I’ve managed to find downtime in what has seemed like a manic December and a whirlwind end of an extremely complex and convoluted year. As I’m writing this piece, I’ve started to become a bit teary, reflecting on what is, what was and what could’ve been 2020. We started the year in Adelaide, and ended the year in Adelaide. Something Frankie and I didn’t expect. It’s taken a good three quarters of the year for me to accept that we are where we are, and that’s okay.

A decision in the middle of March was made to pull our bags from the carousel in Kuala Lumpur onwards to Colombo, and turn our tail towards home. The toughest choice we’ve ever had to make. It was fortuitous, retrospectively. A day prior to our return, the SA Government implemented a mandatory 2-week quarantine at home. That home was a caravan for us. I smile fondly, now, from within our Rundle Street office at how far we’ve both come mentally, physically and emotionally since our first day in quarantine.

Coming back into Australia in the midst of a pandemic, with the events industry decimated, was financially difficult. But we were fortunate to have support networks in place to assist us. We quickly found our feet, but it was still a while until the market started to trend towards a normal.

What pursued was a series of events that looked very different to those experienced in the past. Some socially distanced, some without vertical consumption, but all containing hand sanny.

But what needs to be noted is you. Without you, yeah, you reading, we couldn’t continue. We couldn’t go on. It’s with your support, no matter if you’ve booked us, or liked a social post, or even read a blog post - it’s all counted. So thank you.

The other piece to the puzzle is Frankie. What a rock you’ve been. Just over a year on from our wedding, and look how the world has changed. Perhaps we shouldn’t get married too often if this is the consequence ;) You’re a champion and champion a lot of great ideals. I continue to grow and learn so much from you.

From here, peruse the shots that brought me the most joy that I took throughout this tumultuous year. They’re not the best images, nor all of the images, but images that sparked a serious sensation during this topsy turvy year. I shine a light on why each one mattered.

This image was captured at Candice’s 30th birthday party at The Hennessy Bar, aloft the Mayfair Hotel. It was the very first event back from hospitality restrictions being lifted. The warm embrace between two friends is something we’ve all needed and wanted throughout trying times in SA. Being out and about for the first time for Frankie and I since our return to Australia, meant dressing up to coalesce in such a wonderful venue. And Candice certainly knew how to put on an event with a Moet ice tower and a magician to boot. The array of colours coupled with the snuggle, truly warms the soul. The sentiments prior to this shoot are difficult to comprehend positively, but the release of tension post-shoot, knowing that we’re trending back towards a normalisation of regular shoots was a relief.

Sophie’s baptism was my first solo photoshoot since our return this year, and boy-o, anxiety was high to begin with. Funnily enough, the church punters after their Sunday service helped ease the nerves, with them all so curious about why I was there. I explained that there was a baptism shortly, and they were hooked for a yarn. Sophie and co arrived soon after, and we were on for business. I’ve been super fortunate this year, as all the kids I’ve worked with have refuted the photography/videography concept of ‘never work with animals and children’. Sophie was an absolute gem the whole day. While I wasn’t always able to capture her eye to camera, she had only the smallest of spats for 1-minute during the 4-hour baptism shoot. The cheekiness and love here between father and daughter is something special, and one day, hopefully I’d be lucky enough to share it with a child of my own. A wonderful family, who I’ll be spending more time with during upcoming 21sts and weddings.

This is one of the cases of it not being my best shot of all time, but the evocation of sensations is unreal here. There’s a whole heap of sensory noise, and it’s not super sharp, but bloody hell - what a storm this was. This was the night of THE Adelaide thunderstorm. I was on a launch shoot for the new Weber Grill Academy venue on Fullarton Road, with a plethora of Adelaide’s media and food personalities. It was all going smoothly, until the sun started to set. From there, the dark grey clouds started to roll in, as guests started their departures. Videographer, Max Mackinnon, and I were on the scene to capture the lightning as it started to rocket down. I hadn’t felt that giddy at a shoot for a long time. It was like fishing, minus the hurt, trying to catch the lightning within frame. I wasn’t super well equipped for the lightning, with the 24-105mm Canon lens strapped onto the EOS R, being my best bet to snag it. And this is the result. The orange tinge above the cityscape wasn’t from the sunset, rather, the illumination from the bolts. This made me feel alive. As did the Webered tofu. As did the drive home within the heightened state of electricity in the air.

You might be thinking, heck Lewis, that’s grainy AF. And there’s a bag hanging from lights. And there’s a lot of things going on here. That my friend, is because this year, I’ve started to shoot my friends’ birthdays. This is Chris, and his theme was dress up. We all went a bit…oddball with it. And it morphed and mutated throughout the night. Adam, in the background, is wearing bits of everyone’s clothes, and the table runner. I put the bag on the lights, as I couldn’t be bothered holding it anymore as the ‘Hag of Holding’ - a D&D play-on words.. And that cake, was some of the best cake in my life (I think…). Chris’ birthday was the first event where our whole group of friends was able to hang out in near our fullest, post-restrictions. It was unfortunate for Tess - to Chris’ right - with literal balloons in her shirt - that her birthday celebrations were put-off a day before restrictions were tightened for the second time (not the 3-day lockdown). It meant a lot to us all - to finally be able to be with each other again - and a sentiment I’m sure many have felt - and still waiting to feel with international friends and family. It was a night to remember, and also to forget. I didn’t quite feel human the next day - but boy-o, I enjoyed the night.

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Photos so good that I want to cry. Liz and Logan. Family. Friends. Room mates at one stage. Clients. The space that they hold within our hearts is strong, and we’re forever grateful that they’re in our life. This diptych was set in the Flinders Ranges, behind Logan’s parents, and Frankie’s aunt and uncle’s expansive property. The setting wasn’t the original planned, with the front of their property alight with the purple Salvation Jane plant a month or so earlier. Schedules didn’t align, but the alternative obviously produced the goods still. I can look at these two images all day long. Which do you prefer? I can’t choose. Nor do I want to.

Ahhhhhh, Stacey and Alex, the proposal. Truth be told. This is probably the shoot I fell in love with tight portraiture. The story goes that the day before the shoot, Frankie, Alex and I met up to plan a very very different location to this shot at Gull’s Point. The day of the proposal, we were locked out of the place due to a extreme fire ban, thus parks had to be shut. Therefore, a 4am alarm was set, for a trip down south. Let’s go! 4am! I’m not a morning person, but when we can get a shot like this for a couple of starcrossed lovers, I’m in, every day of the week. I still have artefacts on both Stacey and Alex’s face, but it gives realness to the image. And realness is what I’m about. Surverying this image, again and again, I can feel the connection that these two had on the day and still to this day of writing. Loved meeting these two. And our sincerest and best wishes to both of your futures.

Martin, Yevgeniya & Sasha - what a wonderful little family you guys have. Martin and I worked together at InterContinental Adelaide, market the F&B outlets at the hotel. Fast-forward a year and a half, and he’s now a father to a gorgeous bebito! What I loved about shooting with Martin, Yevgeniya and el cariñito was how nice it was to catch up, meet la familia and see firsthand how fatherhood was with a close friend. And didn’t the sunset show up!? Super fortunate to be able to spend a dazzling Sunday night down at Grange with some extremely lovely folk, laughing, catching up and creating some spectacular photos for these guys to treasure forever.

This is one of the cases where the photo itself is super grainy, but it was the experience and story itself which is one which Frankie and I will be grateful to hold onto ourselves, and help cement in the Packers’ lives forever. Jasmin, Gus and Ori (pictured here), invited us out to shoot an array of different frames for their family. The initial frame was for Jasmin’s work (University of Adelaide), from there it went to some family portraiture for Jasmin and Gus’ wedding anniversary and some imagery for Ori’s birthday. These guys live up in the Adelaide Hills, with some of the Hills cutest, but endangered, southern brown bandicoots. Jasmin has dedicated her life’s work to moving the needle on their endangered status and thus has flowed over into their family’s mode de vie. They own the hotly sought after HideyHOLE Airbnb but have put a hiatus on bookings in the interim. We’ve worked and stayed with the Packers a couple of times, so have grown accustomed to their absolutely lovely hospitality and souls. Post-shoot, we dined on some of their delicious nibbles and out popped this wee cutie bandicoot. Both Ori and myself were able to get pretty close to this guy, to shoot his curious-mind. There was a macro shot in the gallery, but I elected to showcase this photo given Ori’s connection to the bandicoot’s cause through his mum’s expertise. I’ve conversed extensively recently with friends in regards to how we come to learn information and how we have our world shaped. Obviously one of the ways we learn is through our parents. And this is such a striking example of how that can be for good.

Last, but not least, is my favourite image I’ve ever taken. I wouldn’t say I’m a newborn photographer. I’m nonchalant about the niche. But I had tears editing this photo. This is Liz and Logan’s (see above) bebe. Our little (technically not) nephew. My heart melts each time I look at him. It’s more inline with the way I want to shoot, with deep blacks, and quite a minimal colour array with oranges and browns. The image is lit up by a near floor to ceiling window looking out onto the Flinders Ranges, with his wrap ebbing and flowing around him. His eyes and mouth are relaxed but with a slightly furrowed eyebrow. My mouth can’t help but keep shifting itself into a smile each time I scroll up to survey the image. I’m so proud of this image. And a delight we can hand it over.

So then;

That was a wrap up of the images that sparked the most joy in my life this year, in 2020. By no means, does it mean that it was an exhaustive list, nor does it mean that I didn’t enjoy all events that I shot, as I did - I love being able to capture special moments in our client’s lives for them to cherish forever. I’ve loved meeting all our clients this year, and every other year. It’s been a massive year of growth personally, which I’ll touch upon in another blog post prior to the end of 2020. But for now, it’s simply a thank you for reading!