Photography Get Together in Nottingham

I am a member of an online forum - the Digital Wedding Forum - and a few of us decided to get together on Sunday night - some of us had met before, others hadn't, so it was great to put faces to names. We ended up in the Red Lion in Bottesworth - a beautiful village east of Nottingham. Here are a few photos of the motley bunch - some of these were taken by Paul Dale so I need to credit him with the copyright :)

I'll start with the lovely Sam - she was checking out my camera longingly - we both shoot Canon - this is my 1D Mark IIN - we both have 5D's but the 1 is just gorgeous ! I did manage to prize it out of her hands - reluctantly :) I think Paul took this one with his Fuji S5.

Sam came along with her business partner, Glen ... they have recently joined forces and the partnership is working well - they are a great team. This is another of Paul's on the S5.

This is David - he came across from Boston where his photography business is based. Ditto on the S5.

Our host for the evening - Carl !

Then it was my turn for Paul's camera - this is me with my 'long-suffering' husband in the background !

And after the 4th glass of wine - well, enough said :)

I did take the pub quiz rather too seriously LOL

And a rather poor attempt at 'sultry' - trust me, I feel much more comfortable being BEHIND the camera ...


Some of my own photography follows ... a lovely shot of Sam ...



Paul being accosted by a lady who probably should have gone home long before ...



Paul hugging a cushion - no, I don't know why either ...


And attempting to be a rock star - with a pen !

Ooh - something technical - this is what is known in the business as A Better Bounce Card (ABBC) - it is designed to bounce light from the flash and is free (something that is quite rare in this trade LOL) - basically you make it yourself in the correct funnel shape and then attached it to your flash with elastic bands ... the light can be controlled by folding down the top end or, as Paul is demonstrating, by having it straight up. Very cool.

Of course, Paul is kissing the ABBC, not the Canon flash - obviously !

I love the fact that, even though we are all competitors, we can get together, have a few drinks, lose at the pub quiz and talk photography - from marketing to techniques to business to kit to ... the conversations were varied to say the least :)

Gill x