Our friend, Aaron, is an aspiring professional photographer. In fact, he booked his first wedding for this April. In order to build his portfolio and practice taking portraits, he offered to take a few sets of engagement pictures for Ryan and me.
I knew that I wanted at least one with the river and downtown Brisbane behind us. So, we started the day a few blocks from our apartment under the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. Ryan and I stood on some rocks at the water's edge and Aaron worked his magic taking a series of shots as the hot, Australian, summer sun peaked out from the clouds. It got a bit tricky since the ferries are up and running again. We had to time the shots as to avoid getting too many ferries in the pictures.
We stayed down by the water for about an hour. After that, we climbed the steep, stone steps up to the top of the cliffs where we happily guzzled Gatorade and ate Gelato. We needed some nourishment before heading to the next shoot location.
After enjoying some refreshments at the Cliff Cafe, we headed to the riverfront Powerhouse in New Farm. The brick Powerhouse was built in the early 1900's. Using the water from the river for cooling, it supplied electricity to the entire tramway system of Brisbane as well as power to the suburbs. I knew that this historic, brick building would be the perfect backdrop for our portraits.
We took a series of shots in different corners around The Powerhouse. My favorite spot was one that Aaron showed up. It's hard to explain, and I wish I had the pictures back already so that I could attach one here. But, my favorite location at the Powerhouse was two adjoining, roofless rooms. They were built with brick and cinder blocks and had a doorway connecting them. Along the entire four edges where the roof would have met each wall, there was a lush, green bush cascading a few feet down each of the four walls. We sat in that roofless, brick room on an old bench that was up against a brick wall with an old barn door. It was perfect.
After taking a bunch of photos, Aaron, Patty, Ryan and I had a picnic at the Powerhouse Park on the river. It was nice to sit in the shade and get cooled off while enjoying some grapes and cheese & crackers. We talked about how the day was a win/win situation for all of us. Ryan and I got free engagement photos, Aaron was able to practice his skills with people he's comfortable with and Patty got schooled on how to be a photographer's assistant.
Win/Win/Win!!
I wish I had some sneak peak photos to attach... but, like me, you'll just have to be patient. Aaron is editing them and getting them just perfect for us. In the end, it was a little strange being on the other end of the lens. Usually, I'm the one with the camera to my eye, and I'm the one rushing home to edit, upload and share. But, I'm sure it will be well worth the role reversal. Sometimes, you have to hand the camera off to someone else to get the perfect engagement photos.
