"We see things
not as they are,
- Anais nin
but as we are..."
"we see things not as they are, but
as we are..."
anais nin
HI, I'M CAM , AKA
ANCHØR + HØPE
I moved from Queensland to Melbourne in 2002 and have happily called the thriving inner northern suburbs home ever since. I live in Coburg, about four kilometres from the CBD, which puts me in the middle of some of the most interesting wedding territory in the country — the restaurants, the laneways, the converted warehouses and industrial venues of Fitzroy, Collingwood, Brunswick and beyond. It's a part of the city that suits the kind of couples I work with, and I like to think that after more than two decades here, I know it well.
Photography is actually my second career. Before picking up a camera professionally, I spent over ten years working as a chef. It was demanding, creative work and I'm genuinely grateful for it — not because I miss the kitchen, but because it gave me things that translate directly into what I do now. An eye for detail. A sense of organisation in situations that are moving fast. The discipline to always, always be on time. And perhaps most usefully, an ability to read a room. When you've spent years working in service, you develop a finely tuned sense of when to step forward and when to get out of the way. As a wedding photographer, that instinct is everything.
After leaving the hospitality industry I completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography at the Victorian College of the Arts. It was the education I'd been circling for years — rigorous, demanding, and completely unlike anything I expected. The VCA exposed me to a way of thinking about images that I've never been able to shake. I'm still largely inspired by the work of fine artists, whether they be photographers, filmmakers, painters or designers. I like to think those influences come through in my work. Perhaps that's wishful thinking — but I'd rather be reaching for something difficult than settling for something easy.
I've been shooting weddings across Melbourne and Victoria for well over a decade now, and the work I've produced in that time has been featured in Hello May and Together Journal — two of Australia's most respected wedding publications. But the images I'm most proud of aren't necessarily the ones that photograph well in editorial. They're the ones that landed when someone opened their gallery for the first time. The ones that made someone put their phone down and sit very still for a moment.
GET TO KNOW ME
i photograph
as i'd like to be
photographed
My work has always been reflective of me as a person. I'm not one for talking about myself, and I've never enjoyed being the centre of attention. As a photographer, I think that quality has made me genuinely empathetic towards my clients — many of whom have never hired a professional photographer before and feel completely at sea just thinking about it.
So I always operate with that in mind. The experience I try to create is relaxed first, and everything else second. Not relaxed in the sense of being casual or unprepared — I'm meticulous about timelines, location scouting, light, and logistics — but relaxed in the sense that you should never feel like you're performing for me.
My style is photojournalistic in nature. I think that's what draws people to my work in the first place: it's much easier for someone to imagine themselves in a photograph that doesn't rely on performative elements. I'm not interested in manufacturing moments or engineering situations. Any wedding day is extraordinary enough without my help in that department. My job is to pay attention, to move quietly, and to make photographs that feel true to the day you actually had — not a stylised version of it.
I work alone. You'll never arrive on your wedding day to discover I've sent an associate. I'm there from the moment I'm booked until the moment I pack up, and I'm fully present for all of it.
MY APPROACH
I'm based in Coburg in Melbourne's inner north and shoot weddings across the city and regional Victoria. I work regularly at venues across Fitzroy, Collingwood, Carlton, Brunswick, the CBD, the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley, and the Grampians — but I'm just as happy following a couple to wherever their day takes them.
If you're planning a Melbourne wedding and you're looking for photography that's honest, unhurried, and built around the two of you rather than a shot list — I'd love to hear from you.
