Aryan's 8th Birthday Party - Sublime Science - Shibden Park

Aryan is now 8.  I have photographed most of his birthday parties since he was 3 years old and was pleased to be asked to photograph his 8th at Shibden Park Cafe.  Even though Aryan birthday was earlier in the month and had to be postponed because of the bad weather, a different venue was chosen, but all his friends were there.  A lot of these children have been friends for a long time, so it was nice seeing them again and how they had grown, though I doubt that they remembered me.  Obviously, a lot more nosier and boisterous than previous parties, which had included go-karting, baby-ballet and play gym's.  More grown up was this party with a scientist from Sublime Science (guy training to be a school teacher - therefore had patience of a saint), there was all sorts of experiments with audience participation.  There was noise, air, water experiments, Static Ball, smoke bubbles and gunge,  it was actually great fun.  Making their own sherbet was great, as the sourer the concoction the more sour faces.  Later on rockets were launched outside, followed by sandwiches and cakes.  Aryan had a great time and his now contemplating what he can do for his 9th birthday.

Mum and Baby Shoot

These are a few images from an impromptu shoot, after a meeting with one of my brides and her friend.  We did a couple of shoots of Mum and Baby, using natural light against a white wall.  The little girl is beautiful, happy and very well behaved and so was her mum.

Anne Marie & James - Weddings & Wellies

Seems like I had been a bit quite for a while, but no have done several Golf Club Portrait sittings and 3 Boudoir shoots, so not quite at all really.  Anyway Wedding Season is quickly approaching, with a very busy May.  So it makes sense to get the pre-wedding shoots of too a start, with the first one being Anne Marie & James who are getting married at Noristhrope with their reception at the fantastic Weddings & Wellies.  Sunday was a great and bitterly cold day, so we quickly got down to business., using various spots down the lane and making use of the the Yorkshire countryside. The ground underfoot was rather wet and muddy, so we were limited to where we could go, but used walls and brickwork as suitable backdrops.  It was hysterical when James tried to pick up Anne Marie - but he could not get a grip of her so it was a great funny moment.  Anne Marie chose Wedding & Wellies as they are animal lovers and wanted to have there reception on a farm, so this place ticked all the boxes.

Jean & Wim

On the same day that I photographed my "double boudoir" (sorry boys - not on the blog).  I was asked to photograph a customer from my husbands shop and her dog.  So I popped round to meet up with Jean and Wim (Lord Wimbsy) and have a cup of coffee, before setting up the background to shoot a very quick session with an excitable dog and his owner.  Wim is quite old, but is a great softy and posed lovely for me, he is very friendly and is great company for his owner Jean.

A Sparkly Christmas Wedding with Adele & Stuart - Midland Hotel

This was the last wedding of the year and a Christmas one as well.  I love weddings at this time of year as it is all warm and sparkly and we were at the beautiful Midland Hotel in Bradford.  This hotel is a jewel and has everything a photographer could wish for, with sweeping staircases, stunning ball room and the railway concourse which has a vintage feel about it.  Adele & Stuart were having a lovely civil wedding with all their friends and family sharing the day with them.  Adele wore the most stunning dress which suited the time of the year and Stuart and the boys wore very unusual suits that looked similar to a military style - which also suited the venue.   One of Adele's bridesmaids was one of my brides from a couple of years ago and also by coincidence Adele's cousin and his wife was also a couple whose wedding I had photographed as well, so it was lovely seeing them all again - along with some friends from our local golf club.  The wedding was quite emotional and even though quite a lot of guests, it was still intimate and you could see the emotion of the faces of Adele & Stuart as they said their vows.  We managed to get lovely shots on the stairs and by the Christmas tree - along with some fun shots in the Railway Concourse.  I know everybody had a fantastic day and it really made my Christmas too - such fun.

Smith Family - Day out

December seems to be a busy time with portrait shoots - but usually indoors.  Last year Chloe bought a shoot as Christmas present for her family and the other day we met up at Shiden Hall to photograph the them.  We were a bit worried about what the weather would bring, as earlier in the week it had been very icy, with black ice on occasions.  Anyway it was a lot milder and quite pleasant when we all arrived, everybody were in their winter woollies and colourful outfits, which looked great.  As this was family shoot, with 7 people, it was better that it was done on location.  As we walked around the estate, we got some great shoots of the family, couples, individuals and Oliver. It was quite an enjoyable way to pass off the Sunday morning with a lovely walk in the countryside.

Lyndsey & Mark - Brass and Butterflies

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing Lyndsey & Mark's wedding in the "Last of the Summer
Wine" country - beautiful Holmfirth.  Lyndsey and Mark were originally getting married next March, however it was brought forward to December.  Lyndsey had been very excited over the last few months with updates on FB of how many days left to the big day.  When it arrived I was at first photographing the Bridal Preparation at Lyndsey's parents, which was full of Bridesmaids, Ushers, Pageboys, Grandma's, Grandad's and of course a very excited Lyndsey.  After that I met the guys outside the church on which was a sunny but chilly morning, we made our way across the bridge to little memorial park, which was great for the shots.  Mark is a member of the the "Slaithwaite Brass Band" and they were there to entertain the guests while waiting for the bridal party.  The wedding was very emotional at times, but with some special moments with laughter.  After the wedding, we visited the park again and then made our way up to the Huntsman, where the wedding breakfast and celebrations took place, the theme for the venue was Butterfiles.  Before the first dance we were again entertained by the Brass Band with some traditional and modern music, with a special rendition for Mark and Lyndsey of "When I am 64".