I am so looking forward to shooting this beautiful ZA-Colombian couple’s wedding in November.  They wrote me the following email on the same night as this shoot.  I’ve asked them if I can share it here as this is exactly what we strive for in all our shoots.

“Dear Wil,

Now it is quite late and both Lorena and I will go to bed shortly…but…..I had to make a note to you and say thank you for such  a great engagement style today. Wow. 

You were never intrusive, yet guiding. Playful, yet respectful….perfect balance with both of us.

And now we understand why your logo states “the natural choice”.

We are both happy that we have entrusted our special day to you….the natural choice.

Once again, thank you for a  blessed experience, rather than a regular photo shoot.

We can honestly say that you naturally orchestrate our flow of love into photographic poetry.

Best regards and warm blessings,

Alistair and Lorena”

These encouraging words came exactly when I needed it most … kind of  like the sun’s appearance later in this shoot.

What more can I say – I am humbled … thanks so much guys!  See you soon at your wedding!

I entered my teenage girl phase. I needed to do something to feel better. I didn’t think.  I randomly walked into one of the thousand Regent Street Technology shops and managed to spent all the money I had on a Nikon F60 with 2 kit lenses.

The bitter sweet of a dream come true. I hardly had enough money to get back on the red line to my shack in Leytonstone.  Not even to mention not being able to buy no name brand fish fingers for supper.  I lost a few pounds.  I walked a bit more than the average Londoner.

Looking back, this here was one of the sweetest moments of my life …

It was my camera that accompanied me on a number of adventures during my teenage girl stage.  We travelled through Africa & Europe.  We saw oceans together, ancient ruins, high mountains and beautiful people.  And it was my camera that helped me to escape to a place where I could find myself again.  To move from a teenage girl to a man.  From playing to earning a living.  From mundane to supernatural.  And still, more than 11 years later, the story continues …

I will try to post as much as I can during the next two weeks.  My Blog, Facebook, Twitter – all will be utilised to share this amazing time before me.  Feel free to join me on this journey.

A Rough Guide to My Next 2 Weeks

• S28  Fly to Bloemfontein for Wedding
• S29  Fly to Johannesburg to connect with my international flight to Italy
• M30 Arrive Rome.  Pre-wedding shoot with my client
• T31   Travel to Lake Albamo
• W01   Wedding Ceremony Tivoli, Couple Shoot Lake Albamo, Reception in Castel
• T02  Night Shoot (Surprise)
• F03   Orthodox Ceremony, Central Rome
• S04   Fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• S05   Fly to Lalibela
• M06   Lalibela
• T07 Lalibela
• W08  Fly to Addis.  Commercial shoot Hotel & German Beer Brewery
• T09 Back to SA
• F10  Wedding Cape Town
• S11  Wedding Wellington
• S12  Family Day & Rest!

There is a reason that there is no pictures in this post.  Allow me to fill the gaps as the days go by.  Also feel free to follow me at the above mentioned places.  Your comments during this time will be welcome!

What better way to end this great year by sharing a chronological slideshow mix of our Wedding, Commercial and Personal shoots.

Wow – what a year it was!  Thank you to all my lovely clients, word of mouthers, loyal blog followers, colleagues, family and friends.  I have said it before, but I only seem to get AMAZING PEOPLE to photograph in AMAZING ENVIRONMENTS!  Thank you all – you make me look good!

May 2011 be a extended time of grace and favour for us all!

Blessings & Love,

wil punt

Yesterday we looked at some quick highlights for the first 6 months of our Blog’s first year.  Today we continue to look back at the exciting past 6 month journey through pictures & words that became memories for so many out there.

December 2009 :  Decembers are the test for any wedding photographer.  Long, hot days of continues shooting, scouting, backing up, little sleep and ‘kop hou’ while being extremely creative (and happy for the couple) day by day.  I invite the critiques who look down on wedding photographers, to join us for this time of the year.  You might just change your mind.

All weddings are extremely dear to me.  The one session that stands out though must be the 24 hour dream of shooting in Namibia on 12 Dec.  I finished a wedding at about 2230 the previous night at the Onrus beach and before I knew it, I was driving through the gates of the Otjiwa Game Farm just south of Otjiwarongo, Namibia late the next morning.  The contrast was huge.  The possibility to fail even bigger.  But it was time to capture two lovely people in the real Africa I fell in love with.  And it was His time to show off a bit as well …

January 2010 :  The new year started with an exciting trip to a wedding in the Eastern Cape.   There were many highlights in this equally busy month, but I must admit one instance quite stands out.  It wasn’t part of our original planning, but the sun was setting and we needed a sea background as soon as possible.  We turned off at an unknown turn off and flew down the road with our eyes fixed on the waving sun.   We arrived, pointed the game-for-anything couple in the direction and shot this award winning shot close to one of my favourite venues.  What an absolute rush it was … and totally worth it!

February 2010 :  As all our editing are done by us personally, we know what we can get from our RAW files & software.  So we always approach the shoot with the final product in mind.  I will for instance decide to look for specific black & white potential in a vast environment.  I remember seeing the potential of this shot.  I just needed to get down very low.   On a normal day, this would be peanuts, but February served us the most windy and warmest weddings of the year.  This was the windy one … extremely windy one!  There was no way that I could physically see if it would work.  As soon as I would bend lower than my hips, a wall of sand hit me at a tremendous speed.  I had no choice.  I composed my stance, got down really low and with closed eyes, at the right moment, got the shot I was hoping for ( …and sand in every hole in my body of course!).  Worth it!

I finish off with a shot of the two people who inspire and support me the most.  It was just taken yesterday when beautiful laughter interrupted my work.  Dankie aan my pragtige vrou Adri en seuntjie Elih.  Julle is absoluut my hart se punt.  Dankie vir al die bederf, aanmoediging, spasie, uit die werk uit hou, sorg en sommer al die lag & pret!  Julle is my vars oë, nuwe denke en vreugdevolle dryfveer. Ek love julle ongelooflik baie! X

So we have come to the end of this one year journey.  Thank you for all your support and interest as well.  We only promise you more pleasure for the year to come … naturally!

It is the Peartree Blog’s 1st Birthday today (on Africa Day of course!).  Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us … traalalaa

My lovely wife always encourage and reminds me to celebrate the milestones in life … a time to reflect, rethink (or just to think!), dream and to thank.  If you have the time, join us for a short snippet highlight journey through the Blog the past year …

May 2009 : Welcome to the Blogosphere Peartree!  To celebrate the birth, we put together a Short Video explaining who we are and about our Natural Approach.  And of course this shoot for a art piece that was blown up to 3 x 2 meters!

June 2009 : I visited the North of India for a wedding in the Himalayas.  In retrospect, I am sure I picked up Swine Flu on the way there and worked my way through it during the 3 day wedding.  India was needless to say really tough and amazing at the same time. This wedding featured on numerous blogs around the world and I believe, have established Peartree Photography as Destination Wedding Photographers.

July 2009 : I have just arrived back from India.  I had 3 days to spend with my lovely family before I was airborne again for a Friday wedding in Natal.  The very next morning I was back again in the Grabouw mountains for a wedding in the pouring rain.  The fun we had that day will stand out for a long time!

August 2009 : We took you on a 7-part photographic journey through Africa.  I did an exhibition in Esbjerk, Denmark on the theme “Instead of Ashes, The Oil of Gladness” and shared this 2004 journey in words and pictures.

September 2009 : We extended our range of equipment and redeveloped our Uniquely Fresh style in Natural Environmental Portraiture.  We can really see the difference!

October 2009 : Apart from doing loads of weddings, we covered commercial and family shoots.  Joel Potgieter is one of my son’s friends.  I had the privilege to spend some time and captured this boy as he explored life in all his fullness.  What a joy!

The last 6 months will be posted tomorrow as Part 2 / 2 of  our 100th of a Century Peartree Celebration

When you join our brand new Peartree Photography Facebook page anytime in April 2010, you will come in line to win a DISCOUNT VOUCHER OF UP TO 50% OFF a Shoot at Peartree Photography.  What is this all about?

How do I join? Just follow the links below or on the brand new Sidebar on the left.

How many vouchers are available? We will be issuing a voucher for every 50 fans who join.    In short – we will be issuing  1x DISCOUNT VOUCHER / every 50 New Fans  that join Peartree on Facebook during the month of April 2010.  The more Fans – The more Vouchers – The Bigger the Discounts.  So start inviting others …

How will I know if I have won? It will be announced … on our Facebook page of course.

What can I use the voucher for? For any Engagement, Trash the Dress, Family, Personal or Active Sport Shoot during June or July 2010.

What am I waiting for? Beats me …

Francois & Nina‘s wedding has made some noteworthy headlines the past few months.  First they were voted as the Allée Bleue Wedding of the Year 2009 – a decision made by the public based on their wedding pictures.

Now they also feature in the current Your Wedding Day Magazine under the Real Weddings Section.  Congratulations guys!

We feel very privileged to have played a part in this and wish you as a couple all the best & happiness in your marriage.  Our prayer for you, as for all the other couples we have photographed before,  is that your blessed marriage will make even more headlines than your wedding day.  Enjoy one another!

We are proud to say that the whole Peartree Photography website is now mobile / iPhone optimized.  From the galleries all the way through to the blog you will be able to browse with ease (and even leave comments!).  Another effort by Peartree Photography to be The Natural Choice – this time in Mobile Browsing.

Tomorrow DJ and Kripa’s wedding will be featuring on another renowned International Wedding Website – Wedding Nouveau. This is the wedding photography I went to do in Manali, Northern India (Himalaya country!) in June 09. Feel free to have a look at their take on our work.

I am privileged to announce that the acclaimed Maharani Weddings website, that exclusively covers high flying Indian weddings in the US, is featuring DJ & Kripa’s wedding today and tomorrow.  I did the couple’s wedding in the beautiful gateway to the Himalayas town of Manali in Himachal Paradesh Province, India on 20 June 2009.  It is also the first time the site is featuring a non-US international wedding!  As they put it, “I can barely keep all the countries in this one straight – groom from Scotland, photographer from South Africa, and wedding in India!”

Feel free to visit their feature on the wedding HERE