Elk and Fir Photography

12/06/2026

11/05/2026

Mumma’s come in all shapes and spaces.
Biological, chosen, grieving, healing, trying, holding on.

All I know with absolute certainty is that motherhood is one of the most important roles there is. It asks everything of you. It stretches you, breaks you open, humbles you and somehow still fills your heart in ways nothing else can.

It is the most challenging role… yet the most rewarding.
The years are long, the moments fleeting, and somehow one day you look around and realise the chaos you once craved a moment away from became the very heartbeat of your life.

Today I hold close the mothers with full hands and the mothers with aching hearts.
A warm hug to those remembering their angel daughters today, those carrying love with nowhere physical to place it, and those quietly surviving days that feel impossibly heavy.

Motherhood never leaves us.
Love never leaves us. 🤍

22/04/2026

Okay… so I need to tell you about this one.

What looked like a photography workshop on the outside…
was actually something really, really special.

Our couple, Phil and Nataly, were celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary. And instead of making it about the cameras (which there were plenty of 😅), we quietly made it about them.

A slow walk into the mountains… ummm yes, 11km slow heheh.
Getting ready together, behind a blanket, facing out to the world.
Reading words they probably hadn’t said out loud in a long time.

And honestly… it never felt like a shoot.

It felt like we were just witnessing something really real, very sacred and private… in the most gentle way.

But here’s the part I didn’t expect…

In holding that space for them, it also gave us space.
To play with our skills.
To try something new.
To learn off each other… and we are so grateful to our couple for that.

Because yes… this is the part people don’t always realise…

My workshops aren’t about me standing there “teaching”.

They’re about me guiding you through how I’ve done things… and then collectively, we learn from each other in real time.

And honestly?
That is gold.

That’s the part I care about.
Not the “perfect shot”… but creating something that actually means something to the people in it… and to the people witnessing it too.

So yeah… a workshop on paper.

But in reality?
Two people choosing each other again, ten years later, out in the Blue Mountains.

And a group of creatives, quietly growing alongside that.

I just feel really grateful to have been part of it 🤍

Thank you Phil and Nataly for trusting me with something so special.

If you’re a couple sitting there thinking “this is exactly how we’d want it to feel”…
come say hi 🤍

and | or a TOG? Well, if this feels like your kind of “classroom”…
I’ve got you 🤍

🔗 in bio

22/04/2026

Okay… so I need to tell you about this one.

NOW on the Blog! (🔗 in bio)

What looked like a photography workshop on the outside…
was actually something really, really special.

Our couple, Phil and Nataly, were celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary. And instead of making it about the cameras (which there were plenty of 😅), we quietly made it about them.

A slow walk into the mountains… ummm yes, 11km slow heheh.
Getting ready together, behind a blanket, facing out to the world.
Reading words they probably hadn’t said out loud in a long time.

And honestly… it never felt like a shoot.

It felt like we were just witnessing something really real, very sacred and private… in the most gentle way.

But here’s the part I didn’t expect…

In holding that space for them, it also gave us space.
To play with our skills.
To try something new.
To learn off each other… and we are so grateful to our couple for that.

Because yes… this is the part people don’t always realise…

My workshops aren’t about me standing there “teaching”.

They’re about me guiding you through how I’ve done things… and then collectively, we learn from each other in real time.

And honestly?
That is gold.

That’s the part I care about.
Not the “perfect shot”… but creating something that actually means something to the people in it… and to the people witnessing it too.

So yeah… a workshop on paper.

But in reality?
Two people choosing each other again, ten years later, out in the Blue Mountains.

And a group of creatives, quietly growing alongside that.

I just feel really grateful to have been part of it 🤍

Thank you Phil and Nataly for trusting me with something so special.

If you’re a couple sitting there thinking “this is exactly how we’d want it to feel”…
come say hi 🤍

and | or a TOG? Well, if this feels like your kind of “classroom”…
I’ve got you 🤍

19/04/2026

Okay but like… can we just take a moment for pine trees 🌲 because WOW.

This sweet little engagement session with Geoff & Kirsty honestly felt like it was written for all of us some how!

We headed into the Redwood Forest in Vic — which already had my heart because, hi, pine trees are basically my personality at this point, but THEN Geoff casually mentions… this is where he proposed (well near by) 😭

I mean??? Stop it.

Have you ever been to Redwood? I did not even know it existed!

So there we were, wandering through these towering trees, light peeking through in that dreamy way, and these two just slipping back into that moment like it all happened yesterday. It felt quiet and magic and a little bit like time paused for a second.

Also me in the background internally screaming....

Honestly… a match made in heaven all round if you ask me ...

Geoff & Kirsty, you two are just the loveliest kind of humans … the soft, giggly, completely-in-your-own-world kind. The best kind. Always. 🤍

🌲🌿

31/03/2026

PART TWO of our wildly in-love couple Vanessa + Tnee.

You just feel it!
Right?

.face

24/03/2026

Check these out. Just a couple from our recent Blue Mountain Storytelling Elopement!

If you’re a photographer… or a couple quietly dreaming about eloping on a mountain… come closer for a second 🤍

Because I need to tell you something.

This spot?
Yeah… we worked for it. It was a fair hike. Legs felt it. Packs felt it. A little “why are we doing this again” moment in there too 😅

But then you get here… and everything just goes quiet.

And here’s the thing no one really tells you…

You don’t actually have to hike this far to get views like this.

There are so many places that give you that same expansive, wild, mountain energy… without the full trek.

Accessible. Slower. Still just as beautiful.

So whether you’re the kind of couple that wants the adventure… or the kind that wants to keep it gentle and grounded… both are so valid.

It’s never about how far you go.
It’s about how it feels when you’re there.

And trust me… it feels like this 🤍

This was taken out at Hanging Rock in the Blue Mountains during a recent Elk & Fir storytelling workshop… and part of why I run these is to show what’s possible, both with and without the big hike.

19/03/2026

So… this one?

PART 1…

This is what happens when you give a loved-up couple, a bunch of photographers, and a forest full of possibilities zero rules and just say… go play.

Part one of my Nomad Storytelling Session (and honestly, one of my favourite ways to shoot).

We didn’t start with “stand here” or “look at me.”
We started in the car.

Yep. Before they even stepped out.

Because real stories don’t begin when the camera comes out… they start in the in-between.
The “where are we going?”
The “should we turn left?”
The “wait, this feels like us.”

The plan for their day?
A road trip. Just something that felt like them.

So we pulled over, leaned on the bonnet, mapped out absolutely nothing…
and then just let it unfold.

Running through the forestry.
Laughing for no reason.
A guitar appearing out of nowhere.

And then…. plot twist…
they both start singing. Like… actually singing.
To each other. Like we weren’t even there. The actual goosebump stuff. Us Togs just looked at each other 😭

Add a couple of beers, a whole lot of freedom, and suddenly you’re not watching a shoot…
you’re watching a story happen in real time.

This is what I love about these workshops.
The couples aren’t “models.”
The photographers aren’t stuck in their heads.

Everyone just… softens a little.
Gets curious.
Plays.

Because this isn’t about finding a pretty spot and ticking boxes.
It’s about building something from the very first moment… and following it all the way through.

This was just the beginning.

And honestly?
It only got better from here.

— part 2 coming soon

Nomad sessions.
Real stories.
A little bit wild.

If you’re a couple that wants something a little bit different and centred more around you as a couple….

OR

A photographer that needs a little info or gentle guidance?

I am here for all of it!

Carissa xox

19/03/2026

Where am I?

17/03/2026

Sometimes I think people assume a photoshoot is just about the photos.

But instead of just being your photographer, I want us to approach your session as a creative collaboration.

For me, it’s about creating something that feels slow, deliberate, and real.

I’m here to document the feeling of your story, to try and encapsulate the soul of who you are as a couple.

There are no rules here. No expectations. All your ideas are welcome here🫶

Just come as you are, ready to love and be loved.

Sometimes before a session I like to ask couples a few questions, just to start dreaming things up together.

On slow mornings or free weekends, how do you love spending time together?

What shared interests have brought you closer… or sparked new adventures along the way?

Are there locations that hold sentimental value to you? Places you keep going back to?

Or somewhere new you’ve been wanting to explore together.

Because at the end of the day, this session isn’t for or about anyone else but you.

So get a little wild with it. Think outside the box.

Maybe you bake together at home.

Maybe you make pasta and open a bottle of wine.

Maybe we roam the city for the afternoon and finish the night at a bar.

Maybe we take a road trip somewhere that feels a little nostalgic, or a little chaotic… or both.

I’ve actually put together a guide with ideas and inspiration to help couples start imagining what their session could look like.

But honestly… the best ideas usually come from you.

So tell me,

what does a perfect day together look like for you?

Thank you to the gorgeous Vanessa and Tnee for joining us on this half day workshop for photographers on storytelling 👏
Carissa xox



Carissa