My Captured Life

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My Captured Life

Lifestyle and documentary photographer from Wollongong, Australia, striving to capture the art and b

12/09/2021

Last month I was beyond excited to be selected as a finalist for the 2021 Australian Life photographic prize held by City of Sydney. To have my image selected amongst such an esteemed group of photographers is for me the highest honour. Disappointingly, due to Covid, the exhibition which normally takes place in Hyde Park has had to be moved to an online format.

This Thursday Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore will announce the winner of the $10,000 prize and People's Choice award. Whatever the outcome, I am so proud, however, if you would like to throw a vote my way for the People's Choice I would be truly grateful (link in comments). Either way, please do yourself a favour and visit the online gallery and enjoy this incredibly beautiful and diverse collection of images.

Shelley

**Because facebook tends to limit exposure to linked posts, I've attached the link to the online gallery in the comments of this post.**

11/05/2021

I feel like I only pop something up here when I have something to 'brag' about. Awards don't mean a whole lot when it comes to the subjectivity of art, but at the end of the day they do provide us insecure photographers with a tiny speck of validation.

With that said, I was delighted to open up my Capture magazine to see that I had placed 3rd in the Australia's Top Emerging Photographer Awards in the documentary category. The volume of talent in this competition is incredible and I am honoured to have my images alongside some amazing artists!

The images for this series, entitled 'A day in the life of a summer holiday' were shot in a single day, using a documentary approach, while on holidays in the sleepy coastal town of Lemon Tree Passage, staying in what I can only describe as a quirky, old holiday house by the bay.

All images were shot with my Canon 6D body and Sigma 24mm f1.2 lens.

Shelley X

17/05/2020

Eek! I just received the latest Capture magazine and was blown away to find out that I was selected among the Top 12 Portrait artists in the Australia's Top Emerging Photographer competition for 2020. The category is a really tough one as this country is full of amazing portrait makers, so I could not be more thrilled and grateful to have my name up there with them.

These images are part of a series 'Children at rest'. These three candid portraits of my daughter, Lola, pay homage to one of my favourite childhood traits - all the weird and wonderful (but mostly weird) ways that children choose to rest.

P.S. I don't tend to spend much time on social media these days, however I still post semi-regularly to my Instagram account. If you want, you can find me there at instagram.com/mycapturedlife_photoblog

04/01/2020

In Australia, we've grown accustomed to life under smokey skies. 12 million acres burnt, 500 million animals killed. And we are told the worst is yet to come. This is our sad reality as we welcome the new decade.

I've been asked 'what can we do to help?' so I'm sharing this image and information again. So many people and so many wildlife organisations are unable to keep up with the number of victims.If you can spare a few dollars the following organisations need your help -

The RFS: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/general-news/how-you-can-help

Vinnies Bushfire Appeal: https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-nsw

Wires (wildlife) https://www.wires.org.au/

WWF Bushfire Rescue https://www.wwf.org.au/get-involved/bushfire-emergency

Wildlife Victoria https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/

Koala Ark https://www.aussieark.org.au/koala-ark/

Salvos https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/

The Red Cross https://www.redcross.org.au

Having worked in animal welfare I know the wildlife charities get almost no government funding and rely almost entirely on donations from the public - they are always understaffed and under resourced, especially now.

In the long term, we need action on climate change. The drought fuelling this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It’s scary to think what our children’s future might hold. ❤️

10/12/2019

Smoke collecting on the horizon creates an eery glow, yet no one bats an eyelid. Welcome to our new normal.

02/09/2019

In honour of Father's Day, I thought I would share a few images from my ongoing documentary photo series 'All the ways I love you'. Love is not just grand gestures and proclamations, but is present in all the quiet, ordinary, understated moments too.

09/06/2019

Thank you Canon Australia for this wonderful feature of my work and interview. Proud to be rocking my Canon gear! ❤️

01/05/2019

Sooo...something pretty rad happened this week...

A couple of months ago I received an email reminding me that submissions for Capture magazine's annual Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographer competition, were due. On the last day I hastily threw together a few collections of images I had been working on - all shot over our summer holidays. With a busy couple of months I completely forgot about my entries so when my Capture Magazine arrived I was shocked to see my name in print, not one but three times. All three sets of images I had entered had made it into the Top Ten for their respective categories - 3rd place and 7th place in the Documentary/Photojournalism category for my family documentary work and 8th in the Portrait category for a collection of portraits of my daughter. Success in art shouldn't be measured by awards and accolades - art is personal and subjective. However I have to admit, in this often lonely business, to have your work recognised by those you admire and respect is a wonderful and validating feeling.

I have been particularly slack at updating my website of late so to celebrate I have blogged (yay me!) all three sets of images.

If you care to, you can see the sets in full here: https://www.shelleyreis.com.au/new-blog/2019/4/28/australias-top-emerging-photographer-2019

28/04/2019

Happy birthday to this sweet and sassy kid. FIVE revolutions around the sun today.

As I was putting her to bed she squealed with delight as she stretched her arms out and realised she could reach from one end of her bed to the other - something she's likely been able to do for some months. In amazement she said "Look what I can do! That's all because I'm five now". We threw a roller skating party for her and she skated like a boss with this newfound confidence, refusing to hold my hand or let me help her, because she "can do it now" because she's 5.

I love how much empowerment can come with a number. Here's to being five.

11/12/2018

What are birthdays for if not to guilt your family into a rare photo with you?! Full Wes Anderson vibes for the latest instalment in my birthday self portraits

And last year's image, which will likely never be outdone, in the comments.

15/10/2018

To say I'm excited would be a huge understatement. Today the results of the 2018 Australian Photography Awards - APA were announced and I was honoured to have three of my images selected as finalists. I didn't win the top honours, but just to have my humble documentary family work recognised among the huge pool of amazing talent that this country has to offer is a privilege that I don't take for granted.

You can see all the finalists in the APA Documentary category here: https://www.australianphotographyawards.com.au/galleries/2018-documentary/

FYI I know this page has been quiet of late, but if you'd like to see more of my work you can find me on Instagram at instagram.com/mycapturedlife_photoblog where I post regularly.

12/07/2018

The Australian Bush, even more beautiful in Winter.

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Wollongong, NSW
2500

Website

http://www.shelleyreis.com.au/

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