Rachel Russell Photography

Teeny Tiny Annalise - Newborn Portrait

2012-01-25T15:19:00.002+13:00

This weekend I photographed 11 day old Annalise and her family. Here are her gorgeous photos...

A windy wedding day for Megan and Gareth

2012-01-25T15:14:00.000+13:00

On Megan and Gareth's wedding day they choose to have their photos taken prior to the ceremony. We started at Seddon where Megan's parents live and as it was so windy we decided to take the photos inside at Yealands Winery. There was lots of fun wee spots to take photos and do a bit of playing with movement (one of my favourite things to do!). We then went to a garden in Rapaura where it was slightly less windy where we got some great outside shots. The ceremony and Reception was held at Drylands Winery in Rapaura.
Here is a bit of a sneak preview of Megan and Gareths wedding day...

Caroline & Steve's gorgeous wedding

2012-01-13T09:34:00.000+13:00

Last weekend I photographed Caroline and Steve on their wedding day. The wedding was held at Caroline's family's home, and every detail was just gorgeous. They had awesome cars, a beautiful location and so many lovely little details. Here is a sneak preview of their wedding...

Lots of giggles with Jarrod & Carly...

2012-01-04T16:51:00.000+13:00

I so enjoy a wedding where there are lots of cheeky groomsmen, lovely bridesmaids and a fantastically fun bride and groom. Jarrod and Carly definitely had all of this on their wedding day, as well as a few buckets of rain. However the rain did not dampen any spirits and it was such a delight to photograph Jarrod and Carly and all their family and friends. Here are a few pics, check out my facebook page for more...

Ray and Flo - Hortensia Gardens - November Wedding

2011-11-23T19:01:00.000+13:00

After many emails I finally got to meet Ray and Flo a couple of days before their wedding day. I was super excited about this wedding for many reasons, for one my daughter was the flower girl (which she was so excited about), number two was the amazing location at Hortensia Gardens and number three was Ray and Flo and all their incredible creativity. Apparently they decided on Hortensia Gardens after a google search for garden weddings in New Zealand, what a great choice they made.
Ray designed the decorations for their wedding, which by the way they bought all the way from Hong Kong. Flo had been doing a bit of pinning on Pinterest (which I am also such a fan of!) and together they created the most fun "Mad Hatters Tea Party" after the ceremony. I must also mention the incredible flowers that were created by Verve. Anyway enough talk, here are the photos...

Heath Twins

2011-11-23T18:43:00.000+13:00

I had the pleasure of photographing the gorgeous Heath twins on Friday. They are such gorgeous wee men and their parents are doing so well with them both. Nana is also around to help out and she is obviously very proud of her new grandsons.

Samson and Kelly

2011-11-23T10:22:00.000+13:00

Samson and Kelly were married at home in Hong Kong and have been on Honeymoon in New Zealand for nearly a year. I met them in May at the Marlborough Bridal Show when they decided to get some "honeymoon/wedding" photos taken. They wanted photos on a yellow sandy beach, so I decided to take them out to Lochmara Lodge. Samson and Kelly did such a fantastic job and we got so many fun photos.

The Trolove Family

2011-11-23T10:11:00.000+13:00

As I pulled up at the Trolove's house I realised that I had been there before. It turns out that I photographed their house for Clarke Construction, I spent a lot of time admiring the beautiful house so it was great to meet the people who lived there. We decided to visit of spot next to the river which had some big trees and a bit of shade.

Jasmine Court Motel

2011-11-23T09:58:00.000+13:00

In October I photographed Jasmine Court Motel in Picton, you can find them at

www.jasminecourt.co.nz

Catching up...

2011-11-23T09:47:00.000+13:00

So I have once again got a little behind with my blog posts, however if you have a look at Facebook I have been posting over there. Anyway I am going to catch up quick with few posts of various things I have been working on over the last few months....Enjoy.

My photographic beginnings in Christchurch

2011-08-30T17:34:00.000+12:00

If you have read my "about me" page on my website you will know that I began my "career" studying Zoology at Canterbury University and then decided it wasn't really what I was passionate about so changed direction and began a certificate in Professional Photography. Christchurch is also where my husband and I meet so I am very fond of Christchurch and obviously things have changed down there since the big earthquake so I decided to pay a little homage to Christchurch. The images below are some shots that I took for my final photography assignment (which I could never have done without the help of one of my best friends Tracy), they are taken inside the Catholic Cathedral or Brasillica which is now in pieces. I love this church and wish that I had the chance to go back and take more photos now...

Gorgeous Baby Y

2011-08-28T09:02:00.000+12:00

On Saturday I photographed the most gorgeous baby girl and her parents in Blenheim. Had so much fun and she preformed wonderfully. Can you believe she is only 4 weeks old, look at that head control!!
You can find more on my Facebook page...

Sarah & Seamus - Beautiful Havelock wedding

2011-03-27T09:15:00.000+13:00

Well it has taken awhile to get this wedding on my blog but it is well worth the wait. Sarah and Seamus were married at their home (or Sarah's parents home) in Havelock. I met with them in the week prior to the wedding and saw all the preparations including meeting Seamus with his welding gear on making the "altar". Sarah had also been busy making paper flower decorations for the wedding which took up the entire dining room table.
All the preparations were well worth it, everything looked amazing and that includes the bride and the groom. Anyway enough talk, here is the result....

Carlie and John - Married at Maison Grange, Blenheim

2011-03-07T13:11:00.000+13:00

A sneak peak of Carlie and John's gorgeous wedding day...

Lots more on my facebook page...

Sarah & Oliver - Furneaux Lodge

2011-02-23T09:48:00.000+13:00

Had a really fun day photographing Sarah and Oliver's wedding at Furneaux Lodge on Saturday. I was told by the staff at Cougarline Water Taxis that they were a really great group and they weren't wrong. Lots of laughs later and we got some really great photos. Here is a sneak peek, for more visit my new facebook page.

Laura and her bump...

2011-02-19T12:28:00.000+13:00

Great day yesterday photographing Laura and her very nearly arriving baby bump. Absolutely love the three shots with Laura's daughter they are so gorgeous (even if I do say so myself!!).

You can also check Laura out on Facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Russell-Photography/300696818068

Hot, hot, hot at Portage Hotel - Susie and Wayne

2011-02-14T11:16:00.000+13:00

Last weekend was one hot weekend, and although Saturday was a bit cooler than Sunday it was still roasting. Add to this the fact that the bride and groom, Susie and Wayne, have come from winter in England then the heat must have been ridiculous. But the heat didn't stop them and they did get married...

Claire & Pheakdey - Montana Winery

2011-01-24T12:06:00.000+13:00

Last Saturday was an incredibly windy day in Blenheim but thankfully Claire and Pheakdey had planned an indoor wedding at Montana Winery. I really enjoyed my day shooting Claire and Pheakdey and had a wee bit of fun with motion in some of the photos (which I am loving by the way).

Pheakdey and Claire

Gorgeous Bride and Cheeky Groom - Perfect Combo!!

2011-01-11T21:00:00.001+13:00

Yet again I am a bit slow with the updates but only because I have been editing, checking and editing some more - so many great shots and finally I have put together my favourites...

Beautiful Dress

Great Nail Polish

Gorgeous Bride

The Girls

Cheeky Groom

The Boys

Not so cheeky...

Hayley and Allan - Trents Estate, Christchurch

2010-12-13T20:41:00.000+13:00

This weekend I photographed Allan and Hayley's wedding at Trent's Estate in Christchurch, funnily enough I use to work at Trent's as a kitchen hand about 10 years ago so I know it quite well. I also know Allan quite well, he is my cousin by marriage and his parents (Brian and Raewyn) were kind enough to feed my husband and I every Sunday while we were at university, so it was a great pleasure to be able to photograph Allan and Hayley. I had so much fun back down in Christchurch and what a great spot for wedding photos even if it got a little wet!!

The gorgeous Hayley

Alan and the boys

Alan's family

Hayley's family

The bridal party

Busy year, no blog and a baby...

2010-12-13T15:18:00.001+13:00

Excuses, excuses I know - how slack am I. Well I am finally back blogging and it has been an incredibly busy year. I am now mum to three beautiful children, with my youngest now 8 weeks old. I have also had my first wedding for the season, although I am not technically back to work until the start of January - I had to have some time off and christmas seemed like a great excuse. Wedding photos to follow...

Anna and Felix

2010-03-02T22:24:00.001+13:00

Anna and Felix were married at Anna's family home in Springlands, another beautiful sunny day which ended with dancing...

Anna

Felix (and the boys)

This shot is one of my favourites...

Not sure what was going on behind my back but it certainly made them laugh...

Anna and her Dad

Phoebe and Dominic - The Portage Resort Hotel

2010-03-02T22:16:00.000+13:00

Phoebe and Dominic were married on Friday at the Portage Resort Hotel and what a gorgeous day...

Busy, busy weekend...

2010-03-02T22:12:00.001+13:00

This weekend I had two weddings, one on Friday and one on Saturday. I was completely exhausted on Sunday but it was worth it...

Jessica and Ben

2010-02-22T10:50:00.000+13:00

Every bride looks stunning on their wedding day and Jessica was no exception. She wore a gorgeous dress made by her mum (she also made the bridesmaids dresses) - well done Mum!! The wedding was at Ben's parents house and what an amazing job they had done on the garden - flowers, flowers everywhere. An absolute pleasure to photograph and here is a sneak preview...

Kate and Nick - Furneaux Lodge

2010-02-15T14:50:00.000+13:00

After a weekend off, I was back at it with Kate and Nicks wedding at Furneaux Lodge on Saturday. With a marquee wedding planned I started to worry Saturday morning as the weather was absolutely shocking but once again the afternoon turned out beautifully. It even got a bit hot!! Here are a few of my favourite shots...

Fun in the sun....

2010-01-31T18:51:00.002+13:00

Had lots of fun yesterday photographing an old school friend and her new husband on their wedding day. The wedding was at Ugbrooke Country Estate. I know there are lots of people waiting to see some pics (esp. the bridesmaids!!) so here they are...

I love night photography!!!

2010-01-29T22:11:00.000+13:00

Ever since I started doing photography I have loved creating images that were a bit different and I absolutely love low light photography. In saying that I haven't done any night photography for a long time so tonight when I saw the full moon I decided to get out there and just do it. I didn't go very far but it was nice to have a bit of a play and here are the results....

Another rainy wedding day...

2010-01-27T22:19:00.002+13:00

Another rainy wedding day but thankfully a rainy day is a great day for photography, especially when I get to photograph an awesome couple in a beautiful location. This weekend I was down the Sounds at Bay of Many Coves Resort (very popular this year!!) for Karin and John's wedding. I think that the weather gods were on our side as well because the rain eased as we started photos. Heres a sneak preview....

Cath, Paul & Zoe - Lake Rotoiti

2010-01-17T12:24:00.000+13:00

I love Lake Rotoiti and yesterday I was lucky enough to be photographing Cath and Paul's wedding there. While I drove up from Picton, I was constantly teased by the weather, with rain in Wairau Valley really worrying me. However when I arrived at the Lake there was just a beautiful amount of overcast, cloudy sky - perfect for photos!!
The bridal party consisted of Cath, Paul, Zoe (their daughter) and Anna (Cath's sister) which meant I had a lot of time to experiment so thats what I did...

The gorgeous Zoe

Paul

Cath & Paul

Anna & Cath

Practicing their first dance

One final image, a little experimenting on my part - what do you think??

Abbie + Carlos - Bay of Many Coves Resort

2010-01-17T12:11:00.000+13:00

On Tuesday, I photographed a fantastic couple at Bay of Many Coves Resort and thankfully the weather stayed fine for a few hours so we could capture some really beautiful shots. Abbie and Carlos are from Florida (USA), and this was there first trip to NZ so we made use of all that scenery...

Busy week!!

2010-01-17T12:02:00.002+13:00

This week has been particularly busy for me with two weddings. Have had so much fun in two fantastic locations, check out the photos and see what you think...

A great day to be a photographer...

2009-11-21T21:17:00.000+13:00

Yesterday was one of the days that makes me so glad to be a photographer - I spent the day sailing the Marlborough Sounds, I even got to drive (hmmm not sure that is the right word?). Anyway was out taking photos for the second of three articles for Boating New Zealand magazine. I got chucked into an inflatable dinghy (see below) and took loads of photos, here are just a couple.

The first wedding of the season - Ange & Lindsey

2009-11-15T12:23:00.000+13:00

Wedding season has officially started... with good weather and great company. Yesterday Ange and Lindsey got married at Wither Hills Winery, accompanied by their gorgeous daughter Sarah.

Here are few of my favourite photos....

Yes I am incredibly slack!!!

2009-11-15T11:18:00.016+13:00

Well yes I guess I could be considered slack but I have been busy, I promise...anyway I am finally updating my blog and as the saying goes good things take time....

2009-08-15T20:05:00.001+12:00

2009-08-15T11:42:00.000+12:00

Welcome to my blog page, I very new to this so you will have to bear with me...

I am super excited at the moment because I am finally joining the digital revolution. Although, I must admit I am going to miss my film cameras and might just have to resort to them once in a while. I love to experiment with photography and I think that the surprise of film is something I am going to miss a lot!! Anyway will post some shots with the new digital upgrade soon...