A few years ago, I needed to repaint the exterior of the bathroom window frame, so with my partner keeping her hands on the bottom of the ladder, I ascended and began rubbing down the woodwork ….. and shaking so much because I really don’t like heights! Eventually she’d had enough of feeling the ladder shaking, that she made me come down and we swapped places.

So that gives you some perspective on my life long desire to try climbing! I’ve always loved the outdoors, and the wilderness, and while I wouldn’t consider myself the fittest person around, have always loved that feeling of achievement when you get back after a long day on the fells or the moors, or in this case the mountains, and can feel in your limbs that wonderful sensation of having worked them hard.

And, hitting a certain age, instead of getting a sports car, I’m increasingly finding myself trying out new things, pushing those personal boundaries, and getting outside of my comfort zone. And that means getting somewhere a bit more wild than the New Forest!

So given my opening paragraph, abseiling one hundred feet down the side of Avon Gorge was a huge challenge when I did it for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Terrified at the bottom, looking up to where I was going to go, and terrified at the top about to step backwards over the edge of the cliff, but totally exhilarated when I was at the bottom – my immediate desire was to go back up and do it all over again!

So the prospect of an ice climb, which was offered as an option by Undiscovered Alps when I booked a snowshoeing trip with them, was irresistible!

Philippe, our wonderful guide for our snowshoe walks, was also to be my instructor for the climb, and his calm and reassuring manner was very welcome as we approached the stunningly beautiful frozen waterfall. Philippe scampered up the surface of the waterfall, placing screws and attaching rope at various intervals, and generally made it look so easy.

And then it was my turn! Having been fully instructed in how to use the carabiners, and the ice axes, and the crampons, I started and initially found it surprisingly easy. However, it wasn’t very long until, despite having tried to find a suitable route, I felt stuck, and absolutely not at all sure which way to go, and also amazingly tired; so quickly. Despite Philippe’s shouts of encouragement and instruction, feeling deflated, I came down, not at all sure whether a) I was enjoying myself, or b) if I’d ever try to climb again!!

But after a five minute rest, I got up, started again, and apparently, in the words of those watching, pretty much scampered up to and over the point that had defeated me just a few minutes earlier, and continued to climb, finding places to secure that ice pick, and kicking hard with my feet to get the grip needed to push myself up and onward.

There were difficult sections, some vertical faces proved particularly challenging, especially as the climb progressed and fatigue began to set in. While not thinking of myself as wonderfully fit, I am reasonably so, and was surprised and shocked at how tired I did become during the climb. At one point, once again, I felt stuck, and couldn’t find a way, nor down, and indeed at that point did want to come down again. But wonderful Philippe suddenly stopped understanding English at that point, and simply continued to say “Up, Jerry, up …. Good ….. zats good …… yes, with your hand ….. yes, yes, yes with your foot”.

Glancing down, everyone seemed far away, and I pushed onward and upward, working through the fatigue until at last I was standing at the top!! So marvellous! So wonderful! And such a sense of personal achievement for one who quakes standing on top of a ladder painting the bathroom window frame!

Well, having got up there, it was now time to get down, and while I wasn’t especially graceful or elegant, an abseil controlled by Philippe got me down to the bottom again quite quickly, with a chance to appreciate the beauty of the ice formations as I descended.

So my first ever climb!

Did I enjoy it? Yes, absolutely.

Was it as I expected? That’s a hard one, as having never climbed, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve seen lots of images of climbing, and videos, and it looks beautiful, and exciting, and challenging. And indeed it was all of those things. It was certainly tougher and harder than I thought it would be and I think it was probably, in physical terns, one the toughest things I’ve ever attempted. The emotional challenge was strong too, coping with the height, and the test of endurance.

Was I exhausted? Totally but in that very good way.

And will I do it again? Yes, I want to do it again. In fact one of the first things I did when I got back home was to track down a local climbing wall, to learn some technique, only to discover that it was about to close for 18 months as part of a major gym refurbishment!

And did I enjoy a beer when I got back to the Auberge? You bet!

You can see more pictures right here!

Tags: Dorset Wedding Photographer, ice climb, New Forest, snowshoeing, The Alps

Steampunks – I just absolutely love the way these guys dress!! A splendid Victorian elegance, combined with H G Wellsian science fiction themes, a dash of the Jules Verne, a hint of the Gothic! Magical! And if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about, check out this Wiki page to find out more. And having admired them from afar at events like The Grand Grotesque Parade at last year’s Arts by the Sea festival in Bournemouth, I recently got the chance to get better aquainted.

As part of my ongoing Obsessions adventure (check out the blog post earlier), I put out a casting call with The Leagure of Bournemouth Steampunks  for some shoots, expected to set up three, maybe four to respond!

Given their extravert nature, I was widely underestimating the response and in the end decided to make the event a group shoot inviting my fellow pro photographers Mark Cornwell of Cornwell Photography and Ross Alexander of Moment Photography to come down to Christchurch in Dorset for a shoot using the wonderful old Norman House and the Perkin’s Mausoleum as our backdrops. We had intended to wander further around the town but we got so carried away at these two locations ….

This was part of a bigger day, a chance to get together, and have some fun, see each other working, posing and lighting individuals and couples and groups, all part of our ongoing professional development, seeking to become better photographers and give our clients even better work, and even to get well out of our comfort zone and get the side of the lens! That was fabulous and we’ve all come away with new profile pics for our websites and Facebook pages.

But back to the Steampunks …. first to arrive was the inestimable David Wilson looking respendent in top hat, with the most marvellous cravat and waistcoat. Soon followed by the admriably restrained and really under-accessorised Jane, wearing many spendid things, not least the most marvelous hat which she’d created just the night before, I believe. Not to be outdone, Devilyn and Gambit, Devilyn’s flambouyant red adding a splash of dramtic colour; add to this wonderful mix the beautiful Grace, elegant and flame haired, and last but by no means least Paul and Lisa.

It was great to see some fellow photographers in action, seeing them do things in just slightly different ways, sometimes in ways that worked better, sometimes not, and totally reassurring to see one of them struggle as much with controlling his off-camera flashguns as I do!

Enjoy the pictures; we enjoyed creating them, and the Steampunks definately enjoyed posing for them! And I would just love to do a Steampunk wedding!

Tags: art photography, Arts By The Sea Festival, Castle wedding, Dorset Portrait Photography, Grand Grotesque Parade, off camera flash, professional development, steampunk

 
My next Family Portrait Photography Day will be on Saturday 17th March, at Bisterne Village Hall, just beyond Sopley, Winkton and Avon, a few miles north of Christchurch! Easy to get to from Bournemouth, Christchurch, Highcliffe and Ringwood, and I will send you full directions of how to find this family portrait photography event.

If you haven’t heard about these family photography sessions before, they offer you the chance to get some gorgeous portraits of your family at remarkably good value prices.

Each session lasts 30 minutes and that is plenty of time to photograph your family group, as a whole, assuming you want to be in the pictures too, and in every combination possible!

The emphasis is very definately on fun and laughter and smiles and brilliant photographs!! I’ve had such lovely comments after these events: I remember Carol’s boys saying what a good time they’d had, better than they thought!

A booking fee of just £25 secures your session, and if you place your order within 14 days of your images going online, you can redeem your booking fee against your order!

And if you place your order within 48 hours of your images going live, you can claim a further 10% discount too!

I usually have a white backdrop set up, for those bright funky modern portraits, and a black one too, and this time I’ll probably have third set too!

These are the times available;

10 00 -
10 30 – taken
11 00 – taken
11 30 – taken
12 00 – taken

13 00 -
13 30 -
14 00 -
14 30 – taken

15 15 – taken
15 45 – taken
16 15 – taken

And if you want to see just the kind of image you can expect, have a look here!

Contact me as soon as possible to reserve your session – they do go fast!

T&Cs apply

Tags: child photography, Dorset Portrait Photography, Family Portrait photography, Family Portraits, fun photography, New Forest

I am really pleased to be taking part in the Highcliffe Castle Wedding Fair on 18th March this year! If you’ve got a wedding booked at Highcliffe Castle for this year or next, come along and say hello! I’ll have lots of lovely albums for you to see ….. Check the details here. And if you’ve got a wedding booked elsewhere, come along anyway; there’ll be lots of lovely wedding suppliers to talk to! And as well as being at the Highcliffe Castle Wedding Fair, I was delighted to be chosen as one of just three photographers for their beautiful new brochure, due out very soon. This will actually be my very first wedding fair – in all my eleven years as a wedding photographer, I’ve never done one, and thought it was about time!

Highcliffe Castle is one of my most favourite wedding venues in Dorset and The New Forest, handy for people travelling from Bournemouth and Poole as well as further afield.

One of the things I most love about Highcliffe Castle weddings is the proximity of the beach – just a short walk down the zig zag path, and you’re there – a fabulous setting for beautiful wedding on the beach pictures! If you do want to go to the beach, and I really hope you do, you could always have a spare of shoes handy, if you didn’t want to wear your beautiful wedding shoes on the sand! But there are so many lovely spots for pictures at Highcliffe Castle, and another favourite is that big beautiful totally gorgeous front door!

If you are having your reception at Highcliffe Castle, that’s great – the caterers linked with Highcliffe include Merlins and Beales, both of whom are fantastic! If not, why not look at The Lord Bute, and there too you will not be disappointed, by the food nor the hotel, and the service you’ll get is superb!

Have a look at Highcliffe Castle’s website, and if you want to see more of my work at Highcliffe, you can do right here.

I’ll also be at Highcliffe Castle later in the year, in a shared exhibiton with some other local photographers – look out for Exposure 3! More details to follow, and if you want to be kept informed about forthcoming exhibitions (I’ve got three this year!) and other events, do sign up for my email newsletter – don’t worry, I won’t constantly spam you – if you get one newsletter a month, I’m doing well! And I have four pairs of complimentary tickets up for grabs – email me with your name, address, and wedding details!

Tags: beach, Bournemouth wedding, Castle wedding, Christchurch wedding, Highcliffe Castle, New Forest, The Lord Bute, volkswagen, wedding photographers

Based in Christchurch, wedding and portrait photography I also covers many day nurseries and playgroups in Bournemouth, Christchurch, Ringwood and elsewhere in Dorset and The New Forest.

I love visiting the nurseries! I usually have two sessions each year, one in the spring, and another in the autumn, and love getting to know the children over the years they spend there! So sad when they leave and go to big school.

The old days of one pose in a boring brown strut mount have long since gone – today’s proof cards have four poses, and you can go online to see more, and choose from such a wide range of products – mounted prints, unmounted, keyrings, mugs, T-shirts, teddy bears, canvas wraps – all sorts of things!

A while ago, I reached the limit if what I could do, solely by myself; I photographed the children, edited the images, printed the proof cards, bagged and labelled them with the order forms and pricelsts, created the online albums, collected the orders, send the files off, put all the prints in the mounts, bagged, labelled and delivered them back to the nursery – phew!

Which was when I sought alternative solutions, and after looking at many different companies, decided that Dunns Imaging offered the solution that came closest to what I wanted – multi-pose proof cards, and online previews and online ordering, and they put all the packs together, put the pictures in the mounts, and package everything! Leaving me free to do what I love – create gorgeous images!  

But the Dunns solution wasn’t ideal – simply the best I could find at the time. The ordering was system was rather clunky (good technical term) and not at all intuitive – to see a larger image, you had to select a product, drag the image onto it, click it, click something else, and you could see a larger but still unrepresentatively fuzzy version. And it was slow.

Well, last week, I had the honour of becoming only the second photographer in the whole of the UK to have a sneaky little look at what they are going to be doing in the spring. The website that you, the parent, sees is being completely overhauled and all the issues I had with the old system have been addressed and more besides – it’ll be far more intuitive, much easier to use, clearer, quicker AND it will work on your iPad, iPhone, and all other smart phones and tablets – really excited about it, and it will be live in time for the spring photoshoots!

Also coming in the spring are some lovely new very funky backdrops – it’s time for a change from white!

I would like to take on another two good nurseries – so if you are a nursery owner or manager and are looking for a different photographer – call or email now!

Tags: bournmouth photographer, child photography, Dorset, funky backdrops, New Forest, playgroups, professional nursery photographs

I’ve got a shared show coming up next year, and it will be themed around portraits, and this seems like the perfect opportunity to revisit my Obsessions art photography project!

I’ve always had the intention to revisit this portrait project, started way back in 2008. The concept is to photograph people in a context that reflects their passion, their lifetsyle, the love of their life, enjoying their hobby, the thing that gets them through the working week! I met some amazing people doing this project, inclduing a beautiful belly dancer, the barbed wire collector (probably the only one in the UK!), the bell ringers of Christchurch Priory and many more. Space was limited at The Red House Museum in Christchurch where the exhibition was held, but it made for a lovely small exhibition.

The subjects were invited, or responded to some of the publicity that the exhibition generated, and I am inviting you to respond now – get in touch and tell me about your passion!

Tags: art photography, Christchurch portrait photographer, Dorset Portrait Photography, portrait exhibition

 This new venture, rumoured last year, is coming true! You’ll be able to get married on the beach in Bournemouth!

Melanie Kiani, from Bellissimo Wedding Planners, which will organise the services, said: “We are very confident that no-one in the UK has done this.”

And I look forward to seeing many happy brides enjoying the beautiful sunshine, and getting some stunning pictures for them!

Tags: beach, Bournemouth, Bournemouth wedding, wedding photographers, weddings

Parley Manor Wedding Photographs

I’m really looking forward to this weekend when I get to meet all the lovely brides and grooms who have booked Parley Manor, near Bournemouth, as their wedding venue for 2012.

It’s usually an extremely busy day, and I hope this year will be just the same, despite the quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup being on – the England match is nice and early and won’t clash!

Parley Manor is such a gorgeous venue for your wedding, and the opportunites for beautiful wedding photography are wonderful – so many different locations, so close to each other, and the chance to get fabulous pictures without taking the bride and groom away from their guests for hours!

Catering at Parley Manor weddings is taken care of by the fantastic team from Merlins Catering, who are also available for other venues in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, as well as further afield such as Birkin House near Dorchester.

Tags: Birkin House, Bournemouth, Merlins, Parley Manor, photographer, photography, wedding photographers, weddings

One event in the Arts By The Sea Festival, taking place now in Bournemouth, until 15th October, that I really wanted to see was the Grand Grotesque Parade. In fact, I was even considering taking part but couldn’t find anyone to do so with! It was intended to be a recreation of an event that took plac in Bournemouth way back in Edwadian times, in 1910. There’s little documentary evidence remaining it seems beyond some postcards, but the original event seems to have been politically inspired … and somehow that seems very appropriate for the times we are lving in now.

Some postcards recently unearthed show some characters from the 1910 parade wearing hats labelled Labour Exchange, Licensing Bill and Old Age Pension – how little the times change!

The 2011 Parade looked fabulously as it passed in front of the carousel on the Pier Approach in Bournemouth, giving the opportunity for some dramatic photographs, and then passed into the Lower Gardens. I deliberately shot without flash, wanting to work with the available light and atmosphere; as the light levels fell, I had to push the camera harder and harder, and ended up shooting at an amzing 6400 ISO, with some brilliant results – that’s a why we spend so much money on cameras like the Nikon D3 and fast f2.8 lenses.

Under the direction of Ali Sharpe, a choir chanted and enchanted as the Parade made it’s stately progess through the Gardens, past the Bandstand where later in the evening a wonderful Paper Cinema would be produced. And the local Bournemouth League of Steampunks (just love their style!!) added another theme to the Parade.

The Festival has been very good, and I’d suggest has brought to Bournemouth the kind of things we’d usually associate with more avant garde places such as Brighton – more please! The Electric Theatre at The Pavilion on Friday and Saturday was stunning, and the events in the Gardens through that weekend were exhilarating.

The Festival continues until the 15th October, and would hope that this is just the first one!

Tags: Arts By The Sea Festival, Bournemouth, Grand Grotesque Parade, photography, steampunk

Remember Thursday 18th August, the day of the flash floods in Bournemouth, Dorset?

Well, in amongst everything that was going on that day, weddings were still taking place, and wedding photographers had to get the pictures!

I was fortunate NOT to be photographing a Bournemouth wedding that day but instead was in The New Forest, at the lovely Careys Manor.

Sam and Chris were getting married there, that day, and remembered planning their wedding back in the dark cold days of winter, looking forward to a lovely August day, with the sun shining, and everyone relaxing in the lovely gardens at Careys Manor ….. English weather!

Sam and Chris’s ceremony was at the hotel, as was the reception, so at least they were there, but so many of the guests, including Chris the groom’s parents, were getting held up by the floods and the road closures and the general chaos in Bournemouth that it was decided to delay the ceremony, to give everyone as much time as possible. The lovely registrars were able to wait an extra half an hour which proved long enough for the groom’s parents to arrive. and most of the other delayed guests.

Sam was fabulous – a lot of brides would have been distraught at such a turn of events, but she was lovely and just got on with the day, enjoying making her vows with Chris, and enjoying the Absolute Fun Casino in the evening!

Did you spot the table ident with the story about Sam catching the bouquet at her sister’s wedding, at Parley Manor - well I was there for that too!

Tags: Absolute Fun Casino, Bournemouth, Bournemouth wedding, Careys Manor, Dorset, New Forest, Parley Manor, wedding photographers, weddings