Posted on February 5, 2012
A little sunshine to brighten up a gloomy Winter’s day – although thankfully we’ve been spared the snow! This was a glorious sunrise at Keyhaven in Hampshire, taken from Hurst Spit (for the technically minded it was shot on Fuji Velvia 50 with a Mamiya RZ67II and a 50mm lens). If I remember correctly, the mozzies were very hungry that morning and I got bitten to pieces – but that’s one of the challenges of shooting landscapes (along with never knowing whether you’re actually going to get a decent images because of the weather!).
Although my business is wedding and portrait photography I still enjoy shooting landscapes, although I have to admit that the (very) early starts have become less appealing as I’ve got older!
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on February 4, 2012
For today’s post on the Blog I’ve decided to feature an image from one of my weddings last year – when Michael and Clare got married in Bournemouth.
Wedding photographers are great resources for Brides, as we deal with lots of wedding vendors and can recommend those we consider to be excellent, and we can also provide guidance for the planning of the day itself. As we’ve always on the lookout for great wedding venues we can talk you through the pros and cons of locations that you might be considering. One of the obvious services for couples to consider would be to hire a wedding planner, as they can take away a lot of the anxiety surrounding the day and (depending on the extent that you want them involved) can also be a part of the day itself … co-ordinating things and being on hand to iron out any last wrinkles.
This is a great shot of Melanie from Bellissimo Wedding Planners caught “in action” as she adjust the buttonhole of one of the Ushers (because we all know that men are useless when it comes to this sort of thing, don’t we?).
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on February 3, 2012
It’s certainly been chilly again today, and plenty of icicles around to prove it!
Posted on February 1, 2012
And so to the start of my own Challenge for February – to post a photograph each day (hopefully this’ll be easier than having to write a Blog post!).
Today’s is a simple image, taken today as the sun was setting over the Purbecks. I was meeting a lovely couple this evening to talk about photographing their wedding, and had some spare time – so I popped down to Alum Chine and this is what greeted me …. what a glorious evening! The surf was foaming as it hit the shoreline, and the colours of the sunset were reflected in the wet sand – but it was bitterly cold!!
Oh, and in case you’re wondering ….. they’ve booked me to shoot their wedding this year – so a great end to a cold and wintry day! 
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 31, 2012
Well, that certainly seems more than 31 days where I’ve had to Blog as part of this Challenge!
I have to be honest and say that I’ve not found it easy! In the early days it seemed quite simple to find a subject and write about it, but as time progressed it became more and more difficult – not helped by the fact that the business was picking up as we moved away from the Christmas/New Year break …. so finding the time to write became a challenge in itself!
I’m not a natural writer – yes, I can pen business communications, but I’ll never be an author or journalist … that’s just not me! I tend to communicate with images, which is pretty handy in my line of work I guess!
Anyway, the Blogging Challenge has come to an end and I’ve absolutely refused to take part in a video blogging challenge – that’s just not me! However, I’ve set myself a challenge for February – to post an image a day (and perhaps a few words), so watch out!
Thanks to everyone who’ve commented on my posts, and well done to all of the participants – hopefully you’ve enjoyed it as well.
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 29, 2012
Well, someone did!
The words of that classic Paul Simon song, referring to the archetypal transparancy film (that’s was around for nearly 75 years), came true in 2009 when Kodak announced that production of this wonderful film would cease.
It’s a real shame – many of the iconic colour images of the second half of the 20th century were captured on this fabulous medium. Time Life, National Geographic and many others used shots from this fine grained film, with its unique tone and “feel”.
Mayrhofen 1937 - W. Robert Moore / National Geographic
In the Summer of 1937, National Geographic magazine photographer W. Robert Moore took the first Kodachrome shots for the publication whilst on assignment in Austria. For a world that was used to seeing “action” photographs in black and white this was a revelation, and National Geographic was quick off the blocks and soon most of its photographers had the film in their camera bags.
In the days before the travel industry catered for the masses, magazines like National Geographic brought the world into people’s homes – showing them wonderful places that they’d never heard about.
Although I use digital for the majority of my work, I still hanker after using analogue for landscapes and the demise of film is a sign of our unrelenting “progress” as a society. Only 7 or 8 years ago, digital cameras were so expensive and out of the reach of most consumers that everyone shot film. Kodachrome was readily available in three speeds (ISO 25, 64 and 200) and could be processed in a number of labs worldwide. By 2009 that had dwindled to just one speed (ISO 64) and one lab in the world – “Dwayne’s Photos” in Kansas (you’ve got to love that name!)!
Piccadilly Circus 1953 - David Boyer / National Geographic
It’s easy with today’s computer-manipulated imagery to enhance colours and tweak exposure – with Kodachrome you had little margin for error and had to nail the exposure (with processing taking a couple of weeks it’s a far cry from checking the histogram and shooting again!), but if you got it right the results were almost magical!
It was hard work, but it was the best way to learn about getting the correct exposure – on a film that was incredibly fine-grained with a natural way of recording colour (something that I feel can’t be recreated digitally).
There’s something else – we know that film has a life of at least 100 years (it’s been proved) – we have no idea how long digital media will survive!
Kodachrome 1935-2010 – RIP
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 29, 2012
I’ve posted several times on this Blog before about not taking things for granted – our family, friends, health etc. and that applies our work as well. Here’s a reminder of a story I heard a year or so back about one of the USA’s leading children’s photographers, a lady by the name of Lisa Jane:
Many years ago Lisa took a portrait of her best friend and his little boy, but a day or two after the shoot, they were both killed in a car accident. Hers were the last photographs ever taken of this father and son.
She printed and framed an image and wanted to personally deliver it to her friend’s mother. On boarding the plane to fly to the funeral, the flight attendant wouldn’t allow Lisa to bring the print on board, as it was too big to fit into the overhead locker and violated FAA regulations.
Lisa explained the position but the attendant wouldn’t compromise – however, the pilot overheard the story, took the print and said, “I thought I had an important job flying all these people around, but my job is nothing in comparison to the importance of yours”. He took the print and put it behind his own seat in the cockpit.
As photographers we’re in a privileged position of being able to capture some of life’s most memorable occasions, such as weddings, christenings and family celebrations. In today’s digital world everyone’s looking to do things quicker, being encouraged to take shortcuts and make compromises by the “I want it now generation”.
The moral of this story is that as photographers we never know how important our images may become later on, and for that reason, we should never compromise on the quality and the effort that we put into every shoot.
In Lisa’s own words – “In our business we can’t afford to compromise, you just never know when a portrait you take of someone may be all a mother has left to hold on to….”
Ian
Posted on January 27, 2012
A subject re-visited today (because it’s Friday and nearing the end of the 31 day Blogging Challenge!!) ….
A year or so ago one of my fellow professional photographers tweeted and asked the question “What is art“?
Not surprisingly, 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 – 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!
There are also those who say that photography isn’t an art, it’s a mechanical (well, electronic now I suppose) capture of a moment in time. But the word “photography” is actually derived from an ancient Greek term meaning “painting with light”, and I have to dig my heels in and say that I truly believe that photography CAN be art – it isn’t always, believe me, but with the right techniques a superbly executed photograph can rival many a painting.
This photo I took 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!)
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 26, 2012
With Valentine’s Day 2012 approaching I couldn’t resist sharing this story with you again!
I came across this charming video on one of the wedding vendors’ blogs, and think it’s a fabulous story ….. a photographer in the US by the name of Sid Ceaser created this Muppet inspired story for his girlfriend -
Image copyright Sid Ceaser / Ceaser Photography
On December 12th 2010, Sid took his girlfriend Sara to a cinema in New Hampshire. After they’d watched a couple of trailers for new films, this wonderful video came up on the big screen – as the Muppet proposed to his girlfriend Sid proposed to Sara. No prizes for guessing the outcome of either proposal – just enjoy the video and the terrific song.
You can read Sid’s story about the background to the proposal on his Blog – it makes the story even better!
Cheers,
Ian.
Dorset and Hampshire wedding and portrait photography
Posted on January 25, 2012
Having spent years in the “Corporate” world, it was a tough decision to leave the (supposed) security of that behind and to pursue the dream – of having my own business and doing something that I enjoyed passionately … wedding and portrait photography. But in retrospect it was definitely the right decision to make – even though we’re now in tough times with talk of a double-dip recession it’s great when you have the freedom to pursue that dream and live life to the full.
I wrote about this last year just after Steve Jobs stood down as the CEO of Apple due to health issues and before his untimely death. This is an extract from a speech he gave to the students of Stanford University in 2005 – in which he reminds us all that no matter how young you are, one day you’ll be old and consigned to history – regardless of whether you were rich and famous, or poor and unknown it’s one of those speeches that brings home the fact that we’re all mortal.
Even though it was quoted many times on Blogs around the world after his death, the message still holds true – so make the most of your time, and have the courage to follow your heart …..
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
