The kind & clever folks (and everyones favourite deep-etched noggin) at LENSEL ran a little interview about our work, specifically featuring the Neuendorf House wedding of Alison and Matt. Naturally, publishers must exercise curatorial brevity as a means of not boring people to death: so here, for those who like to lean into verbose tapestries of word-vomit, you can find the interview submission in full, it’s got some nifty extra tidbits in it.
Gear used — camera bodies, lenses, flashes?
I chop and change all the time. I think the gear does matter, every different thing we use is an entirely different expression, and the constraints imposed by a certain piece of gear changes our eyes and what we’re looking for in really wonderful ways.
Currently it’s a Hasselblad 500CM and assorted lenses, Canon R5 with a 24-70, Canon EOS 1v, and a few different varietals of Olympus Trip. I own a full studio kit of Profoto gear, which are so comically intuitive i’m quite annoyed that I didn’t sell a post evolutionary organ earlier to stock up on them. Included in that is the beast that is the A10 – but to be honest, i’m a huge fan of the old Canon 430EXII series flashes – they’re tiny, light, and I can get them for $50 if and when they break. Flashes have been around for decades and essentially all do the same thing: blast photons through a thin slice of petrochemicals, so i’m not really interested in any fancy stuff there, i’m interested in what’s convenient to carry and throws loads of light when needed, and the 430exII’s are little rippers, not yet made covetable by a famous rapper, and apart from not being able to phone-home and auto-deploy cat food, does the same thing a new $1.5k flash can on any camera I stick it on, all for the low low price of sending an “is this still available?” message on Facebook marketplace (and about $50).
Number of shooters on the day?
We had two in total – my fabulous friend Sarah, and myself. Having a second photographer who is not only skilled on the tools but as people-aware and connective in all the right ways Sarah is, is vital – and it helps when they’re a like-minded vocational masochist, too. All-in, at all-times, doing everything we can for the couple with energy and optimism from start to stumps. When they’re as good as she is, it isn’t long before you find yourself saying “so, I know you’re contracted for 6 hours, but how do ya feel about riding it out with me for 10 (paid)”.
Hours of coverage?
We went unlimited here – in practice, we roll up early enough to get another feel for the space and the slow roll-out of happenings, and finish after the lights go up. I also covered a tea-ceremony and rehearsal dinner the evening before, and Sarah and I rolled up for a couple of hours on the day after to make the most of areas of the space that weren’t able to be used on the main wedding day. I’m so glad we did this – it felt like we got to make images that really properly met the brief for the couple, and brought together the venue and themselves in ways that weren’t possible the day before.
Any details about the location or travel to get there?
Neuendorf House is located in the southeast corner of Mallorca. It was super accessible via car, and a disgracefully beautiful road trip from Palma airport.
Can you try sum up your photography philosophy or style in one or two sentences?
“Did we just hire an octopus?”. Nobody ever really knows the things that they’re going to fall in love with when they receive their gallery, so I like to try and squeeze every drop out of the couples experience and try and represent it in a variety of ways: if they come out with something that feels less like predictable editorial coverage and more like a treasure chest of every dynamic possible shot by 5 different people, then i’ll have done my job. That’s why I carry a variety of gear and dispositions to try and make a record that covers all ground from clean and classy, to offbeat and artistic, to chaotic and gritty. Couples are (hopefully) hiring any of us for having a point of view, and not being on autopilot. Thanks to algorithm favouring influencer-culture the zeitgeist is always see-sawing between ‘being a good businessperson is what matters’ and ‘the work doesn’t matter, producing lots of stuff matters’. Personally I think good craft is good business, and there will always be an appetite for stuff that’s well made, and that’s the space I’ve always hoped to play in.
Please list all vendors for crediting including planner, venue, videographer, florals, dress, suits, shoes etc
Venue: @neuendorfhouse Wedding Coordinator: @taliabell_events Photography: @briarsatlas Videographer: @nomattertheweather_films Gown: @alexandragrecco @mollygoddard Suit: @dior Makeup: @jenhoartistry Celebrant: @distinctivemallorca Catering: @organichefs_ Floral Design: @demares.studio Entertainment: @panela.productions Projections: @alonavic Projection Equipment: @auvipro Furniture: @otrocantardecoracion Stationery: @betterwithco
Tell us about the ceremony. How was the light and the location for the ceremony?
I knew we were getting the full “giant burning orb in the sky” special for the ceremony, which for me means loads of opportunity for working F8-16, and in a place like that, you generally either want super shallow depth of field or super deep. It would feel “off” shooting any images that feature the architecture for example, if you can detect the hard lines blurring out. This is how I like to shoot anyway – less reliance on blurring things out (all the time, anyway), more reliance on working that little bit harder to get layered images that are interested to look at with more things in focus, which I like to think makes the image that little bit more valuable to the couple.
A bit about a few images
Neuendorf House is spectacular top to tail, but the pièce de résistance is the front entrance to the enclosed gathering area, where they held their reception. On the wedding day itself we didn’t really get to utilise it, as the hosting team were doing their brilliant work getting things setup. So, we turned up the next day to make a bit more use of the space without the time pressures of the main day. This arrangement was Matts idea, and many of the great setups were the couples. I’m a keen collaborator thanks to plenty of time in advertising agencies and this job is notoriously isolating which can make for a bit of a lone-wolf flavoured ego; I think some of the best stuff happens when you work inside a proverbial square riding someone else’s enthusiasm, and then gently nurse the available ingredients from there. Matt legged it up to the rooftop, Alison was hanging around the front, I got them aligned (not terribly much work there in case you can’t tell), and simply let things happen. You can’t direct this stuff… get them in place, scratch whatever compositional itches matter, let them be, and make sense of it afterwards, it is possible to interfere too much. This one immediately feeling like an homage to my favourite painter, Jeffrey Smart.
As I had loads of cameras on me at any one time, and with some of them over 50 years old, there was bound to be a light leak somewhere in there. That’s half the reason I carry a diversity of them, it lets little happy accidents like this happen. One whole roll suffered this fate – I turned most of them to black and white, and they have this stunning withered newspaper print feel to them as a result that I love so much.
Matt referenced a noir eastern European photographer (who’s name escapes me) that made beautiful, high contrast black and white self portrait images with lots of leading lines. He has a bit of mountain goat in him I reckon, and when he scaled the far rear wall here as their friends played tennis on the recovery day, everything seemed to line up to channel that. Hard sun, F16, off to the races.
I usually love off camera flash for a bit of drama, but carrying a nifty little 35mm around with direct flash comes in handy loads of times. This is shot on Portra (I mostly stick to that stock these days), but since I self-scan my film rolls, I can dial things in a little bit different from a white-balance point of view using Negative Lab Pro in Lightroom (or the Capture One equivalent, as i’m exploring transitioning back). I love this feel, as it has something closer to a Cinestill temperature, with all of the incredible goodness of that line of Kodak films, and stands out a little in the final gallery against the regular warmer Portra scans.
For me, these simple reception tableauxs are some of my favourite parts of the day, and nothing brings them to life quite like Kodak film. I’ll hunt around the room looking for people on their phones or engaging with others across the table or in conversation behind them, look in the other direction pretending my attention is elsewhere so they don’t feel like they’re being observed, and just wait for a nice flattering moment where a few simple things are happening that work nicely together.
How would you describe the overall styling, creative direction, or vibe of the wedding? What were some of the standout design elements in the styling of location of the wedding?
“Restrained bombast” comes to mind. But if you throw that word into google, it’s not flattering, but I mean it in the most flattering way. The floral design installations by Demares were outstanding – explosions of perfectly designed chaos, within the lines – just like the architecture of Neuendorf House itself, a nuclear bomb of design let loose in a thimble.
How did you prepare for the day? Moodboarding, design planning, gear planning.
I occasionally aspire to be a mood-board’er and prepare ideas ahead of time, but then i’m reminded time and again that my bigger skill is simply going fishing in a cyclone. What I do plan is my gear and timings, and make sure they’re on lock, which let’s me be agile and exploit great things as they unfold, without getting too caught up on something planned. If I have everything I need at my disposal, charged and ready and on hand, i’ll feel able to do what I do best, which is be responsive, and catch moments and ideas as they come that can be arranged beautifully and thoughtfully in the editing process. I’ve seen enough David Lynch interviews now to feel fairly validated in that disposition (even if I only have the creativity myself of 1/5th of his left nasal hair).
Please tell us about the getting ready stages of the day? How do you normally approach capturing this time? Please comment on any specific shots.
This chaos is one of my favourite parts of any day. Off the cuff, wildly unpredictable, and famously lacking in adhesive to timelines or constraints. It’s the only “off” part of the day, where loads of people are in their own natural garb, so it’s a beautiful mix of informal and formal. This is where I try and put a bit of a Nan Goldin hat on, and get some more “proof of life” moments, and represent not only intimate moments of self with people, but also tableaux of organisation, disorganisation, togetherness, chaos and anticipation.
Tell us about the ceremony. How was the light and the location for the ceremony?
There’s several brilliant representations of Neuendorf House ceremonies available online, and Alison and Matt are meticulously minded art lovers, so it was an intimidating thing going into. You just need to turn all that stuff off, roll up ready, and go all in for the people in front of you. The location writes itself, and the light was smashing at ceremony time, which meant lots of room for deep-aperture layered images, and given the speed of a ceremony, making sure that verite images we’re made, as well as some that are interesting visually and spoke to thoughtful use of the setting.
Did you have a team, or second shooter? Where did each plan to go? How did you delegate tasks?
I was fortunate to have a brilliant second shooter, Sarah Tee. She’s a friend from back home, so it was a no-brainer to have someone along who’s eye I trust (and way more importantly, energy, room-reading skills, and a unique ability to dial herself up or down as the occasion/personality in front of her requires). I prefer to work with someone great, and just let them loose and not impinge on their natural game. With that said, I personally like taking direction sometimes when collaborating, it also brings out good stuff. Sarah took loads of initiative in using the space in ways that I wasn’t able to – getting to the top of Neuendorf House, rear shots during the ceremony to capture critical stuff I couldn’t possibly have gotten, and later in the evening, taking on the strobe for a stripped down version of my live studio booth at home, Blanc. I’m super comfortable working solo and slipping into octopus mode with 27 cameras hanging from me, but in Mallorca was reminded of how game-changing it is to have a great second photographer on the tools.
Did you use a drone in the ceremony?
I don’t use drones, but, Sunn O))) are a vibe, word-up to Sinking Belle.
Did you have locations scouted?
Nobody with a pair of functioning retinas and legpaddles would call Neuendorf House small, but it was a super quick venue to traipse around – a quick whip around the place, and it was pretty evident where we’d be spending our time, and that because it was all so stunning, there was little point getting too prescriptive in pre-planning things – also because the light changed so dramatically and meaningfully across the day. So the real brief here was to pick some general areas, and just spend time there at the time we could get there. And really, the heavy lifting here was done by the enthusiasm and lean-in of Alison and Matt, the latter of whom was up for getting some spicy aerial work in on the tall structures.
Any portrait or candid moment that surprised you?
Matt throwing his legs over the structure, about three stories high, gave me the goolies good and proper. I trusted he knew what he was doing, but still felt a professional obligation to shout “are you sure” a few too many times, as currently my resume for pancake’d grooms is sitting, and hopefully staying at, zero. I think I then returned the standing-hairs favour to Alison, when the symmetry-pedant in me then asked Matt to shimmy across to align with a shadow-gap at ground level above Alisons head (soz Alison). One of my favourites though, might be Matts sister caught out the side of my eye with a plate of butter on her head, which gave the old kneecaps a test as I sprinted over to catch it in the right way.
What stood out about the reception styling, space, or energy?
Demares brilliant floral arrangements were such a tasteful explosion of accents against the architecture, which given how distinct it’s own voice is, calls for care in anything being put up against it. The projections by Alona made an incredible use of the large reception wall too, and Talia Bell and her team did such a great job of orchestrating the space seamlessly between the dinner and dance floor.
How was the lighting in the reception and how did you think about capturing it??
The real surprise at Neuendorf House, was how delicately complex it was representing the hues of the building. It would’ve been easy to throw a muted preset over the set and have it look incredible, which would have, in my mind, just shaved off so much goodness of the natural tones of the structure. The challenge there of course is that balance between representing the skin tones in the right way too, since both those and the buildings colour sit within a similar tonal bracket – all of which changed dramatically over the day. So the editing process – 21,000 images over the 3 days in total between the two of us, and a final gallery of 3500 edited images – was very involved, and I gleefully placed a few solid tokens into the old phalanges future arthritis bank.
How did you think about using flash or not?
I’ve been blasting flash at all times of day and night for a decade, so it was a no brainer to bring it out all over the day here. It’s of course super necessary as things get dark, but there’s also really great Martin-Parr’esque ways of representing things that can be found by pulling a flash out in broad daylight. In general, whether day or night, throwing flash on the gear means you can enter F16’s-ville with reckless abandon, and that’s a very special zone with anything shot on film.
Thanks LENSEL for this generous feature, and Alison and Matt, for being standup scallywags and having us along.
