‘Handsome and beautiful’ sums up this portrait. I tried to to get the moods in this shoot from fun to thoughtfull.  Mum, Cathryn was in tears at the viewing – tears of joy I hasten to add!

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This weeks Photo Friday  is a photograph of leaded light I saved from going into a skip, the are about ten of them, they don’t fit our windows but we have them propped up around the house until we find the right place for them.  I think they look good just propped up.

Long service award – I am not happy! It must mean I’m old or did I join when I was really young, yeah that’s what it is. I joined the BIPP (British Institute of Profesional Photography) when I was 24, so I supose that makes me quite old, I’m sure I have another 25 years left in me!

As well as exhibiting at Arley Hall Wedding show on Sunday I decided to take the opportunity to deliver some framed portraits to a couple of my clients.

I enjoyed delivering their portraits as it enabled me to see the finished portraits in situ. My first call on the way to Arley Hall was to the famous ‘Knotty Ash’ area of Liverpool. My Clients house had a minimal/contemporary style and the Black Edge Box Frames looked fantastic. My second visit which I fitted in on the way back from the Wedding Show involved a short trip to Wilmslow. The classic brushed gold frames with mount sat perfectly in its modern/traditional surroundings. Even If I do say so myself, they both looked really good hanging in their respective positions. My clients had chosen well.

The Wedding show itself was held at the Magnificent National Trust property Arley Hall and Gardens. Which has been in the Ashbrook family since the 15 Century. What a fantastic venue for a wedding. The intimate show was for invited couples who had expressed an interest in holding their Wedding at Arley Hall. They were shown around the venue and then chatted with Arley Halls recommended wedding suppliers like myself. So it wasn’t all hustle and bustle like the major shows can be, there was a more relaxed atmosphere. I had plenty of time to chat with couples about their special day. I even found time to chat to Lord Ashbrook about photography, he said he enjoyed taking photographs of the Award Winning gardens around the estate. He is a big fan of black and white photography as he feels it is more like ‘art’. I have to say I agree with him. We also chatted about how Wedding Photography has changed over the years and the modern ‘reportage style’ intrigued him. He was amazed that I usually capture more than a 1000 photographs at each wedding I shoot, but as I explained, I can be there for anywhere up to ten hours, taking photographs of everything from the smallest of details to arranging a large group shot of up to 200 guests. Not to mention the Bridal Fashion Shoot, Traditional Family Portraits, Speeches, First Dance and everything in-between !!

Overall a very productive and enjoyable day.

One of my photographs is exhibited at Getty Images Gallery.

I thought I would share my claim to fame from before I had a blog.  To celebrate 20 years of HELLO! Magazine they decided to choose the best 100 photographs over that period and put in a exhibition at the Getty Image Gallery, Soho, London and they chose one of mine, from Michael and Louise Owens Wedding I shot back in 2005. It was the one of Michael and Louise at the top table with Gemma in the middle.  I used a fish eye lence to get the curved effect. It was great to think from all the 1000s  of photographs, they chose one of mine, COOL!

Quote from Getty website - HELLO! Celebrating 20 Years

To celebrate its 20th Anniversary HELLO! Magazine has created a star-studded photographic exhibition featuring some of its most glamorous, intimate and iconic photoshoots.

“We are absolutely thrilled to share 20 years of HELLO! with the public,” says Ronnie Whelan, former editor and curator of the exhibition. “We have an extraordinary story to tell, and this exhibition seems the most fitting way to celebrate the colourful history of one of the most iconic titles of its time.”

During the ‘Star-studded’ exhibition I got chatting to some great guys promoting a new larger from Peru called Cusquena. We later went to a pizza restaurant where we were introduced to the UK Managing Director of Red Bull, who took us to his HQ for after hour drinks.  What a fantastic office it had a futuristic bar on the top floor and felt like something of the 70′s tv show Space 1999 with a roof terrace looking across to CentrePoint and the  roofscape of London, there was a slide between floors and the bar on the top floor served any drink you liked as long as it was mixed with Red Bull…..What a night!  Check out the photos of it below…

 Hear are some of the photos of the exhibitions opening night lots of champers see If you can spot some of the celebs.

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I photographed David and Nicola’s wedding in September 2010 see my old blog entry,now they have a new arrival gorgeous Herbie, the photos below are from the first shoot of many to come. They have chosen to go for my Next Generation Triple Albums this is three portrait shoots over a year, one album for each shoot.

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Faulkner-Atkinson family came for their final shoot for my popular next generation album, three shoots in one year then put into one album.  This final shoot we did at a local park, I like to finish with a location portrait as it shows how much Zack has changed over the year, I must add though Steve and Gail look a lot younger than a year ago!

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I have also relocated my business from Maghull where I have worked for 20 years to Birkdale Village, Southport.  So as you can imagine it’s been quite a hectic time to say the leaast!

To celebrate my relocation I am reinstating my special Family Portrait offer. It’s my Three Generation Portrait. It was a real success when I ran it last year. I can also photograph smaller family groups and/or individuals within the same shoot all in the same offer.

This offer includes a FREE Sitting worth £75 and a HALF PRICE large wall portrait worth £700. All for only  £350.

To book this special offer call Andrew on 0151 527 2065. There is a £50 booking fee required which will be deducted from your total spend.