Nazrana and Ayaz

Many congratulations to Nazrana and Ayaz on their wedding on Saturday 16th March 2013. The 3d Centre at Bolton was decorated beautifully and with the staff, food and overall atmosphere, it was truly an amazing place to be.

A sneak preview of some shots taken on the day :)

Nazrana and Ayaz' Wedding in Blackburn/Bolton.

Just finished shooting Nazrana and Ayaz's wedding in Bolton (Saturday) and Blackburn (Sunday). Felt very priviledged to have been asked to shoot this.

A fantastic day with some great shots. Used off-camera flash for the group shots and changed from my 24-70 2.8 to a wide 20mm several times to capture the wider ( larger ) group shots.

A henna evening on Thursday, John and Katherine's wedding ( beautiful wedding also and preview pictures to come ), Naz and Ayaz's on Saturday and Sunday. Alot of pictures to process but I'm absolutely sure it'll be worth it :)

The Year Ahead for 2013

Well, it's been a quiet few months but things are certainly going to be busy in the next few!

Firstly, I'll be moving ahead with the plans for several weddings and really taking some time to perfect some location and off-camera flash shots. I seem to have moved into a B+W landscape phase over November and December..maybe it's the weather but I need to snap back into focus with the portrait and ocf shots!

2013 is also a time for a total lens overhaul. With a 24-70 and 70-200 to buy in the following weeks, it's going to be rather expensive. The primes really don't cut it for any type of reportage photography and although I've really tried to like them, I just miss the practicality of the 24-70...( although not the weight! ).

It's also going to be a time for the Royal Photographic Society submission and prep for the LRPS. I want to really prepare for this properly and although it's only the first, I will be taking this very seriously and concentrating hard on getting this and further certificates! Oh, I'm now officially a member of the Royal Photographic Society (at long last) so yay me ;)

Have a great..no fantastic New Year .. and for anyone out there getting married or engaged this year, I wish you all the very best and utmost congratulations!

The photo above is of Marianne - we had a little play around on Silverdale Shore, Cumbria. I took 2 shots, both using a SB800 ( on a stand and using a diffuser) and merged them in Photoshop. I really wanted the 'Marianne in the distance' to be a bit ghostly, but it just comes across as overexposed..lol..well, we'll do some more in the coming weeks :)

Sunset and Family Shot!

The Solway Firth sunset - 20mm 2.8@ F/16 - ND grad filters and  a tad of exposure blending on the foreground.

Well, after ditching my 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 lens in favour of primes, I have to say I'm pretty impressed! The quality seems to be much better, and as I'm more concious that any cropping will reduce the quality, I take much more care with the framing and composition "in camera". I'm using  20mm 2.8,50mm and 85mm primes at the moment. I must admit I'm looking at the older 70-200 again..I just love this lens and it gives superb sunstars and isolation of the subject@200mm. We'll see ;)

After a couple of pretty unsuccessful countryside outings to find some great shots, I really need to make much more of an effort to be there either in the early AM or late PM.. although to do this in reality, is quite difficult to do! I've decided that organising and planning the week with consistent updates on the kitchen calendar is the way to do it. That way, even when you're having a poor day and would normally just crash after work, you can look forward to doing something a little more constructive when you get home (watching EastEnders ISN'T constructive!):p

Now..where did I put that pen?

A recent family group shot - Taken with my trusty 50mm 1.8@ f/8 -SB800 and SB600  to camera right providing the fill.

Going WIDE!

Going W I D E!

With all the portrait and group work I've done over the last year or so, I've decided to go out and use the British Summer ( delete all those images of rain, wind and hail..it's actually warm outside! ), to go out and take more pictures of the gorgeous countryside. The grass and trees are looking particularly good at this time of year, due to the heavy rainfall in the previous weeks.

I've had a recent shuffle of my lens collection and must now try to..develop ;) it again.. but only keeping to a very strict budget! :)

Colour /CS5/Photo/Backup/Client....Management!

Well, after reading "The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby, I definitely feel like a few rough edges in my knowledge database have been rounded off nicely. The book is pretty amazing and covers everything that you need to know about CS5. A great sense of humour and easy reading provides information that sticks and the fact that it covers all the practical stuff  means that it's a going to sit right next to your PC.
Well, I've had a week and a bit off work and have spent the last few weeks going over old photographs, realising that they were pretty dismal and correcting them accordingly. I've posted a few up on Flickr and FB.
I went back to an old picture of Marianne and redone it.
It seems that my interest in wedding photography is increasing and I'm probably looking to go full-time within the next few years.....once my business acumen is adequate ;)

Finding the Time!

Whilst I am no longer promoting myself as a professional photographer and doing any paid work, I am always open to any portraiture and wedding requests.

This year, I'll be concentrating on my own personal photographic projects..if and when I get the time! :)

I have learned so much taking family portraits, visiting events and birthday parties in the last few years, but alas..they don't pay well and there is no way that I could have any sort of regular wage coming in from them...in fact, they have cost me money from my own pocket on several recent shoots.

I am finally going to make a motivational burst to photograph a series of normal "non model" people in locations with off-camera lighting and utilising landscape techniques.

I will be posting on Facebook for any volunteers and will be looking to shoot throughout the year. Hopefully I'll manage to get a fair collection.

Until the next post then..have a fantastic Christmas and an inspirational New Year! :)

Simon