Monthly Archives: October 2008

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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 , , | Comments (8)

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 , , , , , | Comments (3)

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 , , , , , , | Comments (2)

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 , , , , , , | Comments (11)

Getting Better

October 15, 2008 – 8:27 pm

One down, three to go…
Alicia-Rae is pretty much recovered from whatever she had (see photo below - is there a more beautiful sight than that smile). Can’t say the same for the rest of us though, unfortunately. Jaedon’s mouth is covered in coldsores, and full of thrush and ulcers, on top of the awful cold that he’s developed.  The poor boy’s not having much fun at the moment.
Neither are mummy and daddy. Both of us have got one those horrible colds too. You know - the blocked or continually running noses, messed up sinuses, annoying coughs. Blah.
Hence the lack of posting lately. I’m just so glad I’d kept the couple of weeks after Matt got back from overseas free of bookings, intending to take a bit of a holiday. You never know, it might still happen. Some sun and relaxation sounds great right about now.�
Here’s to a healthy household soon.

By Narrelle | Posted in Melbourne | Comments (3)

We take the bad days along with the good.

October 9, 2008 – 8:54 pm

Daddy (aka Matt, my husband) arrived home today after 6 weeks working overseas.  We were all looking forward to a nice family reunion - Jaedon has been bugging me every day this week wanting to know if it is daddy day.  I was looking forward to his excited little face when he saw his second favourite person in the world (after me, or course :) ) exit customs.  But all he did was sit in his pram and mope, barely acknowledging him.  I put it down to the early rise we all had in order to get to the airport on time.
Safely home, Jaedon and I were having a quiet cuddle on the couch when all of a sudden he started vomiting, and crying. Then vomiting some more.  Poor boy, he really hates being sick (not that any of us enjoy it that much). And then he spent the next several hours in bed, at his request, with one of us constantly cuddled up next to him.  We knew he had to be really sick at this point.  When he eventually ventured out, he spent another couple of hours laying on the cushions, or our laps, on the lounge-room floor. :(
And on top of that, Alicia-Rae still isn’t over whatever she has either - today probably being her worst day so far. She spent the most of it crying, or trying not to.  It was just heartbreaking to watch her little face crumpled up.
So we didn’t quite get the day we expected.
But we did get lots of cuddles. And we did feel fulfilled in doing the best we could do to give our children what they needed most - good old fashioned love.
It might not have seemed the best of days, but it brought us together as a family which is all we asked for anyway.

And just to make you feel as sorry for our little ones as we did, here are their sad little faces

By Narrelle | Posted in Baby Photography, Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne, Personal | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (5)

Anybody have a spare 2.6K to donate to a worthy cause?

October 7, 2008 – 1:11 pm

ME being the worthy cause, of course.
No?
Well, it was worth a try. :)

Yesterday I was reading Tara Whitney’s blog, my photographer/blogger hero, and saw that her and her friend Em are organising a ‘Find Yourself’ trip to Thailand in two and a half weeks.  Immediately my heart started beating at that nervously excited pace as I thought about what an amazing opportunity it would be.  If I could have one wish fulfilled at this point in time, this would be it.  Of course it’s beyond reason, but it didn’t stop me daydreaming about it all afternoon, and well into the night when I should have been sleeping. I’m sure I even thought about it in my sleep.  Now if only the money tree out in our back yard would start flowering dollar notes instead of lemons…
Then I started thinking about why I was so absorbed with the idea, fanciful as it might be.  Was it the idea of 7 glorious days to myself, not having to think of anyone but me?  Was it the thought of being able to eat breakfast in peace (and a buffet breakfast at that, not just toast or scraps of cereal). And lunch. And dinner. And anything else I wanted to snack on in between. And not have to share.  Maybe it was the 5 hours of spa treatment beckoning my imagination. Perhaps it was the shopping (for whatever I wanted, and not a grocery list in sight), the river cruise, the relaxing, the journalling, the adult conversation.
Admittedly I’m also drawn by the idea of having a one on one “sure to make me feel special” photo session with Tara - though there’s a very good reason why I’m normally on the ‘right side’ of the camera.  That way I don’t actually have to be in any photos.  But I could do with being made to feel special. Can’t any girl, at any given moment.  :)  And of course it would be cool to ‘hang’ with Tara (don’t ask me where that expression came from) for a bit. I’d love to see how she works.  But mostly I’d just love to chill out and share a wine with her. She seems like she’d be a lot of fun.
So I guess it’s probably a combination of all the above.  Or maybe it’s none of the above.  Maybe I just need some time out to be ‘me’ again. Time to Find Myself.
In the meantime though, I’ll continue to find joy in being somebody’s mum, and wife (my favourite job), and friend, and photographer, all things I love and hold dearly. And each and every one of them making up a part of me, defining who I am.
Maybe I don’t need to go halfway round the world and spend lots of money after all.
But it’s sure nice to think about it.

Narrelle x

By Narrelle | Posted in Melbourne | Comments (6)

I love Sundays.

October 6, 2008 – 8:14 am

And I love sunny Sundays. Yesterday was perfect. And what better way to top it off than a session with the gorgeous Ame (a dutch name pronounced ah-may - wish I knew how to add the emphasis symbol above the e for her). Her parents are from the Netherlands, having been here in Melbourne for a couple of years now. Long enough to not be surprised by our weather, and the fact that while it was perfect yesterday it is currently black as coal out and pouring with rain. We certainly chose the day well, Lian.
I had a lovely afternoon.  Ame had just turned one, which is a beautiful age, and it is always a joy (and an honour) to be asked to capture them at this stage in their lives.  They’re often quite mobile too at this age, which adds that little bit of a challenge to the task.  :)
Anyway, enough yakking from me - here’s your little sneak peak mum and dad. 

Look at those baby blues - she’s just adorable!

Playing peek-a-boo in the back yard.  We see you.  :)

And it would be a crime to live as close to the beach as they do and not head down there for a few photographs (and a bit of fun).

And I had to include this one becuase I just loved the interaction between mum and her little girl. How very precious.

Thanks for a wonderful afternoon guys.  Hope you’ve enjoyed your little peek. I can’t wait to share the rest with you.

Narrelle x

(Oh, and I forgot to give a big shout out to this girl for my brand new profile pic. Thankyou so much, Kristen!)
{ Melbourne Baby Photography }

By Narrelle | Posted in Babies, Baby Photography, Child Photography, Family Photography, Melbourne, Sneak Peak | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (10)

A little bit late (and early).

October 1, 2008 – 11:50 pm

I have to confess - it’s me that’s late. This is from quite a few sessions ago, but for various reasons I’m only just sharing it now.
Baby J himself was early - by about 6 weeks if I’m remembering right.  When I went to visit him and his mum he was still in the NICU, and oh so tiny. And absolutely adorable.
It was such a pleasure to be able to capture this stage in his life, and I’m hoping to be able to do a follow up session sometime soon.  In the meantime, mum, here are a few pics of your amazing little boy.  The last one makes me smile every time I look at it.  I bet he brings a smile to your face too! I can’t wait to see how he’s grown.

 

 

{ Newborn Photography Melbourne }

By Narrelle | Posted in Melbourne | Comments (9)