Off the Wall

I had a photosession with a cool, urban minded, young lady yesterday, we first went to a local town, which had a commissioned mural adorned on a wall. A talented local grafitti artist by the name of Mechaone did the mural a few weeks back, and its just so awesome up close. It suited my client, and I think she could appreciate the work on the wall. In complete contrast after the wall shot we ventured over to see if there were any wheatfields still around, unfortunately (as suspected) there wasn't - they'd all been harvested, which was a shame. We found a really sweet public footpath further on down, which basically was a bit of a walkway in a field, surrounded by lots of greenery and some horses. As it was getting dark we got some lovely shots in what is known as 'the golden hour' - I really did enjoy this session.

Beautiful inside and out

Ms K is pregnant with her second child, a sister for her 2 year old daughter. She was positively glowing, and had model looks, and height to go with it. I took so many photographs of her and here is a few of my favourites from the session.

I always take the opportunity to catch some 'normal' portrait shots during a babybump session, as opposed to just exclusively concentrating on the bump, as I just think most women during their pregnancy have that certain 'glow' about them, and nine times out of ten they always say they feel and look awful, (it is true you do) but I never think so when I see a pregnant woman, so I make the most of capturing that beauty during those times.

The Joy of Life

I just find it just so wonderful to hear baby news. My friend had a little baby boy a couple of weeks ago, her second, and he was just absolutely beautiful (aren't all babies?) a tinge of broodiness did come to the fore, but I was actually fine as soon as I left after giving the baby lots of cuddles! I have my hands full with a 3 year old, and although I fear that having an age gap might not work so well as time goes on, everyone has different opinions about when the time is 'right', for now my husband and I are enjoying the time with our little one, so when the time is right to have a second, we can hopefully enjoy the time we have again with the newborn knowing that our firstborn can enjoy his new baby brother or sister alongside us.

Family of three

I had the pleasure of photographing a four month old little girl who was just so adorable. Her parents were so lovely, and even their dog got into the portrait session, which added a little bonus to a photo having the whole entire family in it! Here is one of my favourites from the session.

Pretty Vacant

Some of my photographs have what is known as 'vacant space' or 'negative space', some people don't actually get that I've left such a wide gap or ask why shouldn't that person be in the middle of the photograph as opposed to being on the far left or right. It's just my style, my other being close-up portrait shots, which I love too, some people get quite worried when I get up so close that every pore and such like will be magnified ten-fold being so close! But I know it works, and usually they are pleased with the results of my 'style' and that's hopefully why people book me in the first place!

Timeless

I have had a great time with meeting new clients, I love meeting new people and it's been a real learning curve to 'get myself out there' of late. It's obvious that people take genuine interest in what I like to achieve and they can see that I'm passionate about what I do.

I've had a real interest in the Trash the Dress (TTD) Sessions lately, its quite a new thing here, I don't know of many other's that offer these sorts of sessions. I only recently became aware of it through my flickr contacts, most of them from the US where its a really big thing. Another nice touch is an engagement session or 'pre-wedding' shoot prior to the big day, this is a great way to get to know your clients, it gives them a chance to see how you work and also for everyone to get to know each other before the big event. Another session I would like to venture out is the senior sessions, again another big thing in the US and I think its becoming more popular here in the UK. It's a good mixture of opportunities to delve in at some point. I hope I get to experience photographing people at all levels.

In a Field of Hay

The other week we ventured into a wheat field - I love seeing an endless sea of golden crops that seem to stretch out far and wide. Luc loved venturing into the field after much trepidation, and only after I went in first, then he dived in! Playing hide and seek and getting lost nearly completely! I just think the wheatfields are the perfect backdrop to a photo and also a poppy field (I'm onto that one!), long grass and warm light are just all perfection to me. I'm also scouting a graffiti wall in the city to use as an alternative backdrop, as I have a 'thing' for colourful walls - and don't worry the graffiti that I have my eye on is a specially commissioned peice of work from a local artist, so its not one of those unruly tagged ones (although they are just as good too!).

Sunshine of my Heart

The weather has just been nothing short of awful these past few days, with maybe the exception of one day where it was lovely, but seriously, the month of August is just not how I used to remember it. Talking quite a few years ago I know, but all of my summer holiday's off of school I just used to remember it as gloriously sunny and warm, all throughout the summer. Or maybe its been so long ago, that I've forgotten if we did have bad weather back then...!

It's just nice to think that you can do things outside of your own front door when the weather is at its best, so far we've not had the luxury of that. I've just been so desperate for some evening dusk light in which I can venture out and take some photographs in the lovely warm evening light - will I get to experience that before the year is out - watch this space??

Baby Blues

I had a client session at the weekend consisting of three lovely kids all blonde hair and blue eyed, they were so great and they were really good at posing too! As much as I love to photograph adults, kids are just as equally as good as they have great enthusiasm (sometimes!) but the energy that they seem to have is quite contagious, and you end up having a fun time with it yourself - who said it's all work and no play! I am beginning to really like what I do, not many people can say that, so I guess I'm pretty lucky...let's hope it continues that way...only time will tell!

Growth Spurts

My son had me in stitches over the weekend, whilst I was out for a quick stop off at the local shop he phoned me on my mobile from home, listing off all the things I needed to buy whilst I was there, I couldn't stop laughing, and he kept saying "whattya talkin' about mummy?", it was a 'had to be there moment' but nonetheless he just makes me melt with the things he comes out with lately, pure bliss - he's growing up waaaayy too quickly.

And for those of you who don't know my son detests having his photographs taken, he always moans whenever I take my camera out, but today he was ok with me taking a few photos on the basis that he was allowed to wear his Bob the Builder yellow safety helmet, an armband, and his shinpads! So I had to go with it, but he doesn't have to know that I crop most of that stuff out...

Field of Gold

Me, my husband and my little boy Luc ventured out yesterday to find a wheatfield (!) yes, it was on my list of priorities to find one that I could use as a backdrop for my photographs. My son was a little unsure why I decided to venture into a huge vast of yellow grass. But he soon joined in and at one point he disappeared into the field of wheat and now and again his dark mop reappeared! I was a little conscious of the fact that I would actually be harming someone's plot of land in which they were growing their own crops, but the need for a photograph with my little boy in a wheatfield was a risk worth taking, despite my paranoia that I could hear gun-fire?! We didn't stay long however because of winds starting to blow and rain with threatening our time outside, so we moved on...

Life as we know it

Sometimes I wonder what the future holds for me and the people who I hold closest to my heart. The happiness, maybe despair, new beginnings, enduring pain (emotionally and physically), heartache, wishful thinking, emotional upset, wonderful elation, life-long dreams, and a whole other host of ups and downs that people experience during their lives. What has happened in your lives to shape the person that you are, or have become? Is there a balance of good and bad in everyone's lives? Do some of you have the perfect life, or has your life been forever fraught with 'bad luck' or sadness?

My life so far has been a mixture of sadness and happiness, I'd like to think that I have had a 'healthy' balance; my childhood was good, my adolescence not so, my early adulthood was forever learning and appreciating new adventures, my twenties were full of new beginnings, and now I have turned 30 - married with a child, what will the next decade hold for me?

I have always believed in fate, a map of my life has already been written, I am simply walking through the path of my life each day, as it is mapped out for me, and things that happen, happen for a reason. Does it sound pretentious of me to think that? Do I need to hold on to something so trivial as fate, that whatever I do isn't actually my decision, but of fate that guides me to that particular place?

My grandmother died just over a year ago, and without going into too many details, I believe her untimely death, made people aware of their misgivings, and what people mean to each other. Recognising certain elements in other people and standing up for what you believe in. My grandmother and I were so very close, and memories and photographs are what I hold dear in my heart, that no one can erase.

My story does come round to a point (!) I think above all life in general is to be appreciated, not taken for granted, which most of us do. Appreciate the ups and downs and enjoy the time with the people we come into contact in over the years. Most of all love your family and make sure that they know that. I know that this may sound ridiculously corny, but why so? Why can't we just be soppy and carefree about our feelings, has society these days made us lose that ability to care and love and show it freely without feeling embarrassed? Ok I'm going into a whole different direction now, but you get my drift...

Before I close on this lengthy blog post (I don't know what's got into me today!) I would like to say that my grandmother will always be a constant within my life, I have so many photographs of her; with me, her own family, her husband, and ones that I will appreciate and show to my own family in time; the one where she was present at my wedding and others holding my baby son. It was always an inside joke as I was growing up that she always said that she wanted nothing more than to see me get wed, have a child and for me to reconcile with my estranged father before she died, and I always used to think all three was somehow never going to happen, but I have that photograph of her with me on the day of my wedding, and the smile on her face when I took photographs of her holding my son...I will always treasure those photographs, more so now.

I hope that she is somewhere now smiling down on me knowing that she got to see me get married, and to hold in her arms her great-grandchild, and I think most importantly for her that the reconciliation with my father happened even though it was through the sadness of her passing...just to say wherever you may be Nan, thank you for all the happy times spent with you, I will always miss you...

In loving memory of Rose Ellen Francis [1914 - 2007]

Rain...

...feel it on my fingertips, hear it on my window pane. Your love's coming down like rain...[lyrics from Madonna's song, Rain].

Pretty apt for today - it did nothing but rain all day today. Seriously, you wouldn't think that we were in the month of August - where is the bright sunshine with the warmth of the sun on our face to indulge in? Urgh, its so annoying!

On a much lighter note...the beginning of August will always have a special place in my heart, it was this week exactly ten years ago that I met my husband, and I love him more than ever.

That Friday Feeling

I have had a relatively quiet week, I was off of work on leave on Wednesday afternoon to take my son to 'Soccer for Tots' he was more responsive this week than last, so that was good. It's a five week course every Wednesday afternoon's until the end of August. My son loves kicking a football around and I thought it would be good to enrol him on a course with other children. He wasn't very sure on his first week and didn't want to participate, but I'm hoping he'll get more involved as the weeks go on. Yesterday I had the afternoon off of work to have lunch with my friend Emma who celebrated her 30th birthday and today I'm off aswell, not doing anything in particular apart from getting the chores done, but I thought I'd have the extra day off, as I felt like it and I am allowed to!

When I was just a little girl...

...well you know the rest of the line. My mother always sung that particular song to me when I was tiny, and I can remember it vividly, so when I look back at those times it doesn't seem that long ago, but now I'm 30 I do wonder where those year's went. I guess everyone does. That's why I love taking photographs, its a memory frozen in time, and you can get to look at those photographs time and time again and remember those certain moments. I have a handful of old photographs from years gone by; some include me, others of certain members of the family, they all have that certain element of nostalgia about them that takes me back in time. I guess that's why I love that 'vintage' element in my processing of photographs, I like them to have that same sense of feeling about them. One of them in particular was a recent one I did in the 'Trash the Dress' session post yesterday, and also this black and white version of the 'bride's' daughter has that 'timeless' look about it.

Babybump

I did another maternity session this week, and she was just a pleasure to photograph. She was so tall and so tiny, with a perfectly round babybump, she is due in a few weeks time and she's having a girl!

We ventured to a place in our city called 'The Hub' - there is a cool square in the middle of it surrounded by tall contemporary glass flats on all corners, with bars/restaurants below. Such a cool place with fountains and seating areas, so we made the most of the whole of the square! Great photo opportunities, although bless her, she was a little paranoid with people looking at us, but I think we both welcomed the attention, I always think that its nice to just be a bit unique in doing this, knowing that people probably would like to do the same thing but don't ever get the opportunity. We were only out for a little while as the wind was getting quite fierce and it started to rain a little, but I got some great shots in - here are just a couple from the session.

Trash the Dress Session

I asked my good friend if her daughter would mind posing in a series of shots with her wedding dress on, as I wanted to do a photosession known as 'Trash the Dress' which basically means doing various poses that you wouldn't normally try on the day of your wedding. Its a more relaxed and daring way to make use of a dress that you thought you'd never wear again! And its fun too! So there is no real trashing of the dress, but if you got it really dirty it wouldn't necessarily matter, but anyhow here is a photo of the day, my favourite of the whole session.