Celebration Photography

Las Vegas 2011

2011-02-05T13:39:00.005Z

OK! Once again it's too long since I last posted to my blog but now I've got something you may find interesting!

I've just come back from a trip to Las Vegas. This was a Christmas and Birthday present for my daughter. We've been on a number of these trips since her mother and I divorced, Paris, Rome, San Francisco & Los Angeles and last year New York. We have a very special father/daughter relationship and I love going away with her. As I do most of my travelling alone it's especially nice to have some company!

A little hiccup before leaving home, I checked my email to find a message from Delta Airlines saying that our first flight into Atlanta had been cancelled and we were now booked to go to JFK, New York. This message timed at midnight!! Another message at 6.15am to say that the flight to JFK was also cancelled and we were now going to Detroit and from there to Las Vegas!

All went well from there on but we arrived in Detroit in a snowstorm! Boarded the onward flight to Vegas but had a delay whilst the aircraft was de-iced!!! Arrived safely in Las Vegas at the orginally scheduled time!! Well done Delta Airlines!!

Weather in Vegas lovely, wall to wall sunshine and 20 deg C! Good two days exploring The Strip, third day picked up the hired Ford Mustang convertible and headed out for Hoover Dam. The new bridge is now complete and quite awesome! On then to The Skywalk at Grand Canyon West.

This is quite something even if it is expensive (about £45 to get onto Indian land and the Skywalk). If you suffer from vertigo don't bother to pay the $29 to get on the Skywalk, it's one helluva drop!!!

OK, enjoy the pics.

Weekend Warriors.....Again

2010-09-24T09:16:00.004+01:00

Yes, I'm off on my favourite hobby horse again!! Yesterday I was referred to the website of a new photographer offering their photography services to would-be brides and grooms.

I am appalled at the dreadful quality of the pictures in her Gallery. Pictures from only two weddings were on show and it is quite obvious that she was only a guest at them. At the first wedding the only pictures displayed were all of the evening reception, guests on the dance floor, etc. At the second wedding she had even included the official photographer in some shots and no one was looking at her camera in any of them!!!

I find it reprehensible for someone with so little or no talent to be representing herself (or himself) as a professional wedding photographer. I have no idea what her charges are but I have no doubt that whatever she charges will be a waste of money for bridal couples. They will be so disappointed if the samples shown are indicative of what they get for their wedding photos!

As a wedding photographer with many years experience I resent these people coming into the business with no idea of how to take good photographs. Their incompetence can reflect on us true professionals.

Another requisite is having people skills and ensuring that guests at weddings are having a good time while fulfilling the bride and groom's expectations for wonderful photographs that capture the magic and romance of their big day.

The last thing I want to be remembered for is spoiling an enchanting occasion! But unfortunately this is what happens when you hire a less than competent photographer to record your day!

So again I say, "Be careful out there"!

Hong Kong trip

2009-11-28T09:00:00.007Z

A few pictures from my recent trip to Hong Kong.

I flew Singapore Airlines(the female flight attendants are spectacular!) on the new Airbus A380, the biggest passenger plane in the world, and that was quite an experience.

Hong Kong was amazing and somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time time and I wasn't disappointed! I have never seen so many high-rise buildings, everybody seems to live up in the sky!

Took an all-day trip to Guangzhou in mainland China. That was a fascinating experience, the whole place is booming! Visited Guangzhou Zoo to see a panda. Having lived in South Africa I don't really like zoos, I much prefer seeing wild animals in their natural habitat but it's very difficult to see a panda in the wild so this was next best.

Now looking forward to going to New York with my daughter in January. But it's going to be b..... cold!!!

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Guangzhou, China

(1st president of republican China)

Hong Kong & Kowloon from The Peak

Symphony of Lights laser show, Victoria Harbour, Hon Kong

Buddhist Temple, Guangzhou, China

Floating restaurant, Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong

The end of portraits

2009-11-06T15:31:00.002Z

Well, Christmas is fast approaching and with it the end of my career shooting portraits! Yes, as from 2010 I will be concentrating on photographing only weddings.

Now some of you may consider weddings to be a pain-in-the-proverbial but I love 'em! It's always a happy occasion and I get a real kick out of capturing images of people having a good time, meeting friends and family they may not have seen for a while.

Having said that, it doesn't follow that portrait sessions aren't fun occasions, it's just that I want to take things a bit easier and having a high street studio means that you have to be open to the public for a good part of the week.

I gave up the Cherubs baby portrait franchise in June this year and it's gradually receded until now I have only a handful to complete. Cherubs has been very good for me and I would like to thank all past customers for their business.

Those of you who are present or even future wedding clients can rest assured that I will still be around and can always be found at this web address and through the contact page on my website.

As mentioned in my previous post, my friend and colleague Les Holder of Cheltenham passed away recently and that has served to reinforce my decision to take a step down in my career and give up the studio work.

Thank you to those of you who have taken the trouble to read this latest post.

Weekend warriors

2009-10-31T16:50:00.003Z

I have just this week taken a booking for a wedding next year for a bride-to-be who has read my blog on part-time photographers.

I met Joanne last Sunday at a wedding fair at The Cheltenham Thistle Hotel and she told me she had read my piece on my blog and had checked out loads of photographers websites so I am particularly pleased that she has taken note of what I had to say and booked me to be her wedding photographer!

Thank you Jo and Andrew.

Be careful out there!!

As a footnote, I attended the funeral on Tuesday 27th of my friend and fellow photographer Les Holder of Cheltenham. Les passed away suddenly on 19th October at only 58 years old. I shall miss his sense of humour and the chats we used to have.

Daniel & Tracy's Wedding

2009-07-24T10:54:00.003+01:00

I've known Daniel for some 14 or 15 years as I used to live opposite his parents in Churchdown.

I was very pleased to be afforded the privilege of photographing their wedding on the 6th June this year at St. Bartholomew's Church on the top of Chosen Hill in Churchdown, Gloucester.

The weather was overcast and rather windy but at least it didn't rain.

After the wedding ceremony we all proceeded to the Whitminster Hotel south of Gloucester for the wedding reception.

I wish Daniel and Tracy all best wishes for their future life together.

Matthew & Rebecca's Wedding

2009-04-01T12:27:00.003+01:00

Okay, true to my promise to to do better in keeping my blog up to date, here are some pictures from my latest wedding.

Matthew and Rebecca were married on 7th March, 2009 at St. Barnabas Church in Gloucester. The weather was kind to us if a little windy. Their reception was held at the Jarvis Bowden Hall Hotel in Upton St Leonards, Gloucester.

We wish them all the best for their future life together.

Choosing your photographer

2009-03-29T09:48:00.005+01:00

Hello! I've been very negligent in keeping my blog up to date and I've promised myself that I will do better.

One thing that has given me great cause for concern of late is the number of photographers calling themselves professionals when in fact they are part-timers making pin money on a weekend by offering their their services to photograph weddings. You can usually identify them by their telephone number, a mobile only, and/or the lack of a business address. Now I have no objection to anyone making money out of their hobby but to call themselves professionals is beyond the pale!

I know of one such part timer who has the audacity to advertise himself as "an award winning photographer". As a member of The Master Photographers Association (MPA) I know for a fact that he is not a member of my professional body and nowhere on his website does he state to which photographic organisation he belongs. So, you have to ask yourself, what awards has he won, for what and by whom were the awards awarded??

I know he has won awards for website design because those were mentioned on his previous website (he now calls himself by another name. I wonder why??) But, given that he doesn't mention membership of any professional organisation, can he be believed?

I recently came across another website where I noticed some pictures that were rather familiar. In February I attended the Focus on Imaging exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham. This is a regular pilgrimage for me every year. On the Hasselblad stand they had a setup studio with a backdrop of silver birch trees, studio lighting and models. As usual there were lots of wannabees there(you can always tell them by the cameras festooned round their necks!!), with their mid-range digitals taking photographs of the model. Now there's nothing wrong with this if they are using the photos they take as part of the learning experience but imagine my surprise at seeing shots taken of this setup being shown and offered for sale on this person's website!!

I contacted the "photographer" concerned to ask him if he thought it was (a) ethical and (b) professional to be offering for sale pictures that he had not set up and could not reproduce (without spending a load of dosh!!) The photos soon disappeared from his website!

As a professional my first concern is my client(s) and it annoys me when less-than-professional people offer services to the public and receive money under false pretences. I have seen some appalling results of wedding photography carried out by this kind of photographer. It seems that they buy a digital camera and think they can then call themselves a professional wedding photographer and take hundreds of pictures in the hope of getting a few decent shots. Machine-gun photography!! Wedding photography is something one has to get right first time. You cannot go back and do it again!

As a member of the MPA I have to be a full-time professional photographer and my work has to be judged by a panel of my peers as being of a required standard. I also have to have Professional Indemnity and Public Liablity insurance. These requirements are non-negotiable in order to be a MPA member. I wonder how many "weekend warriors" have ANY insurance? Not many, I would guess!

So, to sum up all this, I would recommend anyone looking to hire the services of a professional photographer to bear all the above in mind when assessing who you want to shoot your wedding, take your portrait, etc, etc.

Latest news

2008-06-02T12:30:00.002+01:00

I've been very neglectful in keeping my posts up to date. In my defence I have to say that I'm battling along on my own since my assistant, Rachael, went on maternity leave. Rachael is also my eldest son's partner and they had a daughter on May 7th, so I now have another granddaughter.

Rachael has been with me for over six years now and she virtually runs our Cherubs programme. I'm now having to do it all until she returns to work and I'm coping but I don't have enough time to keep the blog up to date. Must try harder!

Had some weddings since my last post so I'll try to get some of the pics from those online as soon as I get a spare minute or two.

OK, this is all for now but keep watching for some new pics.

Laura & Oliver's wedding

2008-04-12T08:29:00.004+01:00

As promised, although perhaps a little late, some pictures from last Saturday's wedding of Laura and Oliver. I went to Laura's parents home first and took some nice pics indoors. At that stage the weather was nice but cold.

By the time I got to the hotel it was raining! After the ceremony had taken place the sun was back out so we were able to get out into the garden. Everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves and I look forward to seeing Laura and Oliver again when they return from their honeymoon.

Tomorrow's wedding

2008-04-04T15:11:00.002+01:00

All geared up now for tomorrow's wedding! The batteries are all charged up (apart from mine!), the cards formatted and the cameras time sychronised. Looking forward to giving my two new Nikon D300's a good workout. So far, I can't say anything but good about this new model. I'm going to be using the Nikon 17-55mm lens on one and a 70-200mm on the other body.

The bride and groom are Laura and Oliver and they are having a civil ceremony wedding at the Cheltenham & Gloucester Chase Hotel in Brockworth, Gloucester. I shot Oliver's sister's wedding almost three years ago so I'm looking forward to renewing some aquaintances made back then.

Stay tuned for some pics from Laura & Oliver's wedding next week.

Bambi Cantrell in Coventry

2008-04-04T15:03:00.002+01:00

As promised earlier this week, some comments on Bambi's seminar on Tuesday. As ever she was entertaining, informative and inspirational. Her work is of such a high standard and she's certainly up there with the likes of Yervant, Jerry Ghionis, et al! I came away with some ideas that I'm going to give a try.

Cherubs seminar

2008-03-30T10:13:00.002+01:00

Looking forward now to the Cherubs seminar organised by the MPA at the Hilton Hotel, Coventry on Tuesday 1st April. This is always a good day out and a chance to meet up with some old friends and, hopefully, make some new ones.

The speaker this year is iconic California photographer, Bambi Cantrell. I saw Bambi a while ago at a wedding seminar in Bristol and learnt a lot from her, so I'm looking to learn something new about portraits that I can use in the studio.

Stay tuned for an update later in the week.

MPA - Gt Western Region print competition

2008-03-26T15:04:00.002Z

I was fortunate enough to be awarded 3rd place in the recent 6-in-1 wedding print competition for the David Rio trophy in our region. I entered two montages and my 3rd place was from a wedding I shot last September at the Swan Hotel, Bibury in the Cotswolds near Cirencester.

My other entry was in B&W and shot at Dumbleton Hall Hotel between Tewkesbury and Evesham

Most recent wedding

2008-03-25T12:06:00.003Z

I'm now going to try putting some pictures on the blog for the first time. I shot Francesca and Nathan's wedding at Clearwell Castle at the end of February. Although the weather wasn't that good we managed to do all the group photos outside before the rain came down

The Eagles

2008-03-24T08:26:00.003Z

Went to see The Eagles Saturday at the O2 Arena in London docklands. Fantastic evening, lots of numbers from their new album. Joe Walsh was in great form as was the rest of them. Great night!

First attempt

2008-03-19T14:11:00.000Z

Well, here we go! This is my first effort at blogging so please bear with me. A number of colleagues have been telling me how much they enjoy it, blogging that is, so I thought it was time to get with it, so to speak.

As this is just a test really, I'm going to limit this attempt to this to see how, and if, it works. More later, hopefully!