Emma & Tony’s Wedding Album Design

No Gravatar

Ah, this is another one of our album designs. I LOVED this beautiful (and chilly) winter wedding – though it’s always a challenge when there is so little light!

We had been looking forward to Emma and Tony’s wedding for ages – we knew it was going to be both gorgeous (Emma has an amazing eye for detail as well as being very very lovely!) and a lot of fun. And so it proved to be. Though it was flippin’ freezin’!

Here are a few of the spreads from their album design for you to have a look through. This was one of those truly romantic weddings – lots of tears (of joy) and laughter. Look out for the image of the fantastic vicar balancing on a small ladder to light the candle scarily high on a lamp-post outside her church! Wonderful!

Incidentally, this is a digital mockup of the final album – it’s been an ongoing project of ours to get these mockups to look as close to the finished product as possible so that you really do get a sense of how the album will feel when you have it sat in front of you. One of these days we might do a walkthrough of how we create them but rest assured it took a lot of photography, Photoshop and writing code so that we can now produce them at the press of a button!

I’m curious what you think – is this a good thing to do or should we use a more traditional flat-layout approach e.g. straight out of the design package? Let me know as we’re always interested in getting feedback, though (of course) we do think they look rather good!

Take care
Cheers
P.





Posted in Finished Album Designs, For Website, Weddings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Melissa & Andy’s Pre-Wedding Session, Haddenham, Bucks

No Gravatar

Loving this time of year! OK, well, I am if you quietly ignore the rather, er, intriguing weather! So far (touch wood) I’ve been rather lucky and have managed to side-step most of the showers, at least at the moments I’ve actually needed to have a camera in my hand: though I have managed to get drowned heading both to and from shoots!

Anyway, this shoot was perfect (and so was the weather!)

We’ve been looking forward to Melissa and Andy’s wedding since they booked us – it’s one of the reasons I so enjoy our pre-wedding sessions as it sort of kicks things off!

The shoot was all done here at our studio in Haddenham which is always lovely – and I’ve mocked up a couple of the images to see what they’d look like as frames. Rather good I think! :)

Enjoy!
Cheers
P.



Posted in For Website, Pre-Wedding and Engagement Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Look who’s in the window!

No Gravatar

Now we are in the new studio we have the opportunity to show our some of our favourite images in the window. Unanimously this was mine and Michelle’s favourite and one that makes me smile every time I see it. The picture is of Dan, Henry & Arlo from the Puddleducks photography day where Paul captured the boys perfectly. Paul took a series of pictures of the boys laughing and joking against the wall. On this one I like the way the boys are standing and making each other laugh.

The best highlight is hearing the boys come past after school, as we understand they have to make a detour every day to check they are still in the window!

Sarah x





Posted in Chat, For Website, Lifestyle and Location Portraiture, News and Updates | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Images for the “Let’s Hear It For Deaf Children” Campaign

No Gravatar

We shoot a huge range of commercial photography for the Hearing Dogs charity – puppies, partnerships, PMs (yup, we’ve photographed David Cameron), celebrities and events. However, this job was a really intriguing one.

We were asked to capture some images of Hearing Dogs that could be used for the “Let’s Hear It For Deaf Children” campaign which they were setting up to raise awareness and funds to provide Hearing Dogs to some of the 45,000 children in the UK who are deaf: we’ve blogged many times about the difference these dogs make to children and their families – an amazing cause!

This shoot was a lot of fun for us as it brought together all of our experience in getting the best out of the dogs along with a little Photoshop magic – and a very tight deadline! It was all done on site, which is pretty normal for us, but the lighting had to be perfect so that the dogs’ faces were perfect even though I was shooting them really close up on a wide angle lens! Not easy but hey, I do like a challenge!

The finished campaign website is here – let us know what you think and feel free to support it – it’s one of the reasons I ran the London Marathon!

Take care
Cheers
P.



Posted in Commercial Photography, For Website, Hearing Dogs | Tagged , | Leave a comment

26.2 Miles, 23000 Strides, 43000 Heartbeats, 4500 Calories, 1 Dropped Camera: Paul’s London Marathon

No Gravatar

I did it! I have finally fulfilled one of my all-time ambitions. I have run the London Marathon. Not any old 26.2 miles – the LONDON Marathon.

This race has held an odd place in my heart since I first saw it on the telly when I was a kid. I say an ‘odd’ place because, as those who know me will vouch, I am not a runner. More comfort than speed if you know what I mean. Yet for some inexplicable reason I have never been able to get the idea out of my head. I have always wanted to run the London Marathon.

Then a little serendipity last year when, within a week or two of each other, I photographed this auspicious race (on behalf of the Hearing Dogs) and Chris ‘Sensei’ Fensom – a Karate and Fitness Trainer. And before I knew it I had lined up a charity runner place along with a first-class trainer. And blimey did I need it.

So roll the clock forward 12 months and here we are sitting on the other side of one of my life’s ambitions.

The ‘race’ (this is surely a loose term for the carnival that paraded/jogged/limped/danced/skipped its way through London’s historic sights) was nothing like I had expected. Nothing.

You can train to run a distance, as I have proved, but you cannot predict stepping from an empty tube platform onto a train crammed full of athletic-looking runners all with their bright red kit bags and well-toned bodies. I had my heart monitor on by then and I noted with a degree of alarm that my heart rate had already shot off to 110bpm – and I was doing nothing but holding onto a hand rail! I couldn’t believe how fit everyone looked and how un-ready I began to feel!

Still, I am nothing if not head-strong so I figured I would manage it somehow.

Then you arrive at Blackheath and the party really starts. Though if you’re looking to go to the loo I would allow a lot of time for queuing!

And queuing was the theme for much of the day! Even the start line – it took 25 minutes to get to the line itself after the race had begun – was a long queue paraded past crowds of enthusiastic supporters on the other side of a high fence. It did feel, just a little, like poor suckers being roared into an arena for the joy of the crowd. All it needed was Julius Caesar to preside over things for it to be complete!

Still, once we were running the party began. And boy was it a party! Not that you got to talk to anyone of course, it was all I could do to focus on the road ahead, but with the bands, cheerleaders, barbecues, an enthusiastic Catholic priest with his Holy Water, fancy dress runners and London’s glorious backdrop and people it was a festival to end all festivals!

And it’s just as well that it’s like that as I had no idea how long 26.2 miles really is. I had run 20 as part of my training (yes, that hurt too) but it turns out that each individual mile after that felt more like 5 or 6. My favourite sign in the crowd? The one at 21 miles that simply said ‘Cold Beer 5.2 miles’. I held that picture in my head for the next 50 minutes. Genius.

We probably had more support there than anyone I know with friends and family (thank you!!!) coming from all over and watching it on the TV. Did I see them? No. Did they seem me? Nope. Bugger. But with a crowd of 40,000 people running past a crowd of probably millions, maybe I should have worn something a little more stylish. Like a PacMan outfit or the Eiffel Tower maybe. Still just knowing they were in the crowd was support enough. Every time I felt rubbish, I simply pictured one of them there and figured I couldn’t stop. Stopping would be a failure and, besides, too many people had sponsored me, encouraged me, put up with me, trained me, massaged me, laughed at me, worried about me to not make it.

Oh, and just to make things more interesting of course, I carried one of my cameras and a couple of lenses with me. In my fantasy I imagined I’d stop and take award-winning press-style images full of grit and theater but the reality was that once I started running I was not going to a) stop or b) change the lens. Luckily the wide-angle I was using suited the job pretty well and was also pretty tough: I dropped the camera unceremoniously at about mile 7 sending my trusty Nikon slamming across the London street. I’ll get it checked but there doesn’t seem to be any major damage – though I did make sure I wiped the sweat of my hands every time I went to take it out of the bag after that!

And so how did I do? Well, a very respectable (at least to me) 4 hours 40 minutes! Far far faster than I could ever have hoped for!

So would I do it again? Yes I think I would. But only London. I don’t think any other race on the planet would live up to it. What a day!

If you would like to sponsor my fund-raising for the Hearing Dogs, please visit my JustGiving page. Thank you!



Posted in For Website, Hearing Dogs, News and Updates | 2 Comments

London Marathon – Please Sponsor Me (if you haven’t already of course!)

No Gravatar

So that’s it, I have finished training and I’m just going through the last few days of pain – which is to say, eating not much else but pasta, rice and potatoes. I have never looked forward to a Sunday night pint so much in all my life!

The Marathon is on Sunday so I’m beginning to feel the terror (apparently that’s normal – even for experienced runners which, frankly, I am not!) and I should expect sleepless nights too as if aching muscles weren’t enough!

So this is my last appeal to everyone for your sponsorship. So so many people have been incredibly generous – it’s really humbling – both through our Just Giving site and directly in the studio and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it!

I am raising funds for the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity – a charity set up by Ben Fogle’s father that provides assistance dogs specifically trained to help people with hearing difficulties. I have met countless recipients of these amazing dogs and their reaction to having new-found freedom and confidence is something I can honestly say I hadn’t appreciated. So many stories, so many smiles – one recipient put it beautifully: the dog is the beginning of a new stage of her life, providing confidence that she never thought she’d have again.

In particular, it’s the kids that I find inspirational. 45,000 children in the UK are deaf. That is a very very big number! The Hearing Dogs have run some amazing studies, providing dogs to some of these kids and their families. And the results are, frankly, astounding.

You may have seen the story of James Cheung on the BBC recently. I have had the pleasure of photographing this little lad and his mum a couple of times. You could not meet a nicer, friendlier, more outgoing, confident little boy. But that, apparently, is fairly recent. Prior to receiving his Hearing Dog Kurt, James would have sleepless nights (think about it: you go to bed and take out your hearing aids. Suddenly it’s dark and silent. That would freak me out but a 10 year old?) and found it hard to relate to other kids. Now he has Kurt, he sleeps well and his mates all adore his dog – giving him something to talk about. Oh, and the dog is trained to drag his duvet off in the morning on his mum’s command. Now THAT is something we could ALL do with!

James is one of only a dozen or so kids with these dogs so clearly there is so much to do! But they make such a dramatic difference to the children and their families that it is crucial we support the charity and its work!

In my effort to raise my money I have run nearly 700 training miles (most of them hurt!) burning up over 80,000 calories (no wonder I’ve lost a little weight!), been through two pairs of running trainers, consumed tubes of Deep Heat, had half a dozen fantastic sport massages (the most painful – though invaluable – part of the whole process), met Arsenal FC’s brilliant Chiropractor (she forgave me for being a Liverpool supporter – very charitable – and has given my invaluable help for getting through it!) and have only lost our dog in the fog once. Result.

And on top of all that, I’ll be carrying my camera with me! Though I have to be honest, the test shots I’ve done with it while running have been a tad random. I had better capture the majority in the first few miles or heaven only knows what I’ll get!

So, if you haven’t already, PLEASE SPONSOR ME!

It’s very very easy. You can go to my Just Giving page, you can using your mobile (just text FOTO77 £10 to 70070) or you can drop by the studio where, as many have discovered, Michelle and Sarah won’t let you leave without making a donation!

So that’s it. Hopefully my training is enough to get me round but if all else fails, I’ll have some nice photos of paramedics!

Incidentally my running number is 40465 and for anyone interested you should be able to see whether I’ve stopped for a pint at the Virgin London Marathon Tracker page and, assuming the technology works, you can live track my GPS on my Runkeeper page.

Wish me luck and mine’s a pint!

Take care
Cheers
P.



Posted in For Website, News and Updates | Tagged | Leave a comment

Our Newest Collection – now as an eBook too!

No Gravatar

We have had so many requests for copies of our newest collection book it’s untrue! So, in response to that here is a quick preview of the book and a link where it can be purchased either as a physical book or as an Apple eBook (we haven’t yet got it onto the iBookStore but keep an eye out for it!) In the meantime, you can use the basket link beneath the preview below to order it as a downloadable eBook or as a lovely printed version.

The book has 116 pages and the 7″ physical version is printed on beautiful mat paper and is a gorgeous little coffee-table book to have at home or as a gift for someone who likes what we do! You may have gathered we’re pretty proud of it!

If you’d like to see a copy before ordering we always have a copy here in the studio.

Enjoy!


Posted in Chat, For Website, News and Updates | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Naomi and James, Pre-Wedding Session, Nether Winchendon, Bucks

No Gravatar

This is a lovely time of year for us as it marks the first sessions we have with many of our wedding clients for the year. Our engagement / pre-wedding sessions are an integral part of our wedding season as they give us a great opportunity to meet the couples we’ll be photographing later in the year and to get a sense for how they feel to be photographed. It’s a really lovely thing to do!

Naomi and James are getting married later this year and their reception is going to be at Nether Winchendon house, so we headed down there for the session. The house and village are nestled in a valley just beyond Cuddington so we met there and wandered down the lane chatting and finding patches of interesting light in which to capture an image or two. And we came back with an armful of pictures that Sarah could craft into a beautiful slideshow!

Can’t wait until their big day now!

Enjoy!



Posted in For Website, Pre-Wedding and Engagement Photography | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Thame Out Magazine Article

No Gravatar

Lots of people seem to have seen this already but for those who haven’t, Thame Out magazine has published a great article about us and our new studio. Featuring some images of our lifestyle photography in Turn End Gardens and the studio, it is definitely worth going and grabbing a copy for! But we would say that wouldn’t we? Sneak preview below :)





Posted in Chat, For Website, News and Updates | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nikon Pro Featured Image, Spring 2012

No Gravatar

To appear in the Nikon Pro magazine has always been an ambition for Paul ever since he owned his first Nikon camera. And guess what? In the Spring edition, one of Paul’s images has a double page spread!

At the end of last year we submitted a few of our favourite wedding images and Nikon Pro selected the speech shot from Cassidy & Richard’s wedding – the one that won Paul the title of UK Wedding Photographer 2011. The image looks brilliant as a double page spread and is in such great company with featured images selected from photographers around the world.

Well done Paul! :)





Posted in Chat, For Website, News and Updates, Weddings | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment