Friday 31 December 2010
Thursday 16 December 2010
Putting 2010 to bed
I was once told that if you find a job that you love, then you will never have to work another day in your life. I took that advice on board and as another year is coming to an end I look back and realise what a lucky guy I am.
Running a wedding and portrait photography business is not without its stresses. Like all businesses, I have to keep my paperwork in order, sometimes I am editing images into the wee hours to make sure I deliver them on time and sometimes I feel like a day off but know that I cant afford the time. But this is all small fish when the rewards are working alongside people who are celebrating one of the biggest day of their lives, allowing me to capture their day in images. Sometimes I just cant believe my luck.
2010 has not disappointed. Church weddings by the score. A wedding in a tepee. A celebrity wedding and a wedding at Searcys 40/30 in the Gherkin in London. A great mix and every single one of them has been a pleasure. Every single bride has cried (in a good way) on seeing their images which is always a great testament to my work and gives a deep seated glow in my heart, knowing that I "did my job".
To thank everyone for their support of Nicholas James Photography through 2010 on an individual basis would take too long. But to all you brides (the class of 2010), to all the past brides who have now allowed me to start capturing their growing family's, to all of the professionals (florists, photographers, event organisers etc), to my family and friends (who never get to see me on weekends), and to Tom who is sadly no longer with us, I will sit back over the Christmas period, raise a glass and give you all a toast to say one big Thank You. In fact this may be repeated any number of times as I sit in front of a log fire over the festive period.
I have been criticised over not including enough weddings or portrait work on this blog. It has been mentioned on more that one occasion that I am a hopeless "blogger" because I don't do it often enough. My New Year resolution is going to be to be more active here but will warn you that I'm not very good at keeping New Years resolutions - but I will try.
Have a fab Christmas and a very happy 2011 everyone, I know that I intend to.
Nick
Running a wedding and portrait photography business is not without its stresses. Like all businesses, I have to keep my paperwork in order, sometimes I am editing images into the wee hours to make sure I deliver them on time and sometimes I feel like a day off but know that I cant afford the time. But this is all small fish when the rewards are working alongside people who are celebrating one of the biggest day of their lives, allowing me to capture their day in images. Sometimes I just cant believe my luck.
2010 has not disappointed. Church weddings by the score. A wedding in a tepee. A celebrity wedding and a wedding at Searcys 40/30 in the Gherkin in London. A great mix and every single one of them has been a pleasure. Every single bride has cried (in a good way) on seeing their images which is always a great testament to my work and gives a deep seated glow in my heart, knowing that I "did my job".
To thank everyone for their support of Nicholas James Photography through 2010 on an individual basis would take too long. But to all you brides (the class of 2010), to all the past brides who have now allowed me to start capturing their growing family's, to all of the professionals (florists, photographers, event organisers etc), to my family and friends (who never get to see me on weekends), and to Tom who is sadly no longer with us, I will sit back over the Christmas period, raise a glass and give you all a toast to say one big Thank You. In fact this may be repeated any number of times as I sit in front of a log fire over the festive period.
I have been criticised over not including enough weddings or portrait work on this blog. It has been mentioned on more that one occasion that I am a hopeless "blogger" because I don't do it often enough. My New Year resolution is going to be to be more active here but will warn you that I'm not very good at keeping New Years resolutions - but I will try.
Have a fab Christmas and a very happy 2011 everyone, I know that I intend to.
Nick
Wedding photography at "The Gherkin" in London
The wedding of Rahael Kilby Tyre and Alun Robinson Parry @ Searcys 40/30 at The Gherkin
If you gave the address, 30 St Mary Axe in the City of London, and most people would stare at you blankly. If you said "The Gherkin Building" most people would know exactly where you were talking about. Lets face it, it is one of the most iconic buildings, not only in London, but across the world.
Not only is The Gherkin a fabalous building, it has a second to none venue at the very top (and I mean the very top) run as Searcy 40/30. A comapny that knows what they are doing, why they are doing it and most impotantly, who they are doing it for. Dealing with Oliver, the functions manager was a pleasure throughout and the staff were, without going over the top, brilliant.
But the story starts months before.......
When Rachael contacted me about photographing her wedding, I didn't realise that it was going to be on the same scale as a Hollywood production. Not because of the numbers of guests, about 120, but because each location was so far apart considering the tight schedules that weddings have to run to. The bride lives in the Cotswolds. The groom spends most of the week at his London apartment, the ceremony would be in the City of London, the groom would be in the docklands apartment, the hairdresser was in the West End and the brides suite was...... well, I think you are getting the drift.
A short telephone conversation later and David Purslow, a friend and great pro photographer was on board.
A week later and I had visited The Gherkin as a guest of Searcys 4030 and scouted the location, checking for lighting issues etc. At the same time I had visited a number of locations for a pre wedding shoot which yielded Leadenhall market and Millennium bridge as my two favourites.
Another week later and the dress was announced to me.... you will see from the images why when I heard about the colour my heart soared... a photographers dream, given the Searcys venue.
Another week and I visited the florist, Clare Lee, to see the plans and colour schemes. I came away thinking, WOW.
And before long the weekend arrived. I met David at our hotel early on the Friday to finalise our shooting arrangements. Then in the evening we joined the bridal party for an informal get together. Then to bed early as I had to be across London at the hairdressers by 8am.
The day unfolded like clockwork. I met the bride and stayed with her (joined later by the three bridesmaids. Poppy, Bethan and Evie) until the ceremony.
David met the groom and covered the arrival of the guests.
Our thanks to The City of London Registrars who assisted David and I by allowing photography throughout the service. They really did want what was best for the couple.
So now the day is over but captured forever, please enjoy the images.....Sorry that they are not in order...
Helen and Jason
There are always two thoughts that go through a photographers mind when they see a quaint English country church. Wow, what an image and I hope there is going to be enough light inside (especially as in this case where the Vicar has insisted on "no flash photography". With this in mind, I visited the Stanton Church in the middle of the Cotswolds a few days before the event so that some internal shots could be in the bag without worrying myself on the day.
Stanton is a very beautiful Cotswolds village. A village green, a pub (The Mount at Stanton) at the top of the hill, stunning little (and not so little) cottages, in fact a picture postcard village.
Nearing the time of the brides departure (her father had gone to take the car to the church) i was at the house alone with the bride. she getting dressed and I downstairs reading a paper, when there was a scream. I ran to the foot of the stairs and shouted up asking if everything was OK. No it's not, I'm stuck with my dress half on and half off and I cant move..... Thank god for mobile phones, a call to the church and her mother was brought back to assist. All great drama on the day of a wedding.
By this time the groom was getting worried, we were now a lot later that the customary five minutes, in fact, by the time the bride was ready we were three quarters of an hour late. However, the bride calmly posed for photographs outside the church and the record was made. Great to see a bride so unflustered and keeping in mind that she wanted great wedding photographs. The service went without a hitch.
Moving from a beautiful village setting to a beautiful reception venue is perfect, not only for the bridal party but for the wedding photographer too. Helen and Jason had picked well and it was only in the next village.
Buckland Manor I am told has played hot to Michael Jakson, Barbara Striesand and Britney Spears to name a few celebrities. I'm not sure how true this is (the staff are too discreet to mention names) but I could certainly see why they would have stayed here. Not far off the main Broadway to Cheltenham road, but far enough for it to be away from prying eyes. Buckland Manor changed hands on a number of occasions when it was a family home, once the home of Brough Scott's (one of the best known names in British horse racing) family and has played host to royalty. In it's current roll of hotel, they have managed to keep a "family country retreat" feeling to both the house and gardens.
Stanton is a very beautiful Cotswolds village. A village green, a pub (The Mount at Stanton) at the top of the hill, stunning little (and not so little) cottages, in fact a picture postcard village.
Getting the shots of both the bride and the groom getting ready were, for once, simple as they only lived about a quarter of a mile apart. So all morning I was running up and down the lane capturing each stage in each house and if I do say so myself, I became a rather good errand boy.
Nearing the time of the brides departure (her father had gone to take the car to the church) i was at the house alone with the bride. she getting dressed and I downstairs reading a paper, when there was a scream. I ran to the foot of the stairs and shouted up asking if everything was OK. No it's not, I'm stuck with my dress half on and half off and I cant move..... Thank god for mobile phones, a call to the church and her mother was brought back to assist. All great drama on the day of a wedding.
By this time the groom was getting worried, we were now a lot later that the customary five minutes, in fact, by the time the bride was ready we were three quarters of an hour late. However, the bride calmly posed for photographs outside the church and the record was made. Great to see a bride so unflustered and keeping in mind that she wanted great wedding photographs. The service went without a hitch.
Moving from a beautiful village setting to a beautiful reception venue is perfect, not only for the bridal party but for the wedding photographer too. Helen and Jason had picked well and it was only in the next village.
Buckland Manor I am told has played hot to Michael Jakson, Barbara Striesand and Britney Spears to name a few celebrities. I'm not sure how true this is (the staff are too discreet to mention names) but I could certainly see why they would have stayed here. Not far off the main Broadway to Cheltenham road, but far enough for it to be away from prying eyes. Buckland Manor changed hands on a number of occasions when it was a family home, once the home of Brough Scott's (one of the best known names in British horse racing) family and has played host to royalty. In it's current roll of hotel, they have managed to keep a "family country retreat" feeling to both the house and gardens.
For Jason, Helen, their family and friends it was a perfect day.
As a wedding photographer who is based in the Cotswolds, Nicholas james Photography was proud to have been asked to record the day.
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