Can someone tell me where 2009 went?
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009I have soaked this year up like a sponge, it’s been one of the best! Thank you thank you thank you to all our fabulous wedding clients – it’s been the busiest most artistically rewarding one yet and I’m thrilled that you chose me to photograph your special days. Before this starts to sound like a New Year’s testimonial to a previous twelve months of business though, I just wanted to create an ‘ickle’ wrap to the summer so that I can start blogging again. So, a couple of images from some recent nuptials then onwards and upwards into the dark evenings as winter descends and I really start to push the prime lenses to their limits.
Okay okay, so four images from near enough 10,000 presented to clients over the last two months!!! It’s been a fabulously busy period, watch this space for more.
A trip down memory lane
Monday, August 17th, 2009Mark and Natalie’s wedding at Holy Trinity in Bengeo with a reception at Ware’s Fanham’s Hall is a commission that stepped right back into my youth ‘billingi’ years ago. I grew up in Hertford’s little known satellite town called Bengeo, a place by the way my Tom Tom refused to give me an ETA for as I edged up from Berkshire passing every motorway maintenence vehicle that’s ever been built. I’m sure they store them all on the M25 for personal humour. Some shots from the day with running commentary.
Mark just ahead of guests arriving. I haven’t been to this church since I was a boy scout, so it was strange to tread the carpet (which I swear they haven’t changed) to the alter.
I shot this twice. This was the initial (and better) grab shot as I emerged from the reception venue car park to find Mark and Natalie still in their vintage Rolls Royce. I was worried about excess motion blur and the loss of groom in the background so tried to set up a technically better documentary scenario. As always the reconstruction was a poor relative, so I stuck with the one my insincts initially got excited about.
Great Tythe Barn wedding photography – Darren and Linsay
Sunday, August 16th, 2009Darren and Linsay’s wedding took place last Wednesday in Gloucestershire at the Great Tythe Barn near Tetbury. It’s quite a unique wedding venue as many guests come here to stay the week with friends and relatives prior to a ceremony. The 16th Century Tythe Barn is surrounded by a hamlet of Cotswold stone cottages, some essential amenities and… Frank and Furter; GTB’s New Zealand Kune Kune pigs. (I suspect they laughed their little trotters off when they were named.) Strong Scottish flavour to this one, kilted groomsmen, a piper and Ceilidh, the latter being an informal Scottish dance requiring a sizeable degree of lateral concentration if you’re swinging a partner whilst trying to retain a little male dignity.
Rivervale Barn wedding photography
Sunday, August 16th, 2009It’s been good to see Rivervale Barn grow into a working wedding venue over the past year and it was even more special to shoot my first wedding there at the start of the week, Rivervale’s fourth. Double congratulations then; John and Moyra for the incredible turnaround that I’ve witnessed, from nought to sixty five thousand tiles in twelves months, and Alex and Carrie our bride and groom for the day. Rivervale has one of the finest ceremony rooms I’ve had the privilege to work in, huge floor to ceiling windows (there must be 40/50 feet of glass) that drop kicks light into the room in cathedral like fashion; a photographer’s dream.
Where are they now? Sian, Matthew (and Jack!)
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
About 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.
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 photograph featured in The Times
Saturday, July 18th, 2009Nice surprise to hear from a client getting wed next week to say one of our prewed pictures has appeared in The Times Marriages and Engagements section. It’s page 91; a slightly cross processed image taken from Neil and Hannah’s prewed shoot about a month back. Newspaper print process is not always kind to this kind of colour treatment, so I thought I’d pop it online in all it’s originally intended glory, plus a couple of extras beneath. I’m off to Sir Charles Napier, a new venue today (for me anyway) in Chinnor; car’s packed, batteries are charged, the primes are, well, primed. (Photography quip-ish.)
Rivervale Barn wedding photography in Yateley
Thursday, July 16th, 2009Solid day today spent at Rivervale Barn in Yateley shooting test and stock images for this stunning new wedding venue set on the banks of the Blackwater, approximately one hour from the smoke. It’s one of the most incredible barn projects I have ever seen but don’t just take my word for it, take a peak at the images below. (65,000 reclaimed tiles by the way, now THAT takes some laying.) Owned by John and Moyra Illsley, they’ll also be your hosts for the showround if you visit. I think meeting the owners creates a special relationship when planning a wedding, without doubt. By the way, if you’re wondering who the mystery bride is, it’s Nat, our new recruit at Breathe Pictures! She recently joined the company to fulfil a retouching and photographic assisting role. Dressing you up as a bride for some test shots at Rivervale Barn may have seemed a strange initiation Nat, but I think you rose to that challenge well! (Flowers courtesy Cherubs of Reading and bridal wear from Jennies, as featured on recommended links.)
