A place where you'll see all my latest offerings, journey with me through my many experiences, pick up hints, tips and friendly advice and hopefully leave here that little bit inspired. Stay with me as I navigate my way through Photography and Life.
When I was approached by Natalie creator of The Accidental Mogul to do an interview as part of her ‘Inspirational’ series I was thrilled and of course jumped at the chance! I was sent over 17 questions to answer that I was told should have taken me no more then 30-minutes to complete. Now I always find it a challenge to articulate what I want to say into writing (it took me 30-minutes just to write this paragraph, don’t laugh!) so I know it was going to take me a little longer. Lets just say by the time I finished I had managed to squeeze in a breakfast, lunch, dinner, a trip to London and a whole nights sleep! Read the full interview at http://accidentalmogul.blogspot.com/2012/02/inspirational-interview-international.html Have a great week everyone!
There are few things to compare to the buzz and excitement when at the end of a wedding day I finally get to see the fruits of my labour on the big screen back in the office. Usually accompanied by some sort of beverage and ridiculously sweet indulgence (blame my sweet tooth!) I relive the couples big day before they’ve barely had the chance to. Once I’m done picking out my favourites it always fills me with joy to eventually show them off on my blog, facebook and website, however, to have someone else value and admire your work enough to feature on their own blog is even more satisfying. So I am thrilled to have one of my favourite weddings featured on one of my favourite bridal blogs Belle Noir Bride. After planning her own wedding Belle Noir Bride’s creator Nicola (a self-confessed media junkie) set out to provide a blog that would inspire, help and support brides like herself in their own wedding journey’s and establish a community to support one another and share ideas. She is doing a fantastic job!
I spent the final few days of 2011 in Kilkenny [Ireland] for the wedding of my cousin Gareth and his beloved Nicola. Gareth, my brother and myself are all very close in age so to see one of the trio getting married was a reminder of how much we’d grownup and dare I say it become men! It was a beautiful day tinted with an Irish flavour and surrounded by friends and lots of my family it was the perfect ending to a busy wedding season.
Just arrived back from a busy weekend in London and the SWPP convention where I had a great time hanging out with some of the stars in the wedding photography industry and making some new friends. It’s late and I’m not exactly in optimum condition but I just had to squeeze in a post before I collapse into bed to re-energise myself for the start of a fresh new week.
So here are a few highlights from Buki + Daniel’s glorious wedding. Starting the day at Daniel’s apartment we moved onto the Marriot Hotel to meet up with Buki where I was reunited with the (self-titled) ‘Dream Team’; a trio consisting of myself, make-up artist Alison Cameron and hair stylist Abike Abu who are both amazing and always a pleasure to work with. After the church ceremony, and for the third time in a year, we returned to Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens for the reception, however this time round the gardens were cloaked in autumns best colours and looking better than ever!
Picture the scene; A small nightclub, 20+ photographers, 30+ models, 1,000,000 flashes (maybe a slight exaggeration!), a music video shoot, and you have my day at the London Speedlite Scene meetup. It’s been a surreal day and I’ve been awake for over 20 hours now however before I collapse into bed with exhaustion here is a little taster I managed to upload before my internet decided to slow down to a snails pace. I’ll be adding more tomorrow so stay tuned…..
As promised here is a slideshow of images from my Sunday in London…
Around this time last year my brother and I swapped the UK’s coldest winter on record for the far more inviting climate of Uganda in east Africa. We arrived in this beautiful land to photograph the wedding of my friend Roy and his queen, Maggie. With their anniversary fast approaching and a recent bout of man-flu (the worst kind!), I’ve had plenty of time to reminisce about the amazing things I experienced during my stay there. Breathtaking scenery, rich culture, captivating wildlife (in their natural habitat!), wild nightlife (my unnatural habitat!), stylish hotels, crazy motorcycle taxis and white water rafting for the very first time. Great weather was matched only by the warmth of the people we met who showed us so much love, kindness, and generosity that it was a real struggle to leave.
A memory I revisit often given the chance, is a short five minute journey across the width of the River Nile. It was dawn and we were leaving behind Paraa Lodge perched on a hillside deep in the Murchison Falls National Park. The calm of the waters were disturbed only by the gentle waves created from our boat transporting a mixture of locals, tourists and our vehicles. The clatter from the boats diesel engine interplaying with echos of the surrounding animal kingdom was an unfamiliar mix and the distinctive sound of hippos from our afternoon crossing two days earlier had disappeared. My attention was soon captured by the emerging sun on the African horizon. It’s rise brought with it not just a promise of a new day but a call to action. All the ideas, aspirations and possibilities that had been scattered in my mind suddenly started moving in sync and fell into place. Evolving into something far greater than before, my vision for the future was now much clearer. Uganda and a sunrise had altered my sails and I was heading in a new direction.
I want to thank my friends and family for their continued love and support throughout 2011. To my wonderful clients; I feel extremely blessed to have been part of one of the most significant moments in your lives and wish you the very best as you continue on your journeys on the road to a lifetime of marriage. One way or the other you’ve all helped me along in that new direction.
2012 will see me pushing further along my journey with renewed energy gifted to me by a recent trip to Miami and the Bahamas with a inspiring community of friends and also the buzz of a fresh new year. So lying here disarmed with man-flu, I raise a cup of my special healing tea to the sunrises in your lives. May you all shine your very brightest in 2012!
