A trip around the US // Travel Photographer

This post starts with a song because this song played at the most perfect moment of this trip. Please play it and enjoy.

A fiddle plays as the dusk falls, behind us the dust kicking up behind the car and in front the flat plains of Texas. The colours around swirl with warmth and glow like they’re being painted just for us. There is an amazing and deep peace in this moment, this moment is why we exist on this earth, a perfect mix of sound and wonder. We create such beauty, such moving art. Sometimes I wonder what we’re all arguing about when moments like this exist. This is how I define the divine. The moments that transcend the mundane and become perfect in their simplicity. Driving towards the artists oasis of Marfa at dusk. I may have cried. My heart full from the beauty and experiencing this moment with my love.

The previous week had already been the perfect storm of love, catching up with old friends for the wedding of two of my favourite people, Brit & Sam. They met through an online forum that a trusty cohort of my fellow wedding photographers had met on. Living on all different sides of the globe, we rarely get to see each other. Experiencing the love and joy of seeing everyone, combined with witnessing two of our friends get married, there were many happy tears on this trip. I took one camera, my Contax RX, one lens, a Zeiss 50mm f1.4 (for the camera nerds out there). Two film stocks, a Portra 160, and an Across 100 (full disclosure I ran out of film about halfway through and forgot to buy some before we left so some of this is shot on a random roll from Walmart – and a shoutout to Walmart having film even in their store in the middle of nowhere Texas).

Shooting film has been such a beautiful way to experience the joy of travel without thinking about the work, the photos, whether something’s absolutely perfect, should I take another shot just in case? Maybe someone blinked and I won’t have gotten it. Was it slightly crooked? Without thinking about all of those things, without dwelling on the image itself, but rather thinking about the experience. My goal, what I had wanted from this trip was a kind of photographic reset, to think about the trip that Nick and I were taking, seeing friends and just documenting the things we saw and the moments that struck me.

There’s a joy found in wandering, not having a plan and for the first time in 6 years, we traveled without one. These images are just a touch of our journey, from the mountains to the valleys, to the laundromats. I hope you enjoy them.

A Life Well Lived // I Love Wednesdays 2015

I always struggle with what to write to wrap up an entire year. I think I’ve taken a bit of a website sabbatical for most of the last year, so it feels like a much more daunting process than it has in years prior.

So, here goes (and apologies for the naughty words in advance). 2015 was a kickass year that totally kicked my ass! I freaking love that we as humans can go from having the highest of peaks to the lowest of lows and keep on going, we are all kinds of amazing and resilient and 2015 tested some of that in the loss of my last grandparent. I know this is probably rather silly, but I don’t think I ever thought of my grandmother as being a mere mortal. She had this effervescent life quality about her, that I always just assumed would be around, so experiencing her loss left me a little bit unmoored. Doing this job, getting to document people’s lives, preserving them and showcasing their significance… it’s been the salve to that loss.

Looking at these photos and thinking about the crazy roller coaster of a year that 2015 was, it reminds me that the hard times, no matter how hard are always tempered by the joys of a life well lived.

So to anyone reading this, live your life; love as fiercely as is humanly possible; do things, make art that gives your soul happiness and I hope that 2016 is a year filled with much more of the peaks and less of the troughs for all of us.

xx Len

Kara + Mark // Minimbah Farm Kangaroo Valley Wedding

Kara & Mark are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet, they are just thoughtful & genuine as are all of their families and friends. The day started off for me by doing a little scenic drive down to the Kangaroo Valley and seeing some cows, which if you know anything about me, you will know my love of cows is only exceeded by my love of dinosaurs and food. So, right off the bat, I knew this day was going to be something cramazing!

When I think about Kara & Mark, I really think of just a warm rainbow of colours, so when I got to the see both of them and their bridal parties and saw everything; the bridesmaids dresses, to the flowers, the boys ninja turtle socks; everything was a pop of warm colour, it really felt completely perfect. Their wedding day was a perfect reflection of them and their love of the outdoors, they married at the top of Minimbah Farm, overlooking the valley, with their marquee gorgeously set up above. I love when everything is happening in the one location, it feels like the party starts right from the ceremony and everyone certainly was in the loved up spirit.

I have to say, it looks like their day was sunny and gorgeous the whole way through, but it started raining RIGHT after the ceremony, stopped long enough for us to grab some gorgeous photos and then started right up again as soon as we got back to the reception. It was almost like it was timed to perfection. They really planned their whole day to make sure everyone had a ball, including having glow sticks for the dancing portion of the evening, seeing how much fun everyone had with them, it’s definitely an awesome addition to any wedding day!

Dress: Neroli of NEZZ
Hairstylist: Jo Groenestyn
Florist: Sian Gough
Music: Dylan Wright
Catering: Duck Duck Goose Catering
Cake : Thea Cubis