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Once again we are going to be having the Australian Community of Child Photographers Exhibition. It is called Heartfelt and was held last year in Sydney and was a fabulous success. This year it moves to Melbourne and I have posted the information below. For those that are not familiar with what the ACOCP does, please check out their website www.acocp.org.au

I was so thrilled when my Lee from Luvlee Photography asked me to do her engagement shoot! Firstly she is an amazing photographer herself and secondly, she is such a fun person and up for lots of laughs! It was great to to get to know Cam as well and I wish you all the very best for your upcoming wedding! And Lee has actually imported her wedding photographers from the States for her big day – the fabulous team from The Image is Found is flying in to shoot their big day so keep an eye out for those amazing photographs.

First up we found this gorgeous old abandoned house to play with…

Quick ice cream stop and some swinging!

Then it was picnic time for the last few afternoon rays of sunlight…

Until Lee decided it was a good time for photographs UNDER the picnic blanket

I had to include this last photograph as well…. Lee is a crafty kind of chick and had this around her neck and I asked her who it was and she said that ‘It’s me and Cam, when we get old’ – how cute is that!

This is my journey with medium format film, holgas and lomography. I have been thinking about film for a long time. I have really wanted to free myself of expensive gear and shoot with toy film cameras. I have always loved its unforgiveness and happy mistakes.

According to the urban dictionary, Lomography is: “a type of art photography in which color is emphasized. Traditionally, cameras such as the Holga, Lomo, Colorsplash, and Supersampler are used to create strange and unusual photographs. Lomographic photos are primarily characterized by vignettes, random subjects, and nonadherance to traditional photography rules. Lomography is a pleasant break from most photojournalism.”

Today I cross processed my fuji chrome 120mm slide film – exposed twelves times on 6×6cm format in bright direct sunlight. The deliciousness of thinking so deeply about each of the 12 shots had me giddy with excitement. The not-knowing what I have captured was almost unbearable! All this fun is just for me, as an artist and as a photographer.

I was so happy with the results. I love the vividness, the erratic colour, the dreaminess, the over exposed bits and haze. Its the photographic equivalent to the chaos theory (oh and I have decided to keep the film on this blog for now, I can’t see myself maintaining two separate blogs) anyway, enough talk! Time for erratic joy…

I was recently contacted by the Editor of Sunny Days Magazine in Newcastle (their equivalent of Sydney Child Magazine) to participate in an article that she was going to run on the ACOCP. I have included it below and hopefully this is the start of larger media coverage across the country. If you wish to run an article on our organisation or speak directly to us, please email me – nsw@acocp.org.au. Our president and PR person will be in contact shortly. Just click image to read larger.

I have entered the ACOCP in the Canon ‘Creative for a Cause’ – please click on the photo below and vote for our organisation to get some much needed funds. Thanks!

The exhibition launch went so well, we had some great speakers. A wonderful social worker who has been in the industry for more than 20 years spoke about how valuable our work was in helping the grieving process for these families. A mother and father who had lost their precious twins flew up from Melbourne to speak about how important the ACOCP was from a parent’s perspective. There was not a dry eye in the house after that wonderful talk. I spoke as well as NSW Coordinator to let everyone know my own experiences and the path with NSW was heading in the future. Here are some photos from the launch night. I have just been advised that there has been such a great response that they have extended the exhibition’s stay until the 8th July! So spread the word and get down there and get to know our special families.

Nat Green, the ACOCP publicist, Cristina Garduno Freeman, the ACOCP exhibition curator, Nettra Chetty, ACOCP Exhibition Coordinator and Nicole Boenig-McGrade, a wonderful photographer who donated to our silent auction

“These photographs are more than just images, each one tells the story of a young life, at times tragically short, at times endured, but always loved. These photographs are not documentaries but rather tangible memories that help the families both grieve and delight in their children. These photographs show the significant role that photography plays is creating a sense of family for all of us.”
Cristina Garduno Freeman, Curator for the exhibition at the MLC Gallery

The above quote says it all about what the ACOCP do. The Australian Community of Child Photographers Exhibition is now open! Please come along and have a look, tell your friends and family to drop by. The more awareness we raise, the more families will get to know about our service, the more children benefit from what we do. Please contact me personally if you wish to join as a photographer or wish to use the ACOCP or simply just want to know a bit more about what we do. If you know anyone in the medical field that may benefit from attending the exhibition, please feel free to pass on this blog address as I will be leaving this post up for the duration of the exhibition. The website is www.heartfelt.org.au. Thanks!

Today I had a wonderful time at Bear Cottage in Manly as part of my work with the Australian Community of Child Photographers. I met 5 wonderful families and saw the biggest smiles this side of Sydney They do a truly wonderful job and provide the most wondeful care for so many sick kids. I am looking forward to establishing a close relationship with them and providing as much free photography there as we can. If you are a photographer and located around the Northern Beaches area and are already a member or wish to beome a member, please email me! As you can imagine we need as many helping hands as we can to make sure these families get gorgeous professional photographs of themselves with their precious babies.

Below is a poster about our Exhibition we are having to raise awareness of the ACOCP… please link this to everyone you know so we can get as many people there as can! Thanks for your help

I am NSW coordinator for the Australian Community of Child Photographers – we are a volunteer organisation of child photographers from all over Australia who have come together to form an organisation dedicated to giving the gift of photographic memories to families that have experienced stillbirths, premature and ill infants and children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of their local hospitals, as well as children with serious and terminal illnesses.

I was called in to visit this gorgeous little baby who decided to come out in the world at only 26 weeks gestation so will spend his first 3 months of life in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit and the Special Care Nursery. He was less than a kilo when he was born but is steadily gaining weight and doing well. Please visit the website www.acocp.org.au and pass on our information to any one you think may benefit. The NSW ACOCP help line is 0402 917 910.

Last night was my first shoot with the ACOCP – Australian Community of Child Photographers – and it was a truly touching experience. I am so honoured to have been able to share a tiny part of the sad journey with the most incredible family. Even though this little baby had passed away, was still such a presence in that room and there was so much love that I was in awe.

It really drove home what the whole organisation is about and why we are trying so hard for everyone to find out about our service and how much good we can do for people.

Please check out their website here or their blog here and spread the word!

“ACOCP is an Australian community organisation giving the gift of photographic memories to children in need and their families. We specialise in giving the gift of photographic memories to families who have had a stillbirth, premature baby, infant in the NICU or child with serious or terminal illnesses. Participating photographers will come to the hospital or your home at a time convenient to you and will help supply you with cherished photographic memories. There will be no charge for this service.

Some of us have already been touched by infant loss and appreciate the importance of this gift – its just a way to give back to a wonderful community that we are part of.”