Well I am one lucky photographer. I also have good news for people that eat out in Perth.

I know this is a photography blog and I am certainly not trying to get into the food critic business, although it was nice!
I was at the Himalayan Nepalese restaurant & café in Vic Park yesterday to take some photos for promotional work they are doing with the local paper.

The food rocks (with a capital R) I mean it, wow!




So I got there, within 30 seconds of sitting down with the boys from the paper to wait for Bhairab (owner & really nice guy), I was instantly hungry, the smell was fantastic, As the time unfolded we got to shooting, not just Bhairab, but some of the other staff as well. Oh, and some plates of food to boot, all at 0 notice **gulp** (this was suppose to be a headshot) that’s cool, I have two lights with me and some diffusers so I can light it well and there were people around to hold the lights (ok time for an aside here… I had stands, umbrellas, extra lights, shapers, light modifiers, the lot just about in my hand to put in the car, but no it’s just a headshot! The moral of this little story? Take it all, pack the lot in the car and not use it at all is better than, well I really could have used that ____ today. Lesson learnt)

Now, I had everyone around to do the group shot, holding plates of the best smelling food right in front of me (I can nearly taste it… sorry), that was a little tricky as Bhairab has glasses and with four people you can get a lot of shadow cast. All in, it was ok, no problems just a quick test shot then a few keepers showing them to the guys to get their nod of approval. Then, to the plates of food. I would have liked the umbrellas at this point but not to be. As they sat the plates down I noticed the down lights reflecting on the table and thought I could use that to add some interest to the shot, quick lighting set up and we were done. Again, showing the shots as I go, to make sure that what I was shooting was what they wanted.

As I was packing up and talking to the guys (light stands) they offered us all a taste of some of the dishes I just shot and Brett was going to write about. All I can say is I will be going back. It was really something special, as for a favourite the Khasiko ko Sekuwa (lamb cutlets) with the Goat curry a very, very close rival.

Cheers Matt

First National Kelmscott, cover shoot... well sort of

OK so it's not the cover of Cleo, Rolling Stone, Real Weddings or National Geographic but this photo is going to be on the cover of all the First National Real Estate Kelmscott customer folders / hand-outs and their website, so I was incredibly happy and excited to be giving the responsibility of capturing it, I would like to thank Greg and the team for that opportunity and I look forward to working with them again.

The shot below is the end product and the shot came out really well. Most importantly the guys at First National that I was shooting for were pleased.

Now, when I was first asked to do the shot, I thought ‘ok I could do that...’ In the short space of time that it took to think ‘I can do that’ a thousand things ran through my head. I started thinking about what I could do to make a shop front look its best? How will the lights work together? (Street, shop, ambient, flash?) But the big question is, how do I make this look good but still play it safe? Safe, because it needs to appeal to a large real estate market (everyone).

So I went for clean, bright and smooth.

So when I was at First National to discuss the shot I took the opportunity to take a quick snap of the store front and look at the sun’s setting point as I had planned to do a dusk shoot (nice light and I don’t like getting out of bed at 5am!!!)

Some of the problems I had were dark bricks on the left being a bit distracting, the yellow of the bike shop has to go, and the asphalt is not as nice as I would like, and then just a lot of small retouching stuff to do. Not anything out of the ordinary really and it all came together well, with everyone happy. Can’t ask for more than that!

Cheers Matt

Happy Mothers Day

Some highlight photos from Lorna’s birthday lunch (my girlfriend’s sister) / Mothers day lunch at the Elizabethan Village Pub a very nice spot might I add, with excellent food and a big garden that the kids can play and explore.
Most of the shots are from my chair as I am not doing too much running around after the kids, as I’m still a bit sore from the crash. (a post on that coming soon) it was also a good chance to catch up with the rest of the family (in-law to be one day) booking Dennis, Katrina and the kids in for their family photo shoot next Sunday.

Oh and happy Mothers day mum, love ya.

Cheers Matt

The Cat is out of the bag...

Well, here we are at the very first post for Matt Devlin Photography, by yours truly, Mr Matthew D Devlin.
To be honest, I have been thinking (see procrastinating!) about a topic worthy of “the first post” but I then I came to realise it’s just a blog! I should just get on with it.

So what have I come up with? A “what to expect from me” post, and to sum it up in a nut shell, a lot.
I will of course try to keep it photo related or at least photography interested / interesting and to me that means it is going to be a mix of work and play. Think; highlights from a Zoo trip, a nice sunset I’ve seen or an early set of teaser shots from a wedding or photo shoot. (I know how exciting it is to get your teaser photos up after a shoot)
Most of all, it’s about giving people a chance to get to know me and my photography a bit better. Something that in my opinion is an important part to choosing a photographer, who ever you choose they should be a good fit for you and your family.

So to finish, I’m going to write about interesting things going on in my little part of the world, in and around Perth hopefully you find them just as interesting. I’m even going to throw out some helpful photo tips and hints from time to time, I will try not to get in to the technical info, more day to day stuff.

Cheers Matt


oh and every post needs a photo, so a snap shot of the city from last week!