Lady Di ..

It's time to mark the anniversary of the death of Lady Di, and I'm sure I'm not the only person wondering where the last twenty years have gone. At least I was lucky enough to photograph The Princess on a couple of occasions but it made me think of the changes in photography over that period. I mean, just look at my shots. They're in black and white! They're in black and white and I had to take my film to a darkroom to get it processed before I could see what shots I'd got. Man, that's so last century! It's no wonder 18 year olds look at me as if I'm an antique!! ..

For the time being ..

Well, I had to do it, didn't I? My last Wedding yesterday - for the time being! -  and I felt it was about time I joined in the party. I jumped into the big group shot next to Emma and Chris and the chauffeur, waiting by the car nearby, volunteered to go up my ladder and get the shot for me. Thing was, having never seen the view from the bride's angle, I was suddenly presented with yet another fab shot to add to the couple's collection. Always keep your eye open ..
 
Anyway, can't stand here and chat. As yesterday saw me at my last Wedding - for the time being!! - I'm off now to the last PR job in my diary. One more corporate portrait session in Manchester and then I'm done ..

For the time being !!! ....

Ps: You can click on the shots to see them larger! 

Once more, with feeling ..

I thought I'd give you a choice of blogs today. I'm good like that ..

Blog A: Well, this is it, folks! My last ever Wedding in the UK. It's already an unusual Monday given that I'm shooting a Wedding today - and I can't ever remember shooting a Wedding on a Monday - but this one has the 'double-whammy' of being the last ever Wedding in my diary. 

End of blog.

Blog B: Well, this is it folks! My last ever Wedding in the UK. It's already an unusual Monday given that I'm shooting a Wedding today - and I can't ever remember shooting a Wedding on a Monday - but this one has the 'double-whammy' of being the last ever Wedding in my diary .. until I start taking bookings again once I'm settled in France ..

I hope you went for Blog B! ..

It is a funny old day though. After today I have no more Weddings in the diary! After all those years and God knows how many Weddings I've shot. Wow! And I mean, WOW! So, is this it? No more getting to share that most beautiful of moments, when a couple say "I do"? No more nerves to photograph? No more giggles? No more snogs, and drunken aunts? No more gorgeous venues, on sunny days, or pissy-wet days, or 'I wish the weather would make up its mind' days? No more sweaty-palmed grooms? No more 'Quick, guys, come over here. The light's fantastic'? Jeez, it doesn't bear thinking about. That's why, when I'm asked if I'm "retiring" to France, I reply "Hell no, just relocating the office!" ..

So, just the small matter of moving my entire life to France next month and then I'll be up and running again and ready to shoot for brides both in England and in France.

One love! Oh, yes ..

 

 

Old man ..

My house insurance renewal details came in the post this morning from Saga, the company for the over 50s. It's ok, at the heady age of 57 I'm well used to the thought of being 'of a certain age' - hey, a second of my mates turned 60 last week - so I couldn't help but laugh when I read through the details of a PR job I'm shooting today. I'm photographing a 'fun and activity day' to promote social inclusion for .. the over 50s!!
My God, I hope there's room for my zimmer frame when I get in there ..

Having said that, I am now living with a lady who's retired, as Lesley had her last day at work last week, and she is the grandmother to two little girls (Yes, I'm going out with a grandma!), but I think I have to agree with the old adage 'You're as young as you feel' ..

And I feel? .. well, at 57 I'm still doing the job I've wanted to do since I was 13 and I still got excited about buying a new camera the other day; I still got a buzz at a punk gig I went to in Yorkshire last week; I was 'last man standing' with just one of my (old) muckers after an 11 hour drinkathon on my birthday and, most of all .. I'm turning the clock back to the beginning as Lesley and I prepare to start our new lives in France. God, it's good to be young ..

We're rolling ..

Gosh, this is all getting rather real ..

I've just waved Lesley off on her last ever day at work and, yesterday, I booked the car onto the Eurotunnel train .. one way! France is calling and things are really starting to happen ..

To that end we now have a Removal Van booked, and we've actually physically started to pack our stuff. It's all very moving, and in more ways than one. So, as Lesley officially 'retires' today I have one more Wedding and two more PR jobs to shoot and then that's me done, too. It's a very weird time but so exciting, and we can't wait to hit the road and start our new lives on the continent.
Now, pass me that bubblewrap ..

Styled ..

I feel like I should issue a warning to all you prospective brides out there ..

As a subscriber to several Wedding Blog sites, I find I'm constantly being invited to view various "beautiful styled shoots" and "delightful summer/spring/winter (delete depending on the time of year you're reading this ..) styled Wedding shoots" .. and I shake my head and sigh ..

The clue is in the words. They're 'Styled Shoots' .. not real Weddings! All those lovely photographs are from specifically organised photo-sessions involving models, stylists and suppliers fussing over their products to make sure they're seen in the best light. They're unrushed and shot on sunny days without one single pesky guest wandering through the background ..

So I'm just saying, next time you like the look of a particular photographer's work, check out their 'real' weddings as well. Make sure they can handle the required speed, pressure and pace of a 'real' Wedding, when it might be raining, when 15 minutes might be all they get to shoot everything and when the bride and groom aren't sophisticated models but two delighted people who just want to meet their guests and get on with their Big Day ..

Just saying ..
 

Winding down ..

My Mum .. in two photographs taken exactly 40 years apart .. the earlier shot at my childhood home in Eccles in 1977, and the colour shot taken when she visited our place in France last month. There she is, snoozing in a sun-lounger, open book in her lap. How lovely to see that some things never change ..

There's a lot that's changing chez moi though and, if you could see the house, you'd see what a tip it is as Lesley and I go through all the stuff we need to take to France. The move date's getting nearer and the excitement is mounting. Photographic work, by necessity, is dwindling of course, with only one Wedding and three PR jobs left on the books. But winding down? With the move on the horizon I've never been busier. If only I could have a snooze in a sun-lounger!..

One more time ..

One more, and that's it! I have just one more Wedding to photograph in the UK ..

You don't know how weird it is for me to say that. Normally I'd have bookings into Autumn and over Christmas, but not this year. This year I'll be spending that time moving over to France and setting up my French Wedding Photography business, and that's fantastic and very exciting but it sure is weird to think I'll have nothing else to shoot in England after August. Having said that, I'm not burning my bridges, and will happily nip back to England should anyone fancy me as their Wedding Photographer in the future. So, who knows? All those halls, all those venues, all the vicars and their churches, all those registry offices, every place I've ever photographed a Wedding in the UK, all that experience .. I just might be back to work here again next year.
Just £1,350 all in. Interested?..

All smiles ..

My studio used to be in a shopping mall above our local Sainsbury's supermarket. Today, exactly one year and three days since I closed it, I got a phone-call from a lady who wanted me to photograph her dog ..

"I'm afraid I've closed the studio down .." I said.
"Oh, have you?", she said "I don't go up there very often" ..
Folks, I almost cracked a smile ..

Anyway, none of this moping about the past .. it's all about the future now, with tomorrow's Wedding in Liverpool being at the forefront of my mind. It's the first Wedding I'll have shot in Liverpool for .. well, I can't even remember, it's been so long. It's a nice challenging one as well, with only an hour to shoot the photographs after the ceremony .. just the sort of adrenalin rush I thrive on.

Folks, I definitely will be smiling ..

Weeks ..

And that was that! Two weeks in France, and they went in a flash. Much like the sunflowers covering the fields around our house, already gone over and looking rather sorry for themselves. What a great two weeks, though. I've got lots more work done on the house, have met and greeted three more new sets of holidaymakers at the gîte and had a shoot at another gîte nearby.
In fact, I've been so busy I need a holiday ..

Not much chance of that, of course. I've been busy editing a Wedding I shot just before I went away, and am gearing up for this Friday's Wedding over in Liverpool. I only have one more Wedding to shoot in the UK later this month and then that's me done .. it'll be time to pack all our worldlies and head over to France full time ..

Just weeks left. Can't wait ..