For Michael and Nicola – a taster of your wedding photographs:
Author: artemispurple
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Oldham Carnival
Once again, we manned a stand at the Oldham Carnival, taking family photographs and printing them out on the day. We pipped the Kodak booth at the post by being able to make prints at half of their price. But it must have been the hottest day of the year and all the stalls ran out of drinks by lunchtime….oh my…were we dehydrated by the end of the day! and I promise we don’t dress like this with clients (not unless they ask us to!!!!)
Chris and Mike -
Christine’s EFIAP Award
Christine has been awarded the Excellence Award of the International Federation of Photographic Art. Her FIAP dossier included 343 international salon acceptances with 99 different images in 57 different salons and 21 different countries with 33 international awards. Additionally a panel of 10 prints was submitted.
From FIAP’s web site:
“FIAP is constituted by the national federations of the different countries, at a rate of one federation per nation or of one national society able to be accepted as representative for its country. All considerations of a political, ideological or religious order are absolutely banned from the activities of FIAP. The statutes evoke also the four aims to strive for: 1) of moral order, by creating, under the banner of photography, brotherhood links and friendly relations between the affiliated federations and by supporting the development of friendship between people with a view to strengthening the peace in the world 2) of material order, by strengthening the defence of the regular interests of the affiliated federations, by coordinating their efforts in the intention to reach some particular advantage 3) of scientific and artistic order, by helping the spread of photographic knowledge, by developing artistic qualities, particularly through exhibitions and travelling portfolios 4) of national and international order, by ensuring before the public authorities and the high authorities that govern the world, the representation of the photographic movement intending to give to the photographic art the place it deserves.
French is proclaimed first official language of FIAP, but official texts are translated in English and German.”
Read the Full History of FIAP.
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Latest Haslington Hall photos
Had a fantastic day at Haslington Hall near Crewe on a wedding photoshoot arranged by DingDong Events
This was taken in the Bridal suite at Haslington Hall. http://www.tailormadevenues.com/haslington-hall.htmlThe amazing dresses and the jewellery provided by Cheshire Bridal Wear http://www.cheshirebridalwear.co.uk/. The mask we used for this shoot was the amazing filigree mask “Katherine” provided by http://www.masqueboutique.co.uk/. You can see it in more detail below.
Make up and hair by LA Hair and Make-up http://www.totalpamper.co.uk/ and Vickie Quinn 07894 584847
“Yvonne” Heirloom bouquet by http://www.tiny-gems.co.uk/
The stunning floral arrangement was provided by Acer Florists http://www.flowershopfrodsham.co.uk/ and the amazing candelabra “Windsor” from http://www.muniquedesigns.com/
Cakes and cupcakes by http://www.mummys-yummies.co.uk and http://www.scrumptillios.co.uk
Formals by http://www.landjformalhire.co.uk
Location shots http://www.haslingtonhall.co.uk
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Haslington Hall Wedding Venue
Haslington Hall, a beautiful Tudor mansion near Crewe, makes a really romantic wedding venue in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. We were asked to provide photographic services for a wedding and product shoot by Wedding Organiser Tracey Allen. In spite of inclement February weather and temperatures close to freezing, our ten “models for the day” braved the cold and did a fantastic job all day.
Mike and I were on our feet from 9 am to 5 pm and very tired by the end of the day, but sheer enthusiasm kept everyone going. I was aided and abbetted by friend and photographic artist Joan Blease, who became dress fluffer extraordinaire as well as ably assisting with reflectors and models. I could really get used to having an assistant photographer and Joan’s knowledge of working with models was most helpful. Thanks Joan.
Dresses were provided by Cheshire Bridal Wear. The full skirted and floating designer dresses were so gorgeous and the models all looked fantastic in them.
Jan of Acer Flowers provided bouquets and table flowers, with a showstopper of a centrepiece displayed in an enormous and amazing candelabrum provided by Munique Designs.
Helen of Scrumptillious brought a black and white cake to compliment the black and white themed wedding stationery by Rattytatty Designs. Gold and “oranges and lemon” themes were played out in the stationery and in cakes and cupcakes by Karin of Mummy’s Yummys. The delicious smell of these cakes sent us wild all day…it was so difficult not to pinch one!
Formal wedding attire for the men was provded by Colin of L&J Formal Attire . He was so pleasant and easy to work with.
Total Pamper and Vicky Quinn worked so hard all day with hair and make-up and coping with the many changes of clothing.
Malcolm of Smooch Rings provided a stunning array of bride and groom rings in beautiful and unusual designs.
For something really unique and different, Sarah of Tiny Gems provided us with a fantastic heirloom bouquet, which could be used at period weddings and would be treasured forever.
The models loved wearing Tanith’s fabulous Venetian Masks from the Mask Boutique, which were a talking point right up to the end of the day…everyone wanted to try them on!
Thank you Tracey for arranging all this.
More on Tracey’s Blog
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Baby Bump Photography
Baby bump or maternity photography has become more fashionable over the years and can be seen as the first of a two part event…the second half being photographing the newly born and parents. The best time to photograph the bump is towards full term, but it’s always wise to plan for an earlier shoot “just in case”. Natural window light always works well and provides a very pleasing result. I ask the mother to bring a variety of outfits so we can ring the changes. Bumps can be photographed successfully as both high or low key…but I must admit I like the dark backgrounds and subtle detail, as in the shots below.
As part of our personal service we can use our editing techniques to smooth out your skin, hide stretch marks and disguise any unwanted blemishes. Not all expectant mothers want to undress for the shoot but we offer both options…also the option to include partner and any other children in the shoot.
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Dee & Peter’s Wedding
Being a part of a very special wedding is a wonderful feeling…Dee and Peter’s wedding was just about as special as it can get…a wonderful day from just after noon, when I arrived at Dee’s home to photograph the last minute perparations of the bride and bridesmaids. Mike arrived shortly afterwards at the wedding breakfast venue to photograph the cake, flowers and table settings before high-tailing it to the church to meet up with Pete and his party.
The bride looked fantastic in a heavily embroidered bridal gown and sparkling Swarowski crystal jewellery.
Dee absolutely loves her sunset colours, so the bridesmaids wore shimmering sheer fabric which changed from pinks through reds to orange depending on how the light caught it. The flowers were magnificent and we especially appreciated the inclusion of orchids in the bridal bouquet (naturally they’re our favourite flowers!!!) from local floral designers Wild Orchids. The cake was also decorated with matching flowers.
The marriage service at Saddleworth Church was such a happy event, made lighthearted as well as solemn by Father Duncan. Mike took up a position at congregation level and I found myself a good vantage point above the bride and groom in the balcony.
The happy couple went on to Saddleworth Golf Club for the wedding breakfast and evening reception.
As a “thank you” to the bride and groom, we had prepared a pre-wedding montage from photographs that we took at Dovestones a few weeks before and this was mounted so that guests could sign it on arrival at the reception venue.
We stayed throughout, taking a break from work to enjoy the wedding breakfast along with Dee and Peter’s guests and then photographing right through the speeches, the cartoonist sessions, the dancing and karaoke until we, too, were exhausted. But what an enjoyable day!!!!
It’s impossible to choose just a few images to give justice to such a day and we did find it difficult editing the pictures down to a manageable number for our presentation to the bride and groom, but below are just a few of our photographs as a sampler.
Click thumbnails to enlarge:
Technical notes: Technically the photography of the ceremony was challenging (to say the least), as flash photography had been banned until after the signing of the register and the church is very dark inside. Typical exposures from the balcony were 1/25 second at f/2.8 and 1000 ISO. In order to be able to quickly reposition myself without the clatter of moving a tripod, I chose to hand-hold, as did Mike below. Whilst this creates even more of a challenge in terms of image stabilisation, it does allow greater flexibility. My camera has a stabilised sensor, which gives me a 3 to 4 stop advantage in adverse conditions. Digital noise was kept to a minimum by ensuring accurate exposure (noise is always worse if you underexpose and have to pull up the images in processing) and by giving some noise reduction treatment to the RAW files during processing. We always shoot in RAW format as it gives us so much more control at the processing stage.
Perhaps the most challenging photography of the day was recording the evening dancing. Low light, moving subjects and vibration from the floor meant that sharp photographs become even more difficult to achieve. We both decided to use a little bounced fill flash, but carefully balanced with the ambient lighting so that it did not destroy the feeling of the disco lighting. In such conditions there will always be a lot of wastage, but we were pleased with the results…
So were the bride and groom!!! and that’s the most important thing.
Chris
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Oldham Carnival
We had great fun at the Oldham Carnival, sponsoring the stand for Oldham Photographic Society. Mike and I entered into the spirit by dressing as the Mad Hatter and Red Queen and were photographed by fellow photographer Mike Donough, below.
We set up a small marquee with a backdrop and had our laptop and printer running from a generator so that we could take photographs and print them out straight away. This proved especially popular with the carnival princesses and their friends.
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Greetings cards
Today we took delivery of our first greetings cards, printed for us by Advantage Digital Print in Dorchester. Subjects range from landscape and seascape to flowers amd all are left blank inside for your special message. We’ll have them available for purchase as soon as we can on our fine art section.
Here is just a taster….
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Whitby Gothic Weekend
A visit to the spring 2010 Whitby Goths Festival almost back-fired. We dressed gothic and ended up posing for everyone else…but did manage to get in a few shots of our own. We arrived on the Saturday and were pleased and relieved that the recent cold weather had changed to warm sunshine. Finding a parking place in Whitby during the fesival is a bit of a problem but we eventually found ourselves a spot about half a mile north of the town. As we walked along the cliff top towards the whalebones, we encountered more and more curiously dressed people, from steam punk and lolly to emo, romantic, hippy and Victorian…anything goes so long as it’s weird and preferably with a corset (worn on top not as as under-garment). No-one seemed to bat an eyelid as we walked along, so perhaps we looked weird enough too.
Descending the steps towards the harbour I was pleased that I was wearing comfy boots as it was clear I was going to be on my feet all day. Everywhere and anywhere that had a place to sit was already occupied…I turned my attention to the crowds, trying to pick out some of the most interesting characters to photograph. It was at this point that the lovely bright warm sunshine became a curse….bright sunlight and photography don’t always go well together….bright sunlight means harsh shadows and this was not at all what I was looking for…gothic photos need atmosphere…on that Saturday afternoon there was none!
On the Sunday we rose before dawn…as people who know me will confirm, I am not naturally a dawn person…and the dawn on Sunday was very very cold. Arriving in the town, we saw a young goth staggering back to her hotel, presumably after a really good night out! When we reached the pier, I was disappointed to see that two photographers (from Northumberland it turned out) had beaten me to it and were standing in just the place I wanted to photograph, with their tripods firmly planted and most definitely not inclined to move. Still, they were nice chaps and we stood together chatting until I had turned blue with cold and the dawn had fizzled out like a damp squib (I never saw a damp squib but that’s what they tell me it was like).
However, from then on, our day just got better and by lunchtime I was well and truly hooked on gothic and determined to go back for a longer stay next time.
Here are just a few shots from the occasion…
Forgot to say…I edited them a bit! and BTW, the scary looking chap bottom left is Mike, but I promise he doesn’t look like that when we’re photographing weddings (unless you’re having a gothic wedding that is).
