Melanie Birt Photography

to a 3 year old!

Last Saturday was the first free day we’ve had to spend together in some time, so we kicked off pretty lazily. I caught up on the latest episode of Glee, which I’ve become completely addicted to,  while my husband and the kids occupied themselves. I was so absorbed in the show I hadn’t noticed how quiet the house had become. When I looked up this is what I saw.

My husband was ensuring the next generation would exist harmoniously in this household’s addiction to technology and gadgetry… but I’m now in a battle with my kids for time on MY phone… We have a selection of pretty cool kid apps on our phones for those times when a few blissful moments are required {for me, it’s at the coffee shop, when we’re waiting for their order}. In this photo, she’s making Tinkerbell fly, and he’s getting Bumblebee to transform and dance to an iPod selection….

It’s not that I mind, it’s that it completely blows me away that they can intuitively navigate through games and puzzles on an iPhone without being shown, and without being able to read yet!

Happy Monday!

Mel

Barrenjoey to Summer Bay

Remember Red Roo Adventures that I posted about here? Earlier this month Tania (of Red Roo) and I spent a glorious morning on Sydney’s northern beaches photographing one of the walks that will be available in the not too distant.

I’m not generally a morning person, but to step out onto pristine beach, with not many people about and be able to just *be*…. well… Sigh! let’s just say I now have a very happy appreciation for the mornings.

In the distance stood one of our milestones… the beautiful Barrenjoey Lighthouse, and to the right, you can see what the beach looks like early in the morning

I’ve had this walk on my list for some time now, so I was really excited to finally be doing it… But Red Roo Adventures have this on the list and a whole lot more. Seriously folks, even Sydneysiders should be checking out what this team are up to…

I love this shot…

This lighthouse has some gorgeous features and an interesting history… and not only that, if you were just visiting the lighthouse, you might be forgiven for having a little poke around and then heading on back down to the beach. It takes some local knowledge to explore up there, and Red Roo have got it covered.

And without wanting to spoil that, or the rest of the walk, the next lot of images are back on the beach where we started. Can you guess where yet?

You got it…. the set of Home and Away is just one of the cool things to have a look at when you get down from the lighthouse. And as we sat, rehydrating with a drink from the Kiosk, and reflecting on the great walk we’d just had, we couldn’t help but think we had the best job in the world. For 9am on a Monday morning, it was a pretty cool place to be. And I know they say you should never work with animals and children but I quite often work with both, and this made my day.

Now we were only part way through the Red Roo walk, so I won’t spoil the rest but it was a great morning, and I wish Tania and her team every success on its launch, which of course I’ll be posting about here.

Enjoy!

Mel

xox

It’s raining, it’s pouring…well it was then

I had been anticipating this session for such a while, and I was so excited when we finally scheduled it… then the weather turned… and we had to reschedule. When I arrived for the session we had nanoseconds to get a shot outside before the heavens opened and it wasn’t until we rushed safely back into the house that I’d realised that most of my light kit was down a very long road… which through torrential rain wasn’t helpful.

So this session didn’t really go to plan. But, then, nothing ever truly does, so it was a good challenge for me, even if this little man had to listen to me sing. Loudly.

I hope you’ve had a great weekend, stayed safe in the heat, and enjoyed the time with your families. Life continues to be super crazy busy for me in the lead up to the holidays, and while our household is about to be seriously flooded with client orders, it’s a fun kind of mad, and I’m loving every minute of it {not so sure about the rest of the family though, thankfully they’re supportive and understand that it’ll be over soon}.

Have a great week

Mel xox

Three is a magic number

These are the lyrics in the song “Three” by Elizabeth Mitchell, and it quite often jumps into my head when I’m photographing three siblings. These three kids took part in the mini-sessions a little while back, and I’m pleased to be previewing them finally.

Enjoy!

Red, Green, Blue

I’ve been hanging out to proof these images from a recent mini-session. These boys were full of beans and ready to play, and being in their favourite park, they didn’t really have any intention of sitting still… together… and looking my way…

Thankfully they did for a brief nano second before running off to join their mates, climb rocks, explore and well, just be boys. Oh, to have their energy…