Winter Wonderland ...

Every Sunday we head off to The Chase ... we are very fortunate to have this wonderful piece of countryside and woodland right on our doorstep, considering we live in such an urban area of the UK ! Tess absolutely loves the stomp, getting muddly, drinking from streams, running through them and watching the ducks. Actually, she managed to get through a hole in the duck pond fence yesterday and nicked a piece of their bread ! We also came across one of the gamekeepers, walking a ram ! Boy, she really didn't know what to make of that one LOL

The frost was thick on the ground where the sun had not hit, but we were wrapped up in our winter woollies, hats and gloves, big thick socks and walking boots, so we really enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful scenery ... then it was on to the chippie for a rather unconventional Sunday lunch of fish, chips and mushy peas ! Yuuuuuuum ...

For the photographers ... I was putting the new Canon G10 through it's initial paces and am really delighted with the results. Shooting in RAW proved a challenge to process (read: LR is not compatible yet - grrr) but I got there in the end with ACR plugin for PS4. the camera is small, discrete and packs a punch of 14.7 mp's :)

London DWF GTG :)

I decided very last minute to join a few other photographers for a get-together (GTG) in London on Tuesday. The plan was to meet at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) then on for a few drinks and a chat about photography, no doubt !

I decided to treat myself to a First Class trip (honestly, book in advance on thetrainline and save LOADS !) on Virgin's pendolino train ... absolutely marvellous ! Those things actually lean into corners !!! (Best to ignore the Heat magazine ... moving on ...)

An hour and a half from Stafford (I know) I got to Euston an hour early and was delighted to meet up with my friend, Yvonne Blume. We mooched along The Strand to check out a church (St Mary Le Strand) she is shooting at on Saturday and all I can say is WOW ! Absolutely beautiful and slap bang in the heart of London, surrounded by stereotypical buses and phone boxes ! I had my little Canon S5 with me (the bloomin' Canon G10 hadn't turned up yet - booooo) and so took a couple of photos while there (the exception is the iPhone photo in the NPG).

No visit to London would be complete without the tiniest bit of sightseeing ... whilst I have seen a lot of London, there are bits I still have yet to experience ... so we dropped by Somerset House which is set up in winter with an outdoor skating rink, and got a shot of the front of the Waldorf Hotel :)

Then it was on to the NPG for the Annie Leibovitz exhibition. I'm not a mad fan of Annie's work, with the exception of the David Beckham portraits and probably the Demi Moore pregnancy shots, but was curious as to what else I was missing. Needless to say, I didn't stay long and didn't buy the book either. That said, I did pick up a gorgeous book by someone I am a HUGE fan of, Mario Testino "Portraits", full of inspiration and just beautiful images.

Here's Yvonne studiously admiring Annie's work ... sorry, I mean, being bemused, then mildly irritated by the amount of shots out of focus !!!

Some of the guys were a little more enthusiastic :) (taken with iPhone due to gallery security lurking around LOL)

The group were heading to The Salisbury pub for a few drinks but Yvonne and I side-tracked to a little Italian restaurant for a girlie chat, some great pasta and wine, of course. Then it was off to meet the others for a couple of hours catching up on all things photography, before heading back to Stafford on the late train :)

A great day out, as always. Lovely to see everyone again and meeting some new faces too.

Client Testimonial ...

I love my job. Have I ever mentioned that before? Love it with a passion. I get to work with really cool people on the happiest day of their lives (my wedding clients, of course), with people who want me to make them look good (model shoots or corporate head shots), at locations wide and varied, all over the UK and abroad ... I mean, let's face it, there aren't too many other jobs with such job satisfaction and variety.

I am especially happy when my clients just LOVE the images ! One of the best parts of my job is watching clients look at the photos for the first time, reliving all the memories of the shoot, whatever it was. And I feel all warm and fuzzy when I get the feedback, too :)

I received a lovely thank you card from a wedding I actually covered for another photographer ... remember David Pearce's little baby who died 2 days before? I guess this one was especially poignant for me as they had gone to the trouble to find out my information and get a hand-written card off to me.

Dear Gill, thank you for the amazing photographs you took of our wedding day. They are truly fantastic! So many people commented on how great the photos are and how much fun you were on the day. It really helped make our day so special. We LOVE the photos and are struggling to choose our favourites, there are so many good ones ! Looking at them brings back great memories of some of the poses and fun we had :)

Sarah & Mark, Kent, July 08

You can read their blog post and the full story here.

Wedding Photography IS real ... Poll Results !

So, the votes are in and it is definitely unanimous ... Wedding Photography is REAL ! 21 votes for "Definitely" and only 1 "unsure" ... I'm so pleased with this result and thanks to all who voted.

I'd love to hear some comments (see link below) as to why you all felt that way ... my thoughts are this: what we do is take photos of real people, celebrating with friends and family, on the happiest day of their lives (so far !) ... years of planning and choosing all those little details which make their day unique makes it clear why so many choose a good photographer to record it all ... the day after, everything is gone, forever, the wonderful dress gets boxed up and forgotten in an attic, the shoes are trashed (I know mine were), the food has been wolfed, the cake cut and eaten, the flowers are dead before long ... you get the point ! All you have left are the photos, that's it.

Thanks again for confirming my belief :)

The Coolest Office on the Planet ...

OK, maybe a slight exaggeration ... but that's what George, my friend's 4 year old ("nearly 5" LOL) son thought when he came round last week. We were chatting downstairs and suddenly noticed George had gone off to "look for the cats" ... it was pretty quiet after a while (I had been expecting to hear squeals of delight from George, or at the very least a disgruntled meaow from a cat !) ... I wandered upstairs to find George in my office, swinging in my office chair, watching Cbeebies and looking longingly at my computer ! I hooked him up to my laptop and grabbed a camera :) Boy, Cbeebies on telly and playing Cbeebies games on the computer at the same time ! Wow !

A few of George ... what a total cutie, huh??

Gotta love those little dangly feet :)

Jenny & Ian - 25th October - Erasmus House, Lichfield

I was delighted to have the opportunity to shoot a very "different" wedding recently. Jenny and Ian fell in love with the Erasmus Museum as soon as they laid eyes on it. Set in historic Lichfield (home of the late, famous photographer, Patrick Lichfield), the museum was the home of Erasmus Darwin (yep, there is a family connection !), a famous botanist, among other talents. The venue has a truly intimate feel, especially once filled with happy wedding guests.

The day started for us at a hotel around the corner, where the girls were getting ready. Jenny's attention to detail and simplistic style really shone through, complete with beautiful gown, simple hair accessories and pink shoes / pashmina combo !

The ceremony was held in the museum, with Ian sitting waiting nervously for his bride to arrive with her Dad and sister. After very emotional vows (and some tears) Jenny and Ian were pronounced man and wife ... then for the real fun !

They had allocated a full hour of alone-time with me ! So we headed off out around Lichfield town, including a stop-off at the highly impressive cathedral, just out the back of the museum. Then a stroll through the streets (often without the pashmina, did I mention it was cold?) for a truly unique wedding coverage.

The day finished up with some fun speeches and a special event ... Ian's Dad, a singer in a former life, had pulled together a set to sing to the couple and their guests ... and yes, he was GOOD !

Jenny and Ian ... I can't wait to get together with you guys to look through the rest of your photos and to getting your album sorted ! In the meantime, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best for a wonderful married life together. Thanks for having me !

A few favourites ...

The preps ...

Ian ... not quite nervous yet ...

The ceremony at Erasmus ...

Jenny and Sis ...

Out and about on the shoot around Lichfield ...

Fisheye fun ...

Speeches and singing ...

Personal Post (Week 46)

BBC Press Office ... Week 46 (8th to 14th November)

Hi everyone ... well, as you can tell it has been fairly quiet, business-wise, this week. I decided to take a well-deserved break, driven by a visit from my mum for a couple of days. So, very little to blog about, I'm afraid !

2 wedding albums and assorted products went out to Amy & Boris, then Laurie & Jock this week ... all were thrilled to bits with everything ! I love it when happy clients leave with my wedding albums to go show their friends, or canvases and reprints to adorn their walls :)

I had a lovely couple of days catching up with mum, some shopping and lots of chilling out. Ah, we should all make time to do nothing on occasion :)

Come Friday I was a tad bored and so it was with some relief that I got a call to say I needed to do a little extra work on a voiceover project I am working on for a company who sell IT solutions. I do the voiceovers for their tutorial videos (sounds really odd hearing my own voice telling me how to do something haha), so for the last few days I have been sitting in my silent office, talking into a mic !

Oh, and today I was out shooting a beautiful little 10 week old baby (son of a former bride) and their 7 year old daughter who had been a bridesmaid at their wedding ... boy, is she getting to be a little "teenager" ... 7 going on 17 LOL !!

Tess is looking less like a puppy now (boooo) and more like a miniature version of a beagle (if that makes sense) ... she still puts a smile on every face she meets when out for walks or when clients come to call ... I swear they don't call to see me, the first thing they ask is "where's the puppy?" haha

Back to the grind tomorrow ... it had to end at some point !

Have a great week, everyone ... I'll be blogging a wedding and some portraits soon !

Tess ... in a rare quiet moment ...

I love you Daddy ... LICK !

BIG yawn ...

Ain't she still so cute, though?