NJOY THE MOMENT photography bio picture

Hi, and welcome.

You'll find all sorts of bits and pieces here. If you're a client this is where you'll find your sneak peek. If you're considering me as your custom photographer this is also where you'll find my website, along with pricing and session information etc (by clicking here or on the link at the top of the page), as well as learning a bit about me, my personality, and my style. If you're friends or family just keeping tabs on me, this is where you'll find the stuff that goes on in my life that I forget to tell you about. :)

You'll probably see my children and husband feature quite regularly, as they have the most influence on me. You'll also see snapshots of my life in and around Melbourne (and where ever else it takes me) as well as links, videos, pictures or discussions on whatever has my interest or attention at the time of posting.

So thank you for dropping by. I hope you enjoy it here and pop back regularly to see what I'm up to.

Narrelle. x

A weekend in photos

November 17, 2008 – 10:16 pm

We had a fun weekend as a family (a rare one off). Lots of driving (not too much, but enough to allow the kids a decent nap each), visiting good friends, chasing birds and feeding ducks, terrorising daddy, indulging mummy her endless habit of whipping her camera out, jumping in puddles, running in long grass… the kind of stuff all great weekends, memories and photographs are made of.  :)
One project I had in mind for the weekend was to take a photo of Alicia-Rae with a chair that used to belong to me when I was her age.  This was for an online child photography forum I’m a part of - they have a competition/challenge going at the moment and the theme is ‘Old and beautiful’ - the only stipulation being that the photograph had to contain a child and something antique (ie over 25 years old).  I guess that would make me antique, but unfortunately I didn’t qualify.  :)
I had to give up on getting a photo of Alicia-Rae actually sitting in the chair - I don’t know if there were many other ants about but her pants were definately full of them. She would not sit still for me!  Maybe she was trying to tell me something though, as I think we did ok anyway.  :)

While this was going on Jaedon was busy chasing a baby Magpie around, or being chased himself for some food.  The poor little bird wasn’t too impressed with Jaedon’s thoughts that it might like some dried leaves and twigs to eat.

Alicia-Rae then got involved in her own thing again, when mummy had stopped harassing her (all in the name of photography). But she did notice when Jaedon had disappeared, wandering off after the bird who was in search of a more appetising dinner, and was keen to keep an eye out for him. Probably after inspiration for more mischief she could get up to. 

And just a couple from the day before. I love this one below. It reminds me of the scene from Gladiator where Maximus is dreaming about walking through the wheat fields of Elysium, to be reunited with his family (though Alicia-Rae looks like she’s searching for something to destroy instead).

And spot the Jaedon in the same patch of rye-grass, our very own Crouching Tiger, Hidden Jaedon.  :)

I could handle lots more weekends like this last one. Which is just as well as I’m sure there’ll be many more to come.  :)
{Children’s Photography Melbourne}

By Narrelle | Posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne, Personal | Tagged , | 2 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

Could you say no to this face?

November 11, 2008 – 1:11 pm

We have a very hard job of it.
We often comment between ourselves how Jaedon, being that ‘magical’ age of two-going-on-three, gets away with far less than his sister.  We’ve caught ourselves so many times laughing at Alicia-Rae, and questioning who she got her adorability from, only to realise that if it were Jaedon doing the same thing it wouldn’t be so cute. And we probably wouldn’t be laughing.
I wouldn’t say we’re being too tough on our little boy - he’s at an age where he needs to be kept in line. And though I can’t say Alicia-Rae’s not aware of what she’s doing (because it’s more than obvious it’s totally calculated) while there’s still in essence of innocence  we don’t want to squash it.
And, lets face it, Jaedon was never one for hitting us with an expression like this and daring us to say no.  Could you do it?  :)

Narrelle x

{ melbourne baby photography }

By Narrelle | Posted in Baby Photography, Melbourne, Personal | Tagged , , , , | 5 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

We are family…

November 9, 2008 – 3:07 pm

Everyone’s heard the old addage about a cobbler’s family having no shoes - well it’s pretty much the same with photographers.  I personally have very few photographs of my family all in the one frame. Individually, it’s another story.  :)
Fortunately the same priciple doesn’t apply to extended family.  My two nieces and nephew are very familiar with my camera - I don’t think they’ve ever seen me without it.  And this weekend we all finally had few hours free to do a family shoot for them.
I think it was actually easier to get the dog to look at the camera than all three of the kids at one time, but we had fun trying. In the end I think I prefer the shots where they were doing their own thing anyway.  They were certainly being themselves.
I just love this first one, perhaps my favourite from the day.  I’m thinking of getting it enlarged myself.  :)

Jay doing his ‘Sitting Elvis’ impersonation

I love the wall in this photo. And I love the kids expressions. So not interested, LOL.

I know we didn’t have much time guys, but I think we did well.  :)
{ Melbourne family photography }

By Narrelle | Posted in Family Photography, Melbourne | Tagged , , | 5 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

The Sweetest Thing

November 6, 2008 – 10:03 pm

I’m not technically talking about Alicia-Rae here, though she could easily qualify.  But I just had to share this recent photo of our girl because, to me, the sweetest thing is watching Alicia-Rae with her daddy, and seeing the love between them.  She just adores him. Like mad. And you can bet the feeling’s mutual.

By Narrelle | Posted in Child Photography, Family Photography, Melbourne, Personal | Tagged , , , , , | 2 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

This is Australia

November 6, 2008 – 8:37 am

I love Australia. I love the sights, the sounds, the smells. I love getting in the car and going for a drive into the middle of nowhere, and feeling like I’m the only person around for miles. Which could very well be true, but probably not on this occasion.  :)
On Tuesday, when everyone else in Melbourne was at the Melbourne Cup, or at home watching it, I grabbed my camera and took a bit of time out.  I didn’t venture too far from home - only 40 minutes drive or so - but far enough to be able to smell the Eucalyptus again.
I don’t know how many photographs I took, but I do know I went mad.  And as much as I love photographing little people (even big ones) there’s something about being able to take my time, breathe in, and savour the moment before I press the shutter.  And I don’t have to make silly jokes and jump around like a lunatic to keep the cows smiling. :)

By Narrelle | Posted in Landscape Photography, Melbourne, Personal | Tagged , , , , | 10 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

Almost Newborn Photography

November 3, 2008 – 10:19 am

I had a session yesterday with an ‘almost newborn’ baby boy.  At 7 weeks he falls just outside of what us photographers would normally classify as a newbie.  But he was as well behaved, perhaps more so, than most newborns I’ve photographed.  He slept almost the whole time I was there, patiently putting up with the prodding and moving we subjected him to, and settling like a dream.  The only time he wasn’t feeling so patient was when he was due from cuddles and feeding from mummy.

After a quick feed we got some wide awake shots of the little guy.  It always maks me wonder what babies have to frown about so often - if only then knew how easy their life is at this point.  :)

And while he was feeding I snuck outside with his 6 year old sister, and had a bit of a play in her gorgeous cubby house.  Taking photographs of her at the same time was a good excuse to relive my childhood, even if only for a few minutes.  :)

Thank you for the lovely afternoon, Tony and Snez. You have a beautiful family, and a gorgeous house (when you’re ready to move on can you let us know :) ).  I’ll be in touch soon when your gallery is ready. I hope you enjoy these in the meantime.

Narrelle x
{ Newborn photography, Melbourne }

By Narrelle | Posted in Child Photography, Melbourne, Newborn Photography, Sneak Peak | Tagged , , , , , | 9 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

A Family Affair

October 28, 2008 – 2:27 pm

Yesterday we had a visit from one of Jaedon and Alicia-Rae’s cousins, Matilda (though we all call her Tilly). Her mum had to work for the day so we were called in as babysitters - though I’m not sure who was sitting who.  ;-)
Jaedon LOVES having his cousins around, and I think Tilly was pretty excited too seeing as this was her first time here all by herself. And, as luck would have it, we had a power outage from 11:30 am till 4:30, so had to resort to some good old fashioned fun like jumping on the beds and playing out the backyard on the swing.  Things kids did before TV and NIntendo were invented.  :)
Tilly was begging me all day to take her photo - she wouldn’t have normally had to resort to begging but I made a bargain with her that I would only photograph her if she let me brush her hair.  I can’t believe I won. And I have to give her credit - I have a lot more practice to put in before Alicia-Rae’s hair gets to brushing length if I want to be remembered for anything but the torture I inflicted on her every morning…
When I can actually get Tilly to sit still for more than 3 seconds she makes a great model. And she has the most incredibly blue eyes.  A lot of people comment that she has the same eyes as Jaedon.  Funny how the gene pool works.


She insisted on having some with Alicia-Rae, who actually seemed to enjoy it too.

 

{ Child Photography Melbourne }

By Narrelle | Posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne, Personal | Tagged , , | 8 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

My Open Door Policy

October 27, 2008 – 8:57 pm

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and I’ve decided to add an ‘open door’ section to my website.
What this means is I’ll be featuring a full, recent client session with the intention of giving people a good idea of what to expect should they ask me to do their custom photography.
My first featured session is Baby Ame, from not so long ago. Her mum and dad have kindly agreed to let me use the images from their recent session, and I’m excited to be able to do so. They are such a beautiful family (soon to be extended) and we had the perfect weather to head down to the beach for some fun shots.
I love the beach. And I love summer. And I’m looking forward to more oppurtunies over the coming months to bury myself in the sand, or where ever necessary, to capture some great memories for more beautiful people out there.
If you’d like to view Ame’s session, simply head over to my website and click on the ‘open door’ link.  Here’s one more photograph from the session, just to entice you.  :)

By Narrelle | Posted in Baby Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne | Tagged , , , , , | 3 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

These are a few of my favourite things | Sunday Dinner.

October 27, 2008 – 8:12 am

Once apon a time I would have named a roast as my favourite Sunday Dinner. But now, for a Sunday night, it involves too much work.  :)  And now that summer is well and truly on it’s way (it was 31 degrees C here yesterday) who wants to be ending the weekend by slaving away in a hot kitchen.  A nice glass of chilled wine, a Banrock Station White Shiraz to be more specific, and a generous serving of prawn salsa is more to my liking these days.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to fully appreciate a good glass of wine (or any alcohol for that matter) having had 2 children close together and breastfeeding them both, so I probably reach the ‘height of appreciation’ much quicker than most. And while I normally prefer a red wine to a white or a rose, there’s something about sitting down on a balmy evening with a cold glass in hand, the condensation hitting your lips before the wine does.  I have to confess that the White Shiraz was a bit of a bit of a subsutitute for us though; while we were living in England we fell in love with Zinfandel but, judging from the puzzled looks from salesmen and friends alike, no-one seems to have heard of it over here in Aus.
And I’m not sure what I like most about the prawn salsa - whether it’s because it tastes divine, or because Matt cooks it for me and all I have to do is sit back and eat it.

 

By Narrelle | Posted in Favourite Things, General Photography, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

Dora the Explorer

October 20, 2008 – 10:29 pm

No - it’s not about the cartoon version. We have our own little ‘Dora’, whose favourite activity is exploring everything she lays her eyes and hands on.
It was a gorgeous day out yesterday so, needing some fresh air, we headed out for a bit. Nowhere exciting - just down to the front yard, and up and down our street.  But I guess one place is as fun as the next when you’re 1 and 2.  That’s one of the great things about young children - you don’t have to go anywhere fancy to impress them, and they can make fun out of just about any situation. 

For Alicia-Rae, her fun consisted of picking dandelions from the front nature-strip…

…examining the moss between the tiles on our landing, and playing with the not-so-healthy shrubbery sticking out between the bannisters…

…and busying herself picking up the dead fir from the neighbours trees, nicely putting it back in their yard for them.  :)

It’s such a treat to see them at this age, where everything is new, and one great big adventure.  It kinda reminds me what life is all about, and there’s no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than that.

Jaedon was having his own bit of fun too, which was great to watch.  It’s been such a joy to see him smile again after being ill on and off for the last 6 weeks.  I feel like we’ve finally gotten our little boy back again. Yay!

This was from the morning’s trip to the park - he was on one of those things his daddy describes as a ‘whirly pole’.  :)   It kind of looks like a pogo stick stuck in the ground, but when stood on it spins around in a circle - I think from the effects of gravity and momentum. Something like that.  lol.  Anyway, Jaedon loved it, and I loved the deep belly laughs and squeals it produced.

And this is him dancing on the front landing - it looks like he’s doing the Tango to me.  :)  (And you can just see the remnants of his cold-sores.  :(  )

And here he is having dizzy-whizzies with daddy. He can always count on daddy for some good old fashioned fun.

It was the kind of day we all needed, and I’m glad I managed to catch it on ‘film’.
These are the kind of memories I like to hang on to and treasure. But I know so well already how moments I’m sure will last forever eventually blend into the other memories stored in that box.  That’s what I love about photography - even in my mind fails me, I still have the evidence of a life well-lived, and well-loved.
{ Children’s photography Melbourne }

By Narrelle | Posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment
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