Jeremy & Morgans Wedding - Boschendal

A few weeks ago I got a late call up to take some wedding pics for Jeremy and Morgan. Funnily enough Jeremy and I went to school together but hadnt seen each other in years - so it was to be a small reunion too. At first it was just meant to be an intimate sharing of vows between the two of them... until mom and sister decided it needed a little bit of this and some of that :) The ceremony took place at home affairs and scrap whatever you think about that because it was a fun, well organised event. The Magistrate was full of beans apart from not allowing cameras in for the actual formalities but the family did get to see them exchange rings and share their first kiss as husband and wife!

The wedding party then headed to a stunning boschendal for a picnic lunch under the trees. We managed to get an awesome bunch of shots with an endless array of photo opportunites and we had to pick and choose our best! The afternoon was relaxed and filled with fun, love and laughter... and of course a little bit of bubbly!

Thanks to Jeremy and Morgan for being so relaxed and amazing - It was such a pleasure to be there and take photos for you and ofcourse have a little catch up too :)

follow the link to more from the day...

The Boshoff / Koch Family Shoot

It's firstly not so normal to have an accountant as your photographer... but as I've said this is where I can let my creativity out and not on the balance sheet :) Secondly it was quite daunting to think of an accountant taking pictures of a family consisting mainly of accountants - one thing is for sure, we'd have something to talk about and a few accounting jokes (if i could remember any) could produce a smile or two... and smiles we did get :)

So when a friend I work with approached me to take a family shoot, as overseas siblings were in town and it was mom's birthday, besides initial overawed excitement, I was told that some bribery and convincing had taken place to get them all to agree to have their picture taken. So i was a little nervous as to how I would be received. After five minutes, when I had already started rearranging furniture and interrupted some rugby watching, I was most shaky - luckily my gorgeous wife was with me and always brings a certain sense of calm and easiness to things :)

Anyway I may be making it sound worse than it was because really it was a fabulous afternoon and the family was so accommodating and really, I must say, quite the good looking and photogenic bunch (contrary to what they may have thought :)), not to mention the beautiful little newborn baby. The couch was soon back in place and the rugby returned, we had some tea, cake and informal outside shots and one last convincing to have a more relaxed picture with a rusty old love sign, created my favourite of the day.

Thanks so much to Anet for her smiles and happy nature and to the family for letting me take their portraits - you were all great :)

So enough talk - here are some of my picks from the day.

The Great Big Maurer / Smith etc. Family shoot

The sunday before, it had rained like only cape town can do, on the back of an all seasons in a weekend special. When we reconned the house and garden for spots we hadnt expected a 30 degree, welcome to summer, day for the 20 odd strong maurer / smith and extended family shoot the following sunday!

And of course everyone is dressed up and waiting for the photographer to get ready and call them in... but the family was organised and the fans were up, drinks were cold and the boys were able to watch the end of the rugby while the ladies did their thing. The garden shots provided for a more heated affair but the family was awesome, lara came out to play and in the end it was a fabulous day!

Summer, sun, family, friends, good food, drink - what  more could you ask for! Thanks to ninz for holding it all together... I'll let the photos speak for themselves now :)

More to see here...

Candi and Vink Engagement Shoot

So although this was done a while ago, I figured it was appropriate to start off the first blog post shoot with one of cooler shoots i've done :)

Candi and Vink, or VANDI for short, are the most awesome couple and full of fun! Candi was so excited for the shoot that we were planning for weeks before. It was a perfect day in the fields of Rondebosch Boys high and the shoot options were endless!

I had the whole family there supporting and picnicing in the distance - a cool glass of champers every now and then kept the schmodels and photographer going!

At the end of the day we had a great time and the happy couple shined for some great shots. We started out with a  true patriotic rugby shot - the bulls vs province - testament to opposites attract :) Anyway enough from me... enjoy the pics and thanks VANDI -cant wait for the wedding!!!

Follow the read more link to see the photos :)

LOVE LIFE AND EVERYTHING ELSE... It starts here!

Well Hello world! So here it is... the beginnings of McLagan Photography! An exciting adventure I hope it will be. Where it shall take us? Only the heavens know - but hopefully upward and beyond.

So why the adventure.. well sometimes I dont always say it best, but in order to understand why i've done it and get my point accross, I turn to the immortal words of Aaron Sussman who once said: "Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever. . . it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything."

So if you have stumbled accross this blog and are looking for inspiration or just to suss out what mine eye has seen - bear this in mind - Life is a series of events, bound together by the music that mediates the spiritual and sensual life. In a greater sense it’s a picture that tells a story. We try to grab pieces of our lives as they speed past us. Photographs freeze those pieces and help us remember how we were.

There you have it... its my passion (and we follow our passions :) ) and these are some of those moments and what they looked like. I hope you will enjoy it with me and stay tuned... for who knows what dreams may come!

Cheers for now

Matti.