I had a great venue meeting with Angela & Keiran today, despite the fact the sky has decided to drain itself onto England’s fair countryside of late. We sheltered in the New Forest hotel they had chosen and chatted about their upcoming New Year wedding. They are such a lovely couple, and I can’t wait to shoot their day – here are a couple of shots of them in the meantime
Yesterday I shot the wedding of Andy & Avril at Highfield Church and Marwell Hotel. I have got to know Avril over the last few months and she has become very dear to me, so it was a privilege to be asked to record their day.
We all had a blast – my thanks must go to best man Pete, Vicar Paul, and wonderful bridesmaid Narheed for helping me so much. And of course to the happy couple themselves – thank you so much for inviting me to be involved. Have a great honeymoon guys, I hope you like the pics, can’t wait to see you when you get back! xx
The digital revolution is a wonderful thing. As well as access to information, more ways to communicate, and the ability to trawl eBay until your eyes water for that all-important teacup/camera/pair of shoes; it has also made photography truly accessible. The opportunity to master this most egalitarian of art forms was previously not truly available to the masses by dint of cost – most of us just couldn’t afford to keep making mistakes. Digital cameras mean we can snap away, examine our failures and successes, and then snap some more until we get it perfect. I approve of digital photography.
Having said that, I don’t believe that digital cameras can give you what film can. There is a warmth, and a clarity about an image made with a professional quality film that can’t be easily ‘faked’. Never is this more true than with a Holga camera. These ‘plastic fantastic’ Russian toy cameras are beloved for their flaws – plastic lenses, fixed focus, all of two aperture settings, and a need to keep them shut with a reel of gaffa tape. This, surprisingly, can add up to an image that is sharp, richly coloured (when combined with a good film like Kodak Portra, of Fuji Provia – above), with a gorgeous warped quality and vignettng that people pay to replicate in Photoshop. So, next time you have a spare £25, don’t buy a new memory card, think about hitting eBay and picking up a Holga and some film. Go to Flickr and search for images made with a Holga if you need more persuading!
I spent the seemingly brief but beautiful hour before twilight on Sunday, taking promotional shots of poet and harpist Nick Field. Nick is an old friend so it was a really easy shoot – not least because the grinding rain of the last few days had stopped momentarily. There is nothing like that last light before the sun dips behind the horizon – the ideal time to take photographs. Especially if you can then retire to The Black Boy for some refreshment afterwards…
…but I wanted to.
I had a really interesting commercial shoot today on a local pig farm. The lovely Adrienne from PR firm HotHouse Comms hired me to shoot for a press release celebrating the fact that a large national catering company, Baxter Storey, had committed to using 100% British-produced meat. For those of you reading from other parts of the world, this is great news because the UK has higher standards for animal welfare in farming when compared to the rest of Europe – something I heartily approve of. Farmer George (above left), kindly welcomed John from Baxter Storey (middle), myself, Nick, Adrienne, Mark and Pete onto his beautiful land in the heart of Hampshire to look around. The highlight of my morning was definitely getting to play with some day-old piglets (above right, obviously) who stole the photographic thunder (sorry gents). It is good to know these lovely beasts are well cared for by George, Nelly and team. Who’d have thought crawling around in pig poo could be so much fun? Thank you for the welcome gentlemen, and it was great to meet you all. Special thanks must go to Nick, who acted as my highly–efficient impromptu assistant for the day – we won’t mention that particular picture of me in the mud…
I had a blast shooting this lovely family of our acquaintance on Highcliffe beach, nr. Christchurch, yesterday. They obviously have fantastic genes as the kids were just gorgeous, and loads of fun to play with. Thanks for a great time and I hope you like the shots!
Not with a net, obviously, that would be cruel.
I love taking pictures of children. They are unpredictable, unreserved, uncensored. It can be really challenging to get an image you are pleased with, given that they are largely unconcerned about how they look, but when you do the rewards are enormous. I am always excited by the idea of presenting parents with an image that reflects how beautiful and luminous that child appears to them. My children? That is another matter. My eldest flings her arms around her head at the mere mention of a camera, the youngest tries to smile. This might not seem like a bad thing, unless you have seen her smile. Traditionally I believe it is called gurning. Hopefully she will soon forget about trying to smile, and then that lovely grin will return. If not, she will just have to perfect a Zoolander-esque ‘look’, or I will have to resort to trickery…
Jamie, the girls and I headed off for a walk this afternoon (don’t worry, there was promise of pudding). The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the green corn was rustling and waving at us, all was good with the world. I live in a place of so much gentle beauty, and I feel so privileged to walk amongst it. Plus, as a bonus, neither of the children fell into a hole or set fire to anything valuable. It was a lovely time, and then there was pudding.
