Howdy! It’s me, Phillipa C….starting a blog!
I’m excited to share stories with you and thought I would begin with a bit about myself and my photo making journey.
*this portrait taken last fall by my dear friend erin brubacher (she is a whole other blog post). we played dress ups in high park (my favourite location) and I am wearing my best golfing fashion.
I grew up in rural Australia and began learning photography during studies (Graphic Design) in University. I should note that the professor teaching Photography was one heck of an inspiration. I became hooked on the darkroom and spent many late nights practising the processing and printing of film. After university I arrived in Sydney and began training with a wedding photographer. (insert blog post here of my 20’s, Sydney….whoa)! It was a small successful company and every weekend we’d be driving all over Sydney in a bright red Ferrari to various gorgeous locations for the day of the wedding. We shot the entire wedding on film back then which was pretty exciting as well as stressful (waiting 2 weeks to see if the photos actually turned out). Like I said, I could write a whole other post on this period.
November, 2002, I witnessed my first snow fall as the plane landed at Pearson International. I had planned to stay for just one year, however I met and fell in love with a golf enthusiast and c’est la vie!
*a favourite picture taken way back in 2006 at the burning man festival (insert blog post on burning man)!
In 2009 I opened the storefront studio in the Junction. This was an exciting affair! We distributed hand made invitations to the neighbourhood, ordered a case of champagne and brought in Uncle George (my father in laws brother!) to cater. My high heels held up thanks to the endless glass of champagne.
hand stamped, typewritten and stitched invitations for opening night party!
For the first few years I sought weddings as the focus of photography. I thrilled at the invitation to be up close and personal with my wedding clients. Being able to creatively interpret a couples special day was like a shot of adrenaline every time. I also started photographing local families. As time went along I became more responsive to the portrait sessions I was creating and I became very attached to this new invitation to photograph children and little ones.
photographing this darling little chap along the lakeshore a few summers ago. my adoaration of children sparked..
ps. My jumpsuit in this photo is seersucker.
When my son Abraham was born in 2015, I felt more ready to focus on portraits in my business lifestyle. I discovered that I would take pictures of Abraham in the same way I would my clients children and this solidified my connection to photographing children.
I love this photo taken on a beach in Queensland a few weeks before Abraham turned 2.
So, here we are, half way through 2021! Hoping and waiting for better news to get through Covid. I have been enjoying more time with Abraham, watching him grow (and photographing him of course). I’m looking forward to getting back to a routine with my work, meeting new families and reconnecting with old ones (old is not the right word but you know what I mean).
I’m excited to share stories here which I will aim for once a month. I’ve got some fun projects in mind with portraits and am also super excited to share some of my personal photography work which you may have noticed in the shop window…. whoo hoo… (more blog posting on this too)*
Here’s a sneak peek of that…
Claude the Sonic Manipulator. Shot with black and white film.
So for now I will sign off and get back to the playground. I hope to see you there. Thanks for reading and feel free to share! xoxo Phillipa
A favourite picture from my childhood taken on a beach holiday in South Australia in 1976.
I’m pretty certain my mum sewed the hats my sister and I are wearing as well as her bikini. Also of note, my mum is a tanning redhead. Unfortunately I am not.