We live in a world filled with possibilities and opportunities. All we need to do is make the most of what’s available to us.

Live in the sunshine,
Swim the sea,
Drink the wild air’s salubrity

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

~ Pav

It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race. That relentless feeling that we need to do more and achieve more. But sometimes what we really need is to step away from all the technology and remind ourselves of the beauty of the world around us. To stop. To really look. And to breathe.

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.

― John Burroughs

It’s photographs like this one that remind me how truly blessed we are to live where we do.

~ Pav

Colour in art is a fascinating thing, especially when you start to delve into the world of colour psychology and look at the effect that particular colours can have on emotions and behaviour.

Yellow is linked to emotion. It’s a colour of happiness and optimism, and of emotional strength and self-esteem. It can lift our spirits and inspire our creativity.

Violet is linked to spirituality. It’s a colour of magic and of time and space. It can inspire contemplation, awareness and vision.

So our brightly coloured girl evokes the essence of spring for me. It’s a time of optimism. A time to dream and be inspired. A time to let our spirits soar and to believe in magic.

~ Pav

P.S. If you’re interested in colour psychology there’s lots of information out there. I’ve found Colour Affects and Color Matters particularly interesting and helpful. They’re the primary sources for this post.

It’s no secret that I love to capture what I think of as stolen moments. Those fleeting seconds when everyone assumes no photos are being taken. When they forget about the camera, the lights, and whatever else is going on around them and get lost in their own thoughts. Often these shots are intended as test shots, meant to be used to assess the light and the scene and then discarded when we take the “proper” photo. Occasionally they happen during transitions between poses. Regardless, they tend to capture something we weren’t expecting. Often it’s laugher and silliness, but sometimes it’s something a  bit darker.  Something that reminds us that behind the bright, smiling face of the beautiful woman in front of us there might sometimes be a sad little girl.

~ Pav

We met Emma on a photo shoot we were doing for a make up artist a couple of months ago, and knew straight away that we wanted to work with her again.

If memory serves, I loved the way she looked on camera so much that I might even have threatened to take her home with us that day… Luckily she was lovely enough to view my kidnapping plans as flattery and agreed to spend an afternoon at the Powerhouse with us.

This is a girl who’s destined for big things, and we’re going to take every opportunity we can to work with her before those things steal her away from us.

~ Pav

It’s not every day that you find Cleopatra wandering regally through the Brisbane night.

As you know, a few weeks ago we went to Lost Movements to take photos of the Glory Box fashion parades. As an unexpected bonus, we also got to capture some of the gorgeous work of the night’s resident body painters, one of which was the very talented Sandra Temple.  She turned the lovely Jo Jo into a divine Cleopatra.

You can see the full gallery from the night here.

~ Pav