Rain, rain, go away...

A lovely moment from yesterday's Wedding, when Hannah married Mike at Mitton Hall, near Clitheroe. Unfortunately, the rain and drizzle hung around all day, so I couldn't take advantage of the lovely scenery - well, I coudn't see most of it! - but we all made the best of it with lots of shots in the hotel's sumptious rooms and the odd venture out to the front door! So, batteries charging as we speak, 'cos I'm off again tomorrow, this time to cover the Civil partnership of Matt and Andy at Manchester Town Hall.

Now somehow, in between all this Wedding mullarkey, I've managed to find the time to change my whole website, as I mentioned yesterday. (I'm so behind on my Coronation Street!) Amazingly, I've now uploaded 90, yes ninety, images to my gallery page, so you'll need a good brew and a steady supply of biscuits to get through it all. I think it's worth it, though, and it was a lovely trip down memory lane for me to compile the collection. There were just so many that I had to leave out, though!

Stop Press... this just in from Hannah's step-mum, and I quote..."Martin you are a STAR xxxxx"

The signs are good...

Wow! I've just revamped my entire web-site! My eyes are boggled! It looks great though, and I'm really excited. Please check it out and tell me what you think! Quick blog today as I'm leaving soon for Mitton Hall, up near Preston, to shoot the Wedding of Hannah and Mike! Can't wait!
Please don't raiiiiinnnn.......

Anyway, here's a 'word for word' text from Suzanne, whose Wedding I shot on Sunday at Tatton Park.
"Just to say the pics are absolutely amazing. I had tears in my eyes going through them, you captured every little detail, it was brilliant" 
Nice, eh? 'Cos so often these days it's a case of "Silence is Golden" .. If I never hear from a client or a bride after their event I can only assume it's because they were happy with my work and didn't need to contact me to have a moan!!

My ego is suitably massaged...

Sheena is...

 ..a punk rocker!



I was working with a lady called Sheena the other day. You don't meet many girls called Sheena, do you? Trouble is, ever since then I can't get the flippin' Ramones out of my head! ('Sheena is a punk rocker' was one of the American band's early tracks, just in case you're completely lost at this point! 1977! Good grief!) Anyway, it tied in nicely with an old Kodachrome slide I found in my files recently. This was taken at one of the old 'Futurama' punk festivals in either Leeds or Stafford at the beginning of the Eighties. It reminded of a gig I went to in Houston, in 1982. (The Minutemen, if you're interested!) I saw the drummer of the band, sitting out amongst the crowd, chillin' with the chicks, and excitedly asked if he had any badges I could buy. He just gave me a really dirty look and turned back to chatting with his admirers. It was only when I got home and played one of their albums I realised they actually had a track called 'Badges'. It's 31 seconds long, and the entire lyrics of the song are "We have no badges! We don't need no badges! We don't need no stinkin' badges!"
Whoops!

What a day!...

Phew! Tatton Park! Bring it on...

I shot what was probably the most amazing Wedding of my year so far yesterday! It was the Big Day for Suzanne and Paresh - a fantastic mixture of Scottish and Indian, sari and kilt, at the amazing Tatton Park, in Cheshire. I was exhausted by the time I'd finished it! With coverage from bridal preparations to first dance it was a long day, and now I'm currently working my way through 1, 366 shots from the whole event. I received two of the best compliments I've ever had, too! The bride's step-dad Mike said I was "brilliant", and when we got into a conversation about advertising and promotion he said he'd describe my USP, my unique selling point, as being a crackpot! Love it! I love it, but how do I get that across when nobody phones my studio anymore? It's all done by email, these days, and we all know how sterile that can be. I bring this up because only this weekend I had an email (Ironically, they didn't phone!) from my 'Freephone number' supplier. They said I might want to cancel my Freephone number, as I'd gone below my minimum usage amount. In other words, as I said, people are e-mailing rather than phoning! The minimum usage amount? Three minutes per month! Jeepers! Thank you for (not) calling! Have a nice day!

PS.. I think he meant crackpot in a nice way !!   ;-)

When ya gotta go....

Well, what to Blog about today?... Libya? The Economy?  Weddings? Naa..it's Friday! Time to chill and let it all hang out whilst I can! There's a big Wedding Weekend coming up, after all! I can't wait to get cracking at Tatton Park on Sunday but, before that, I'm off to Peckforton Castle in my new role as Wedding Photography Advisor! (I just made that up!) The couple whose Wedding I'm actually going to want me to walk them around the venue and show them the best locations for their photography. Just gotta keep telling myself that I'm not actually shooting it!
Oh, I did end up talking about Weddings, after all! What are the chances?...

'Owzat?...

Vaughan, Flintoff, Fairbrother...not to mention DeFreitas, Muralitharan and Wasim Akram! Cricket's finest came out to play the other day, and I was the official PR photographer, covering the event for the De Vere Hotel group. The 'England Legends' event was a fantastic fund-raiser for research into a rare syndrome which sadly caused the death of a young member of staff at Grappenhall Cricket Club, the venue for the function. Full marks to 'Freddie',  I must say, as he patiently signed autographs, programmes and miniature cricket bats until every one of his adoring fans was happy they had a piece of their hero!
I was then up bright and early next morning to shoot a presentation to a very surprised and happy chap at Manchester Airport, who was named as the 3 millionth EasyJet passenger to pass through the airport,  and was given a year's free flying on the airline as a prize. Back to the office then, and a mere 857 frames to edit!

Now then, back to the subject of Weddings, and I mentioned I was being fitted for a suit! Yes, folks, I'm going to be a guest at a Wedding! How weird is that going to feel? I nipped down to the swanky Groom suit outfitters in Wilmslow, and had my manly chest measured up for a cool .. oops, musn't say, just in case the bride's reading this! Anyway, I must remember to behave myself at the Wedding, and not try to interfere/help/annoy the official photographer! It's not until next May, so I have plenty of time to practice! Eeek!

Location, location, location..

I get to see some great venues as a Wedding photographer. Huge castles, sumptuous hotels, grand stately homes. Some I see on a regular basis. I've been to Willington Hall twice already this summer, for example, and I once did three Weddings in three consecutive days at Manchester Town Hall. This weekend I'll be back at Tatton Park, one of the UK's most complete historic estates, and I popped back there last week to refresh my memory and look for new sites in which to shoot, because it struck me that I haven't done a Wedding there for two years. Really looking forward to working there again!

Before that, though, it's time to put on my PR head, as I've got a couple of busy days working with some great clients, covering a milestone event for EasyJet and Freddie Flintoff for DeVere hotels. Let you know about those jobs later in the week!

Oh, and ask me about getting fitted for a Wedding suit, too!...

Back of the net...

I had a fantastic dream last night! I dreamt that Manchester United beat Arsenal 8-2! Can you imagine that? 8-2? All the better to know then that it was true, and Oh boy, what an afternoon at my local that turned out to be! It's not often I talk about football on my blog, but that result was fantastic, and my arms are still aching from all the goal-celebrations!
Well done, Man U !

So, Bank Holiday Monday - well, here in the UK, anyway - and that means, of course, appalling weather! The heavens opened right on cue at the weekend, and it's still raining now as I type this. I had the weekend off, Wedding-wise, so my heart goes out to all the soggy brides and drenched Wedding photographers out there! Anyway, the bad weather's meant I've been able to work on my website, and there's a lovely pair of photographs up on the home-page now. I'm also introducing a fab offer in conjunction with my Facebook page. If you become a fan, and then book me for your Wedding Photography, I'll knock 25 smackers off the price, right there and then (£15 off Crunchtastic!) That's even good enough to put the smile back on the face of an Arsenal fan! Back of the net!...

Ooh, Harold...

Harold Wilson! No reason! Just found it in my archives this morning and thought I'd pop it up! Must have taken it about 1980. Went round the back of the podium and shouted his name! (Gosh, the nerve of the young O'Neill!)  Anyway, read into it what you like! Politicians/Hard Times/Oil Prices/Europe....
By the way, he's pictured here with Lewis Carter-Jones, the long-time Labour MP for Eccles, the anniversary of whose death is, coincidentally, tomorrow! Weird, eh? Still can't see Wilson, though, without getting an image of Mike Yarwood in my head! Ooh, Mary...

Cheers, Tony...

Now, I have been known to use this Blog to rant about the swamping influx of cheap amateurs into the world of professional photography!   
So.. here we go again!

My local shopping centre has some racks in which local companies can leave their business cards. I went in there yesterday to top up my 'pile' and there, next to my cards, was a new set of cards proclaiming TONYS (sic) BUDGET PORTRAITS. They're so budget that he can't afford an apostrophe, they look like they've been printed on Letraset, he doesn't list a website and the price is written on the back in biro !! (From £60 for a 24 x 16, just in case you're interested, you b*stard, and, by the way, I'm only £15 dearer!)

Now, why would you? Please? Does a card like that instil confidence? Would you let someone like Tony capture your image for posterity? Is a saving of fifteen measly quid worth missing out on the chance to have your shots done by a fantastic photographer like what I am? Then STOP RIGHT THERE! Do not encourage these fly-by-night amateurs, out to make a few quid spending money, when you could have me, me, me to shoot a fab set of images for you. Cripes, before you know it our TONY will be offering himself as a Wedding Photographer, and where would we professionals be then, eh?

Rant over! Large G & T, please!

What do I do now?..

Hmmm! Do you think I should have spent it whilst I had the chance?
I've mentioned before about the time I went out to Libya to cover a story for the Manchester Evening News, and I've still got this one erm, dinar, I think, note, from the trip. By the way, note to self if you're planning on becoming a dictator. Don't pose for the shot on your bank notes with a look of confused resignation on your face. It might come back to haunt you!

I don't know if you noticed but it's another yucky day, weather-wise, and I really can't shake a feeling in my head that the summer is already over, particularly as I've now shot my last August Wedding for the year. My next is on September 4th so it'll be, in my mind at least, an Autumn Wedding, and I'll be frantically whizzing round trying to find yellow leaves to shoot against!

Wonder if Gaddafi feels like things have come to an end?...

Saturday...

Sigh! Well, that was a lovely Wedding! Julia and Phil said " I do.." at Culcheth Newchurch on Saturday, and then whizzed off to Leigh Golf Club for fizz and a party, party! Lots of European guests there, too, all of whom seemed to be able to understand my manic blathering! Bonjour, tout le monde!

So sorry to hear of the Red Arrows crash on the same day, too. Just think how many of us have 'seen' that poor guy as he went through his aerobatics! Probably photographed 'him' at RAF Fairford in July! My thoughts are with his family.

Looking forward to the past...

Oh, my word! Another awful day for news, what with looming recession, concert-goers killed in freak weather, suicide bombers and the unsurprising fact that petrol stations haven't dropped prices in line with falls in wholesale prices....

Time to whisk myself away (mentally at least, 'cos I've got a Wedding to shoot tomorrow) to sunnier, happier times - in this case Thailand in the early nineties, when photography meant film, music meant Nirvana and I still wasn't drunk after three pints of Guinness!

So, roll on Saturday, when I can put my Wedding head on again and plunge into the world of happiness, love and Pimms!

Keep smiling, everybody!

A real artist at work!..

Ah! Siouxsie Sue! Back in the day, at Manchester Apollo! Look how close you could get to the stage in those days! By the way, it's not a real Polaroid! Naaah! I just used some of that free software to make it look like it! How crazy that the more we progress, the more we yearn for the past, and I've already blogged about how ironic I find the software that makes one's photography look faded and shot on old film stock!
Anyway, I digress! I finally went back to The Met, in Bury, yesterday, where I had an exhibition of my Joy Division pictures in the spring. They'd emailed to say "Please come and pick them up!" so I did, and now they're knocking about my office again, gathering dust! So, does anyone know of anywhere that might be interested in showing this work? Particularly in that London or somewhere down there, as they've never been further south than sunny old Macclesfield! A music pub? A club? A record shop? Thinking cap on, dear reader!

The artist at work...

Yes, here I am, captured for posterity, shooting the 'group shot of everybody' at a recent Wedding. Three cameras on the go, too! What a guy!

Now, no disrespect here, but I've got to tell you about an postcard advert I've just seen stuck up in our local shopping centre window. It's entitled 'Work Wanted' so as I say, more power to the guy for being interactive but... 

He's asking £7 an hour and lists his assets, in order of appearance as: Fork Lift Truck licence, Warehouse experience, Computer literacy, driving licence and, right at the bottom ... photographic experience!
Like, shoot your Wedding type experience, or what? Seven quid an hour?

Your servant is humbled!

Drink up, we're off...

It's those last few seconds before the start of your ceremony! The butterflies are fluttering, the mouth is dry! Just one last glug of Moet and you're off! Oh, the nerves and excitement of those moments just before a Wedding. All those months (years!) of planning are coming together for this one moment!
I love to be around to capture that electricity in the air, camera poised, shutter finger ready! Will the bride lick her lips, or glance quickly at her Dad? A tear from Mum perhaps, or a quick kiss from one of the bridesmaids? It's all there to be captured, and it's a fantastic feeling to have been asked to be the one to capture it! Adrenaline? Excitement? And that's just me!

Bouquet of roses...

Being the sensitive artist that I am it's always nice when someone takes the time to give me some feedback, and this weekend has been fantastic for soothing my fevered brow. I've had one of my blog readers using the word "brilliant" in an email to me, and another using the words "stunning" and "photo" in the same sentence! Now that's the kind of email I like!

More of my sexy Australian Jorgensen albums to make this week, before I head off for what will be the most local Wedding I've ever done, as both the church and the reception are in the village I live in!

Oh, and my lovely girlfriend bought me a smashing new Nikon Coolpix camera for my birthday last week (What do you mean, you forgot?) and it's started me off on a whole new set of Flickr project ideas. More to follow! Happy Monday...

Wet, wet, wet...

Well, it was the Lake District, but I didn't expect to get quite as wet as I did yesterday! Up there to shoot the fabby Wedding of Mikaela and Mark at The Inn on the Lake, Ullswater, and got absolutely drenched as the rain came down. When it wasn't raining it was drizzling, and when it wasn't drizzling it was spitting! Still, the show must go on, and there are already 690 shots online for the couple to check out...
Now, where's the hairdryer?...

Welcome to England, have a nice day...

Ok, the real world is a little too unavoidable today, so a few words on the terrible state of this country in 2011. I am ashamed and saddened by what these idiots did to Manchester last night, and I know what my response would be. Physical pain!

 We are living with the results of bringing up children without any form of meaningful discipline. Kids are not taught any respect, because they know that their punishment will not 'hurt'! I look at the namby-pamby parents around me, with their precious Sigourneys and Joshuas, and want to scream at them for the way they let their kids run around. Give them a clip round the ear! Make your point! Teach them!

See this photograph? I took it in 1974, on my way to school one morning, but a scene like that today, three kids approaching me in a dark tunnel, would fill me with dread! What a terrible way to feel!
Please, England, get real!

Oi!!!.....

Can you morons stop messing up my country, please!

Right! That's enough about 'the real world'...Let's have a little fun!
An amusing PR moment, and an amusing Wedding moment!

PR Funny... Yesterday I had to go through security to get in to an office to do some portraits for a company in Manchester. The chap on the door was filling in my pass. Name? O'Neill. Last name? No, that is my last name! Oh! First name? Martin. Martin O'Neill? Wow, are you related?

Wedding Funny... I was talking to one of my brides for next year, and asked if they'd sorted a suit for the groom. Oh, yes, she said, a blue one. It'll go so well with his cummberbundle !!! 

Gotta laugh, innit!

 

In the garden...

What to do on a Saturday afternoon without a Wedding? Why, shoot the flowers in my garden of course!
I just stepped out for a cup of tea, and a bright red gladioli caught my eye. Before you knew it I'd shot almost 400 images of flowers and foliage, a mere 89 of which I have made into a new Flickr set for your enjoyment! Reminded me of a chat I had with one of my Wedding couples over the weekend. The groom told me how keen he was on photography and how happy he was that, from the thousands of digital shots he had now taken on his new camera, there were 12 that were "really good" .... 

Rest assured, dear brides, my average is a LOT better than that, and I generally end up offering each of my Wedding couples a choice of at least 650 images from their Big Day! 

Now, go and have a look at my flowers! Peace and love, man!

In the sh*t....

Doom, gloom, credit crunch, recession! Must be time for a picture of a cheerleader and a pile of horse sh*t!! Nuff said!...

Hey! Picture the scene! Warm summer's day, car driving past, windows down and music blasting out. So far, so normal, except that the car that drove past me yesterday evening was playing "I wish it could be Christmas every day"! Well, we all need something to look forward to, don't we?

Stand there! No, don't...

Was back at Manchester Town Hall the other day, shooting an engagement portrait for a couple who tie the knot there this September, and was rather dismayed to see that all my photo 'locations' are disappearing, one by one! The lovely arched corridor on the corner of Albert Square, where I often shoot pictures of the Wedding couple together, is now shrouded in wooden hoardings, as the re-development of Central Library continues, and in the square itself, where I would normally shoot my group and family shots, there is now a semi-permanent (I hope!) concrete arena being built for the forthcoming Spanish Festival!
Even inside the Town Hall, the Sculpture Gallery has now become a cafe, with a flat screen TV right in the place where I'd normally shoot a lovely portrait of the couple. What to do? Photoshop a tropical beach into the background? Hmmm....

Dust yourself off...

Oh, why did God invent dust? I've spent the best part of a day photoshopping the bloody stuff off just three new Florescence scans, but I'll tell you what .. I'm delighted with the results! Now I've just got to get ten other images up to the same standard! I was revisiting my Big Box of Transparencies the other day, and found all these overlooked images just crying out to be added to my set. All I need now is somewhere to sell 'em! Anyone know of a cool gift shop or florist that might be interested?

Speaking of dust, I'm always amazed at how much gets inside my cameras, with no detrimental affect. When I used a medium format Mamiya 6x7 there was a tiny dust mite that had dropped dead in the middle of my viewfinder, far out of reach of any dust blower, and people used to have a look into my camera whilst it was left on the tripod at Weddings, just to show each other the bug!

Child's play...

Young lads up a tree, schoolgirls in the park - Jeez,  I'd hate to be trying to get these shots today. No sooner did I blog yesterday about memories of a more innocent time than I pass a lady pushing a baby in a stroller. Well, I say lady, she was probably about 16 years older than her child - but when I waved a little hello at the baby the mother gave me such a dirty look .. and that's without trying to take a photograph, so there you go, instant judgement! I'm a pervert, a paedo, a threat to her likkle precious offspring. Bloody hell! What chance does that kid have of growing up with an open mind? And so the cycle will continue, until it will actually be an offence in the UK to talk to someone unless you do it by text, or smile at someone unless it's on a videolink. God help the next generation! The photograph, since you ask, was taken at a sports day in Warrington in, oooh, 1981... and absolutely nobody took offence! Smile!

August, already!..

Bejeepers! How did that happen? School holidays already!  
Cue images of more innocent times, of kids climbing trees, playing out until dusk, eating food that didn't have a 'sell-by' date and knowing all the neighbours down your street...Sigh! This shot, and others like it, are part of my 'Don't Miss That' series, available online or as a book...
Packing my wellies now, as my next Wedding is up in The Lake District, so we're going to make a mini-adventure out of it! Can't wait! Not sure I'll be climbing any trees, but there'll be lots of walking and sight-seeing, and it'll have to do as my summer holiday, until the Weddings ease off after Autumn.

Anyway, I now have a dedicated Facebook page for my Wedding Photography, via UK Brides, the website I'm on for brides around the country. Check me out!
Hey, you might even want to 'Like' me...Aw, go on!

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!