Oh dear…my son…the navigator.  So we’re heading towards Farnham on Saturday.  We hadn’t told Evan where we were going, only that we were going to buy his new bed.

About 3 miles down the A325 we get:

“Daddy…this is the way to Farmum”

“Yes, Evan, this IS the way to Farnham.  You are a very clever boy”

(Short Silence)

“Daddy…this is the way to Alice Holt awell”

“Wow, Evan…you’re right…this IS the way to Alice Holt.  You are such a grown up boy…well done.”

“Daddy…this is the way to Poo awell” — massive giggles

Right…well, at least he proved he’s still 3 and 1/2 years old!

Tooting One’s Own Horn

Back in September I shot the wedding of Sarah-Jane and Jonathan…last week, I got this:

“The photos are incredible and had me in tears watching them! (Tears of happiness of course) As for the music you chose… its as if you know me?

All the pictures were perfect and even better than we ever imagined! And believe me … we imagined great things from you Rob! :0)
Thank you so much for everything! I am SO pleased we found you – your Wedding pictures are one things you should splash out on, they are for always after all :0)

We have also had so many people by the way asking for your web site address as so impressed…. future customers without a doubt! :o)”

Naturally I replied and in Sarah-Jane’s reply back it just kept on coming :)

“It is a glowing endorsement Rob, but I mean every single word! Both Jonathan and I were speechless as we sat watching the DVDs……. I cried, Jon even welled up, ha-ha, In a manly way of course ;o)

“Beautiful” is a word I’d like to use to describe the pictures, however this still doesn’t do the pictures justice! Somehow the word beautiful… isn’t enough to explain how we feel about each photo you took!

You truly are such a talented man, with an eye that captures the most natural and purest of memories… that I am in awe of your talent!
Thank goodness we found you! And your family are lucky to have you!

Please do use the enclosed to post on your blog… its the very least we can do for you, after all you have done for us Rob!!!

Thank you so very very much!

AMAZING!”

Sarah-Jane and Jonathan

So…what about my cryptic blog entry title.  Well, Nicola is in cloud coo-coo land at the moment.  Pregnancy hormones do wonders for the brain.  On the way home the other night Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much” came on the radio.  Nicola professes that she doesn’t understanding why there is a line “I bet you kiss your carving knife…I mean, how stupid is that”.  To which I really tried hard to convince her it was not about a knife but rather about kissing his car good night.  But she wasn’t convinced.  Even on hearing it she still believed she was right.  It wasn’t until I mentioned the lyrics before the line that she (begrudgingly) conceded I was correct.  For the record:

You’re one of those guys who likes to shine his machine
You make me take off my shoes before you let me get in
I can’t believe you kiss your car good night
C’mon baby tell me-you must be jokin’, right!

Sorry for being so quiet lately.  I’ve been enjoying a bit of slack time.

No related posts.

Sarah and Jonathan — Shot by Darren (aka The Big D and Boy Wonder)

I told him to shoot this…then he said “I already did”

Clearly he hates shoes as well

Ickle moments

He had a thing for Yule as well

This was one of 4 or 5 included in the On the Day presentation

Ahh…I see myself a few years ago in that shot

Gettin’ brave and shootin’ at 1.8….I like it!

I love this…its so random yet meaningful

When I first saw it I said, “but dude, you’ve blown it out” to which he said “I was going for their faces”.  OK, I’ll shut up now.

Same here…smarty pants

I bet her hair was lovely after an hour of this

So…I’m in processing the On the Day and Darren says “should I got out to rest of the receiving line”.  My first thought was “this should be interesting”.  But clearly his story that he looks at the blog every week rang true.  I shed a small tear :)

Magic, Magic, Magic!  For this you’ve earned an extra can of V next time out!

See…he’s got the ‘eyes’ thing going

This is far better than anything I got during SJ’s mum’s speech

Its all about timing…did you buy a watch?

Nice one D

2 great shots from the first dance

When Darren first started coming out with me (November last year)…there was a certain randomness to what he took.  I wouldn’t say I’m the best mentor.  I pick him up, we shoot, he carries, I drop him off and his only bit of tutoring comes in a) my blog and b) a few choice one line nuggets of info.  But each week there’s something better, something more insightful in his images.  Thanks again BW!

Related posts:

1. Hey Junior!

Apologies for my senseless jibe towards my brother in law…it has to be done.

I really need to boogie so I’m just going to post some images from the weddings this past weekend.

Sarah and Jonathan — Lane End, Buckinghamshire — Saturday, 27 September 2008

On Saturday I did an ‘On the Day’ presentation.  So the guests and B&G have seen a fair few images.  However, I wanted to still blog a few for everyone else.  In some instances I’ve selected different images than I selected Saturday night.  So there’s something for everyone.

Also…a big thanks to Cheryl and Pascal who recommended me to Sarah and Jonathan (and I suppose Darryl and Sioban who recommended me to Cheryl Pascal…I’ll shut up now)

First…yes, she’s seen it and yes, she thinks its funny

Sometimes I even wonder how I get out of the reflection

My new image branding clearly doesn’t work on every image :)

Go on…just one verse from ‘The King and I’

My name is Michael Caine…and I am a nosey neighbour

Funny…I don’t remember everyone being so serious

One of my favourite shots of the year

The problem with getting ready too early…you can’t stop fiddling (her words)

Folks often look to me for advice on tying a crevat…at which point I feign an illness and excuse myself with great haste

I hate to use the same joke as a few weeks ago…BUT….Y-M-C-A

“Count to 10, then come find me”

Splitty arrives

Sadly the ride from the house to the church didn’t provide enough time for a fry up

As a final test the girls from FYEO arrive but Jonathan has none of it

Casper is escorted down the aisle by Dad and Pa

The Best Man, sadly, failed the FYEO test

I don’t often get a view point like I did on Saturday…interesting but not always unobstructed

Making a mad dash to the VeeDub

Had it been legal Sarah would have had a tough choice on her hands

Granny gets giddy

Ye Olde Daughter-Father Look

Smiles all ’round

Bagel!

So as not to leave the evening guests out the Best Man’s speech, complete with colour coding, found its way into the bar

GeeQueue from the Gents Loo

Right…so, the timetable was never going to allow us to do the ‘couple’ shots before the meal.  I knew it would be dark but I figured we could do something.  Inside I found the Gent’s loo…cracking (pun unintentional).  But after that, well, doing the on the day presentation I hadn’t really had anytime to scope.  So we literally went outside in the pitch black.  I tried one thing and it bombed…I had seen the gazebo and when they mentioned I thought, “let’s give it go”.  First shot was 1/6th of the second.  I managed to get it down to 1/30th…but this would have been better with a bit of colour in the sky.  9:00pm at the end of September…no chance.  The lights were flood lights at the venue so there’s shadows being cast.  The story continues later on…

…there wasn’t much I could do for this scene to get rid of the banister shadow but…

….I could change the emphasis a bit…

So now we’re pretty well DOA.  Why I was being so thick I don’t know but then Jonathan suggested a light on the side of the building.  I don’t know if this is what he had in mind, but the second he said it I knew exactly what I wanted!

Yowza!

And this…well, I was in heaven!

DAMN YOU…NOT AGAIN!  Chesney Hawks I HATE YOU! (not really)

Nina and John — Meonstoke and New Place — Friday, 26 September 2008

I suppose this one needs an intro as well.  I first placed a card in a corner shop in Fareham in 2004.  ‘Wedding Photographer for Hire’.  Perhaps the most useless form of advertising going but within a few days I had a phone call.  Jo and Ben, brave as they were, took a chance and booked me for their wedding.  Clearly liking what I did I shot Ben’s sister’s UK blessing, a friend of Jo’s mum’s daughter, Helen and Dog (aka Paul), Vicky and Steve and I think a few more but its all got too complicated.  Figuring that there were none left I was delighted to get a call from John asking if I was available.  I saw so many familiar faces, not to mention Matt and his cool hat (he’s the dad of the little guy you’ll see shortly) — the hat is almost as famous as he is.  So…to the whole clan it was great to see you all again and who knows, maybe we’ll see each other again sometime!

How lucky have folks been these last few weeks with the weather?

A true piece of art…and the painting ain’t bad either

A new concept in shoe shots…get’m whilst they’re on!

Dress Noir

Seeing the dress for the first time…but hey, the Bridesmaids dresses were pretty cool themselves

Mr Black, Mr Orange and Mrs Green

The Best Man — apparently

Mum greets guests on arrival

Every time I got near him, he ran away…fine then!

It looked cool but it only a 1 horsepower engine

Ah…I do admire the effort that some folks make!

John gets his first glimpse

Now man and wife, the vicar stops a certain 6 with a leaping over head catch

Its always a bonus when the reader makes eye contact with the B&G

According to the EXIF data I’m something like 25 meters away…it made for, surprisingly, some of the more interesting signing of the registers shots this year

Off on the long ride to the pub…all 150 meters of it

Finally got him!

A pre-reception, reception at the Bucks Head, Meonstoke…check out the boozers bottom left

Now moving on to another form of transport I think they were a little surprised to see me

With time to kill before the guests arrived (and with John in the loo), I got to work

Having been to New Place before, I knew that would happen

The receiving line is now in full swing

As you can see, I’ve got a little somefink for the entry way…

I dunno

I had never seen a hornet in real life before…I’m just glad it wasn’t my beer!

Writing wedding wishes on the back of the placenames…hadn’t seen that before

Is that not Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men?

Clearly, its not just Evan who loves a bit of Van Halen!

I couldn’t quite get the best view during the speeches…but I reckon it worked out OK in the end

I wouldn’t want to watch Bambi with John’s mum I can assure you!

The cake stand reflection on the ceiling rather amused me

Related posts:

1. Hampshire Wedding Photography – Sam and Dean, New Place
2. Ode to Darren