Well, as you might expect it involves photography!
Andy and Sharon are now rated amongst the top equine and horse photographers in the UK!
Visit their website dedicated to beautiful equine portrait photography and exciting horse portrait photography.
If you have booked or are considering holding your wedding at Ampleforth Abbey we would love to talk to you about becoming your wedding photographers.
Ampleforth Abbey is a simply stunning location for a wedding ceremony. Set in the Ampleforth Vale of Yorkshire close to Helmsley and Kirby Moorside, Ampleforth Abbey has views which are second to none and makes for an impressive commencement to your wedding day celebrations.
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We are Leeds Wedding Photographers, based near Leeds, West Yorkshire and we undertake wedding photography all over the UK and beyond. Our purpose built photography studio is located in the market town of Boroughbridge. We are halfway between Leeds and York; less than 2 minutes drive from junction 48 of the A1. We are superbly located for all major motorway connections. We are also ideally located to photograph weddings in and around Leeds. We frequently photograph weddings at the top Leeds wedding venues. Luxury wedding venues such as Hazlewood Castle, Rudding Park, Ripley Castle , Swinton Park, The Dorchester, Park Lane, London . We are personally recomended at Allerton Castle, Raven Hall Hotel, Monk Fryston Hall, Oulton Hall, Crab Manor, Bowes Museum and Cave Castle are all past favourites.
Check out some of these links for west yorkshire wedding photographers new website at fnswedding s.co.uk…
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We had the absolute pleasure of attending the Open MicUK Final at the O2 on Saturday night. This is a talent competition for unsigned UK acts and it starts with regional competitions all over the UK and culminates with the final in the O2. At the final the finalists are split into 3 categories – Under 18’s, 18 – 25’s and Over 25’s. The act we were particularly interested – a singing duo from York called “Disctracted” in fell into the first category, in fact they were by far the youngest in that category.
We have known the girls who form Disctracted – Danielle and Emily for years and think at only 10 and 12 years old respectively they are incredibly talented. We’re very excited to be their “official” photographers and have recently completed the photography and artwork for their first CD – which combines some cover tracks with some of their original work – composed and written by Emily and Danielle.
At the final of the Open MicUK competition they sang “Firework” by Katy Perry. They were amazing. They were only one point behind the runner-up of their category in the final outcome despite competing against 27 of the countries most talented under 18 acts.
Here’s a recording of their performance. I’m not divulging which voice you can hear in the background shouting for them at the beginning and the end is mine!
Well done girls!
Its live at last! The latest incarnation of renowned photographer Andy Hopkinson, From This Day, Wedding Photojournalist website is launched. Boosted by recent acceptance to one of the worlds leading photographers associations, dedicated to raising the standards of wedding photography of photographers across the world, Andy was delighted to be accepted.
“Acceptance by the WPJA, the Wedding PhotoJournalist Association, is a great honour. There are just a few photographers in the UK who are good enough to have been allowed membership. Shooting a wedding in a photojournalistic style is a real skill. Any intervention from the photographer by it’s very nature, alters the image. Shooting such an important event as a wedding in this way is an art. You need to have lightning reflexes, anticipate events and expressions, to be focussed on the job in hand. To be recognised as one of the chosed few, the worlds best is just brilliant!”
Please feel free to visit the site for the ultimate in unobtrusive wedding photography.
Check it out here now:
We have only a few select dates left for late 2010 and 2011 seasons and we’re looking to photograph only the most special couples and weddings. So if you think your wedding has something of the “S” factor then please get in touch and make a bid for our services!
Yes – that’s right we are asking you to have a good look through our website and portfolios and then decide what it would be worth to you to have us to photograph your wedding.
Once you’ve decided on your “bid” for our services please email sharon@fnsweddings.com along with the following information:
Please bear in mind that our minimum “appearance fee” without anything else included is £1500 but also bear in mind we are looking for special weddings and special people – it will not necessarily be the highest bidder to win our services.
Good luck and Happy Bidding.
Everyone will recieve a personal reply from us, you will not be ignored and every ‘bid’ will be carefully considered.
“It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much you lose a little money.
That is all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the thing that you bought was incapable of doing the thing that you bought it to do!
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.
It cannot be done….
And if you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk that you run.
And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper.
And the people, who consider price alone, are this man’s lawful prey.”
- John Ruskin
I know I’m biased but he could have been talking about wedding photography!
I saw quite a shocking picture this week. It was taken by a wedding photographer friend of mine during a church of England church wedding ceremony.
The Church in question had charged the happy couple a total of £670 to get married there and led them to believe that photography during the ceremony, from the back of the church would not be a problem. On the day however the Vicar turned the tables and banned any photography from the official photographers. This happens all to often and we always inform our couples that whatever happens at the Church we are in effect in the hands of not only the Vicar but the church warden as to what, if anything they will permit on the day.
So my redundant friend sat in with the congregation. Noticing however that several guests were taking photos using a variety of cameras from mobile phones through small digital cameras to more serious amateur cameras he decided it would do no halm to take a picture of the kiss after the couple were pronounced man and wife from his position in the congregation at the back of the church using a long lens with no flash.
A gentleman several rows in front of him also had the same idea. Whilst the lingering kiss was taking place the Vicar noticing the gentleman in front of my friend appears in the picture my friend took to articulate a “V” sign behinds the brides head. My friends shot clearly shows him glaring behind the couple – who were totally oblivious to any of this and putting two fingers in the air! How disgraceful is that? The Vicar had not requested the guests to refrain from photography and the guest concerned was naturally very upset at what had happened.
Whilst we’re on the subject of photography in church, allow me to share with you a letter received recently from a church in West Yorkshire who again had indicated to the happy couple that photography would be no problem provided it was without flash and from the back of the church. This letter was given to the couple to pass on to us two days before the wedding at their rehearsal:
Dear Photographer
We understand that you are to act as the official photographer at a wedding in our Benefice, and hope that this letter will give you all the information that you will need.
Before the marriage service:
We hope you find these notes helpful.
Yours sincerely
The Rev’d (name deleted for privacy)
Priest-in-charge
I should explain that it only takes one bad apple photographer to be silly and disrespectful in church to spoil things for everyone. We have heard horror stories of photographers literally crawling along pews and then popping up, flashing away to get their shot and then going off somewhere else like a ninja turtle. We’ve even been told of one photographer who took a picture over the shoulder of the Vicar of the passage in the bible he was trying to read at the time. Clearly this is unacceptable behaviour. We do not behave like this.
If we are lucky we are sometimes allowed to have one of us in the choirstalls or front of the church and the other at the back. We don’t use flash and remain as unobtrusive as possible – taking photographs during the hymn singing for example and of course of the first married kiss. We do like to take a picture of the rings being pushed into place if possible but do not click away during the exchanging of the vows. Some church officials can be like Rottweilers however…..
In the instance of the couple outlined above they requested that the brides uncle – who was higher up in the Church heirachy and from a neighbouring parish be allowed to marry them. Reluctantly and on the threat of the service being cancelled (so the church losing several hundreds of pounds they were gaining from the couple) the church agreed. It was deemed that I would be “allowed” to be in the choirstalls since the brides Uncle had sanctioned this.
On the day however the Vicar from the parish’s wife (hope you are keeping up here!) was determined our couple were to have no photography from the front at it “set a precedent for other couples”. So she literally shoved me in the back row, darkest corner of the choirstalls, totally hemmed in by the 3 baritones! By this time I had gathered that this church had in it’s congregation some of the most uncharitable “Christians” I had ever met.
I am a ley preachers daughter as it happens. I was brought up going to church 2 or 3 times every Sunday without exception. I am very respectful of the church and the solemnity of marriage. So this is how the conversation went between the Vicar’s wife and myself after she had “stuffed” me into the pew:
I asked her politely if I could move positions. “no – you go where I tell you she says and you will be staying there because there are three baritones sitting next to you. You won’t be able to move.” She was right – I couldn’t.
So I smiled sweetly and said “Ok then I’ll just have to sing.” “What do you mean you’ll just have to sing?” “Well, I’m in the choirstalls, as agreed to take a couple of photos of the marriage. Since you’re making it impossible for me to do that I will just do what everyone else in the choirstalls will be doing – sing.”
“You can’t sing” she says, horrified. “Why not?” I ask. “Well what are you? You’re in with the baritones. If you aren’t a baritone you will spoil all our balance.” “I’ve no idea” I say “…but I’ll do my best to sing very loud and in tune – help the congregation to get going. I know most of the words I hear them that often each week in church. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Will quite enjoy it being able to sing along with no pressure.”
She’s now going red in the face. “So you go to church every week then?” “Yes – more or less every week. I’ve picked up most of the hymns by now ” then I launch into the most tuneless rendition of “Lord of the Dance” you’ve ever heard. She looks mortified.
“You see – I take much better photographs than the way I sing but since I’m not taking photographs there’s only one thing I can do and that is to sing.” She looks very embarassed by now and visibly flustered. So I carry on…”It’s ironic really because my singing is much louder than my camera going off. Still as I said I’ll enjoy it.”
Before we get any further with our discussions the videographer arrives and sets up his excessively large tripod right in the middle in front of the altar.
“You can’t put that there…..” she starts. “Is he with you?” she hisses at me. “No – not at all so I’ve no idea what his singing voice is like but I’m sure it won’t be anything like mine” I say.
So she toddles off to sort him out.
Meanwhile I get myself into a slightly better position and do get some shots of my couple.
And yes – I did sing – all the way through actually.
It’s all in a days work as they say.
About 4 years ago now I had the pleasure of interviewing and writing about for a photography magazine one of the leading wedding photographers in the world. His name is Yervant and he comes from Australia. He was over in the UK conducting a tour with seminars arranged all over England.
His wise words about albums, editing, album design and processing will never leave me:
“Sharon Photoshop can make a good photo great but it can’t make a bad photo good.”
We were talking about album design and Photoshop at the time as his signature style had some photo shop applied along the way. This leads me nicely into my thoughts for this post. It’s all about albums, album design and what’s out there.
What prompted me to write the post in the first place was the recent boasting of quite a well-known Yorkshire wedding photographer that each year he is approached by 5 or 6 couples requesting that he produces an album for them from the images they have on printable CD from their photographer. He stated that he quotes £1500 to each couple who asks for producing an album for them using his design skills. I have no problem with that either. If people want his design and an album their existing photographer can’t or won’t deliver either then it’s good for both sides that this is on offer.
What I do have an issue with however is his boast that someone had recently approached him with a request that he produce an album for them from the work of a photographer whose photography they loved but not their albums. He stated that when he found out who it was he wouldn’t touch it and that the bride to be had become very upset at this. He didn’t state why he wouldn’t touch it – was it because the photographers work had too much of a certain “look” to it i.e. was too stylised and too far away from his own style for him to be able to do it justice or what? The implication I took from what he was saying however was that he thought that the photographer concerned did not work to a high enough standard for him to make anything decent from the images. This was said in front of a lot of other photographers – some of whom I believe regularily pass work to the photographer concerned.
It could be sour grapes because he lost a booking to the other photographers – who knows? There is one thing which should be considered. The couple concerned loved the photography and style of the photographers they decided to book and found them nice people to consider having around on their wedding day. They preferred the albums and design of photographer “B”. At the end of the day which should take priority and be most important? There is no doubt about the answer to this question in my mind – great photography should win every time! With great photography you at least have the chance of making a great album even if you ask your photographer to consider getting a quote for your chosen album manufacturer if you prefer it over the ones they showed you. With great albums but average photography then you may come unstuck. As the saying goes: “You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.”
There’s quite a romantic story behind the existence of the Bowes Museum, which lies in the beautiful Teesdale, near the market town of Barnard Castle and a short 20 minute drive from the Scotch Corner junction of the A1 along the A66. It is situated in the heart of the Pennines in County Durham, North East England. John Bowes, born in 1811 was the son of the 10th Earl of Strathmore. Although they had lived together as man and wife for many years John’s parents only married 16 hours prior to the death of the Earl of Strathmore. Following a long legal battle where John Bowes was awarded the Durham Estates John was never recognised as the legitimate heir to the Strathmore title. He was educated at Eton and went on to become a very successful businessman in his own right. From 1847 he divided his time between France and England. John Bowes had a passion for the arts. In 1847 he travelled to Paris where he bought a theatre and met the future Mrs Bowes – Parisian born actress Josephine Coffin-Chevallier. They married in 1852. Josephine, herself a talented amateur painter shared her husbands passion for the arts and art forms, including paintings, ceramics, furniture and textiles. With the idea of making the art they so loved accessible to “the people” John and Josephine decided to build a museum very close to Barnard Castle. As Josephine laid the foundation stone in 1869 she said: “I lay the bottom stone, and you, Mr. Bowes, will lay the top stone.” Between them John and Josephine purchased 15,000 objects for the museum during the years between 1862 and 1874. Sadly, Josephine passed away in 1874 and never saw the museum completed. John passed away in 1885 and did not fulfil Josephine’s’ wish of “laying the top stone”. Undeterred by their passing the museum was seen through to completion by the museum trustees and opened it’s doors to the public for the first time on the 10th June 1892. Although there are so many beautiful pieces of art to see in the museum one of the most famous and from which the museum takes it’s logo is the 230 year old life sized Silver Swan. The Swan is an English Silver automation which is still in working order and is operated daily at the museum. It is simply beautiful. One can see in the building architecture of the museum the French influence – it is very much along the lines of a French chateau and took 23 years to build. The museum gardens were designed by John and Josephine and comprise of formal gardens and parkland. The fountains are magnificent on the terrace at the front of the house. With its beautiful architecture, fabulous grounds and mouth watering menus the Bowes Museum offers everything and more you could possibly wish for in a wedding venue, a special occasion or simply a brilliant day out with the family. Although we are Yorkshire Wedding Photographers, we are delighted to be the only officially recommended photographers for the Bowes Museum. If you click the RSS feed you can see some of the pictures we took of it recently.
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