The NEW Eat Street Northshore - let these photos convince you to go!

If you haven't been to the new Eat Street Northshore in Brisbane, let these photos convince you to go! The markets are now double in size and are a foodie's heaven with food and drink from all over the world. It's an eye opening experiencing just being inside this amazing venue, let alone spending all your cash on the range of delicious food, drinks and irresistible desserts they have. 

The venue is open every weekend of the year Friday and Saturday from 4pm to 10pm and Sunday 11am to 7pm. See our behind the scenes images below. 

Em x

"Up in the air I fly"..... A day in the life of Life Portraits

After photographing commercial portraits for client Josh under our business LP Commercial, I was lucky enough to also have the honour of photographing Josh's family under the portraiture side, Life Portraits. 

A rare opportunity I couldn't pass up, Josh went out of his way to pick me up from Archerfield Airport in Brisbane and fly out to Chinchilla. It was an early morning, taking off at 5am, flying out of Brisbane to the view of the sun rising behind us and fog covering parts of the city. I was fortunate enough to be able to capture the journey on my camera as well as footage on my GoPro Hero 5 Black. Josh also records his journeys for YouTube. With both of our footage and images I created the below video insight into my journey. 

Upon arriving in Chinchilla, it felt very homely, very much like my hometown of Clermont (which is where I met Josh). I photographed Josh's family nearly 5 years ago when his youngest was a newborn. I was very excited to be meeting the girls again and capturing their personalities, characteristics and their fun antics on the land. Capturing a family in their home environment is a very special thing - you create a story, capture a special moment in time within a home they've come to love. I captured the Adam family in their home environment, with their animals, their gardens, surrounded by stunning rural countryside. I have delivered their gallery for proof and blown away by the results. 

Em x

The beauty of the Northern NSW Coast: Ballina, Lennox Head & Byron Bay

Being a Central Queensland country girl, I never really ventured out of QLD throughout my childhood (except to the other side of the world to Ireland to see my family). Only in the last 3 years have I started to explore this beautiful country. With 5 days free between Christmas and New Years I couldn't resist the opportunity to get in the car with my partner and explore a new area I hadn't seen before. So... I did some research around the NSW coast, booked a flat on airbnb and away we went.

The NSW coast is an unbelievable location with prestige beaches, breathtaking lookouts, fresh seafood and a mix between the beach lifestyle and relaxed country living. Only a close 2 hours from Brisbane, this is easily a weekend trip away. Below are the places we visited and some of the highlights, also featuring a video of our little adventure. 

Ballina

We stayed at Ballina Heights at a lovely house (through airbnb) overlooking the countryside. This was a close 2 min drive to the Ballina Shopping Area with all the shops you would need - Woolworths, Target, Kmart, BWS, Anytime Fitness etc. On our first day we visited the stunning Killen Falls which was only 15 mins from Ballina at Tintenbar and only a short walk down to the water - well worth it!

That afternoon we drove to Shaws Bay and walked the North Wall scenic walk. Capturing a glimpse of some young boys jumping off into the deep waters where the ocean and the Richmond River meet as well as capturing a glimpse of some dolphins swimming in from the ocean. At the peak of the break-wall is Lighthouse beach which seems to be a popular spot for the surfers and also has the Lighthouse beach Cafe and Life Saving Club. There are information plaques along the walk about the history of Ballina for those that like their reading - we did!

We enjoyed some fresh prawns and barra from the local seafood shop and got to see the giant prawn, we played some cricket at the sports field and we even still went to the gym (thanks to Anytime Fitness being all over the world). 

Lennox Head

My favourite place was Lennox Head, it's a hidden gem! Tucked away close to Byron but much more quiet and relaxed. Not only did it have a number of beautiful beaches, it is blessed with Lake Ainsworth, a tea tree brown coloured lake right next to the coast. The water is beautiful and warm, calm water for stand up paddle boarding and we made the most of a cheap blow-up radio inflatable from K-mart to enjoy sun-baking in the lake. We admired the views from Pat Morton lookout, where tandem hang gliders were taking in the views of Lenox Point from above. There were locks lining the fences at the top of the lookout which was beautiful, we even found one from a wedding! We went to Sharpes Beach and took a boogie board to ride the waves and enjoyed some fish and chips at Fishy Fishy on the main street. 

Byron Bay

This time of year was very busy for Byron due to Falls Festival and the Christmas period. We ventured out at 5am to get to the lighthouse before things got busy and enjoyed the early morning sun, wind and beautiful lookout. We went to the Byron Bay beach for an early swim and packed our own lunch for a picnic. For those wanting to explore Byron I would take advantage of the hop on-hop off bus that goes around Byron from 10am-5.30pm so you can explore all of the town without having to worry about parking. 

A big thank you to Discover Ballina: Ballina Coast and Hinterland for their amazing visitor guide that helped us plan our journey - https://www.discoverballina.com.au/visit/

Coldplay lights up Brisbane City

While much of Brisbane flocked to Suncorp Stadium last week for Coldplay, I watched (and listened) from my balcony in Milton. I didn't have a ticket to the show, but I witnessed the concert from a different view. The sound erupted from the stadium across the city and I heard the entire concert from the comfort of my home. 

This was an opportunity I could not pass up! I set my camera up and captured this beautiful, tear drawing experience through the lens.

Exploring North Stradbroke Island

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend at North Stradbroke Island camping with my boyfriend to celebrate his Birthday. Stradbroke has been on my Brisbane bucket list and was blown away when I got there! I'd read many blogs about the beautiful landscapes and beaches so I had to bring the camera to capture a few moments along the way. 

Being a rather action packed weekend it was hard to step away from the fun and photograph the journey (being in the sand and rain was the major factors) but I managed to capture some of the beautiful spots that I recommend to everyone. See below for some of the amazing locations. 

Point Lookout: South Gorge

This location is breathtaking! A perfect wedding ceremony location and we had loads of fun climbing the rocks. Located right next to the Point Lookout Surf Club. 

Point Lookout: North Gorge

The North Gorge was the most spectacular walk! We walked along the boardwalk around to Whale Rock Blow Hole through to North Gorge. This is a sight to see! We even caught a gimps of some turtles and whales. This is a MUST SEE! 

Deadman's Beach/Frenchmans Beach

All within close proximity to each other we ventured out amongst the rocks and beaches to find the whale watching platforms, through Point Lookout Conservation Area, to Deadman's Beach and around to Frenchmans Beach. We found some amazing caves within the rocks and climbed the cliff to look over the beach! This is another MUST DO! There is even a huge hill perfect for sand boarding (however boogie boards aren't the best, come prepared).