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.

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.

This is a movie that I did for my brother’s final short film at AFDA. My brother got a few famous Afrikaans Actors like Richard van der Westhuizen and Joanie Combrinck to act in his last Third Year Film. I was inspired by the cinematography of the movie, Gladiator, for this poster design. The movie did well at Film festivals in South Africa and in other countries. It even won a few short film awards.

This is a CD cover design that I did for the band Dropping Plates. Both two brothers, Desmond and Marinus, played guitar and drums in the band. Textured layer over the image and the contrast makes this a scary but cool album cover.