Lucy and James contacted me last year to be their wedding photographer and whilst they gave me a run down of things nothing really prepared me for the day ahead.
I started at the home of Lucy’s parents for the prep side of things and afterwards travelled to Stanmer House where the wedding ceremony was taking place. Stanmer House has always had the loveliest light inside and particularly shows in the photos from the day.
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After the ceremony there was canapes and drinks in the marquee and on the lawn where the formal photos were taken. The light was good but the brollies had to come out sometimes!
Then the Big Lemon arrived to take us all to Hotel Du Vin where the wedding breakfast was held and I escaped with Lucy and James for some photos on the beach.
Now their wedding day was on the Sunday of the queens jubilee so Brighton was pretty much quiet as a mouse and so tis afforded us much more leeway for photos. The beach was quiet and we had time. It was nice for none of us to feel rushed.
Winkworth Farm in Wiltshire played host to Hannah and Joe’s wedding in early June.
This was very vintage and boho in style with lots of personal touches everywhere.
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Hannah and Joe made copious amounts of beautiful bunting and had stunning wildflowers on all the tables which complemented the ring of flowers worn in the hair of Hannah and her bridesmaids.
The farm is an all in one venue which has a courtyard barn for overnight stays and bridal preperations. The ceremony can be held in either the garden (as it was in this case) or in the main building if the weather is a bit erm…British.
The Outdoor Ceremony Area
During the ceremony there was a reading of ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ by Dr Seuss…which is an awesome thing to have, a great reading.
Afterwards we went to the lawn and gardens for Pimms and photos followed by the wedding breakfast.
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I also brought the photo booth for the time between the end of the speeches and first dance which went down really well.
There was the unexpected consequence of sword fights between the younger members taking place behind me though!
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Altogether it was an awesome day. There were lots of great places to go to for photos and the Farm is very well run.
That’s how windy it was during Jane and James’s engagement shoot last Friday. Windy. Like. You. Wouldn’t. Believe.
But hey, we won’t allow that to interfere with things too much shall we?
Not yet you aren't
All joking aside though, maybe the pier wasn’t the best place to be on a windy day. But, due to the unpredictable weather we’ve had delaying the shoot Jane and James might of been married by the time it took place. So we went for it anyway….and it paid off.
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We started off on the pier itself and soon decided which side of the pier to shoot on because of the weather. We walked along the length of Brighton Pier stopping occasionally for photos. Some places were a good idea, others not. The light was unpredictable but it was always interesting.
Don't get blown away now....
Halfway along the pier we stopped at the milk cans and the nice chap there allowed me to hop over to record James throwing a few balls at the target, then we went to the arcade for a bit, heading off to the beach after.
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Once we’d finished with the beach the Brighton Eye was our next stop, then onto Brighton Marina for some more urban stuff ending finally by the Banksy painting near the train station.
All in all, about an hour and a half resulting in a lovely shoot! Here’s some more pictures from the 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
Diane and Robert were married at St Giles Church and the reception was at Westerham Golf Club.
This was my first time at either venues and the church was one of those light, warm and cosy churches that just shined when the sun came through the stained glass. Westerham Golf Club itself was a surprise. Sometimes, from a photography point of view, club houses, halls or single rectangular spaces can be a problem to work in but not so with Westerham Golf Club. There were windows letting light in everywhere along with a high pitched ceiling (great for bouncing light) and a great view of the course from the balcony which stretched itself along the whole length of the building.
This was particularly handy seeing at this wedding was on the 18th of December last year and it was 4 degrees celsius outside!
