Archive for September, 2009
Caroline, Ray, Emily and Lily at Coombe Hill
Posted by Paul in For Website, Lifestyle on September 27th, 2009
Ah, now this was one of those sessions.
The light, the location, the family. It all just fell into place and we had a ball.
Lily was clearly the star of the show and played for the camera from start to finish (it was hard to know when to stop as we could have carried on getting stunning images until it went dark!) but we have really lovely images of everyone both individually and as groups.
One of the reasons we like Coombe Hill so much (apart from the fact that it is generally a very beautiful place to be) is that there is so much variety in which we can capture images, from the grassy area as you go into the National Trust area, to the woodland, to the high almost moor-like area on the top to the deep forested area reminiscent of many a Hollywood Sherwood forest! And to top it all nicely, the last shot was taken in the carpark itself! No opportunity wasted!
Oh, and there’s nearly always an ice-cream van parked up there somewhere which keeps the kids and adults alike happy!
As I said earlier, this was one of those sessions!
Let us know what you think.
Cheers
P.
Christina and Richard’s Wedding at Le Manoir
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 23rd, 2009
I could get used to this. Having venues like Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons (and the clients who book there) that is. There is definitely something about the place. Maybe it’s the whole chilled atmosphere or maybe it’s the stunning grounds. Maybe it’s just that it seems so familiar or that our clients who have booked this little pile in the Oxfordshire countryside always seem really lovely. Dunno. Either way, I love working there – which is just as well as we’ve been there fairly regularly this season!
We do seem to be blessed with cool, classy venues around us with Le Manoir, The Crazy Bear and Notley Abbey all within a 10 minute drive from where we’re based!
Anyway, I was up at Raymond Blanc’s little pad again last week for Christina and Richard’s wedding. And it was wonderful. The weather was great, the guests were great, the food was great (according to the guests – I nipped home for lunch as I don’t really like to photograph people eating – seems rude somehow), the gardens were stunning (again, according to the guests, many of whom appeared to be incredibly knowledgeable gardeners!) and the service, as always, was exemplary.
And this extends to the guys up at the Bat & Ball pub in nearby Cuddesdon which is where I met the bridal party first thing in the morning (it felt like dawn as it was a pretty early start!) and was immediately offered a cup of coffee by the landlady which was hugely welcome!
So all in all, a fantastic day full of beautiful moments, plenty of emotion and an awful lot of affection all shot against the familiar sandstone backdrop that is Le Manoir. Beautiful.
Let us know what you think
Cheers
P.
Elizabeth & Dave’s Wedding at Notley Abbey
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 21st, 2009
Ah, a breath of Californian sunshine in the Buckinghamshire countryside. In September as well.
We spend a lot of time and effort keeping our website and blogs up to date (well, reasonably up to date) and it was great to know that it works – Elizabeth found us from her home in California through Google!
I knew this was going to be a great wedding the minute that we met Dave and Elizabeth at our studio and so it turned out to be. They were married at Penn St. Church and had there reception at Notley Abbey which is very close to us – and is utterly stunning.
The weather? Well, what can I say about the weather? Given our pretty dramatic summer, you’d be forgiven for thinking a couple from California were nuts for choosing an early autumn UK venue for their wedding! However, fortune favours the brave as they say and it couldn’t be more true. It was pretty funny to see a crowd of people used to very hot weather, sitting in an English church trying to keep cool by using the orders of service as makeshift fans!
I am not sure what our American guests made of it all (particularly the formality of an English wedding) but with two gorgeous (and very old) venues, glorious sunshine and a beautiful couple who could not be more in love, it was truly a wedding that Richard Curtis could write a film about! Stunning!
Caitriona & Shaun’s Wedding in the Dordogne
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 21st, 2009
I’ve just returned from the first wedding we’ve been commissioned to photograph in France; three scorching days in the Dordorgne at the most beautiful Chateau de la Bourlie with a brilliant group of people (life’s tough huh?!)
We were absolutely thrilled to be able to offer our services and be part of such a special occasion. Although the location of the wedding was not exactly local, we created a bespoke wedding package to fit perfectly with what they were looking for. This package included our usual pre-wedding session that was held on a glorious summer’s evening on Wandsworth Common, close to their home in London.
We are always meticulous about getting the details and logistics right in advance of the Big Day – and this is even more important where large distances are concerned – however it was well worth investing the time as everything went without so much as a hiccup and we have some absolutely beautiful images that are going to make a truly memorable wedding album for Caitriona and Shaun and their family.
Claire & Iain’s Wedding at the Crazy Bear
Posted by Paul in For Website, Weddings on September 21st, 2009
Once again, our summer weather has been a bit of a talking point – and for all the wrong reasons. Let’s be honest here, we have experienced quite a range of conditions this year!
However, we are exceedingly fortunate in that our cameras can withstand pretty much any weather that is thrown at us – quite literally sometimes. Though that doesn’t always make it nice to be standing out in it!
One such wedding that we had the pleasure of photographing in torrential rain and thunderstorms earlier this year was at the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton. Now, to most brides and grooms this would appear to be an absolute disaster but to Claire and Iain (who are the ultimate chilled couple), it was quite the reverse – it simply added drama and excitement to the day! I love clients like that!
The Crazy Bear is one of the few venues where it is equally atmospheric inside as out and the Moroccan lounge felt welcoming and cozy as the heavens opened all around us. We did manage to squeeze in some of the family group shots outside – while dodging the downpours – but it made no difference to the day which was ultimately a huge celebration even with thunder growling away in the background!
I absolutely loved photographing this day!
The Krauze Family
Posted by Paul in For Website, Lifestyle on September 10th, 2009
It’s late and I’m writing a blog.
I’ve just spent a very happy 20 minutes trying to get my head around my own Facebook profile and, much to my embarrassment given my technology background, failed miserably. I think have just asked quite a few people I know (and possibly one or two I have absolutely no knowledge of whatsoever) to be ‘friends’ of mine. If only real life were so easy huh? Just login and say ‘be my friend’. Actually, come to think of it, my boy Jake does exactly that – he simply walks into a situation – any situation – and excitedly makes new friends. Oh for the confidence of youth!
Anyway, unsurprisingly, I’m digressing. Back to the job in hand. (Is it any wonder I get behind with my blogs when I spend so much time talking about anything but the topic I set out to write about?!)
So, where was I? Ah yes, the Krauze family.
I wasn’t sure quite what to expect with this shoot as it was in a location above Nether Winchendon that we’ve never photographed before. I shouldn’t have worried though as the light was beautiful up there and we found an absolute wealth of locations in which to work.
At the end of the day this job is all about the light as that is, technically, all a photo is. A split second of light reflected from whatever it is your capturing. You’ve got to love photography for that utter simplicity.
I love these images for the characters in them though as much as the light. This was a fantastic session, full of energy and life and I think that it shows in the images. And just when I thought we’d caught everything, one of the lads pulled off the perfect ‘Dick Van Dyke’! A good day by anybody’s standards!
Let us know what you think.
Cheers
P.
Rachel & Bob’s Wedding
Posted by Paul in For Website on September 10th, 2009
And the whole village turned out. Or so it seemed.
This was a proper village affair as Bob & Rachel are one of the most popular couples I have ever had the pleasure to photograph. And, when you realise that their wedding fell on the same day as the Haddenham Real Ale Festival – an event of such magnitude that it typically results in the village and outlying area taking on the appearance of an apocryphal film where every man, woman and child has mysteriously and simultaneously disappeared, then it becomes clear just how popular they are! The crowd was huge!
I do love it when we get to work a proper local wedding – and this was almost the definition of such a term – as we know most of the guests which always makes it good fun! This was also a wonderfully family-orientated wedding with kids everywhere. We had to laugh as we spotted a crowd of small boys attempting – with a degree of success I believe – to break into a small, locked ornamental cage containing bags of sweets! I dunno. Kids these days huh? 
Let us know what you think,
Cheers
P.
Oliver Peyton in St James Park
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website on September 8th, 2009
It’s not every day you get to photograph a restaurateur. Particularly not a great one like Oliver Peyton.
I have to admit I wasn’t certain who he was initially but when you real off the fantastic restaurants he’s been responsible for (Mash, Coast, The Atlantic Bar and Grill, Admiralty, The National Gallery dining rooms, Inn the Park – the list goes on) that you know exactly who he is – and I have had many a good night in the venues he’s been responsible for. Ah, those were the days! He’s also one of the judges on the BBC Great British Menu programme so if I ever sat down to watch the telly…
Anyway, I met Oliver at his Inn The Park in St James Park to get some images for use in Owner Manager magazine – the official magazine of the Small Firms Association in Ireland.
Before I had met him, I knew his time was tight but when he arrived 15 minutes late, it rapidly became a shoot that we’d need to complete under a load more pressure than I’d hoped. Still, it was a gorgeous day in a London park so I just sat and soaked up the fantastic atmosphere. All good.
When Oliver bowled up we had an extremely rapid session (I think it lasted a total of 20 minutes) and we created 40 diverse images ranging from the cover image on a black background through to some really enigmatic images of the man himself on the balcony of his restaurant. Fast, yes, but creative. The images have turned out exactly as I would have wished (and they’re now in the magazine) even allowing for it being such a short session.
And Oliver is an absolute character – the man is a live-wire and very funny! So it was 20 minutes of photography with chat! And he seemed most pleased with the fact that I had only ’stolen’ 20 minutes of his valuable time.
And who can ask for better than that?
Let us know what you think!
Cheers
P.
Donna & Phil’s Pre-Wedding Session
Posted by Paul in For Website, Pre-Wedding on September 7th, 2009
OK OK, I admit it. We’ve already shot Donna & Phil’s wedding (it was last week and it was utterly gorgeous!) I’m trying to catch up on our blog backlog and their pre-wedding session was so lovely, it would be a shame not to give it a mention!
This was one of those pre-wedding sessions that we’ll remember I think – beautiful venue (Hunton Park in Hertfordshire), stunning weather, great company and a really very nice pub snack (at the Clarendon – a venue I can heartily recommend!) to break the session up nicely. I think my family may have thought I had managed to get lost on my way home given I was missing for the best part of 5 hours! Still, it was worth it as the pictures are beautiful and besides, Donna and Phil are really lovely to be around which made it a thoroughly enjoyable way to while away a sunny June Sunday!
Ah, I do so love my job. 
Haddenham Youth Football Club Funday
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website on September 6th, 2009
Well, it’s been an early start this morning as I’ve just been over to grab some pictures for the guys at the Haddenham Youth Football Club Funday. I’m always amazed by the club – everything from the dedication of the all the coaches (and the lads who play) to the enthusiasm and support from the parents who are there with them. Also, at this particular funday, they do a rather commendable bacon bap and coffee!
A month or so ago, we’d persuaded three of the lads from the club to give us a hand grabbing a shot for the programme – with some fantastic results!
I’d had this idea of a shot of one of the lads scissor-kicking a ball over the top of the camera as I thought it would be really dramatic and eye-catching. So, having hauled ourselves in a suitable goalmouth in the pouring rain, we rigged a couple of remote flash guns to see if we could get the shot.
The shots we caught are absolutely fantastic (all three of the lads are exceedingly talented when it comes to the beautiful game) but it was at the very end when we grabbed just a quick image of the boys soaking wet and covered in mud that, and I have to say somewhat unexpectedly, the best photo of the day emerged. Funny how it happens that way sometimes. You work hard at getting the image you had in your head (and, in this instance we did get some great shots!) but so often it’s an image that sort of creeps up on you and takes you by surprise that is ultimately the killer picture. 3 lads, 3 footballs, a liberal coating of fresh goalmouth mud and a constant drizzle of August rain and you have the perfect image.
And that’s the one we used in the advert.
Let us know what you think.
Cheers
P.
PS. Should just add that the Funday was awesome – hats off to everyone involved in its organising and the running of the day. Just brilliant!
PPS. Should also add a huge ‘thank you’ to Ciaran, Tom and Evan for providing their not inconsiderable talent and skill to help us get the shot
Crazy Bear, Crazy Summer
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website on September 6th, 2009
Blimey. This has been (and continues to be) one heck of a summer! I know, I know, the weather hasn’t exactly left us all reeling with heatstroke, but it has (so far at least) been warm and wet. Considering the cold and wet summer we endured last year, I’ll live with that. However, from a photography perspective, we continue to have an absolutely brilliant season.
For us, it’s not just about having lots of clients (though, of course, it helps) – it’s just as much about the type of clients we have and the opportunities they present for us to create beautiful images. And on both of those fronts life couldn’t be better. We have a wonderfully diverse client base that every single day brings new and exciting challenges – and on top of that, we get to meet the nicest people possible!
Anyway, I have to admit, I’m trying to catch up on some of the blogging that has been so woefully absent for the past month or two: please forgive me on that front as I am sure you will understand I would always choose to be creating beautiful images rather than writing my blog (though actually I love writing this thing – it’s just that I love photography more!)
So going back to one of our favourite clients – The Crazy Bear. We were lucky enough to be asked to photograph their new Members Only Club in Covent Garden, London. Once again the guys have created the most magical venue that is both a pleasure to be in and a pleasure to photograph. I can highly recommend a trip over there to anyone who loves their Sushi (as I do) as their chef is utterly fantastic!
Let us know what you think!
Take care
Cheers
P.
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