Russell Falls Wedding

I had the honor of being the wedding photographer for Runar and Ebony on Valentines Day, held at one of the most stunning locations in Tasmania! The ceremony took place at the base of magnificent Russell Falls, in Mt Field National Park, Tasmania. To be honest, I almost said no, as I knew this would be a massive challenge, but the couple insisted after seeing my previous work.

When I left home early, it was overcast and I was relieved with the promise of low contrast, but past New Norfolk and the sun burst clear of the clouds presenting a beautiful clear blue sky. Perfect day for a wedding, but I knew the sun would be bright on the falls, with heavy shadows below, creating huge contrast I’d dreaded and using the entire dynamic range of the OM1. I had to get this right first time!

Against my usual style of underexposing to preserving highlights, I chose to blow out the highlights of the waterfall, hoping I could recover enough in post, and lift enough detail back in the all important shadows where the action was happening.

Below is an unedited jpeg straight from the camera, looking spectacularly ordinary, to give you an idea of what I had to work with. Looking at them at the location on the back of camera, I honestly wasn’t fully convinced I’d nailed it. I think I was hiding more nervousness than the groom!!

After a full day including ceremony, lunch and reception, taking almost 3000 photos, it wasn’t until I got home, uploaded the images to PC and did a quick test edit, that the weight finally lifted of my shoulders. Final edit below.

I’ve edited 40 ceremony photos so far and picked out 150 faves up to the start of the reception, which I will refine over the next few weeks.

Congratulations Runar and Ebony!!