Chris and Laura got married at the end of May at Lane End Conference centre, near Stokenchurch. I’d met them about 6 months previously at the venue to discuss their requirements and see the site. Their intention was to get married outside (well in a gazebo, since the law in the UK requires weddings to take place in a structure) with the indoor venue being available as a backup plan in the event of poor weather.

Meeting the photographer before a wedding is important to ensure that you like your photographer, and for the photographer to be sure he likes you. Chris and Laura are friends of my sister-in-law, and as she observed in a mildly drunk state at the wedding, “nobody can not like Laura, she’s lovely”. Chris and Laura are both exceptionally friendly and easy going, so it was a pleasure to do their photography.

They had hired an awesome vehicle for Laura’s wedding transport to the wedding – one of the oldest, if not the oldest, VW camper van in the UK. It made my MGB that I was travelling look quite modern. The chauffer and I shared one concern – the heavy rain. For me, it meant limited visibility while driving as my windscreen wipers are rubbish. For him, it meant polishing the white exterior every time he stopped.

Did I mention the outdoor wedding plan? With about an hour to go to the wedding, the sun started breaking through and Chris and Laura (by phone) made the brave decision to go ahead with the outdoor plan, knowing that once the wedding started their was no relocating for them (although their guests would have been free to run away to shelter.) The decision paid off, and it was glorious weather. Perhaps a bit too nice really. Every photographer would prefer an overcast day – it makes for better portraits as their are less strong shadows.

Talking of portaits, Chris and Laura had a very relaxed time table to their wedding day. This meant that there was space, on their request, for us to wander a bit away from the guests to do some more interesting portraits of them as a couple. I’m not one to impose in this way, so make it clear to the couple that if that is what they want then they need to request it. Consequently, it doesn’t normally find its way into the day. As a photographer, it was fantastic to have this opportunity to spend some time getting the couple some lovely portraits, and I hope for them it was a chance to have a break from the hubub of the day. I have seen at wedding the photographer drag the couple away for such shots. As this was after the ceremony, Laura was also more relaxed about her dress, which opened up the opportunity for some fun shots.

Chris and Laura’s wedding was my first wedding working with a second photographer. I always offer a second photographer services, as it has a number of benefits; Their is someone to cover the groom getting ready while I photograph the bride’s preparations, I don’t need to rush to the venue much ahead of the bride to get shot of the groom waiting, someone can focus on mother’s reactions during the wedding without the main action being missed etc. I’ve not had anyone decide that these benefits are worth the extra I would have to charge for the service, but it’s there as a possibility.

On this occasion, Chris and Laura had a friend, Marisa, who was a keen photographer and had asked to be involved. After a few initial emails to estabilish the ground rules to the working relationship, I was happy that we could work together. If I was being paid for the second photographer, I would use an assistant who I had worked with previously, but on this occasion Marisa was unpaid and doing the photography as their friend. This meant I wasn’t in a position to fully trust her with the important shots, but at the same time it was nice to have someone to work with to improve the level of photographic coverage.

On of Marisa's

What I learnt from the experience is that it is very useful having a second photographer. Marisa got some great shots that I would have been able to do while I focused on my main photographic duties. Its very hard to credit her individually for her shots, but many have been included in the final selection. Most importantly, I’ve learnt that synchronising camera clocks prior to the event would make editing after the event a lot less painful!

Recently (by that I mean several months ago) I did a family photo shoot for a family we know through our church. Their kids are about the same age as mine, and rather than leave my wife at home with the kids, it was decided (by our friends) that we’d make an afternoon of it.  I’d set up the studio at their house while the kids played together, then they could have their photoshoot, and finally we could all have tea together.

It was chaos. Six children in a studio. My kids wanting to be in the photos when they shouldn’t. One or other of their kids not wanting to be in the photos when they should. Toys and brightly coloured balls everywhere. My kids wanting to operate the camera. Their kids wanting to operate the camera. Definitely not the path to a smooth family photo session. But it was a great deal of fun!

At the end of the day we got some cute photos of our kids, and most importantly Chrissy and Stephen got the photos of their family that they wanted.

Life seems a little bit hecktic sometimes, and when I have lots on I try to prioritise. Blogging isn’t ever one of the high priorities. I did an engagement photoshoot for Lizzie and Yang back in March (hence the daffodils in the pic). Only now (June) have I found time to blog about the photo shoot.

I met Lizzie and Yang through doing Merton Ball in November. From there experience at the ball, they decided they would like an engagement photo shoot. Merton means a lot to them as a couple, and I was pleased to be able to go back there once again.

The gardens in Merton are always lovely and look particularly nice when the flowers are out in the spring. So we started the session in the garden, before taking a short tour of the college to capture photos with them in locations that mean something to them; the old library where they got engaged and the chapel where they are to get married. Despite being at Merton for 8 years, the occasion provided only my second ever visit to the old library.

Alas, with the time that has pasted since the photo shoot, I’ve mostly forgotten about it, so I’ll stop here.

I’ve got a picture up in an exhibition in Oxford, starting in a few days time. The “press release” details are:

Made In Oxford

Photographic Exhibition by the Oxford Flickr Group
3rd – 31st October 2009 – free entry
(Opening night for press/exhibitors only 2nd October)
The Jam Factory, Holly Bush Row, Oxford, OX1 1HU (near main railway station)

The exhibition is the brainchild of a group of 30 local photographers who live, work and study in the Oxford area, most of whom had only met online before we decided to arrange this exhibition.

We’re here before term starts and we’re here when the tourists have jetted back to their own cities. And whilst it’s an outstandingly beautiful city to live in, it can get awfully boring photographing the Dreaming Spires again and again. So what we’ve set out to do is try and show you our Oxford instead. Every exhibitor has attached a little explanation to their photograph – what it is, why they took it. All the photos are geo-tagged and marked on the exhibition map so you can find out where we took them if you feel like exploring the city yourself.

Garrett Coakley, one of the organizers, said “It’s been an exciting challenge setting up an exhibition when most of the exhibitors have only ever communicated online – it just goes to show that when you have a internet-based community of like-minded individuals you can translate that into a real-world event. We’re looking forward to organising more events like this in the future.”

If you’re visiting Oxford and fancy taking away a slightly more interesting souvenir than the usual set of cheesy postcards and an Oxford University T-shirt then take a card, visit the website link , and purchase yourself a gorgeous shiny new book with all the exhibition photographs in. You can also purchase prints and books at the venue.

Pretty fun stuff. Do go and take a look if you get a chance (like if you happen to be in Oxford for a dedication service…)

I’m generally making the prints I sell at exhibitions as limited editions, but at the moment, that’s pretty much the only way I will sell them. So in the next few weeks (ok, that will probably mean months) I’ll add a new section to my website to make them more widely available – while still being very exclusive.

Brit and Chris got married at St Aloysius church in Oxford. This church has one of the most beautiful interiors in Oxford, and a Priest who was reasonably relaxed about photography during the service. The ceremony was followed by a reception at Somerville college. While the college isn’t completely unattractive, they did have a few achitectural disasters there in the 60′s which crept into the background of a few of the candid photos. The wedding breakfast itself was in the college hall, while the disco afterwards was in a marquee within the college groups.

The interior of St Aloysius

The day went very smoothly, and on time. Brit had everything planned amazingly well and is one of the most relax, yet organised, brides whose wedding I’ve had the privilege of photographing. At this wedding I also had the privilege of accompanying the mother-of-the-bride in the Rolls-Royce from where the Brit was getting ready (The Randolph Hotel, Oxford) to the church, not something the photographer would normally expect. The speeches were very entertaining, particularly the beginnings of a Manga comic about the groom that the best-man had commissioned. The remainder of the comic was going to be completed based on tales collated from the guests. A very novel and fun wedding gift.

I’m working on a community art project at the moment called the Oxford Photographic Grid. The aim is to photograph Oxford in a systematic way rather than focusing only on the tourist attractions. The basic idea is that a grid is overlaid on a map of Oxford, and then a single photo is taken at each node location on that grid. If you’re interested in finding out about this project, please visit the project website.

We are currently looking for Oxford-based photographers (both amateur and professional) to take part. If that’s you, please sign up on the project website.

Thanks to Matt Durber for creating the banner & logos for this project.

A few weeks back set up my portable studio at St Aldates Church, Oxford, for their toddler group. There are a range of kids there (including my own) from babies to just pre-school. Some were in the mood for photos, and others were not. There wasn’t much time with each child as there was limited time, and a lot of eager parents.  Consequently I wasn’t able to perserve with the kids not in the mood for photography.

The little chap above amused me, as I’m more used to photographing kids in DJs who are barely able to stand in the context of student balls. A few other children/parents made the effort to dress up for the shoot, while others preferred the more casual look. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a few more photos once I’ve got permission from the parents.

I guess I should thank my young assistant, Joanna, for helping out by; Running into the shot to hug whoever was being photographed, leaving breadcrumbs all over the backdrop, and sitting on her Daddy while he tried to photograph people. Perhaps one day I’ll get her to help…

I’ve got a feeling my blog posts are getting a bit like buses. I think that is because even if I have something to write about, finding time can be tough, and the blog is low on the priority list. But posting get bumped up the list a little when I have a back log like now.

A few weeks back, I did an engagement photoshoot for Paul and Serena. Paul is and old friend from undergraduate days, who like me still lives in Oxford. While they don’t want me to shoot their actual wedding…. in Thailand… I’ll be doing the photography for their wedding party back in the UK.  As part of my wedding package I offer a free engagement shoot when the wedding photography is booked.  I do this to give potential wedding couples a chance to decide whether they like my style and personality. Although Paul knows me already, he and Serena were happy to take me up on “free”.

The mutually convient time for the shoot ended up being in the middle of the afternoon on a very sunny day. That might seem like a good thing, but for portrait photos it isn’t. Despite seeking shade in Shotover woods it was still necessary to use flash to fill the shadows in their “panda eyes”. Serena also struggled with keeping her eyes open for photos, rather than squinting. Hopefully they enjoyed the shoot anyway.

St Hilda’s College ball was on Saturday 8th May. Photos from the ball can be seen in our client area. This Oxford college was the last single sex college, and started accepting men for the first time this year. Although that makes little difference to the ball night, since men attend as guests anyway.

This ball must have been the first that we have attended where we were not pushed for space in one way or another. The room had high ceilings and decent amount of floor space. Unfortunately for the us, we were at the far end of the college from the majority of the ball venues, and less people ventured that far away from the beer tent. I know of at least one person that was unable to find us during the ball. We weren’t completely out of it, as we were right next to outdoor cinema which was screening “Romeo and Juliet” repeatedly.  I guess it gets the couples feeling romantic before their photos are taken.

As a benefit of our location within the college, while setting up for the ball we were treated to a lovely sunset behind Magdelen College tower.

For this ball shoot aCoolDryPlace Photography was assisted by Kate of Paperleaf Studio, maker of handmade stationery

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I finally got around to getting off my first film from my medium format camera developed. The film was a black and white one which came “free” with the camera. I’d realised (even before I tried this film) that I’m not very good at visualising the world in black and white. When converting digital files  I need to give it a go to really appreciate what an image will look like in B&W. Unfortunately, there’s no such luxury with film so I tended to go for high contrast scenes this time around to be on the safe side.

I’ve learnt from playing this way, and now I’m looking forward to trying out the colour portrait film I have sat in the fridge.

Because this was an experiment really, I couldn’t bring myself to spend the £20 to get them properly scanned from the negatives, so I’ve scanned in the photos using my cheapy flatbed scanner at home. That has degraded the quality a bit compared to the prints.