Christine Meintjes Photography » Blog

New York City

christine — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:48:27 +0000

Today is our 4th day in New York city. It’s about 1 degree outside and we’re ready to start the day. But before we head out, I want to share this set of pictures with you. It sums up the way I see New York*. A massive city filled with colour, lights and lots of little details…

*Due to limited Internet and time, Iaan and I are using Facebook to share some videos and photos, so if you want to have a look, head over to my Facebook page. More photos will be shared on the blog at a later stage. Enjoy!

My surprize bday party

christine — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:14:29 +0000

Tomorrow, the 4th of March will be my 26th birthday. It will be my first birthday away from home. It’s so strange to think I’ll only start celebrating the day here in the US, and all my friends and family will already be half way through the day in South Africa.

So this is what iaan and have planned for the day:
1. Have huge American pancakes for breakfast.
2. Do an uptown tour.
3. Hang out in Soho for the afternoon. See some arty spots and take some photos with my new Lomography camera.

Thank you to everyone for your bf messages and emails, I already started receiving some this afternoon. I really appreciate it!

I also want to thank my mom for organizing an amazing surprise birthday party/lunch the week before we left for the States. My mom IS the best chef I’ve ever come across. And I eat great food every weekend, but seriously, no one gets close to my mom’s cooking. Look at what she wiped up for my surprise birthday party. Now that’s what you call good food…and how cool was my cake?

I hope you enjoy the day with me! xox

Workshop | Share

christine — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:21:20 +0000

Everyone has been asking, so here it is. My 2nd workshop! (Before you email me or pick up the phone, please make sure you read the full post.)

Karen & Hannelien from MiraclesPhoto in Johannesburg emailed me a few months ago and asked me to host a private workshop for the 2 of them. But after thinking of everything, and of all the cool things we wanted to do, we decided to open up the workshop to 4 more photographers. So here is the deal:

The workshop will take place on 25- 26 March 2010
Due to the nature of the content, this workshop is only open to professional photographers (min 1 year of experience)
The workshop will take place in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The workshop will cover: business principals, equipment overview, a beautiful shoot, the basics of LR editing as well as tips on album layout as well as a yummy dinner and lunch!
R2500 pp
The first 4 people to fill in these forms and pay their deposit will get the seats!
I know many people have been asking for beginner’s classes, it’s on its way later this year!
If you don’t get one of the 4 seats, don’t cry…many more coming in the winter months! :)
Looking forward to meeting you guys!!

Please Note: You will receive an email confirming your seat! xox

My Day | Published

christine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:36:05 +0000

The other day a friend and I was walking through the mall. We popped into CNA and as usual, I headed straight to the wedding magazines. I paged through a few overseas mags and then I found this local little mag (only A5 in size) called My Day. As I was paging through I saw Michele & Chris’s wedding, which I photographed in March 2009:) I just smiled and then headed over to the cashier… had to buy this one :)

Julie & Derek | Vineyard Hotel

christine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:00:56 +0000

You’ll probably recognize Derek and Julie from their engagement shoot a few weeks ago. The couple tied the knot over the past weekend. The ceremony was held at the Anglican church in Kenilworth, followed by a super elegant reception at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town. Derek and Julie enjoyed every moment, while Jaco and Aleit from the Aleit Group made sure everything went according to plan.

While the guests were having some bubbly, a guy sketched some comical portraits of the guests. The reception area was a fresh combination of greens and white, with a dash of gold. Saturday was one of the hottest days of the year, but never the less it was one successful party!

Thanks to my friend Kristen Wood, for second shooting with me on the day.

Pamela & Ingram | Couple Shoot

christine — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:44:45 +0000

Pamela emailed me some time ago with a few questions she had about photography. She and her husband, Ingram are photographers in Namibia, north of South Africa. A few weeks ago, she emailed me again, but this time with a different request… She wanted to book a couple shoot. She excitedly explained that she’s never been in Cape Town and that she and Ingram would be coming down for a holiday. She then told me that they do a couple shoot every year and this year they wanted me to do it. I was so surprised when I met Pamela, who spoke fluent Afrikaans. Quite impressive, as she is originally from Austria :)

Was great meeting you guys! x

On my way to WPPI 2010 | Traveling

christine — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:23:28 +0000

Exactly in 7 days from now, iaan and I will be on our way to Cape Town International Airport! We will be heading out to the USA to attend the largest wedding & portrait photography conference in the world! Since I started my business, 4 years ago, I’ve dreamed of attending WPPI. This year will be their 30th anniversary and I just couldn’t let it go by without being there. So here we are, only 7 days away from one of my big dreams… to meet up with all the great photographers I’ve met online, to listen to Jasmine Star, to hang out with David Jay, attend the {b} school party and make more international friends. This truly will be a dream come true!

Flying out from South Africa to the USA is approximately a 19 hour flight! So iaan and I decided to extend the trip and see a few other places too. New York has always been at the TOP of my list. New York City will be our first stop and I’ll be spending my 26th bday over there! Woop Woop! Then we’re off to Vegas for WPPI and then off to Los Angeles to see Henry Chen & Nancy and all the other celebrities :)

I thought I’d just mention that I’m going to the US, for 3 reasons:

1. To all the brides that might be emailing me, please don’t panic, I’ll be back in the office 22 March :)

2. If you’re a photographer and would like to meet me at WPPI, follow me on twitter @cmeintjes.

3. If you’re a client and would like to do an engagement/couple shoot while I’m in the USA, please mail me to make a booking. Limited space available!

If you want to get bits of info as we travel, make sure you’re a fan on my facebook page. Videos and lots of fun stuff coming up :)

Travel dates & Cities:

2-6 March = New York City
7-11 March = Vegas (Wppi)
12-16 March = Santa Barbra & Los Angeles

Southern Weddings | Feature

christine — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:07:53 +0000

I just opened up Southern Weddings Magazine and on the front page was Estelle & Pieter’s wedding! Woop Woop! Thanks to Emily and her awesome team for showcasing my work! Can’t wait to meet some of you at WPPI in a few days! x

Kevin & Lerina | Clouds Estate

christine — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:03:25 +0000

I love to know the stories behind my couples, where they come from, how they met and all the other interesting things :) When I met Lerina I asked her to tell me a bit more about her life and where she come from. She said: “EVERYWHERE!” Lerina’s dad is an ambassador, so their family have been living in different counties all over the world. One of Lerina’s favourite places she said was India. Kevin however, had never visited India before and so that instantly became their honeymoon destination.

Kevin & Lerina held their wedding at the magnificent Clouds Estate in Stellenbosch. The venue carries the charm of a Tuscan villa and in the backdrop lies the Stellenbosch mountains & vineyards. Breathtakingly beautiful might I add! The wedding was held outside under the trees and the guests enjoyed canapes and drinks while we walked around taking their photos. Clouds is definitely one of my favourite venues. It’s intimate, stylish and lots of clean spaces to shoot. The rooms are gorgeous too!

Kevin & Lerina you were so much fun! Thanks for choosing me as your photographer! xox

The flower girl | portraits

christine — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:31:13 +0000

Danielle and her husband Estefan got married on the island of Bali a few months ago. But after returning they never expected to see such a sad face…Danielle’s sister’s little one was very upset that she never got to be a flower girl. After careful consideration, Danielle decided to get back into her dress, get all dolled up and take some more photos with her family and her flower girl here in Cape Town…what a cool idea :)

On the day the wind was howling and the girl’s hair was all over the show, but non the less, I still got some fun shots :)

For Photographers: I used a new preset to edit these shots. I wanted to add an arty look to the photos, but I’m not a fan of sepia, so I created a new “Sepia Love” preset :) Will be for sale soon…Will you be interested in purchasing presets for LR? Let me know what you think…