Summer Mini Sessions are here!! :-)

Every so often I open up 'Mini Sessions' and I am delighted that this summer I have 3 possible dates to offer through the summer holidays!

If you're unsure how your son or daughter would react to a professional photo session this is the perfect way to introduce them to the idea (I promise lots of fun and giggles!!)

                            ****HAMPSHIRE & LONDON AVAILABLE xx **********

a snippet of 30 minutes and you will be sent 3 digital files and a Facebook timeline to share with friends, you also get access to a password protected online gallery and can share this with friends and family and I have two fantastic packages available should you wish to book in for a longer amount of time and a more personalised session! :-) 

The 'Mini Session' is suitable for all ages and can also be booked to celebrate a fun occasion or treat,

For more info call me on 07754 757716 x speak soon x

Special photo treat around East London!

Hannah has just finished school, her prom is coming up and she's off to College in September - it's all go and we had a blast zipping around East London with super cool Sally (Hannah's aunt) last week.

Hannah has a passion for dance and she totally nailed some fantastic moves whilst we were out about, super elegant and immmm....yep the frozen yoghurt was a delicious reward for all the hard work!! xx

The Blue Poet Dreams

Ok so I’m biased, many people are biased….ok correction, many people love this work and love the man behind it, the two marry up incredibly well together and you can’t help (I don’t think) but become transfixed, drawn in to world of vernaculars woven with mystique and intrigue. 

Each time I visit these pieces, or new works, I feel impish and excitable. I know I won’t be disappointed, and that I will see layers of story, and feel delicately challenged (rare in some cases of photography now and uplifting when it happens). I will feel like I am sneaking a look at a world just within my grasp or finger tips, and my imagination will run away with me. 

I ponder that connection you feel with photography, when you ‘get it’ and the difference of when you just don't engage. I’ve been careful to ask myself if it is more so when you know the creator, and yes, to a certain degree that helps, but the endurance of an image can sometimes be through recognising certain elements within the frame, certainly with this work your mind and eyes dance looking, questioning the elements within it. 

The use of cyanotpyes in this way is exquisite. I know personally how long each of these took to create, I know and understand the process which was involved, the long exposures in sunlight, our photo magician using his lunch breaks** to return to his studio or table and turn and move the pictures and elements within it. Each of these images took many hours, if not days and it is a joy to see them collated all together in this book.

                                        The Blue Poet Dreams, Brenton Hamilton.

Full of texture and hand crafted pieces, I am drawn at first to '1.The Aquatic’. I love the whole book but maybe it’s the painterly qualities I am drawn back to, or the construct of white and blue, or the hidden, just detectable body, with the touch of geometry…? In ’54.Shadow of a Woman’ it is no accident the top left corner has been carefully cut away and then returned to a position which fits, not exactly but closely to it’s original lines, each element of these constructs so carefully placed and the circular images..well, it’s no secret I am a fan of this modern usage (I have been known to dance with it myself).

Whether you are crazy about alternative processes or not, captivated by photography (because lets not pretend it’s letting you go anywhere) or a lover or appreciator of art, this joyous ensemble is delicious…(oh and I really love ’11.All the Mornings of the World’..the composition, colours..peachy tones and blue..).

Brenton has a phenomenal knack, his is the most succinct and honest raw talent for seeing - for creating and for teaching. He is brilliant at sharing his wealth of knowledge about a process and processes which are finding their way back in to our lives and should you wish to peruse a body of work which will challenge you to look a little harder, to untangle the figures, decipher the fruits, the layerings and the hearts and inspire you: this is it. Am I biased? Yes. Am I a romantic captivated by a photographic process as old as can be? Yes, yes! Would I like to see more? …completely and my favourite recent images is ‘Devoured’ (see below). x

Brenton has a solo show opening at the TILT Gallery in AZ February 5th 2015, from what I’ve seen, it's a mix of Ambrotypes (sigh) and Cyanotypes.

**Brenton Hamilton was my Photography Professor.

The Blue Poet Dreams by Brenton Hamilton is published by Obscura Press. For further information and ordering details visit their website.

Happy New Year x

Happy New Year Everyone

I'm so excited to start 2015 and would like to wish everyone a super year ahead full of love, laughter and happiness x I'd like to say a special "CONGRATULATIONS" to everyone who got engaged over the Christmas holidays - including lovely Ben & Vicky who were featured here in December and for everyone planning their special day and all my bride & grooms to be this coming year xx Have a fabulous 2015!!!

I'm so thrilled to share this engagement session from December in London with Lutz & Melitha my fabulous bride and groom to be who are getting married in early April. We had such a fun afternoon visiting all their locations and venues for their BIG day and capturing these beautiful images was a joy. These guys are such fun and completely adorable and I am really looking forward to capturing their wedding day!!

Happy New Year! xx

Alice in Wonderland

Kris & Claire, Hampton House, London. August 2014

So many wonderful touches added to this beautiful day, from hand made bridesmaid dresses to the mother of the bride wearing a 'queen of hearts' crown right through to the grooms waistcoat being custom made by one of the bridesmaids who is a professional tailor.

Cups and saucers had been collected over several months to serve drinks to the guests and the table centers were a collection of gorgeous books and moss and keys and little tiny 'drink me' bottles. Claire our brides created her own lace bolero which was delicate and breathe taking. Her brothers gave her the most striking ruby necklace to tie in with her 'Alice in Wonderland' theme and it shone brightly all day.

Hampton House is a stunning location, set against beautiful gardens and Bushy Park. This location not only has character, it has sass. It's craggy, has TONS of texture on the walls, steps, window sills. It's a delight how it mixes a tropical verandah with paint peeled textured walls and looks both elegant and cool. I really love textures and this venue is full of them! x