Sam! Fun at tea time...

Enjoyed hanging out with Sam and his family yesterday to capture some everyday at home shots - had great fun at tea time playing dodge the yogurt! I love these kinds of sessions - for me kids need to be photographed in their own environment where they feel most comfortable. It's about taking time too and not expecting them to "perform" in an allotted time slot as is often the case with a studio based shoot.

Saturday Night Magic!!

Had a chance encounter with a couple of amazing guys in Medusa Bar in Horsforth on Saturday night - the amazingly talented Daniel Madison & Gianni Vox who very kindly gave me, my husband and some friends an impromptu magic and illusion show! All in return for a couple of pints of Leffe! I've seen lots of magicians at work at weddings and corporate functions but none were a patch on these guys. They describe their work as underground magic and are creating quite a stir in the traditional magic societies by refusing to conform. Daniel has an amazing story to tell about his past as a card cheat and how he turned his life around to use his skills in a more positive way. I can't recommend these guys enough and if you are thinking of hiring a magician for your wedding or party then these are the boys for you!

There's loads of info on Daniel's personal website - DANIEL MADISON - and it's also worth checking out DEVIL'S ADVOCATE PRODUCTIONS as Daniel is associated with some other amazing magicians... Enjoy!

JCI portrait shoot

Saturday morning involved a portrait shoot down at Kirkstall Abbey for council members of JCI Leeds to create some new headshots for the website. The weather was fantastic and I had some stunning winter light to work with - hats and fingerless gloves essential though as it was chilly!

My Real Wedding...

I was honoured to be asked by Pure Weddings Magazine to share some images and details from my own wedding for one of their Real Wedding Features in their Spring 2009 edition. The piece is titled "The cameras are turned" with the key focus resting on my experiences of being photographed alongside our efforts to incorporate lots of green ideas into our day. The magazine is now on the shelves and is a great source of information for planning a wedding in Yorkshire and Cheshire.
Being "in the industry" meant that I had a bit of a head start on finding wedding suppliers that I knew would share our ideas and I'd love to take this opportunity to say thanks to them for their amazing contributions to our day:

Weddings & Wellies - the yummiest food with a focus on local produce
Marston Moor Marquees - tents with a modern twist
Cherry Gorgeous
Jonny Bagdads (festival van from Masham serving up falafal pitas and vege curry)
The Nerds (fab covers band - we boogied all night! - they also do a barndance set)
ODB Hairdressers - 0113-289 9191 - the very lovely Sara came out to us at home
Michelsberg - bespoke Leeds based tailor that created Jonny's fab suit
Tina Nicholson Photography - a good friend who was brave enough to take the photo challenge - she and her husband Phil did a stunning job - thank you Tina!

'It's not easy being Green' - TV appearance!

I've just had notification from the BBC this morning that "The Lovely Green Wedding Event" will be featured in the current series of 'It's Not Easy Being Green". The date for the episode is 18th Feb - at 8pm on BBC2.

There is an informative website that accompanies the series which has an interesting section on Green Weddings - BBC & GREEN WEDDINGS

Looking forward to my mainstream TV debut !!!

Trade convention in London

Had a whirlwind trip down to London yesterday to visit the SWPP trade show to have a good nosy at some album and display options for the coming year. It was an exhausting day but worth the journey. Came away with some great product ideas but unfortunately with lots of frustrations too! It’s so challenging trying to upkeep my green business principles when faced with so many overseas album companies. I was delighted though to learn about the launch of a new range of matted albums by a well established UK company who will be producing everything on home soil. The only import item is leather from Italy.

I always find photography trade shows quite "interesting" due to their very male dominated environments – you just learn to take everything with a pinch of salt after a while. At least it wasn’t as bad as Focus can be – a trade show down at the NEC in Feb where you’re subjected to half-naked female models on many of the stands – I put a request in every year for male models to make it fair but no luck yet… Ah the joys of being a girl in what is still very much a boys and their toys world!

Christmas Wedding at Redworth Hall

Terry & Helen had a wonderful wedding at Redworth Hall on the 29th December - lots of seasonal touches and tons of candles which really brought out the atmosphere of the venue's Great Hall.

New Year Celebrations

I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas and fantastic New Year... For the last few year's we've enjoyed a few days away over New Year with Jonny's family up on the coast near Whitby. This year there were 25 of us staying in a scout association property which used to be an old railway station house - complete with disused railway line outside the front door! Good family fun with girls and boys dorms sleeping in bunk beds, bracing cliff top walks, fish and chips in Whitby and lots of laughs and games. It's so nice to escape the usual pressures of New Year and have time to catch up with family and friends and clear the head with some sea air!

I'm now looking forward to a fantastic 2009 - January is always an exciting month as it gives me time to catch up with the business and set new ideas in place for the coming year.

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year
xxx