A beautiful Easter wedding – Marsh Farm Hotel, Royal Wootton Bassett

Tags

easter wedding, marsh farm hotel, royal wootton bassett, thistle candleabras, tulips, wedding, wedding photography

The spring weather can always be changeable, but a little light rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of Dani and Bobby last weekend, as they celebrated a beautiful Easter weekend wedding at Marsh Farm Hotel, near Royal Wootton Bassett.

I joined Danielle as she got ready. Emotions ran strong as she displayed her dress to her bridesmaids and stood in front of the mirror as her mum arranged her veil. Danielle looked gorgeous in her stunning dress from Belle Bridal. All the lace and beading detail was beautiful.

Sharing the day with family and friends from afar, the couple shared a gorgeous ceremony, before enjoying Pims and Peach Melba cocktails on the lawn and their wedding breakfast.

Throughout the day, many details reflected Bobby’s Dutch family traditions and the season; bouquets of tulips from The Guelder Rose, Easter trees and gorgeous green bridesmaids dresses to name but a few of the touches the couple had worked hard on for many months to create their perfect day.

Tables were named after sweets and candy, and the most amazing candy buffet was laid out for the guests for the evening from Thistle Candelabras. I had great fun photographing the sweets, while the guests enjoyed their dinner.

Together with their two children, Bobby and Dani had the most beautiful day, their happiness was clear to see, and more than a few tears were shed during the day.

I wish you all the best for your future together. xxx

sweets for my sweet

Tags

chocolate mice, food, penny sweets, sweets, thistle candelabras, wedding, wedding reception

If you are old enough to remember buying penny sweets from your local newsagent and taking them away in little paper bags, you are going to love this post!

For me; the decision over whether to have an extra chocolate mouse or two more chocolate coins with sprinkles on was always a dilemma!

Now just imagine coming out of a wedding dinner and finding a huge table laid up with all those gorgeous sweets you loved as a kid, and not having to make a choice! Taking a small pink and white striped paper bag and filling it with all the goodies you love and indulging yourself.

For the guests at Danielle and Bobby’s wedding that I photographed on the Easter weekend, this was exactly what they got to enjoy.

I enjoyed around an hour photographing the sweets while dinner was served, then continued photographing the reactions of the guests as they saw the table. It was so funny to watch adults pinching a chocolate mouse and looking thoroughly pleased with themselves (all be it a little bit embarrassed!)

I think it is a fantastic idea for any party or wedding reception. The lady behind this fantastic idea is Nicola from Thistle Candelabras. She has a website and is on Facebook here.

Daisy the Landrover gets in on an engagement shoot!

Tags

chetenham, crickley hill, daisy cows, engagement, engagement photo session, fun, landrover, laughter, wedding

When I met with Gemma and Mark for the first time a couple of months ago, I just knew I was going to love being their wedding photographer. You see we share a mutual love of cows! Whilst Gemma is most certainly Mark’s first love, I get the feeling Daisy comes in pretty close behind! Daisy is a Landrover with a cow print design!

We met up this evening for their engagement photo session at Crickley Hill near Cheltenham. This location is special to them both as they have spent a lot of time up there since meeting each other, taking time out at the end of a long day to enjoy time together and watch the sunset.

Its fair to say these two did not stop smiling and laughing the whole time I was with them, and they were up for all the photo ideas I suggested. They even had me climbing on top of Daisy!

The weather was perfect, as the sun shone through the clouds, we watched the rain approach! It just about reached us, but didn’t stick around long, and to finish off we all sat a top of Daisy to watch the sun set over the stunning view from the top of the hill.

An absolutely perfect engagement session, and I can’t wait to photograph the wedding!

Gatcombe Horse Trials 1. March 2012

Tags

British Eventing, Christopher Burton, Cross Country, Eventing, Gatcombe 1, Gatcombe Park, photos of horses, William Fox Pitt, zara philips

Before I ever found a camera, I found ponies! So…….what better way to spend a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon, than taking photos of horses with my camera!

Gatcombe Park, plays host to three eventing fixtures each year. In the spring and autumn these are 1 day events. I love attending these, as the whole atmosphere is very friendly, and I am often the only person standing next to a jump (unlike Badminton where you have to wait for 3 horses to pass before making your way in sight of a jump!) These factors coupled with it being in the next door village to where I live, have made it a firm fixture in my calendar every year.

I captured the following images on Sunday. As well as the jumping photos I like to capture some ‘behind the scene’ moments which I have also shared here. I hope you enjoy them.

William Fox Pitt

Zara Philips

Learning the secrets of newborn photography

Tags

damian Mcgillicuddy, mcgillicuddy, newborn, newborn babies, tracey Willis, training, workshop

Arn’t babies just adorable….especially when they are asleep!

Yesterday I had the complete privilege of attending a workshop tutored by Damian McGillicuddy and Tracey Willis. Damian, who is one of only three photographers in the world to have been awarded ‘grand master’ status explained the principles behind the lighting of portraits (specifically newborns), whilst Tracey (multiple gold award-winning photographer)showed her unbelievable patience and skill at posing babies.

Bringing these skills together, I had a fantastic day of learning; with in-depth explanations of the hows and whys for each pose and lighting set up and the opportunity to ask as many questions as we could think up. I can’t wait to put it all into practice with some more newborn babies.

I now fully understand why all my babies are always wide awake during my photo shoots!

All photos on this blog were taken by me, with Oscar posed by Tracey and the lighting set up by Damian. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did taking them.

Project 24. The challenge is complete – Mirrors, textures and a self portrait! Themes 17 – 24

Tags

art deco, florabella, mirrors, napier, New Zealand, personal challenge, project 24, sand texture, self portrait, Travel, vacation

I hope you are reading this blog post, having followed my previous posts with an intro to Project 24 and images 1 – 16. If not please check out these links below, or type 24 into the search box on my blog.

Intro to Project 24, Project 24 themes 1-8, Project 24 themes 9 – 16.

As my personal Project 24 comes to its completion, I hope you enjoy the final images that I have chosen for themes 17 to 24.

17. Mirror or window

Reflection in a vintage car mirror

view from my window

Henry features in both of these images; adding interest and a focus to each of the photos. As in so many cases I couldn’t decide which theme to opt for so I did both!

The first I took in Napier during an Art Deco weekend that we attended. All dressed up in his 1930s outfit he couldn’t help himself making silly faces in the polished mirrors and chrome of these beautiful cars.

The second image I took on the 1st day of my holiday. We stayed in a gorgeous old bach (a beach house) set just above the beach. This deck was a perfect place to watch the world go by, and Henry enjoyed watching the birds and the dogs down on the beach from this great vantage point. Taken from inside the house, I used the window frame to portray the “window” element of this theme.

18. Texture or pattern

There was no way I was going to ever manage 1 image for this one! Sorry!

New Zealand is a very tactile place and I noticed textures and patterns in EVERYTHING! I love messing about on the beach and I took many sand texture images. The leaves, drift wood and tree bark were also a lot of fun to photograph.

The image of the ripples in the sand I took forever to capture. I was trying to photograph the tiny star pattern on the sand as the bubbles burst as the sea went out after each wave but it was quick a struggle. Look closely though and you might be able to see a tiny star at the centre of the ripple!

19. Light and dark

Look closely and you may just spot the New Zealand connection on this one. It’s a kiwi tree! I took a walk on a sculpture trail and spotted these gorgeous little black and white (light and dark) kiwis hanging in a tree. Made of lightweight metal; as the wind blew the whole tree became one massive wind chime, it was lovely. Had my son not dragged me on saying “its just some metal kiwis in a tree muuuum” I could have stood and photographed this sculpture for quite a while!

20. Self portrait

Really….I am that tall and thin! Looking for an interesting self-portrait I decided against a classic timer shot and opted for this; something a little different!

At 7am, the sun was just rising and my shadow was MASSIVE and very flattering (though I do look to have odd-shaped legs)!!!!

21. Vintage

How vintage is that! We were lucky enough to be in Napier for a whole weekend of Art Deco celebrations this year. People travel the world to be there and it just happened to fall on the weekend we were planning to go wine tasting! What a perfect weekend.

Every year the town plays host to over 60 vintage cars and an assortment of bikes and motor cycles. You may have already spotted a couple of images from the celebration else where in my challenge. Having taken over 200 images in one weekend all with a vintage twist I had quite a time picking this one. I love the feel and the colour edit I have used to try to evoke the vintage feel even more.

22. In a store

In a store; on a store????? I absolutely LOVE these two pukeko sculptures. Both balanced next to each other on a roof of a store. Tirau in the Waikato region of New Zealand is host to one impressive panel beater who designs signs of all types for shops and business’s throughout the area. These two caught my eye mostly because of the colour and I just love the beads and the heels on the lady!

23. Sparkle or blur

I’m dead impressed that I have sparkle AND blur in this one! Henry at his happiest – in the water, on the beach, enjoying the sun and a bit of an adrenaline rush.

I love his smile, I love how the water looks all fluffy and you can see a bit of movement but also the sparkle it has…..I just love this picture.

24. Tradition or lifestyle

To finish my challenge, what better way than to share these two images with you. The first I took off the back of my horse with my DSLR!

My life has always involved horses, and I am lucky enough to have a hubby who will climb on board each time we go on holiday, and a son who I have taught to ride this year. These two photos were taken during a two-hour trek on the East Coast. We rode along the beach and then high up into the hills above.

A dream come true for me, to all go out on a horse ride together. I hope this will turn into an annual tradition. For now, I will settle with having horses involved in the beautiful life that I lead.

THANK YOU so much for following my Challenge 24. I do hope you have enjoyed my selection of images. I have loved creating and selecting each and every image included. To add the story to each one has been a lot of fun. Thanks to Florabella for creating such a fun challenge.

Now what could be my next personal challenge? xx

Project 24. The challenge continues…….feathers and fur, sunlight and mother nature. Themes 9 – 16

Tags

chocolate biscuits, faceless portrait, florabella 24, mother nature, New Zealand, personal challenge, project 24, rotorua, sunlight, Travel

During my recent trip to New Zealand I set myself a personal photography creativity challenge. In this blog post you will find images which encompass 8 different project headings. Using the themes for inspiration I enjoyed creating images; some of which are a direct interpretation of the theme, others are a little less obvious!

If you have not yet read my intro to Project 24 click here, or my first eight challenge images click here.

Enjoy the next nine!

9. In the kitchen

Go on then; get inspired….take an interesting imaginative photo of a kitchen! Given that my sister was moving house and her kitchen was not very photogenic, and just as I’d decided to take a photo of her doing a BBQ for the challenge it rained at every opportunity….this is my challenge photo and I’m really pleased with it.

We took a kayak trip from Raglan one day and together with an amazing trip around the bay we stopped for (very strong) coffee, chocolate biscuits and pineapple. I decided this very primitive version of an outdoor kitchen was a little bit different.

10. Feathers or fur

Feathers AND fur! Furry hats depicting birds of a feather. Henry loves Angry birds, so when I saw this hat I just had to put it ion him for a photo-op. As you can see he was far happier about that hat than the kiwi one I also asked him to put on!

11. Ordinary beauty

Quite simply; every day I look at Henry and am in wonder that he is mine! Ok, he’s not exactly ordinary in my eyes, but in everyone else’s he probably is! Everything about him shouts beauty to me. His character, his looks and his little ways that make me smile.

12. Favourite colour

Blue - The original favourite colour!

My favourite colour during my New Zealand trip!

Blue or green? Green or blue? Honestly; my all time favourite colour is blue, so i started looking for something blue to photograph for this challenge. However, New Zealand is SO GREEN that I found myself noticing that colour so much, and when I saw the collage of green trees in the image above I decided I was torn between the two colours, and would just have to include both!

13. Mother Nature

Bubbling mud pools

Mother nature putting on a show! In Rotorua we visited several geothermal parks and experienced the sulphur smell, the hissing water and steaming vents all very natural wonders for this part of the world. I loved photographing these mud pools though and have several shots of the bubbles bursting. Even now looking at this photo I can hear the “gloop” noise they made just as they were about to pop!

Ok, couldn’t help myself. Another one for the “mother nature” title. I took several photos of this tree on the beach next to our cottage. I just love the shapes of the branches and the way it sits on the bank just above the beach. Mother nature creates some things I just can not help but photograph!

14. Faceless portrait

Take my hand

Kevin and Henry in the shallows. What you can’t see from this photo is that Henry had massive flippers on and holding Kevin’s hand was the only way he could walk along without falling over! Had me laughing out loud as I took the photo.

Alone on the beach

Taking photos into the sun can be a challenge to get all the detail in an image. This photo lends its self perfectly to the “faceless portrait” title though. I love the foot prints in the sand leading to Henry, and the waves just breaking behind him. He was busy playing in the sand and the sea as the sun came up. This is Henry at his happiest!

15. Sunlight

This image was taken as the sun rose on the beach at 6.30am. Not a technically perfect image, but it captures the moment perfectly for me.

16. Pastel palette

I apologise – it’s not very pastel…..but I really struggled with this one! So this goes half way to meeting the challenge, in that this pool is called the ‘Artists Palette’! There, got one of the words in! This beautiful lake is amazingly coloured, and even on this very dull and cloudy day, the colours were gorgeous. I had fun trying to take this photo though, as the steam kept blowing towards me and my lens got fogged up that many times. Henry thought it very funny!

So we are now at number 16. Eight images left to go in my project 24. Join me on my next blog post as I complete my personal journey on Project 24.

A walk in the Cotswolds – Edgeworth

Tags

cotswolds, edgeworth, family, Gloucestershire, spending time, stiles, walk

My blog tends to reflect my professional life, but every now and again I love to show you images which I have taken when I’m not working and spending time with and doing things that I love.

Today, as a family we took a walk down the valley from Edgeworth in the Cotswolds, about a 20 minute drive from where I live.

About 2.5 miles, we took it slow as Henry collected sticks, played in the stream and explored the banks covered in moss. Our dog; now nearly 16 found she needed a lift over some of the stiles, but otherwise she raced along chasing Henry and obediently took a dip in the stream to the amazement of us all (it was a bit chilly)!

Although I often leave my camera when I’m ‘off duty’ the weather was lovely today and with spring beginning to show her colours I knew i would regret it if I did not take it along. I took these photos throughout the walk. I hope you enjoy them. x

Edgeworth Church, Gloucestershire

Edgeworth village hall

Wellies drying by the radiator after our walk!

Project 24 – The first few!…..morning, simplicity and emotion. Themes 1 – 8.

Tags

creative, florabella 24, heart, morning sun, New Zealand, personal challenge, project 24, vacation

Hopefully you have seen my previous post regarding my personal creativity challenge? If not you can check out the introduction here.

This post contains the first eight of my images for this challenge. I hope you enjoy the images and the explanation behind how and why I chose to include them in this challenge. The explanations are many and varied!!!!!

Number 1. Morning

Once in a lifetime we should all be the first person in the world to see the sun rise! This photo was taken on the most easterly coastline in the world on the beautiful Anura beach. It sees the sun rise every day before anywhere else – hence this is a pretty special photo for me. We stayed at a gorgeous beach house right on the beach. It’s not often you get me out of bed before 7am, but my son was down on the beach at 6.30 am building sand castles and so I joined him with my camera. I wasn’t much help with the castle building as I must have snapped around 100 images of the beautiful beach and sun. The sun glinting on his back, the complete submersion in what he was doing and all the memories it brings back when I look at this image make it a worthy inclusion for me in this challenge.

Number 2. Simplicity

This type of tree (the Norfolk pine) covered the land of New Zealand when dinosaurs roamed the earth (or at least that’s what Kevin told Henry!) I love the beautiful star shape of these branches. Such simplicity.

3. Mood or emotion

I struggled a bit with which image to use here. Mostly because just about every image I capture portrays some kind of a mood or emotion when an individual is included in the image. For this challenge I was looking for something that was a little different though; hence which I chose this one. I love drawing in the sand, especially on perfect pristine beaches, and I managed to draw this perfect heart, with the one tiny footprint just below it. I played with the colour to reflect the mood and emotion of love.

4. Diptych or Triptych (for the less uninitiated; a collection of 2 or 3 images that work together to tell a story).

No beach holiday is complete without a sandcastle building session! Kevin and Henry built this monster together. Beautifully crafted and a perfect opportunity for the two of them to enjoy digging, crafting and creating!

5. Shades of white

I really struggled with this challenge! When you start to look for white things you just can’t find them. This gorgeous vintage car was part of an art deco weekend parade that we attended in Napier. I love the paint colour, the dappled shade and the silvery white of the ultra polished chrome.

6. Fruit or floral

The pohutukawa tree is also known as the  New Zealand Christmas tree, as it flowers at christmas. These beautiful bright red blooms against the dark green foliage. I’ve never managed to photograph one of these trees in full bloom, but this one had a cluster of flowers still looking gorgeous just above head level, so  I snapped a few close up bloom shots.

7. Holding an object

Had my sister planned to grow a crop of heart-shaped tomatoes for valentine’s day she could have made herself a few dollars! However, that is exactly what she managed to do without trying. She picked this and about 10 other tomatoes perfectly heart-shaped on the day we arrived with her in New Zealand 2 days before valentine’s day.

8. Perspective

Ok, I’ll give you three guesses!

Vines photographed from a balcony above the Mission Estate winery in Napier. Of course we had to taste test as well as take this interesting image!

I’m going to finish this blog posting at number 8 of 24. Please follow onto the other two blog posts to see some more great images.

Project 24 – My personal creative challenge!

Tags

challenge images, family time, florabella 24, my creativity, New Zealand, vacation

As a professional photographer it’s very easy to get comfortable with photographing a certain subject or creating images in a certain way. Always striving to create images for clients, sometimes my creativity gets a little lost as I get bogged down in the daily pressures of work and meeting deadlines.

I was lucky enough to take 3 wonderful weeks out with my family recently on a fantastic trip down under to New Zealand and Australia. If anything was going to spark my creativity that certainly was!

It’s all too easy to go snapping away when on holiday, and I wanted to give myself a little challenge this time, hence I started hunting around for a photographic challenge that would inspire me, and make me really think about the photographs I was taking and the way I interpreted certain words.

I started following the amazingly creative Florabella on Facebook around a year ago, and had made a mental note of her project 24 when I first saw it. This project seemed perfect for my holiday. It was completely flexible, had no deadline or timescales in which to complete, and the headings for photos to be gathered under were intriguing!

So, armed with my trusty Nikon D40x and its original kit lenses (leaving all the expensive work gear at home) I set out on my own personal Challenge 24!

Some days I snapped 2 or three of the challenge images, other days I wondered how on earth I could get creative enough to take an interesting photo to meet some of the headings such as “kitchen”!

Some of the headings had an option to do one or the other such as “sparkle or blur”. This one I actually excelled myself and managed both in the same image! Others with my usual inability to make a choice ended up with an image for each word! Hence my “24″ is actually more like 27!

This is kind of an introductory blog post for the two that will follow with the images in.

I hope you enjoy the images, and the explanations as to how and why I chose and created each one. I hope you enjoy seeing a little of my ‘non professional’ photography, and some of the amazing images that I have captured.  xx

Challenge themes 1-8

Challenge themes 9-16

Challenge themes 17 – 24