Poochie Portrait Night

I survived it then! Apart from a rotweiler decided to have a munch on my arm I managed to get through the whole 'school portrait for dogs' without any major issues.

School portrait for dogs?  Yup.

You may or may not know that me and my son's dog, Mrs Woofy, are bezzie mates. We're often to be seen wandering round the moors and countryside of Darwen in all sorts of weather.

In addition to our daily (ish) walks we attend agility and obedience classes together. It keeps us both out of mischief and we have fun.

The committee at St Thomas' dog club asked me if I'd shoot a few portraits for the other club members.  There was talk of cats and rabbits as well which brought me out in a cold sweat as I had visions of all sorts of mayhem and bloodshed going on.

Luckily, all that turned up on the night was the dogs, all scrubbed up nicely for their school photos.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Mrs Woofy isn't here. She got a special photo shoot all of her own:

And my personal favourite:

weather watching in Blackburn

I'm keeping a 'weather eye' out tonight. I don't know why because it's not that I can change it if it doesn't do what I like, can I?

Still, I can do a little sun dance in my living room and hope that it stays dry for Oliver and Helen who are getting married tomorrow in Blackburn.  You can join in if you like (with the sun dance, not the wedding).

Many congratulations to them, I'm looking forward to this wedding. Ok, I know I say that about every wedding but I really do look forward to them.

This will be our new assistant's, aka our daughter, Carla's third wedding. She's getting the hang of it now and she's showing all the signs of loving it as much as we do. here she is helping out with a bit of a dress drama at her first wedding.  

She looks scared to death. Mind you, taking a pair of scissors to a bridesmaids dress on her first day in the job, I'm not surprised she looks scared, I'd be petrified.

I once had to sew a bride into her dress an hour before the wedding. I did a very good job of it as well, she's probably still wearing that dress as there was no way it was coming undone, ever!


We won't be having any dramas tomorrow, I'm sure. It's going to be perfect - and with wall to wall sunshine.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and do a sun dance.

Back from honeymoon

Anthony and Kirsty are now back from their honeymoon in the Maldives.

We spent a very pleasant this evening with them at the studio tonight sipping bubbly and watching   the  slideshow of their photographs while we reminisced about their wedding day.

*sigh* I love my job.

Here are a just a few of my favourites.

This was the wedding at the marble church in Bodelwydden. A fabulous church. It took my breath away when I first saw it.

As much as I like the church I wasn't totally impressed at having to drive all the way back to Wales the following day because my new assistant left a kit bag behind. Never mind, it's always nice to go back to Wales, land of my fathers - or in my case my mother.

You didn't know I'm genetically Welsh, did you? I know I sound like a born and bred northerner but I'm really an imposter!

 The ceremony was lovely, very moving. You think I'd be used to it all by now but it still gets to me.

This wedding wins the prize for the most confetti so far this year - it just kept on coming!!

You have to have the reservoir dogs photo!

 "Show me your socks!" Do you know what? They did - without question! I can't remember why I said it but it made a fun photo.

 What a gorgeous bride, inside and out. It was  pleasure to work with her and the families on both sides who had obviously all just decided that this day was going to be perfect from start to finish - and it was.

A lovely, laid back crowd of people who made my job soooooooo easy. Thanks, guys.

 Aaaaawww, sweet.

The speeches were a hoot, as you can see it all went down well.

I daren't tell you what Anthony was saying but it made me laugh - and blush, and I don't blush easily! Cheeky!

The first dance was lovely, don't they look so much in love?
I'm not even sure they were aware that there were other people in the room at that point.

That's exactly how it should be.

Many congratulations, Anthony and Kirsty.










We still have a few dates left for 2012, if you're getting married why not give us a call  on 01254 761761?

It's been a woof couple of weeks

Hahaaa!! Geddit? Woof?

Oh, ok. I'll get my coat.

There have been an abundance of dog owners wanting poochie portraits of their four legged friends recently.

The trend hasn't finished yet.

This Thursday I'll be working at our local dog club, you know, the one I go to every week with Mrs Woofy, 'the dog that isn't mine' (but that's another story).

I don't know if they already knew I was a photographer or if it was just a coincidence but they asked me if I knew anyone who could take photos.

" I might be able to help you there."

Now, the 'Poochie Portrait Night' has evolved into a general menagerie night. I know at least one person is thinking of bringing her rabbits along. There was even talk of cats and parrots being brought along.

Oh. Dear. Lord.

I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, here are some photos from my last two poochie portrait sessions.

Lassie the border collie, small, feisty and very, very fast.

There's always time for a cuddle.

 Diesel and Jet, the Belgian Shepherd brothers. Aren't they cute?

I flippin' LOVE apples, me!

I've been going through the photos from yesterday's photo shoot with the little girl and the apple and I thought I'd share a few more with you as they are just so darned cute!

An apple a day

This little girl's Mum had a specific photo in mind when this shoot was arranged.

"I want a picture of her sideways and taking a huge bite out of the apple." She's been decorating the kitchen and thought that the finishing touch would be a big canvas picture of her daughter eating a nice juicy apple. What a lovely idea. Wish I'd thought of it!

"Ok. Let's do it."

It's nice to have free reign in the studio and I usually just let children who come to me relax and play with our toys and dressing up equipment so we get nice natural shots of them but every now and then it's nice to do something a bit different as well.

It could have gone either way, this. If the little girl had been a bit fractious when she came in it most definitely wouldn't have worked but as it was -  she was a delight. I think a bagful of nice, juicy green apples played their part in that to be honest.  It didn't seem to be difficult for her when I directed her to, "take a big bite."

There are so many nice photos from the shoot that I couldn't choose between them all. The Mum decided that she didn't want a side on one after al, even though it was exactly as she'd imagined. She, like me, fell in love with this one:

Lancashire Photographer goes over the border to Yorkshire

Today is a wedding I've been waiting for.

 It's Steve and Lauren's big day and they're getting married at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall in York.

It's a fabulous venue in one of my favourite towns. Tune in for the lowdown and a sneak peak soon.

Lancashire Wedding Photographer Races for Life

It's today!!  I can't believe it's been a full year since I last did the Race for Life.

I hope it stops raining just long enough for me to get round the course. I may not wear my fairy wings and tutu this year, they'll only get soggy!

Many thanks to those who have sponsored me, it's not too late if you haven't done it already, just click here.  Thanks.


Here's me with my daughter in law at last years Race for Life:

Wish me luck!

A grand do at 'The Dunk'

Friday morning, the day of Nick and Jayne's wedding, dawned bright and clear.

Amazing when you consider how bad the weather's been lately.

I'd been checking the weather forecast all week and doing my little sun dance round the living room, it obviously worked as the sun blazed down on us all day!

Bob and me went our separate ways for the bride and groom prep. I went to Manchester and Bob went to the Dunkenhalgh, meeting up,later at the church which was about fifty yards from the bride's house.

The atmosphere at the bride's was laid back and relaxed. The bride in her 'Bride to be' tee shirt sat back, enjoyed having her make up and hair done as she sipped champagne. Now that's the way to get ready for a wedding.

The bride's Dad was a lovely chap. As soon as he saw her in her dress he filled up with tears, which of course made me fill up with tears as well. Honestly, you think I'd be used to it all by now.















  The church was lovely.



As were the flowers, not least because all my favourite flowers (nearly) were in there, gerberas, freesias and roses.















The colour scheme of black, white and hot pink worked a treat but I'll save all that along with the rest of the story of the day for later, after Nick and Jayne have seen their photos.