Floating Away in a Hot Air Balloon

Random shot for you!

We have the most beautiful balloons floating around overhead all summer in Stafford, and I managed to capture one of them this week ... enjoy :)

For the photographers ... Canon 1D IIN, 70-200 (at 200) with 1.4 extender.

Louise & Richard | Wedding | Ingestre Hall

Louise first met Richard when she was brought in to temp in his office ... he was her boss ! He fancied her right away but thought it would be unprofessional to ask her out while she was working for him ... with thoughts of sacking her in his mind (LOL) he held off until she was about to move to another temp position and made his move. A few short years later, we were at Ingestre Church and Hall, with friends and family, to celebrate their wedding.

Richard is a club DJ in his spare time, with gigs all over the UK and, most recently, Miami, under his belt. He proposed to Louise over the radio (using the legendary DJ Norman Jay to do the work for him) during the Good Times set at Notting Hill Carnival on the August Bank Holiday in 2006 ... their engagement was announced on BBC London Radio ... too cool !

And that pretty much sums up Louise & Richard for me ... fun-loving, music-loving, cool, chic couple, totally in love, with each other and with life.

Thank you for allowing me into your lives for this special celebration, guys, it was a pleasure :)

Here are some favourites from their day ... enjoy !

Bijal & Ankith | Wedding Preview

I had the pleasure of shooting Bijal & Ankith's wedding at Crewe Hall yesterday, and what a colourful, fun-filled day it was !

I am currently processing the images for a fantastic slideshow at their reception in London on Monday night, but on initial glance through the imagaes, I wanted to post a taster ... more to follow :)

Andrea & Ben | Pre Wedding Shoot

I first met Andrea and Ben last year when they booked me for their wedding this October ... we decided the best time for a PWS would be in the Spring and I am sooo glad we did ! We met up on Sunday and the weather could not have been betetr for us ... beautiful flowers blooming all over the park, children out playing and feeding the ducks in the river, glorious sunshine - Sunday had it all.

Andrea & Ben are getting married on Ben's birthday (actually, it's also his Mother's birthday, so a triple celebration) at one of my favourite locations, Crewe Hall in Cheshire. Plans are going well (ok, there is the odd little glitch, but it's still early days) and we are all very excited and looking forward to the day.

In the meantime, here are some of my favourites from the shoot ...

Thanks for the fun shoot, guys, really looking forward to seeing you soon !

James & Anouska | Portraits

I was pretty busy and had a lot of fun last weekend in and around Stafford, with my lucky portrait winners. James & Anouska were a lot of fun and were up for a mooch around the park and down into Stafford centre. The weather was changeable, in fact it felt like winter at times, but we worked in and around the showers (typical British weather LOL).

Here are a few favourites ...

The Davis Family | Portraits in the Park

I spent most of last weekend in the beautiful park in Stafford ... everyone I meet up with there is amazed it exists, it truly is a little gem in the middle of the bustling county town !

On Saturday I met up with Roy Davis and his family for some portraits ... Roy had entered my portrait competition in February and was one of the lucky winners ! He is a keen photographer, too, so it was great to chat about some techy stuff haha

The weather was pretty cruel to us, windy, cold and the odd smatter of rain, but we managed to fit in some fun with the ducks and other assorted feathered friends.

As always, here are some favourites from the session ...

Checking out the birdies ...

Something exciting is happening ...

... the ducks are coming over to say hi !!!

Have you had some family photos taken recently? If not, and you'd like to get some done, why not give me a call or drop me a line :)

Faye & Chris | Portraits

My final session on Sunday in the Park was with Faye and her fiance, Chris. The sun was absolutely glorious by the time we met up, so of course we had to try and find some shade (I know, sunshine is great, but knowing how to work in it well is another story LOL). We mooched around some of my favourite spots and had some fun ... boy, these guys just didn't need any direction at all ! They were complete naturals and were a joy to work with - thanks, guys !

So, without further ado ... a few favourites from the shoot !