happy big 30 to you Natt! Oh, sorry I mean Happy 29 +1! I know it is scary leaving your 20's behind, but your 30's are a fabulous time. I'm close to 40 but I still feel like I'm 25, after all, age is only a state of mind. Here's to a decade full of fun, love and success!!!!! xxx (17 April 2009 10:40)