Get in there ..

Doreen couldn't have expressed her feelings any more clearly when she married Graham on Saturday and do you know what? .. that's exactly how I felt yesterday when I got my first ever booking for a shoot in France. Yes, I'm booked for a job in France! Bloody brilliant!..

Anyway, first things first. I shot the Wedding of Graham and Doreen on Saturday and had a blast. They were so much fun and much to my relief we managed to get all our shots done outside despite the threatening thunder rumbles.
Check them out here ..

And then yes .. I got my first booking for a shoot in France, and will be heading over again next month to photograph three gîtes for website and advertising purposes. I am so thrilled. This is where my work needs to take me as I aim to be living there full-time by September. So thank you Doreen, for expressing my feelings exactly ..

Lost in France ..

Back from another week in France, and I am SO settling into their way of life! Check out this shot from our last night at the house. Our mower packed in half way through cutting the lawn .. and so what happened? Our next door neighbour whizzed round on his own sit-on mower and finished the job for us, that's what! I'm afraid there was nothing else we could do but chat with his wife and drink gin and tonics as the sun went down. C'est la vie ..

Anyway, I am now registered with a great web-site called 'Brides in France', and am pushing for Wedding bookings in what will soon be my new home. Have a look-see here ..

I've actually had to come back to the UK because I have another Wedding to shoot on Saturday. It's the Big Day for a lovely couple who'll be marrying at The Village Hotel in Warrington. Can't wait!..

Now, what's the French expression for 'time to wash my dirty socks'?..

What a load of rubbish ..

No, I'm not talking about the Eurovision Song Contest. In fact, dare I say it, I thoroughly enjoyed the programme this year, and thought our entry was pretty damned fine, with a great performance by Lucie Jones. Indeed, I feel a strange urge to learn to yodel .. 

I'm actually talking litter. I just can't believe how much there is in the UK. The first thing I noticed when I came out of the door of Manchester Airport last week was all the litter lying around and, within 24 hours, I'd seen two separate incidents of people throwing rubbish from their car windows.

Where is your pride, people? Where is your consideration for your fellow citizen?
My archive shot today is from about 1979. Nothing changes, eh?..

That's so 1997 ..

Yesterday I bumped into a lady I'd not seen for a while.
"Do you remember coming to our house to photograph my grandson?" she asked.
"I do .." I replied "How is he?"
"Oh, fine .." she said "He's just had a baby of his own!" ..

Long silence! What? That baby is a father? How did that happen? Turns out that original photo-shoot was just over twenty years ago! Twenty? Oh, my giddy! Where have all those years gone?..

I suggested I return to the house and arrange another photo-shoot. The lady giggled, embarrassed, and the friend she was with looked me straight in the eye and said "We can do that on the phone now .."
How times change ..

No time for a lie-in ..

Good Lord, it's just gone two weeks since I last wrote my blog. What a slacker! I've got lots of good excuses, though, so please bear with me ..

The main excuse .. sorry, reason .. for my absence is summed up in today's photograph. Our French gîte is now well and truly up and running, and I've been over to France twice in the last fortnight to tend to its successful upkeep. I must admit it was rather odd to go into what was our pristine new project and see all the signs of it's being used. Beds unmade, coffee pot on the draining board, the smell of cooking in the air. Still, that's what we bought it for, so cause for rejoicing all round. I'm actually off to France again next week to greet our fourth booking, so it's all going really well ..

I have managed to squeeze in a little photography, too. I was up at a lovely place called The Fisherman's Retreat to photograph a Wedding last weekend, and I've shot another house for a local estate agent. I also had a nice picture used by the Times Magazine last weekend, and - a bit of really good news - I've had some great conversations with a couple of my clients, who are committed to carrying on using me to photograph their events, even though I'll be based in France ..

It was great to be back there again this week. It felt like I was on holiday, even though I was really busy. I certainly didn't get time for a lie-in ..       

Modelling ..

Glamour Photography .. circa 1977! I think it's fair to say I wasn't exactly cutting edge, but it brought a smile to my face when these photographs emerged the other day. Both girls worked in the same office as I did at Gardner Diesels in Eccles - in my pre-photographer days - and I'd obviously persuaded them to pose in order for me to gain some experience in the mysterious world of 'modelling'. How quaint ..

I was shooting a different kind of modelling yesterday. Three dimensional modelling of ear moulds! Not quite the same, eh? I was shooting PR for a firm that makes custom 'ear products' .. noise protection for musicians and such like and, as much as I enjoyed it - and I did, it was a really interesting lighting/posing challenge - I don't think I had that in mind as a nascent photographer all those years ago. Still, modelling is modelling ..

Michelle's little helpers ..

There was no shortage of help at the Wedding yesterday at Hollin Hall Hotel. The bride's pals were only too happy to dive in and shift lights or straighten veils for me. Thank you, ladies. I just wonder if I should expect to receive an invoice! Many congrats to Michelle and Ben, and check out their page on my website ..

Now you see it ..

I'm writing this on a typical Friday night before a Wedding. I'm charging batteries, cleaning sensors, dusting lenses, formatting memory cards .. all to make sure I'm good to go in the morning. So it was nice that I got a chance to get out this afternoon, walk the dogs, get some fresh air .. and notice all the blossom, already falling to the floor. That's Wedding Photography in a nutshell. A Wedding Day is such a fast moving, fleeting thing that it's vital you have a good photographer to capture the entire feel of the day whilst it's there. Sod this modern "fashion shoot" approach to Weddings. Get in there and get some proper documentary photography done. Sermon over ..

In floods ..

My nose is running, my car isn't running ..  and a leak in the kitchen has brought down part of the ceiling. I'm in floods ..

I'm suddenly full of a cold that's absolutely knocked me for six, my car's developed an oil leak that's put it in a garage since Tuesday and now a drip from the bathroom (I think) has made a bloody big hole in the kitchen ceiling.
On the plus side, er ..

Well, of course, the plus side is that my cold will be gone by the time I shoot Saturday's Wedding, the car will be ready tomorrow and I've got a mate called Terry who's a plasterer. Sorted. Don't sweat the small stuff, eh?..

Ps: Any excuse to show this archive shot of my cousin fixing my old Fiat 127 .. in his socks!

Hels Bells ..

Bad weather? Well, I'm not saying it was windy at yesterday's Wedding but just take a look at this. The bloody veil blew off! Then it drizzled, then it rained, then it absolutely hammered down .. and all the bride and groom's family group shots had to be done indoors. Still, we managed to get every picture the couple wanted, and more power to Helen and Simon for braving the elements just to please little old me. Many congratulations, guys. Oh, and Hels Bells? It's not a misprint, it's Helen's name on ye olde Book of Face.
Hell's Bells indeed ..

Safe hands ..

As I plan my trip to a Wedding tomorrow there's a family in France gearing up to visit our gîte. I'll be heading off to the countryside of south Cheshire as they travel to the rural peace of Deux-Sèvres, and this is how my summer is going to be. I'll be photographing Weddings here as our gîte rental business takes off there. We're lucky in that we've found an English couple in France who will 'run' the gîte for us until we can get over there permanently in September. It's nice to know it's in safe hands ..

Today's photograph features a bride enjoying a game of cricket with her ushers at Heaton House Farm. That's where I'll be in the morning and, happily, tomorrow's bride will know her Wedding's in safe hands, too ..

Number One Fan ..

I was looking at gig listings in the Sunday 'paper yesterday, checking out tours coming up later in the year, when I was suddenly struck by a thought. I won't be here! I'll be living in France by the Autumn. Oh wow, how exciting. Having said that, there's absolutely no-one I want to go and see any more and, even if I did, I wouldn't be able to enjoy them like I show in my archive shot, leaning right on the stage with my ear-'oles shoved into the speakers! I know it's a generational thing but I haven't heard of most of the 'stars' listed in the 'paper anyway and I had a taste of how 'out of touch' I am when I shot the Food-Eating contest at The Trafford Centre last Thursday. When I got home I tweeted a photograph of one of the organisers, a young actor called Danny Miller. Now, lovely lad that he is, and no disrespect to Danny, but I'd never heard of him until last week. I had to have him pointed out to me as someone I needed to photograph. Well it shows you what I know 'cos the image began to get hits and shares as soon as I tweeted it and, by this morning, it had had - let me check - 8,465 hits. The most I've ever had for a tweet. (Out of curiosity I waited for a moment after I typed that and that number rose by another three hits.) He might be a stranger to me but he sure as hell has a lot of fans out there. Perhaps I should join their ranks. Get with the programme, grandad ..

Ps: The programme? Emmerdale .. but then you knew that already, didn't you?

Stop Press: 4pm Tuesday .. now 8,888 hits! Dey like dat boy ...

Enjoy ..

Spring is well under way now - it's just a shame it's so damned cold - but I braved the chilly dawn to bring you today's shots from my garden ..

I had a fun PR evening last night, photographing a 'Food-eating' contest for Manchester's Trafford Centre. Ironically I didn't get a scrap of nosh myself and was too far past it to eat anything by the time I finished work just after ten.
Maybe that's why I'm feeling the cold ..

One of the nice things about last night was meeting up (again) with the evening's compere. We used to work together when I shot the PR photography for the long-shut Camelot Theme Park near Preston. I shot his Wedding too, although I got a shock when he reminded me when that was. The year 2000. My God, where does it go? I learnt this morning of the death of an editor who used to give me lots of business portrait photography. Dead at 54. Enjoy it folks, enjoy it ..

Sharp exit ..

A Ryanair jet approaches the north coast of France, and more guests flock to our new gîte for their holiday. We woke this morning to news of our eighth booking - a fantastic start to the day and one that amazes me considering our standing start! Ironically it's now costing us money. Because we're not yet there full time, we have to pay somebody over in France to clean the gîte and turn it round for new guests. Still, we're doing our bit for the local economy ..

I'm at Manchester's Trafford Centre tonight to shoot a PR event featuring five .. er .. celebrities. Folks, I haven't heard of a single one of them. I think I might be getting out of this game at just the right time ..  

One thing leads to another ..

Well, the fresh green shoots are certainly budding, and I don't just mean the arrival of Spring. The start of our new lives in France is really taking hold. Yesterday we took our seventh successive gîte booking, meaning we now have guests to stay every month from now until September, and I've also made a contact over there who's putting me forward for press work with a couple of the UK's national papers. Hey, we're even being considered to appear on a TV programme. Sacré bleu ..

I gave the first ever 'public' reading of my new book on Monday, to a group of youngsters at a children's book club. I wasn't sure how it was received until the leader of the group told me "They stayed quiet .. that's a good sign!" This first reading has now meant that one of our local primary schools has booked me to give a reading there and, amazingly, the owner of a local pre-school group has booked me to come in to photograph the kids. Isn't it funny how one thing leads to another? ..



 


  

And we're off ..

Say hello to a couple of bona fide French gîte owners! Yes folks, we have the first ever guests at our place in France, and I went over at the weekend to meet them. Man it feels fantastic, after all our hard work, to be finally renting out the house, and I hope Julian and his family (and his dog) have a blast whilst they're there ..

So now our 'change of direction' feels real. Our next guests arrive next month, and we have bookings up to September already. The ball is rolling and there's no looking back. It is bloody exciting!
Allez les bleus ..

Goodbye Europe, Hello France ..

It's so ironic that, on the day the UK says tatty-bye to Europe, Lesley and I are getting closer and closer to living in France. We've got the house, the gîte and near-as-damn-it a leaving date, and my God it's exciting! ..

Our first ever paying guests arrive at the gîte this weekend, and I'm off across the channel tomorrow to greet them. I'm thrilled and nervous all at the same time. It's the start of a whole new life for us both so we really hope our visitors kick us off with a most splendid visit. You can follow my progress by reading our 'gîte tweets' ..

Funnily enough, my car's been at the garage all this week and I've been given a courtesy car whilst it's being fixed. What kind? A Citroên. It's a sign! ..

Taking the plunge ..

I'm moving to France!..

How's that for the start of a blog? You may have already read that my partner and I bought a gite over there, and we now aim to move out full time later on this year. The gite's called La Galerie, and we already have six bookings for it - not bad from a standing start! In addition, I'm going to be running One-Day Photography Workshops for our guests, and I already have two people booked on that too, so I'm going to have to go to France just to do it. Any excuse, eh? .. 

Exciting, or what? It's a whole new change of direction for us both, and we cannot wait! In the meantime, I have a summer full of Weddings to shoot, and then my focus will be on getting bookings for Weddings and property in France ..

So, if you fancy a great holiday in France, with a day's professional photography tuition, then please get in touch. We'd be delighted to see you. Ooh la la ..

For you, Mum ..

It's summer! It's Mother's Day! It's .. my Lord, it all comes at once, doesn't it? Anyway, Happy Mother's Day, Mum! Here's to you and all you've done for me ..

This is a lovely memory for me. I once took my Mum on a pleasure trip on Concorde. We went from Manchester Airport to Heathrow and I think it took about 14 minutes! One of the best quarters of an hour I've ever had!
My Mum enjoyed it, too. Can you tell?..

That's it, I'm done ..

Lovely catch-up with an old mucker this morning, and we both felt truly at home amongst the old folk having coffee at a local garden centre! Man, how the years fly. He's been a photographer even longer than I have! We reminisced about the 'old days' - he shot The Ramones and Blondie - and we talked about the future of professional photography in the UK. We've both decided there isn't one! As excellent a photographer as he is - and, dare I say, I am - we both see our bookings declining, but I have a plan ..

So today, no PR job or Wedding editing (Wediting!) .. instead coffee and cake and a nice stroll amongst the camellia in my garden. My photographic future lies elsewhere and I can't wait to tell you about it ..