Du Wayne Photography Blog, Cape Town Photographer » Photography

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Du Wayne — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:23:39 +0000

I’m hard at work preparing a few new post coming later this week. In the meantime, visit my Facebook page and click the LIKE button if you would like to receive news via Facebook. Thank once again to everyone who visits the blog regularly. Your comments and supports make me just want to dig deeper for more greater moments.

Week 1 of our trip | Moscow, Russia

Du Wayne — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 19:21:17 +0000

My brother, Desmond, announced in the beginning of the year that he was to marry the love of his life from Russia, Vera. The good news of their union was the spark behind the whole trip and we immediately making arrangements for the big trip. In June, Zani & myself embarked on our 3 week overseas trip; visiting Russia and The Netherlands.

Week 1, Moscow, Russia.

After 15 hour of flying we’ve arrived in a very hot Moscow; not knowing what to expect. Mother Russia opened up her arms to us and from day 1 we had a blast. We stayed with Vera in their small apartment just outside the main city. We were overwhelmed by rich traditions and different way of life the people in Moscow lifed. We had five days were we could do some sight seeing and explored Moscow before the wedding took place over the weekend. From watching ballet in the State Theatre to almost getting arrested for taking pictures in a flower market. The Russian language is a very difficult to learn and small number of people in Moscow understand English. Luckily, Vera was our tour guide and our translater throught the whole trip. She was a English tutor at a school and she can also speak German.

My little assignment that I’ve set up for myself was to capture the life of Moscow and it’s people. I was blown away by all the textures, beautiful architecture during our time in Moscow. I feel so inspired and ready for the new season ahead. Most of the time, I took pictures by just holding the camera low and shooting without looking through the viewfinder. I’ll soon post photos from Week 2 in Saint Petersburg and the wedding. Here are some of my favorite moments in Moscow with a few more stories. From Russia with love to you!

This is the apartment building where were Vera stayed.

Staircase in the aparement complex

The Russians love tea. China is one of the bordering country.

These are family photos in Vera’s apartment. Her great grandfather (at the top) faught in World War II.

Entrance to the Metro (Underground)

The first Church that we visited was the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It was destroyed in the revolution in 1930 and rebuild in 1990.

I just love this angle of the church photographed from the staircase.

A wedding tradition in Russia is that the groom carries the bride across a bridge. If he succeeds they lock a padlock (with their names engraved or painted on it) to a scenic spot and then throw away the key. Some bridges have so many of these padlocks.

The Metro was always a great spot to photograph as people come and go.

People shoes on the metro.

Some of the Metro stations are really beautifully decorated.

VODKA!!! and lots of it!

Taxi-like mini buses were our way to get from our house to the Metro.

On our way to the Red Square.St Basil’s Cathedral celebrated it 45oth Anniversary this year. The architect was blinded after building the cathedral so that he could not re-create the masterpiece elsewhere. HECTIC!

All these shapes within the architecture of St. Basil’s Cathedral. Love it!

Matryoshka dolls. There were loads of them at the souvenier shops. We bought a Winnie the Pooh Matryoshka doll for little Amelie.

Second biggest Ballet Theatre. What a experience to see Russian Ballet in Russia!

This is one of my favourite images.

Some of the night life scenes in the city

Russian cars

A summer pallace located in one of the parks.

Some Graffiti in Arbat

You’re not allowed to photograph the police, but I managed to steal a few shots.

Going down towards the underground Metro. Just enough light to create a beautiful contrasty image.

This is a portrait of Vera’s father.

A Space Rocket they have set up in one of their parks to commemorate the launch of the first Russian Spaceship.

Yes it’s me, photographed by Desmond in the Arbat District. Arabat was one of my favourite spots in Moscow. With my shave head I might also be mistaken for a Russian.

That is it! Tune in soon for more photos from Saint Petersburg, Amsterdam and the two international weddings.

Review: Light at the end of the Tunnel Workshop

Du Wayne — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:45:08 +0000

This is quick summary of two wonderful days at the Light At The End Of The Tunnel Workshop. The workshop took place at Webersburg on the 4th & 5th of May. 8 photographers, sat around a long table in the wine cellar as I presented and taught from my personal experience. Topics on Day 1 were more aimed toward photographing better photograph, how to get the most of available light and how to incorporate creativity into your images. On Day 2 we moved onto things like workflow, organizing your business and editing. At lunchtime each day, the staff at Webersburg prepared a wonderful 3 course meal. We did a shoot with 1 model and one couple on the first day. We have some of the best weather on that day. The beautiful light and the colours of Autumn, truly put the cherries on each of our photos we photographed that day. I love teaching; maybe it come from my father’s side. He was one my inspirations and the person who rooted for me to start teaching. I hope to present more workshops in the future and be part of other teaching opportunities.

I just want to thank the following people who helped me make this workshop come to life: Thanks Kaley and everybody at Webersburg (the food was out of this world and the service was excellent), Zani & Erna from Lace Blossom (for giving us a dress for the shoot), Annelize (for the beautiful hair & make-up) and to the models (Jacqueline, Chantelle & Rudi) . I would like to end of by thanking each of the photographers who attended. This was truly an awesome group to teach and I really had fun with you guys. I hope that the 2-days that we spend together gave all of you fresh inspiration to go and be better photographers. ALL OF THE BEST!

Here are some images of the workshop and the photoshoot. Photographs by Yolandé Snyders and myself.

Here are a few of my images from the shoot.

The Food!

Junebug Weddings – Best of the Best 2010

Du Wayne — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:05:22 +0000

On Tuesday morning the 4th of January, I got this e-mail that brought tears of joy to my eyes. One of my images was selected to be part of The Best of the Best 2010 – The Best Wedding Photos of the Year by Junebug Weddings.

Junebug Weddings is a wedding planning resource and online magazine designed to gives couples fresh ideas and tips for their wedding day. Every year they compile a fashion report where they announce the best wedding photos of the year. The images selected each year are mind blowing and truly inspirational.

When I saw which image they selected for the collection, I started to cry. It was the images photographed at Lace Blossom’s Bridal shoot; one of the shoots I will always remember and hold close to my heart. Lace Blossom is bridal couture business started by my wife, Zani, and a friend, Erna (another reason why this meant so much to me). I was at a point where I was frustrated as a photographer and even considering to stop taking pictures. All the hard work and stress of the year starting was getting to me and really stealing my joy. But after I photographed this shoot I felt strength to carry on. As I looked at the images on my camera’s LCD, it felt like God was telling me to never ever to give up on the talents that he has given me; even if the going gets tuff. I did not know that these images that I photographed that day would be such a great hit.

So that is the just of it. I felt I had to share this story, because I know there are many other photographers out there going through the same things as I did. Don’t stop believing!

What a way to start 2011. I still can’t believe that one of my images was selected. I also want to congratulate Greg Lumley, fellow South African photographer, for also being nominated. A big thank you to Helga, Amore, Zani, Erna and the people at 401 Rozendal for all your help. This was a team effort and I can not take all the credit for putting together this amazing image. Please do yourself a favor. Go have look at the wonderful images from some of the world’s best wedding photographers. Just above is my image that was selected.

1 Weeks to go – Taking Jack Out of His Box Workshop

Du Wayne — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:00:59 +0000

Sybrand & Du Wayne

presents

A photography workshop with a difference.

24 & 25 NOVEMBER 2010

ALLEE BLEUE – FRANSCHHOEK

R2100

Join the facebook page and download Lightroom Presets for FREE!

Du Wayne and Sybrand will be sharing from their personal box of tricks not only how they go about creating their breathtaking images but also show step by step their personal photo editing techniques. You will be challenged step out of your comfort zone and to explore the wide ocean of possibilities in the photographic world.

DAY 1: Say Cheese Jack! – Creating a photo

- Welcome to all the Jacks & Jackys

- Introductions and a Mini Demo

- Show & Tell – an in-depth discussion of a wide range of images including topics like:

- why and how the image was created

- composition

- finding the light

- working with a challenging client

- finding inspiration in a difficult location

- the thought process behind creating the image

- Lunch

- THE SHOOT-OFF: Du Wayne and Sybrand will be given a few hairy challenges and will do a mini live demo shoot with a model around the estate.

- Shoot-off review

- THE CHALLENGE: Attendees will break up in small groups and shoot a few scenarios with a model themselves

- Q & A for the day

DAY 2: Bringing out the Big Guns!

Day two will be dedicated to post-production and photo manipulation.

Each attendee will receive a selection of custom Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions created and used daily by Sybrand and Du Wayne

- The Backup Plan – Photo management

- Selecting & Review Images

- In-depth Lightroom: Basics and Advance

- Final Tweaking & work flow in Photoshop

- B&W and Colour Philosophies

- Final Q & A

Take up the challenge!

Ari & Magda’s Couple Session

Du Wayne — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:15:06 +0000

I recently met up with Ari and Magda in a beautiful forest at the foot of Table Mountain. Here we photographed their couple photos and got to know each other better before I photograph their wedding next year. Here are some of their photos that were photographed that afternoon. I really love this first photograph.

Wedding Photography – A Guide to Posing Book

Du Wayne — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:23:56 +0000

Some of my photography work was published in a wedding photography book called “Wedding Photography – A Guide to Posing”. David Pierce, a UK photographer (Open Leaf Images) and the author of this book, contacted me in the beginning of the year. He owns the publishing company, Oliver Cameron Publishing, and he was busy working on a new book concerning the posing side of wedding photography. He asked if he could make use of some of my images and that they will be published alongside other work of other great photographers. I was more than thrilled to say yes. I recently received my copy of the book in the post and I am really impressed with this little book. It be a small book, but it is filled with great content and images.

This book offers valuable advice on how to pose your couple and it has over 500 images to inspire you. It is a pocket size image library. Some of my icons in the wedding photography world like Yervant, David Beckstead, and Kelly Morgan also have a few of their photos in the book and wrote some of the material for some of the chapters of the book. Also work of South African photographers like Sybrand Cillie, Mario Sales and Jean Pierre Uys where also published in the book. I have recently introduced this book at my workshop and it was well received by the photographers who attended it. For photographers out there who are struggling to set up your shot and want to take your photography to a new level, this book is for you. This book is part of a series of little books and the next edition, “Wedding Photography – Guide to Photojournalism” by Kelly Morgan will be published soon. You can order this book from Amazon or from the Oliver Cameron Publishing website. Here are some images that was used in the book.

The Workshop of 5

Du Wayne — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:08:26 +0000

On the 4th and 5th of June I held my first photographic workshop, Workshop of 5. Day 1 kicked off at Cafe Felix in Riebeeck Kasteel where we focused more on the practical/shooting side of photography. The weather cleared up beautifully and we were able to do the shoot later on in the day. We had great models to photograph that day and a stunning location to challenge our creativity. Day 2 we finished off the workshop at my new house (which we just moved in the week before the workshop) where we focused on the business of photography and editing. Both my house and Cafe Felix created a relaxed learning environment for everyone to get together and sharpen their photography skills. Even I have learn a lot over these couple of days. I really enjoyed teaching and sharing some of the valuable lessons that I have learned in my photography career. After the success of this workshop, I would like to do more in the future.

I would like to thank the following people: Thank you Liesl Basson, Candice Rodrigues, Anli Wahl, Christa Joubert and Mitchell Wong Ho. If it weren’t for you guys, I would have taught empty chairs how to take better photos. It was great to get to know all of you and to see how you have grown in the 2 days time. Do not despise the day of small beginnings! Thank you Malcolm and the staff at Cafe Felix. It was a great beautiful relaxed environment to learn and a great location to do the shoot on that day. Thanks Judy, Desmond and Bea for offering some of your time to be such great models. A Big thank you to Helga her mom (Helga Bridal Hair & Make-up) for the beautiful make-up and hair that you did on our models. You guys really made the workshop feel like a professional shoot. Thank you Zetta for preparing the fantastic lunch for us at my house. The lovely soup, bread and cheese was just what we needed for a lovely winter day. A big thanks to my wife, Zani, for putting up with me and helping me set up this workshop. I could not have done it without you my angel!

These are a few behind the scenes shots photographed by Mitchell (I Do Photography) and Anli Wahl. I will posting a few of my favorite shots that I have photographed at the workshop soon.

2009 Sony Pro Photo Awards

Du Wayne — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:29:33 +0000

I was so glad when I got the e-mail in my inbox that one of my images were nominated for the Sony Profoto Awards. I decided to take a break and attended the awards ceremony at the Wanders Club. This years competition was really stricted and just to be nominated amongst such other great photographers was the cherry on the top for me. It was also great to see different categories of photography work. You can always learn other photography fields how to improve your photography. Congratulations to all the other photographers who won something last night (especially to all the photographers in the wedding category). Here is my picture that won a Bronze Prize at the Awards. It’s from Jorge & Lariana’s wedding that I have photographed last year.

Workshop of 5

Du Wayne — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:15:29 +0000

I have been working on this concept for a while and I think that it is the right time to reveal it. This is the fifth year of my photography business and I want to give something back to other people. I have been busy putting together content for creative workshop for photographers. I call it: Workshop of 5. Here is a brief outline of this course.

What’s with the name? This is a creative workshop that only 5 photographer can attend. It is easier for people to learn in smaller groups. This way I want to give input to each person attending and see where I can coach & mentor them in their area of needs.

What is the subject matter and who can attend this workshop? I will be teaching from a perspective to being a creative wedding photographer and how to apply this into your business/photography. But most of the principles and concepts can be applied to other fields of photography (like portraiture). So anyone is welcome. You will also need to know a little bit more about photography than just a hobby.

What is the aim of the workshop? To inspire, refresh and send you back with new hope and passion!

How long will the workshop be? This will be a 2-day workshop that will take place over a weekend (Friday & Saturday). I want to include enough time for teaching, applying of knowledge and some time to get to know each other. Part of the workshop will include a photo shoot with bridal models.

The venue, final dates, workshop content and costs will be announced in the near future. The workshop will take place in the middle of the year. If you would like to attend this workshop and would like more information, e-mail me (info@duwayne.co.za) or contact me (+27 83 411 0588). If you know of someone who would like to attend, please forward this link to them or post the link on your facebook page. I can not wait to hear from all of you.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! MORE INFO COMING SOON…