Friday, January 30, 2009

Australia Part IV - Brisbane

A city? What the?? After several days of island hopping, it was strange to return to a city. With only one night in Brisbane, there was much to do and little time to do it. First up? Shopping. Then? Drinks. Followed by? Dinner. To make the most of what little time we had, I took an early morning stroll the next day before we departed. I ended up on the South Bank, where Expo '88 (the world expo) had been held. Sadly, the ferris wheel wasn't running that early in the day, but I managed a few cool shots before packing my bags and heading home.

travel photographer Lori Barbely

travel photographer Lori Barbely

The trip home felt like it took a million years and it was so great to get home and see my family! My sleep patterns are screwy beyond belief as I cope with the jet lag, but in the end it was so worth it!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A good day in the office

I'll never be known as a pulled together kind of gal. I'll happily sacrifice fashion for comfort. In particular, when I travel to the tropics, all bets are off. Sweat, sunscreen, blotchy red skin, bug spray, hair sticking up in every direction...you get the idea. Inevitably, a well-meaning travel companion will send me photos of myself after a trip. Each time those emails land in my inbox, I cringe.

So I was pleasantly surprised when this shot, from my new friend Kristin, landed in my inbox.

It's not the most fashion forward look ever, but from afar, you can't tell how salt, sand, and sweat crusted I am. Definitely a good day in the office.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Australia Part III - Fitzroy Island

Sadly it was time to leave Lizard, which would be my favorite of the tree islands we visited. Random factoid - the Great Barrier Reef has 600+ islands. Which obviously means I need to start planning my next trip!

Lori Barbely travel photographer

We flew from back to Cairns and from there, hopped a ferry to Fitzroy Island, and island which we would sadly be on for less than 24 hours. But we packed a lot in, lemme tell ya!

Lori Barbely travel photographer
The tropics are so... tropical.

First stop? Nudey Beach. Get your mind out of the gutter; it's not a clothing optional beach. It is, however, blessed with great snorkeling. It was here that I was thrilled to see my first - an only - sea turtle on this trip. After stripping off our snorkel suits, we headed to the next logical place - the pool bar!

Lori Barbely travel photographer

After a few sun-soaked hours, I headed off to my room for a shower and a nap. I emerged just in time for sunset, dinner, and drinks. Is my timing impeccible or what?

All too soon it was morning and we ferried back to the mainland and headed to our final destination - Brisbane.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Australia Part II - Lizard Island

Early the next morning (and I do mean early!) we were airborne again, en route to Lizard Island. As we were heading North, the cyclone was heading South, so we flew into gorgeous weather. From this point on, it was nothing but sunny skies.

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Lizard Island is home to two things - a high end resort and a research station. The research station focuses on reef studies and we were sadly unable to visit it during this trip. No worries though, we just suffered through more time at the resort. Suffering at Lizard Island Resort consists of cocktails, massages, and long walks on the beach.

Me? A mere 30 minutes after arriving on the island I was off and shooting. Always on the search for a better angle, I was climbing some rocks which divided two of the island's 24 beaches. WHAM! Down I went. No bones and, more importantly, no cameras were broken. I did, however, end up with a bruise that oddly resembles the continent of Australia. Hmm. Dinner involved some self-medicating at the bar and, miraculously I felt almost perfect the next day!
Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Maybe it was the massage. Or the snorkeling. Or both. Can a day really get any better than that? Somehow I doubt it. Water visability was still a bit cloudy and choppy (residual affects from the cyclone) and this was my first time shooting underwater. I'm less than stoked with the results, but had to show you the giant clam. These things are unbelievable!
Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

After snorkeling it was off to shoot the chef. No, dinner wasn't bad! Food photography and portraits of the chef were on my afternoon agenda. Can you believe their chef - who's certainly easy on the eyes - is only 20 years old! And the food, well, it was out of this world!
Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

After dinner we may or may not have invaded the staff bar and played slightly tipsy darts much to the amusement of the staff. And, if photographic evidence of this evening exists, well, it won't be appearing on the blog any time soon.

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia
Lizard Island's namesake

Coming soon, Part III in which I may have shed a tear while leaving Lizard Island.

Random shots from around Lizard Island
Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia
My humble abode on Lizard Island

Lori Barbely travel photographer Lizard Island Australia
Am I the only one who sees a profile of a human face in the reef?

Monday, January 26, 2009

2009 Brides Against Breast Cancer Sale - Orlando, Florida

Mark your calendars, the 2009 Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown Sale is coming to Orlando!

Friday, March 13, 12 - 8 pm
Saturday, March 14, 10 am - 6 pm

It will be held at the Fairwinds Alumni Center at UCF.

Find the gown of your dreams at an incredible savings while making dreams come true for women who are losing their flight against breast cancer. The proceeds from this event helps bring a moment of joy into world of someone for whom a cure is too late.

Most gown prices range from $99 to $799*, including hundreds of beautiful new name brand and designer gowns valued up to $8,000. *Exclusive designer and couture gowns valued up to $20,000 are also available at an incredible 25% to 75% savings. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and debit cards accepted. More than half the gowns presented during each event are NEW designer gowns that arrived directly from designers, manufacturers and bridal retailers.

Pre-register here.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Australia Part I - Hamilton Island aka "The One in the Middle is the Cajun Kangaroo"

So...Australia. Where to begin?

We landed in Brisbane at the crack of dawn (ok 7am or so) and took yet another flight to Hamilton Island. After mere moments to get cleaned up (after traveling for, oh, two days), we hit the ground running with a tour. I'm yawning just writing about it since I was so. damn. tired. at that point. Tooling around in a buggy (aka a golf cart) on the left side of the road did nothing but add to my dazed and confused state.

After yet another brief respite, it was time for drinks and dinner. We dined at Qualia, the island's foremost luxury property. It was there that I had my first taste of kangaroo. Yes, you read correctly, kangaroo. Cajun kangaroo actually. And in my delirious state all I could think of was the Judy Blume book "The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo". The One in the Middle is the Cajun Kangaroo. Makes no sense whatsoever, I know. I wish I could tell you that dinner was delicious, but I honestly can't remember what I ate. I remember enjoying it, so that's a plus. But - and, how unlike me is this? - I skipped out before dessert. I figured it was less rude that falling asleep at the table!

But one thing that did stick in my memory from dinner that evening was Tourism Queensland's launch of the Best Job in World Contest. The lucky new employee gets to live on Hamilton Island for 6 months and serve as caretaker to the Great Barrier Reef. What does this entail? Snorkeling, swimming, meeting the locals, and blogging about it. As if that's not enough, there's a salary of $125,000 AUD (about $98,000 USD).

Day 2 on the island brought lousy weather. I wanted to throw myself on the ground and flail and scream like a two-year-old. This was the ONE day of the entire trip that I wanted, no, I needed good weather. On the agenda for day 2? A seaplane ride over the Great Barrier Reef with a landing at Whitehaven Beach. It was that day that I learned that there was a cyclone a bit north of us, bringing in dreadful rain. Paired with a King Tide (an extremely high tide), that spelled photographic disaster. There was a point where we didn't think we'd be able to fly at all, much less land the plane at Whitehaven, but our uber-capable pilot pulled it off.

Heart Reef Lori Barbely Australia travel photographer
The infamous Heart Reef

It was at Whitehaven that I discovered (to a mix of delight and dread) that it was stinger season. AKA Jelly fish season. Which means that any water activities require the donning of a stinger suit, lest you get stung. The dread part, I think, is obvious. The delight was at seeing these lovelies in their stinger suits. Every sperm is sacred anyone?
Lori Barbely Australia travel photographer

We didn't do any swimming at Whitehaven, so I was spared the public humiliation of wearing a stinger suit for another day. Our time there was brief - we shot some photos and enjoyed a bit of champagne and some fruit.

The other high point of the day was cuddling a koala. Now I know this is truly tourist cheese. But if you were me, could you really pass up the opportunity to have your photo snapped while holding one of these cuties? I think not.
Lori Barbely Australia travel photography
Stay tuned for part 2!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

In which I explain my lack of blogging

It's been a tough few days here and I'll try to summarize briefly. I got my allergy shot and it was given to me in the wrong spot causing either an infection or an acute allergic reaction in my left arm. I've spent the past several days at doctor's offices and am currently medicated up to my eyeballs. But I'm on the mend and should be back and blogging next week!

In the meantime, here's a quick snap from my Australia trip to tide you over until I can do a full post (I think I got dressed in the dark that day. Hehe)


Oh, and if you're not following me on twitter, well, why not? :)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Back to life, back to reality.

I've been up since 2am. Made it home around 8-ish last night, took a shower, and promptly passed out. For a few hours. Darn jet lag.

But I'm making the most of it and getting caught up on work. Make that trying to get caught up on work. I've still got 37 million emails to answer, but if you've placed a print order while I was gone, I've just finished ordering them from the lab and you ought to be receiving them by early next week.

I have a ton of images and stories about Australia (plus a backlog of posts from sessions in December and early January before I left!) that I can't wait to share with you all.

Stay tuned....

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Out of the office: Jan 9-19

G'day mate! I'm headed to Australia for a travel assignment from January 9-19, 2009. Not sure what sort of phone/email access I'll have down under, so thanks for your patience and I'll return all messages when I get back!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

In Print: ISLANDS Magazine January/February 2009

Aaah, memories of Maui! My mini-feature (text and photos) on the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua is running in the January/February 2009 issue of ISLANDS Magazine! My husband I spent 3 days there back in August as part of an assignment I did on Romantic Getaways. What I wouldn't give to be back there now!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes... how do you measure, measure a year? AKA 2008 - a look back!

It's certainly been a whirlwind of a year! My odd mix of travel photography and wedding photography has sent me on some amazing adventures and I've been blessed with some wonderful clients who have truly become friends. (If you want to skip my rambling, just scroll to the bottom of this post for the slideshow!)

I started off traveling to Amelia Island (a short jaunt to NE Florida) in January and the rest of the year had me bouncing here, there, and everywhere! In April I headed to New York City and Thailand (1, 2, 3), followed by the Big Island of Hawaii in May. June found me in Cayo Espanto, Belize riding out Tropical Storm Arthur. After a short break, August found me back in Hawaii, this time on Maui, followed by a whirlwind tour of Big Sur for an amazing wedding. Got published 7 times (with more stuff hitting the shelves in early 2009) and flew over 46,715 miles! Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it!

I shot a dozen weddings and over 25 portrait sessions (a mix of engagements, boudoirs, pets, and family/children's portraits). I've laughed and cried with clients who have allowed me into their lives. I'm honored to capture their memories which are as precious to me as my own.

I had the pleasure of photographing an Olympian and I was honored to be nominated as one of Orlando's Best Wedding Photographers on WESH 2's A-list. In a thrilling end to the year, one of my images won first place in the ceremony category of Brides Magazine|WPJA's annual contest.

It truly has been a blessing and I'm so grateful for all of the amazing clients I've had the opportunity to work with and all the fun and interesting people I met along the way. I'm so fortunate that I'm able to do what I love and I couldn't do it without the help and support of my amazing family and friends (Love you guys!) I'm looking forward to 2009 and all the adventures it will bring and I hope that you are as well!

Happy New Year!