All about us

We are Katy & Matt,

We met in a photography studio which is less serendipitous looking back than we thought at the time. We both love making art (try not to see the word lovemaking now), it’s just always been a part of our lives and we connected over it together. So, it really feels like everything in our life was leading to us starting Rope & Pulley.

Art works that are authentic, that feel honest, and creates JOY is what we’re all about. When we're not running around a lake or scaling something high to get the perfect shot, we are probably at the beach or getting some green time with our boys. We are lovers of good books, date nights, records, Brooklyn 99 and the elusive afternoon nap. Read on for a bit more about us.

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Hey I'm Matt,

One half of Rope&Pulley and the man behind the lens on your wedding day.
If I'm not shooting I'm at the beach or trying my best to keep my motorbike running...ahhh motorbikes. If you've got one, you know my pain. I'm married to my best friend, Katy who is also very patient with my temperamental bike. Being married is the best, you guys are in for the best ride. I feel lucky everyday to wake up with these little cherubs (even when they've started an art work of their own on the walls with permanent marker).

Shooting weddings with Katy is heaps of fun. We really get a kick out of seeing our couples taking that next step together and capturing those moments feels like a pretty special job. If you’re reading this, then you've no doubt read the other stuff on our site about how much we love this job and why it's special to us. So on to the other stuff, the stuff you want to know:

Are you normal, but not too normal,
you know are you going to show up with pants on is what I'm asking....

Yes I wear pants, and yeah I'm mostly normal. You can expect a few jokes and a pretty relaxed approach to things. I find I do the most creative and best work that way. It's a pretty social thing, which is why I love it.

Is this going to be fun? Or am I gonna stress out?

The photos will be fun and stress free. Of course walking down the aisle/ watching the girl of your dreams walking down the aisle towards you is a life stopping moment, so much so I forgot how to breathe when I saw Katy for the 1st time.  

If you had one shot, one opportunity...One moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?

Internally my mind is yelling "moms spaghetti" over and over but no, I wouldn't miss an opportunity to take a photo. I recently came very close to being hit by lightning taking a shot of a bride in the morning, on another occasion I got pretty close to a bush fire but we were all ok after a few sips from the hip flasks.

Sweet or Savoury?

Not gonna lie, Jatz and dip are dangerous for me. It's a never ending cycle of running out of Jatz but having dip left,  opening a new pack of Jatz to finish said dip, then opening a new dip to finish off 2nd pack of Jatz etc etc...

Are you funny haha or funny weird?

I think you know by now...

‍Favourite music right now?

I am loving some old school Foo Fighters at the moment, Sound of da Police by KRS-One is stuck in my head and PROBLEMZ by Jungle is my groove too.

‍Best thing about your own wedding?

Other than marrying my best friend, it would have to have been the music we had at our wedding. We had some family and friends play, as well as a pretty banging play list for the end of the night.  

Hey I’m Katy,

I'm a Capricorn (hay fellow goats), and a mum to two little boys. I come from a big family that's half Russian/half Anglo, I'm the middle child in 5... not sure what that means, not that I even care there aren't any photos of me growing up.

I grew up in Newy, went to Uni here, went out when we still had the giant phallus, the Cambridge and Frosties. I moved away (met Matt along the way) and have worked in London for a while before coming back to Aus. You know what they say, all Novocastrians come home.

I’m an art and photography teacher, an OT, an artist and a snack preparer aka mum. I have a dream about living 'off the grid' but Matt thinks the reality will be something vastly different to my idea of wild, sun lit days gardening and creating art. I love being warm, summer evenings, a sense of humour and I try to be grateful for what I have.

I am constantly overwhelmed by the love and compassion that Matt shows me and our boys. I'm not sure what I did to deserve him but he is deadset the centre of our universe. He builds us up and brings out the best in me.

What's the best thing about shooting a wedding for you?

I'm there on the one of the best days of your life. The energy and happiness during that time is electric and as an artist capturing those emotions is so much fun.

We've established that Matt is normal...do you agree, or are you both weirdos?

Oh no, Matt said we were normal? That’s the worst, don’t be normal. Be yourself, be crazy and untamed and passionate about the things that energise you. We can literally spend an hour looking at the colours in one photo, obsessing over how it looks and feels. That’s not normal, but… I think its pretty great.

Favourite TV show at the moment?

Modern Family...I could re watch that forever. At the end of the day after putting kids to bed all I feel like doing is decompressing with a sleepy tea, a cuddle with Matt (hopefully with an added head massage) and fitting in a meditation before bed.

Best thing about your own wedding?

What did Matt say it was? *laughs* It would have to be our first dance. Man we practiced that dance in our tiny apartment in Artarmon for months (The lift at the end got dangerous in that apartment, nearly hit the celling a few times). It was a slow dance to a song one of best friends composed for us but we were
so pumped at the end when we nailed all the steps we just high fived and laughed…we were probably meant to kiss or something.