by Joshua
14. November 2009 00:34
Here goes with my first ever blog-posting! Online diaries are a new world for me, and I'm truly learning this by doing. Recently returned from my first international assignment ...for all of September, I took my wife and 2-year-old son to the Philippines, where I was fortunate to have 3 weddings to shoot. Such a luscious and balmy country, and such hospitable people. It provided ample opportunities for beautiful tropical settings and was an amazing experience, not just for me, but my family too. It was a great introduction for me to the world of "destination wedding photography", which means jet-setting into a nice location, having a blast with some great people, and emerging with stunning pictures. After all, with the prime wedding season in Melbourne running from October through to March, it leaves 6 months of the year to explore the rest of the world, especially Asia and America, two areas that not only do I love to visit, I also have family there to catch up with too. This series of pictures was taken at a unique location called "The Ruins", in central Philippines, and is the remains of a house built about 100 years ago to be a grand mansion for a Spanish sugar-cane plantation owner. With it's breath-taking architecture, it must have been a sumptuous backdrop to many elegant social gatherings -- up until the second world war, when it became the regional headquarters for the invading Japanese army. Thus it became a target for American fire-bombs, which had the effect of stripping the building of all it's wood-work, but leaving the concrete foundations intact. Thus, it is like a skeleton, but a magnet for me, who relished the opportunity of using it for this pre-wedding bridal shoot. A great big "thanks!" to bride Bebce for being such a trooper in the sauna-like heat. Best regards, Joshua Winterson.