For those about to rock..

Did you ever see the film Flight 666? It was a fun, rock-filled documentary following heavy-metal band Iron Maiden as they flew themselves around the world so that they could gig in 'hard-to-reach' places. Excellent film, and this from one who doesn't own a single Iron Maiden song (I don't really like most Heavy Metal, it's too slow for me!) Anyway, the buggers are at it again, and they leave today to do it all over again! They'll gig right through into the summer, and you can bet your sweet wotsits they'll put 110% into every night.
That's what I'd be if I wasn't a photographer...a rock drummer! I just love the passion of musicians. The effort and energy and ability to move people. How could you not be passionate about that?
Just thought I'd mention it in passing, as that's a word that was used to describe me this week. I was also called wacky, colourful and quirky, and I'm happy with all of those descriptions...particularly as every one of the people who described me thus..booked me as their Wedding Photographer!
Rock on!

The Fame Game

Now here's a nice picture of Meryl Streep for you. Oh, no...it's really Maggie! I thought the resemblance was striking! (Streep's playing Thatcher in a film, if you're still baffled!) I photographed Our Maggie for the Press way back in 1978, whilst she was still 'trying' to become Britain's first lady PM. I shot her a few years later at a private event in Manchester. Now it doesn't matter what you think of her politics..long silence..but you have to admit she's famous! So, I did what I always do when there's someone 'BIG' standing in front of me...I asked for her autograph..and she gave it me! She wrote "To the best photographer in the world, love Mags!" No, she didn't..she just signed her name, and it still sits nicely in my little book next to signatures fom heroes like Mohammed Ali, George Best and Morrissey. Funny old thing, fame, isn't it. My pal doesn't get it, but I love the fact that I've met these amazing people, and I suppose the autograph is literally the proof that I did so. It has to be in person, though. For example, I have a book signed by the great photographer Joel Meyerowitz. Fair enough, but it's just a signed book. It wasn't me that got it. Now I find that the great man is giving a talk soon in Derby. I could meet him and get his autograph, but  I've got a Wedding Fayre* on the same day. Aaaagh, what to do?  Guess I'll just have to wait until he's back in the UK! At least another great snapper, the fab Terry O'Neill, is now following me on Twitter!

Fame!

*Commercial Break...The Wedding Fayre is at the Park Royal Hotel, Stretton, Cheshire on March 6th...See ya there?

Bear with me, dear reader!

 Sorry to intrude..this has nothing to do with anything current. Well it does, but only if you like motor-bikes! It's just that a client of mine, Carole Nash Insurance, is running some editorial on the Carole Nash Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show and their little PR chappie asked if I had a pic of one of the Carole Nash Babes they could link to. I’ve photographed these young ladies a good few times and this is a typical shot. Taken at their big November UK show, Motorcycle Live, at the NEC, I HAD to go around the show with the gals to show the kinds of bikes Carole Nash insure. Why’s it here? Well, my Wedding and PR blog is the easiest place to post to give them that all important link....apparently! Search Engine Wizardy and all that!  The PR whippet tells me the Irish Show’s worth a visit so if you’re in Dublin early next month....

I've been Framed!

Had a great day yesterday! Took another Wedding booking for this year, and got a cool set of portraits of a little lad in Cheshire! I've decided to shoot my portraits on location this year, so went round to a lovely converted barn on a huge farm a few miles from here. It was like walking into my own private gallery!
I'd shot the Parents' Wedding a few years back, so there were framed photographs from their Big Day all over the house, but in pride of place in the kitchen was a huge framed print of their first son, giggling gorgeously in black and white! I'd taken his photograph about two years ago, and now it was time to put the new arrival on the wall next to him. The session couldn't have gone more sweetly. The nipper laughed and gurgled and dribbled (Sorry Mums..it looks so cute!), but he was most in his element when we let him play with his big brother's train set (Sorry Big Brother!). Numerous bits of train later, I made my exit..a great set of shots in the bag! Lovely to be part of the family!

Time, gentlemen!

Another one bites the dust! This pub's called The Harrow, and now it's shut. Harrowing! Mind you, I'm not surprised. I was paying £3.25 for a pint of Guinness at the weekend. (Not in there, obviously!) It's getting too expensive to go for a pint! And I notice price becoming more and more relevant in all aspects of my business, too. Brides ringing me for the first time often begin their calls with "How much?", and I've just had one chap looking to have his Wedding photography costs reduced by suggesting he does all the 'tweaking' if I just hand over all my images to him!! Only yesterday a PR firm called with a list of three press jobs they needed shooting. Their fee was..£75! Seems I've been saying 'No Thanks' a lot lately. Get me a drink!

Oh, just great!

I've just spent good money advertising in a local magazine's Wedding supplement. The ads look great and one of my photographs was used as the cover shot. Very happy! Then I read their article "Weddings on a budget"! It says "Look for a student/new photographer who's starting up in business. Not only will it be cheap, but you can almost guarantee they will put ALL (Their capitals!) their effort into capturing the right pictures." Well, thank you very much!

Now, I'm not going to quote this article out of conext..it does go on to say "Hire the photographer for a few crucial hours and ask a trusted friend to take more informal pictures"..but what an image to present to a newly engaged couple! It even uses the word "cheap!" Ugh!..although my favourite part is the giveaway line "You can ALMOST (My capitals!) guarantee they'll put all their effort into capturing the right pictures!! Ah, relief..I'm a professional! You can DEFINITELY guarantee I'll put ALL my effort into capturing the right pictures.

Heard a line the other day. "If you think it's expensive to hire a Professional to do the job, wait 'til you hire an amateur!" How true! Rant over!

Stop Press..It wasn't me, Guv!...Whoops!! 

Trouble with the wind!

I thought we'd talk about wind today! Not that kind..the gale force stuff that's been whipping round the country. Fortunately it's not the terrible kind like the Australian cyclone, so we can smile at this nice tale!  When I was laid off from the Warrington Guardian, it was a real hard time as I couldn't afford a car to get me  'on the road' to freelancing. I ended up with one camera and a bicycle! One windy day, a lorry blew over on the M62 high-level bridge, close to where I used to live. From my window I could see the traffic backing up, and eventually the motorway was closed, as the lorry was causing too much of a blockage.
I grabbed my one camera, (Yashica FR 1, if you're interested, with a 35mm lens!), and got on my bike. Eventually, headlong into the gusty gale, I cycled right to the top of the flyover. A policeman watched my progress. When I reached him he said "I've watched you cycle all the way up..I haven't the heart to send you back!" So, I got my shots, and headed back to the Manchester Evening News with my film. Two shots in that night's paper and a satisfying glow of a press job well done. But the really best bit?  Cycling down the flyover with the wind at my back! Felt like 100 miles an hour!

Sing it, baby, sing it!

You'd swear this little baby was joining in with the hymns at this Wedding, wouldn't you!
It's one of the shots on a slide show I present to couples who are thinking of booking me to shoot their Wedding. There's been a real flurry of enquiries lately, though it's a funny time as I'm still dealing with at least four Weddings from last year.  I'm currently working on an album from a Wedding last September, and rather oddly the bride has asked me if I can remove everyone else from one particular shot, to leave only herself and her Mother on the picture. Only problem? The Groom just happens to be standing between them !

Pick of the Day !!

Happy February, everybody...and goodbye January..Phew! A shot of good old Robin Day to start the month, from an event in Manchester many moons ago. He was giggling because I'd got Paddy Ashdown to hold my reflector..though I don't know why he was picking his nose!!

Still working on my Google Optimization here, and pleased to see I'm nosing up to the top of the second page now. (When did being a photographer involve so many other disciplines??) Hopefully that'll allow more people to find me and I'll be able to shoot even more Weddings!  Funnily enough, it was a great day for bookings yesterday, and I also received a rather unusually large number of enquiries. Has somebody opened a Wedding gate and you're all flooding out looking for a photographer?
Brilliant ! Pick me!

Stickin' it on ya!

Greetings, all! Hey, whaddya think of my new magnetic car signs? I'm going to drive around town as my own personal billboard from now on! Mind you, I had to cut the bloomin' things in half to fit across the trim on the side of my car. An easy job, apart from the fact that the flippin' things magnetised to my guillotine and had to be wrenched off in bits!

Had a great portrait shoot at the weekend. Tootled over to Stockport to photograph some lovely kids, and
ended up photographing their friend, too.. He'd been 'volunteered' to hold one of my reflectors, and ended up being a model as well!

Also met another lovely couple who are getting married at Manchester Town Hall later this year. They love my work (of course!!) and it's another tick in the book!

Lastly for today...I've booked some space for my Florescence photography at a fortnightly Arts Market in Leeds. Stay tooned for details...

If I only had time...

Some interesting reaction to Thursday's blog about the shot of the Climate Minister. A pal of mine suggested I should have tried to make more of the shot than I did. I'm the first to agree with him!
I'd have loved to have got a bit more 'arty' with the image, but that was the point of the blog. Sometimes you can only do what you can do in the time restraint you are under. Bear in mind that I had about 2 minutes to shoot this picture then had to get the other 30 people at the event into the shot, too...and then the minister was gone. I was actually happy that I got what I got! An old picture editor of mine once told me that my trouble ..MY TROUBLE...was that I was always trying to take award-winning photographs! Well, I'm so sorry, boss..and here's me thinking creativity, art and style were what you wanted from me. I certainly want it from me!

I joined Linkedin..finally..this week. Hopefully all you wonderful Pr agencies will find it just that little bit easier to find me now!

The image today is the front of a new Wedding business card I'm having printed, and now all I have to say is...Come on Man U !!

Can you dig it?

Sometimes, you can only shoot what the client wants. They're paying the bill, after all ! So it was that I ended up with this shot today. The Minister for Climate Change, Greg Barker, planted a tree to mark the opening of a new office space in Salford. The shot does what it says on the tin and all I could do was put the guys where I needed 'em and add a nice bit of fill-in flash. It's the bread and butter of press photography..job done..and it'll be on the company's website before you can say 'Don't get your shoes dirty!"

Actually, I'll add another shot here. This was taken during a PR job yesterday. I'd finished shooting the third of three speakers and was hanging round the back of the staff canteen, where the presentations were being held. The sun was beaming though the window and..I saw this!

I love the fact that, as a photographer, I'm always seeing photographs. Can't help it! Wouldn't want it any other way!
Can you dig it?

Taking the long view...

Doom and gloom in the economic forecasts, with the fear of another recession casting a long shadow over everyone. Good excuse to dig out this shot take during a trip to Australia. (Shot on Kodachrome, ironically...another victim of our times!)
Nothing to do but hunker down and hope we can all get through all of this. I can see that my bookings aren't as vibrant as they have been, but this is my 33rd year as a professional photographer, so I don't intend to stop now!
I'm off to one of my clients in Manchester for a shoot this morning. It'll be a very entertaining day, I'm sure, as I'm shooting schoolkids in industry...always a source of amusing/interesting photography!

Way to go, Pop!

Cold, grey and wet out there so I thought I'd brighten up the day with this funny old shot, taken during a parade in..ooooh, summer of 1979? It's from Don't Miss That, my collection of 70's photographs. This perky geezer had a go at these passing balloons with his umbrella and the 18 year old O'Neill was on hand to capture it! Hate to say it, but even with the most up-to-date of digital cameras, it's still possible there'd be enough of a shutter delay, or lens-focus search, to have missed this shot. Manual, manual manual, man!..It's the only way!
Now, where's me brolly?

I love you all.....

Had a great afternoon on Saturday at the opening of my Joy Division exhibition. It had visitors from as far away as Belfast and Lancaster, and it's already lead to a new event being planned with the work later in April. Thanks again, everyone, for your interest and effort!

So...moving on, and it's time to put the Commercial Head on! I've got quite a lot of PR and Editorial work to shoot this week, including the visit of a Minister to a client on Thursday. Looking forward to it, as I love being able to direct large groups of people in short spaces of time! (Bit like Weddings, really!)

And so to The Met...

..and the opening of my Joy Division Exhibition..at last!
Was on the blower to Hooky this week. He was joking about all the money I've made out of him and the band. (I'm hiding it well, eh Hooky!!) He managed to blag a T-shirt and some photographs out of me for his collection, and hopes to use a shot or two in the new book he's writing.

Excellent programme on Beeb 4 about Thin Lizzy last night, and some fantastic stills of Lynott and the boys giving it welly! I'd have loved to have seen them, and I hadn't realised they'd had so many guitarists!) Catch it on iPlayer ..

Anyway, first things first...I've an appointment with a new bride-to-be this morning, and hopefully that'll be another booking in the diary for her September Wedding.

The shot today is from my book Don't Miss This!

And so to The Met...

My tasty bargain!

Picked up a second-hand..sorry, pre-loved..85 1.8 for £175 this week, and I've been playing with it in the fog. (Relax, it's a lens, darling!) It'll sit nicely with the £99 500mm mirror lens I snapped up last year.
They're the kind of lenses that I'll use once at a Wedding, as I do my 10.5mm wide, but they make shots that really stand out in a Wedding Album.

Anyway, speaking of bargains...if you pop down to tomorrow's Joy Division opening I'm offering card-mounted prints and some one-off T-shirts and postcards of Ian and the boys at great prices.
Hey, I'll even sign the prints!
One more thing about my music photography. I was delighted to see one of my shots of Ramona, of the Mo-dettes, was sold in December. Have a look at those and other music shots here....

Ok..happy Friday, and keep your eyes out for those bargains.....!

Lost and found....

Who are these guys? 
I've found a whole series of shots of bands from years gone by...and I don't know who they are !! This shot, for example. I've obviously set it up before or after a gig, but I cannot remember where, when or why! (I don't know where their shirts are, either!)
Some shots are at The Band on the Wall (The fact that it says the name on the back wall is a kind of giveaway!), but I'm at a loss as to who all the singers are. I'll sort them onto Flickr soon and if you can help, please erm...help!

Speaking of finding things...a guy's picked up a roll of film in the snow in the US (Film??) and wants to find its owners. Check his film out...

He's Back.....

When routine bites hard...go on holiday. Just remember to come back in time for your exhibition opening! Yes, folks...I have returned..fresh, enthusiastic and ready for the opening of my Joy Division exhibition at Bury Met. Nice and hot where I was...but don't worry, I didn't wear any of these Limited Edition T-Shirts to stay/look cool! I only have 15, and they're all available to purchase for a lovely Limited Edition price on Saturday..Prints, too..oh, and a booklet of all the images.

All very timely as I was told today that Bowdon Vale Youth Club has re-opened. Different building..same name. Must check it out and report back!

Catch you later...gotta get my smalls in the wash!!

It all Ad's up..!

A flurry of advertising activity here, as I launch Ads and prepare Wedding Fayre material for the approach of Spring. (Seems you gotta spell it Fayre when it's connected with Weddings, for some quaint reason!!) Here's my ad for a local magazine that's publishing a Wedding Supplement, and I've got two fairs/fayres coming up within the next month or so. (Details on my website soon, 'cos I know you're dying to meet me!)

Other than that..the launch date for the Joy Division photography exhibition has been announced....
January 22nd, at the Bury Met..2-4pm..Square or there and all that!

Until then I'm looking forward to a few days' break..so I'm going to have to deprive you of my scintillating wit and insightful observation..! A bientot !

Walk on, buy !

Another change to my website this morning...I really like this shot and can't resist putting it back on every now and again. All part of the effort to keep my site looking interesting and, hopefully, enticing!
Thanks to everyone who reads this blog, by the way.....from as far as Slovenia, Russia and New Zealand!

Oh, good news on the Joy Division front. Once the exhibition's finished its stint in the upstairs area, the Bury Met now plan to show it in the downstairs bar. I'll drink to that!

What are the chances..?

Talk about coincidences! I write about ear-plugs, pop my I-Pod on shuffle, and what comes on?
Deaf, by those old Manchester rockers Crispy Ambulance!
And it's weirder than that...I'd just come back from Bury Met after putting up my Joy Division exhibition.
The band played there when it was called the Derby Hall, on the night of the infamous "riot" caused by the non-appearance of Ian Curtis. Who stood in for him? My old mate Alan Hempsall..lead singer with Crispy Ambulance! Spooky, or what!?

Anyway, catch the exhibition at The Met until the end of March. I Remember Nothing...20+ shots of Joy Division at Bowdon Vale Youth Club, March 1979.

Speak up...

I pack a mean set of gear when I go to shoot a Wedding.
Three bodies, four speedlights, a semi fish-eye, an 8x neutral density, but I never thought I'd need...ear plugs!

I've just read a photo magazine Wedding supplement which included a half-page feature on protecting one's ears when photographing the first dance! With a review of three different kinds of plugs! In a photography magazine! Honestly! Wow, I never knew Wedding photography was so hazardous!

Pardon?

In the balance...

Feeling a bit like the Waitrose/HMV situation today....walking a tightrope between good times and bad!
I'm going to be honest and say my Wedding bookings for this year are erm, a bit low, and on a day I've dropped my cheapest package to just £495 I've been approached by a classy bridal magazine with an offer of a discount on a quarter page advert which is normally..£2, 316...PLUS VAT!
Talk about two different planets!

Even so, my first enquiry since I launched the new price wanted their whole Wedding photographed, and all images on Cd..for £450 !  Hey, they've even offered to give me the blank Cd to put the shots on !! Thanks, guys!

The public's perception of the importance of photographers is getting lower and lower, and it's becoming very difficult to explain to couples that Wedding Photography is so much more than just wandering around taking a few snaps. One chap I was speaking to lately told me the best Wedding photo he ever shot was when the couple didn't know they were being photographed.
"Oh yes?" I replied "I do 600 of those every week!"

Time, gentlemen....

Three little ladybirds, hunkered down against the cold New Year weather. I took this shot on a walk the other day and saw it as an analogy of the year ahead...
Let's stick together and we'll get through this! (Or had I just had too much Bailey's?)

So, 2011...bring it on! I think last year felt the fastest year of my life, yet trying to handhold the camera for this half-second shot seemed like ages! (Ah, the joys of getting older!) Ironically, the first Wedding enquiry to come in this year was actually for 2012. Seems ages off, yet their Big Day's only 16 months away. Time flies, eh? Enjoy it while you can!

My latest Joy Division exhibition starts this week. It's now 32 years since I took those shots at Bowdon Vale Youth Club, yet they seem to be getting fresher and more popular every year. Catch them until the end of March at the Met in Bury. Speaking of time, it's a shame the brochure got the date of the gig wrong, but who am I to nit-pick!?

Now, must dash...time's a'flying!







 Stop Press: Timing's everything!.....I've just managed to get ONE frame of the eclipse this morning, and even that was through the trees by my house! I sat and watched..time ticked by..and then the clouds parted for the split second it took to get this shot. 500mm mirror lens and framed using live-view, if you're interested!

Goodbye 2010...and Thank you!

So, a rousing cheer for the year, and on we step into 2011.
Exciting, challenging...scary! Let's just wish ourselves all the best..and get on with it!.
See you Next Year !!

Made it!

Welcome to "The Other Side"! We've survived Christmas...even this family member, who's now eaten her "Annual Sprout"! Hope it was great for everyone, and I can't help wondering how many brand-new digital cameras are now unwrapped and causing consternation to their new owners! Hey, perhaps I can help! Try one of my relaxed Shoot 'n Tutor sessions!!..  :-)

So, a real end-of-year feeling to everything now. My Weddings are done for 2010, and there's a quieter time ahead, so I'll soon be planning my Valentine's Day Portrait Campaign and my new Joy Division exhibitions.

Keep warm!

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's here again....we made it to Christmas 2010!
Congratulations!!
Here's me and my sister Catherine in, I think, 1964.
(Must have been a hot Christmas 'cos I'm in shorts and sandals!)
We look happy, excited and innocent. I wish you all a Christmas just like that!

With Glove at Christmas...

Some interesting reaction to yesterday's blog...ranging from "Send the shot to the local press"  to "...an excellent example of how photography, in 1/125th of a second, can tell the viewer so much!!"

Ta for the input, guys!

Anyway, there's been a (snow) flurry of Glove activity lately. This addiction (affliction?) is driving me mad...I keep seeing abandoned gloves everywhere! I almost missed my train back from London the other day because of all the glove shots I was taking on the way through Hyde Park. See 'em for yourself in my "On the one hand" series....

Goodwill to all ...

...even to the guy in this car, who parked up on the pavement-engine running to keep warm- and watched as this nurse had to push her elderly patient up onto the shovelled snow to get passed him.
Christmas...a time to grit your teeth and smile at all the selfish, inconsiderate bastards in the world!
Don't it warm the cockles of yer 'eart, guvnor!

Hmph...wasn't this blog supposed to be about photography? You'll have to excuse me...I've got Man-Flu and I'm grumpy! The show goes on, though..and I'm stuck in watching out of the window for the delivery of my new printer. The built-in bloody obsolesence of my old one has meant it's now in the loft and I'm £235 down after buying a new one! (Oh, seems I'm still grumpy!) At least I can invoice for December's work, now! Done some great acrylic portraits for clients this Christmas, and a fantastic 18x20 Florescence acrylic that's so good I don't want to sell it!

Hope my delivery driver doesn't park on the path....

Listen to teacher....

The last-minute gift for the snapper in your life?
A session (or two) on my laid-back Shoot 'n Tutor Photography sessions...of course! 35 quid a pop and ideal for the digital camera owner who erm, wants to be able to use it !

My own initial 'lessons' consisted of reading every damned photography book in Eccles Library, then enrolling on a night-school course in 1977. The teacher, good old Phil Lingard..where are you, Phil?..had just graduated in photography (Fine-Arts, methinks), and the poor bugger didn't have the foggiest idea how to impart his knowledge to us raw recruits! I remember he stuck a light in front of a model one night, and left us to our own devices. (Actually, she was lovely..we had a blast!) Another night we hit Manchester for an evening of low-light photography and we all nearly froze to death looking for defining shots of the city in the winter (Rings a bell !)

If you want to go that step further in photography, though, it takes a lot more than knowing your f-stops from your focal lengths. I actually didn't get on the NUJ Press Photography course when I was 17 because one of my O levels was not of a high-enough grade. I promptly went out, starting shooting news pictures and got a job with the first newspaper I applied to! I perversely loved it one time when I failed to clinch a Wedding booking because the Bride's mother asked me what qualifications I had. "None" I replied..."Just 32 years experience as a Photographer!"

Albums a go-go!

Phwoar..check out my stack!
Story-books, parents' albums, guest books, brushed-metal covers, open-flat pages.....my new Wedding range is in! (Doesn't take a lot to get me going, does it?) It's been a long time in the making but I've taken the decision to join the 'Digital Story-Book' world, and I'm so pleased I'm (finally) able to offer this range to my new couples. The photographs look fantastic, and the design's amazing (Yes, I know I did it but when did boasting ever bother me?)

Speaking of boasting...lovely email yesterday from the proud father of one of my young portrait subjects... "Just to let you know, the photo of Jack was tremendous!!  Really love it!!  It will take pride of place in the lounge...Great work mate!"

I have a lovely warm glow about me...and it's nothing to do with the Bell's in me coffee! 

Fairytale, storybook...

The world's gone white but my fairytale's come in the shape of my new Storybook Wedding Album, a sample of which made it through the snow to get to me this morning. I'm loving the brushed-metal cover, the fold-flat pages and the many and several mini-versions of it that come in handy for passing to parents and pals! Can't wait for 'my couples' to cast their beadies over these beauts!

So, it's snowing...a lot, and I was just one of the weather's victims last night...stuck on a train back from London and finally getting home at 12.50 am. I went down to present samples of Florescence to a couple of the Big Stores there. Hopefully something might come of it, and this time next year you'll all be dining off my placemats and coasters. Well, use plates and cups, obviously, but you get the idea!

Now let's shoot this new range of albums and get 'em on the website...

Ya boo sucks....

Another nipper for you, and this ruffian from a Wedding I'm working on sums up my feelings for Epson this morning! My printer has frozen..telling me that parts of it have reached the end of their service life. So why the heck was it working fine until it 'decided' to stop? Now I'm either going to have to send it back to Epson or ditch it and start again..depending on the costs!! Talk about our throw-away society!

Tell you one thing I am throwing away...a flier that was delivered this morning offering me cheap Christmas gifts of a Deluxe Photoshoot (Gee, thanks...)..and a "Farrari" (sic) driving experience!

Ding, dong...

Ah, the Christmas spirit is finally starting to seep into the old head, and I'm loving all the carols on Classic FM. Reminded me of this little nipper, who you'd swear was beltin' out the songs at this Wedding!

Incidentally, does anyone know how to reset an Epson R1800..'cos if not I'll be asking Santa for a new one soon!

Face the music...

The new image on my home page is the music to 'Here comes the Bride', just one of the detail shots I'd take as I shoot a Wedding, and a good way to say I saw a great gig at the Royal Northern College of Music last night. Our old friends Everything Everything played their album with the backing of a 13 piece orchestral ensemble, and very good it was, too!
Time to take note (Ha!) of the fact that times are hard out there, and I've now decided to introduce an even more affordable Wedding Photography Package, aimed at the smaller Wedding or the budget-concious couple.
Also on the subject of music...erm, no, I won't mention Putin singing Blueberry Hill..although I did have a great night once photographing Bryan Robson and Peter Schmeichel singing Karaoke in a Manchester club..sozzled..at 3am! Music to my ears!

Hic, burp!

Where am I? What day is it?....

Ah yes, our annual Photographers' booze-up is now done and dusted, and I'm guessing there won't be many more opportunities this year to reminisce about leaving HP5 to stew in Microphen for nine minutes...Oh, we know how to have fun! (That's film, developer and darkroom technique to you digi dudes out there!) The picture's not really from the 'do', by the way..it's from my Don't Miss This series!

Anyway, on with the show, and time to get all the portraits ready before Christmas..oh, and the one 8x6 print that's been ordered from a wedding in 2002! It's a 6x6 negative. Aha, maybe my darkroom dealings aren't over just yet!

And before I go boozin'....

..I'll get a bit of work in.

Busy making my Florescence 'Wall Art'..(Picture frames to you and me!!) These 9 image sets are now just £35. Lots of different images, all genuine photographic prints on Fuji Pearl high-gloss paper.You want one, you know you want one!

Party, party...again!

Time to dig out the dancing shoes for tonight's Freelance Photographers' Christmas Get-together.
Ok..time to stand at a bar, get drunk and moan about the lousy state of Photography these days....
I'll be seeing a lot of my old muckers from the Manchester Evening News and even, heaven help us, some of the guys I've known as snappers since 1978! The event's changed a lot over the years..in relation to the fortunes of newspapers in Manchester. Once..a long time ago..there were actually so many Staff Press Photographers in the city that we had an Association, the MPPA, and the Christmas booze-up was a black-tie, sit-down 'do' in a swanky hotel. Now, we're all freelance and settling for a bowl of chilli and a few pints!  A full bowl? You were lucky.....!

The image is from Don't Miss This, my Olympus XA series.....

Yeah but no, but.....

I tweeted last night about a couple who decided against booking me as their Wedding Photographer.
They couldn't afford my lowest price package of £595 because they'd only budgeted for £850 !!? Go figure, as we don't say in England!  I know we're all looking to shave a bit off prices at the mo, but I'm hearing some great excuses to avoid spending lately! Like the guy who asked if his Wedding Photography could be cheaper if he did his own processing...or the lady who pondered buying some of my Florescence placemats but decided against it as she wanted them in orange. She was looking at pictures of lavender!
Anyway, here's a lovely example of the cut-price world of Wedding Photography, from a 1980 edition of the Warrington Guardian, with a £39.99 package being undercut by one at £39 !
Just think what you could have got if you'd gone that extra 99 pence!

Hot Dog!

A cute shot of a puppy to let you know that my shots from last week are hitting the media now...with the dogs getting a starring role! My little hot-dog shot is from my Olympus XA series, Don't Miss This, with the book still available as a great Christmas Gift Idea!!

Oh, and whilst we're talking about dogs, could someone please tell my neighbour that just because she goes to work and can't hear her dog barking all day...doesn't mean it doesn't !!
Grrrr.....

Corrie for the Nation...

Eeeeeh, Annie..have you heard what's happened on't street?
50 years of Corrie, eh? I celebrated my own half a century this year too, and all I can say is I'm glad I didn't get a bloody tram dropped on me 'ead!
Here's Annie Walker and Bet Lynch, aka Doris Speed and Julie Goodyear, getting down to a good old chin-wag and a fag at some 'do' or other in Manchester back in the day. Working for the Manchester Evening News, I got to meet a whole lot of the actors, and often went to Granada TV for photo-calls and promotions. I once shot a 'real' Wedding for OK! Magazine where many of the cast were invited. I set up a studio in a room at the V&A hotel (as it was), and the actors were grabbed and yanked upstairs for their photoshoots by a poor, hassled OK! lacky. Shoot over, I dismantled the 'studio', and slept in the room. When I checked out I got charged a fortune for 'emptying' the mini-bar. The lovvies from The Street had all helped themselves to the costly booze when they got to my room!! Have to say though, that the cast were, on the whole, a really great bunch of lovely people, although I remember Jean Alexander moaning at me once for wearing a Hilda Ogden T-Shirt! (Still got it, Jean..you're a legend!)
Happy Birthday, Corrie...see you at 100 !

Not to be sniffed at...

Budgets are being slashed left, right and centre, and quite often a PR firm can now dictate the price for which it wants a job shooting. Professional photographers are being squeezed hard by the financial constraints of clients on the one side, and the blatant theft of our work by the multitude of Shamateurs out there...the already-employed of this world who fancy making a bit of pocket-money at the weekend by knocking out Weddings for peanuts!
Still, once a pro always a pro, and it says a lot that I keep on getting a kick out of my work, especially when I pick up something unexpected like this shot. I was on a PR shoot for a client promoting a new "Art Gallery in a house". I wanted to retain the homely feel of the place by keeping the client's dogs in the shot, and I think it's safe to say I achieved the objective!
Good Boy!

Ooh, Matron!

No apologies for the repeat here, 'cos we're all in need of a good laugh in this weather!
I'm working on a Wedding from the summer, and I'm so pleased the Bride & Groom have selected this shot for their album. It was their reaction to a line in the Best Man's speech. He wished the happy couple a great honeymoon in North Wales.

"I think that's where they're going" he added.."He said he was going to Bangor for a week!"
Bum, bum!

Stop Press: No Blog tomorrow, as I've an early start at my Altrincham Market stall. Come down and stock up on your Christmas prezzies...!

Here comes the commercial break...

Ok, I need to be honest...my Weddings are a bit quiet this Christmas!
I love Christmas Weddings, but have nowhere near as many as I had last year so...make that last minute booking and I'll upgrade your album to the Package above....saving you  £250 !!!

Santa's come early, folks!

Yeah, December...whatever!

Whoosh...December! Where did that come from?
It's just dawning on me that Christmas is only three weeks away and as usual, I've done nothing about it! "Dear Father Christmas, I'd like a new 85mm 1.4 lens, three new SB-900 flash guns and a train set!" There, that should do it!

I remember when I worked for the Manchester Evening News, I'd be covering Christmas fairs from mid-November, carol concerts from about now, and burglars stealing gifts from around peoples' Christmas trees any time you like! Ho, ho, ho...!

Inceidentally, I've become a victim of my own "On the one hand"...
I lost a glove yesterday!! Bah, humbug!