Hope Happens

December

This was our final photo shoot and it was to be the final month in the calender.

Lisa had a dream....the dream was to include as many Macleay residents as possible in this calender, she wanted a person or group to represent each area.

Most places were eager, some were a little difficult to find a group willing to disrobe.

The thing that was bothering Lisa was we had no one that we knew of to represent Gladstone, Smithtown however, we had the Hot Rod guys who organised their beatuiful cars to be in the shot and was to be taken on the banks of the Macleay River that sweeps past Smithtown.

We organised to meet at the Riverside Hotel and while we were waiting for the models to arrive.......Lisa, as I mentioned before has very persuasive talents decided to try once more to find a Gladstone representative.

Into the Hotel she went, determined to find someone... anyone that lived over the river.

Most men shook their heads with a definate NO! But one guy....we only needed one, said yes....Where do you live? ummm close to Gladstone.....that will do!

Lisa just forgot to mention that he had to take his clothes off....worry about that later!

Okay off we zoom to the riverside bank and park the cars so the backdrop is the river, Just across the road the neighbours all came out for a giggle and a car kept driving past, beeping its horn! We had a audience - The boys handled it very professionally.

They all posed themselves around the hot rods and then the guys began to disrobed and the look on the Gladstone man when he realised what he had to do was priceless...what had he got himself into!

But he was a very good sport and went along with the whole thing in great spirits.

These men kindly ran the raffle and BBQ on the day of the launch - what legends!

November

This would have to be the most talked about month...I have a feeling it would be the comical factor as the reason.

These great blokes and one lady from Stuarts Point have done their town proud! It was completely their own idea and concept and Lisa and I couldn't have asked for a better pose!

I am often asked, "How did you do it?".....How come they're so happy..he he?.....what's the secret?

Not telling - trade secrets!!

The team put in a lot of effort, a big dash of sense of humour and a fantastic attitude to create one of the most popular months of the calender.....well done!

Theses guys were a cheeky lot, that kept Lisa and I in hysterics - with jokes flying and funny antics these guys all contributed in making this calender so popular.

Put your tools down - change positions - mmmmmmm I left myself open for some cheeky responses

The wonderful lady, the only lady in the shoot was a fantastic sport. Janine should be very proud to represent the females in the fire brigade - well done and three cheers for you!

The lovely thing about being involved in the calender as I got to meet so many great people all willing to help raise money for such an important cause...I think in a lot of ways, most of us are touched someway by cancer and of the models (133 Macleay residents) it was their way to show their support.

Now for a complete topic change and a bit of a plug for a well deserved model, Dave Young........

go and try YOUNGY'S CHOICE

If you are ever at SWR markets on a Saturday morning make sure you drop in at Dave Youngs stall where he and his lovely wife sell the most yummiest jams, sauces and pickles you would ever taste!

I was very fortunate to try some Jam and mango butter - to die for! the Chilli however I left to my hubby as Im not a HOT food lover - but he said it was great! They make a really really hot chilli as well!

October

Splish Splash.....the Aqua fitness ladies are true legends!

Ummmm well I suppose I have to say the first shoot was a bit of a disaster..the light was harsh and bright, the location was a little too far way as we had to trek over rocks and such. We had way too many props.. he he not that props are not good but you can have too many!

We decided to take the ladies to the mermaid Pools... the idea was fantastic...and Deb Lisa and myself could imagine what a great scene it would make to have the ladies lolling about in the water like beatuiful mermaids.....the reality was it was way too difficult to get the ladies down the rocks....ohhh dear as soon as we reached the spot I knew the light was not going to be kind and I tried really hard to make the best of the situation...mmmm I was not happy Jan! I explained to Lisa that there was a problem and we decided to reschedual another day but this time keep it simple - back to the pool!

The relief to abandon all togs all props and be lucky enough to have a lovely overcast day was a blessing straight away I knew that this was going to be so much better.

The ladies seemed to be more at ease and felt at home with the water creating a natural prop.....yehah it worked and I went home knowing that we were right to rephotograph.

The only thing that was missing and I am kicking myself everytime I look at the calendar as that we should have had Steve in the background mowing the lawn in the nude!

I am positive we would have sold so many more calendars.

Well done Ladies and thank you for your patience, time and sense of humour!

Thanks to Deb for her encouragement and kind persistance in involving so many ladies.

A little glimpse of the first shoot.....

Too many props!

Yes we got it! Go girls!

September

Hear the Lion roar.....what a great bunch of blokes!

This was the very first shoot....I had never, ever met Lisa (only talked on the phone) I didn't have a clue what to expect...I didnt know who I was photographing only that they were a bunch of Lions.

I turned up, everyone was standing around...I recognised a familiar faces Neil McKay being one, which was nice.... (he was a bit worried that his daughter Sharon was hiding in the bushes secretly taking the mickey out of him), a few nervous jokes and my brain was ticking what, how, where, sun, shade, clothes how do I ask, what should I say......and so on ...they brought along their aprons for a prop phew...that made it a little less akward.

I suggested they stand around a BBQ...well okay the Lions often stand around BBQ's so I thought it might make them a little relaxed, so off they stripped and they all hid behind the concrete BBQ at Little Bay...okay all warmed up now boys? Let hit the beach!

This could have been another sausage shoot!

All the guys started to feel a little relaxed...hey this is not so hard! feeling relaxed they flung themselves over some rocks...okay not flung, but kindly postioned themselves for maximum effect.

Okay boys turn around now and head towards the water for a behind the scenes glimpse...fantastic now turn around and wave...great WOW we did it our first shoot in the bag and thank you Lions for your grand poses and making our first time not too daunting.

It was one of my favourites!

August

He he he ha hah......it was Lisa's time in front of the camera.

The Cancer Committee are the people behind the scenes organising the Relay for Life relay making sure that everything goes according to plan...these special ladies work very hard to make this weekend a success!

The last relay was a fantastic effort for The Macleay area.

We had 60 teams with 888 participants and raised a whopping $81,000

I suppose this is a great time to say.....GET A TEAM IN...and join in the fun!

All you have to do is register and round up a couple of your friends and walk, walk walk....talk, talk, talk, be entertained, be inspired, be involved for the fight against cancer.

You can register online www.cancercouncil.com.au

Now back to the photo shoot......it was a truly beautiful clear day, typical of South West Rocks weather...and we decided to go to Lighthouse Beach as it is fairly deserted.

Well thats what we thought, as soon as the girls disrobed along came about 3 4wds driving past........hurry up Leah was said quite frequently.

The girls stood on a sand dune and waved to the light house...it sounded so corny at the time but it made the cover of the calendar.....

Lisa carried a ladder down to the beach...gosh that girl is strong and I had to stand on it to get a different perspective. Sand and ladders don't mix too well.

It seemed to work well, then more fishermen walked past....hurry up Leah

July

This shoot touched my heart as the wonderful older gentlemen were just so accommodating and just so lovely....Lisa was so determined to have Hat Head represented in a page in the calender that she rounded up a few men that were having a few quite beers at the club and these guys volunteered to do this on the spot.

A little bit of insider information was Lisa had been trying sooooo very hard to find a group to represent Hat Head to no avail and luckily for us we stumbled on these great willing guys while we were shooting the Surf club lads.

The props at first were a bit of a problem till someone came up with the idea of using the mats...I never realised they used these things whilst bowling so I learnt something new that day.

They all participated with huge hearts and huge smiles and bowled proud for their little bit of nude posing for Hat Head and Cancer research.

Three cheers for the Hat Head Bowlers...or just shout them a well earned beer!

June

Ummmm well I have to admit I laughed so much I could hardly take photos at this particular shoot.

Lisa and I turned up at the Macleay Mustang football fields on their training day....nobody told us that about 6 other teams trained the same day...we were feeling a bit like two little fish out of water .

We mulled around until some of the boys led the way...now I believe, as does Lisa, that only some of the guys were informed that this photo session was suppose to be nude as if you could have seen the faces of some when discovered what they had to do was absulutely priceless!

They lined up each with a football and stripped down to their undies....that was all fun with jokes flying thick and fast...until the coach announced ok boys all off...WHAT!!!!!

So down they come carefully keeping the football strategically placed...uhhhohhh the Mustangs kicked their undies in the foreground....ummmummm Lisa, my dear wonderful assistant, crowd controller, driver, prop suggestor ummm the undies have to go!

Lisa looking at the job of picking up 11 pair of undies was not that enthusiastic ..I don't know why!

....so thinking quickly Lisa picked up a stick and proceeded to fling the undies over the football field...I was in serious stitches...so much so I had tears in my eyes the guys were laughing too as they just had to stand their protecting the ...well you know...and Lisa well did a fantastic job...cleaning up!

During the shoot the other teams bare witness to the shoot as well but were too far away to give them too much curry!

Thanks Mustangs for the laughter, tears and wonderful team spirit!

May

This month was Lisa's favourite month...and you have to agree it has a wonderful endearing quality to it...the bonding between mother and child.

This photo shoot included our youngest model, Benjamin aged only 9 weeks old, the babies were all so cute and they were quite happy to be snuggled close to Mum for the photo.

It's funny when we were asked about this photo as most people were under the impression that it was taken in a studio...he he well to tell you the truth it was actually taken in a Kempsey back yard with a huge piece of material pegged to a clothesline....even the neighbours were out and about and were unawares to what was going on!

The mums all look so beautiful and at ease and we thank you for the opportunity and trusting us to photograph your precious bundles for the calendar.

I hope when these little bubs grow up they will be proud of the fact they assisted and were involved in such a fantastic project.

April

Well this shoot was a mammoth effort on Lisa's part as she had to approach all the men she knew in South West Rocks and plead...beg...yes on hands and knees to persuade them to pose on a Sunday and on Main Beach to disrobe for the calendar.

As I mentioned before Lisa is very persuasive and all the guys were happy to help her out....and she managed to gather a huge assortment of men....and one dog for a very entertianing photo shoot.

Not only did the boys have to venture into very cold water, they also attracted a crowd of spectators...who whistled, cheered and clapped these wonderful brave men!

I was very proud of our South West Rocks men.

March

Ummmm welll this shoot was very interesting and created a strong level of interest when published.

I have to say these blokes were fantastic and their attitude towards this project was awesome, Lisa and I was especially impressed with the many props they brought along with them.

Each prop signified their type of job they are in.

Needless to say the butcher and his sausages looked.... well you could say very intriguing!

The Cresent Head boys stood at the top of Big Nobby...on the golf course with the wonderful view of Little Nobby in the background.

The golfers that day got a great view too!

We had a baker and son, butcher, carpenter, chef, surfboard maker, and real estate agent.

After a lot of laughs and a little bit of digging we changed spots and took some extra shots behind a rustic old fence - no need for the props..only the sausages!