Chandra’s mother is Indian and her Dad is I *think* Dutch but I cant be sure (mind blank!). She grew up in Holland and Joe grew up here in Forbes. And what an amazing, warm couple. Loved them both from our first meeting.

Chandra is very artistic herself so did have some ideas on locations, and when we met to discuss them her eyes were wild with anticipation to see if I liked them too. Ock! Joes family farm, where his father still farms, had all we needed. We were so excited, Chandra and I were on the exact same page! As long as it wasnt wet…

Woke up Saturday morning to TORRENTIAL rain. It was like a cyclone. Heavy rain, icy strong winds and total MISERY. I knew Chandra could go either way – be a blubbering mess or shrug her shoulders and not worry about it. She did the latter. And I had a plan anyway!

Beautiful day, if you bet me a zillion dollars that I would get sunshine and sun flare for the locations shots that morning? You would be very, very rich (not that I have a zillion, but you know…). Sun came out just in time and while it was still very wet and sludgy we did manage to go to one area of the farm that was perfect. Most if not all shots are waiste up, there were no bridal shoes being worn in the mud! It did start to rain again just as we were leaving our second location (many many thanks to the Parslows who answered my SOS about using their joint! SO much appreciated!) and then rained most of the night. Phew, close call!

Please enjoy the photos. Anita and I had an amazing day and our meal at Eat Your Greens was absolutely so YUMMUS! I would probably roll a grandma for another taste of that Risotto…  

I’m trying to decide how to describe Chandra in a sentence and I just cant. Too many words come to mind – smart, beautiful, feisty, sweet-as-sugar, funny, wild, intense, a total firecracker, total nutcase, fun, happy. And Joe is her complete match, he just adores her. He is very smart, gorgeous (my Mum thinks he looks like Tom Selleck but I think he’s more Richard Gere), quiet, funny and so relaxed with me. He was so open to my ideas, and put the pressure on when he asked me what my Plan B was! They picked the right girl, I even had a plan C and D. I didnt have to direct too much, Chandra was ON and I just told Joe to respond to see if that took us where we needed to go. And it did. And it was magical!  I love these guys, I want to hang out with them and have a quiet dinner (that her Mama makes!) and talk about their travels and my kids and our lives. They were just the best people… Feel very humbled to have spent the day with all of them and their beautiful families!

“Ik wens jullie allemaal spoedig reizen, lievde en vele mooie herrineringen van de trouwerei van Joe en Chandra in ons prachtig land”

B – (I hope I get this right! ) “Ik hoop dat je weet hoe mooi je bent. Jouw glimlag verlicht Niet alleen jou maar je hele omgeving. Mischien geloof je dat zelf een dezer dag.”

 I am The Cupcakes Lady, and I hope my Dutch source hasn’t made my translation into something rude or offensive…

Everyone was a bit on edge as Pippa and Layla are…well.. the most stubborn girls ever!  If they dont want the photo taken, then it aint happening!!! When I arrived, the Dads were leaving and I was warned that Layla had just woken up and Pippa was in a bad mood. Oh joy! I was nervous 2 weeks ago, then I was just ready for the challenge! Bring it princesses!! I broke my bribing rule and bought lollies to the shoot, but then I do see these kids a bit and they know who I am so its not like they were strangers. And it worked   :). I have photographed them many times aswell, I even won a competition with the one of Baby Pippa!

It was totally fine! Pip was an absolute superstar, she was SO into it and just grinned the entire time, as did her bro Joe. She was the one who could go either way – not have a bar of me or give me 5 minutes TOPS.  Layla was a bit of a different story, and we got there eventually, but far out. She made me absolutely cack myself. “I dont wanna get ma photo taken ya BOOF!”. She has a deep, husky voice too. And when the dogs were barking she yelled with her whole body “Siiiiddddoooown ya big BOOF ‘eads!!!!” then cacked at herself and looked around to make sure everyone was laughing at her too.  She told me her favourite show was “The Maddy Johns show, I watch it wiv ma Dad. Oh! And my Dad does stinky farts!!! Hahahahahahaa!” then cackes herself and looks around to make sure everyone got how funny she really is. Hilarious!! What a  complete nutcase!!  At her parents wedding the word was ‘stinky bum’ and ‘bum bum’. It seems she has swapped to Boof ‘ead and just plain old boof.I know this is incredibly out of focus, but you HAVE to appreciate the cacking face to check if everyone got her joke!!Pippa now…Pippa in march, 2008 ♥ ♥ ♥ I am The Cupcakes Lady, and I want to start calling people Boof ‘eads when they try and take my photo too…

In order to make her a massive success, please (pretty pretty please!!) I ask, no I DARE you to go buy Am8ers new single off Itunes. You can do so via this link – HERE!!!!!    That insane single cover was photographed and designed by yours truly, there are a thousand stories to go with how we pulled it off but it worked!

Awesome!!! I still cannot believe my little girl is on ITunes!!? All our early teenage years we were obsessed with music, we scrutinized artists and songs and have always pretty much had the same taste. She also MADE us watch her time and time again dancing and singing to Madonna, she even had props (the stick out of the window to stop robbers getting in she used as a walking stick to go with her top hat *rolls eyes*)  and would then ask us to tell her all about her ‘performance’. And in all honesty – I never had to lie. She was, and was always gonna be HOT!

Now she’s doing it for real!!  Her video with Lil Kim can be seen HERE !!! I cant stop giggling at my bestie dancing and singing with such a superstar, and Lil Kim saying Amber is HER girl? Mate, was she in Ambers bedroom all those years ago pretending to be an applauding audience of thousands?? I think not Lil Kim! She is MY girl!

Back in May we did some promo shots, its always a pleasure to photograph Amber and she totally loves it… I suppose having the complete trust in me helps her to completely open up. Although I would bet money she already knew everything she wanted to do with the shoot ages before I lifted my camera! I am The Cupcakes Lady and I know I have asked a few wee favours in regards to my pal Amber, just asking one more!!      For the moment….

SO fun, SO loud. Two sets of wheels (I got hit (so did Noisy) with the first popped lot *screams like a girl and runs away with arms flapping*), lots of stinky smoke and noise and the shoot was deemed a success. LOVED it!!!!!! I am The Cupcakes Lady, and I might just have a SMALL amount of rev-head in my bones, but not as much as Sam….

OH        MY        GOODNESS.  We were all ont he same page immediately, these girls rocked up SO prepared. They had so many props, so many ideas and absolutely NO inhabitions. I asked Kay “Are you nervous?” and she said “Nuh!”. They were ON as soon as we started, such freeness can only come from inner confidence. It was awesome.

It was amazing, we shot for nearly 3 hours in 3 different locations. We jumped the (barbwired) fence into a canola field (and got scared (well, I did) when we saw the farmer racing down in his ute. ‘Act natural’. He drove past us with a massive grin and waved!!!), we stopped for chocolate, we jumped another fence for the chair shots and got completely soaked with rain from the crazy weather, we found old cars and I made up a bit of a tail about why we needed to use thier old stuff (and they let us), they brought an old chair, balloons, pillows and blankets, and silverware that we never got to use. But most of all, they brought themselves.

What an amazing bunch of girls, so confident, radiant and beautiful. And FUNNY. And gorgeous. And stylish!!!!  And funky and quirky. And so open and willing. We explored most if not all of their ideas, and they were open to all of mine.  It was a great way for me to get back into the saddle and try a new approach to working with groups, and it worked.

Mon, Kay, Sar, Net, Chlo, Carol Bridie… thank you all for such an amazing day. I really had the best time, everything just clicked and worked didnt it? I had a ball, you are all so wonderful. Thank you for all being… YOU!!!I didnt want to seperate Carol Bridie too much, but wanted to play on the fact that she is the first to get hitched!Beautiful Chlo, you all know how I feel about a red-haired beauty… It was raining in this shot, I was under my own blanket with the camera, they shared theirs! I dont do jumping shots that much anymore, but the girls wanted to try it. It has always amazed me how difficult it is to all jump at the same time on the count of three! Love it!Lunatics to the left… I am The Cupcakes Lady and I totally trespassed and broke the law, then encouraged these youngin’s to do the same…

My beautiful friends Trudi and Tim have just welcomed this adorable baby boy. Isn’t he a little ripper! I was lucky enough to tell Trude that if she didn’t let me take his photos at 6 days old, then our friendship was dead to me…jk. 5 days was even better and when he finally settled it was magic.

Having a close friend have a baby is something so special, and it also gives me the chance to spend as much time as possible hanging around and staring at the baby. Because really, how can you not stare at a baby so super sweet?  It also means I can puff my feathers up for a quick cluck and get my newborn fill as much as I like. Toby is a dream, he is sooooo beautiful and has the calmest presence and has fit into the family like he has always been here.  I look so so SO forward to watching him grow… and melt hearts all over town ♥It is so tiring being so booful! Snapped these little beauties when he was 1 day old. CUTE!

I am The Cupcakes Lady, and I am the worlds best poop catcher….

That, and we had to re-shoot as this weather has been hopeless for light! So, there are a few from our shoot 3 weeks ago and some from today. Ruby and Kate visited my place this morning and Ruby who is usually a pretty serious baby girl was hamming it up and having a grand old play on my mat. She is a little rocket and had us laughing the whole time. So cute, those huge brown eyes melt you. Could my peek-a-boo skills still be working? Maybe I needed this little break I’ve had for them to be most effective (news on my break for August is:  its still happening. I hoped to not be off the entire month and I have a shoot or two lined up but recovery from surgery has been slower than expected. Dont do things by halves in this house…!) ♥

I have photogrphed Finn before and he is a total turdburger. But follows direction SO well and photographs beautifully. His lips and eyes are a dream, he can be so expressive and intense on command. Love it! I am The Cupcakes Lady, and I can totally call a client kid a turdburger because his mum and I are mates…

She was round two of my non-smiling baby day. Usually I am pretty hysterical, I adore this age and babies are just so pleased you decide to stop by and spend all this time and effort to sing to them and make funny noises, usually rewarding me with gorgeous grins and personality. I lost my touch the day I photographed Pippa and Evie, they were both not overly impressed!  

We managed to get smiles when we put Evie in front of the mirror (naturally…) and when Mummy did some funny noises and sang some beautiful songs. She must prefer her mothers sweet tender voice, rather than mine!

And would you check out the shoes!! This baby girl has more shoes than me, and when her Dad asked me how many pairs I thought she had, I guessed 17. I was VERY close (but short!). What does she need them for you ask? Ock! She is a girl, girls neeeed shoes. You never know when a trip to the beach might just come up, or the opportunity to splash in puddles. Also special going out to dinner shoes for those guests who just drop by, and joggers for those time when a baby just has to jog!

Sorry, I am a shoe person. I dont think its weird or odd, I think its totally cool and SO cute! And I would actually wear those glitter Cons. As if you wouldnt too, if they were in your size…

I am the Cupcakes Lady, and I am totally on the hunt for those glitter Cons in adult sizes…

It really wasn’t my day for babies, Pippa started the trend of just not smiling. She wasnt unhappy or unsettled – ust unimpressed. She was not impressed with my funny noises, not impressed with my childish peek-a-boo games, and only smiled the tiniest smile when I sang her some Lady Gaga. We had to take serious measures. There was really no other choice. Dads rasberries on the belly was the only solution!!

Beautiful bubby girl, I adored her outfit which included baby stockings  ♥