Tariq & karen's Wedding - 25th Aug '07 - Mallory Court, Leamington Spa

This was a hot day at a super location I'd not shot at before http://www.mallory.co.uk/. The staff were really helpful and the day ran smoothly as a result. My job was made easier by the relaxed nature of Karen & Tariq which meant I could shoot plenty of natural photos as the day unfolded.

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What a fab lawn - I'd been proud to have mown that! (Are lines in a lawn just a bloke thing though?)

Tariq was pretty relaxed waiting for Karen's arrival.

A roaming magician kept the guests entertained... and somewhat baffled too!

This is a cute concept where the wedding couples champagne glasses are tied together - but clearly Tariq escaped and left Karen in charge!

Carry on Cornwall - The Davis' summer vacation

Wahoooo, summer has arrived at last and just in time for my two weeks off in Sept - how about that!

The Davis' had one week at home doing 'nice stuff' (otherwise known as shopping & eating out) followed by a week in Cornwall holidaying (eating ice cream & building sand castles).

To give my weedy little arms a rest from lugging 10kg's of pro photography kit around I chose to take my small digi compact (a Canon IXUS-850IS) and what a great little tool it turned out to be. Alright, so the noise at high ISO, lack of contrast & it's limit in manual setting are a negative but the portability and fun I had with it meant I took photos & made video in all kinds a weird & wonderful ways. Here's just a small taste of a few favs.

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Daisy loved bouncing on the spare bed. "She's just so beautiful", how am I meant to stop taking photos of her!?! Is this every parents problem?

Taking photos whilst cycling made this 'flat ride' a little more exciting! Ummmm... looking at this photo you can't actually tell we're on bikes hey - ohh well, just trust me on this one!

(Above) My wife hadn't ridden a bike for about 10 years but it soon came back to her! I however had so felt it possible to take photos and cycle at the same time! (Below) rest was required though after an 11 mile ride along the Camel Trail from Wadebridge to Padstow.

(Above) This was the fantastic Hemmick beach which we shared with only 6 other people...... how cool!

A trip around picturesque St. Mawes bagged me several super photos, then we ended up back in Mevegissey for Fish & Chips by the harbour.

Fish, Chips & Candy in Mevagissey. Daisy swinging her little feet anticipating her next mouthful, Ali looking perplexed and my mum & dad wondering if I ever stop taking photos.

Above is my fav shot from holiday still taken with the little compact (rested on a hand rail with a slow shutter speed in manual mode). It's also pleasing to see that in the right hands, taking a great photo with a £300 camera can begin to compare with my £3,000 camera.

Cake World

Having been editing wedding photos all day yesterday and today, I realised just how many photos of cakes I take. This gave me two reasons to blog about them.

1) To rant a little about how venues often put your beautiful cake in some dingy corner of the reception, which makes it a challenge to take a great photo ..... (rant over).

2) To give you brides some ideas about what's hot & what's not in cake world.

Here are a few shots from weddings earlier this year, most pre-cutting!

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(Above) is a pretty impressive cake I must say. Very stylish and more than a generous slice for each guest!

Above is indeed a 'cheese cake'.

Now I had a slice of this one (above) and it was super good. Any bride wishing to please their photographer should offer them a slice of fine cake - it's the way to a man's heart!

Oliver & Holly's Wedding - 26th Aug '07 - Close Hotel, Tetbury

This super Ozzie couple must be used to fine weather and their wedding day was no exception. What a great venue the Close Hotel is with elegant rooms, a chapel on site and fine dining to finish. This was a well organised, medium sized wedding that ran effortlessly with photography to reflect it.

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I often really like a very simple shot and this is it from Holly & Olly's wedding. The clean composition using the addition of a third subject and the framed print in this scene really lift the photo from a standard shot of Holly's sister & mum doing some final makeup touches.

This was a great room to take photos in - loads of natural light and plenty of space. Beneath is the untouched bridal suite, left for my pure photographic pleasure!


Inspired by this cake positioning, I'll be posting a 'wedding cake' blog shortly as far too often venues tuck your beautiful cake away into a dingy corner. Thank you Close Hotel for giving this cake a great spot of it's own.

Ohh this photo. As you've probably seen Holly is a beautiful slim bride, yet dresses can be mighty difficult to button when it's 5 mins to go and 28 degrees!


Olly was a cool customer. A round of golf in the morning then zip along for his wedding in the afternoon.

The on site Chapel - small and quaint.


Olly is a big nanny's boy really.

As you'll see from these last few shots we got a lot out of the small venue with a great variety of bridal portraits. My personal fav being the one above.