It was the Master Photographer’s Association Central Region Awards evening and our images – or rather images we’ve shot of and for our clients – did rather well.

We won the Under 5’s and Press/PR categories and we were runner-up in the Wedding category. In any of the regions this would be a good result but given some of the other big names in photography in our region this is an exceptional outcome.

I couldn’t be there as I had a long-standing appointment with clients that couldn’t be moved but Sarah was there and the feedback has been amazing.

So a huge thank you to all of you, our clients, who continue to ask us to produce images that not only look fantastic in frames and albums in your homes but also stand up as beautiful images in their own right. And the judges seem to agree!

Take care
Cheers
P.

We’ve already talked about Claire and Iain’s wedding at the Crazy Bear but I thought you might be curious as to their finished album. Well, it was every bit as stunning (and as unusual) as their wedding. 12 inches square and finished in the most beautiful calfskin leather (and weighing more than your average Italian car), it is truly unique – just as every wedding album should be!

Cheers
P.

Rain? No problem.

Harsh sunshine? No problem.

Snow? No problem.

Richter scale gales? No problem.

Fog. Ah yes, that stuff of Stephen King thrillers. Cold. Clammy. Haunting. Fog.

I’ve never really photographed in fog as such – I have taken photographs of fog. But that is not the same thing at all. Photographing group portraits through fog is an entirely different beast.

For a start, it’s finger-numbingly cold. Not that romantic, crystal clear, frost type cold that makes you feel good to be alive. No. This is a wet, penetrating chill that eats its way through your clothing and sucks the feeling from your digits. The type of cold that makes your eyes (and nose!) drip and drizzle uncontrollably. And, in an obvious twist of the unfortunate – certainly if you’re a photographer – you can’t really see too much. True, the flat, wrap-around light it creates makes for the most enigmatic and gentle face portraits imaginable. However, if you cannot see your clients through the gloom then this is not much use.

Still, nothing ventured as they say.

So here we were in Wendover Woods in Buckinghamshire with the Baldwin family. And it was absolutely worth the risk. I grant you it took the rest of the day for my fingers to come back to life, but the shots we got were gorgeous. Really unusual and atmospheric. And, as the fog ebbed and flowed around the hill tops like some ghostly ocean sloshing around the foot of some magical inland coast, we had moments of inexplicably stunning sunshine which flung warmth and light at us with such force that it took your breath.

And then by way of apology, would close in again leaving us pulling coat zips back up and tightening hoods and scarves.

A true winter shoot that produced beautiful and distinctive images.

My new year’s resolution this year (actually, just one of my new year’s resolutions. If I’m being honest, of course, there are numerous including the obligatory lose weight, spend more time with my family/friends, sleep more, talk less but hey, who’s counting?) is to get on top of our blog. I should make it clear at this point that I love writing the blog. It’s like talking. But without the requirement that anyone stop and listen. It’s just that it takes time and time seems to be one commodity I never have enough of.

That is, unless, I happen to be sitting on a train whipping past the frozen pastures and woodland of this glorious landscape that we’re blessed with around here in Buckingamshire. Quintessentially English and breathtakingly beautiful. Maybe not as awe-inspiring as my native North Wales, but we really do take this gently curvaceous scenery far too much for granted. And, on a crystal morning like this, it’s tear-jerkingly pretty.

As it was just before Christmas (nice link huh? D’yer see what I did there?) when I set out to photograph Krystina, Ryan and Jacqueline – and two unbelievably well-trained gun-dogs: Max and Jet – on their family farmland above Marlow.

I’m not normally known for photographing animals but we’d been asked to create some images for Christmas presents – and I do like a challenge. And thank goodness or I would have missed some truly unique images.

The weather had been truly awful all week but, for this particular afternoon, the muddy grey December veil lifted briefly to expose that wondrous raking winter sunshine that you only get on a few days of the year. Couple that with three siblings who were fantastic company (no, seriously, we just laughed for two hours!) and two dogs that were the epitome of health and contentment (and, alarmingly, better behaved than my own kids) and we were on for one of those sessions!

Utterly stunning!

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.

We chose Coombe Hill for this particular jaunt and it was a great choice. The light up there is always different, always exciting and this day was no exception. You can see it in the photos we have (note that the bluey green images are created using a hi-power video light. A neat little gadget that gives us some wonderful images!)

I love these images – particularly the really panoramic wide-crops. I have always had a thing about cinema-style images and somehow these photographs just lent themselves to it. Beautiful.

We’ve just finished designing a gorgeous album from the images from this shoot and I’m hoping to be able to show it online later. We’re hugely proud of it the way it’s going to look – it’ll be an absolutely stunning family book!

Let us know what you think.

Cheers
P.

Neil, Nikki and Tom were fantastic to photograph – very easy going and very much a close family unit. Tom, in particular, loved being in front of the camera and the photos we have of him are just stunning. It’s going to be an absolute pleasure to photograph their wedding!

PS. I should just add that we had the pleasure of photographing Neil and Nikki’s wedding on Saturday (we’re a bit behind on our blogging – but I didn’t want to miss this one out) and it was every bit as gorgeous as we knew it would be!

And the irony is that we have sooooo much to talk about it’s untrue! We have a load of sessions and a load of fantastic clients to show you.

And so we start with Elizabeth and Dave who, it should be noted, live in California. And have elected to get married later this year at Notley Abbey deep in the heart of ’sunny’ Britain.

Hmmm. Given the typical British weather, you do have to ask why would someone would trade Californian sunshine for Britains inclement lottery? Well, I can’t entirely answer that – except to say that getting married in Britain is magic (there’s something hugely romantic about it!) and Notley is a stunning venue. And, whatever the reason, I am hugely glad that they have chosen this as their location because I have the opportunity to work with a couple who are simply fantastic to be around.

It doesn’t help that Dave is the spitting image of Lee Mack, a very funny comedian/actor. I can’t help it. Every time I’ve met them we have sat and laughed. And this session was no different. We spent a very happy hour or two in glorious sunshine messing around and capturing images. Something that is not entirely straightforward when you have to stop every two minutes to wipe your eyes from laughing so much.

So a heady mix of hilarity and utter romance (I think you can see it in the images) and add to that the excitement of a wedding day and this is one amazing day that I think everyone is going to remember!

Absolutely loved this session. Can’t wait till September to photograph them both again – along with their Californian guests who I hope don’t arrive thinking the British weather is always like this. Though for Elizabeth and Dave? I think it’ll turn out suitably perfect!

Let us know what you think of the images
Cheers
P.

This session was up in Wendover Woods, possibly one of our favourite haunts. It works for us on so many levels – the light, the woodland, the freedom etc. (oh, and you can get a nice cup of tea at the end!)

Oliver and Henry seemed to thoroughly enjoy the shoot from start to finish and we have an absolute bucket load of gorgeous images of them having a great time. I lent them one of my cameras to have a go with which, inevitably, means I also have quite a few pictures of me taking pictures of them!

Loved this shoot. Lovely client, (eventually) fantastic light and ultimately, great photos. Oh, and a nice cup of tea. Perfect.

Let us know what you think.

Cheers
P.

Anyway, this shoot was a gorgeous session we had a couple of weeks ago over in the Bluebells at Christmas Common.

It’s always an ‘interesting’ place to shoot up there because it’s invariably crowded – particularly when it looks as pretty as it does at this time of year. But, with a little bit of scouting around, I managed to find a spot that had beautiful light and was really quiet.

Jane, Michael, Katie and Shophie were absolutely lovely to work with and I think, in particular, you can see the spirit of the two girls in the images. One of the reasons I love this job so much is that I get to meet so many different characters and personalities and I can happily report that, after a brief (and I do mean brief) moment of uncertainty, Katie and Sophie got right into it and probably suggested more images to take than I did! Fantastic! I really love it when that happens because it shows that no-one felt uncomfortable or under pressure in front of the camera. Just a lovely afternoon, great company, stunning light and a bag-load of beautiful images.

Life is good. Busy. But good!

Cheers
P.