Michelle Wrighton Fine Art and Photography

The highlight of last week for me was a wonderful session that I had on Saturday with Mitchell and Kaden, two gorgeous little boys who were loads of fun and had me cracking up all over the place with their antics!

I know their lovely mum is anxious to see their sneak peak, so here it is – thanks so much Jackie for letting me photograph your beautiful boys, I hope they had as much fun as I did:)

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Perth Childrens Portrait Photography ©2009 South West Photography

Portrait photography session information is available on the portraits section of my South West Photography website.

Please note: Free photo sessions finished in August 2009! Current Child and Family Portrait Photography information and prices can be viewed on my photography website South West Photography

Are you interested in a Free photo session for your child, aged from newborn to teens?  I am currently building my portrait portfolio and I’m looking for enthusiastic Perth parents who would like a Free Portrait Photography Session of their child.

In exchange for use of photographs from your child’s session in my portfolio and for promotional and advertising purposes (print and internet)

You will receive:

FREE Photo session of approximately 1-2 hours (time required depends on child/children)

FREE online private gallery (password protected) to view all final images (between 20-35 images)

Two FREE 6″x8″ professional photo lab prints of your choice selected from your private gallery plus web resolution (600px @72dpi) copies of these two images for sharing by email, facebook etc)

You are under absolutely No Obligation but may purchase prints at a heavily discounted rate (Christmas presents for Grandparents?) and will receive web resolution digital images of any additional prints that you do purchase.

Location: Portrait sessions will be held on location at a local park, garden or playground – a nice location where your kids will feel comfortable, can have some fun and be themselves  rather than posing for the camera.  Locations SOR/hills preferred due to time constraints.

Day/Time: Most weekdays are available for booking up to two weeks in advance, limited weekend sessions left at this time. Flexibility may be required due to inclement weather.

Portrait style: Natural light/lifestyle/candid/casual style (not formal studio shots)

If you are interested in having a Free photo session, please send me an email with your child’s details, the most suitable times/days for you and a contact telephone number.

I particularly require baby, toddlers and pre-schoolers and can accommodate a portrait ‘party’ for larger groups of children.

For additional information and to view galleries, please visit my South West Photography website.

Cheers

Michelle

I received a very distressed phone call today from a client, her daughters much loved elderly Rhodesian Ridgeback had been diagnosed with an inoperable tumour, and unfortunately the only thing that could be done was to humanely put her to sleep.  Like so many people, Lady’s owner didn’t have many good photos of her, and my client asked me if I could go down to the vet’s surgery and take some photos before Lady was laid to rest before the end of the day.

I know what its like to loose a treasured companion, and I also know how important good images are to help heal the pain of their passing, so I was more than happy to help.  Luckily there was a small garden outside the vet surgery so I was able to get some beautiful shots of this grand old girl that I hope will keep her memory alive for her family forever.

Rhodesian Ridgeback Portrait - © South West Photography

Rhodesian Ridgeback Portrait - © South West Photography

Rhodesian Ridgeback Portrait - © South West Photography

Rest In Peace Lady, you were loved and will be missed.

I wonder if any other photographer else has an unusual subject that they photograph for no good reason whatsoever, with no care for composition or technique, just grab shots for the sake of…well I dunno, collecting maybe?

I collect country road signs.  Well, no I don’t collect road signs, but I do collect photos of road signs.  Specifically country road signs.  LOL ok so I am weird.  Maybe I just don’t know where I am going so I like to have a record of where I have been?  I won’t go scan any film photos that I took in Europe many years ago, but here are a few from my ‘weird photo’ collection.  Most are grab shots taken out the window at 100km per hour.

Blackwood River Valley

Boyup Brook © 2009 South West Photography

Blackwood River Valley

Williams Wagin Perth Kojonup Albany

Dardanup Boyanup road sign

Bunbury Road Sign

A small selection of photos from Fridays ridden events, dressage, English ridden and Hunter trial.

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography

The full set of proofs from this and other equestrian events can be viewed and prints purchased at South West Photography.

After the Paint Horse Championship Show I popped over to have a looksie at the Cutting Clinic being held by Ian Francis.  I’ve never seen Cutting Horses in action before, but it certainly looks like fun as well as a whole lot of skill is involved in selecting the right cow (beast) from the group and then keeping it separated for the required time as it tries to return to its mates.  This is definitely something that I would love to have a go at someday!

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

Coolup Cutting Club © 2009 South West Photography

It was an honour to the be Official Photographer for the 2009 WA Paint Horse Championship Show held at the Murray Horse and Pony Club grounds in Coolup.  I must admit to feeling a bit sorry for the riders that compete in both the English and Western classes – the amount of gear that they need to drag along with them is incredible.  LOL and I wouldn’t like all the tack cleaning afterwards either!

There were some really stunning horses, and it was a really well organised event (especially conisdering the heat!)  The proofs from the show are available for viewing and purchase on South West Photography but here are a few of my favourites from the show.

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

Paint Horse Championship Show © South West Photography

All image proofs from the entire show are available for viewing and purchase on South West Photography.

The bright arena covering at the Peel Horse and Pony Club grounds and the dust that it created under the horses hooves was initially a bit of a challenge, but a little post processing cleared the dust away and I ended up with some shots that I am very pleased with.

The full set of proofs can be viewed at South West Photography but here are a few of my favourites from the day:

Showjumping © South West Photography

Showjumping © South West Photography

Showjumping © South West Photography

Showjumping © South West Photography

Showjumping © South West Photography

Showjumping © South West Photography

Showjumping © South West Photographyat South West Photography

Please visit South West Photography to view all proof images and to make print purchases for the Peel Horse and Pony CLub Showjumping day.

A fleeting day trip through the south west.

Boyup Brook Farmland © 2009 South West Photography

Children's Playground - Donnybrook © 2009 South West Photography

Running from the mob © 2009 South West Photography

These images below show a tiny part of the devastation caused by the deliberatly lit bushfire that raged in the Bridgetown area in January 2009.  These images were taken out the window of the car while we were traveling at 110km per hour on South West Highway, so please excuse the less than perfect composition and clarity!

And no, I wasn’t driving *and* taking photos at the same time!

Bushfire devastation - Bridgetown © 2009 South West Photography

Bushfire devastation - Bridgetown © 2009 South West Photography

Bushfire devastation - Bridgetown © 2009 South West Photography

Bushfire devastation - Bridgetown © 2009 South West Photography

Well I had a huge shopping spree yesterday, after much research I have officially jumped ship and switched from Nikon to Canon equipment, with a budget blowing purchase of an EOS 50D, 50mm ‘nifty’ and the ‘beast’, a Canon  70-200mm F2.8L USM lens:)  And after vowing not to step into a camera shop for the next year, less than 24 hours later I was back in today to purchase a monopod because this set up is *very* heavy, probably impossible to handhold for a couple of hours let alone a full day shooting like last weekend as Official Photographer for the WA Palamino Associations Annual Championship Show.

I havn’t yet read the manual and I have only had a short time to play with it, but the photos are pretty impressive.  Not that a 15 megapixel of the 50D camera impresses me much, but it allows for large cropping without loosing image quality.  On the other hand, with such big file sizes, I hope four 4GB CF cards will be enough for a days shooting.

My New Toys:)

And some first shots:

Border Collie Trinity

Border Collie Taj

Belgian Shepherd Max

Miniature pony colt

Miniature pony stallion

Oh, and the reason I swapped from Nikon to Canon…basically the cost of getting an equivelant Nikon set up for what I want it to do (D300 or D700) was astronomical compared to the Canon, plus long term, Canon lenses are more affordable (if L glass can be considered affordable) and accessible than Nikon lenses – other than that, it wasn’t a quality issue, Nikons are great cameras, and I will keep mine as backup rather than sell it.

If anyone is considering a similar purchase, I say go for it!  LOL you only live once;)

Look out for more photos from the beast on my photography proofs site http://www.southwestphotography.com.au