London Pride 2011

It's a sign of increasing old age that each year seems to get quicker than the last one. I was amazed that suddenly here we were again shooting another London Pride. Brilliant sunshine prevailed and apart from the rantings of the Christian Right, a few cuts and bruises treated by the LAS and the repeated failure to make the event fully accessible for disabled people everything went swimmingly. Pride is free to attend every year because of the generosity of those who donate to it. The above link also has a section where you can make a donation to keep pride FREE.

Pictured here with the lovely Miranda (AKA Claire Anderson) is Joel Ryder, the man voted as the best Pride pouter three years running. He is a very generous and lovely man and I would like to thank him for the opportunity of working alongside him and the posse (sorry for the dated Steve Wright terminology I don't get out much) with my trusted camera in hand. Hugh Hill also joined me in the VIP area again with his press pass.

Prior to today's event I had no idea how LGBT-friendly Simon Cowell was. No less than 4 groups or artistes from the X-Factor/Britain's got talent stable took to the stage. Stavros Flatley above (AKA Demetrious & Michalakis) later posed with the most reliable political Pride regular, the Deputy Mayor of London, Richard Barnes.

Stephen K Amos (AKA that bloke from "Have I Got News For You" as I overheard one of the front row describe him) did a short stand up routine and warm up for the act that followed.

The first London Pride took place in 1972, two years after the formation of the UK's wing of the Gay Liberation Front. One of the key advocates then and now is the human rights activist Peter Tatchell According to the history books only 700 people turned up at that inaugural march, so I guess the years that have followed haven't been in vain. There's still largely a lip service from most of the politicians though. "Might lose us a few votes being too LGBT friendly" seems to prevail rather than "I don't want their votes" (ie the votes of the bigots or for that matter any bloody votes) proving once again that very few things that are political are ever correct.

No Pride would be complete without Peter or Stonewall this year's chosen charity for the TPS image sales. A full set of saleable images can be viewed here TPS Pride 2011. Don't forget every penny goes to Stonewall.

Another name from the X-Factor posse was Lloyd Daniels above.

It was lovely to see Bucks Fizz up on the stage too. For an old fart like me, they were one of the few acts I recognised. The women (Cheryl Baker & Jay Aston) looked amazing considering their Eurovision hit was 30 years ago. Sadly the blokes didn't fare so well. Only a 50% show from the men (Mike Nolan). The band has had quite a few line ups over the years though. There's a couple of cracking shots of Cheryl and Jay on our web site.

I can't remember when Eurovision was first recognised as having a huge Gay following, but I'm sure the pink pound in the UK has kept Terry Wogan's annual pilgrimage propped up (yes I know he's now retired now). I'm sure I can't be the first person to have seen the irony/hypocrisy of the bloke. When he had his own BBC TV show, he used the term "pouffs" to describe his guests who evangelically proclaimed they loved women! In the same season he had a big gushing obsequious interview with his hero Rock Hudson. He'd apparently left his Gaydar key in the locker room.

Once again the armed services were out in force (pun entirely intended). Here the Royal Navy delegation was led by Lieutenant Commander Mandy McBain, the Assistant Royal Naval Equality and Diversity Policy Officer. Now that's a really brave woman! Going to sea and getting torpedoed or a missile fired at them is one thing that the public know our senior servicemen and women risk facing, yet there are still mile long queues to do that job. One of Mandy's previous RN roles was as the spokesperson for the armed forces in Bosnia, so it's not exactly been pen pushing. Actually I object to the term "pen pusher" as a title of castigation - we should celebrate poets, authors, lyricists - all of whom are "pen pushing" writers - I digress sorry.

There's a camaraderie and uniting force that's difficult to explain to people who have never gone into war zones and felt the need to be backed up by the rest of the team and maybe that's part of the attraction of service life. The grub was never that good and few people in HM Forces would ever get shot at for the money.

I'm certain that the list of volunteers for Mandy's post was significantly less voluminous than those who merely wanted to see the world and wear a uniform that got them laid - Maybe things have changed, but that's what many of my peers joined up to do! Challenging the status quo of overt and largely unchallenged sexism and other hate crimes however (like the aforementioned Peter Tatchell) comes with it a sense of when you look over your shoulder for the backup, there's something of a void. I didn't have time to debate these issues with her, so Mandy is free to post comment and tell me I'll talking out of my port hole, but I'd lay a month's salary that I'm right on this occasion having spoken to some of her peers almost 30 years after I left the service myself.

It's not exclusive to the services of course. Challenging the school bully or bigot down the pub comes with it a special sort of bravery that most people just don't have. Part of it is a British thing I suspect - we like to tut and disapprove, but we're buggered if we're going to speak out. Of course there are those who thankfully do speak out, do the right thing and make a difference.

These are the people I most admire and who generally those who get the least recognition for what they do - because on the job description of the person who constantly has to shout "Booh" at the public meetings comes with it the legacy of "you're largely on your own mate". Another reason why Pride is so empowering and important. It was lovely to meet Mandy albeit briefly. It brought home a timely reminder that despite the obvious progress there's still lots of work to be done.

Until such time as we can eradicate hatred and ignorance and embrace the absolute need to share the love with like minded lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight people, the future of Pride is assured. I had a lovely day. I hope you did too.

PS The "Christian Right" are neither.

Kerry and Tam

This is Kerry Baigent (the one on the right in case you were guessing) with her dad Dave on the way to Taunton Register Office on Saturday 25th June 2011.

Waiting patiently for her arrival is the groom (left) Thomas McFarlane or Tam to most of his mates and best man George. This was our closest wedding to midsummers night this year, but the weather in the lead up to their big day was more than a bit disappointing. On the day of the solstice I wore a jumper at home I was so cold, but after an overcast start, the weather just kept getting better and better on Saturday.

Taunton has an excellent Park & Ride service, which is just as well because there's absolutely nowhere guaranteed for wedding photographers to park. The bus driver couldn't have been more helpful and she gave me directions to where I needed to be and the best place to wait for my return journey. Not only is parking quite restricted in Taunton, but space for a decent sized group shot at the register office is also somewhat limited as you can see from the above shot.

Thank goodness for the full frame of the Mk ii 1DS and 15-50mm zoom. This could be my last wedding using this though as I'm intending to upgrade to the Mark iii at the start of next month. Despite the obvious benefits of using decent kit (I'm not particularly evangelical about brands by the way - Nikon's array of cameras and lenses are spectacularly good as well) it's not the camera that determines the results of a shoot, but the person using them. Two photographers I have admired for years Jon Jenkins and Richard P Walton have never been particularly fussed about purchasing what some see as the next "must have" kit yet they have achieved Associate level of their craft by examinations and submissions and always leave my work looking somewhat flat in comparison. All the best photographers I know are overly self critical however, so I'm hoping I fall into that category too.

As always there's a much larger set of these images on the TPS Website. The best way to view these images is by clicking on the slideshow option. If you don't want the music that goes with it you can turn it off with a single click.

Laura & Mark's wedding 30th April 2011

Pictured above with her father Gerry, here is the lovely Laura. Sadly at some of the weddings we have attended, the bride's dad didn't make it. My mum was given away by her Uncle because of her own father's severe Parkinson's disease and his fear that he wouldn't be able to walk her down the aisle. My own dad was absent from both of my own weddings having passed just five weeks before I married Chris in 1987. In the space of about 5 years I'd lost my grandfather, my dad and my first wife, so eulogies and other speeches are usually quite poignant for me. With just 5 wedding shoots to go to our 400th I have heard a significant number of speeches from a variety of bride's fathers, but Gerry's has to rate amongst the top ten of all time orations. Not only did he deliver it without a script, but it was from the heart.

This bunch above were partly responsible for our attendance at the wedding as I've been photographing four of them since the mid 1980's. Danny & Keri (far left) were married in August last year (see previous blog post).

I've been planning to do this shot (above) for ages, but was waiting to replace my monopod before I did it with real people. the one I'd ordered hadn't arrived by 30th (so many bank holidays had delayed all of our deliveries) so I used what I had to hand. The idea was to use a wide enough lens to capture everyone at the round table and get everyone's face in view.

Table shots rarely end up getting purchased for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is common to share a table with people you've never met before and as nice as they might be, you don't actually want a framed shot of them on your mantelpiece. The second reason that table shots are unpopular choices is that if those closest to you turn around to face the camera, they are huge compared to those who remain at the other side of the table so it's not a particularly aesthetic shot.

When I work with Marta Demartini from HM Digiart Weddings she has a great way of getting everyone round one side of the table and her resultant shots look like everyone actually likes one another. This can work really well when you have a rapport with everyone on the table, but can be problematic when the venue is really cramped or where guests have impaired mobility and getting round the table becomes a painful task - resulting in painful expressions on their faces.

In all the years we've been shooting, table photos are routinely requested but rarely used in the album or purchased separately.

So - holding up my ageing Manfrotto tripod which weighs a tonne, with the 1DS (full frame) digital SLR and a 15-30mm Sigma lens attached on manual focus using a cable release, I attempted to get a shot where everyone at the round tables was equidistant from the lens. I think the greatest success of the day was in not inducing a hernia as I lifted the 14kg rig at arms length above the heads of the guests. Problem 1 was that I needed Nedine to fire the trigger as my hands were somewhat full. Problem 2 was that even at 15mm setting on the lens, the table was too wide to get everyone in. Problem 3 was that I needed Nedine to tell me to go forwards, backwards right and left as it wasn't easy to place the lens correctly given my posture. Problem 4 my antics were far too entertaining for the guests so instead of looking up at the lens as directed, they'd be laughing about the bloke having a seizure balancing the heavy kit above the table or chatting about the bride's father's speech.

Back to the drawing board methinks, but I haven't given up yet. Any tips would be gratefully received, but as I don't see anyone else doing these "aerial" shots I think it could be a non starter. The shot above was the best of ten attempts at this wedding.

So here they are newly married and coming back down the aisle. Mark and Laura spent most of the day smiling and laughing without a single prompt.

My second shooter was Nedine O'Brien from Fera Photography above. Nedine covered Danny and Keri's wedding with me last August and as Keri is Laura's cousin, we already knew many of the guests. Not only was it great for us to have familiar faces to shoot, it also reduced some of the potential for distress by people who might worry that we'll post images they don't like of them on the internet or mess up their big day. TPS Photos has a motto of "Nothing without consent" that generally diminishes any of the concerns that clients may have in this area, but word of mouth recommendation also tends to put minds at rest.

Keri with her brother Liam (left) at the Church of the Most Sacred Heart in Ruislip.

This is one of my favourite shots of the day above - taken by Nedine just after Laura had put her veil on.

Laura, not content with organising most of her own wedding, managed to study for and gain her Masters Degree at the same time in 2010 (a point highlighted in her father's speech). Part of that arrangement was this fantastic classical duo from The Guildhall School of Music. Martin Wray on violin (also a master of the viola) provided the pre-dinner vibe with a cellist whose name I didn't get (please get in touch and we'll rectify that).

Laura's five bridesmaids consisted of her two sisters (Emily far left and Julie Anne far right) and Clare, Clara and Fran. Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely and lovely are words that immediately spring to mind.

So after our fourth April wedding we have a brief hiatus. August this year is already fully booked, but there are still gaps for the rest of 2011 which will be filled with teaching A level photography students, our annual training day in Roundwood Park on 15th May and catching up on all the wedding album design, family portraiture and the host of other events and activities that keep us all busy.

Natalie & Andy - 23rd April 2011

My starting point for today's wedding was the Manor House at the Norton Park Hotel in Hampshire where the bride Natalie was getting ready. It's the first time I've shot at this location and was overwhelmed at the variety of places to take images with an aesthetic surrounding. There's a huge lake and beautiful wooded grounds with a number of rustic outbuildings and a Hampshire barn, which is used as a wedding venue, albeit not ours today. We were destined to travel about 10 minutes away.

I shot with an old mate and impassioned full time award winning pro photographer Paul Shergold - a member of our cooperative who runs his own photography business Sheer Gold Photography from Gosport in Hampshire. Paul is getting married to the lovely Nicola Saxon in August this year and I'll be shooting that one too with Nedine O'Brien. Paul is pictured above at the venue for today's wedding - The Clock Barn at Tufton Warren farm in Whitchurch, Hants.

All the suppliers to the Clock Barn are as local as possible, reducing their environmental footprint and making their impact on our planet's finite resources more responsible. I get fed up with hearing "greenwash" propaganda by opportunist companies seizing a marketing ploy and cashing in on environmental trends without actually doing anything significant, but the staff I met at the Clock Barn seemed genuinely committed to making a difference. The level of service was excellent and grub was fresh and locally sourced. I'd certainly recommend it to others.

There were four generations of Andy's family in attendance today, so we couldn't miss the opportunity to photograph them all. On the far right, on grandma's lap is Amy the daughter of Andy and Natalie. In the centre of this shot are Amy's three great grandparents and far left is her granddad trying unsuccessfully to look like he loves having his photograph taken.

This is an internal shot of the barn. 60 minutes beforehand, the Deputy Registrar Tim had been conducting the wedding ceremony.

Andy and Amy having a stroll in the grounds of the Clock Barn.

None of these cars were hired for the wedding. Andy's family and friends are enthusiasts and mechanics and the cars ended up featuring in a number of the day's shots. The sun was cracking the slabs for most of the day with a 27 degree high ensuring that those wearing suits were melting for most of the afternoon. The grounds of the Clock Barn were fortunately landscaped well with good trees for shade cover.

Not one cake but about 200 cup cakes and a regular fruit cake topped this stack. To say they were well received would be the understatement of the year. Made by hand and with love by Jenny from CutiCups.com pictured here with her work (or should that be works) of art.

As always, we only show a handful of the day's images on our blog. For a larger set please feel free to click the link here for the TPS Website. Back in London for next week's wedding (no not that one paid for by our taxes, but the lovely Keri's cousin Laura. I'll be working with Nedine again for that one, so watch this space folks.

Joanna and Allen 16 April 2011

Beautiful weather predominated on Saturday 16th April for the wedding of Joanne and Allen. I had the honour of working with one of my favourite wedding photographers Marta Demartini from Genoa. Marta's work is exceptional and she is one of those people who inspires me to do better each time I take the camera out. If ever I get a bit complacent, all I have to do is look at her outstanding work and it prompts me to try harder next time.

Our lovely bride Joanne is a school teacher so the two of them are having a short honeymoon break in Cornwall over the Easter holidays and then going to the USA during the school summer holidays. If the current weather keeps up for them, Cornwall will be beautiful (they know this already of course). I'm not sure that Cornish pasties or clotted cream will be their top priority, but I'd welcome either if you have room in your suitcase folks.

The fantastic bridesmaids dresses were all hand made by Joanne's mum Joan. Now that's what I call dedication and creativity! I have difficulty in sewing on a button so am always impressed by people who can put things like this together (I'm rubbish at DIY as well, but that's probably too much information sorry).

This was my 393rd wedding shoot and like most of the others, it came from a referral. Avid readers of our blog will possibly recognise Keri (last bridesmaid on right above) whose wedding we covered last year. After over 30 years of taking wedding images, word of mouth is still tops for getting the next event on our books. With so many people now using on-line peer reviews before buying anything, the method of recommendation may have changed, but it's still a recommendation from happy customers that count for most consumers. Clearly no service provider is going to tell clients "Our limousines keep breaking down. We turn up late frequently" or "We're really rubbish at catering and our hotel rooms smell of cats" etc, so it's really important for our potential brides and grooms to check out what the feedback is from real clients. Although there's a selection of quotes on the TPS web site "Testimonials" page (taken as verbatim quotes from people we've photographed) anyone can write a good CV that's economical with the truth. Thankfully, we have 30 year's worth of customers you can ask directly if you doubt our integrity.

This blog always has a short bit of prose and a handful of images from the event on display. For a much larger selection, go to the TPS Website page for Joanne and Allen.

We've been fully booked for April this year for some time now. Two more consecutive Saturdays to go before a bit of a break. Thankfully I love what I get to do with a camera. The best thing about the job is the people - vitally important of course when pretty much all I take photographs of is human beings. Saturday's crowd were great fun, even though jumping for joy wasn't their most finely honed skill. We wish Joanne and Allen a long, beautiful and happy union together. A pretty easy wish if what we witnessed on Saturday is anything to go by.

Laura & Kent's wedding

I've been photographing both Laura and Kent at events and other people's weddings for well over a decade now, so was very pleased when I was chosen to cover their wedding in Aston, just off the M1 motorway near Sheffield. The All Saints Church, where the ceremony took place was constructed in the 12th century and is mentioned in the Doomsday book. The Reverend Ian Jennings conducted the ceremony.

A selection of the images can be found on our web site at TPS Photos

The affection that Kent and Laura have for one another is so obvious to anyone who knows them, that I was quite surprised they took so long to decide to tie the knot. Regardless of the procrastination, everyone I spoke to said it was well worth the wait. I was briefly assisted by their son Ben (pictured above with dad).

Ben's sister Ruby decided to have a power nap after the group shot was over (others followed suit later and had to be woken up to witness the first dance, but I wont name names). Ruby was wide awake for the speeches though, chuckling above with dad. The speeches were really funny, but moving enough to ensure that Kleenex sale prices increased too. I managed not to sob myself on this occasion, but it's always a bit easier when I'm working.

The reception was held in the Aston Hall Hotel a stones throw away from the church (unless you're using GPS in which case it's a 10 minute drive!) I would like to wish Laura and Kent a long, fruitful and happy life together. As that's reliant on them getting on, I reckon they've already proved to everyone that my wish will be an easy one to come true. Congratulations and thanks again for including me on this fantastic day.

Jillian and Malcolm

Saturday 12th February and Jillian & Malcolm make a big commitment and publicly share their love in Wycombe. A full set of these images is available to view on the TPS website.

Ably assisted by another TPS Cooperative photographer Nedine O'Brien who shares a studio and lighting with us.

There were lots of children running around and generally having a great time. They helped us out and kept saying words like "please" and "thank you". Disconcerting - I'm not used to such lovely manners - they were a credit to their parents. Thanks especially to D'Shawn, Lavarh and Rashaun.