Blowing In The Wind

Due to me not taking any pictures today, I've been looking through my archives for a photo that I can pop on for today.  I came across this one, which I took last month in St Ives, Cornwall.

I actually took it whilst we were up at the little chapel on the hill for the renewal of our good friends Stewart and Julie's wedding vows. I've no idea who she was. She wasn't a guest, she was just sitting on the wall looking out to sea, or watching what we were doing. So of course I just had to take a candid shot or two.

This one came out the best, with her hair blowing madly in the breeze off the sea. I was going to say hello to her, but I was required for the group photos, and so by the time we had done, she had sadly gone.

Wedding Belles

Today marks the second wedding anniversary of our good friends Matt and Ellie.

Here they are at their party, held at the White Lion pub in Beeston.

It was a lovely day. One which they will probably never forget. At least my photos will help them remember if they do.

And the good news now is that they are expecting their first child.

Happy anniversary you two.

Off The Rails

Besides the visit yesterday of Prince Edward, another important event that was taking place in Nottingham, namely a wedding at the Council House.

The wedding party were using this old London bus as the bridal transport and were just climbing aboard when I arrived in the Old Market Square.

While I was taking a photo or two of it, a tram just happened to be rolling by, and I managed to take a couple of shots just as it was passing the bus. Lucky eh?

You may have realised that the photo is lacking in colour, except for the bus itself. That's because I set my camera just to record anything that was red in colour, the rest would remain in black & white. A neat trick. Partial colouring can of course be done in various software packages, but this is much quicker. And anyway, I only know how to do it in Lightroom.

Marriage Lines

It's a bank holiday for us in the UK today, and of course it has rained all day, which is about normal for us. It's the last one too until Christmas, which is a sad and scary thought.

So I have been stuck in all day, pottering around and playing about on the Internet. Not taken any photos either. So here's one that I took on Saturday in Beeston.

A 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, dressed as a wedding car for a celebration that was going on at the church nearby. I didn't wait around to see the bride and groom, as I was more interested in the car and I was on my way to see someone.

Wedding Wheels

I shot a wedding today, and this is the car that the happy couple arrived in.

It was a lovely sunny day, and I think everyone had an enjoyable time.

Bridal Shoot

A shot from the photography show that I went to the other day.

This model was posing for a lighting demonstration, so of course, almost everyone was standing facing her. I just thought that I would try it from this angle.

Limo

Another day, another wedding at the Council House.

I'm always interested to see what vehicles turn up as wedding cars. The other week it was an old London bus, this time it is a 1969 Daimler DS420.

These have been standard vehicles for weddings, funerals and ambassadors for years. My dad actually drove one for his job when we lived in London during the 1970s.

You can just about make out the driver of this one relaxing in the back, while his clients are getting spliced.

Let Them Eat Cake

How's this for a wedding cake?  Well I don't think it was the official wedding cake, although they didn't have one. But it does look delicious.

Gail and I attended a friends wedding the other day, and this chocolate wonder was one of the cakes on offer. There was also the other one behind it and a whole load of cupcakes.

A great and very tasty selection of goodies, and definitely not one for those who are watching their weight!

Up Town, Top Rankin

Gail and I have had a very busy day today, but not doing our usual jobs.

Firstly some friends of ours asked us to shoot their wedding. This took place at the Council House, in one of the rooms that the councillors use for meetings. It went well, then it was off to a local pub for some refreshments.

We then had to break off to drive to St Anns where we were hopefully going to meet the famous celebrity photographer Rankin. He was there to take photos of gardeners at this big allotment site that is the oldest in England, if not Europe, as part of the Museums at Night festival.

Some months ago people were asked to vote in a competition for which place Rankin should visit. Fortunately Nottingham won. And so him, a team of helpers and a TV crew all descended on this quiet oasis in the middle of a busy city and about twenty gardeners were photographed, and the shots were then printed and displayed in an awning for everyone to see.

All the visitors had timed slots, and ours was at 7.30. There was still lots of people milling around. I noticed that there was a queue, and there he was, signing autographs and having his photo taken. We joined the queue and took each others photos posing with him and had a little chat.  We then went to have a look around the vast green space, with all the different sized sheds and high hedging. As St Anns is on a hill, we got a good view of the surrounding area as well. We then went back to the wedding celebrations and I took some more photos, while Gail looked after our pop up photo booth.

A Nice Day For A White Wedding

There was a wedding yesterday at Beeston's main church.

Due to the never-ending tramworks, the wedding convoy had to use the side entrance and walk all the way round to the front of the church.

The bride & bridesmaids arrived in some super old Rolls Royces. Phantom IIIs from the 1930s.

It was lovely and sunny for them. I just hope the noise of the workmen wasn't too distracting for when they said "I do".

Wedding Belles

Gail & I are off to Birmingham for a bit of a weekend away. Well we won't be getting much further than the NEC, as we are are going to two shows there; the Wedding Show & The Photography Show.

Gail fancied having a look around. Not because she wants to get married again, but because a niece of hers is getting married sometime in the near future, and she has offered to give her some ideas.

So we went trawling around the different stalls that were selling all sorts of wedding gear, from invitations to venues. There was of course loads of wedding dresses on sale, and the highlight for me was the half hour catwalk show. So for thirty minutes I could pretend to be one of the photographers at say London Fashion week. Just a few seconds to try and bag the winning shot of each costume.

The official show photographer had of course nabbed the best spot; right in front of the end of the runway, so I stood a few feet away at the side of him. Not such a good spot for close-ups, as I kept getting the lights in the shot, but I'm pleased with this one, and don't think that it would look too out of place in the pages of fashion magazines.

Love Is Sweet

Another shot from yesterday's wedding.

I really liked this idea of a 'pick n mix' sweetie corner. There were quite a few different sweets on offer. I had a couple of marshmallows, some liquorice allsorts and the very moreish Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Yum yum.

With Rings On Their Fingers, They Shall Have Love Wherever They Go

We've just come back from shooting a lovely wedding today in a great setting. Our first one of the year. A very relaxed, and fun affair, and during which we met some very nice people.

A shame that the weather wasn't too kind to the happy couple. Overcast with showers on and off all day, so we didn't manage to take as many shots outside as we would have liked.

Here's a shot of the new Mr & Mrs, holding hands just after they had signed the marriage register.

Minor Miracle

The was a wedding in Beeston this morning at the main church. I popped along to see what wedding car they would be using. If I was a female photographer, then I would probably be more interested in the wedding dress and the clothes of the guests, than the vehicles.

It was a surprise to see an old Morris Minor, or Moggy Minor from the 1950s as they are affectionally known.  And a cabriolet version too. Although it was a little cold to have the top down.

Due to all the roadworks etc that are going on in the area, it was difficult to try and get a good shot without poles, fencing, traffic cones etc getting in the way.

Getting Hitched

After a very busy day yesterday shooting for Oxjam, it seems that I, and Gail this time are going to be very busy with our cameras at a lavish Asian wedding at a nearby hotel.

Fortunately we have enough memory cards and batteries, so we just grabbed our gear and went. The hotel isn't too far from where we live, so we were soon there and having a look around.

Were weren't going to shoot the official photographs, as they are taken in the more traditional way, while we had been asked to take lots of candid shots of the guests talking to each other, or children playing. Anything really, taken through a Western eye.

It was a very exciting, interesting and tiring day. A lot, lot different to a European wedding. A couple of thousand shots between us, so a lot of editing to be done before I can send them to the happy couple.

As it was a private ceremony I'm discrete enough not to share any of the photos with you, but I'm sure the bride and groom won't mind me posting this; a chocolate reminder of the happy day.

Sweet Success

Another private pre-wedding shoot tonight. An Asian one too, so it was very colourful.

Near the end of the night everyone was given a bag of sugar in a small paper carrier bag. It was explained to me the significance of the sugar. Apparently a long time ago in India sugar was a commodity that only rich people could afford, so people did what they could to give sugar as a gift to bring the newly married couple good luck.

Nowadays you can buy a bag of sugar very cheaply. But the tradition lives on.

The Flying Lady

I came across a 'fake' Rolls Royce and Bentley wedding cars the other day, that were parked outside Beeston's church.

Chatting to one of the chauffeurs, he said that one was built on a Ford chassis, while the other had been constructed around a London taxi.

There haven't been that many weddings at the church this year, possibly due to the tramworks that are going on at present.

The route of the tram is going right past the church, so scenes like this one of wedding vehicles waiting for the new Mr and Mrs are sadly numbered, as I think they are actually metaphysically parked on a tramline.

Bikes And Beetles

Besides the Milk Race, something else that's white was going on in the Old Market Square. A wedding no less, which took place at the Council House, as they are now registered for such ceremonies.

This Volkswagen looks quite wonderful as a wedding car. Fortunately they resisted the temptation of sticking (53) on the doors, which I think everyone knows is Herbie's number.

You can't see them that well, but I was surprised to see Tim & Sally there. They play the official Robin Hood and Maid Marian at events. But instead of being in Lincoln Green, Tim was in his best suit, as it was actually his brother that was getting married.

Wedded Bliss

It was an early start for Gail and I this morning, as we were off to shoot a wedding. Not just any old wedding, but one where there would be another eight photographers doing the same thing.

But it wasn't a society or show business wedding. No it was actually a day's tutorial with practical experience on how to shoot weddings. As although we have shot two weddings so far, we don't feel that we have got the hang of doing them yet.

It was a good day on the whole, and the two models that were hired to be the 'bride and groom' worked tirelessly through the day and kept their smiles going, when even real newly weds may want to stop and go for a beer instead. Michael Lau the tutor was very good. We have been to a few of his studio based classes and always found them useful and interesting.

Here's one of the many shots of Hannah and Neil that I took through the day. The weather was kind to us too. Although the constant changing light played havoc with our settings.

On The Buses

I don't know, you wait for ages for a London bus to appear and then two turn up at the same time.

Only, I didn't take this picture in London, but this morning in Beeston.

They were being used as transport for guests at a wedding that had just taken place at the local church.

The bride and groom left in a more traditional mode of transport. Namely this rather grand Rolls Royce Tourer from the 1930s.