Day spa for the girls, woodland walk for the boys!

With Ali's birthday fast approaching myself & a friend decided to give our wives a treat day out at a health spa, whilst we did the honorable thing and looked after the little ones!

With Dave having a keen interest in photography too, we clearly wouldn't settle for just babysitting, so hit the Forest Of Dean Sculpture Trail armed with 5D's and nappies! (5D being a camera for those who may not know!)

We headed off to hike the 4 mile trail, with what's probably classed as inappropriate equipment - yes, Daisy and I had the buggy! Dave however had a fancy carrier, which made his hands free approach to taking photos a little safer than my slightly careless single handed steering come photography!

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What a great day for a walk in the woods - fab weather, clear air & super autumn colour. This is my favourite photo of the day.

Ha.... this is what Dave & I call Lomography, simply take a photo of whatever you want with little thought for composition, camera setting etc! Sometimes you get lucky, 95% of the time you don't. this is a little out of focus but has a sweet feel. This was a typical scene for the day - Dave taking a photo.........me taking a photo........... babies just wondering when lunch time was!

Worry not, Mia (Dave's little girl) was well strapped in - phew!

Daisy took on the roll of 'leaf collector'. Since Mia was 'off the deck' Daisy kindly passed them up to her. Dave still shooting 'Lomography'!

I thought it a good idea to let Daisy stretch her legs, but when she covered 20 meters (not even in the right direction) in only 15mins we soon resorted back to the Bugaboo (not Daisy's first choice based on the tantrum). Note: Daisy is yet again sporting her 'Gabrielle' look..... just how does she see where she's going?

Love the 'technical' look of 5D & baby drink bottle - I might get one to hang on my wedding utility belt!

I have very few photos of me and Daisy (as I'm always behind the camera) so it was a good opportunity to get one. She's such a cutie.....

Post Processing - What's it all about?

Having shot some photos with a 'fashion editorial style' earlier this week, I spent a little time today....... tweaking 'em!

Post processing can include various techniques from b&w, sepia toning through to cross processing. The latter finish really suits this style of photo and these just rocked with it! This digital technique is taken from the traditional method of processing standard film in slide film chemicals (the short & simple explanation!).

Here are a couple of examples of cross processing, followed by some before and after photos.

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All pre-processed photos are straight from camera. I shoot 'flat' and make any adjustments (contrast, saturation etc) later in Photoshop.

These last three shots demonstrate sepia toning and a classic b&w which work really well for portraits.

Fashion passion portrait session!

I had a great morning today with Laura ('Minty', as I named her!), who unlike most of my wedding clients actually likes having her photograph taken! Her boyfriend had bought her a gift voucher of a photo shoot, so we hit the local 'urban' spots around the neighbourhood.

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