MAEVE

I used to strictly be a book reader. There was always so many books I wanted to read that I never got around to magazines. I would flick through friend's copies of Rolling Stone, then go back to whatever tome I was reading at the time. Then when I moved to Melbourne I discovered the free street presses, and would read them on the tram on the way to uni. From then on I was much a a book reader as a magazine reader. I discovered the joy of being able to borrow magazines from the library (especially great when you're a broke uni student), and the delightful sin of reading the reallly trashy ones in the doctor's waiting room.



I've even written for a couple, including a rather hilarious turn as a columnist for Practical Parenting magazine. I wrote about what it was like to be a young mum with no clue about what to do with a baby. It was honest, I bared my warts and all. Yes, I even wrote about getting caught without a nappy and having to fashion one out of one of those green eco bags.

And now I have the chance to write again for a magazine. MAEVE magazine is launching tomorrow, and I'm so proud to be a part of it. MAEVE is an online, free magazine. They describe what they are all about best on their website:

"MAEVE appreciates that you are all grown up, that you are intelligent and street smart. That you are raising kids and creating a new generation. You have a desire for knowledge and a thirst for real life content. You want inspiration. You want to know what other people are doing and how they are doing it. How they are parenting. How they are achieving. How they are loving. How they are living. We all do it – its human nature. You want to see life in a state of fluidity. Full of flaws and controversy. Bursting with pride, success and failure. Naked ambition and true friendship. Hardship, sorrow and grief. Celebrations, milestones and mindfulness.

No bullshit.

Its about making your life better. Giving you something to think about. Evoking feelings in you and allowing you to redefine who you are and where you want to be. MAEVE gives you solidity in its purest form. Strong in presence and sustainable by nature

MAEVE treats you like the intelligent woman you are. We offer insight, inspiration and intelligent reading. MAEVE seeks to enrich and redefine the life you already have. Knowing that you have worked hard to be where you are now."



Brilliant, right?

Some of the other people writing for it are my friends, and I can't wait to read their stuff. They are all wise and generous women who will add a terrific dynamic to the pages of MAEVE.

I urge you to subcribe, it's free after all. I've got a fiction story in there, and I'm terrible nervous about it. It's been eons since I've written fiction, but apparently the saying 'it's like riding a bike' applies.

Kudos to Kate and the team for pulling it all together, and adding what will be another sublime title to the already wonderful collection of Australian magazines.

Go here to SUBSCRIBE

* Meaghan

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Sweetheart session - Jo and Ben

I've never been a horse girl. You know the girls at primary school who wore their hair in a long braid down their back, would have stickers of horses on their school books, and would talk about 'Winnie' or 'Storm' or 'Freckle' endlessly. I was never one of those girls. I was too busy playing netball and reading books, sometimes at the same time.

The repercussions of that are that I have no 'horse sense'. None. Nudda. I can't read them. I don't know if they're going to lick me or bite me. Because of this I get a little bit jittery around horses. Their sheer size overwhelms me and I feel like I'm going to get sucked into those nostrils.

When Jo let her horse Murphy off the lead and he started walking towards me I pretended to be totally cool but on the inside I was going ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod repeat x 100.







But what an incredible creature. I loved photographing him. I can see why people call horses majestic.

Enough about Murphy the horse. On to Jo and Ben. The awesome Jo and Ben. I met them over a year ago when I had first moved to Ocean Grove. They were the first couple from the area that I met with. I drove to their house a bundle of nerves, thinking that it was make or break for me. For some reason I equated my success at that meeting with the overall succcess of my wedding photography business in Geelong. So lucky for me that the meeting with Ben and Jo was wonderful, we all hit it off instantly, and now their wedding is this Saturday.









For their sweetheart session we went to the most AUH-mazing property. It belongs to Jo's aunty, and sits high on a hill and overlooks Swan bay. And Queenscliff. And Point Lonsdale. And Port Phillip Bay. And all the way across to Sorento. Murphy the horse is lucky enough to live their, and gets to take in that incredible view every day.



When Jo and Ben pulled up they apologies because their dogs had come along too. 'They go everywhere we go," they explained. They needn't have apologies because it was brilliant to be able to photograph them too.







These two photos are especially for Jo. For gorgeous Jo.



See you both on Saturday. Im busting out of my skin with excitement.

* Meaghan

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Wedding - Jackie and Shane

As I sat on the plane on the way over to Tasmania, I chatted to a woman who was getting married the following week. She had a gorgeous baby in her arms who pulled on the tips of her hair while she chatted to me. She had that glow that I recognise in all bride's to be. It's excitement, nerves and love all rolled into one. As we talked our way over Bass Straight I realised I was so lucky to get to be with bride's in the lead up to their weddings. It is such a unique and precious time, one to be enjoyed and savoured as the wedding day approaches.

The first time I saw Jackie on her wedding day she had the glow. I could see the nerves, hear the excitement, and there was no missing the love.





Jackie and Shane flew me over to Four Mile Creek, Tasmania for their wedding. Driving there felt like driving through the hills in the Nescafe adds, yep, the ones with the panpipes. Rollling deep green hills and floating mist. The actual wedding was at the epic White Sands resort and I was looked after by the gorgeous Amy. The landscape, the people, the wedding, all sensational.













Jackie and Shane did this all through their wedding. They captured it themselves. It made me smile every time I saw them hoist the camera in the air and say 'cheese'.



It didn't take me long to get to know Jackie and Shane, and that's largely due to their open relaxed personalities. They welcomed me in, shared more than one laugh with me, and had the time of their lives on their wedding day.



















Jackie and Shane did the most epic wedding dance. It started out as a normal, swaying to the music kind of wedding dance and ended as something completely different. The photos tell the story.





View Jackie and Shane's slideshow HERE.

* Meaghan



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We built this city

Some people build their cities on rock and roll. Well, if they know what's good for them they do.

But this city was built out of way too brightly coloured plastic building blocks. Whilst listening to rock and roll. Well, Justine Clarke is kinda rock and roll, right?



Miles makes a very proud construction manager. I didn't set any of these shots up. He went and got my camera off my desk and asked me to photograph it. A photographer's kid, what can you do?



Minor adjustments.



Miles is so happy these days. I don't know whether it's turning four, or the new house, or the sense of calm that we have lulled into, but there's been a change in him. He's so happy all day long. He's not as frustrated and angry. He sings while he plays. He's NEVER done that before. So whilst I don't know the reason, I'll take this happy little kid any day.



Excuse me Ryan, can you get your backside out of my shot?!





* Meaghan

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Wedding - Simone and Tony

Never underestimate the goodness that is a Sunday wedding. Oh how I love them. Cruisy and relaxed, joyous and warm. They have a totally different feel to a traditional Saturday afternoon and into the night wedding.

Simone and Tony chose a Sunday afternoon wedding, and it was simply delightful. They were able to relax with their friends, share a good meal and enjoy each other's company. It also meant that their beautiful children could be part of the celebration, as opposed to needing to be scooped off to bed.

I spoke to some of the lovely guests who mentioned how refreshing Simone and Tony's wedding was, and I couldn't agree more. One really refreshing thing was Simone's smoking hot black dress. The detail in it was intricate and glorious, yet it wasn't show offy. The dress was perfect, just perfect.





Oakdene winery is all kinds of sublime. There was something for me to photograph at every turn.












I really felt welcomed into Simone and Tony's celebration. Their guests chatted to me warmly, their children offered me bites of their cake and Simone smiled at me from across the room.

*



I adore this photo of all of them. We took it about two thirds of the way through the afternoon. The kids had been having a ball, and weren't too keen on haulting their fun for a family photo. I called out over my camera to Simone 'I don't think this is going to work.' She laughed and said 'but this is us!'.





* Meaghan

PS - now this is how you eat the chicken.




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