Prior to little Fletch’ arriving into the world, I was asked by an amazing couple to capture their baby bump with their dogs, at their favourite location – Currimundi Dog Beach. Their boys, Ralphy and Hugo are two of the fittest Lab’s I have met… Ben and Katie, being endurance athletes themselves, ensure their furry babies are in peak condition to be able to keep up with ‘Mum and Dad’ in tri’ season! Above all else, these guys are an inspirational couple, parents, and just beautiful souls…
And, on the 7th day, God created CrossFit… #againfaster
There are a few things I bang on about… CrossFit, Instagram (IG), dogs and athletes… Blah, blah, blah… Here is another one of those posts where I talk more dribble about IG and how cool it is and blah, blah, blah… Anyway, I was given the opportunity to colab’ with Steph’ McCombie of IG account: @ifitwags. Her work is seriously outstanding, and cute as sh*t… It features her two rescue German Short-haired Pointers (Gus and Trav – Maybe another reason I am so partial to these dogs), in a matter of different poses and expressions. The ‘Pointer Brothers’ have over 28K followers, so I was a little chuffed to be given the opportunity to edit one of Steph’s snaps! Here is the original Steph’ provided:
And here is my edit… Hope you (and Steph’) like it!
To see more of the ‘Pointer Brothers’… Check Steph’s account >>HERE<<!
PhoDOGraphy (WOD Dogs) –
I have struggled with a little bit of self-doubt the last few weeks, in the lead up to kicking off the WOD Dogs shoots. While the support and encouragement has been tremendous, I continued to feel like I may have bitten off more than I could chew and wondered if I was skilled enough to capture the essence of the connections between the athletes and their dogs. I couldn’t help but feel like I was going to let everyone down… And, driving down the Coast to my first shoot with a couple that live and breathe animal welfare, are model pet owners, and staunch supporters of RSPCA, I was nervous as sh*t!!!
That all went away when I walked in the door at Raw Strength and Conditioning – Home for Jess Coughlan, and Dragon (the Corgi x Shepherd and star of WOD Dogs), Khaleesi the cat, and their four little chooks. Seeing the interactions between Jess and her animals, it reinforced to me the reason I am doing this, and that there are amazing people treating their pets with as much (if not, more) love as they would a child. The amazing bond between Jess and Dragon, was absolutely heart-warming.
Jess was the first athlete I invited to be a part of my WOD Dogs project for the reasons above. Her life revolves around her animals and she had adopted Dragon from the RSPCA as a pup. I can’t give too much away, as I need to withhold some images, suspense and surprises in order to sell the book and support RSPCA Qld; however, here is a little teaser of what you will see as part of Jess and Dragons’ feature… For more, you are just going to have to buy the book when it is released early 2014!!!
Please share this with your friends and family, generate interest, spread the word of this project, and the plight of RSPCA in fighting animal cruelty. Thank you. And, thank you Jess and Dragon.
I think I could get used to studio portraiture…
Mother Nature has been a harsh bitch lately, but she is a beautiful, harsh bitch…
It seems everywhere we look in this modern world, there is always something that alters our perception of our physical self. Society has been brainwashed to believe that the images we see of unrealistic, disproportionate and unhealthy bodies are what we should strive for. And, then there is the messaging to go behind those images… “Take this wonder drug/pill/powder and get ripped/drop 4 dress sizes/get lean in 4 weeks”. So, the impressionable go out and do exactly as they are told in the latest ‘Muscle’ or ‘Girly’ magazine and end up becoming more and more obsessive about attaining results they will never achieve, winding up with self esteem issues, constantly comparing themselves to another, and worst case, suffering from depression or an eating disorder. We continually look for a quick fix because the industry advertises continuously that it can be done. What they don’t tell you is that it is at the detriment of your short and long term physical and mental health! What they don’t tell you is that you need to work from the inside, out.
The ladies below are lead by a great friend of mine and absolute inspiration, Belinda Wasowski, who is an advocate of changing mindsets about body image in both men and women and testament to her work is the photo shoot I did with her and her clients recently. Every lady there looked stunning, beamed confidence and owned their body image.
There is someone else that is really leading the charge in this space also. Her name is Jessica Smith and she is a Para-Olympic swimmer, motivational speaker, and advocate of positive body image, empowerment and self confidence. Jessica started a movement that is so freaking cool and now many people, both men and women, are jumping on board to spread the message (as per Bel’s team below) – “Join the Revolution… Stop Hating Your Body!”. I hope everyone can take the time to help share Jessica’s message and join the movement! For more info, you can visit Jessica’s website >>HERE<<!
So, that little AUTOgraphy project I was telling you about last week… This is some of it. Good mates of mine, Bren and Chrissy, just bought a ’62 Buick Invicta; pimped, slammed and ‘delicately’ powered by a 454 big block Chev’… I have been kissed on the proverbial to be given access to the most exclusive and amazing studio (my in-laws’ warehouse, Teneriffe – Thank you Dan and Jan!) a few times for shoots, and this was by far the best to date! For anyone wanting to capture their pride and joy, you know where to find me! 🙂
I love being able to capture moments of triumph… Special times in an athletes career where they achieve a milestone or smash a PR out of the ball park… That is what I love about my job, and it is what CrossFit has brought to the health and fitness industry. Benchmarked programming, is what it is about. Yes, it’s randomised, but it is structured randomisation. There is periodisation, and always benchmarking – it makes athletes hungry, driven and motivated to improve. And, your box, coaches and the people around you hold you accountable, push you to strive further and that is precisely why it works. So, wherever you are and however you are training, PURSUE YOUR EVOLUTION! #againfaster
It’s the little things that keep you coming back for more… #crossfitmitchelton #againfaster
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