so, as you may have gathered, while in new york, i revived my personal project..  Fridays on Foot.

i’ve been thinking a lot lately – y’know about stuff.. and as people contacted me over the years to ask if they could come along with me on a FOF walk, i could only explain that the walks were like personal therapy for me – alone time, time-out, a few hours of quiet amongst a crazy life/work/travel schedule… people were very respectful of that & i was very grateful – so thank you :)

it’s been a while – my last fridays on foot post was in december 2011, & what i realized in new york this year (while walking around photographing my day), is that i’m in a different place now.. a good place, and sharing is good.. it’s like delicious pizza  for the soul..

so yes, this is an invitation.. whilst it may not happen every single week, when the stars align, i’d love you to join me with fridays on foot – walk around, take some photos, hang out for a while & talk about things.. coffee/beer/tropical punch cordial?  i need you to know – this is purely a social/fun/being around other people thing.. nothing to do with photography businesses, or workshops/mentoring etc.. no brainstorming or ‘this is how to use your camera’ lessons.. it’s simply some time for people that like photography to take photos of things.. so any talk regarding the above fore-mentioned topics, will result in a $5.00 donation to the “douchebag jar”  :)

so keep an eye on our facebook page.. & standby for notifications dudes..

(ps.. click here if you want to see some historical FOF posts)

love always..

..::ttod

just letting you know that i am officially offering solo mentoring sessions for reals.. i’ve been doing them for a while in an underground/”meet me in a dark alley & i’ll give you some secrets” kind of way when people contact me..

now, i’ll be doing them more officially, more often, & in more of a “meet me outside your house & we’ll pull up in a black gangster car (or maybe a van), & grab you – then give you some excellent ideas about how to make your business better, (or show you how to use your camera if you’re a non-professional type photographer)” kind of way.  but then, y’know if both parties consent,  it’s more like an adventure & less like kidnapping isn’t it..

so, if you’re interested, click here, or click on ENTER THE DOJO in the menu above you – then email us for more details.. there’s already a few of you waiting for the details, so you guys definitely don’t need to email us again :)

warmest ever regards in the whole world

..::todd

this is me (with my teacher), very early in my career.. people would often comment that i looked like uma thurman ;)

d&a’s wedding was amazing at every moment, but you know what i loved the most?  so many smiles.. they were everywhere & they were completely contagious.. it just felt amazing to be a part of this day.. so deandra & adam.. thank you sooooo much for having us!  i’m a very lucky boy :)

big thanks alyda (of team mcgaw), to maria from divinity signature events – awesome job as usual, estelle (the french petal) – floral genius, and the excellent humans at coorabella..

d&a’s wedding was also very recently featured on the lane, so jump (or skip), over there for some yummy goodness :)

..::toddd

surprising though, that it was at this wedding, in my own city, in the homes of our clients’ family & friends, and a local restaurant called bistrot bistro, that i was very humbly reminded of my responsibility as a wedding photographer, and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that i get to participate in this way.. it also made me want to try harder, way harder, to get better – to serve better.. to ditch ego, stay sharp & pedal as hard as i can all day..

i simply cannot thank lauren & joel enough for choosing us.. after bringing their wedding forward due to lauren’s dad’s illness, L&J planned the entire event in less than a month.. and what a celebration it was.. (L&J’s special red-eyed, toothy guest ‘dennis’ peaked a little early).. this wedding affected both alyda and i deeply.. like an adrenalin shot to the heart, it shocked us out of the coma of modern day-to-day life & showed us a glimpse of absolute pure love.. it was like God showed me his iPhone 57s & said “hey todd, check out my feed.. i’ve totes got like infinity likes!” – i exploded.

to see lauren & joel’s families all celebrate with them was truly inspiring..  & to see a father set pain aside & give every milligram of strength he had, to celebrate in triumph as his daughter marries her love..  there are no words..

lauren & joel.. infinity thank yous for trusting us.. your wedding changed me.

Lauren lost her dad a few days after the wedding.. she recently shared with us, the following:

“After ten years as a couple, we planned and executed our wedding in less than a month when Dad became acutely unwell – but in retrospect we would not have changed a thing about our day. The most important part for us (apart from getting married to each other, of course), was undoubtedly the people we got to share the experience with. It was an amazing opportunity to celebrate our love for each other, our relationships with our loved ones, our past, our present, and all of the reasons we consider our lives to be so blessed. That week I gained one of the two greatest men I’ve ever known as my husband and said goodbye to the other one, my dad. It was an extraordinarily inspiring few days in our lives.” – Lauren

of course, when i gathered myself together 20mins later, alyda & i were running around dancing like they do in flashdance – highfives, hugs, yelling & screaming like normal people  :)

to be included in “THE LIST” – american photo magazine’s top ten wedding photographers in the world this year, is a dream.. a dream that seemed ABSOLUTELY so far out of my reach, that i wouldn’t even contemplate bothering about  thinking about considering the possibility of dreaming about it..  that list is reserved for other photographers i respect, admire & aspire to..

and yet here i am..  crazy.

crazy happy..

so i guess i’ll keep pedalling the same as i always do – riding my own race as i explore & discover more about myself, about people, about relationships, about photography, about art, & about life & adventure.. but i certainly cannot proceed without thanking these completely amazing humans in my life that love me, laugh, cry, travel, explore, cycle, learn, chat, drink guinness, and dance with me.. i salute you…

(random order, but alyda is my favourite, & then probably dan) – thank you to all our aMAZing clients, and alyda, jonas peterson, jacqui mckeering, dan o’day, jason starr, sally ogilvie, christine pobke, kelly tunney, samm blake, marcus bell, jen bebb, steve bebb, the muldoons, rod buchholz, alan & vicki, brett valissa & lachlan + rachael mcgaw, dylan phillips, andrea turner, phil & emma driver, brad & bec, (and our brisbane photographers gang)..

also, a big time congrats to our friends samm blake, the parsons + ryan brenizer, who also most likely danced around like fools after reading a very similar email recently… and.. a MEGA thanks to American Photo Mag..

keep on rockin’ in the free world..

..::todd

some of us disconnect, travel the world, do some volunteer work, climb mt everest, do a contiki tour, buy a harley davison, master the rubik’s cube, get lost in the desert & drink their own urine from a snake skin (#beargrylls)… me? i got kicked out of uni & spent 18 months watching movies & surfing**.. whatever it is, we lose ourselves & somehow end up finding ourselves in the process.. that’s the adventure of life right? i’m not sure what liz & dan did, but they know themselves like google earth knows my backyard.

i can hear you all now, “hey todd, we love you man, but if you could get to the point that’d be great”.. well i’m glad you asked.

if you know yourself well, you express yourself well.. liz & dan express themselves in everything they do.. so when planning their wedding, their personalities as individuals and as a couple are automatically reflected 100% in that event.. brisbane’s restaurant II, a paul smith suit, a completely unique wedding gown, everything about their wedding – all essence of L&D..  as a photographer this is a dream gig because even before their day came, i already knew their wedding was going to be awesome & i already knew that their friends & family would love it too.. their wedding was perfect.

so let us charge our glasses as i propose a toast.. to liz & dan! we appreciate you.. (and to losing ourselves & finding ourselves in the process)..

love you..

..::toddd

(** i later returned to university & finished my studies)

like a play date with friends, i love these shoots because it’s exactly that.. play time.. no time limits, no geographical boundaries, just this..

me, sarah & jamie, (and a big scary dinosaur).

as my good friend neil says, “keep on rockin in the free world”..

..:: todd

love from todd.

so andrew & i hung out for a couple of hours, talking about music, his music, the business of music, what he likes about music, where he sees his music in 5 years… about recording music, playing live music.. about the music industry, about family & friends, relationships.. then we stopped in at a cafe & i had some raison toast because i hadn’t eaten lunch & was starving – andrew had already eaten.. and we took some more photos.. together.. i was his director of photography/creative director, & he brought all of himself and i could see that his mind was open…  he also brought his guitar & a few different shirts..  i’d known him for an hour, & it was obvious that andrew knows himself very, very well.. and he’s only 20..  he’s an old soul in a young body.. we weren’t even half way through our shoot & i found myself thinking, “holy life experience batman! if only i knew as much about life, and people as this guy does when i was 20!”

not just another day.

..::toddd

Yalda & Roozbeh’s wedding is a supremo example of how the persian’s like to celebrate.. the Sofreh ceremony kicks things off with various steps symbolizing prosperity, & blessing the couple with a long and happy life together, (and blessing them with 400 baby children).. it’s amazing to witness, (even though we couldn’t understand a word that was said).. we then took Y&R on a little photo adventure, & came back for the reception… persian receptions are off the chain to say the least.. & the dancing… a-maze-zing.

I can officially say that yes, Yalda & Roozbeh are awarded the grand prize for the much coveted, todd hunter mcgaw – “most time spent together on the dance floor at a wedding reception – bridal couple category”..   a non-stop dance-a-thon… the d.floor was packed solid all night.. i’ve never seen anything like it… it was really really really good.

so, for those of you with bucket lists in the works, add this.. “Attend a persian wedding”.. 1. meet some excellent people of persian descent (i can highly recommend yalda & roozbeh – they’re really nice),  2. become great friends with them,  2(a).  if they are already married, get them to introduce you to some unmarried persian people.. (repeat step 2),   3. receive an invite to their wedding,  4. attend said wedding.

a HUGE thank you, (and hugs) to yalda & roozbeh for choosing us..   & to Tattersall’s Club – amazing venue as always, & co-ordinator Claire is super nice :)

dance like nobody’s watching  ;)

..::toddd