Main Photographer: Danita Marais

Assistance: Mariska Marais Venter & Philip Marais

Camera body: Olympus Tough TG-310 Sponsored by Artic Digital Bloemfontein

Models: Hendrik Kriel & Minet Swart

H2O equipment: Adriaan Botha @ Bsac Diving Club in Bloemfontein

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who made this photo session possible, without this team I would not have been able to put this genre of photos on my portfolio. This was a dream come true! I’ve always wondered how one approaches these type of photos, what equipment one needs ect. Artic Digital in Bloemfontein sponsored the underwater camera, and I must admit, this last month has been crazy in the office with losing 3 grandparents between myself and Mariska, my 30th Birthday (believe it or not), The Passover, Mariska’s wedding (this coming weekend!), clients and so on…

We almost cancelled this shoot, but I really couldn’t have let this opportunity pass. So last week Mariska and myself went for a crash course on how to “breathe” and move under water, and we took a lot of test shots before meeting with the models. Luckily all this could be done in a heated swimming pool as neither of us are fond of the cold!  I will not lie to you, I was a bit stressed as I had all these crazy, fun ideas of what to do underwater, just to realize that the practical side to this medium is quite different than normal “dry” land photography. For example one can not communicate with your models and we all had to breathe, therefore move and change position constantly. Also different mediums react differently under water… but in the end I’m happy with the final results.

A big shout out to Artic Digital, Minet Swart, Hendrik Kriel and Mariska Venter! Thank you, for your patience and support which made this whole event a reality! Hope you enjoy the photos!

Main Photographer: Danita Marais

Assistant: Mariska Marais

What a day! We thoroughly enjoyed this couple from the first meet up. Mark & Leandré are both very practical and straight forward. When I asked what Leandré had in mind for the photos, or if there were specific photos that I need to take, her reply was : “I trust you. You’ll know what works best…” I must admit it takes a subconscious weight of ones shoulders when your couples trust you and likes to follow your lead. Well, to start off, their wedding day was freakishly cold and it rained from Friday till Saturday just before the wedding ceremony started. After the rain the wind started up and poor Leandré and her brides maids really had to keep a straight face. I started to joke and said loudly: “Wow, what lovely Hawaii, tropical weather we have… it’s such a beautiful, warm and sunny day”  We all fooled our brains for a few minutes, but after that we really had to keep warm by moving around and dogging the wind around corners. Through this, Mark and Leandré’s focus stayed captivated on each other, their loving gazes and smiles at each other made the photo session much easier. Mark’s jokes and Leandré’s smiles & playfulness made this fun for everybody around them. Mark & Leandré – May your marriage be blessed! And your love for each other grow stronger every day!

Main Photographer: Danita Marais

This was an exciting wedding combined with lions and tigers! I was able to go into some of the cages and take photos from the inside, you can imagine the thrill! Unfortunately the bigger lions are not as manageable (and friendly), but the small cubs were adorable and very playful. My husband, Philip, and I even went back the day after the wedding and spent some time in the cages playing with 3 week old cubs up until 5 -7 month old cubs. (I couldn’t resist, there is some photos in this gallery of the cubs as well) What an experience! The guests all took photos, like the paparazzi, in between the ceremony and reception of the feeding and playing of the “posing” lions My heart nearly skipped a beat when I was taking photos with the bridal couple, suddenly everybody around us fell silent, the tension in the air was tangible, Philip whispered very discreetly close to my ear: “Don’t make sudden movements, stand still, don’t worry… one of the Caracal’s (Rooikat) came out of it’s cage” . When I took my eyes away from the camera I saw that the Caracal jumped into the tree closest to the bride, sitting in a high branch looking down at the bride. I bet it was smiling, thinking: How good would my paw look on that white dress?? Needless to say I tried my best to get the bride away from that setting a.s.a.p! I remember all weddings as clear as day, but this adventure will be one of the special ones

Main Photographer: Danita Marais

This wedding was very special to me as I’ve known Amelia since childhood. It was such an honour to be their photographer. The event was a very intimate occasion, filled with laughter and lots of love. Both Jannie & Amelia adores nature, so the setting at Emoya Estate was perfect for a natural, Free state atmosphere. With the sun setting behind them, they walked hand-in-hand, talking and giggling as I set them up for different poses… I’m so glad that they found each other. A perfect match!

Venue: Oliewenhuis

Event: Movie night arranged by Fractal

Photographers: Mariska & Danita

On-site printing done by: Rika & Jury Nel from Imajix

Main Photographer: Mariska Marais

Willem & Naledi decided to have a morning wedding with a light brunch for the reception. I only met the couple at Oliewenhuis after their ceremony. I took a lot of  relaxed (not posed) photos in the garden area to suit their personalities. Luckily it turned out to be  a beautiful summer’s day.

Main Photographer: Danita Marais

Second shooter: Mariska Marais

The theme for Michiel & Rentia’s wedding was birds, a new and totally different approach than the usual. I just loved taking photos of all the details. It was also quite exciting to be able to take photos of a vintage car, their flower girls and ring bearers on the rail road! We used all our skills to convince the children that a train will not catch us off guard and run us over… The reception area looked stunning! I’m sure Michiel & Rentia exceeded all expectations, they really made their wedding a memorable day for their guests. (Some of them even came from Germany!)

Main Photographer: Danita Marais

Second Shooter: Mariska Marais

Venue: Ugie – Eastern Cape

We had so much fun at this wedding! The scenery in and around Ugie is beautiful and even through a lot of rain, mud and power failures it was a big success. With the site visit on friday we were taken on a 4×4 tour through the woods, where a herd of Zebra’s welcomed us. With the whole expedition we almost got stuck in a big mud pool! Luckily Karien and Stephan kept on smiling and in the end we felt so at home and were quite sad to travel back to Bfn. Our first set of mud boots were bought on the wedding day… this wedding will definitely be remembered…

Assistant: Danita Marais

Venue: ABIB Conference Centre