Happy Harvest

It always felt like the kitchen had been turned into an Aladdin's cave when it arrived. Sacks of juicy sultanas, boxes of extra sweet dried apricots, piles of sugary apple rings, bowls of crunchy banana chips and sticky trays of dates. My mum would give each of us children a job around the large wooden table, weighing, labelling and re-boxing all the health foods. This was a bulk buy on what seemed like gigantic proportions between about 12 families. And if you were lucky enough the bulk buy would be delivered to your house, and for a week you would be working at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory (without the chocolate)...of course the flour, sugar, syrup and other stuff was totally safe, but the dried fruit definitely needed testing before it got shipped out again!

I still love the dried fruit and am a total sucker for sweet stuff (show me a girl who isnt)! I have just polished off both cup cakes that my Nana has just brought round so will have to guiltily explain the second empty case to my boyfriend tonight.

Here's a picture from last years trip to the Black Forest - I always have to order the blueberry cake, Black Forest cake and the cheese cake...happy.

Welcome La Roux

So I found myself in the Pet section of Sainsburys this morning fervently looking for kitten food, kitten litter and about a million other things. Proportionally I have probably bought about 100 times his weight! Thats right, yesterday we became the proud parents/slaves of La Roux! He is a little feather weight ball of fluff, inquisitiveness, playfulness and general cute-ness, which has got me to making up words. He is currently sitting behind the fireplace big eyes and big ears looking at me.

Not quite a model, but we managed to grab a few pictures last night.

My first day

The dawn began to break. It was still silent, no birds singing, no one moving around the house...just me, wide awake and anything but tranquil! I was imagining the horror of what I had agreed to do sink in with such coffin-like severity I wanted to run away. I squeezed my eyes shut in the hope I may suddenly fall asleep until it was actually time to wake up and go photograph Emily and Rory's wedding.

This was my very first wedding as the official photographer and I was a nervous mess. I was fretting over breakfast, stomach in such a knot, and then in the car on the way to the church...but then a funny thing happened as soon as I got there I felt calm, in control, and able to roll with the day as it unfolded. Thank goodness it all went well (except stepping in dog poop just outside the church!). I know now that I had to take that terrifying leap to start the fantastic journey I am taking as a wedding photographer. So, with a lot less nerves, but no less excitement and anticipation I am packing my bags tonight for Michelle and Pete's wedding tomorrow.

(this is from Emily and Rory's wedding, which oh so stylish with a proper country feel).

Post production

Pita bread and Taramasalata at the ready, Radio Two's Bob Harris show in the background, and the whole evening ahead to start the post production of Zarah and Mark's wedding I shot at the weekend....yeay...I love settling in and quietly seeing the photographs I have taken appear onscreen. I never believe I have done well on the day so each time I upload its with a sigh of relief and a little bit of a wow "I did that" to the photos I love.

The post production of every wedding is so important to me. It takes far longer than the 10 hours of shooting I do on the day. Perhaps I am a little tiny bit of a perfectionist too which means I will pour over a photo until I think the red tone is just right, or the shadows are dark but not too overbearing. Ultimately my ethos is that in 20 years time when your children look back at your wedding photographs they will be timeless beautiful photographs that capture the emotion of the day and show you as who you are in your best light. So, with this in mind, my post production means "keeping it real" and pushing the photo to its full potential....come on Im a girl too, so I understand about bat wings and double chins and will do my best to make sure they dont exist.

Here's one of the pictures from Zarah and Mark's wedding that I did earlier...keep posted for the rest of the blog in a week or so.

Each Peach Pear Plum

Eeee...I let out a rather high pitched squeal. Not only did the shop assistant know what Each Peach Pear Plum was (without giving me a crazy look) but she also had one in store! Its funny how things in your childhood really stick and you have such vivid memories. I remember this book so well. I think our mum must have read it to us about a million times, and then I read it about a million times after I had learnt to read. I loved the pictures, beautifully drawn in pastel colours, with wiggly lines and a homeliness feel to them. I used to search for the nursery rhyme characters on each page but more than that used to get absorbed in what was being described as a beautiful day where at the end of it they all eat plum pie....yep Im a bit of a dreamer...and also a lover of plum pie! Oh, and if your wondering I didnt just have some crazy idea to buy it to recreate my childhood but to give it to a friend's baby who I hope will love it as much as I did (do)!

Asking questions

Shall I...shant I.... then my hand goes up involuntarily and somehow I find myself asking a question. Eeek, my palms are hot and sweaty, and I can feel myself going red. I am a complete mess, and my voice is beginning to give out. The first time I remember this happening was when I was in primary school. We had newly moved so I was the "new girl" in the class, desperately trying to keep my head down and not stick out with the home-crafted gym bag and home-made bread rolls in my lunch box. So, why was I inviting the attention with the question I was asking. I guess thats just me. I cant help myself if I have a question or am asked to give an opinion, this need overtakes the hot, sweaty palm-ness.

I try to be honest with who I am - which is sometimes difficult. But I think me the photographer is me the person. I am no different, and hope that how I am as a photographer is me. I guess it probably explains the questions too... you brides and grooms will know that when we chat, I am full of questions about your wedding. Hot sweaty palm-ness is overtaken with that love of hearing what you are doing and why.

So with that in mind I am giving a holla out to all of you that read my blog regularly, dip in and out, or visiting for the first time and just looking around - please leave a comment, ask a question, or just stop by and say hi. I would LOVE truly to hear from each one of you.

Im not usually in front of the camera - which is what I am going to use as my excuse for hogging the picture (no idea why I've picked a "surfer dude" wannabe pose, or why I have a bent ankle)!

The kindness of strangers

Would you like some - the lady held out a plate and I took it, mumbling something (which I hope) still resembled a thank you. I was stunned, the plate was stacked with all sorts of Indian bites. I suddenly looked around me and saw lights twinkling on the street corners, girls getting their nails done and guys casually milling around, calling to each other in greeting. Music was playing from the shop fronts and the atmosphere was electric. My insular mood kind of did a backward turn and suddenly my heart was filled with happiness - for no other reason than everyone else was happy. So, now Im home - plate of Indian bites intact....I only went out for some tomatoes and have come back singing!

Lists

I am definitely one for lists...Lists for shopping, lists for what Im going to do today, this week, this year....I feel like I am constantly chasing and trying to get ahead of the lists I am making, especially when it comes to my business. I have so many things I want to do, I am inspired by the blogs I read, the photographers who've "made it", the industry pros like Martha Stewart, and all the viral stuff that make me think - ooh thats such I good idea, can I do that? I want to get better with what I do, how I do it, my business savey, marketing, who I am as a person and give more back. Its a way long list of things to do, and I am impatient to get things done, especially when I can visualise what I want, its difficult to sit still until I have achieved it! But Im sitting still today, and hope that each small step I take on this journey will take me closer to crossing off those things on that list of mine.

I cant leave without a photograph or two, and thought that as it feels like the end of summer, I'd post a couple of pics of my sister and I at the Blur concert last year. Neither of us have been cool enough and gone to a music festival, but we LOVED Blur when growing up. That night it was hot, the band were playing in Hyde park, there were thousands of people all singing, the full moon rose behind the stage, and as we walked away at the end of the night people broke out into spontaneous bursts of song, that would be caught up by another bunch of people - the mood was amazing.

Paula & Jonathan's wedding, Tower Bridge London

He knew of her before they met. His friends told him he HAD to meet her - she was the stunning, popular girl at uni. Her friends told her she had to meet him. He was the tall, dark, handsome new guy that had arrived. And then after somehow missing each other at events, they met, and that was it. She is gorgeous, fun loving and stylish. He is caring, happy, a little mischievous and you can see truly loves her. Together they have been around the world together settling in London which is where they got married.

So it was that I woke up on their wedding day with such a sense of excitement - the weather was fantastic and I knew this was going to be a fun day. I arrived at their apartment (which was amazing) for photographs of Paula getting ready. Amanda the hair and make-up artist was fab, and with a quick change into her dress Paula and I headed outside onto the balcony for some shots before I dashed next door to where Jonathan and the boys were. And that was the start of a truly stylish wedding. From the ceremony in Tower Bridge (I know - how great is that), to the time we had to take photographs (yeay a whole half an hour!!) to the red routemaster bus ride round to the restaurant which was right on the Thames - in fact over hanging it, the scrummy meal, pimms and speeches and then the dancing - oh yes, these guys know how to party!

I know I was grinning as I left their wedding and the sounds of merriment wafted outside and into the hot evening air...thank you Paula and Jonathan for an amazing day and an amazing privilege.

Paula getting ready at their apartment, I used the small window frames to add a graphic feel to the shot, and photographed Paula as a silhouette which I think looks fairytale like.

Wow, wow, wow - can you believe this is London! We had some time before I had to go see the boys which was great to play around with shots, and this one was a must. I would definitely say, if you are a bride or a bridesmaid, try and make time for photographs before the ceremony because this is the best time for it - when the makeup is fresh and the hair snugly in place.

And wow again - Paula is absolutely gorgeous and such a natural in front of the camera.

Love this shot of Paula and her dad walking down the old fire escape of Tower Bridge to arrive (unseen) at the ceremony. Paula's shadow on the wall I think adds to the atmosphere.

The ceremony took place in the North Tower Lounge that had just opened for weddings. It has a huge window which looks church-like, and was great for lighting up Paula and Jonathan.

I just love this picture of Paula beaming as she looks at Jonathan after signing the register.

We had a whole half an hour to ourselves for photography - yeay and would totally recommend future brides and grooms to think about doing this. It was great to get a bit of alone time, and to really capture the two of them, just married, in such amazing locations. Here we had just come out of Tower Bridge. There were roadworks going on, so with a cheeky move of the barriers we were able to take some pictures with no one in the background.

Yep, I love London, how amazing is that backdrop.

I always check out the venues beforehand and spied the Mayor's steps as a fantastic location for some photographs - here's one of the "in between" shots I took of Paula and Jonathan.

And, a few steps away was a small green space which shooting into the sun was great to create a different (non-urban) feel (hopefully).

Yum - those bridesmaids dresses were gorgeous, so stylish and elegant and seemed to change colour with the different light when I was photographing them - from bluey to deep purple. And the bridesmaids were such fun too - really getting the dancing going in the evening.

Oh yes, there was a routemaster bus too - yeay.

They're guests threw confetti as Paula and Jonathan arrived at the restaurant - which has a fantastic multi-angled mirror on the stairway, reflecting all the confetti and the guests.

The Samuel Pepys restaurant looked gorgeous, with white linen, table confetti hearts, loveheart sweets and fish bowels full of orchids and hydrangea's.

I think this shot feels like it could be from the Godfather (in a good way). Still cant figure out how I got the angle though - I dont think I was sitting on Paula's lap!

A shot from the speeches - love Paula's brother and one of the guests in nearly identical poses.

Awrr - I just love this of Paula looking at her man.

Even the cake was elegant! Paula's mum got the figures on top made in South Africa where there is apparently lots of bead and wire artwork. As both Paula and Jonathan are from South Africa I think this was such a lovely detail.

The first dance.

And the moment in between.

And then the crazy dancing started - love it when the dance floor comes alive.

I asked Paula and Jonathan to sneak outside for a couple of shots before the end of the night and love this quite moment of the two of them.

No strictly taken on the day (the restaurant was a little up river, around a bend so I came back a few days later), I love this shot of Tower Bridge - its so impressive a building, and how amazing to be able to say "we got married there"!

Congratulations to Paula and Jonathon - I wish you all the happiness in the world.