Phew ..

A pause for breath .. I have such a busy few days ahead of me. Fresh from shooting a house for an Estate Agent yesterday, I'm off to shoot some website pix for an American IT company this afternoon, and then I have a portrait shoot at the studio and a Wedding tomorrow. Sunday? That'll be time for my first Wedding Fayre of the season, at the lovely Willington Hall in Cheshire and then, on Monday, I have a PR shoot at the launch of a high-temperature facility for the nuclear industry, with further jobs in the diary for both Tuesday and Wednesday. Looks like I can have a breather on Thursday ..

Phew ..

April Fool ..

I honestly believed I'd been the victim of an April Fool's joke this morning. I've been chasing an outstanding payment for four months and, this morning, I got it! I had to double-check to make sure it had actually happened! But what a state of affairs to have to wait so long to be paid. I shot the work on December 5th and you can probably take it as read that it's the last time I'll do anything for this particular company ..

However, it's in the bank at last and I can turn my mind to other matters. Main thing at the moment is Sunday's Wedding Fayre at Hollin Hall Hotel. I'm thinking BIG for this one and, to that end, I've had a whopper of a canvas print made - all of almost four feet long! I love it! If you're thinking of tying the knot any time soon then come down and see it ..

A quick explanation of today's photographs. These were shot in Bali a long time ago - they're transparencies - and I remember watching this guy videoing (as it would have been) whilst standing in the shallows. Doesn't he realise - I thought to myself - there are some quite big waves that come into that shoreline? I guess he didn't! What a fool ..

Baby, look at you now ..

This week's all about babies! I photographed a Christening at the weekend and I have four photo-shoots to come with young families at the studio. In between all of that I'm getting myself organised for the first Wedding Fayre I'll have done in eight months! Wow, where did that time go? I'll be down at the lovely Hollin Hall Country House Hotel on Sunday from 11 o'clock. Free engagement shoot and signing board if you book me from this event, by the way! Sounds good, baby ..

Pulling together ..

Stomp it! That's the name of some new software I bought to pull together these funky montages. Saves me flippin' ages! I've dropped a few onto Pinterest already..

I'm also busy pulling together the strands of my Wedding Fayre, which takes place on Monday and has more suppliers attending than my last fayre in March. Sixteen at the last count, and not a single duplication of skills to be seen. Let's just hope it pulls a few brides in, too..

Tomorrow sees a full hair and make-up shoot at the studio, and pulling this together gave me the idea of offering this as a whole package - hair, make-up, photo-shoot and 12x10 inch print for £99.
No, I'm not pulling your leg...

On the 'phone ..

Most of us will remember the early 21st century as the period when we viewed life through other people's electronic devices. I went to the Southport Air Show on Saturday and spent most of my time peeping around iphones and tablets just to catch a view of the displays. People going to an event .. and not watching it! Just a little Monday moan for ya, though you know as well as I do that if I'd been shooting this event professionally this geezer wouldn't have stood a chance!..

Anyway, great weekend - the air show being followed up with a Sunday at the Mere Wedding Fayre, where I met a thoroughly smashing bunch of brides who all seemed suitably enthused by my ramblings when they came over to my stand. Well, none of them yawned, anyway! I'm going to spend Monday sitting by the phone to take all the calls for bookings .. 

PS: Here's a little addition now I've had time to go through my images. This was a commercial jet which seemed to slice through a sky-high rainbow during a lull in the displays. No 'phones in front of this one!...

 

Done! Done well ..

Phew! That's that done! It's the morning after the night before and all I can say is .. it was bloody brilliant! My Wedding Fayre has been a great success and everyone is saying how very well it all went. A massive thank-you to all the exhibitors and visitors who braved Arctic weather conditions to get out to The Culcheth Arms. I'm so pleased and - yes, let's be honest - relieved that it all worked out so well. In fact, do you know what? I'm going to do it all over again! Not 'til Autumn, mind .. but the early feedback is so good that I think the Wedding suppliers of Culcheth would be daft if we ignored the local interest that we all got last night..

So, PR head back on today and back into Manchester for the second day's coverage of a Corporate workshop. I couldn't avoid listening in on the speakers yesterday and I'm already an expert on global positioning, market share and commercial propositioning! I'm just happy that all I'm there for is to take photographs! Later on I'm photographing an Awards ceremony at The Imperial War Museum North. I shall certainly enjoy the fact that someone else has had to do all the organising..

It's the Big Day ..

Well, it's finally here! Six weeks in the planning, it's The Culcheth Wedding Fayre this evening and I can't wait! We've got a fantastic range of Wedding services on show, including one hell of a good photographer! ..

Funnily enough, I was sent this photograph last night from a couple whose Wedding I shot .. 12 years ago! Man, it brought back memories!  Just look at my set-up! I used to shoot on a Mamiya RZ67 camera and when I wanted to go up my ladder to shoot the group shot I used to just tie the legs of my tripod to the struts of the ladder with bungy straps! Health and Safety? Pah!...

Anyway, I've got an afternoon at a PR shoot before I can put on my 'Wedding head'. I'll let you know tomorrow how tonight went..

All's Fayre ..

I'm fed up of paying good money to participate in a Wedding Fayre only to find I'm just one of three, four or even five other photographers exhibiting at the event. So the question is 'How do you guarantee you're the only photographer at a Wedding Fayre?' Simples! Organise your own! And that's exactly what I've done with The Culcheth Wedding Fayre, which will take place on March 31st at The Culcheth Arms in the village. Yes, a pub! Well, I am the organiser! ..

It's going great, too, and the Fayre is fully booked now with great exhibitors - all local businesses involved in the Wedding World! I have the local branch of Thomas Cook taking part, and a vintage car that featured in the Christmas edition of Downton Abbey will greet visitors as they arrive from the car-park. There'll be only one of every other kind of business at the Fayre too, so brides won't be bombarded with too much confusing information ..

Oh, and did you get the joke? A Wedding Fayre .. in a pub? Culcheth's 'local' Wedding Fayre? Don't worry, no-one else got it, either ..

Looking up ..

It's been a good month for portraits at StudioFiveFour with a nice variety of businesspeople, actors and a young model taking their turn in front of my lens. This is one of my favourite shots - from the ones I've been given permission to show you - and it'll be turning up on a newsletter near you in the very near future! I love the way she's looking up. Makes you wonder what's going on up there!..

The launch of the Culcheth Wedding Fayre went well yesterday. Manchester Wedding Photography will be there, of course, as well as a rather tasty and well-mixed bunch of Wedding suppliers. We'll even have a car there that featured in the Christmas edition of Downton Abbey! The venue, The Culcheth Arms, told me that within half an hour of me opening the Facebook Event page they'd had 6 phone enquiries about the fayre and I hope that, tomorrow, I'll be able to report the inclusion of a rather 'big' addition to the list of exhibitors!..

Yes, things are definitely looking up ..

Fayre Enough ..

Well, you know me - I love a good project - and, this morning, I popped the cork on a new undertaking. I've created a Wedding Fayre! I'm holding the Culcheth Wedding Fayre - I still don't know why it's always spelt like that! - on March 31st at the perfectly named Culcheth Arms in .. er, Culcheth! I've got some really good suppliers on board and have already set up a Facebook Event page to promote it. Just need some lovely brides and grooms to come along now! Please spread the word if you know of any loved-up young couples looking to tie the knot!..

Looking for me ? ..

I went to Southport Air Show yesterday! It was a murky, misty day but the organisers did a good job of making sure the 'show went on'. One of the highlights was, as always, The Red Arrows, and the whole of the impressive - and, indeed, impressed - audience gasped and swooned as the pilots did their stuff. All except this woman! She missed the lot! Must have been the only person on the Esplanade who didn't see The Red Arrows. She wasn't looking, see? She 'watched' the whole performance through her ipad! Oh, and then her phone! Jeez! I despair!..

Anyway, that's the point of today's blog. Looking! And what I'm looking for today is new brides who are looking for a photographer! (Oh, God! You're so corny, Martin!) Anyway, yes, today is the Willington Hall Wedding Fayre - the only fayre I'm doing this season - and, as I type, I'm surrounded by all the albums, frames and thingybobs I'll be putting up on my stand. All I can say is, things are looking good ..

Actually, we own the hall ..

The first time I ever photographed a Wedding at Willington Hall I noticed the field next to it had just been mown. It made a fantastic pattern. "Grab your champers .. " I told the bride and groom ".. and take a hike into that there field!" They did, and this was the result. Some time later another couple came to see me about photographing their Wedding at Willington. "We saw you at work.." they said ".. when you photographed the couple in the field" "Ah .. " I said " .. so you were guests at that Wedding?" "No .." they replied " .. we own the hall...!"

They booked me and I shot their Wedding a year later. A little bit of trumpet-blowing there, should you happen to be going to Willington's Wedding Fayre this Sunday...

Hanging around ..

Amazing what you can find on the web these days .. ho, ho! This is a spider who's set up home outside our back door, shot on my favourite lens - the Nikkor 85mm 1.8 - and, for me, it's a shot that sums up the past few days. I've just been hanging around, basically! Don't get me wrong, I've had a couple of cool shoots in the studio,  a PR job for an Estate Agent and a lovely new booking for a Wedding next August but, overall, things seem to have gone into slow motion. It's just that quiet time between the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. Neither one thing or the other...

Still, let's hope things start to gear up after Sunday, when I'm doing my one and only Wedding Fayre of the season. I'll be at one of my favourite venues, Willington Hall, in Cheshire. By all accounts the other fayres in the series have been doing very well, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good show. Lots of brides! That's what we want! After all, there's nothing worse than going to a Wedding Fayre and just hanging around ..

Motoring ..

Time to get a move on and get myself to St Margaret's church in Dunham today. I've got a stand at their charity Wedding Fayre, and I like the idea of that! I get the chance to meet lovely new brides and grooms, and they make some much needed dosh for the church funds! Cool!

I had a great chat with .. oh, sorry .. I'm supposed to be getting a move on! Laters...

Have a break?..

Are you kidding? There's no rest for the wicked this weekend, as I'm in the middle of a two-day Wedding event taking place at Debenhams in Liverpool. In all honesty it started slowly yesterday, and not least because, out of fourteen stands at the event, four of 'em were photographers!! Aaaagh! Anyway - whilst I'm having a moan - the first conversation of any length I had with anyone turned out to be with - yet again - another Father of the Bride who has decided he'll be the one who is going to take his daughter's photographs! Now, that is just crackers! He's the father of the bride! He's already got a job to do on the Big Day! Please tell me where he's going to find time to carry out his duties and enjoy the emotion of the day and stand back to photographically capture it all....! The most aggravating thing about this guy was that he'd only come to the Wedding Fayre to "get a few ideas" ...!! Give me a break!