Tag: church

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A Wedding Photography Bonanza!

To complete a trio of consecutive wedding-related posts, here’s one about my latest wedding adventure… The Rob Pugh Wedding Photography Bonanza!

I first met Rob back at the Gadget Show 2014 when we were both running Olympus cameras.  Since then we’ve both moved onto the Sony platform, but that’s a story for another day…  I did a photo walk around Bristol with Rob later in 2014, where I learned ways to set the camera up in the most efficient way using quick access buttons.

The Wedding Photography Bonanza workshop was a three day event to learn all about the wedding photography business.  From running a business, workflows for editing, albums and printing, lighting, and of course some shooting practice. Again Rob’s expertise in efficiencies shone through.

I learned so much, and realised the stark difference between a serious hobbyist like me who does the odd paid wedding or shoot, and a full-time pro who’s invested the time to get all their processes the most efficient and effective way they can be.  A good example of this is photo editing…  For Silvia and Dave’s wedding I spent around 40 hours editing the photos, whereas Rob would have spent less than six.  Using presets he’s built in Capture One his editing is so fast, and the results so good, he has more time for other income-generating work. 

A few other bits I learned were…  Using Rotolight kits to light brides and grooms and using the clever adjustable colour temperature to match other light sources and make the light look so natural (many of the photos below used Rotolight Neo 2 and Aeos lights).  Using Shootproof to build photo galleries for happy couples with print fulfillment using Loxley Colour.  And using Fundy Designer to design albums, again with print fulfillment by Loxley.

The day I enjoyed the most was shooting with three models, Sorcha, Jessica, and Marc, in wedding clothes.  We did shoots in a church, on the street (with lots of bemused looks from passers by), in a park, and in the hotel where we set up for the three days.  The models were all great, even with a chilly wind blowing outside, and assisted by make up artist Katie. 

These are some of the best photos I’ve ever taken, and it’s spurred me on to think about doing more photos of people with some proper lighting, and maybe more weddings too. In fact, after posting a few photos from the day I had a wedding photography enquiry! With The Photography Show coming up next month I’ll definitely be looking out for Rotolight and Capture One deals.

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A Wet and Windy Weekend in Wales

Just back from a wet and windy weekend in Wales, I thought I’d quickly share just ten photos from the trip (yes I know I’ve a huge backlog of Canada photos to share… all in good time!).  

I’ve been to south Wales a few times in autumn and winter but it’s the first time the weather has been quite so bad.  Rainstorms and gusty winds overnight meant some missed sleep, but luckily the worst of the daytime weather came when I was under cover.  

Saturday morning was rained out, and Plantasia in Swansea offered a watertight glass dome filled with plants and animals.  As the weather brightened up a lunchtime trip to Verdi’s Cafe in Mumbles gave the opportunity for views across Swansea Bay.  Being close to 5th November there were lots of fireworks to choose from in the area, and seeing a bonfire and fireworks in the shadow of Coity Castle was a treat.  

On Sunday a trip to the Cats Protection Bridgend Adoption Centre left me feeling a little sad that there were so many cats waiting to be adopted.  But I was perked up by a visit to St Fagans, and all the dark clouds didn’t lead to a drenching.  This was my second visit to the museum, which is a huge site with various buildings from all over Wales.  The buildings are dismantled brick-by-brick and rebuilt at St Fagans.  The St Teilo’s Church, for example, took twenty years to dismantle and move.  Autumn is a great time to visit and see all the buildings set amongst the colourful trees.

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The Christening of Gregory

A couple of months ago I was invited to photograph the christening of a little chap called Gregory.

It was the first christening I’d been to, so wasn’t too sure what to expect.  Most of the photos were taken with the 25mm f1.8 prime lens to get as much out of the light as possible as the environment was quite dark.

For me, photographing events like this are not just about documenting the day but also capturing people’s emotions.  Sometimes this is best done from a distance with a long zoom lens so you’re not interrupting the goings on.

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Views of Liverpool

On my recent trip to Liverpool I deliberately avoided anything to do with football or The Beatles – both pull in the tourists, but neither were of interest me on my adventures around the the city.  

Maybe Liverpool should spend more time shouting about its amazing views and stunning architecture and move on from bragging about a band which broke up back in 1970…

What makes for great photos in Liverpool is the mixture of old and new architecture.  Liverpudlians seem uncomfortable with the modernity of some of the buildings…  C’mon Liverpool, it’s time to embrace them!  Both the old and new can exist side-by-side in the beauty of their contrast.

I was lucky with the weather, and the blue skies were a real treat for March.

This is the third of three posts about my recent trip to Liverpool – here you can see the previous posts about Shiverpool and the Cathedrals.

For anyone thinking of visiting Liverpool here’s a few links for things to do and see that I’d recommend… Shiverpool, Albert Dock, The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, Liverpool Cathedral Tower, City Explorer Bus Tour, The Mersey Ferry (see here for a money saving ticket for the Cathedral, bus tour, and ferry) , Antony Gormley’s installation in Crosby, Mowgli restaurant, Bold Street Coffee, St Luke’s Church. 

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The Cathedrals of Liverpool

One of the things I didn’t realise about Liverpool before going there was that it has not one, but two cathedrals.  

There’s the modern Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King at one end of the aptly named Hope Street, known locally as Paddy’s Wigwam or the Mersey Funnel.  This cathedral is also rare in that it has a car park built underneath it, very convenient for worshippers.  You’ll find a couple of photos of this cathedral below in which you’ll see its unique style.

At the other end of Hope Street, there’s the more traditional Liverpool Cathedral which is the fifth largest cathedral in the world.  It was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, famous for designing the iconic red telephone box (you’ll even find one inside the cathedral!).

One of the highlights of my weekend was a trip to the top of the tower at the Liverpool Cathedral.  Public access to such vantage points are rare, so for a small fee I took the two separate lifts and climbed the 108 stairs to the top. It’s not for the less-abled or anyone scared of heights!  But the views are spectacular, as you’ll see below.  I’d love to return to do one of the Twilight Tower events – sunsets from the tower must be incredible.

Both of the cathedrals are so unique that they really add to the character of the Liverpool skyline.

This is the second of three posts about a recent trip to Liverpool – you can see the previous post about Shiverpool here.