Posted on October 28, 2010
Every now and then you find a little gem, and recently I came across Cake Cucina. This family run business based in Verwood supplies imaginative, well crafted (and delicious) cakes – they’re available in a variety of flavours and cater for those who have special dietary needs. Birthdays, weddings, celebrations and special events …… but do you need an excuse to indulge? 
They had a stand at the recent Wimborne Food Fesitval and did a roaring trade! If you’re looking for individuality, then Cake Cucina is the place to go! You can also check them out on Facebook, and if you hit the “Like” button you’ll be in with the chance to win 6 glorious chocolate cupcakes!
Posted on October 24, 2010
In the UK we’re lucky that we have a temperate climate, not too hot or cold, too dry or wet (although there are times we’d disagree) – but on the whole, it’s not bad! As a result, we benefit from having 4 distinct seasons and I love them all. From a wedding photographer’s perspective it’s not difficult to guess which I favour, but with my other hat on, a landscape photographer, it’s not so simple ….
Winter’s the time for snuggling up, closing the door when you get home from work and shutting out the world. Grey, rainy days mixed in with cold snaps and frost on the ground. From a landscape photographer’s perspective, it means I can get fantastic dawns without getting out of bed at some unearthly hour in the middle of the night (although the warm duvet has, on more than one occasion, won in the battle of wills when it’s below freezing outside!). It has its moments when you think it’ll never change, and people get depressed with this seemingly endless season, but it eventually gives way to Spring.
The freshness of leaves breaking out on the trees is like someone throwing away their old clothes and getting a whole new wardrobe! The first couple of weeks are the best, with really vibrant greens punching through the canopy. It’s a breath of fresh air, giving you a lift and making you feel better about everything (well, perhaps not quite everything). Another fantastic time for photographers, and no chance of frost-bite whilst waiting to capture that awe-inspiring dawn!
Summer for me is great, but I tend to lose interest in landscapes – the ground dries up, the colours fade, the contrast is too high with the sun blazing down. So I’ll go for the details, the little things that we tend to overlook – and whilst I’m at it, I’ll relax and enjoy the warmth.
Which brings me to my favourite season of all – Autumn. Some get depressed when the nights draw in, temperatures drop and the wind picks up – not me. This is the time when Nature throws everything into producing her most spectacular colours and as a result, treats us to the most fantastic displays from the trees and some truly awesome sunrises and sunsets.
There was a brilliant article in The Times by Jeanette Winterson, entitled “A season for senses and the soul” – in it, Jeanette captured the essence of Autumn and what it means to humans and to Nature. “For me, an Autumn walk is always a memory place. I am more aware of time because the season itself is a blaze of time - time flaring through the light, so bright that you have to look away, and then it’s gone. Time that isn’t clock time but seasonal time – the urgency of everything that has to happen before Winter, before cold, before dark“.
Autumn is that time to reflect, to enjoy and to savour – we have but one life, and it’s our responsibility to make the most of it.
The final word from Jeanette – “Summer is sexy but Autumn is for the senses and for the soul“. Enjoy it while you can.
Posted on October 19, 2010
I’m really pleased to have been acknowledged as an “ethical supplier” by English Weddings – the idea is for wedding suppliers across all categories to adhere to a voluntary code of conduct to ensure that the supplier’s trustworthy and won’t rip off clients. The cost of an “average” UK wedding spend has risen from £ 9,400 in 1999 to a staggering £23,000 and there have been cases reported where suppliers increase their prices for weddings, or offer a discount at wedding fairs (and the “discounted” price turns out to be the same as the regularly advertised price!).
The “English Wedding” website showcases all that’s wonderful about English weddings – it’s full of inspiration and advice for brides – why not check it out now.
Posted on October 17, 2010
We had a terrific response to the competition we ran at the Fab@50+ show at the Bournemouth International Centre to win a photoshoot, with over 200 entries submitted.
The prize is a fabulous location portrait photography shoot for two people, worth £120, and the draw has now been made to pick the lucky winner – Mrs A Breen from Poole in Dorset … congratulations! We’ll be arranging the shoot in the next few weeks, and will post up a couple of shots after the event.
Thanks to everyone who entered the competition, but I’m afraid that there can only be one winner!
Posted on October 15, 2010
A good start to a Friday morning - checking my emails I found that yesterday I’d been selected as the “Featured Wedding Photography Blog” on the Dream Wedding Directory! This is a great resource for brides, where you can will find blogs written by wedding suppliers from all over the country, covering the wide range of wedding services that are available to you. Find inspiration with this selection of wedding blogs to help you plan your special day.
Posted on October 11, 2010
Entries for the prize draw to win a photoshoot have now closed – thanks to everyone who came along to the stand at the BIC. The draw will take place in a day or two – I’m currently waiting for the show organisers to provide me with the ”on-line” entries that were submitted via their website …. as soon as these are in I’ll make the draw and announce the lucky winner!
Posted on October 8, 2010
After this morning’s fantastic shoot with Alyson, I was at home catching up on the “admin” and checked Twitter to see what’s going on in the world of photography (you need to have a break sometime!). There was a tweet from Damian Lovegrove, one of the industry leaders and innovators in the UK, where he was writing an article on photographic art and asked “what is art”?
A number of my peers around the country responded, and I chipped in with “Art is whatever you want it to be” – so it rather caught me by surprise when people agreed! The point is, that everyone’s tastes are different, be it with regards to photography, painting or whatever. There are those who will say that “art” is classical in style, some will say it’s something that draws an emotion from deep within you, but I think it’s just whatever you like – there are no rights or wrongs. Forget the pretentious opinions about art, and just enjoy it!
This photo of Chloe could be considered to be “artistic” by some, but I love it for what it is:
Think I need to add that quote to my site and Blog – it’s quite good (even if I do say so myself!)
Posted on October 4, 2010
Not with a gun – obviously! It’s funny how seeing icons of television from the days of your youth can make you reminisce about how good things were (or not).
At last week’s show Val was working with one of the vendors, helping people to understand computers and their benefits. She was completely natural and down to earth, really nice to talk to, and had none of the airs-and-graces that some of today’s “celebrities” demonstrate when they’re in the public domain.
How many of today’s children’s TV presenters will be remembered and recognised in years to come? Not many I think.
Pity I never managed to get a Blue Peter badge!
