Met up with the Lakeland Queen and Lakeland Princess this week.  They are offering some cool new wedding ideas.  The Lakeland Princess (little boat next to the Lakeland Queen) can now be used to transport the bridal party onto the Lakeland Queen while the guests are already onboard cruising Lake Rotorua.

They have 3 well thought out options to consider, all of them flexible.  One includes the Ceremony and Reception, the other two are 'Ceremony Only' and 'Reception Only'.

They also do themed weddings which sounds like fun.  Here is some of the photos showing off the Lakeland Princess and how easy it is to transfer over to the Lakeland Queen.

The Lakeland crew will be at the 'Hitched' wedding expo this Sunday.  Go and look at their great ideas.

Calico Jo
www.calicojo.co.nz

We've had so much fun in May with our May Magnum Opus promotion.  Thank you to all the families that have allowed us to play and take photos. 

The cool weather seems to have arrived and things will settle down for the next couple of months.  It's a time I get to rejuvenate, myself and go on some photo adventures.  I'm looking forward to taking some guitar player photos.  I have quite a few young guitarists ready to pose, but I would like some more of the aged variety ;)  Please contact me if you can help.

Also I want to try an experiment for June / July.  This may interest businesses who want to update their promotional photos, or families, even couples who are planning a winter wedding.

For June and July 2013, we would consider goods/services in exchange for our photography services.
Of course we will always except money; money works well, but lets spice it up a bit for the next couple of months.

I have a wish list, (which seems to get longer each passing month),  but would like hear your offers.  Hey even send me your wish lists, I may be able to put you into contact with someone who could do swapsies with you!

Here is my wish list:
My garden needs weeding.
Camera gear (this is a wish list by itself, so I won't go into details).
Books to add to my Agatha Christie collection.
A deep freezer filled with ready to heat meals, lol.
Cool and quirky things for our studio.
A giant black board.
A new set of glorious dazzling teeth. (stop laughing).
A train trip on a train that has those private carriages like in the Poirot movies.
A cruise... hey I'm just puttin it out there okay!
A motor scooter
A classic car or jeep, that's cutesy and Calico Joey.
A van that is the Calico Jo's version of the Scooby Doo van. 
Signwriting and decoration of the Calico Jo's van.

Okay I'll stop now, but you get the drift.

What you got?

Calico Jo
www.calicojo.co.nz

Had fun photographing at the Rotorua Youth Day Out.  I also got to eat a hangi and drink Red Bull!

The Rotorua Youth Centre will have all the photos I took of the day, but in this blog I'm just going to show you some photo highlights  of  'The Cars', 'The Bands', and 'The Hip Hop Dancers'.

The local 'Kronik' Car Club came and displayed their cars.

The bands that played were 'Aftershock' & 'Strangely Arousing'.  Jaxon has photographed 'Aftershock' before, but it's the first time I'd heard them play.  They are also going to be a part of "Me and My Guitar" photo series I will be starting in June/July.

There was also a dance competition.  Here are a few highlights.

There are lots of other photos from the day and the Rotorua Youth Centre (I think on their facebook page) are going to showing these photos soon.  They will also be holding a 'tagging' competition with them, so keep an eye out

As I seem to be burning the midnight oil of late, and the coffee intake is at an all time high, I thought I'd share my favourite brand.  I think most photographers appreciate a good coffee, but Caffe L'affare is my favourite because:

• It is the yummiest.
• It is a New Zealand business.
• The artwork and graphics are very cool.  In fact you can buy posters with the artwork.
• It was started by a man named 'Enzo'.  Isn't that the coolest name!?
• The coffee is always fresh as they give their coffee a short 3 month 'best before' date.
• My favourite blend "Gusto" is a blend of Fairtrade and Organic Certified coffees.
• They also have chocolate covered coffee beans...... nom nom!

Calico Jo
www.calicojo.co.nz

Why have I not used this place before for wedding photos?  This place is gorgeous in Autumn.  I'm really digging Autumn/April weddings.
The couple is Jeremy and Angeline.  The location: Centennial Gardens / Tree Trust Rotorua.

Thank You Jeremy and Angeline for letting me share your wedding day.  You were so much fun!

xox
Calico Jo

Things I loved about this wedding:

• It was a midweek wedding and a lot of the guests were thanking the couple for a day off work.
• The Autumn evening produced wonderful warm colours and low sun rays for the wedding portraits. I deliberately took the lens hood off to capture some lens/sun flare.
• The couple and the guests were all helping to decorate the reception area when we arrived, then they wandered off to get dressed for the wedding ceremony.  It was a lovely, family/friend involved wedding.
• The River Lodge is a lovely venue.
• The bridal party were a hoot and I had lots of fun photographing them.
• The Bride was very DIY and she did an awesome job of the wedding including her dress!
• The dress was dusty pink, one of my favourite colours.
• The cake was of Mt Ruapehu, as the couple spend a lot of time at the ski fields.
• There was a bit of photo bombing going on through the day (examples down below)
• After the ceremony the guests provided a surprise ski pole arch for the couple to run through.
• We got to set up a small photo booth and printer for guest book photos.

Here are some of the photo highlights.  Click on the photos to see full versions.

GETTING READY

THE CEREMONY

WEDDING PORTRAITS

SOME PHOTO BOMBING AND NAUGHTINESS

And here is that cake!

Thanks Shane and Bex for letting me share your wedding day!

Calico Jo

Jason and Michaela were an awesome couple, with a fun bridal party.  With a stunning bride and a stunning location for a wedding, I knew I was going to enjoy photographing this wedding.

Photography started with the girls getting ready.

Daddy and the Flower girls were waiting on the bottom floor of the hotel.  

Then the ceremony and photos at Peppers on the Point, Rotorua.

There is so many awesome locations for photos at Peppers.  Your spoilt for choice.  This time we used the rocks with the Mokoia Island backdrop, and because Jason is a fisherman, some fun photos on the jetty.

My day ended with some photos at the Government Gardens.

Thank you Jason and Michaela, for letting me share your day!

Calico Jo

YAAAYYYY!!! and Kermit Flappy Hands!!!

Each day in May will have a different themed day for a photo shoot.  We have got a lot of days booked with some cool families, and if they give us permission we will post some of their photos.  On the days with no themed bookings we will do a photo ourselves.

Here is some photos taken today for May1st  - "IN DADDY'S SHOES"

Stayed Tuned......

Calico Jo

A little while ago, I stopped in for a chat with the University of the Third Age (U3A) Photography Group.  U3A groups  offer a range of lively and stimulating activities for members in their ‘third age’ – the age of retirement. 

One of the topics discussed was how to make a photo stand out, what catches the eye; e.g. Colour, contrast, lighting, subject, evoking an emotional reaction, and how a photographer does something that's breaking the composition rules, something quirky about the way the photo is taken.  So I left them with a challenge: to do a photo session where you never hold the camera straight on, they had to tilt the camera somehow for every shot.

Yesterday I got a lovely package in my mailbox of all their photos.

These are my favourite.

I had a lovely time.  Thanks U3a Rotorua Camera Group for showing me your photos!\

Calico Jo