A day of Weddings

That's right, it's the big day for many couples across the country (much like any other Friday). However, today is the most eagerly anticipated Friday for ages, because none other than Billie Girl of the Nag's Head pub, my local, is getting married to Harvey Puss. The somewhat eccentric cat wedding has generated quite a lot of publicity locally, not that the pub needs it as along with most establishments in Walthamstow village, it's very popular already. The pub will also be running a beer festival to celebrate, with cat-themed beers on tap, so I'll be popping along to belatedly celebrate my birthday last week.

Oh, there's also another wedding that people are making a fuss about, some guy called Prince William is getting married to Catherine (Kate) Middleton. I wasn't invited to take photos, so I'm not going, but I wish the new Royal couple all the best anyway. Hope he doesn't skimp on the honeymoon and ring..

Wales and Dyrham Park

This week, I took a short break in Wales, near the picturesque Brecon Beacons. I love this part of the British Isles, both for walking and because of the remoteness. It's sometimes nice to 'get away from it all' (meaning the big city!)  and I took several photography books that I've been meaning to read. 'Luckily' for me the weather was the usual for this area, meaning I was confined to my tent for most of one day, so I was able to get a lot of reading done! I visited Brecon itself and also Abergavenny, which had an outdoor livestock market on the day I went.

On the way back, I made a detour to visit the beautiful Dyrham Park, a grand baroque house near Bath, now owned by the National Trust. This was the location for the film 'The Remains Of The Day' and is a great example of how a working 17th-century mansion used to be. There is a good collection of Dutch artwork, and the mansion has its own gardens and adjoining church.

Dyrham Park is available to hire for weddings - if you're thinking of hiring it for yours I'd certainly welcome the opportunity to revisit.

Leanne & Richard - St Martin's, Eynsford, Kent 04/07/09

The big day went very smoothly, the recent unsettled weather holding off so it was humid with very sunny spells - the usual English summer in fact. As rehearsed the week before, the wedding ceremony went well with no mistakes, and although St Martin's church had been slighly rearranged from when I visited the week before, I was still able to get my designated 'photographer spots'. I had to crouch behind the bridal party in order to shoot the ring exchange; otherwise I couldn't have seen anything from where I had been standing. Although I had been told the rear alcove/main altar was out of bounds, there was a choir stood there on the day. I'm sure it was due to insurance purposes and they sounded great so I couldn't really complain! 

Afterward, group shots were taken by the river; I had to put on my loudest bellow to move people around which was difficult as my voice is only just recovering from a nasty cold. Dinner and speeches followed; as there were three best men these went on for some time! I then sneaked the couple off for posed formal photographs in the adjacent cricket meadow where there were some picturesque willow trees and the all-important bench to sit Leanne and Richard on!

We got some nice posed shots and it was back for the rest of the festivities. Congratulations to the happy couple! More photos to follow on Facebook and my main website www.amberglowphotography.com (password protected gallery).

 

Update, Norfolk and a few images

Hi,

I've been a bit slack lately and haven't updated the blog for a while due to being so busy- but I'll make more effort in the coming months I promise!
Here are a few images taken from a recent trip to Norfolk. I stayed at Burnham Deepdale and visited Wells-next-the-Sea and also the nature reserve and vast expanse of beach at Holkham - perfect for getting away from it all! Scenes from the film 'Shakespeare In Love' were filmed around the sand dunes there. I haven't yet shot a wedding in Norfolk but with all the beautiful scenery and churches to be found there I can't wait for my first!

Reflections on 2008

In January, it's traditional to look back at the past year and make resolutions for the next. Personally I need to start going to the gym again :) , but I also strive to improve myself in as many ways as possible, which includes aiming to take better images.  Photographers are probably the most critical of their own work- For example, only today I had to re-shoot some corporate headshots as I felt the lighting wasn't good enough- although the work was acceptable to the client, I knew it wasn't as good as it could be. The second attempt was much better as I had full control of the lighting, by changing the location and adding fill flash.

At a wedding the hired photographer isn't always so lucky- the church or venue may have very dim lighting so the fastest lenses (f/2 or better) and higher ISO speeds are necessary. Flash is often forbidden for the wedding photographer, as are the points at which images may be taken, although this can be difficult to understand when the congregation are snapping away throughout the ceremony with their compacts! In these situations the professional must strive to make their images different from the friends and relatives who may never set foot in the venue again, while the poor professional risks upsetting what can be a regular relationship with the priest or registrar.

Anyway I digress - here are some of my favourites from the last year- not all weddings, but each image has its own story. In the meantime let's hope the weather improves - it's freezing!

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