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25. December 2014 08:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas 2014

25. December 2014 08:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year we celebrated Christmas eve with the boys.

5 days before Christmas I still hadn't taken our annual family photo even though I had the concepts loosely worked out in my head.

I knew that I wanted to do one in the kitchen and one evening when Kim decided she wanted to experiment with cooking brownies I decided to set it up and talked her through the concept and what I wanted her and the kids to do.
It worked out better than expected.

Kim also wanted one of us unpacking gifts.

This one was a lot harder to set up as the light was critical.

The last family photo we did was a simple one taken in the morning at Maroubra beach.

24. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Inspirational notes for 2015

24. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In one of the shops at Eastgardens I found a wall full of these inspirational notes for 2015.

23. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Playing a storm

23. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of days ago the kids were playing in the park at Kims dads place while a big storm was approaching.

The light was beautiful so I couldn't resist snapping a couple of photos with my phone.

21. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Kim riding a bike

21. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim has never learned to ride a bike. One day at the park she borrowed Kaylas bike and gave it a try.

She did pretty good considering that she's never done it before.

20. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Cool art work

20. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here is some quick snaps of some public artwork that I find really cool.

This artwork I found in the Macquarie centre.

It is thousands of plastic balls suspended from the ceiling.

And this grafitti is from Redfern...I wish all grafitti was this well done.

19. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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The Tiger who came to tea

19. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One day we went with the kids to the opera house to experience a play called "The tiger who came to tea" which is based on a childrens book of the same title.

We had borrowed the book week before and read it to the kids so they were very excited and the play was really good fun and well made.

15. December 2014 09:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Lindt Cafe

15. December 2014 09:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One of the sad events of the year was the attack on the Lindt cafe in Sydney where a lone gunman took the patrons as hostages. He was eventually shot by the police after killing two patrons.

All of Sydney laid flowers in front of the cafe as Martins place.

22. November 2014 16:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Daydream island

22. November 2014 16:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago we went to Daydream island in the Whitsunday islands at great barrier reef.

This was a great opportunity to check out some of the natural beauties...

...such as Whitehaven beach.

We spent a lot of time playing at the pool and at the beach.

The resort has a massive inland lagoon with lots of stingrays and sharks that the kids loved.

Aiden and Lucas were allowed to touch some of them including this live shark.

and stingrays and star fish.

And on the island there were lots of kangaroos.

A beautiful place.

And I did have time to do a bit of creative shooting.

Eventually it was time to say goodbye to the island with a vulcan salute.

20. November 2014 14:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Mini open day photo shoot

20. November 2014 14:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In early November I did another open studio day. This time a mini day with less models, hair and makeup and studio setups.

As usual it was good practice and fun to work with the various models. I think I did get some great photos and there were a lot of lessons learned that can be done better next time.

Model: Charlotte de Lucey

Model: Jessica Garcia

Model: Tanika de Alwis

Model: Britney Williams

Model: Tanika de Alwis

Compared to the other times I was doing a lot more natural light photography this time and some of it in nasty and not very flattering direct sunlight. I think I still managed to get some very usable results out of it.

Model: Nikki Doan

Model: Amy Hill

The hardest thing for me is still the communication with the models and the creation of a vision that is different when you are on a fixed set.

Model: Jessica Garcia

23. October 2014 10:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Trip to Manly

23. October 2014 10:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This Sunday we took the ferry to Manly.

It is a beautiful trip past the opera house and the boys were very excited being on a boat.

At Manly we went down to the beach. It was a calm day so the boys had a lot of fun at the edge of the water.

After that Kim did some shopping, we had some fish'n'chips and we also had an ice cream.

Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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2. May 2014 15:05
by Rene Pallesen
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To my one and only - May 2014

2. May 2014 15:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

1. May 2014 15:05
by Rene Pallesen
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Toronga Zoo April 2014

1. May 2014 15:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago we made a trip to Taronga Zoo.

One of the families from daycare had a spare pass that we borrowed for the day.

First we went through the bird sanctuary and the kids were not overly impressed and were more interested in the waterfalls and the leaves fallen off the trees.

After that we walked past the playground and Lucas immediately ran off (Aiden was a bit more hesitant as he is more cautious) and couldn't get enough of going down the big slide (by himself).

The seal show was more to the taste of Aiden even though he'd seen it before.

After this we went to the Australian section of the park to see some kangaroos (including a tree kangaroo) and other wildlife.

23. April 2014 12:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photo shoot - Other various

23. April 2014 12:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here is some more photos from the shoot the other day. They are not my favourites, but good enough to share I think.

Model: Kerry Ann Peterson

Model: Gabriella Srage

Model: Emma Perceval

22. April 2014 12:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photoshoot - Dream

22. April 2014 12:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I just finished another edit of one of the photos from the open day.

Someone else had posted a photo of a dream like impression and I wanted to see if I was able to do the same with one of my photos.

Model: Taylia Lopez
Lighting & Set: Studio 1A
Hair & Make-up: Kabuki Mee Designs

I also did another photo of one of the other girls at the photo shoot.

Model: Britney Williams
Hair: Cara Leupuscek
Makeup: Melisa Tomic
Sets: Studio 1A Sydney

19. April 2014 15:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photoshoot - wrap up

19. April 2014 15:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The photoshoot last week provided a lot of lessons...some learnt and some where I need more practice.

My main reason for participating was to gain more experience working with models and especially be able to pose models better. A secondary objective was to get some great photos that I can use for my portfolio and for this website.
I think I succeeded with both objectives although I definitely need more experience with posing.

I had no idea what to expect before getting there apart from knowing that there would be a number of models, makeup artists and a number of different sets.

The format is pretty simple...first come first serve to a set. You use the time effectively, work quick and take 20-30 shots with each model and after that you let someone else have a turn and move onto a different set.

This means that you have to work very effective with the models and try and get a good photo. You cannot change the set and you cannot change the light setup so in terms of creativity this is quite limiting.
It came in very handy that I have done some studio photography and have a good understanding of the theory. This means that it was easier for me to work with the variables that I could change, mainly changing my position on the set to get different shadows and lights and then also let the models move closer or further away from the lights to change this. I definitely think that this allowed me to get some pretty unique photos, but I definitely something I need to do more of if I get the chance to do this again.

Also, some of the models were professional models and others had done absolutely no modelling before. They all presented different challenges, as the professional models will give you the model poses and looks and it it hard to change this without it being pretty obvious that you only have little experience. The ones with no experience required a lot more guidance and this was where I really struggled and I definitely need some more standard poses that I can pull out for these situations. That said some of the models with no experience did really good and the most of the models were rally good fun to work with.
I especially found it really hard to pose with the male models.

Another thing is how social media works. The agreement was that you would put your shots into a dropbox folder so that the hair and makeup artists as well as the model could access low resolution files and at the same time get access to your contact details if they would like prints/hires files. I also posted the photos on the groups facebook page and the response was amazing compared to what I normally get on photos. Lots of likes and suddenly everyone wants to be my friend on Facebook (they may be disappointed when they see the stuff I normally post) and most amazing is the response from the models and the hair and makeup artists...a number of them are already using the material to promote themselves (which I am fine with as long as it doesn't go beyond that) and they are leaving comments/shares saying things such as 'this is my favourite photo from the day so far'.

Not knowing what gear to bring I brought pretty much everything I terms of lenses and even a couple of flashes and grey cards. I ended up shooting with my 85mm f1.4 pretty much most of the time and occasionally changing to a 50mm f1.4 for full body shots or on the sets where there wasn't much space on the set. What I didn't bring was my 105mm macro lens. I could have used this lens for getting in close for detail type shots and wish I had brought this along.
I should also have brought an ND8 filter for shooting natural light at f1.4...even with the Nikon D800 it was next to impossible to not overexpose using that bright light.

They have announced that they will be holding another shoot in august which I am planning to participate in and they also have a nude workshop in July that I am trying to convince Kim that I should go to...but we will see.

18. April 2014 07:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photoshoot - Miyuki

18. April 2014 07:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Miyuki is a makeup artist and had never done any modeling before and this was the first time as a model.

She has a really nice outfit/hair piece and the makeup was done really nicely. The skin in her face is absolutely flawless and virtually no re-touching was required.

Photographer: Rene Pallesen
Model: Miyuki Tsuda
Hair and Makeup: Kabuki Mee Designs
Set/Light: Studio 1A Sydney

18. April 2014 07:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day Photoshoot - Melanie J Bowers

18. April 2014 07:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One of the professional models on the day was Melanie. She knows how to model and give you the looks but it also made it hard to get a unique photo. Even though I did get a lot of great photo I think the one below is the best...it is very magazine like.

At one point during my session with her she started talking to some other people down the back and she became all smiley and giggly...the modelling cover totally disappeared. I really kick myself that I didn't keep shooting while this happened.

Photographer: Rene Pallesen
Model: Melanie J Bowers
Hair: Cara Leupuscek
MUA: Melisa Tomic
Studio and lighting : 1A Sydney

18. April 2014 07:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photoshoot - Pia Prestley

18. April 2014 07:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Pia had a very cool red and white facepaint/makeup. It was a bit strong for the set but I think it is pretty good in black and white with a slight hint of the colours blended back in.

Photographer: Rene Pallesen
Model: Pia Prestley
Hair: Cara Leupuscek
MUA: Marie Donnell
Studio and lighting : 1A Sydney

17. April 2014 14:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photoshoot - Sudip Limbu

17. April 2014 14:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At the photo shoot there was also a couple of male models.

I find it a lot harder to pose males than females...with females I can (kind of) tell what looks good and what doesnt and when I get a goo pose I know it. With males it is a lot harder as I never think about what looks masculine.

This day was a really eye opener that before I next time have to shoot a male I will have to do a bit of homework and have some general ideas already mapped out.

At the end of the day they were shooting inside this caged lift and I got the this shot. Later I saw another photographers photo using the same setting and it was amazing.

It was really cool to see what other people did in the same set and I learned so much just from watching other photographers as well as models.

I also did a couple of shots using a projection screen...not a big fan, but I did snap the following that turned out somewhat ok but not entirely happy about it.

Model: Sudip Limbu
Hair: Cara Leupuscek
Makeup: Melinda
Lighting & Sets: Studio 1A Sydney

17. April 2014 14:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Open day photoshoot - Valerie Peovska 50's style

17. April 2014 14:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I did another set/makeup shoot with Valerie in a more 50's style setting.

First I had her standing up, but just could not get the poses working for me with the makeup and the set...just somehow seemed out of place and it was my second set of the day so I was still trying to get used to the whole idea of giving posing directions.

Eventually I had her sit down and managed to get this photo which I think captured the whole 1950's style much better.

Model : Valerie Pueovska
Hair : Cara Leupuscek
MUA : Melisa Tomic
Studio/Set: 1A Sydney
Photographer : Rene Pallesen

Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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29. February 2012 07:51
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden Walking

29. February 2012 07:51 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is the 29th February and the last day of the bet I had with Kim....and believe it or not, but Aiden started walking by himself today.

We are very proud of him and I am double proud of him as he delivered the goods just in the nick of time...one day later and I would have been cleaning the house (lucky that this year is a leap year)!

19. February 2012 09:25
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden Standing by himself

19. February 2012 09:25 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aiden is now able to stand up by himself.

He is now 20 months and should have been walking ages ago, so he is a bit behind on that front. Hopefully I can get him to take one step before the end of next week...I have a bet with Kim going whether he will walk before the end of February.

5. February 2012 08:57
by Rene Pallesen
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Centennial Park - Feb 2012

5. February 2012 08:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Today we went to Centennial Park to take some family photos. I had been complaining that I didn't have enough (good) photos of myself and Aiden so Kim offered to take some.

We found a nice spot in the park and managed to take a couple of shots before my camera ran out of battery...and unfortunately I had forgotten my spare at home.

Kim just came back from a business trip to Singapore a couple of days ago and it is really nice to have her back. I missed her but I am not sure Aiden missed her as much as he is such a daddys boy. When she was back he just turned away and would rather stay with me.

Also the little tiger is now 20 months and he is still not walking...what is going on?

29. January 2012 07:38
by Rene Pallesen
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Ronan Keating Concert

29. January 2012 07:38 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Last night Kim and I went to the Ronan Keating concert in State Theatre in Sydney.

Kim is a long time fan of Ronan and really wanted to see him live. I am to be honest not really familiar with his music but had a good evening nonetheless.

The warming up band was Sharon Corr (from The Corrs) and I really enjoyed her both playing and singing...she is pretty talented on the violin.

29. December 2011 10:24
by Rene Pallesen
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Tomakin 2011 - Fishing

29. December 2011 10:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Chong brought his Tinny (Australian slang for boat) to Tomakin and every morning the guys went out fishing for a few hours (I only went out one morning because 1. I had to look after Aiden and 2. I am not a morning person).

We caught lots of fish, but none of them were worth keeping as they were too small.

Just as well we didn't keep any, because on one of the days the fishing inspection gave us a visit.

In fact the only thing we caught that was above the size limit was this blue swimmer crab (and he was allowed to live another day).

We also had a visit from two massive sting rays (about 1 meter in diameter).

28. December 2011 10:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Tomakin 2011 - Table Tennis

28. December 2011 10:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The house we stayed at had a table tennis table in the garage. We had enough people to form three double teams and we spent quite a few hours playing each other.

Kims dad is 78 years old and is still going strong...he loves playing games.

27. December 2011 10:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Tomakin 2011 - Evening Photos

27. December 2011 10:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the last couple of evenings we went to the beach to do some nice sunset photos. Tomaking is very onique in that it has some beaches that are facing west so you can use the nice light in the evening.

We did some family photos (some of which are on the previous blog post) as well as some of just Kim, Aiden and I. Kim still looks as beautiful as the day I met her.

I also did a rush job taking some long exposure shots of the ocean and the cliffs (not sure if I like the post processing...may have to come back to it some other day).

26. December 2011 09:59
by Rene Pallesen
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Tomakin 2011

26. December 2011 09:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This years christmas family trip went to Tomakin on the NSW south coast (about 5 hours drive south of Sydney).

We rented a house with four bedrooms (for 9 adults and 5 kids) very close to the beach and fishing in the river. Fun with this large a group of people.

As usual we spent some time at the beach and I was showing Aiden how to build sand castles again.

He is still not walking so we had to hold his hands walking on the beach and in the water.

Right next to the house there was a nice litte organic coffee shop serving really good coffee and scones.

One morning we went to Mogo to have a look at the shops. There was a lot of art and crafts shop that Kim was interested in. The town had very conveniently created facilities for husbands as well.

25. December 2011 09:46
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Day 2011 - Bondi

25. December 2011 09:46 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Christmas day we spent at Bondi Beach with Sacha and Mavis and their daughter. We met up at the kids pool at the end of the beach to let our kids have a splash in the water.

Aiden couldn't get enough of walking around in the water with myself and Kim holding his hands (he still can't walk by himself), he is very fond of water.

Sammi, Sacha and Mavis' daughter was wearing a flotation suit which was causing her a few problems as this photo series testifies.

24. December 2011 09:35
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Eve 2011

24. December 2011 09:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Christmas Eve this year was celebrated with Kims family. Normally we do this on the 25th like all other Australians, but this year we decided to do it the day before like in Denmark to avoid a lot of leftover food before going down south on out family trip to Tomakin.

Later in the day Santa Claus arrived to hand out presents for the kids.

For the lunch I roasted two ducks and Kim baked a chocolate ganache and made a salad.

Aiden was very excited and played with all Ethand and Kaylas toys.

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