A couple of weeks ago I covered Vikki and Karl’s wedding at St Michael’s Church Heckfield and Highfield Park.
Both venues are very close to each other, literally a 60 second walk away so Vikki started to get ready at Highfield Park itself and then walked over to the church.
The ceremony itself was lovely, the Vicar was a dream to work with (she had lots of humorous things to say to the guests) and despite my walking around the church in my socks and using the 5D3 with it’s new and amazing silent shutter my bag still managed to fall onto the floor undoing all my good work! The timing was ironic too as the Vicar was telling everyone the importance of saying sorry, it was slightly embarrassing but admittedly it did provide even more humour to an already buoyant atmosphere.
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After the ceremony we had an accidental receiving line which went down well and after the confetti we walked around the church the long way to Highfield park. This was because access to the reception was easier at the back and even more importantly we used the open space for formals.
Because it was late Spring and the sun sits lower in the sky I had to backlight everyone (make sure the sun is on their backs). This is the right way of doing things although I was staring straight into the sun.
Highfield Park
After the formals I went off with Vikki and Karl to other areas of Highfield Park for formals and afterwards I went and freelanced amongst the guests.
Dinner and the evening reception followed. The DJ was great and with the first dance was pretty special as both Vikki and Karl are dancers.
It was a great day made even better by the excellent staff supporting the Church and Venue. This was my first Highfield Park Wedding and it was pretty awesome.
There are so many different things that effect wedding photography. The weather, choice of venue and the type of people present all make a difference and contribute to the final output. Then, every now and again you have a wedding where everything just falls into place and you’re in sync with the couple.
Jen and Liam’s wedding a few weeks ago was one such wedding. Ok so it didn’t run smooth, the vicar said I had to stand at the back of the church at all times and the key to the VW camper was twisted but these things were brushed away as nothing and spirits were high all day.
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The venues involved were St Mary’s Church in Sompting and Tottington Manor in Edburton.
The service was sweet, one of the guests played Einaudi on the piano during the register signing and we spent a little time on the church grounds for photos and possibly one of the longest confetti lines ever!
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Jen and Liam had a blue VW Camper and they drove themselves off to the reception at Totttington Manor. This is a pretty awesome place to have a reception with rolling fields in the background and on the day itself there were Daffodils everywhere.
The staff at Tottington Manor were awesome (and still are) and everything went without a hitch.
I stayed until the evening on this occasion and I’ve now some new friends in Jen and Liam, it was such a great day!
So, doing a shoot 6000 miles away in a country that doesn’t speak your language, doesn’t have any signage you can understand and has a completely different definition of what a Chicken is can be a daunting prospect for many. Yet off we went to shoot for Annabelles Wigs.
It was good to have a team with me for this shoot (lighting was an issue)
With such a deliberate shoot as this where time and money are restricted everything becomes very fast paced and the pressure is on. Time is money.
There were several targets to achieve. I wanted an urban location to say ‘We’re in Hong Kong’, then along to Victoria Harbour for the cityscape in the background and then along to Stanley beach for a tropical look.
There is some serious low light photography fun to be had here
Needless to say with an overseas shoot, not everything went according to plan (nothing does). We had three hours and all went smoothly apart from when we arrived at Victoria Harbour. Smog, everywhere. Literally you couldn’t see more than 30 metres in front of you. With the skyscrapers being a mile away on the other side of the harbour all we had was white in the background so we moved on. It was important to realise when something just isn’t going to work and be a waste of time.
Lots of spur of the moment stuff.....
For the urban side of our Hong Kong shoot it was literally a case of starting outside the hotel and walking along the road, trucks unloading (like the above) took just a moment to do, then 10 metres away there was a wall with posters all over it which allowed for this:
Hong Kong is full of places for urban photography
We then climbed five stories to a rooftop for several shots like this:
I loved shooting on the rooftops
Whilst up on the roof tops I noticed that the builders in China use Bamboo scaffold poles. While these are completely safe (they must be right?) it did make me gasp in disbelief probably because I’m so used to seeing metal ones in the UK.
Scaffold poles made from Bamboo....nuts.
Finally we stopped at Stanley Beach. By this time the mist had partially lifted and the sun became our biggest challenge. Fortunately I did have help from Claire (Annabelles Wigs) and our guide Kennis who assisted with styling and holding the external flashes. Without them the output wouldn’t of been anywhere near as good.
On Stanley Beach with Yan
Victoria Harbour
Buying Camera Equipment in Hong Kong
Now, this is going to serve as a heads up for anyone looking for discounted Camera Equipment in Hong Kong. Firstly new stuff. Generally your best bet is to buy anything you want from sellers on ebay that are based in Hong Kong. Even after shipping and duty it’s still going to be cheaper than buying whilst over there. For example I asked about the price of a Canon 5D3 in Hong Kong and it worked out at the same as the UK (£3000). There are importers in the UK who charge VAT and are still £400 cheaper than this. Lenses are pretty much the same. Even places like Fortress mark up things because people come over expecting to find a bargain when really there isn’t one to be had. I was there when the Ipad 3 was released and you could buy one as long as you spent £300 on screen covers and cheap plastic cases. Same dirty tricks as the UK – Be warned!
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Buying Used Camera Equipment in Hong Kong
In a word, no, just don’t do it. We stayed in a hotel on Kimberley road and literally opposite us was around 10 shops all with used equipment in. It was camera heaven. I was looking for Hasselblad lenses. There isn’t much H series stuff about but loads of the V type. I found two things that I liked but both didn’t work. One was a Canon 50mm 1.0 ‘The One’ which focused fine on the camera but was completely blurred when I viewed the image. They wanted £3400 for this! Then I found a Hasselblad 100mm 2.2 – The autofocus didn’t work. I asked how much it was (thinking I could get it repaired) and they looked on ebay and quoted me the price listed for a new one.
So, save your sanity and avoid buying cameras over in Hong Kong. Or bags or shoes or anything because it is totally expensive. Starbucks, McDonalds and Taxis are the only things cheaper!
After taking this shot down an alley I found I'd attracted a crowd of onlookers primarily wondering what I was doing
I don’t like rain when I’m working if I’m honest. I know the song goes ‘after the rain comes sun’ but this is England and it usually doesn’t. I think whoever wrote the verse must of originated from Marbella.
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Rain was with me at Gemma and Simons wedding in February just gone. Not that it dampened any spirits though
The venues were Worplesdon Church and then over the road to Worplesdon Memorial Hall, literally over the road which meant there was no time lost in travel. As much as I have a humorous dig at the rain it does make for a diverse selection of interesting photos.
Worplesdon Memorial Hall easily fits 100 guests and is a fab choice of venue, it’s close proximity to the church is really really handy, it’s great when everything is relatively central.
The whole day went without a hitch and everyone was especially lovely to be around, here are some more photos:
Shoes as individual as those wearing them.
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With Gemma's dad being a keen photographer she was quite relaxed with the camera.
I photograph a lot of weddings, lots…. but every now and again something a bit off the wall, a bit new, a little…unusual comes along…meet Paula and Harry.
Now quite honestly I don’t know where to begin but one thing I’m sure of is I won’t forget this one in a hurry!
Harry was unaware of the pink hair
Harry knew Paula was going to dye her hair for the wedding but he wasn’t aware which colour but Pink was the theme. There was a Pink Porsche Carrera as a wedding car too and Paula hand made all the bouquets.
The wedding venue was St Andrews Church in Kentish Town (Greek Orthodox) and this is a STUNNING church. It’s so ornate and colourful inside!
St Andrews Greek Orthodox Church
After the ceremony the guests left for the reception and we went straight into the pub for two double G’n'T’s (them not me!), after that we made use of Kentish Towns finest for photos:
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Then we went to the reception when the normal things like seeing how many people can sit on the groom before he screams, knocking back depth chargers and several disorderly games of Beer Pong took place.
For me, I loved it and was totally made up with the whole day. They were such a lovely couple to work for. Hopefully we’ll keep in touch!
Paula's wedding boots, just hanging around next to Cliff and who wouldn't want to be next to Cliff 'swoon'!
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Paula's Pink Porsche Carerra
Harrry
Zzzzz....
I don't know if I was more surprised over the size of the Chandeliers or the number of bulbs in them.
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Paula and Harry
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Paula and Harry's wedding cake contained a surprise....
Lots of different coloured layers
Harry is under there somewhere!
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Depth Charge!
Boom!
Bang!
Then it went a bit crazy with much fake punching...
