We had a fantastic day, and the fireworks at the end really were the icing on the cake. If you would like to see more shots head over to Louise & Geoff’s Wedding Website where friends and family can view the whole set, watch the slideshow and order prints. A massive thank you to Louise, Geoff, their friends and family as well as the lovely staff at the Hillbark Hotel

I only did the shooting, Cherylynn is doing all the editing, but I thought I would share a few images here. It was very interesting for me, having never met Anna & Gregor before. Luckily I did have time to visit the Church and venue a couple of days before. We soon got to know each other and ended up with the most fantastic weather.

St Giles Church at Skelton is lovely, made from the left over stone from York Minster, it was packed out with Anna & Gregor’s 89 guests.

Then onto Burn Hall, you wouldn’t have thought we’d be out on the lawn a few hours before this was taken!

I can tell you that these were proper Scotsmen, that’s not a pair of boxers, but the Scottish flag under Gregor’s kilt!

Off for some couple shots…

Burn Hall is one of those places I’d like to go back to, so many places to explore!

I always think it’s those in between moments that are best.

It was lovely to spend the day with Anna & Gregor. It was nice to help out another photographer, and quite the challenge to fill the boots. It was fun to do, and if it should ever happen to me I know there is a happy bunch of photographers out there willing to jump in and make sure no brides day is ruined, you all know who you are, you guys rule!!!

It was a typical Manchester summers day, grey but bright, and we set off in search. I like to use the couple of hours I have during these shoots to get to know the couples a little more, it helps us all relax with each other and I think get much better pictures on the day. I also like to show people that often the less they try the better the pictures will be, just relax and enjoy the moment. We all have a fear of photographers I think, just like dentists it;s something we pick up at school. I try not to be like the scary wedding photographer you hear about, I like to enjoy the day and become part of it.

We had a lovely time and I am really looking forward to their big day in the new year. Here is just a small selection of what we got…

It was our first time at the venue, and the weather wasn’t doing us any favours, it has been purpose built for weddings so there are still lots of opportunities for some great photos. Quite kindly a Tractor had been placed on the hill, which was a nice touch.

Here are just a few moments we captured during the day…

The Tree is an integral part of Heaton house Farm, the view from the new Bridal Suite as prime view of it and the Hills beyond.

A quiet word in the ear

The girls were collecting their own video diary of the evening, even in the rain!

If you would like to see a few more shots, you can watch Louise & Warren’s Wedding Slideshow…

A big thanks to Louise, Warren and all their fantastic guests for making us feel so welcome and sharing their big day with us. Also a big Thank You to the lovely people at Heaton House Farm for looking after us so well, we hope to see you soon

I loved the idea, and even as I was still watching the video I knew I had to try something similar myself. I already had the studio time and Mike, Stef, Cara and Lauren were all up for giving it a go. I’ve been using an LED Video Ring Light from eBay while working on VideoJunkie projects with Stef and thought that this could be a chance to use it in a new way with my spanking new iPhone 4. I also have the luxury of having a Profoto Proring available so I could shoot similar shots “with the proper gear” and see how they stack up.

On the left is the original iPhone image (just cropped a little) and on the right is the edited version, I’ve not done too much to these images, just basic Lightroom adjustments and a few tweaks in Photoshop.

This is one of my favourite shots out of the 80 or so we took. We only spent about 30 minutes on the day as we had other things we worked on, but I found shooting with the iPhone really easy, I was left wondering why I couldn’t do touch to focus on my 5D Mk II in video mode I have uploaded the full resolution untouched version of this picture, you can download it here. If you want to have a go at editing it yourself please feel free, post me back your images and I’ll put them up on here for all to see.

I found that sometimes the metering was a little slow in the uptake, but I like the effect that gave. Focus was very quick as Stef moved around. The images are lovely and sharp, I think I am right in saying the iPhone 4 is locked at f2.8 and doesn’t even have a traditional shutter mechanism, impressive stuff in such a tiny space.

So we moved on and shot with a similar setup but with Profoto gear and the 5D Mk II. I was using a fresnel lens off to one side as well as the ring. mainly at first for focus assist but I liked the effect so we kept it on. It was in place for the iPhone shots too, but the ring light is very bright even on it’s lowest setting so you don’t really see it as much.

So, can we all see the difference when shooting with the “proper gear” ??? Of course we can, I’d be bloody upset if I couldn’t !!! I don’t think I’ll be rushing out and shooting weddings with my iPhone, but it has been fun to see that you can get some amazing images from something you carry about in your pocket all the time. It has also taught me that I can manage with the gear I have, and no impressive purchase can hide the fact that it’s the concept, lighting and model that make the shot, not how much you paid for your gear. So I recommend that you get your camera phone or point and shoot out and give it a go.

Check out the video we shot for videojunkie.co.uk for all the low down…

For those of you interested in what I was doing with the iPad, I am using the WiFi grip for the 5D MkII to transfer the images to an app called ShutterSnitch. No other access point or PC/Mac is needed the file is transferred from the camera direct to the iPad, very cool! It’s something I’ll continue to use with commercial clients and kids photography, it worked flawlessly all day, the battery life on the iPad is immense. To edit the images on the day we used Photo fx Ultra, I can’t say I picked that for any other reason than it’s price point and the fact it was in the top ten when I was looking on the iPad apps store that day. It works really well for a quick and nasty edit.

I thought I’d share some more images taken during the day of Cara, quite new to modelling and certainly new to the Ring Flash, but I love the jumping shots we got…

So there you have it, our fun day in the studio. A massive thanks to the whole team, great effort guys

I used my day off yesterday to squeeze in a little bit more shooting for videojunkie.co.uk This time unfortunately without Stef on set with Kasiuss for their new Rock Video of their awesome track Wonders Prevail. They had an impressive crew and wanted to document the whole process, it was fantastic to be a part of it.

I know it’s going to be a few weeks before I get the chance to see the final video and edit together my Behind The Scenes, so here is a little preview to wet your whistle…

As this is something totally new to me, even though I’m only 2nd shooting I went to meet Charanjit & Sunny to discuss their wedding and go over some do’s and don’ts. While I was there is seemed silly not to quickly go out and take a couple of shots, made even more interesting with Sunny’s interest in how I work and what I do…

Here is my take on this location, it was very interesting to be able to hand the camera over to Sunny and see what he saw, as you can see it was very different…

This image was taken by Sunny on my camera, using the same lights and settings. I’ve edited in my own way but I still amazed by how differently we saw the same location. I don’t think there are any wrongs or rights, but differences like this fascinate me, and leave me wondering what else was there that I didn’t see ???

Just around the corner from the first location we found a lovely field with access which meant we didn’t have to cause any damage to get these shots. As the light was dropping the sky behind gives these pictures almost a studio feel I think.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. It should be a very interesting day, although I not so sure the 5:30am start is so interesting! I’m especially looking forward to forgetting I am supposed to be on a diet and tucking into my first curry in what feels like an age!!!

After the Wedding itself we all headed over to Ilkley Golf Course where Melissa & Matt had laid on a Marquee on one of the greens for their reception. The weather was perfect and the mood was all set for a night of eating, drinking and dancing.

I always try and keep my blog posts quite short, but this is was a big wedding so deserves a big blog post, here are just a small selection of the images we captured on the day…

Now here is a shot that took some guts to shoot before a wedding, luckily no stag night pranks were pulled

Another shot for my collection of people taking pictures, I seem to be fascinated with that these days!

Here is my long term pal Alison, not seen her in what feels like an age. It was so nice to catch up with her. I was really please when I saw this shot, it says pretty much everything about Alison in a picture. Best smile ever, well maybe apart from Nicola’s

It’s always nice to be allowed to take pictures during the actual signing, we just caught Melissa & Matt relaxing while the two mothers did their part.

Back at the reception everyone started to enjoy themselves…

Trust me, it tasted every bit as good as it looked!

Michael Kernall Catering did a really fantastic job

It was too difficult to decide which first dance picture I preferred, so I picked 3…

Helter Skelter front man Graeme giving it full on Bono for the first dance. Great band and a great bunch of guys to chat to, highly recommended!

On to the evening party, the lack of flash in these shots really allowed me to capture some atmosphere without people really knowing I was there…

Although some people spotted me

Looks like the staff were having a good time too…

Best Father of The Bride picture ever ???

Friends and family can now see the full selection and an extended selection in a slideshow over at Melissa & Matt’s wedding website  www.melissaandmatt.co.uk. If you don’t know the password just drop me or Melissa & Matt a line.

A massive thank you to Melissa & Matt as well as their friends and family for making us so welcome. We had a fantastic time. It was the best kind of wedding, a really nice relaxed feel to the whole day, everyone had a great time and I think it really shows in the pictures.

I have used Melissa & Matt’s pictures in a new sample album from the most fantastic Folio Albums. So be on the look out in the next few weeks for a blog update on that! If you’d like to see it in person just give me a call to arrange a time.

I’ve spent 3 days shooting for NG Bailey Offsite on a project they are working on in Penrith. I was shooting a corporate video for their website which involved starting at the factory in Bradford and chasing the trucks up the motorway to Penrith to watch the installation at a new Morrisons store.

We were booked in a hotel right next to the lake at Ullswater which I have to say is one of prettiest places I’ve ever seen in the UK.

The last time I was up in the Lake District I was playing the part of Wedding Photographer, in such an amazing location its a real treat to come up and work for any reason. I’m not normally one for landscapes but I gave is a quick go for fun…

And here is the real reason we were there, it was a great crew onsite so we took a quick snap for them.

Some of our crew members were a little more reluctant to b filmed

I’ve got a couple of days editing to do and I’m looking forward to the pre-wedding shoots coming up this weekend as well as the Pan Asian Awards on monday. Mmmmm free curry!!!!

Debbie kindly lent us the use of her amazing home for the day. As a thank you I shot a couple of family portraits with a difference…

A little bit more traditional for this one, but still a little different I think.

Having never modelled before, I think Natalie really pulls it out of the bag for this shot.

This will give you an idea of the setup I was using. These lights are very powerful and allow me to control even full on direct sunlight which is what makes these shots look so punchy.

We moved round the back for some more shots. The boys look like they have given up their “revision” for the day, I can’t say I blame them

I love this shot of Stef, it’s currently my favourite picture in my portfolio.

I almost threw away this shot, but when I went back through the collection I did a quick B&W conversion and changed my mind.

Colour or Black & White ??? I couldn’t decide, I love both of these shots.

So that was just a small selection from the day. I think practice is so important if you want to keep on improving. I am a big F1 fan, I can see that like in that sport things keep changing and moving forward, photography is just the same. You have to keep practicing and trying new things, not every works but it sure does feel great when you get something right! I have a studio session booked for next week so expect some shots from that in the coming weeks.