News 2013
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14.11.2013
This beautiful woman expecting her third child is Eve, one of my best friends and favourite photographic subjects. She is a dancer and yoga teacher which gives her natural grace and calm spirit. Lovely dawn shoot at Bondi.
© Tess Peni 2013
9.11.2013
Family portraits - wish I had one! This is my dear friend Pamela (c) with her children and their families. She is a widow and hard working lady who finally made her own brood promise to turn up and smile, which they did at the historic All Saints church in Hunters Hill where she has been a guardian of the church in years past.
© Tess Peni 2013
31.10.2013
They say never work with children and animals, what's the rule on celebrities and animals? Probably worse. Anyway, Tim Freedman kept his cool in the face of scene stealing giraffe antics, at Taronga Zoo to promote his concert with Twilight in Taronga.
http://www.4di.com.au
© Tess Peni 20134dianimalscelebrityportraitTaronga ZooTim FreedmanTwilight at Taronga
23.10.2013
Headshots! I enjoyed using precision gear by Profoto for 2 days of head shots for Westpac. These are all nominees for the Spark Awards.
© Tess Peni 2013
19.10.13
It really is a jungle out there. Writer Sofya Gollan stands for a portrait in the wild. A young film writer and aspiring director, she has a brilliant script brewing in her head, I hope I get to be the stills photographer!
© Tess Peni 2013
9.3.2013
My submission to the Moran 2013 Photographic Prize.
Actor Grant Cartwright on the Lane Cove River
'Exhaustion' © Tess Peni 2013
I didn't make the semi-finals but I'm glad I contributed.
http://www.moranprizes.com.au/competition/2013-photographic-prize-open/semi-finalists
9.3.2013
Sydney's Opera Bar apparently has this poster up advertising the live music they put on every night. It's actually a photo I took from a session for an awesome lady called Miranda Carey who sings there on occasion. She snapped the poster photo - I don't blame her - bit of a buzz for both of us.
https://www.facebook.com/mirandacareymusic
© Tess Peni 2013
8.3.2013
One of my Instagram photos was picked up by the State Library of NSW and republished on their page:
http://instagram.com/statelibrarynsw
Feeling good about that.
© Tess Peni 2013
24.9.2013
Australia is so beautiful. I took my kids on a road trip this school holidays to see the NSW North Coast, we camped rough at Hat Head National Park for some of it. Found a rock pool there and enjoyed teaching my daughter to snorkel.
Photo by my mum.
11.9.2013
Melbourne actress Pia Miranda, photographed in 2000.
© Tess Peni
I have been photographing all walks of life, including celebrities, for many years and have set up a little shop via Red Bubble to sell some of the classics to anyone who wishes to office/home decorate with Hollywood style B&W images of famous faces.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/truelovestudios/
1.09.2013
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's newest addition to their fleet -the animal activists were in Sydney Harbour to promote their cause and provide free public tours aboard the 'Sam Simon' on the weekend.
They are well known for many international anti-poaching campaigns including blockading the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctica. Sea Shepherd are preparing for their 10th year attempting to shut down the whalers they label 'poachers', who kill up to 1,000 protected and endangered whales each season in an international whale sanctuary, under the guise of 'research'.
The Australian Government is currently awaiting a decision from the International Court of Justice to hand down their ruling regarding the legality of the Japanese 'research'.
To check out more photos from Sydney, visit my Truelove Studios Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/truelovestudios
© Tess Peni 201380s80s nightactivismanimal activistsantipoachingAustraliaBPPSCircular QuayOpera HousePaul WatsonprotestSam SimonSea ShepherdSydneywhaling
12.8.2013
'District 9' director Shalto Copley enjoys the Sydney premiere for his new sci-fi 'ELYSIUM', with his lead actor Matt Damon.
© Tess Peni 2013actorAustraliablack carpetcelebritycinemaElysiumfilmMatt Damonpremierered carpetSydney
27.8.2013
Social enterprise is a new term for me, but what does it mean?
I was commissioned to take photos for Westpac Bank to highlight their engagement with WorkVentures, a not-for-profit organisation that provides practical help for people with lower-incomes at risk of social and economic exclusion who are seeking to improve their lives.
Over the last 10 years Westpac have donated 45,000 obsolete PCs to the Connect IT program that refurbishes and sells low cost computers and provides training to bring the digital world to the everyday lives of people and community groups.
http://www.workventures.com.au
© Tess Peni 2013
13.8.2013
Bondi QiYoga enjoyed a photo session at dawn on Bondi Beach - lovely weather. That place is pumping with sporty folk so we just fitted right in. Eve (L) who is expecting her third child, runs yoga workshops with Brenda (also a mum of three).
https://www.facebook.com/BondiQiyoga
We are currently filming a yoga pregnancy series for Youtube, see part 1 here:
http://youtu.be/COBheSLDZ9c
© Tess Peni 2013beachbondiBondi Ki YogaBrendaEvefitnesslocationnatureportraitwomenyoga
9.7.2013
The kids spent a lot of yesterday singing "Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow". So today we enjoyed a wintery mid-week visit to Taronga Zoo. I get such joy from photographing animals that I have created a gallery to sell animal images from, see here: http://smu.gs/152w5rK
© Tess Peni 2013
27.6.2013
Photographing still life objects can be very peaceful work, especially in the digital era when you can tether your camera to the laptop and check the finer details of focus and exposure as you go along.
In the process of creating shots for my friend's Vietnamese homewares business, I am collecting some bright and cheerful tableware making mealtimes more lovely.
© Tess Peni 2013
http://www.sampan.com.au
24.6.2013
Actors Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe attend the Australian film premiere of "Man of Steel" in Sydney.
© Tess Peni 2013
Images for sale via Rex Features UK
http://www.rexfeatures.com/livefeed/AustraliacelebrityfilmHenry CavillMan of Steelmoviespremierered carpetRussell CroweSydney
10.6.2013
NZ fur seal lazing on the rocks on the south island of New Zealand, pretty much telling me to back up a little in this photo. My brother once got trapped in his car by one, they can be huge and aggressive apparently, but I figured we had the advantage of legs.
© Tess Peni 2013
26.5.2013
Meet 'Wanna A Cracker', a native cockatoo who can say that phrase. We had a family day trip to a local wildlife park and I took this on my iPhone whilst scratching the little love on the head. Amazing what you can achieve with an iPhone.
© Tess Peni 2013
7.5.2013
Studio day! Some of the looks from the studio session with singer Miranda Carey for her new album. The look was '80's' and we had a lot of fun.
© Tess Peni 2013
4.5.2013
Spot the rookie. Learning studio lighting, in particular Profoto gear which I now love! Photographer Gary Ede (far right) spent the day imparting his wisdoms to a variety of Sydney photographers (me in the green jacket) along with the awesome staff of L&P Digital Photographic in their studio.
Photo courtesy Brent Pottinger/L&P
http://www.garyede.com.au
http://www.lapfoto.com.au
15.4.2013
Love off-camera flash? I use Speedlights & Wizards. I made a tiny snoot for my flashes from matte black plastic and rubber bands, clamped around Underfoot Records main recording studio. Paintings by Sno Brewer dominate dark corners. Veteran Oz rocker from New Zealand Dave Blennerhassett plays for the photoshoot.
© Tess Peni 2013bandbandsDaveGeneHardwickMichaelmusicSeederUnderfoot Records
9.4.13
It takes two baby...this is the Truelove Studios tech dude, also my husband, his arm of the family business is called Truelove Tech http://truelovetech.com.au
Apart from solving huge digital asset management issues for film & television production, he will sit in for me when I want to test lighting. Note to self: bald blokes do not require a hair light.
© Tess Peni 2013
9.12.2013
Australian film producer Samantha Jennings dropped into the home studio for a little portrait session, so fresh and smiley and unafraid of the camera...we love those!
See more photos of what you can do with half an hour http://smu.gs/ZNZp0v
© Tess Peni 2013
12.3.2013
At the Sydney band 'Seeder' photo session, being one with nature in the bushland behind Underfoot Records.
http://www.underfootrecords.com.au
Our collaborative history goes back as far as 1998 when Truelove Studios made video clips for 'Seeder', see them here:
'Fifty Bullets'
http://vimeo.com/7162634
'If You Want'
http://vimeo.com/7162144
© Tess Peni 2013bandbandsDaveGeneHardwickMichaelmusicSeederUnderfoot Records
29.2.2013
Very relaxing... Good Friday, spent with family at home. Hope everyone is finding some time to be happy and slow down.
Laze like a lioness © Tess Peni
25.3.2013
It is written...that I should create an Etsy shop, so I am now proud to announce it open for business!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TrueloveStudios
Pictured: 'Handwritten' $25 Metallic 8x12 Original Fine Art Photographic print
© Tess Peni 2013
6.3.2013
2013: A quiet year so far...it's okay. I have lots of ideas for post-production of the last 20 years of photography, except it's such a frighteningly huge job. I just don't know how to focus. For starters I quit Facebook today. Deactivated.
Here's my Flickr feed which may now get some attention instead:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flowers71/
3.3.2013
'Test Drive' screening, it's really great. I am proud of my work as stills photographer and have finally engaged again in a type of work not done since early motherhood - babies and film sets did not mix. Even though there are lots of hours involved shooting and post-production, purely narrative driven work and lots of arty chats with the producer, make it very satisfying work.
© Tess Peni / Second Sight Productions
21.2.2013
In the planning stages of another shoot with one of my favourite sitters - the extremely photogenic singer/songwriter Miranda Carey.
We shot this 2011 session in Sydney's Centennial park, using available light, trying to avoid any snakes in the long grass, and fulfilling our Pocahontas fantasies
© Tess PeniasianbeautifulbrunetteCentennial ParkfeatherfeathersfemalefieldfriendsgoldgrassheadbandIndianlocationlong hairMirandamodel releasednativenaturalnatureoutdoorsparkPocahontasportraitREX FEATURESTPEtribalwildwoman
12.2.2013
Stepping foot again on New Zealand soil - my country of birth - for the first time in 10 years. Taking time to show my children their Maori heritage and meet some of their huge extended family. On this day, together with my kids, niece and nephew, we climbed to the top of Mount Maunganui, in Tauranga, for an exhilarating view over the Bay of Plenty.
Photo by Amber Peni
31.1.2013
Australian runner-up of 'The Voice', singer Darren Percival. At Taronga Zoo with the giraffes, to promote his forthcoming concert for the Twilight at Taronga zoo series which I love working for - always a great mix of celebrities and animals!
https://www.facebook.com/twilightattaronga
© Tess Peni
20.1.2013
A family at Sunset. I'm on holiday! Of course that doesn't mean leaving cameras at home. I saw this family by the water and saw a shot so I asked them to line up in height order under the tree. This seems to be my most popular shot on Flickr where I also post different works.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flowers71/
© Tess Peni
9.1.2013
Award-winning, Australian actor Grant Cartwright has agreed to sit for me in a dramatic shoot in the swamp (sitting was not an option, he hung from trees like an orang-utan), to be revealed in 2013, but first of all we warm up with a few moody head shots.
© Tess Peni
3.1.2013
Happy Vegan New Year! Photographing Vietnamese homewares for an importer, in the home studio, trying to keep cat hair off the backdrops.
http://www.sampan.com.au
© Tess Peni
