Bob Litchfield Photographer » Storm Chasing

Storm Chasing

boblitchfield — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:28:14 +0000

I normally only post my work related images on my front page, but I love a good thunder storm & I managed to capture some extraodinary images recently, so I thought I’d share.

After my complaining on my Facebook business page that I was feeling board & uninspired over the Christmas season, my Xmas wish for something to shoot came true & a few days ago we had an amazing thunder storm, which really rocked my world. I live for a good storm to shoot & summer storms are the best because often they are not accompanied by lengthy rain squals as well, usually we get a lot of lightening & not much rain. On the 3rd of January I was woken out of a sound sleep at 3 AM by a clap of thunder some way off, I was out the door & on location within 30 minutes. I worked until dawn, when I ran out of dark to shoot any more, I’d taken 90 shots & had gotten some amazing images.

The lightening was still going off, so I used the early morning quiet on the roads to head into the city & check out some spots for the next opportunity. It was an amazing sight to see lightening across the river so close that it dwarfed the buildings as I drove down William St at sunrise. I’m hoping for some more lightening opportunities as the cooler weather dissipates & it heats up during this next week or so.

The featured image is the 1st shot of the night, so I hope you can see why I was so excited….I’ve added some more of the best ones into my Landscape gallery….Hope you enjoy.

Latest Awards

boblitchfield — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:45:50 +0000

You may have noticed that there are a couple of new awards listed on the front page of my site. Well yes I’m happy to announce the I took off the AAPP (WA) Landscape photographer of the year As well as AAPP (WA) Open photographer of the year for 2011 at the recent awards held here in WA this year. The Landscape award is something I’ve coveted for a little while, since Landscape is my 1st love, but I was surprised to also take off the Open award as well.

I can hear you all wondering what the Open award is, well the Open category is for images that may not fit in any other area, they may be something innovative or just simply something that doesn’t have it’s own category, like nature photography for instance. So whilst the title open may not sound particularly creative, this is precicely where the creative images fit & I’m very happy to have won the award.

My awards for the past 3 years….as someone suggested, great doorstops…;)

Down Syndrome WA Calendar 2012

boblitchfield — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:31:28 +0000

The 2012 DSWA Calendar that I shot for earlier this year was released a few days ago & I’m ecstatic with the results, the designer & printers have done a great job of creating a very polished final product.

I suggested to the team that we take a chance & produce a Black & White calendar as something a little different this time. Happily the board also liked the idea & allowed us to run with it & the results couldn’t be better.

My cohorts on the project Holly, Karen & Sharon did a fantastic job of coordinating the kids & parents for 2 days of shooting down at Sorrento Quay & in bringing the concept together. I’d like to thank them, they were a great team to work with.

I’d also like to thank Colliers, the Sorrento Quay managers for their permission & allowing us to shoot at such a great facility.

The kids were kids & didn’t always quite cooperate, but they had a lot of fun, as did I in trying to capture the special moments. They also deserve some recognition for their particpation & patience.

From the feedback I’ve had so far the parents are over the moon & I’m already looking forward to working on the project again for 2013.

It’s great to be able to donate my time & experience towards raising not only awareness of Down Syndrome, but also some much needed funds for such a great cause.

If you would like to purchase a calendar, or maybe a few to give as Xmas gifts, I’m sure the folks at DSWA would be only too happy to hear from you. It’s only $15, which really is great value.

So why not contact them via the web site, http://www.dsawa.asn.au , just follow the link & find the shopping page, or give them a call. Phone: (08) 9368 4002

State Swim

boblitchfield — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:01:26 +0000

I had a call a few weeks ago from State Swim asking me if I could do a swimming pool shoot at a place called Ellenbrook, of course was my reply, I live there.

After an initial meeting, they arranged for some local families to participate in a shoot of kids having swimming lessons and made sure the staff were primed for a day of shooting

I spend a few hours running around the pool trying to keep the water out of my gear & my lenses from fogging in the warm moist atmosphere of an indoor heated pool. Every situation has its challenges but with my philosopy of “no problem is insurmountable”, we got some great images of not only the kids, but also of the staff who were a great team of people to work with.

The shots are already in use on the State Swim web site http://www.stateswim.com.au/ & new brochures are in the process of being designed & printed.

Always great to see a happy client using my images.

Understanding Down Syndrome

boblitchfield — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:48:20 +0000

Following on from the work I did for Down Syndrome WA in the production of the 2011 calendar with friend & colleague Kristy from Ladybird Design & Print http://ladybirddesign.com.au , I was contacted by the Telethon Institute a few weeks ago wanting to use several of the calendar images in a new publication on understanding Down Syndrome. I was again very happy to help.

Well the posty arrived a few minutes ago with 2 copies of the book for my portfolio. Congratulations should go to the Author & production team for a job well done, it looks great, my images of the kids came up well & I’m sure the information is going to help a lot of people.

For anyone reading this post who may need this information, or have family or friends who do. The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has posted the publication as a PDF on their site, so just follow the link :

http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/research/highlights/disability

Real Estate Portraits (REPs)

boblitchfield — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:23:00 +0000

Real Estate Portraits (REP’s)

I’ve been doing the rep’s shots for a local real estate agency now for a couple of years. They are mainly used on business cards & signage. I get to meet some nice people, make new business contacts & it’s always a bit of fun.

Last week I got to shoot a husband & wife team, Andrew & Kathryn Fender, who as a team wanted something a little different to the run of the mill head shots. Kathryn commented that Andrew was always on the phone, so I had them ham it up for the camera. The secret to a good portrait session I find is getting your subjects to relax, allowing them to play a little isn’t the easiest thing when you have only just met, but once they get into the swing, it certainly makes for some great results.

Sushi Blue

boblitchfield — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:44:13 +0000

Sushi Blue

I’ve been working on a re-signing project with my good friend & graphic designer Kristy from Ladybird design print & media (www.ladybirddesign.com.au). Our client is Sushi Blue, an Asian eatery in the Kingsway Shopping centre in Perth’s Northern Suburbs.

I have always enjoyed working with food, for me it’s all about the colour, shape, texture & form, trying to capture the essence of the dish in an image. The range of dishes produced for the shoot was amazing, owner Bruce & his staff created some beautiful food, Sushi, Sushimi, Teppanyaki, Teriyaki, Tempura, the food just kept on coming. Seafood, chicken, pork, fish & beef, with some lovely sauces & a scattering of sesame seeds, it sure had my mouth watering all afternoon. The highlight for me though was overhearing Bruce comment whilst he was watching me work; “he makes my food come to life”, feedback from a client doesn’t get much better than that.

The Wedding of Will & Aleta Nicoll

boblitchfield — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 08:11:50 +0000

Although I have shot thousands of weddings in the past I now limit my Wedding photography to no more than 6 a year, reasoning that if I tie up my weekends with weddings it will limit my ability to take on teaching at the UWA Extension, which I really love, or commercial work which often entails weekend shoots to fit in with my client’s schedule. I was approached by Will Nicol, a former student of mine from the UWA Extension who is now living in Queensland; to shoot his & Aleta’s wedding which they had arranged for a Tuesday late in December 2010. Being a Tuesday I was free to oblige them. They were coming back to Perth for their nuptuals as both of their families live here.

The ceremony was held in the Tea pavilion ay Kings Park overlooking the city, and photography was arranged around their 3 favourite locations of Kings Park, The Old Swan Brewery where the reception was held & a twilight shoot at Cottesloe beach followed by drinks at the Cottesloe beach hotel. It was a very warm & busy day for the photographer, but despite the heat we managed some lovely images.

Aleta & her parents picked up the proof book this morning & could not be happier with the results….always great to have a happy client.

Provence, Satterley Property group

boblitchfield — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:02:28 +0000

I had the pleasure of doing a shoot recently down at Provence in Busselton. The Client, Satterley Property Group, engaged me to capture the essence of the location. We spent a couple of fairly intense days down there covering all aspects of this lovely location from dawn until dusk. It’s a lovely place to build a home being only a few minutes from Busselton the jumping off point to the Margaret river region. It has some spectacular Peppermint trees which the client has respected in developing the location. We had spent over a year around the area when shooting for my book cape to cape & it was great to revisit & see some of our favourite haunts again.

Colour Solutions by Lynn

boblitchfield — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:29:44 +0000

I’ve been working for a little while now with my good friend Lynn Marley, colour consultant & interior stylist. We have been creating a portfolio of images of some of her work so that she could have her own website build for her company Colour Solutions by Lynn.

Imaging my surprise when my friend & business colleague Kirk O’Connor from Online Assist 4U, who produced this site for me and who I’d recommended to Lynn; advised me that Lynn’s site was now up & running.

I love the site, it’s very crisp, clean & sophisticated, it shows Lynn’s wonderful work beautifully and is also a great portfolio of my work, since all of the images on Lynn’s site are mine.

If you are a potential client looking to see what I can do in a display home situation, interiors for magazines or similar, please do go & have a look at Lynn’s site, or if perhaps you are considering restyling your home, or even just a room or two, please give Lynn a call, you won’t be disappointed & she will save you money.

http://coloursolutionsbylynn.com.au/