Archive for London
Grace and Adam – Chelsea and Surrey Wedding Photography
Posted by: | CommentsIts been a while…nearly a month in fact…since the first wedding of Grace and Adam in Chelsea followed by a reception at Horsley Towers in Surrey. Since they were also getting married in Chicago at the end of April and wanted to present a slideshow of images from the UK wedding it made sense to hold fire on postintg until after the US wedding. That way you wouldn’t have a room full of folks who have already seen the surprise presentation. So. Step back in time, to the end of March, when we actually had sunshine and warm weather (eh?), before the apocalyptic rain fall and my own holiday. In one way it seemed like yesterday…in others a lifetime ago (although I’m guessing thats to do with the weather).
Grace had an ambitious plan. Get ready at Horsley Towers just outside of the M25 and then bring her, the Bridesmaids, parents and a load of guests to Chelsea for a magical service at a truly beautiful church. What they hadn’t expected was the FA deciding to move the start time of the Chelsea / Tottenham match. Throw in an overturned car on the A3, a bus driver who ‘knew a shortcut’ and thousands footie fans and you’ve got Grace and Adam’s ‘first half’.
All’s well that ends well as they say and despite her wedding car not making to the first leg of the journey and a number of guests (and yours truly travelling with the aforementioned guests) arriving 30 minutes past the scheduled start time of the wedding and you’ve got that this wedding photographer isnt going to forget in a hurry.
We got the best of everything. A Mother of the Bride speech as well as Bride’s speech. Sparkling sunshine and a comfortable 70 degree day (Fahrenheit provided for our transatlantic visitors). Plus the coolest evening wear ever in traditional African dress
Horsley…NOT Fawlty…Towers
Technically this was slightly premature
Preparing for my secret career as a mother’s entertainer
That’s one seriously cool set of make up widgets
Google Bracelet View (about as well known and used as Google +)
Shortly finding out what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immoveable one
Image By Darren! – Sweet!
If Carlsberg did stairs…
“Trust me!”
Grace and her Father – this church is amazing. From the street you wouldn’t even know it was there. This is just the entry hall!
Umm…deep breaths
Top 40
Sorted
I love this!
Eventually the wedding car made it. Adam could actually see it stuck in the stationary traffic on the A3 just after the incident.
Damn logo!
Horsley was originally a family residence .. there’s a common architectural theme which runs throughout
Hi Five :)
Smashy AND Nicey
Grace and Adam – London and Horsley Towers – A Fab 4
Posted by: | CommentsWell…5. I couldn’t really count Jimmy in there and I know how much Grace’s mum wanted to see Jimmy!
This is a short one from Saturday’s wedding. Short because we’re holding back on the blog post until after the 27th of April. Why? Well, Grace and Adam live in the States. Adam is a fellow cowboy. As such we didn’t want to spoil the surprise as I’m pulling together a slideshow of images to be shown at the Chicago wedding. However a few couldn’t hurt…I promised 4. Here’s 5.
Clearly Jimmy is good for the ‘sole’
Rachel and Tom – Bromley Wedding Photography
Posted by: | CommentsWe waited all summer for…well…summer…and it chose to arrive just as we started Autumn. Oh the irony. It was sun like you almost never see and light that never stopped being there. Welcome to September in England.
Rachel and Tom came to me through Jess and Bob (who you will see later). A lovely referral from another wonderful day. Instead of the country setting in Cambridgeshire for Jess and Bob it was the little bit rural and a lot of town of ‘near’ Croydon and Bromley. Its one of those weird places that are in one county yet called London. I won’t pretend to understand.
For me it all began at the hall. No bridal prep means I get to see the whole build up before the ceremony. I got to learn a bit more about Tom’s side of the family. Not a bad thing as Tom’s father presented the ceremony. This was the second Jehovah’s Witness (Jess and Bob being the first) wedding I had photographed. Both experiences were so warm…warm in a cuddly way (albeit both day were actually quite sunny and warm). Its very personal, very passionate but at the same time thoughtful and well meaning. I’m fascinated by religious culture and the similarities and differences between them. I’ve been lucky to see Catholic weddings in Italy, Jewish weddings in Tel Aviv and Sikh and Hindu weddings in…well…London. Maybe its the not knowing exactly where you stand at any given moment. I’ve seen enough (and be in) Church of England weddings to know the game plan pretty well. I’m rambling.
There will be a link to a few more images on my Facebook Business gallery…that link will appear at the end of the images below. So scroll, look and click.
I was the first person there. Call it insurance when dealing with the M25
Wonderful light…with a fill light to boot
This little archway was just spectacular for light shaping. PLUS……
…the other side bounced light back to those walking towards it. Life is a studio as they say.
Movember came early
I don’t know
Throwing a brick at the couple isn’t exactly what I had in mind
Babe-o-rama
Never trust a man you find in an alley — or a tennis court
Its like Close Encounters in there
Table diamontes should come with a health warning (bottom two images)
First day with his new hook! You had to be there
I leave those kids for 5 minutes and I come back to a line dance
OK…well…this was a test. Only a test. I had seen this idea before but hadn’t ever tried it. With winter on the way it seemed a good time to find something for those dark nights. Not knowing if this would work or just be a waste of time I borrowed Jess and Bob figuring if it didn’t work then I hadn’t wasted any of the Bride and Groom’s time (not that Jess and Bob’s time is any less valuable but it wasn’t their wedding day…you know what I mean). Well…it did work. Thanks to Jess and Bob!
As promised, you can find a few more images from Rachel and Tom’s day on my Facebook Business Page
Sex and the City – A Ladies Photoshoot Around London
Posted by: | CommentsAfter spending something like 12 years in London it was time for one of the Aussie lasses to make their way back down under. During that time Nina had made some wonderful friendships and this gave them a idea. What better way to always remember the amazing London years than to get together for a Sex and the City style photoshoot. A lifelong keepsake of their town and their friendship. So, last Friday I hustled to London to do that…no, not wear a skirt and take part but rather take things in from the other side of the lens.
Throughout our multi location shoot I often found myself trailing behind the fabulous 4 as they strode through the masses on the South Bank and St Pauls. It was most interesting watching the eyes of the blokes walking the other way. What a great job I have. I even noticed the ladies having a look, but to be fair more were drawn to their shoes and each had that ‘ouch’ look on their face. Me…I had sensible footwear.
Here’s a few of some of my favourites from the afternoon. Unfortunately the wind was rather spirited which made things more difficult…but I reckon it all worked out just fine!
Proving 8 IS better than 4
A personal favourite of mine….but I would say that wouldn’t I
Phwoah!
Well…it was London after all!
Ben…Big
It only took about 40 frames to get one where the 30mph wind didn’t kill the hair
St Paul’s never looked better!
No Brooklyn bridge…but we still go it covered
Shoe Are You?
Posted by: | CommentsA clever play on words from a classic Who hit. But you have to ask yourself…can a shoe be a star?
Now…don’t get me wrong. I don’t turn up to weddings to take endless pictures of details whilst ignoring the human element. I think a few details certainly have their place. For me, shoes fit into that category. I nearly gave up on shoes about 4 years ago. Then I thought (to quote another classic British rock band) “I want to break free”. I decided that a shoe on a box or a pillow just wasn’t for me. Could I tell a story with that shoe (or shoes)? Could I make a statement? Could it be art? Could it be abstract? Could it be something that you never expected? The answer was yes. I won’t lie. Some weeks are easier than others. There is always the fall back option. But some weeks. The planets align and I find myself with the shoe on the other foot. Here’s a selection of my favourites from 2010.
A wee bit abstract. She decided on existing shoes…doesn’t mean they can’t be interesting
the same shoes…completely different place
Light fall off and bathtubs. A sweet combination
Caramel Choo Choo
I really struggled on this day…utlimately it came down to the comparative chaos versus the control
Windows…sensing a theme here?
One Flew Over the Shoe Shoes Nest – sadly Budgie wouldn’t play ball
Another tough location…time to think way outside the box
Sharp tells the story
Flat shoes can be difficult. Time to stop accentuating the flatness.
Would you believe January in Bournemouth?
I’ve always liked this because I knew just how blinking difficult it was to get this. It was sooooo dark.
Lines and curves
They have a 3 year old…that’s why I love this one. Its one day combined with real life.
Thankfully she only had 2 feet
I would have to say this is my favourite shoe shot of the year.
This is the first one. I mostly liked it, but its very busy…why show it?…..
…same shoes, close up on the work surface. No need to remove the ‘character’ as it, in itself, lends to the story
Ooppps…wrong white balance. Forgetaboutit
Luckily it was a hotel, because that light fixture was never as ‘solid’ as when the day starter
Frosted glass and big shoes. Nice combination.
Stare for long enough and nods just like that dog on TV
One that never made the blog…but made me laugh when I thought of it
The absolute scariest shoe shot ever. Falling over the other side meant a 9floor drop to the top of another part of the hotel. To the left the sky line of Tel Aviv (Israel), to the right the Mediterranean Sea
As soon as I saw the blue I knew I had to contrast the patent sheen of the cream. Problem was getting the things to balance on the round part of the rail. Both dropped seconds after taking this.
When you’ve got a full size Ferrari F1 car in your own bar you kind of have to do this
In a sink…again
I had never seen a full blow, bowed window before
Loo Loo relights my fire
I love this one as it just makes you think
“God knows…God knows I want to break free”. Hope you enjoyed that collection of images. They were but a handful of images from the total collection. Enough to tweak your interest and get you asking questions. Have a lovely weekend.
Music Photographer – Band Photography
Posted by: | CommentsIts been an interesting week. An interesting couple of weeks actually. Last week I was still recovering from a documentary photography workshop in Brighton. Late (and I mean really late) nights and long days plus a heck of party to round it off left feeling like death on Thursday. In fact, on Friday I had to take two (yes two) naps to get through the day. Luckily that was all it took…never before had I ever felt like a serious case of jetlag without actually flying. This past week was the return to normal, digesting what I had got up to and looking forward (or not so) to Thursday…my 40th birthday. They say life begins at 40. Nice. I’ll let you know in a year or so. I don’t feel any older so perhaps its true. This Saturday we’re having a party complete with a few ‘tricks up my sleeve’. Should be interesting with pictures to match. Just think Fancy Dress — American themed.
Wednesday was groovy too. A great new band contacted me to take some photos for some of their promotional material. I found an excellent new location only hundreds of yards from the house and met some great people. Here are a few images that I really liked. All images are natural light and I enjoy seeing how simple changes can make effective the same image feel different.
