March. The long road through summer...

Yo. So i realize it's been a while. Our first summer entirely feeding ourselves and paying rent by photographing solely weddings has been racing by. We've been busy. Extremely busy. But we're loving life. And this is pretty much what we've dreamed of for the last few years (minus the waking up at 3am freaking out how behind we are part). Nevertheless, I figured I should stop by here. I've literally got hundreds of films lined up with some interesting photographs to share. Alas, they'll have to wait a little longer. In the meantime, accept a smattering of life on the road over the past few months. Taken on all sorts of films and over at least as many cameras. Some of these deserved there own post. Oh well. You get the picture. I'll be back soon. I promise. A few things are working their way from being ideas up my sleeve into real life projects. Big Love. Alex.

Charmayne Johnstone - Iron Woman

Last Sunday was a Half Ironman in Taupo. The full Ironman event was due to take place on Saturday but was cancelled due to the terrible weather. Here's my mother in law, Charmayne Johnstone, as she completes the race with her support team at her side.....what an achievement! Seriously! I was getting puffed just watching the race. Look at all those people lining the finish line to cheer her on! Congratulations Charmayne! What an effort! You are ridiculously amazing! Alex.

Kodak BW400CN, EF 50mm f1.4, Lake Taupo, New Zealand. March 4th 2012.

Rusty and Clint Eastwood - Kawakawa, NZ

Meet Rusty and Clint Eastwood. I met these two fine gents in Kawakawa during late December after a bit of a roadtrip with Coralee up to Ahipara. It was one of those moments where I'd missed the initial encounter. We jumped straight out of our car and bolted across the road to the bakery. We were hungry as! For what it's worth, the bakery food was average, haha. I still struggle to find a decent snack in Kawakawa. Open to suggestions! But I went back to the car to casually fetch my camera before introducing myself.

These two were just chilling on the main street singing along to Clint's clanky strumming. Obviously, that's not his real name, but when I introduced myself, that's what he said. It took me a few seconds to click...but when I saw the humor in it I just continued conversation as if nothing was even out of the ordinary. Rusty and his ol' mate Clint Eastwood. Haha.

At first I dismissed Clint's instrument as just a small guitar....but closer inspection revealed it was some kind of ukelele. "A tenor uke" he told me in his gruff smoky voice. Clint has been playing his tenor uke for far longer than I've even been on this earth. He was the man. Clint had a great course laugh. I told Clint and Rusty of my newly acquired banjo/mandolin. I'd been having trouble playing it in the conventional tuning, so I'd been experimenting with guitar tunings and stuff. Clint screwed up his face.....insisted I learn the GDAE tuning that it's supposed to be played in. I've been improving too, Clint!

After joking with me that my 'manjo' would be more suited to a big band in the 1970s with a giant brass section than hipster folk music in the 2010s, we parted ways. As always, I offered to email them a copy of the photographs I'd made....but Clint and Rocky didn't have email. "Not many of us care about email up here in Kawakawa" Rusty chuckled. Nor did they particularly care to see a copy of the photo. Clint was more worried that I'd shatter my camera lens photographing his "ugly mug". The lens was fine. the pie was average. And Coralee and I sung to the cheesy Northland radio stations all the way back to Auckland.

Kodak BW400CN, Canon EF50mm1.8ii, Kawakawa, Northland, NZ

Orewa, 0600hrs

The waves have been pretty good this week. Well, not at the moment thanks to a pesky nor'easter. It's a bummer, because we are pretty busy. OK, crazy busy working through our first weddings of 2012 (and the last one of 2011!). That's cool though, because I was forced to get up early to go for a surf. I was indeed rewarded for my efforts. I watched the sun rise and spent a good two hours surfing perfect peeling Orewa Bar with only one other SUP out with me. It's been a late start to summer, but here's to more mornings beginning like this one!

FujiColor PRO400H, Orewa Beach, Jan 11, 2012.

December...

December. Oh! December. Coralee and I took a sweet little getaway to Ahipara once we'd completed the final wedding of 2011. I couldn't swim because of a recent tattoo, so like any good husband...I took photos of others swimming. Before Annabelle and Matt's wedding in Taupo, I managed to catch the first few floats of Taupo's Santa Parade. What else.....aha....Christmas with the Johnstones! Joshua and Isaac stoked with their new radio controlled cars and then all the kiddies crashed out watching movies that evening. Christmas with my side of the family is the very last image. Oh, and there's a few 2am shots of Tauranga Harbour thrown in there for good measure. Enjoy. Alex

Various cameras, Kodak BW400CN, FujiColor Pro800Z, December 2011