Getting To Know You

What can I say? I loved the wedding fair at park Hall on Sunday.
It was busy, lively and fun with lots going on and soooo many people stopped by for a chat. Thank you, we had a brilliant day!


As we met so many people, I thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves properly. 


So. Who shall I start with? Well, me I suppose as I carry the title of, 


'The Photographer'

*Takes a deep breath*


My name is Lesley  ( can't think of anything else to say here so I'll move swiftly on )


Did I always know I was going to be a photographer? 


No! It almost happened by accident. I always knew there was an artist inside me but I couldn't find the right medium to bring it out. I'm rubbish at painting and can only draw stick men, it was so frustrating!  Eventually, someone shoved a camera into my hands and that was me hooked.


After attended lots of evening courses at college, I set up a darkroom in the upstairs toilet at home and soon friends were asking me to photograph their weddings - and then I realised.......... this is it! This is what I'm meant to do! I absolutely love weddings! 


"Blimey" I thought, "If I'm going to do this I'd better learn how to do it properly." So, with amazing support from the husband, Bob, I sold my business  and went to university full time to get a degree in photography.  the rest, as they say, is history.




Off duty I like to borrow a dog,  and get out walking.


not just any old dog, this particular dog. She belongs to my son, she's my best walking buddy, 

Of course, while I'm out I still have a camera with me.  here are a few of my favourite off duty photos from last year. 

Yeah, I know, they're a bit odd. That's my job, you see, to notice what you won't necessarily notice and make a picture out of it. My absolute favourite  in this bunch is the union jack photo.  


Incidentally, who says you need a big, fancy camera to take photos? With the exception of the black and white shadow picture, these were all taken on my phone. 



So, moving on: What about Bob, then?

 Well,  I fell on my feet when I found him, he's my soul mate and my best friend as well as my business partner and all round good egg.  

This is us just before our 25th wedding anniversary:

He's a qualified videographer and techno wizard, anything to do with technology fascinates him. 

Not a full time photographer like me, he runs our other business, the one that keeps the wolf from the door.  He also  comes along to weddings  as my second photographer. While I'm doing the more formal photographs, he can usually be found lurking in a bush with a long lens on getting some stunning candid photographs, it's that videographer's eye, you see. 

He usually comes along to the  wedding fairs  as well and he's the one who produces our  amazing slideshows. Give him some photos and some music to work with and he'll produce a slideshow that will melt your heart. The man's a genius!  (ok, I might be a bit biased on this bit).  

It's also Bob who gets your galleries online and takes care of the website, in fact, he does most of the 'back room' work leaving me to concentrate on the photography. 

When Bob's off duty he spends most of his time - on the computer.  

Third, and newest member of the team is our daughter, Carla. You see, it really is a family business.

Assistant photographer and part time model for me, she always joins in enthusiastically when I come up with  another bonkers ideas for a photo shoot. The latest one was  for a Wonder Woman type shoot - except I wanted it to be slightly different and have her boobs shooting flames! 

 most people would have run, not walked, in the opposite direction. Carla just went for it even though she was terrified.  What do you think?

It took us ages to get it all together. What you can't see here is all the fire extinguishers and fire blankets being held just out of shot. she was incredibly brave to do this one, even though she was terrified you'd never know to look at her. 

I'm not even going to mention the 'Ophelia' type shoot we did. I'm sure she thinks I'm trying to kill her! 

Carla has been involved in photography in one way or another since she was tiny. In her time she's been involved in all sorts of weird and wonderful shoots which gives her an amazing insight both into the business and  the artistry of photography - and  as an  ex art student she has a brilliant eye for a photo.  Like me, she's mad about weddings and is really enjoying her  apprenticeship as a wedding photographer under my watchful eye.

So that's us.  I hope you enjoyed our little biography. 

Tune in again later in the week and to discover  about our vision of photography and how that relates to you.

Bye for now!