Yeah, man! My new album..

I'd love to be in a rock band and talk about making albums in that way, but my 'albums' of course, are Wedding albums, and I spent a long, hard day yesterday making my latest! It's a gorgeous 40-sided Jorgensen album, all in black. I love this final 'coming together' of images, shot by me, chosen by the couple and then designed to work together on the page by myself. It's the last bit of the creative process, and brings together some great juxtapositions of pictures. Here's a page of shots of the little flower girls, waiting patiently in the bride's hotel room before their Big Moment! Lovely photographs individually, but just that little more magical when viewed together!

Just a boy...

Portrait of the artist! A dip into the archive for a shot I've found of me, me me...  This was taken when I was staff at the Warrington Guardian, 30 years ago. I'm busy filing negatives and writing captions, with my trust Nikon FM on the desk in front of me! As you can see, the company spent a fortune on our luxuious office space!! I had to smile when I saw the photographs on the wall. They're of Wendy Wu, who was the lead singer in one of my favourite bands, the ever-so appropriately named Photos! Oh, Wendy, where are you now? It's hard to imagine now but I'll bet that, on that roll of 36 negatives on the table, there are probably 5 or 6 jobs, half-a-dozen frames shot at each event. Did you hear that? All you people who say the good thing about digital is you can just keep shooting until you get a good shot!!
Grrrr.....

On the horizon...

So there's a year to the Olympics, eh? Damn it, I wish I was interested! Sport's such big business that the magic seems to have gone from it, and the Big Money muppets are taking over the world. I was listening to a radio interview this morning with God, sorry I mean David Beckham, and people now hang onto his every word to such an extent that he was allowed to get away with a statement in which he spouted on about the qualities of, er, I don't know, some other player, saying "He's a really nice guy .. so I've heard!"... Oh come on!

Actually, it's all sour grapes! It's just because I'm hopeless at photographing sport!

Anyway, there's a lovely summer's day in prospect, so I'm just going to shut up and go and play in the garden!
The shot? Oh, that's from my new Flickr set..Check it out!

Oh, plop!...

Things are looking up, and quite often down, too, in the latest additions to my FlickrPix sets!

I, being the consummate professional photographer, always carry a compact camera wherever I go, and am forever seeing photographs to take when I'm on my travels. Trouble is, I never do anything with them, so my new set of shots, called Seen... aims to put that right. I've put up the first of what will undoubtedly be many shots of random, amusing observations .. nothing heavy, meaningful or, hey, likely to make me any money, but fun to look at, all the same. One of my favourites is a sign in a pub, promoting a gig there. Midnight Johnny, here next Monday, it says.. at 8pm!

The Weekend...

Zzzzz ! Sometimes, I wish I could go through life like this! No bad news, no rushing, just sunshine, snoozing .. and new plants for the garden! I've just had such a great weekend, and was all the more determined to enjoy it after seeing so much horror and tragedy in the news. Tatton Park's RHS Summer show was fantastic, if a little tiring, and the night before was spent in a headlong trip back in time, with an 80's concert at Cheshire's Capesthorne Hall. Weird to be going there without all my Wedding gear, though! So, back to reality today, with portraits for a magazine piece on personal injury at work!

Keep that space....

So, you tootle along as a Wedding Photographer, dealing with enquiries as they come in...

You're getting married in 2012? Excellent! Hope I can help! Here are my details... 2013? Lovely, have a price list!    2015? ..    Wow! You like to plan ahead, don't you!..

This week, though, I've had all records shattered! I have had an enquiry from a couple, my lovely reader, who are planning to get married in .. wait for it .. 2017 !!! Oh, my giddy aunt! That's six years away! How the heck do I know what I'll be doing in six years' time, although, ho ho, I do imagine I'll be available!!

Shugborough!...

Fantastic house, gorgeous gardens, fascinating sea-going history .. yet I got most excited by this! A mock-up of Patrick Lichfield's old London studio, set up in a corner of his Staffordshire home! What an amazing place! Highly recommended! Only a few miles off the M6, yet a different world. That's Shugborough, the home of the late Lord Lichfield. Dropped in there the other day, and instantly felt a real warmth for the guy, who sadly died suddenly just a few years ago. It prompted me to dig out a couple of the books of his that I own, and I absolutely loved flicking through 'In Retrospect', a sadly appropriate title considering he's now dead! His approach to people just shines through in every shot, and every one of his subjects looks like they're having the time of their lives with him as their portrait photographer! What a lovely legacy!

Just a chance, then, to tell you about my latest portrait offer! A location/lifestyle photo-shoot and a 10 x 8 inch print of your choice.. just £75! Won't buy me a stately home, but it'll sure as heck get you a great portrait!

Back to the future...

42 years! That's how long it is now since man first landed on the moon! To the day! (Well, we always used to say July 21st in the UK, but that's 'cos we were 6 hours ahead of Houston time!) Safe to say though that, 42 years ago tonight, Neil Armstrong uttered his famous and, apparently mistaken, line about small steps and giant leaps and what have you! I was nine years old, and absolutely fascinated by the whole project, but it's hard to imagine such excitement now, eh? The moon? Forget it! Bloody hell, even Concorde got the chop, and we're back to 7 hour flights across the Atlantic.

Well, I see now photographers are offering, for a fee, to shoot a selection of your Wedding Photography On Film! Cripes! Did someone push the 'Reverse' button here?

Oh, the picture today? That's my little model friend Minnie! We travelled around the world together, and stopped off for a 'snap' with this Apollo Saturn V rocket! Check out her 'trip' here.....

Darn Sarf....

Went Darn Sarf for a coupla days last week. Tourist hat on .. Tower of London, Kew Gardens and all that jazz! The main reason for the trip, though, was to see the photography exhibitions of both Thomas Struth at the Whitechapel Gallery, and Vivian Maier, at the German Gymnasium. Wow! All I can say is get there! Go see 'em! Especially the Maier .. though that ends on the 24th, so hurry up!
Hate to say it though, but as usual the best thing about London was the road out of the place!
Man! So many people!! How does anyone get used to that?

About the weather...

Apologies if you're reading this in some sun-soaked hot place (Patricia!) but yes, today I have to talk About the weather. What a wash-out, and I really feel for any couples who chose this weekend to get married. There's just no telling as to when you might reasonably expect a lovely summer's day anymore, is there? My advice to people thinking of getting married in the summer is to choose a venue with lots of room .. indoors!

I was lucky in a way, as I didn't book any Weddings this weekend so that I could make my annual pilgrimage to the air tattoo at RAF Fairford. Here's a shot of brave pair making the most of it there!

Of course, if you really want cheering up, you could click the weather link above and get down to some groovy music by Magazine! Anyone for emigration?

Fair enough, Fairford...

Just back from a four-day blast of a trip that culminated in a visit yesterday to RIAT 2011, the Royal International Air Tattoo, at RAF Fairford. Appalling weather in the morning, resulting in quite a few cancelled displays, but scorching sunshine in the afternoon (I have the sunburn to prove it!) and a great programme of flying in the end. 
Fair enough, Fairford!

I can't help, though, but try to emulate my award winning photograph of the Red Arrows every time I see them, but I have to say I'm quite pleased with this one this year! No photoshop trickery here, by the way! Gosh, how very dare you!

Lots more to follow on Flickr....

You wait for one...

...and thirty come along at the same time! Ah, the good old red London bus! So how weird was it to see this huge line-up of them outside a hotel in .. Sri Lanka! The fleet had just been delivered to Colombo when I happened upon them during a photography trip a few years back. Bet I have to wait for ages for one when I go down to London today!

Catch you Sunday!

Pile 'em high...

I went mad with a montage of Wedding shots the other day, trying to show a flavour of how I shoot on just one single website page! Might need some of that creative juice flowing today, 'cos I'm shooting a very exciting erm, plaque unveiling in Manchester! Hey, I shall rise to the challenge!

London tomorrow! Off to get me an eyeful of that London Street Photography festival, before it finishes this weekend. Now that should refresh the creative juices!

All in a summer's day..

Had a brilliant Wedding at the stunning Willington Hall yesterday, with a couple who'd travelled over from Tokyo for the 'English' half of their Wedding celebrations! Chris married his Japanese bride Rumiko on a typically English summer's day - ie: the weather was crazy!! - The celebrations began in a huge downpour, and ended up in absolutely dazzling sunshine. I, of course, complained about both scenarios but, as always, the show went on and we ended up with some stunning shots in the lush green Cheshire countryside. Congratulations to you both, and a big hello to the 20 plus guests who flew in from Japan for the event!

All human life...

So, the News of the World shuts up shop today! Never thought I'd be able to say that, and, despite the circumstances, it's awful to think that a whole heap of journalists and photographers are going to be out on their ears! Apart from that .. good riddance! Anyway, it gives me a chance to put up one of my favourite photographs, in which you can just glimpse, at top left, the newspaper's catch-phrase 'All human life is there' .
The picture is from my book 'Don't Miss This'...and I sure won't miss the News of the Screws!

It's a Passion, Flower!..

The old story about photographers is that they can never spot their best shots! Well, I've just been having a dive back through my old Florescence archive and, amongst other 'missed' shots, I discovered this beauty just waiting to be found! Heaven knows why I didn't choose this passion flower shot over the ones I did, but it just goes to show how tastes can vary over time. I'll set to work and get my new scans up and viewable as soon as I can!

Anyway, TGI Friday, but not for me the relieved sigh as the end of a working week approaches! I'm just excited that my next Wedding shoot is on the way, at gorgeous Willington Hall, with a couple - an English chap and a Japanese lady - who've flown over from Tokyo for the 'English' part of their nuptials!
Now, how's that for passion?!...

Look at that...

Cock-a-hoop today, because I've received a compliment from one of my 'hero' photographers! I've liked the work of American photographer Bill Dane since I 'discovered' him in the early eighties, and over the past few days we've been exchanging emails in which he's said some very kind things about my documentary photography! Ironically, a lot of it is the book 'Don't Miss This' that I blogged about yesterday. so I'm hoping it'll lead to something happening with the work in the future.

Busy, busy at the mo....lots of Jorgensen albums to make, and some nice PR work coming in, too!
I've also had a dig back into my Florescence work, and have decided to add one or two more shots to the collection! More to come on that...

Here comes the commercial break...

Right! Down to the nitty-gritty!
Today, folks, I am offering you - yes, you! - the chance to own one of the last original copies of my first ever self-published book 'Don't Miss This'. First published in 2008, it is a hard-back collection of 83 of the black and white shots I took in the 80's using my old Olympus XA 35mm camera, and is full of humour, quirky observation and, after over 25 years, plain old nostalgia!
It features a foreword by Laura Noble, of the Diemar/Noble gallery in London (who says it's dead, dead good, so there!) and was stocked at The Photographers' Gallery until its closure for refurbishment.
Anyway, folks, there are only TEN copies of this book left, and one can be all yours for a mere twenty squids plus postage. Why wouldn't ya?

All change....

Thought I'd have a little change on my Blog Page - get all modern and clean and white - though the ramblings on the page will still be the same, of course!

Hope you like it!

Let me stress....

A flurry of Wedding enquiries yesterday! Wonder if the heat got people thinking happy thoughts?

I, of course, think happy thoughts all the time. (It's the tablets, ha ha!) No, it's the fact that I'm a Wedding Photographer, so I do get to have my cake and eat it, spending happy days with lovely couples in great locations, and getting paid for it!

At a Wedding a couple of weeks ago, a group of ushers and their friends were standing outside the reception venue smoking (Ugh!) One of the guys offered me a cigarette, and I told him I didn't smoke. His answer amused me! He said he was surprised I didn't smoke, what with all the stress I was under as the Wedding Photographer! Stress? Naaaah! Adrenaline, for sure, because it's so exciting to be thinking on your feet, adapting things as you go, but stress? No way! Now, where's me cake?

Independence Day...

So, Happy July 4th to all my American Amigos! Have a Bud for me, my friends! Can't believe it's now 20 years since I spent Independence Day actually in America, and my friend Vicki's son, who I shot as a babe in her arms on that day, is now a regular graduated guy and all-growed-up! Yowza!

So, couple of little Wedding stories from the past week or so....

Chilled bride of the week: Cheryl at Styal Lodge. Just, literally, just..as she was about to walk up the aisle to her chosen music, the i-pod jammed! She was so cool about it. The staff went to find another player, and she casually picked a tune from their collection to walk up to Chris! Excellent!

Hungriest guest of the week: The chap at Sharon and Darren's Wedding at the Worsley Park Marriott last Saturday, who drove off to an Esso garage down the road to buy two cornish pasties and got back to eat them just in time to be invited into the Wedding Breakfast! Tee hee!

Nicest Toastmaster of the week: Stephen Sanders, who took pity on the poor, sweaty Wedding Photographer at the Marriott, Worsley (Ie: Me!) and presented me with a cool pint of Guinness! Cheers, Steve!

What an honour!...

Being a photographer, like wot I am, I'm often asked if I've ever met anybody famous! Er! Yes!!!! Kinda comes with the territory, especially if you work for the press! I was once, actually, the official photographer to HM Our Liz, when I got the gig as the only photographer to cover the Queen at an event in Hyde Park. (Back in the days of film, too, so I must be good Ho hum!) Anyway, yes, of course I've had the privilege of meeting many a famous face, like George Best, Maggie Thatcher and Muhammad Ali, all of whose autographs I asked for, and got, but the person I most get a kick out of being able to say I've met is this chap here....

Andre Kertesz!

Answers on a postcard?  He's one of my most favourite photographers of all time! Now he was a great photographer, and it would have been his birthday today if he were still alive. Happy Birthday, Mr Kertesz!  I remember looking at his work when I started to get interested in photography, way back in the mid-seventies, and couldn't believe the day he was actually sitting in front of me, smiling for my shot! (This was on his 90th birthday, by the way, hence the cake! The 'photograph' in icing on top is a copy of a self-portrait he shot in 1927!) He was in Bradford, at the Museum of Photography, to launch a collection of his work, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, when asked to select a favourite picture of Andre's for the accompanying book said "I choose the next picture coming out of his camera"

Well, obviously, those pictures have stopped coming, but if you don't know of him, I urge you to take some time to discover the ones that did come out of his camera! You will come away feeling relaxed, peaceful and happy that someone with such an sweet eye ever existed!  

Cheers!...

Lot of interest in one of my blogs, yesterday, with 345 people logging in to read it!
Thanks for the interest, everybody! Will keep you all informed of my progress!

So, July already, eh? Busy weeks ahead now, including a Wedding in The Lakes, and a Wedding shoot for a chap that lives in Japan. He's coming over for a ceremony at Willington Hall, in Cheshire, and I'll only get to meet him on his Wedding Day! That still doesn't beat my record, though! I once did a Wedding in Kent, and only got to meet the groom when I went up the aisle to photograph the signing of the register! Hi! Good afternoon! Congratulations...!

One more thing! Just added a new option to my Wedding Packages! A delicious set of 100 10x8 prints, in a personalised box, for £1500! Very, very tasty!