Archive for September, 2009
Nettlestead Place Wedding Photography – Natasha and Joe Slideshow
Posted by: | CommentsJust a quickie to say that my latest slideshow, from Nettlestead Place in Kent, is now available on the main website.
Kent Wedding Photography - Nettlestead Place Slideshow
http://www.shootinghip.com/wedding/photography/kent/nettlestead-place/doueihi/natasha-joe.asp
Manor Barn Wedding Photography – Lucy and James
Posted by: | CommentsHiya blog stalkers — and hi to all you newbies as well. Its a glorious Monday morning (OK, its a bit grey and overcast, but remember Lucy and James are in the Indian Ocean and we want them to think that they’ve left the best weather all summer). My Sunday was pretty glorious as well…mostly because I figured out how to rid my facebook newfeed from those stupid Mafia Wars updates. Seriously, I was sitting in my porcelain office reviewing the weekends happenings on Sunday AM with my iPhone (luckily for you I didn’t accidently hit the ‘take picture’ button) and one person filled the entire newsfeed with the crap. I Googled…I won! I even posted it on my FB status and by the time I got back home later that night I had a ton of ‘thank yous’ from other friends who hated them as well. But let’s be honest, we don’t really give two hoots about that now do we. We’re here to wax lyrical about the wedding of Lucy and James in Winchester and Manor Barn, Buriton.
As Hampshire weddings go, we pretty much traversed the county by starting out at St John’s in Winchester. Its the church just up the street from Lucy and James. Of course Lucy got ready in Chandlers Ford. M3 south on a sunny September Saturday is always dubious so I travelled via the A3, M27, M3(n). All in all, I simply never made it to Basingstoke or Andover, because if I had I would have covered every council in Hampshire. Its not a problem…I’m just sayin’.
A lovely couple…she a classic brunette with stunning eyes and he…a former Army officer with a fledgling pop career..oh, sorry, wrong James. A happy couple with lots of fun friends, wonderful parents and a mum with a fatal attraction for wedding flowers :) But thanks goes to everyone, parents, friends, Aunt Maude, for making us feel welcome. Also a big thanks to Nick, a press jock and boyfriend of the Bride’s sister, who let me relive the old days on his Mark 2(n) and let me borrow his 70-200 as I rarely use mine but found the table layout sorta required it.
So, its now time to review some wedding photography in Winchester and Manor Barn, Buriton, Hampshire.
Window dressing…literally
Honestly people…what do you do with flat shoes when you’ve got ‘the addiction’?
Danish
The cheekiest smile which she wore…ALL DAY
The moment just before the MUA (make up artist) applied the pencil thin moustache
Lucy’s mum gets her dress on, whilst Lucy gets her game face on…
…unfortunately she left half of it in the other room
She seems to be losing bits on each photo…soon she’ll be just a blob in a mirror…
..but not before this important safety announcment – SMOKE DETECTORS SAVE LIVES
It the BIGGEST cliche in wedding photography. A Bride comes down the stairs, a father stands in awe waiting, the bloody photographer sets it all up with a mirror. Shocking really…but what if it simply happened in front of you. Would you shoot it knowing you didn’t do anything to manipulate it. Answer = YES. Of course I would, and to prove my honesty in knowing it ‘just happened’ I’ll even leave the make up lady lounging against the dining room door. Edgy eh!? Nice blob though.
A candelabra…with real candles. Go figure!
Not to be Blunt…but James…you look like someone famous. Not entirely who..but don’t worry mate…You’re Beautiful.
Squuueeeezzzzeeee
Happy Chapp-ette
Everyone loves a good receiving line. I know I do
Best man waits to announcing in the new Mr and Mrs
Dirty! (they’ll know what I mean)
Mr and Mrs Pac-Man entrust me with their current wearabouts
Rock-Paper-Finger (and a chance to see James’ life threatening injury)
Man-her-bharn
Its where all the cool kids hang out
I pledge allegiance…
Recipe: Sit on floor next to best man during speech, rest camera on knee, hope man at next table congratulates him, shoot from the … knee
Dancing to their favourites from ’1973′
Always lending a hand to help show you where to look first
double bass
My next interlude takes me to the world of Charlie. Charlie, abandoned by his girlfriend (but only for the wedding apparently) is free to drink as much as he likes and do whatever he wants. And on this day, that meant getting his photograph taken by me…more than a few times. Every wedding has a ‘Charlie’…please give generously to the ‘Help Charlie’ fund. Below is my contribution. Sorry Charlie.
On balance tho’…he is a damn fine looking man!
Now a few from the Big D…aka Darren
when you hang out with the ladies, its all MTV, bucks fizz and salmon sandwiches. With the boys its Soccer AM, Red Bull and one sausage split 8 ways
Lucy gave me the brief…”can we have a nice shot of the church and our road” — does this count Luce? By the way…your house…its in the middle of the street
Darren…SHAME ON YOU.
To be fair, it was a different church layout. D was in position A leaving me (R) 90 degrees opposite. Now my algebra is a bit rusty but I reckon that D+A~[R]/90 = just let Darren shoot it from the back
Add you’re own caption…but I reckon I’ve got more than a few ideas that won’t make the chap stage left that happy with me
I know he didn’t mean this…or maybe he did…but it rounded off the sequence rather well
Stealing my set up and making it…(damn you)…BETTER!
He’s got a thing for grannies you know
Check out the light bouncing back off the house. Sweet!
Hampshire Wedding Photography – Lucy and James – Just One
Posted by: | CommentsWhy? Because if you can figure out what the heck they’re up to you’re better than me!
Cumbria Wedding Photography – Nelly and John
Posted by: | CommentsIt had been 3 years since I had last set foot in the Lake District and in that time my love of Cumbria hadn’t changed. The Lakes are simply amazing. If you’ve never been here’s your kick in the butt to make tracks. You won’t regret it.
3 years previous I travelled up (Nic and Evan in tow) to shoot a wedding in Eskdale. It was the first time I had ever seen my SatNav show ‘time remaining’ to destination as getting longer with each mile. The passes, hills and terrain are breathtaking if not a little slower than normal roads to navigate. But its all worth it.
This time it was a little easier. Langdale Chase is just outside of Ambleside which is at the southern end of the Lakes. No one track roads or mountain passes required to get here.
This wedding was a first for me. I had never shot a wedding with so few guests. 7 to be precise, plus the Bride and Groom and, oh yeah, me. So 10 all together. Shooting it isn’t the hardest part…its knowing when to just walk away and let things happen without you. I wouldn’t follow 9 guests around for 6 hours at other weddings. The same holds true here as well. But I will say, that even with slightly fewer images than normal I am still extremely pleased with what I covered.
While I’m on the subject of Lake District weddings. Firstly, am I interested in going back. Yes, of course, perhaps out of season or a weekday. But generally its quite a hike and travels costs are always more than you might imagine. So with that, allow me to recommend a friend and outstanding Lake Distrct Wedding Photographer in Steve Yates from Derwent Photography. Steve was very generous in marking places on my map to sightsee as well as treating me to a Keswick speciality, the Cow Pie, at The George.
Windermere looking back from Langdale Chase towards Waterhead
John sorts the table
Sadly he stole my unique hairstyle
In true Lake District style, a storm blew in
Nelly’s Dad enjoys the view
Nelly admires, Mum primps and Dad…well, Dad just keeps his nose clean…literally
Dearly beloved…
I like this because the ‘blob’-like reflection in the wooden wardrobe is her Dad
This is what a wedding with 7 guests can look like.
One of my favourite images of the year — clean, simple and pefectly exposed
Window dressing
“I wanna live like common people…I wanna do what-ever common people do”
For the Brother of the Groom!
Later in the afternoon we took a boat ride on Lake Windermere
Captain Pugwash and Master Berlusconi (he was Italian, so Bates didn’t really fit)
You either get it…or you don’t
Suffolk Wedding Photography – Lucy and Matt
Posted by: | CommentsYo ho ho, its off to Ipswich I go. Well, Nicola came along too. It was a date in the diary that we were both looking forward to. We knew that Holly would be totally settled on the feeding by now so decided that a weekend away, just the two of us, would be a great idea…and with a trip to Ipswich in mid-September it was the perfect opportunity. Of course, this meant that I worked and Nicola got to play, so I’m not entirely sure how this was such a good idea for both us :)
Nic deserved the time away (not least because she was going to be having the kids on her own from Sunday to Wednesday as I shot off to the Lake District for a wedding). Its amazing how sleeping in until 8 seems like such a luxury. A day of retail therapy seemed to do her good. She was a bit concerned how she would fill her day. That went out the window by the time I got back when she explained she barely had time for lunch and never did have a coffee. Sadly for me I wished she would have .. it probably would have been less expensive!
Thanks to Matt and Lucy for having me along. Also, thanks for being patient in regards to the blog. Hope you are having a wonderful time on Honeymoon.
The moment the harsh reality set in .. he wouldn’t be needing a spell in the chair
Nervous young Bridemaid sits and stares longingly at the Bride dreaming of her big day? Not entirely, more like watching P Diddy’s Starmaker .. but you were close!
I just loved the way she looked at me (or the camera more precisely)
Like the FOB, its the closest I got
I’m lookin’ at the Mum in the mirror (a la Michael Jackson)
Lucy pins her ‘something blue’ — who knew the room next door would be so blue too
The mysterious powers of observation — it took me about an hour to realise they were all wearing the same shirt
Art and Grandad
Lucy Loo
The magnificent church — honestly, it was rather impressive!
Wedding stalkers!
They say the Mother of the Bride wears many hats…
To be honest I’m getting fed up of this…a perfectly envisioned Bridal procession ruined by a well meaning guest with a trumpet. Geez! Every week I tell you, every week! (yes, I am joking)
Matt’s brother, Christie, fulfills his Best Man’s duties with style
Sign here that you’ve decided not to get the Super-CDW
Mambo Number 5
“Honestly…more trumpets?”
I pinched myself — often!
A wee Polish tradition
MC(hammer)
Matt’s sister laughs with the Best Man and James Nesbitt look alike
“I…had…the time of my life” – RIP Mr Swayze
Another Polish tradition…strawberry vodka. And each table had one…and each table HAD to finish it. Luckily for the table of 8 with 5 children, the boys in suits were feeling charitable
This photo cannot be explained — well it could, but its just more enticing leaving it WIDE open
In case you forgot it was a tent
Evan’s First Day at School
Posted by: | CommentsLast week was a life milestone. Not just for Evan but for us as well. We are now the parents of a school aged child. Yes…we are already members of the PTA (as is my camera).
As with most ‘big’ things when you have kids, it seems that its a bigger deal to you than to them. Evan took the whole experience in his stride. He was a bit nervous in the playground but soon found 2 of his friends from nursery. After a few minutes of reassurance we were off. More amazing was that Nicola managed to hold it together. Although she did have a wee tear on Sunday night.
To prove the point that these things are often bigger to you than to them I’ll leave you with a bit of dialogue (before the video)
Tuesday Evening:
Me: Hey buddy, come here, let me give you a hug…..Mummy and Daddy are really proud of you.
Evan: Why?
Me: Well, for being such a big brave boy in going to school. Its a big step and you are just the best
Evan: (whines) … but Daddy, my willy REALLY itches
Me: (unaware that anyone was near) Well Evan, I’m really glad we got the share this moment
(cue uncontrollable laughter from Nicola who just happened to be in the hall outside texting on her phone)
Evan’s First Day of School from Rob Burress on Vimeo.
