Photoshop Action for Borders and Logos: Blogstomp

In my line of work, time is SO important. It is a precious commodity that I protect with my life because there is so little of it, yet we as photographers often find we need to do so much with it....and if you are anything like me, you'll find that time is often stretched. So efficiency, and anything that saves me time is a HUGE deal... like, this is worth telling your mum, dad, best friend, and everyone you know kinda BIG DEAL :)

So you can imagine my UTMOST DELIGHT when I stumbled upon BLOGSTOMP :D I have had countless emails asking me how I used to create the black border around my photos in my earlier days, and now also my white border. And I have to admit, it was something I used to do manually.... oh yeah, ONE by ONE. So blog posts were always painful because of how many images I had to 'border up' on my own. It took FOREVER. I always thought there could be a faster way to do it, but being the technologically challenged person that I am, I didn't know how... that's where the 2 geniuses behind Blogstomp come in.

They have created an action that not only automatically puts the border around your photos, but it also stamps YOUR logo to the picture, all at the touch of one button! Whether you like black borders, white borders, no borders, horizontal or vertical, Blogstomp does it with their fabulous action. I love love love it! Because it now means I can blog faster, and seriously who doesn't love being able to do their work faster right?? :D So whenever you are looking at all the white bordered photos on my blog, with my logo on it - it's thanks to these guys! :D

You should totally check these guys out - their action is totally affordable! Just $29 each... or if you can't choose and love em all, you can get the whole bag of it for just $49. And seriously, in the photoshop action age that we live in, thats a BARGAIN!

By the way, Chip and Craig, who are the two guys who created this awesome action, are some of the NICEST guys ever - they will help you out with anything, and ensure that you are happy with their neat little product! I always think that great customer service + great product is hardly a thing to say no to! You're gonna love how much time it saves you! :D

If you don't believe how awesome these two are at Blogstomp, they have even been kind enough to give all of you who buy a 20% discount - I'm not sure how long it lasts so take it while it lasts! Type in the promo code box 'international', and you'll get your lovely discount! :D

Happy tuesday everyone! I hope to keep sharing my photoshop and any other photo related finds on my blog in the near future! :D

Travel Destination: London, UK

January has been an epic month of travel. I feel like I have been all around the world and back... in the blink of an eye! Seriously, 4 continents in the span of 2 week is like TOTAL crazy. I've come back with a lighter purse, and a new friend called jetlag. Jetlag likes to loiter around me like an unseen shadow, causing havoc on my appetite, my sleep patterns (literally waking up at 2pm and sleeping at 8am is completely insane!), productivity, and erasing everything my body holds onto to feel normal. BUT, despite all that crazy loopiness, January was exciting with workshops (attending and speaking!), weddings, and the globe trotting in between :)

My favourite stop had to be the UK in all its wintry delights. It was quite an eye opener to explore a country in its peak of winter - something I'd never done before. Sure, we get winters in Australia, but the cold that sets in the UK is something unique on its own... to only have 7 hours of daylight, to walk amidst the city streets at 2 degrees celcius and then having the wind wrapping around us making it even chillier than we could ever imagine. It went into your bones... that is how cold it was. I could feel it seep in, shudder the white and red inside, and chill some more. Ironically, for someone that loves the sun in all its glory, it was a complete delight to experience! I loved being able to wear thick coats and jackets, wear boots all day and night, have an excuse to buy leather gloves!, and drink hot tea and chocolate every day! :)

I think I'll return...maybe to roam the cobblestone streets, and mingle between the sandstone and brick buildings when the sun isn't hibernating. I hear London and the UK is gorgeous in the fall ;)

Here are my favourite shots from the trip to Birmingham and London...I've decided to process everything cold and wintry. Its not something I normally do, but it jsut didnt feel right to NOT bring across how I felt seeing the winterscapes (albeit no snow! boo! :( ) in these two cities. Sadly, I didn't take as many as I would have liked...There's just something strange about the cold... It tends to slow or switch my fingers and brain off a little :P There are more on film and the polaroids but I'll leave those for another time :) If you want to see more, there are some night scenes that I shot on my iphone, which you can see on my facebook :) I wish I had brought out my real camera that night! London at night is seriously spectacular and so full of colour!

Remnants of the cold the night before.

There are so many old structures and buildings in this part of the world!

The sun came out for 1 day....the sky was glorious throughout.

I don't really like to put photos of myself on this blog... not because there aren't any, but mainly because I am SO unphotogenic. And because this blog is for pretty things, I might continue to leave myself out :p But my boots and Ju's shoes get a cameo! Only cos I think they are cool :P

I found that people drink beer at 8 or 9 in the morning here! Very very strange!!

I had ALOT of fun in the shopping district, on Oxford Street, in London

We also went to watch the musical "Wicked" which was a complete visual treat (plus the lady who plays the wicked witch of the west has the most stunning live voice I've heard)! London is completely FULL of the most amazing plays, musicals and shows. Love it!

London bridge.

And lastly, my favourite photo. Leftovers from the Christmas winter lights :)

Cindy + Rob: The Wedding Slideshow!

This is SUCH a monster MONSTER post, so much so that I will have to come back later to insert my favourites into this blog post, and do a full write up - I just couldn't choose amongst the 180 images or so being the indecisive person that I am :P

But for now, enjoy their full wedding slideshow below! Remember, this is a HUGE slideshow, so please press PLAY first, then press pause when the progress bar begins to load. When it finishes loading, press play for smooth playback! :D

For those reading this on RSS, you can view their slideshow HERE.

And here is that special video footage I said I would share with you. It is a same day VIDEO footage of Cindy and Rob's wedding. That's right - the VIDEO footage taken of Cindy and Rob's wedding was edited and played that same very night at the reception in all its glory for all of us to see. I was completely blown away by the utter talent from Wiki Lee. Really and truly, you are really talented! I am so proud to not only be able to call you industry peer, but also friend. Thank you Wiki for letting me share this with everyone on my blog - it really deserves all the attention! :D ps: you can play this full screen if you want to! I dare you!!

Robert + Cindy - SDE from Wiki Lee on Vimeo.

The Jasmine Star Workshop down under!!

You have to have been living under a rock to not know the amazingness that is Jasmine Star :D She was down under in my hometown of Sydney recently and ran one of her much talked about workshops! Sitting on this end of the workshop, I can totally see why they sell out in minutes! I left buzzing... filled with excitement, motivation, and warm gooey inspiration :)

One of my favourite photographers, Jasmine is not only a really talented photographer, but an incredible person inside and out. She really made the effort to spend time and talk to every one of us individually, and unlike alot of photographers out there she was completely down to earth, real, 110% honest, and so incredibly humble despite her worldwide acclaimed status in our industry. You didn't feel like you were talking to an industry leader - you felt like you were just conversing with a friend, and that was so refreshing :) Her husband, JD is just the same. I have utmost respect for these two, and I'm so blessed to have been able to meet them, and learn from them :) Thank you Jasmine and JD for everything! Miss you two already! Hope you managed to find your dim sum in our chinatown!! :D

Here are some photos from the day! I made the decision to watch and listen to Jasmine while she shot and explained her thought processes throughout the shoot (more so than shooting myself), but I managed to squeeze a few on the digital camera :) There are more on the film, but those will be for another time. For now, have a look at what we got up to that strangely overcast day in the middle of our summer! :D

J* herself! :D

And her husband JD working his way around us to get shots :)

And then the lovely models we had that day!

Isn't this bouquet AMAZING? :D love love love it!

And these shoes are HOT :D

Last few snaps of the dynamic duo!

And lastly, a photo with Jasmine herself! I look silly, but thank you Jasmine for making this photo better! :D

Models:

Lacy and Evan Shelton

Kristie Jane

Flowers:

Daisy Chain Florist

Dresses:

Catherine Colubriale

Hair and Makeup:

Elle Vierboom