Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting ...

Well OK ...Tae Kwon Do, but for those of us of certain age the thought of Carl Douglas singing "Kung Fu Fighting" has a certain bemusement if not nostalgic value to it.

It is a while since I have photographed any martial arts so it was good for 9 year old Ross to be in the studio today for his portrait, we did get lots of other cool images but I have to say I do like the Tae Kwon Do shot best.

Hooray For Hollywood ....

Nottingham moved a little closer to Hollywood last night with a themed Charity Ball to raise money for specialist care for teenager cancer suffers. On the night a cheque was presented for the amazing sum of £100,000 to The Teenage Cancer Trust from previous fund raising activity by Brad's Cancer Foundation. There was also a special guest for the evening when the former England football manager Sven Goran Eriksson gave his support to this worth while charity and posed to have his picture taked with many of the guests. Which certainly increased the the popularity of the prints we produced on the night, here are a few images of what was a fantastic night.

Twins ...

I recently had the great pleasure of photographing James & Tomas twin boys as part of a family photoshoot, both so lovely and with such different little personalities ...nice to be able to give them back though !

Back Again ...

The one great thing about being a family portrait photographers is you get to see children growing up, and certainly very much the case when a family has their their portrait taken almost every year. This is the third year now that I have created family images for the Cater Family and have to say I feel very fortunate to document the two boys growing up in this way.

Gone Fishing ...

Two teams of keen fishermen yesterday raised £700 for a very worth while charitable cause, by helping to provide money for specialist treatment centres for teenage cancer suffers.
The teams consisted of Hill-Rom Engineers, along with a few friends, from two different areas (Coalville & Warrington) and they "fished it out" at Heronbrook Fisheries, Slindon,Staffordshire. The day started very wet and continued with wind and rain for most of the day, but undaunted these guys had a good day catching some really big fish. The winning team were Warrington, who where presented with their trophy by Sue Bartlett from Brad's Teenage Charity Trust, Hayley Moss was also there from Hill-Rom's Marketing Department, there was also support from other colleagues including Service Manager Dennis Howse. I was as usual on the other end of the lens !

The next photography I will be doing for Brad's Charity Trust will be at Colwick Hall, Nottingham, on 7th November for their annual charity ball, which is always a brilliant evening and there may still be tickets ..... with a chance to bid for a portraiture sitting with myself an ideal present for family or friends.

PS: If you click on the title "gone fishing" you will be able see all the images of the day ...

It's That Time Again ......

The shops have been telling us for weeks if not months that "Christmas" or our "Winter Festival" will soon be with us. I have to admit to being a bit of a "Bah Humbug" not aboutthis time of year itself, which should, and can be a magical time, but more about it having such a ridiculously long commercial lead up time, so that by the time it actually happens everyone is totally sick of it!

So if I feel this way, why I am reminding everyone "It's That Time Again" on my Blog ...? The answer is simple ..... there are only a limited number of weekends up to Christmas for potential clients to book in family portrait sittings.

A portrait of a new baby, the children or the whole family is a lovely gift any time, and even more so at Christmas because it can be shared with family and friends, and this year I am offering your favourite image not only as a framed print but also as a professionally printed Christmas card.

I have already got two sittings booked by regular customers with Christmas in mind, so I recommend an early booking to ensure you have all your prints and cards well in advance of what is always a very busy time for me.

If you would like more information please get in touch.
Marc;-)

Helping Out ....

I had the pleasure of helping John Charlton a fellow wedding photographer today, with one of his weddings. It is always a good idea to have two photographers when it comes to a full days wedding coverage, and John has help me on many occasions with my weddings of this type, so it was great repay the favour today by helping to cover some parts of the wedding of Nick and Helen. I photographed the guys getting ready at Nick's Parents in Bourneville and then took up my place at the back of church in Stourbridge whilst John covered the front. There was an added advantage for me in that I had access to the organ loft which gave me a high view point down to get some great images.

Glorious ....

Yesterday was my last wedding of the 2009 season. I used to deliberately stop wedding coverage at the end of September, but over that last few seasons I have started to cover weddings later in the year, including a couple of Christmas weddings which can be very good fun. For an October day I have to say I really couldn't have finished this year in a better way ....it was a wonderful day weather wise, it did get a little overcast in the afternoon (actually better for photography) but the temperature held up and everyone had a wonderful time. Above is the scene that met me at Wrenbury Hall, at 10.30 am, as I arrived to shoot the Bridal preparation shots .... a blue sky with the sun lighting the building and the moon still visible in the sky ...absolutely magic ....!

Andrew & Ruth ... The Highlights ...

Here are the highlights from Andrew and Ruth's big day.
The couple had a civil ceremony and reception at the Valley View Hotel Ironbridge. The highlights have to be the wonderful flowers which Ruth, who works as a florist had put together herself, and artistry certainly runs in her family as Ruth's Sister did some very unique themed table decorations. It was a great day and the couple were really into having great fun on their special day. Which was something we followed up on a couple of days later with another visit to Ironbridge for a "trash the dress shoot" also featured earlier in this Blog.

Morning Has Broken ...

As part of my ongoing personal project documenting the seasons affects on Delamere Forest I was up early enough to catch this lovely dawn sky over the moss wet land which is such a feature of this landscape. I am just entering the second year of this project which is still providing many new discoveries.