Just another glorious day here in the paradise of Port Stephens and another busy day at Capture Imaging.

Brent was out photographing  the Kennedy family as they laughed and played. The peaceful happiness of this family is just reflected beautifully in these images.

Wally is their eight year old Border Collie, who is very much apart of the family was included in the shoot. Like most dogs Wally is fixated on playing fetch with the ball. Brent was able to capture the intensity in Wally’s expression. The  family loved this image so much that Wally will now join the precious images of the family and hang on the walls in the Kennedy’s home.

We created this beautiful personal art for the Kennedy’s. We carefully choose their favourite images and had the images tailor matted ready for framing. Priceless art of Kennedy family for 2010.

It is that time of the year again for the Port Stephens Small Business Awards, get behind CAPTURE IMAGING in ANNA BAY and vote for us as you favourite “TRADE/SERVICE” !!! There are so many great businesses to support in our Port Stephens area and we would be thrilled to have your vote.

Simply vote online at http://www.portstephensexaminer.com.au/content/forms/64

I have a lot of local customers that were not aware that Brent Mail is the photographer and has captured all of the beautiful image in his very special book “Moods of Port Stephens” . If you are not familiar with his work log on and have a look at moodsofportstephens.com Brents amazing landscapes grace the walls of many Local Residents, Restaurants, Resorts, the local Baptise Church and even the offices of the Examiner Newspaper.

You too can purchase these beautiful images to hang in your home or make a perfect gift for that friend that has visited the area and fallen in love with our magical landscapes. Brent’s sunsets are my favourite and to be honest when I look at them I am reminded of how beautiful our summers are and it helps to make me feel a little warmer during this cold winter.

moodsofportstephens.com Enjoy !

What a better reason for a big family get together than a 40th Birthday.

Margo came to our studio to organise this very special photoshoot and chat to us what she would like to have done. She was planning to celebrate her 40Th Birthday. Margo told me here family was dotted around the country some coming from as far away as Geraldton WA, they were all staying for five days having a holiday too.

What a perfect time to have family portraits done, mile stone birthday and family reunion.

Well Brent himself had a ball, he did an amazing job getting the perfect group shot.  The a shot of Margo, her Mum and the Sisters together, then he went on to do individual family shots. There was so much laughter and fun as they boy’s verses girls tuggawar was being won. We even got the perfect shot of Grandma with all her beautiful grandchildren.A perfect sunny day at Zenith made for a stunning back drop.

I spent the Saturday morning with the entire family while they viewed their very special images, there were a few tears shed, I even had tear, listening to the oooh and ahhs as they watched their beautiful images unfold on the screen before them. I know everyone was so touched, it was so evident of the love they had for one an other, even though there are thousands of miles between them. They now have these amazing images to reflect upon that will grace the walls in each home.

Thank you Margo, for allowing us to capture this special time for you and your very special family.

Just before this cool snap has hit we had great fun with Melissa’s family. Grandparents, cousins and kids make up this happy family. Every one was very relaxed and had a great time. It was great to see the sense of fun  the whole family had.

After the outdoor shoot with the family the kids came back to the studio and had an aqua shoot in the studio pool. Pirates and mermaids were the order of the afternoon. They swam and dove for treasure. The kids had such a sense of wonderment in their images, to finally be what they pretended to be at home. Just for the afternoon they WERE Pirates and Mermaids and imaginations ran wild. Amazing images to look back on when they grow to be adults and remember that magical afternoon.

This sweet family we recently photographed at Shoal Bay was a joy to work with. The children played beautifully together and the bond between brother and sister was very evident even at this young age.

Brent captured some really tenders moments, my favourite being their hug, when to brother kiss his little sister on the top of head, so precious. Another one of them building sandcastles together. All kids have their moments and we tend the think of the negatives but isn’t it lovely to have these special moment captured.

It is a great opportunity for Mum & Dad to have a shot together as well, usually one of them is behind the camera. So many of our families say “The last nice photo we had together was our wedding day”, it is also lovely for the kids to have a shot of Mum and Dad together.

Jane had a planning meeting with me and explained she has family back in England, she wanted Brent to capture her amazing life style she and her Husband now have in Australia.

Using Biribu beach as the back drop, where we have the crystal blue water, golden sands and the volcanic rocks. It is a great place for beautiful dogs Scooby and Milly to have a walk as well.

I am sure Brent has never heard the old saying, “never work with kids or animals” because he seems to be able work wonders with both. His natural talent for bringing out the best in all creature great and small.

Jane and I laughed so much in the viewing theater where I was showing her the images that Brent has taken on the massive screen of her beloved dogs. It looked like they were about to leap out of the photos and land on our laps. Karen.

Darren and Renee decided to have their wedding in Port Stephens and Renee got ready along the foreshore of Corlette near to Peppers Anchorage. The weather was overcast and drizzly but everyone was in a fun mood and I managed to capture the nervous anticipation for what was about to happen. As usual the bride was running a little late, so we got a few shots near the water before we jumped into the limo – heading for the church. I used my off-camera lights to create an image that represented the mood at that time.

The ceremony was at the historic catholic church in Raymond Terrace. I love these old buildings, so much character and history. After the ceremony we photographed the bride and groom in and around the church and I really wanted to show the strong connection between the newly weds who were very much in love. One of my favs is the shot inside near the window.

We travelled back to the inner lighthouse near little beach for some fun location shots and then ended up at The Catch Restuarant in Shoal Bay Resort and Spa for the reception.

Loved the speeches and the true love between Darren and Renee – that was felt by everyone. Brent.

My first timelapse video of Shoal Bay at night. Climbed Tomaree Headland at sunset and setup my canon 5D markII and canon 7D cameras to shoot this short video. Took about 90 minutes worth of footage for this 15 second video. What do you think?

Below are a few stills I shot at the same time, all very long exposures (3-5minutes). Which one is better? Enjoy. Brent

Nat, came to our studio after recently being one of the finalist for Miss Surfest at Fanny’s Night club.

In the planning meeting Nat explained to us that she wanted to use the photo shoot to use for her portfolio. Nat wanted to break a little with the traditional shots and get a little creative. Together we created several different scenarios. The Hitchhiker worked really well and  one of my favorite shots of Nat was to the old derelict  world war 2 gunning tower on Tomaree Headland at shoal bay.

The very talanted Kim from Blush Brides did Nat’s make up. Kim has been in the industy for years and true talent in making women glow.   Kim spent hours with us on the modeling shoots and works closely with Brent during the shoot to make sure our models are looking fresh and beautiful.

Nat was great fun to work with and I am sure you’ll agree that Brent created amazing art for Nat’s portfolio. We wish Nat the best of luck in her very bright future and we look forward to working with her again.