Wasing Park wedding photography
Monday, January 18th, 2010Jamie, Beth, inspired idea to feature your late Grandparents within photo frames as the table names and decorations for your Wasing Park wedding.
Photographically, there is a documentary moment at most weddings when a father’s eyes will meet those of his daughter’s for the first time as she stands before him in her wedding gown. The intensity differs from father to father of course and even those dads with the most obdurate courage find this to be one moment more than any other during the day, where a myriad of emotions flatten any wall of masculine parental steely resolve they thought they possessed. It’s fabulous. Professional platitudes abound on the web, so I’ll cautiously express a somewhat overused term; privilege. As a documentary maker, albeit in stills, that’s what makes this job so important, he says, hearing the opening bars of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ fading up behind this blog entry. Listen, I can swill beer, crack beer nuts and talk sport with the best of ‘em at any bar in this land where spit and sawdust define the landlord’s choice of decor. But I’ll also experience and hopefully always will, a lump in the throat when I witness the sincere pride liberated by a father with momentary tunnel vision, who can see no further than his ‘little girl’ on the morning of her wedding. Phew, that’s said. Okay, big hearty Haka lads and let’s get back to talking rugby.
The new Breathe Pictures website
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
It’s there, our annual cyber design visit gives birth to the brand new BREATHE Pictures website. At first sight you may not think a lot has changed. The splash remains fairly similar, if not identical. It’s when you venture in through the main website link that BANG, things have changed somewhat. I like to think it’s cleaner. My SEO champion will find she has more to play with under the bonnet. Twitter and Facebook links now appear – hell, I may even get to grow the ‘followers’ count. But, and MOST importantly, there are some excellent new image features. Photograph supported testimonials do exactly what they say on the tin, and, well for me, are worth a million spurious tog awards (here speaketh the man who doesn’t really enter comps! – although I do have my bronze lifesavers badge.) The wedding galleries feature a host of my fav shots from the middle to latter part of the last decade, but in that I shot 70 weddings in ‘09 alone, there’s a healthy new collection of shots not featured before as you would expect. There’s also the start of gallery dedicated to album design. It’s a growing section and I’ll be uploading more in the next few months. The ‘our story’ link features some stuff on Nat, self styled Trusty Sidekick to the business over in the west wing (retouching dept). Image wise, it’s our heaviest site yet – and your feedback will be much appreciated. It’s not designed for non broadband users, sorry. Including the album designs, over 500 images have been catalogued and uploaded. It took a little time, bearing in mind last year we presented nearly 40,000 images to our wedding and portrait clients. All in all, more images will make their way on to the site over the next quarter. A big hearty thanks to every bride, groom, guest and chef appearing in our new little BIG site. ‘09 was a superb year – here’s to an IMAGE-TASTIC 2010. (You can’t take the jock out of an old broadcaster it seems.)
Orchardleigh wedding photography
Thursday, July 30th, 2009“After our gorgeous day at Orchardleigh, we had the most amazing honeymoon in two different destinations. Steve surprised me with a four night stay at the Chedi Hotel in Oman, I was thoroughly spoilt and waited upon. We then flew back home to collect Brooke and headed out to Orlando for ten days with Micky Mouse and Tinkerbell. A completely different honeymoon but such fun. We’re already looking forward to going back. The new year brought lots more changes; I fell pregnant! Whoopee, time to eat cakes and get fat again. October 1st saw the arrival of our lovely baby girl, Sienna Maria, weighing 5lb 12 oz. She’s adorable, the image of her dad and big sister. How unfair is that?! We moved into a new house in December and with hard work, lots of labouring and no social life, we’re nearly there with all the improvements. You never know, next year we may be able to sit back, relax and enjoy it all. Look forward to seeing you soon at Breathe, we’ve won a photo voucher! 
”
Where are they now? Emmie and Alex, Silchester House
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009I shoot a reasonable amount of weddings each year for professionals in the creative field, so being requested by a fellow wedding photographer to shoot her Silchester House wedding was flattering indeed. In Emmie’s words; “Our wedding day was the best day of our lives (we’re supposed to say that aren’t we?!) It was such a good day though and we enjoy looking back and remembering it all 16 months later. Alex is still counting bricks for a living (quantity surveying) although of late has been trying his hand (or should I say fists) at boxing and winning! I am still in photography and education. We still live in Tilehurst in our lovely little house with Mr Jinks the cat. No kids yet, we are far too busy enjoying ourselves!” So a few shots from their Silchester wedding that I enjoy, and my thanks to you both for keeping in touch. Don’t let that guard down Alex, jab jab and then… oh, you know.
Where are they now? Sian, Matthew (and Jack!)
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009About a year after our own wedding, we covered Sian and Matthew’s day, also at Silchester House near Reading. I’ve really enjoyed catching up with the lives of those couples we photographed on their own wedding day. I’ve been sending out mails gradually and have a stack of stories to tell. So to continue the ‘Where are they now’ feature, in their own words (well, Sian’s…) “Since 6th Oct 07, what’s happened? We went on our six week honeymoon to Oz; fantastic. We’re living in the same house with an extension on the way. The most exciting development has been the birth of our baby boy Jack Christopher Hart, born 9th May this year weighing in at 8lbs 13. He’s now ten weeks old and a gorgeous boy, who likes to smile and talk. (Sian it gets even more amazing. Our 15 month old has just brought me a frozen pea that Mummy dropped on the floor. To him, it’s the most amazing thing in the World. His delight at sharing this tiny object with me just makes my heart dance!) We’re loving being parents; the best thing we have ever done. Coincidence that your little boy is also called Jack, it’s such a cool name. (I agree Sian!) Our wedding pictures are our pride and joy – the photos were so lovely and really helped us to capture our memories. I can’t believe it was nearly two years ago – time flies!! We both turned thirty this year and we are having a fancy dress party dressed as rock and pop stars. The band Target will be there, they played at our wedding. Very excited about reliving that part of the wedding again.” Matt, where’s the invite? Have a great time, your wedding was a brilliant party from start to finish. Loved the old bus too. Made for some bus-tastic photos. Didn’t want to use the fab word again… my English teacher would roll his eyes and that weird tobacco he kept, and then smoke it in a Shakespearean tragedy. He was strange like that.
Dan and Elinor’s Notley Abbey wedding, the prewed shoot
Monday, July 27th, 2009Just laying down some of the prewed shoot edits for forthcoming weddings this summer. Dan and Elinor are to get wed at a church near to Notley Abbey later on in August and here are some of my favourite shots from our prewed shoot at the Breathe studio. Dan, Elinor, can’t wait to be working with you on the big day!
These ‘props’ are used at the farm (Breathe’s home studio location) to keep grain in place. Thanks (Farmer Nigel) for leaving them in the yard. Don’t suppose you could leave them for a couple months more?
Notley Abbey prewedding shoot – Laura and Sean
Monday, July 27th, 2009We’re about to enter the busiest August wedding season we’ve had at Breathe and frankly I can’t wait. I just know we’ll all emerge the other side richer for the wonderful things we witness and amazing people we meet. Talking of which, meet Laura, Sean and their amazing son Dylan. I look forward to a fabulous day at Notley!
Englemere wedding photography
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Out on location today soon; wedding in Aldermaston. I did however promise to pop a couple of shots from yesterday’s wedding up. Hopefully Hannah and Neil you’ll see these before you jet off to those sunny climes!
I did fear the rain would be coming at us sideways, just as those nice folk at Metcheck forecast. The morning looked fairly ominous, although Englemere’s white facade photographs beautifully against angry storm clouds. Breathe hasn’t photographed at Englemere for a little while, so it was good to return.
Literally seconds after the ceremony, the rain stopped, the thunder subsided, and sunshine took over!
Where are they now? Annabel and Mike
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009It’s fair to say that most of us are so preoccupied being busier than busy in this hectic go go non stop You Tube Google World we frequent personally and professionally, that we forget to take stock and remember sometimes where we’ve been and what we’ve achieved. Well, I’m going to try and redress that with the following blog feature. It won’t be long before I’ll be batting at the 200 not out wicket, a double century of weddings; experience that began tentatively covering my best man’s brother’s wedding as a favour, to a career that has taken me across continents. I’ve been trained and mentored by some of the industry’s finest and found new important friendships with fellow pros that share the following professional impulse; a desire to document a day so uniquely special to each client and do it whatever the weather, whatever the day and even when England are playing a World Cup match that’s actually on a channel we don’t have to pay for. We’ve been tremendously lucky at Breathe in that we established a social portraiture and wedding photography business in Newbury earlier this decade that has not only provided us with an income to feed hungry family mouths, but introduced us to some fabulous couples and families. It’s their stories that enthuse upon me that weekends were not made for drinking beer and watching X Factor, and so I begin a series of blog entries about the couples I have witnessed saying ‘I do’ through a selection of lenses. 3rd February 2007, Annabel and Mike were wed in Windsor with a wedding reception at Great Fosters near Egham; a grade one listed building that is remarkable for a list of reasons that would make this blog unreadably long. In Annabel’s words: “Mike and I are doing great, still living in Windsor. We’ve been back to Great Fosters for our last two wedding anniversaries, which was really lovely. We always pay homage to Jane Austen’s curtains. (A reference to the fact that needing to darken a scene whilst photographing the couple round the hotel, I whipped these historic items closed risking the demise of one of the World’s most historic curtains.) Mike went out to South Africa in June on a boys tour to watch the Lions. He ended up doing the highest bungee jump in the World off Bloukrans Bridge (about 216 m) – crazy fool. All 18 stones of Yorkshire goodness dangled on a piece of elastic! Other than that, we’re still at the same house but have been giving it and the garden a bit of a makeover. No baby Annabel and Mikes… yet.”
Breathe Pictures launch new web design
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009For those zooming straight through to the blog from Breathe’s splash page, take a click to our main website from Breathe links. It’s a brand new design! It’s been updated with new galleries to promote wedding photography in Newbury our hometown and has many new and unseen images. For those who have prompted, there will indeed be a whole new section on portraiture coming soon, but with the nuptials season in full swing, right now pretty much all of our attentions at HQ are devoted to that cause. It’s a busy August with the best part of half of it being spent at celebrations across the south of England. Personally I’ll be clocking up some miles too shooting weddings on the coast; Dorset being one of my personal highlights as that’s where I spent many of my childhood holidays. So take a moment to visit the new site, let me know what you think of it in the comments section here, I’m a big boy and happy to take some constructive crit.
Prime lens shooting at weddings
Monday, July 20th, 2009I’m pleased as punch with my decision a little while back to shoot much of my wedding photography material through big fat pieces of glass minus a zoom. A fast prime lens has become a bit of a signature look of late for Breathe Pictures and it genuinely excites me to see how far I can push low available light photography. In fact the pictures below were taken at yesterday’s wedding (congratulations Jon and Sam) on a day and night where I probably only attached a zoom for ten minutes. I’m moved to mention one phone call I received this week from a prospective wedding photography client who said and I quote; “I’m just phoning around to see how cheap I can get a photographer, because you all do the same thing.” Now it’s all too easy to get a little protective about our own industry and I must admit my first response nearly ran along the lines of; “Are you actually looking at the pictures on the website, or just the price section?” However, I steadied myself, reigned back premature indignance and started to try and explain the meaning of shooting through fast lenses and what a difference it makes to photographic technique. I did get an early feeling that I may as well be teaching someone how to boil an egg in fluent Martian but I persisted, and we settled for the loose understanding of the fact it makes everything look fuzzier in the background and sharp in the foreground. “And F1.2 makes things look fuzzier than the end of a thumpingly good New Year’s Eve do,” I explained. Yes, we will be doing her wedding, thank you Belle! Course some people will ask; “Why don’t you just do it all in Photoshop?” I like to think that it’s because photography is still a creative experience, it’s a here and now thing. Use the kit that enables you to feel the emotion that’s playing out in front of you. Oh, and depending upon the lens, you get a mighty fine lens bokeh. Here we go again… anyone for a Martian omelette?
Cantley House Hotel wedding photography
Sunday, June 21st, 2009Pastures new this weekend as I photographed at Cantley for the first time. Well done Steve, well done Sian, fab day, and one of the most original evening mobile studios yet! I know that by the time you get a chance to read this, you’ll more than likely have returned to your hotel for some early evening R&R following a day supping island cocktails on a beach under a sun umbrella in Hawaii. As much as it’s a great honour to photograph at familiar venues where as a company we’re a preferred photographic supplier, it’s equally good to tackle new locations. If you’ve read the blog or taken in the kind of thing that inspires me as a wedding photographer through my images on the main site, you’ll know that I much prefer available light to napalming a scene with heavy flash work. When I started photographing weddings, a strobe would be attached to the camera pretty much all day. I’ve become subtle in ‘me old age…’ (cue comments on how kids have no respect these days and how in my day you had to climb up inside chimneys for pocket money.) And so, it was a delight to see a venue with some large windows to throw shafts of light on to various scenes. I look forward to going back one day.
Oh, and as for the mobile studio, we moved outside for the first time in a long time, and invited guests to embrace an Hawaiian theme. What is it about grown men with grass skirts and inflatable sharks? Loved it!
Father’s day
Sunday, June 21st, 2009‘Boy’ as we affectionately refer to him is now 15 months old and this is the first Father’s day where he’s been able to assist in unwrapping a couple of pressies for me! I guess from now on I’ll not get to unwrap stuff at birthday’s, anniversaries and Christmas as it’s far too much fun watching him do the honours. We were at a playground earlier this week when I took the following shots. The look of satisfaction on his face when he pilots from one thing to another on his tottering ‘ickle feet is a joy. Being a photographer of course, I had to find a playground where the props and activities colour match his clothing!
Wasing Park wedding photography
Friday, June 19th, 2009I’m spending a reasonable amount of my summer at Wasing photographing weddings and it’s a venue I’m very fond of. A couple of shots from Tom and Anna’s fabulous nuptials as the post edit work now begins. Quick mention too for Wasing Park chef extraordinaire, the wonderful Joe. I quite like, when given the opportunity, to get into the kitchen at a wedding. The wedding banquet is such an important facet of the big day and chef is an important player and unsung hero frankly. When the thanks are read out, the list of key players will oft include the coordinator, for good reasons clearly, but rarely chef. So Joe, incase you get to read this, you’re an absolute star, and I can’t wait to show you the book of stuff I’ve recorded in your kitchen over the last few months.
Cliveden House wedding photography
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009Okay so the window just happens to be at Cliveden, a house of outstanding beauty and fabulous features, but none the less, these shots taken at a recent wedding soon to be released for preview by the couple, demonstrate the joy of photographing in unbridled natural light.
Wasing Park wedding photography
Sunday, June 14th, 2009For fear of becoming a BBC repeat, I may have mooted this before; keeping up the blog is sometimes like keeping the diary you were bought for Christmas aged 9. (For some reason mine was always a Disney one featuring Mickey and friends. It continued that way well into my teens.) You diligently filled it in for ooh, a good seven days following New Year’s Eve, then it became a series of ‘Got up, had lunch, went to bed’ comments for week two and by week three, it transgressed to a doodle pad at best. However I have a blog guardian it seems in Robbie, who wed Sarah yesterday at Wasing Park. So, Robbie, your enthusiasm for updating noted, some images from yesterday. I look forward to seeing you when you return from your honeymoon in July.
Notley Abbey open day
Friday, June 12th, 2009Sunday 14th June is Notley Abbey’s open day! As one of Notley’s recommended photographic suppliers, we’re pleased to be associated with a venue that carries a rich heritage dating from AD1112 when it was built to home a reformed order of Augustine monks, to its showbiz period as the country pile of Vivien Leigh and Sir Lawrence Olivier. Now of course it’s a fabulous wedding venue and one (pause) of (pause) a (pause) kind. Hopefully you can sense my breathless enthusiasm for the place.
Look what flew in
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009Every now at Breathe, I’m thrown an artistic curve ball during a shoot. This one literally flew in from nowhere! My late father was a military aircraft enthusiast (I know each and every corner of Duxford) and I’ve continued to share that enthusiasm for winged vehicles, although I’m not that fond of commercial tin cans. We were shooting just off the taxiway of an unlicenced airstrip, so when a 1930s Tiger Moth made a welcome appearance my arty petrol head kicked in (would that be a wingnut in aviation terms?). It would’ve seemed rude not to have utilised this out of the ordinary prop. It didn’t become a shoot for Moth Monthly, but this was one family shoot that yielded some unusual images.
The Black Barn wedding photography
Monday, June 8th, 2009Their private viewing gallery now online, here’s just a few scene setters from Chris and Caroline’s wedding in Berkshire.
Robert and Sarah
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Just a quickie before hitting the hay as they say across the pond… have completed Robert and Sarah’s pre-wedding shoot. Great shoot on the farm. I like working in the studio particularly since laying the real wooden floor, but it’s equally as good to get out into the yard. The industrial edge can look fabulous in contrast to what we’ll eventually achieve on the wedding day itself.
