Sinead Jenkins Photoblog

Sinead Jenkins Photoblog http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/ A documentary photographer based in Dunedin, New Zealand, specialising in weddings and portraits. en Copyright 2012 Mon, 14 May 2012 11:57:03 +1300 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Elmer's trip to Wales
The plane trip went pretty well, considering we had a 32 hour trip door to door and not a great deal of opportunity for unbroken sleep. It would have been virtually impossible without a laptop full of movies and a lifetime's supply of chocolate buttons. Despite being exhausted off the plane, Elmer's face broke into a beautiful smile as soon as he saw his Grandma and Grandad at the gate in Heathrow, and they have been in-separable since. He loves his Auntie Roisin, and has also caught up with Uncle Aidan and Auntie Katie, spending an afternoon playing in the woods nearby.

Back soon for some more...

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/05/elmers-trip-to-wales.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/05/elmers-trip-to-wales.html Personal family photographer dunedin photographer cardiff photographer dunedin plane trip with toddler Mon, 14 May 2012 11:57:03 +1300 Rachel and Greig, Wedding in Waimate, New Zealand
Rachel is pregnant, with a baby due in September, so she had a gorgeous dress made to show off her (tiny!) bump. I think most pregnant brides go for a simple empire line gown, but I really admired Rachel collaborating on such a fun and totally unique design. Amongst all the little details at the reception marquee, there was also a black and white photograph of baby's 20 week scan.

Rachel and Greig are dairy farmers, and the wedding was set in rural Waimate, with a ceremony at the little stone church in town, followed by a reception at Centrewood Estate, with its beautiful big autumnal trees. To top off the day.. our run of beautiful sunny weather continued, with a bright warm day and a starry night. LOTS of children at this wedding, including 4 flower girls and 4 page boys. Very cute...

Beautiful.

Well, me and Elmer are back in the UK getting pampered, but I will be blogging about that soon...

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/05/rachel-and-greig-wedding-in-wa.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/05/rachel-and-greig-wedding-in-wa.html Weddings autumn trees beautiful wedding dunedin wedding photographer new zealand wedding photographer pregnant bride waimate wedding wedding photographer dunedin wedding photographer new zealand Sat, 05 May 2012 01:09:54 +1300 Trudy and Ben, Wedding in Dunedin, New Zealand
After the ceremony and some mingling, we headed out for some creative location shots, and luckily Trudy's parents live adjacent to a beautiful little apple orchard. I tell you what, if I could shoot in an apple orchard, in autumn, at that perfect hour before the sun starts to set, every week, I would be a happy chap. The light was BEAUTIFUL. After that we headed to the yacht club since Ben is into his boats, and we captured the sunset. I have to say, it wasn't so warm anymore at that point!

Oh and Trudy and Ben are really into their sweets (lollies if you're an NZer!) so they made all the bouquets out of.... sweets!! I was a little hesitant when I heard that initially, but they looked amazing. The girls had great restraint and only ploughed into them at the reception.

Once again I've been blessed with a couple who are utterly into eachother, and madly in love. Beautiful!

I'm being dragged out of my chair to go and play race cars on the floor.......

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/trudy-and-ben-wedding-in-duned.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/trudy-and-ben-wedding-in-duned.html Weddings Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:57:54 +1300 Shelley, Bailey and Rocco
Shelley and I arranged this shoot in a slightly last minute fashion, and we only spent about 40 minutes playing in the grass, but got lots of different set ups. Partly of course because 6 month old babies have a 30 second attention span. Rocco is AMAZING though, and spent the entire shoot laughing and smiling, even though he was simultaneously trying to have a poo. Imagine that!

It's so nice to be able to document Shelley and Bailey's new family because I've photographed their engagement shoot, their wedding in 2010, and maternity shots (last winter). Shelley is an amazing photographer in her own right, and you can see her work here. Looking forward to many more happy years being photography nerds together...

I wasn't really chimping (looking at the back of the camera) for most of the photoshoot because we were moving quickly, but I checked that last one, and was like, 'bingo!' What a lush family!!

You may notice I am storming through my blog posts ;) That's because me and Elmer are off on the big plane at the end of next week to see his Grandma and Grandad. Now I only have 399 items left on my to do list before we leave....

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/shelley-bailey-and-rocco.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/shelley-bailey-and-rocco.html Portraits dunedin family photographer dunedin portrait photographer family photographer dunedin family photographer new zealand new zealand family photographer very cool people Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:37:38 +1300 Marilyn and Ryan, Wedding in Outram, New Zealand
Marilyn and Ryan contacted me a while back to ask about photographing their simple, quirky wedding at Grandview Gardens in Outram. Marilyn described the day to me and I instantly wanted to say "yes, however it works, I want to photograph your wedding."

The day would start early in the morning (10am people, is VERY early for me), with a garden ceremony surrounded by close friends and family. Most of whom would travel from places like Singapore, Canada and Australia to spend time in NZ with Marilyn and Ryan. Afterwards, they would drink teas from vintage china cups, and set up an outdoor photobooth and an indoor scrapbooking area. Guests would be photographed with props, and then be able to create a personalised scrapbook page for M&R with a huge range of papers and bitty things to be found neatly arranged on the tables inside.

Marilyn and Ryan live in Singapore, which is, obviously, quite hot. Dunedin isn't necessarily that warm... so guests were advised to be weather aware! The wedding morning was beautiful though, sunny, with that autumn crispness and magical light. Two of the loveliest people I've had the pleasure of photographing had their simple ceremony, and then we all had some fun with silly photographs, scrapbooking and icecream cake. Marilyn and Ryan insisted I do a scrapbook page myself, and I have to admit, it was probably one of the best ones there...

Beautiful. Oh and I got to go home with not only presents (plural) for me, but also a present for Elmer!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/marilyn-and-ryan-wedding-in-ou.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/marilyn-and-ryan-wedding-in-ou.html Weddings beautiful wedding dunedin wedding dunedin wedding photographer grandview gardens outram scrapbooking at a wedding vintage wedding details wedding photographers dunedin wedding photographs dunedin Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:17:32 +1300 Elmer's Easter Weekend
The images below show Elmer eating an Easter egg, spending some time by the water at Purakanui, visiting our neighbours for an Easter egg hunt (and spying some teeny piglets through the fence), enjoying some man-time in the garden (hands over ears when his Dad uses a power tool on the house), napping on the sofa, and hanging in his toy spot.

Personally I think he's the cutest two year old around, but I only say that on the blog, not to anyone's face (especially if they also have a two year old).

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/elmers-easter-weekend.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/elmers-easter-weekend.html Personal cute two year old Sat, 14 Apr 2012 11:45:00 +1300 Kelly and Mark, Wedding in Dunedin, New Zealand aren't laughing out loud, chuckling, or smiling. They are totally at ease with eachother, and very quick to cuddle and have fun. There was a lot of good humour and laughter throughout their wedding day, from everyone involved.

Kelly and Mark married at Tautuku, with a sweet, windy ceremony on the lawn, followed by a reception in the house/conservatory. The best part of the ceremony was when Doug (beloved dog of K&M) was released from one of the wedding cars so that he could dash up the aisle and perform ring-bearer duties. Which he did admirably. Doug is lovely!

Afterwards, the plan was for a helicopter to land on the lawn and whisk Kelly and Mark away to the end of the peninsula for photographs. Mark and his family had arranged this as a complete surprise for Kelly, and I was really excited before it was due to land. There was a delay because of the weather, so we had to keep Kelly from asking why we were hanging around. Unfortunately it couldn't land, so we tripped off in the car instead. Darn weather. It's the thought that counts though isn't it?? What a cool surprise!

This wedding was a complete labour of love. Kelly has been collecting ideas and preparing items for this day for a long time, and everything turned out beautifully. I loved the florals, the cute table tops, and the bunting on the lawn. During the afternoon downpour we hid in a shed, and then continued to the peninsula for some dramatic landscapey shots in the rain.

Loved this wedding!

Elmer is quietly ploughing through an easter egg behind me. I managed to get a whole blog post done with him in the room!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/kelly-and-mark-wedding-in-dune.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/kelly-and-mark-wedding-in-dune.html Weddings beautiful wedding couple dunedin wedding photographer vintage wedding vintage wedding details vintage wedding dunedin wedding photographer new zealand Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:02:51 +1300 Gemma and Jordan, Wedding in Geraldine, New Zealand
Not only that, but I knew that Gemma (in particular) had put so much hard work into designing and creating every last detail for the wedding, that it would be a visual feast. Her grandmother's bridal gowns were both on display in the foyer at Stonebridge, along with a host of family related details. The tablecloth on the signing table is a family heirloom (I believe).

Both grandmothers did a reading at the ceremony, and Gemma and Jordan's parents were involved lighting candles for deceased family members.

After an emotional ceremony under the clouds, the sun came out, and guests mingled on the lawn. As part of our location shoot we visited the local supermarket (that Jordan's parents run) for some quirky shots! Later on there were hilarious and moving speeches, impromptu group dancing, singing, more dancing, music, and floating candles on the lake.

Lush. Well, that took a while! I did promise G&J their blog post this afternoon. But in some cultures, 8.30pm is actually considered the afternoon...

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/gemma-and-jordan-wedding-in-ge.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/04/gemma-and-jordan-wedding-in-ge.html Weddings beautiful wedding couple dunedin wedding photographer vintage wedding wedding photographer dunedin wedding photographer geraldine Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:26:15 +1300 An update on the House
The roof is on. The house is wrapped in building paper (almost ready for plastering):

The windows are all in (that was a job and a half - at least for someone who isn't a builder)..

The internal walls are almost finished (there aren't many, it's mostly open plan), and the wiring is done:

Elmer's room (full of floorboards. Or it may be ceiling boards):

And of course Elmer. And a dog.

Looks almost finished doesn't it? (hee hee).

SOOOO, the plan is, I am here in NZ for another month, and then me and Elmer are heading back to the UK for two months (inbetween weddings). Without the distractions of such a good looking pair, Steven will power on with the house, and when I return all that will be left to do will be arranging scatter cushions and lighting a few mood candles.

Hopefully. But maybe not, since the house has taken a LITTLE bit longer than expected...

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/an-update-on-the-house.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/an-update-on-the-house.html Personal new zealand photographer photographer new zealand strawbale house dunedin strawbale house new zealand Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:52:54 +1300 Jennifer and Jason, Wedding in Arrowtown, New Zealand
Jennifer and Jason married last month in Arrowtown at St Patrick's Church followed by a reception at the Winehouse and Kitchen. Both very beautiful and fabulous venues. Jennifer has been planning this wedding for a year, with the help of Sarah at Simply Perfect Weddings. Sarah made sure the wedding was a pleasure to photograph. She took care of every little vintagey detail, and worked tirelessly behind the scenes all day.

Jennifer is from the US, and Jason is a Kiwi - they make a really gorgeous opposites-attract couple (a bit like me and Steven, except better looking). Really genuine, hospitable people. It was lovely seeing two families come together from so far away, and made for some very emotional speeches.

The weather was stunning, everyone was lovely, and stylish, and good looking. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful wedding. Here are the images!

Gorgeous :)

I have three more weeks in NZ before my break in the UK. I'm trying not to take any more work on, but I will schedule shoots for when I return. I cannot WAIT for less hectic times!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/jennifer-and-jason-wedding-in.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/jennifer-and-jason-wedding-in.html Weddings dunedin wedding photographer queenstown wedding photographer vintage wedding wedding in arrowtown wedding photographer dunedin Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:26:49 +1300 Rebecca and Shane, Wedding in Ohau, New Zealand
Anyway, I have around 4 or 5 blogs in the works waiting to go up. Here is blog number one, from Rebecca and Shane's wedding, which was AGES ago in Ohau. It was when my parents were still here, so we all took the opportunity for a nice weekend away by Ohau lake. I'd forgotten (I've been to Ohau before) that there is no shop there at all. So we had to bludge some bread and wine from Ohau Lodge in the evening. Just the essentials!

The day before was quite blustery and cold, but Rebecca and Shane's weddng day turned out to be absolutely beautiful. Calm, sunny and mild. Since Rebecca was planning to arrive at the lakeside ceremony by BOAT (I know!!) then that was a good thing. Rebecca and Shane's twin toddler girls were flowergirls, and Rebecca's three other children played an important role in the wedding - her sons escorted her down the aisle with her dad, and daughter Rosa was a bridesmaid. Family and friends are very important to these two, and that was so evident all day.

All the elements for a perfect day: Stunning location, simple, uncluttered wedding, surrounded by the people you love.

Yey! A whole blog post! I should have more coming up, on the state of the house, Elmer (of course) and more weddings. See you soon!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/rebecca-and-shane-wedding-in-o.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/rebecca-and-shane-wedding-in-o.html Weddings dunedin wedding photographer new zealand wedding photographer wedding photographer dunedin wedding photographer new zealand Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:43:41 +1300 Recent Elmer
Elmer said goodbye to his Grandma and Grandad two weeks ago, as they left New Zealand headed for the UK. Considering he absolutely adores them, I was dreading the goodbye. But when the time came, he was fine. He said 'bye bye!' and I explained Grandma and Grandad were going home on a big plane. He asked for Grandma that night and I told him the same thing. Then nothing for three days. Until we were in the museum last week and Elmer was looking at an exhibit, when suddenly he turned around and shouted "Da Da!!" (Grandad) in a big loud voice. "Where is he?" he said, looking around. I had to explain again that Grandma and Grandad went home on a big plane. It was like he suddenly realised they'd gone.

I don't know how a two year old brain works, but I'm glad he's more robust than I am!

Phew, a blog post done! I will endeavour to get on here more often. An Ohau wedding coming up too!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/recent-elmer-2.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/03/recent-elmer-2.html Personal baby photographer dunedin dunedin baby photographer dunedin family photographer family photographer dunedin portrait photographer dunedin Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:08:00 +1300 Nicky and Barry, Wedding in Outram, NZ
I have to say, having communicated with Nicky and Barry mostly by email (they live in Wellington), it was really lovely spending the day with them (I only met Barry just before the wedding), and all their guests. Everyone was so welcoming.

The service, at Grandview Gardens, was simple and moving, and the day eased from one part to another in a relaxed, seamless way. In the evening the sun came out and lovely warm light poured into the barn just before the dancing started.

Aren't they lush? Such a sweet couple.

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/02/nicky-and-barry-wedding-in-out.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/02/nicky-and-barry-wedding-in-out.html Weddings sweet couple wedding at grandview gardens wedding photographer dunedin wedding photographer new zealand wedding photography dunedin Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:25:30 +1300 Elmer holidays with Grandma and Grandad
Oh and Elmer is totally in love with his grandparents.

Parents are out with Elmer in town so I'm making the most of the time alone!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/02/elmer-holidays-with-grandma-an.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/02/elmer-holidays-with-grandma-an.html Personal crib holiday cottage new zealand photographer photographer new zealand relaxing scrabble tree house views dunedin Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:54:41 +1300 Nicky and Nick, Wedding in Christchurch, NZ
Nicky and Nick had a beautiful outdoor ceremony at Clearwater in Christchurch, and from my very first dealings with them were super relaxed and trusting of me. Christchurch was hot and sunny, and a large part of the wedding day was spent just hanging out, enjoying the fine weather. Nick played some mini golf with the boys. Nicky and the girls enjoyed their luxury hotel room complete with balcony overlooking the lake. The sun discreetly hid behind a cloud for the ceremony and then popped out again. After dinner, the kids ran about on the big lawns, infront of a pretty pink sunset.

Considering at one point there was a possibility the hotel couldn't be used for the reception due to earthquake damage, I think the day turned out pretty well. Which was fabulous, considering Nicky and Nick are such lovely, genuine people.

Oh and we felt an earthquake! Well, Liana did, I was too busy studying the selection of wines in the wine shop to notice.

Right, I'm off to bed. I need to get some sleep before my parents fly into Dunedin in the morning!!

]]> http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/02/nicky-and-nick-wedding-in-chri.html http://www.sineadjenkins.com/blog/2012/02/nicky-and-nick-wedding-in-chri.html Weddings christchurch wedding photographer dunedin wedding photographer earthquake in christchurch wedding photographer dunedin Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:11:59 +1300