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Welcome to the Cherish Series Webpage!

The Cherish Series is a unique project by Photographer Ian Mitchinson.

The project is simple, it is a special collection of themed and specific image assignments focusing on something that we in life Cherish.  Is it each other, is it the moment, is it the dress? what is it?  Its really up to you.

The goal of this project is to form a collection of imagery to push the limits of portrait photography and also to focus on something specific.  I want to find people that are interested in doing a special photo assignment with me and my team of artists.  There are no limits to the Cherish Series.  It can be fun, it can be deep, it can be anything really, anything that you Cherish.  Maybe you were unable to find the photographer that you wanted on your wedding day, maybe your photography wasn't to your liking, or maybe you want to go deeper and explore something that you simply will cherish forever.  The culmination of this series will be in the form of a coffee table book of beautiful and thought provoking imagery of people in love, for people in love.

Each assignment will be done in studio and on certain locations (depending on the assignment).  It will include make up by Sebastine Pepler, outfits if needed, and whatever else is required to achieve the final result.  In some cases we may need to take a series of images and then retouch and edit to achieve the intended result.  In this limitless Endeavour the whole idea is to create pure art, with a theme that can be Cherished forever.

Some ideas that are floating around and that I am interested in exploring are the Renaissance, Flight, Eternity, The Earth, and I want to combine this with you and your most loved one.  This is something new and I need you to work with me to make something that you never thought you could be a part of.

Included in all the Cherish shoots will be Fine Art Prints, with the option of world class framing and also my special custom designed fine art albums.  Of course their is cost involved in creating this shoot, but I have decided not to make this a money making operation and rather an experiential project.  I do have a basic fee for the shoot, and depending on whether we need to go further and hire specific outfits or equipment, I am doing my very best to make this affordable so that you can take part in this special project.

My photography is all about being unique and being a cut above the rest.  Sure, others will try and copy our ideas but what we are doing is so unique that it isn't really worth it.  You may have heard of after wedding shoots like "Trash the Dress" or "TTD Session".  I couldn't  think of anything more tacky and contradicting to what a wedding and a special bond is all about.  Why would you want to trash something that symbolizes what you Cherish?

Join me in my quest to do something new, unique and beautiful. Join me in the Cherish Series.

Who do you Cherish?

Celeste De Kock (Portraits of the bravest girl I have ever met)

Hope, Faith, Love,
Celeste De Kock

The Dress and The Suit, The Girl and the Boy. (Byron and Kim)

To weather it all : To come out the other side : With the moon all high : I’ll see you on the other side : So come out the other side.

ballroom-copy

See their wedding photography by Ian Mitchinson taken in Matjiesfontein here.

The Dragon and The Phoenix (Jason and Elaine)

When the dragon soars and the phoenix dances, the people will enjoy happiness for years, bringing peace and tranquility to all under heaven.

ian-mitchinson

Starlight – Sean & Lynne

starlight

Recently we shot a full day shoot with Sean and Lynne. It was great because they just let Rudi and I do whatever we wanted. We are working on 3 different images from this shoot. I will let you make your own interpretation of this image. I hope you Cherish it.

The image was shot all in studio….for those of you wondering…..:)

Nates Tune

nates-tune

Hello and thank you for coming back to visit my special gallery of images from my series titled “The Cherish Series”.

Over the last few months, I have been finishing off the wedding season in Cape Town and also have spent some time in Italy. Now Im back and pretty much caught up with all my work and now have the next few months to dedicate to the Cherish Series.

Some great news for those of you who are interested in this unique project. The Cherish Series is going to have a gallery showing in December 09 or January, 2010. Im expecting it to be quite a big hit, and we are going to be displaying the best work from the Cherish Series and also will have limited edition framed fine art prints available for purchase. More importantly we just want to show the work in its physical form. Its nice looking online but nothing compares to seeing it displayed as a fine art print.

Im at a bit of a cross road due to the upcoming show, as I want people to not have seen the work so it has more of an impact, but at the same time I love to show what I have been working on.

So I have decided, that going forward I will only display one image from each Cherish Shoot. I have to build up some kind of anticipation for our exhibition. :)

If you are intersted in setting up a Cherish shoot with me or just want to understand it better. Please let me know.

I hope you enjoy the second edition of the Cherish Series entitled Nates Tune.

Blue Angel

For this first session I invited one of my former and most favourite brides “Marli Coetzer”. I wanted the concept of this shoot to really show off the dress and in a overly classical way. At first I thought about shooting in studio using hoists and also wire framing to extenuate the dress, but then I thought it would be even cooler to shoot the whole thing underwater and let the water hold the dress in place and allow Marli to position herself. I knew Marli would be perfect for the shoot as she is professional model and knows how to pose without direction. I just told her, I want it to look like a painting from the Renaissance. I would have been happy to guide her, but she just seemed to know exactly what I wanted.

For this shoot, I asked designer Hendrik Vermuelen if he would be interested in the concept, and he was!! So luckily I got to use this amazing gown, originally designed and worn by Miss South Africa.

Thanks all for working with me on the first ever Cherish Shoot. I cant wait to do the next one very soon. We already have a few bookings this June.

Marli is a super intelligent, and beautifully fascinating person and she documented the lead up to her wedding in a very popular blog called Sexy Red Frame. Its a must read for all brides to be. Check it out here.

Hendrik Vermuelen is one of the most sought after and creative bridal fashion designers in South Africa. If you haven’t heard of him, then you will soon as his designs are taking the industry by storm. Find him here.