Rain! Hurrah ..

A month ago, our garden was flooded. Spring was only just making itself felt and I feared for our poor old flower bulbs, underground and underwater. Four weeks later and the ground is rock hard. Weeks of winter rain has drained away, leaving the soil as cracked as the Kalahari. Nobody seems to have told the plants though, and they've all been coming up like crazy these past few weeks ..

And now, rain again, and nature is being rewarded for its no-nonsense approach to life. (Hey, it's been doing it for years.) I can't tell you how happy I am to see the skies darkening again, and we've been getting some great thunder and lightning to spice up the party ..

Of course, another aspect of nature is still darkening our lives at the moment. Confinement continues, but I hope my lock-down landscapes bring a little sunshine (and rain) into your day. Don't forget, I'm here if you have any photography questions that need answering ..  

Nice day for a wet Wedding ..

Here I am, setting sail for today's Wedding at Willington Hall. Well, it might as well be, the amount of rain we've had over the past few hours! Depressing to think that's our lot for this pathetic summer and I'm afraid you can talk all you like about an Indian Summer, but it's not the same as knowing you have three or four months of - potentially - gorgeous weather stretching forward ahead of you!
No, I've written off this year's summer!..

Still, today's lovely couple have something stretching forward .. a whole new married life together! Sun, rain, hail or gale, I can't tell you how exciting it is to be the one to capture those first few hours of newly married life! Oh, I'm all cheered up again now! Anchors aweigh...

News update: Torrential rain warnings now in place!

News update #2 : Wet? Were you joking? It was the hottest, sunniest Wedding I've shot in ages. Hang your heads in shame, weathermen!!... 

Four seasons in one day ..

Kicking back after a fantastic weekend of Wedding photography and an air-show! Saturday's shoot was a blast and I think she'd agree if I described Alaina, the bride, as quite a character! I'm sure it's the first time the MOB - Mother of the bride - has taken pity on me and bought me a pint of lager after I've finished shooting! You can check out the shots here! Great to be part of your Big Day, guys..

Then it was on to Sunday and the first Air Show at Barton Airport in 21 years. All was going well until 3pm, when a weather front hit us and that was that! It absolutely poured down! End of show and thousands of soggy, cold people dashing for the exit! What a shame, and to think I'd been complaining about the sunshine on Saturday!..

Raining champion ..

Mottram Hall today, home of the big window that gives you lovely light like this! That's if there is any light, as the radio's just issued a 'heavy rain' warning for this afternoon! Hey, who needs bright sunshine to shoot a Wedding? ..

Still, I won't need to worry if I get slowed down by the rain, 'cos tomorrow's Wedding is right on my doorstep and the whole thing will involve travelling no more than six miles max! I might even walk it! Get lost .. you haven't felt the weight of my backpack! Perhaps I should take out the kagoule (I'm not joking) ..

There was a programme on TV the other night entitled "My £999 Wedding" and, to my relief, that price didn't include a photographer. Now that would have really rained on my parade if they'd thrown in the snapper, as well ..

Bending over backwards ..

September, and I'm already thinking about my Autumn Weddings. Working around the weather, in other words .. and I certainly got a taste of that during Friday's Wedding at Mere Court. It rained all day, basically! Couldn't do anything outside apart from a few brave shots of the bride and groom under one of my brollies. Still, as you can see, we managed to shoot the 'Handstand' shot that I was asked for, so all is good in the wacky world of Weddings!..

It just goes to show how right I am when I tell a bride and groom that the weather won't affect the enjoyment of their Wedding Day. On Friday, a bad crash in the rain caused an hour's delay to the start of the Wedding and, as I say, the weather prevented most of the guests from going outside for photographs, but it didn't spoil the day one jot for Victoria and Michael. It did mean a lot of scurrying about for yours truly, though! In bad weather, at this particular venue, it's usually possible to use their conservatory for group photographs. Not so on Friday! The room was being turned around to host the reception. Plan C then! There's a little room to the side that works well for shots but, once again, I was scuppered at this Wedding as the room was already being used for a small family get-together. I had to rapidly come up with a Plan D! Plan D was to shift a bunch of tables and chairs in the bar to make a little studio between the guests in which I could work. It worked, and we got all the group shots in a few minutes flat! See? It's true! A good Wedding photographer always bends over backwards to get the shots ..  

That's lucky!.....

Friday the 13th, eh? Well, lucky for me that it was raining when I got up, 'cos it meant I could get out into the garden and shoot this little montage of droplets on my plants. (Click on the pic for a close-up) Lucky, too, that Lesley and I had to postpone a trip to Wales this weekend, as my pal's suddenly decided to get hitched tomorrow (As you do!) and it's meant I'm available to shoot his Wedding! It's going to be really funky - I believe the bride's wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket! - and there'll be a whole seven people there (Eight if I can get onto a shot!)  I can't bloody wait! Best thing of all? It's the third time he's married!
Third time lucky, eh Mick?...