Jodie and Will's Pre-Wedding Shoot

Last weekend, I strolled around the wonderfully picturesque town of Woburn with Jodie and Will. We had a great time shooting their pre-wedding images and I couldn't have hoped for a more willing pair of subjects. I'm really looking forward to their big day in June.

To start, here's a couple of cuddly romantic shots:





And then it was time to inject a bit of fun into the proceedings:

Here's Will discovering the truth about who will be wearing the trousers when the wedding is over:

What a great couple! Thanks to you both for a fun day out:

David

Joseph's Big Smile

I posted a taster shot from Joseph's portrait session last week and, looking back, noticed he was a pretty serious-looking little man in that image ... which was odd because he laughed and smiled his way through most of the session. So four of the five shots here showcase that winning smile of his, starting with this cheeky little look:

Here's another cracking smile:

This has a rather more soulful feel about it:

Whereas these next two are sheer kiddie joy!

I think it's safe to say that Joseph quite enjoyed having his photograph taken. He's such a great little boy and was really good fun to work with. What a credit to Mum and Dad!

David

The Delightful Dulcie

Yesterday I had a really special experience when I photographed this lovely three-week old baby. Her name is Dulcie - isn't she just gorgeous!



And aren't Mum and Dad totally besotted with her!

Photographing tiny babies is a wee bit challenging, as Dulcie's parents can testify. Let's just say there weren't quite enough baby wipes to meet the demands! All the same, it was great fun to photograph someone so young and a fantastic way to mark the arrival of their beautiful little girl into the world.

David

Silver Award Images

After a gap of far too many months, I decided in February to enter some pictures in the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers monthly image competition. The judging has now taken place and I'm delighted to have been awarded six Silver Medals by the panel. Five of my award-winning images were from weddings or portrait sesions, including this shot from the Children category:



Must do better next month, though, and see if I can add to my collection of Golds.

David

A Woodland Portrait Session

We took the boys out for a walk in the nearby ancient woodlands at Ashridge the other day. It's an awe-inspiring location and makes a wonderful backdrop for a portrait session. Here's a few of the images I made:





This one features Tadhg's classmate Jack:

Wherever we go, the boys eventually get round to kicking a football about. Here's Finn with his new goalie gloves:

I love this next shot. The three boys, each in a world of their own:

David

Smokin' Joe

Had a great time this afternoon photographing Joseph and couldn't resist putting a teaser on here for mum and dad to enjoy straight away. Joseph is one year old and he's a man on the move! But here's a shot of him sitting nice and still ...

More of Joseph to follow in a few days' time,

David

By Special Request - One More of Baby George

Here's one more shot of a happy little George ...



What a cute smile!
David

Our Beautiful Niece Kyra

You can count yourself lucky if - like me - you have a little princess of a niece who just loves to have her photograph taken. We visited Kyra recently and got some great shots. Now, I know I'm at risk of turning this blog into a family album, but I simply couldn't resist posting a few images to share with you:









Awwwwwww.

Kyra reached the grand old age of two this week - Happy Birthday Princess! And it was also Mum Natasha's birthday. But don't worry Tash, I'm not about to spout out your grand old age here - you never know who might be looking in! Happy Birthday to you, too!

David

First Baby Portrait of 2009

Last week I had the good fortune to photograph baby George - one of the smiliest baby sessions I've done for a little while. George is a bundle of fun and was great to work with. They say you should never work with animals and children. Nonsense, it's such a great thing to spend time creating images images like these. It's like capturing the very essence of childhood:

As you can see, George worked hard for his photographs:

David

A Few From The Family Album

At Christmas, we had a great family break in the Stable Mews on the Castle Leslie estate in County Monaghan, Ireland. Fionnuala and I needed a big rest as the last few weeks of 2008 had been hectic, to put it mildly. Castle Leslie provided exactly what we needed - a tranquil break away from it all so we could re-charge our batteries and head into 2009 refreshed and raring to go.

Here's the mews cottage we stayed in, seen at twilight:



A crisp early morning walk led me to this view of the castle across Glaslough:



Another walk, this time in the late afternoon, led us to nearby Kilvey Lake. Despite it being December, the lake had taken on a positively autumnal appearance:



The boys loved their holiday:

And finally, a whole family portrait. This was taken using the self-timer, with the camera mounted on a tripod:

David

First Wedding of 2009

My coverage of weddings in 2009 got off to a really great start with Anna and Bryan's special day at Woburn Sculpture Gallery. What a wonderful day it was! Anna was nothing short of radiant in her beautiful gown and Bryan was the very epitome of a model groom throughout the day.

I got to know Anna and Bryan when we did their pre-wedding shoot in Woburn earlier this winter. It was an unbelievably windswept day then, and their wedding day was one of equally challenging temperatures. You wouldn't know it, though, from their photographs. The warmth they share was clear for all to see and really bursts out of their pictures. It's evident that they are incredibly well suited to one another.

At the start of the day, I got some lovely shots of Anna's preparations at Flitwick Manor. This one shows Anna having her make-up done by Jo Saville who, I have to say, did a really excellent job:



We had a few minutes to capture some portraits of Anna and her attendants before I dashed off to Woburn. Here's Anna posing with the four-poster bed:



At the Sculpture Gallery, Bryan was waiting patiently for Anna's arrival:



And then on to the ceremony ...



... during which there were plenty of laughs:

Immediately afterwards, Anna and Bryan were presented with their first glass of champagne as a married couple (I'm not sure it was Anna's first of the day, given the number empty bottles in the room during her preparations - though she claims some were consumed the night before)!

Despite the wet weather, I lay on the ground to capture this shot of the bouquet, which also features a background comprising the splendid Woburn Abbey, our happy newly-weds, their stunning wedding car and a somewhat threatening sky:

Here's a very gallant Bryan helping his lovely new wife up a few garden steps:

Believe it or not, this classic shot was taken just 20 minutes after the one above with the threatening sky - just look at the difference!

Back inside (for it really was extremely cold) it was time for a few group shots before the speeches and wedding breakfast:

And finally, how's this for a real heart-felt greeting for Bryan from Anna as he stood up to make his speech:

What a fun day it was - congratulations Anna and Bryan on such a wonderful wedding. I'm sure you will enjoy a long and happy future together.

David