Sarah and Steve

It was back to Hull in a matter of days after the last wedding, to shoot Sarah and Steve's big day. I love taking detail and candid shots, and I share a few of these with you below.

 

Sarah

The bride, Sarah, ready for the ceremony at the church in Sutton upon Hull.

All ready

One of the young bridesmaids.

Here she comes

Capturing candid shots of the children is always one of the fun parts of the day.

Just arrived

The ceremony at St James' Church, Sutton upon Hull 

A cheeky look back by the bride Sarah, during the service at the church in Sutton upon Hull.

The bride Sarah.

The delicate and beautifully simple bouquet

Heart detail

Lovely detail at the wedding reception.

Bird cage design

Tired bridesmaid

Weddings can be very tiring for some!

Father and daughter

A lovely image of the bride and her father.

.

Matt and Jenny

Very busy at the minute, with the gallery at Wells-next-the-Sea in full swing during the Summer holidays, and it being the height of the wedding season.

Just a small selection of images from Matt and Jenny's wedding, which took place in Hessle, Hull, at the end of July.
 

Arrival, and a big grin

Lovely candid shot of this little boy and his mum, as they arrive at the church.

Just married

The happy couple, Matt and Jenny leave the church after the ceremony.

Confetti

Lavender was used for confetti. The smell was lovely.

Vintage bus

A lovely vintage bus was used to take the guests to the hotel for the wedding breakfast and reception.

hand made bouquet

The bouquet was hand made by the bride Jenny, using old maps which had certain places on them, special to the couple. A wonderful idea.

Jenny

The bride Jenny.

Rob and Amanda

Amanda, ready for the ceremony

The wedding of Rob and Amanda took me to the lovely city of York, and the gorgeous wedding venue of Sandburn Hall. Here are just a few images, on what turned out to be a fantastic day for all involved.  

For this portrait of Amanda, I asked her to stand near the window for an image that was free from clutter. Overexposing the selected camera settings by 1 stop, I was able to create a bright, almost dreamy shot. A reflector was used to bounce some light back towards Amanda, and it can clearly be seen as a reflection in her eyes. Nikon D4 with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8.

Gorgeous bouquet

I love bouquet shots like this, simple but effective. Shot with a Nikon D3s and Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8.

Just married

I tend to stand at the back of the ceremony room during the service. It can sometimes make for tricky lighting conditions, and this one was no different. So as not to let the camera decide what exposure it thinks I need, I tend to shoot this part of the day in manual mode. I wanted to over expose the image slightly, to create a dreamy effect, while the couple were kissing. Nikon D4 with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8

The lovely couple

When I get the opportunity to spend time with the couple after the ceremony, everyone, including me, is a bit more relaxed. I tend to guide the couple to an area I would like to photograph them, and let the images 'just happen'. A long lens works well in these situations, as the couple feel as though they have space to breathe. Nikon D4 with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8.

Amanda and the flower girls

I love shots like the one above. While Julian is taking formal shots, I will search out more candid moments. A quick shout of Amanda's name, has resulted in a completely natural, unposed photo. Nikon D4 with Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8

Sarah and Matt

The wedding season is now in full swing, and I'm going to be very busy over the next couple of months, juggling wedding shoots, and preparing photographic prints for my gallery  www.saltmarshandsamphire.co.uk in Wells-next-the-Sea, on the North Norfolk coast.

My latest wedding shoot was at the beautiful Craigmar country house, deep in the Yorkshire Dales, where I was photographing Sarah and Matt's big day. A beautiful venue with lovely gardens, providing many delightful photo opportunities for me as a photographer. A quick scout around, revealed potentially two lovely places to capture intimate portraits of the bride and groom, but the weather forecast for the day was lousy. Heavy, driving rain and cold. However, the gods must have been looking down on us, as it remained fine all day, and the sun even popped it's head out during the wedding ceremony. 

The vows

The ceremony was an emotional affair, and it was nice that the weather was good enough for the ceremony to be held outside.

A moment alone

A moment alone, unposed. I had a split second to capture this image before I was spotted.

Just married

While Julian, the other photographer was setting up a shot, I caught this lovely embrace.

confetti

Lovely expressions during the confetti shot.

The Arch

This was one of the setup shots I had envisaged while looking around the grounds earlier in the day. The arch frames the couple beautifully, and the flowers add a lovely splash of colour. They were deep in conversation while embracing, and I called their names. The result is a natural pose. 

Love on the bridge

The second of the potential shots I had spied earlier in the day. The bridge was the perfect place for the couple to stand, and I simply asked for them to ignore me and spend a moment reflecting on their beautiful ceremony. Shooting through a lovely bank of blue Irises, injected some gorgeous colour into the image. 

The first dance

The first dance is always great fun, and sometimes a real challenge to capture. It was really dark in 'Cruck barn', at the Craven Arms, situated in Appletreewick. It was a case of trying to keep the mood and ambience of the place, whilst illuminating the couple and guests enough, so that they could be seen clearly. Luckily the walls of the barn were white, so firing the flash directly behind me onto the wall, resulted in light scattering throughout the room, lighting it enough to produce a lovely image. The movement in the dress is a nice touch, and the couples expressions are lovely. You can spy Julian to the right of the image, but because there were so many people in the shot, he goes almost unnoticed.   

I am so busy with the gallery in Norfolk, that Julian now runs the wedding site, although we both photograph the couples big day. We have been photographing weddings together since 2011, and I think we make a good team, having a deep understanding of what the other is doing. You can check out the wedding website by clicking the link. www.candgphotography.org    

'The Day Vera came to town' - British Life Photography Awards, shortlisted entry

I was lucky enough to have been shortlisted in the very first 'British Life Photography Awards' competition, held during the final few months of 2014. 

I was photographing the arrival of the Canadian Lancaster to R.A.F. Coningsby in Lincolnshire last August, for a news agency . It was to be the start of a month's worth of flying activities, which would see the Canadian bomber and the Battle of Britain's Lancaster in the air together for the first time. Something that will never, 'likely' be repeated, a truly unique experience. There were many hundreds of spectators there, all ready to welcome the Canadian plane to the U.K, including a number of surviving, elderly veterans. I managed to capture this candid image of one such veteran, John Mitchell, as he sat beneath the hulking fuselage of the Canadian Lancaster, after it had landed and taxied in. Mr Mitchell was a squadron leader and pilot on Lancasters during the Second World War, stationed at Langar in Nottinghamshire. I caught him in a quiet moment of reflection, one, I feel, that sums up the mood of the day's events.   

'Vera' and John Mitchell

Alex and Paul

Alex and Paul

The final wedding shoot of the year took me to Welton, a beautiful small village, not far from Lincoln. The church was everything you could wish for as a wedding photographer. Beautiful, light, and plenty of room to be able to move about. The grounds were also very pretty, with plenty of places to capture beautiful images. 

The couple, Alex and Paul, made for a great bride and groom. They were up for having a bit of fun, and I think that really shines through in the final images.

Julian and I have worked alongside a number of makeup artists now, and I have to say, Liv is amongst the best. Her work is truly first class, and if you are a bride searching for a makeup artist, I highly recommend you check her website. www.livfreemakeup.co.uk

Prep, in the morning 

Happy

Makeup done

Makeup done - Photo - Emma and Lydia

Walking to the church

Married - Photo - Julian Clune

The happy couple

Confetti

The red door

Around the Cathedral

Happy together

Party popper

Party popper

Colourful confetti

The first dance

The first dance

Cathedral view

This was just one of those weddings that was such great fun to be involved in, from start to finish. One of the final shots I captured on the day, is also amongst my favourites from 2014. Alex and Paul wanted a shot on the balcony of the White Hart hotel in Lincoln, with the magnificent Cathedral as a backdrop. The mist had descended, casting a truly wonderful wintery scene, and after a bit of experimenting with some off camera flash and a reflector, the shot above was captured. A perfect ending to a perfect day.   

Pretty Panache

These images are taken from a photo shoot a while back, for bridal company 'Pretty Panache' who are based in Lincoln, U.K. The brief was to capture detail shots of the wedding dresses, veils and accessories. It was a great day's shoot, and one which proved to be very successful, both for me and my shooting partner Julian, as well as "Pretty Panache", who continue to use our images for publicity and marketing, to this day.  

It was a lovely, warm summer's day, but this in itself, caused a few problems. The light was very harsh, causing dark shadows and tending to give unflattering results. We decided to move the models into the shade, and using a reflector, bounce light back towards them. The ambient light in the shade was far more even, and gave a beautiful, softer look to both models. The angled reflector 'lifted' the light and provided gorgeous catchlights to the models eyes, which is most apparent in the first image below.