Family

Who ever said working with family was a bad idea obviously hasn't been a part of my family. Emma & I have actually worked together  for the past 5 years or so. It started off serving bread rolls & making chicken wraps at the bakery just a minute up the road from where we lived, getting paid cash in hand and having riotous karaoke christmas parties.
For another time we would sit on a shuttle bus at 4am most days of the week taking us from the dark carpark to the Qantas domestic terminal where we would laugh & cry at the hilarity and pain only 4am starts could bring.
We made our way through various other hospitality ventures and this is actually the first time I've stopped and considered how very blessed we are to now be collaborating on 'work' that see's us both in the fields that we dreamed of not all that long ago.

These photos were taken a windy Autumn afternoon when the light was low, with a team of only two and the advantage of knowing her face probably better than my own.
They are to accompany a track - a taste - from her upcoming album. Listen to Never In a Million Years here but definitely watch out for a first single coming very soon.

Photos: Emma Birdsall by Rachel Kara

theatre

 

It was VOGUE, so of course it was the best. Derek Henderson (my long time photo love) behind the lens, Victoria Baron making face, Christine Centenera dressing, Alan White...hair whispering. Mulberry, Cartier, Tiffany.
Name(drop) aside, what I witnessed on this day was hard work in it's purest joy bringing form. The type of work where people are doing exactly what they should be, what they were destined to be. From the moment we arrived mid-morning with sun streaming through the closed doors of the Enmore Theatre the quick and quiet pace was set for the tight schedule ahead whilst an effort was made to maintain an air of luxurious calm. So Vogue.
With Emma in the hair & makeup chair for a typical two hours, I found plenty of time for a scout around the empty theatre, lots of camera talk with a befriended fellow one-man entourage, a quick chat with Mr Henderson (as he was crunching on an apple), and perhaps a cup of tea or two to pass that last little 'almost done' bit. The actual taking photo part was an apparent breeze as we even had time for a sweet serenade. As she sat in that booth twiddling the pencil in hand and singing whatever jazzy number it was that had sprung to mind, the whole crew came to a standstill.
Unforgettable.

Oh and incase you havent seen the final result....

...not bad Sis!

Photos: Rachel Kara (Behind The Scenes),
Emma Birdsall by Derek Henderson (final shot) for Vogue Australia, October '12.

Presenting...

Woolworths - The Voice from Craig Rasmus on Vimeo.

If you saw that Woolworths was trending last night, I think this may have been why. 

It was only a week or so ago that we were picked up in a big black car before the sun came up, and slept as the city and morning traffic passed us by with our heads lolling, sunk into the comfy back seats. Note to self: don't get used to the extreme luxury of having a driver - comfortably sleeping whilst getting from A to B will cause accidents on any other regular 'day in the life'.  It was a particularly cold and reasonably long day, especially for my bebe (please note I have no particular role of importance other than minion and general sisterly support) who was deathly sick but miraculously managed to look like a perfectly perky 1940's diva each and every one of the (many) takes.  Just one ad break out from the end of The Voice grand finale the final clip was aired and our loungeroom sat silently mesmerised and saw it was worth every single second...every minute, every hour - sorry, an obvious song reference should always be expected from me - of that chilly winter day spent in a big, black warehouse on the 'other' side of Sydney. Big ups to the band too! What funny chaps they were and how dapper are off white suits? Oh and before you boo me off tonight for my particularly messy grammar and sentence structuring I think one more lot of people deserve a mention, the crew from The Feds, the ones who actually do the work. 

Sorry sis but you're stuck with me now, I'm in for the ride baby! 

Photos: Rachel Kara  please do not repost without permission and credit!