Meyfroidt Photography Blog

A fantastic society wedding near Penrith, Cumbria

2009-07-07T12:59:00.001-07:00

Lindsey and Paul celebrated their wedding in grand style one (almost) sunny Saturday in July. What an amazing event... they certainly gave all their guests a day to remember.

So let's introduce the bride first...

Funny! OK, let's try that again... here's the stunning bride:

With a gorgeous jewelled dress by Susan Dowes in the background, here's the bouquet... simple, elegant and super-stylish.

So what about the lads? OK, here they all are!

And the groom, taking a pitstop before heading into town for the ceremony.

After stopping all the traffic in Penrith with a pair of horse-driven carriages, and with the entire town out to watch, the groom and then the bride made their way into church on an extra-long red carpet.

The ceremony at St Andrews almost had my wife/assistant in tears!

And the dress looked fantastic... Paul's suit was the perfect complement.

And that was that! We made our way back out of town to shoot some photographs of the couple... I like this one: very Hollywood. :-)

And on to the reception... and the biggest marquee I've ever worked in, provided by Bakerwood Marquees.

An air display had all the guests out in the sun: a really great show!

And then the rain came down! Disturbed the flight plans for a couple of guests arriving by helicopter, but not to worry... the entertainment was great and the cocktails flowed long into the night!

Newborn Matthew near Ivegill

2009-05-30T09:37:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I posted some baby photography here, so enjoy this preview of a photo-session with little Matthew, who happens to live not far from our studio!

Matthew was born prematurely just four weeks ago and he started the session fairly sleepy...

...all cuddled up on a lovely fluffy cushion... (though it did get a little damp when Matthew showed us what he's capable of ;-)

But he soon decided that there was too much going on for sleep... look how alert he is with his mum!

... wondering what on earth I'm doing...

...while Mum and Dad look on at the new addition to their family:

Lots more photographs to finish, but these looked good to start on for this preview. Barbara and Robert: hope you enjoy them, and just wait till you see all the rest!

Anyone reading this who knows an expectant mother-to-be: consider buying a photography gift from the online store: a lovely thought that will last a lifetime.

Marie and Adrian, married in Lazonby

2009-05-24T07:06:00.001-07:00

Marie and Adrian's wedding was the talk of the town by all accounts... and judging by the crowds outside church, just about everyone in the village turned up to congratulate the couple: a really big day in lots of ways.

Anyway, I promised the couple a preview of the first photographs to be processed before they leave for their mystery honeymoon... so let's start with Marie...

Gorgeous bride! And yes, Marie, I got your fab shoes!

Meanwhile the groom was ready, waiting at the church and happy as anything.

Oh, I have to show their rings: beautiful!

And then the ceremony itself was all over, and it was time to get on and enjoy the afternoon!

... and the girls certainly knew how to enjoy themselves!

But this was a day all about a lovely couple...

and their amazing 'passion wagon'... an old Jag with the roof cut off and treated to a very special paint job...

Marie and Adrian: thanks for an amazing day and I hope you've enjoyed this brief preview of your photos... it'll be an amazing album! Enjoy your trip (wherever it might be) and let's book your viewing when you return.

More Carlisle Living!

2009-05-05T11:45:00.001-07:00

Our recent portrait/fashion shoot for Katie hit the latest edition of Carlisle Living (from the publishers of Cumbria Life). Read more about this shoot in Carlisle Living magazine, including an introduction to 'Senior Photography', the latest must-have for 18-year-olds celebrating their coming-of-age.

Alexander on the Beach

2009-05-05T11:03:00.001-07:00

A personal post for those following our son's progress... he's two-and-a-bit now... and these photos were made on the beach at St Bees (on the Cumbrian west coast) over the sunny bank holiday we just had.

Welly weather... sunny, but chilly...

The one is going in a huge long panoramic frame... Alexander's first wave over his feet!

And after a few minutes he was running in and out of the sea, getting completely soaked and dragging mummy and daddy in with him. (Wish I had some wellies!)

That's a toy lorry he's driving through the water in the next photo... what can I say: he loves his cars and lorries.

If you've got your own cheeky fella/missy, drop me a line and we'll make some photo art of your own family!

Pamela, Rebecca, Eleanor and Jake

2009-04-19T10:55:00.001-07:00

Yay! What a lovely family and an amazing place to live! So anyway, here's a special rush blog post with some preview photos because Eleanor and Jake won't be around for the official viewing.

So after doing some photos inside...

It was time to explore the grounds... gorgeous weather again!

Oh and Jake plays drums... just doing his thang!

... and cool, calm and collected outside too...

Meanwhile here's Rebecca enjoying the shade of the trees outside. There's a whole heap of other photos here too: just wait till your viewing!

Finally, a shot using an old wall I couldn't resist. You see why I wanted to use it, Eleanor?

Anyway, how's that for a few quickie previews? There are so many photos from this shoot... but this is my random selection to be getting on with!

Enjoy!

Angela and Andy engaged at Bassenthwaite

2009-04-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

Angela and Andy took me to the spot they were engaged: overlooking Bassenthwaite in the Lake District, and close to where they're going to hold their wedding.

We shot engagement photographs indoors and outdoors: would have been a shame to waste such a lovely day!

Then we set out to make some more dramatic photos down at St Bega's church by the shore of Bassenthwaite. So, it was out with some simple lighting and on with some great shots! Here's Angela with the church behind...

And Andy against the old tree branches and a clear blue sky...

Here's a shot I love that gives a feel for our Spring afternoon: brilliant! (Literally.)

Angela & Andy: hope you like my choices for this preview... lots more to come... will let you know when everything else is ready to look at!

Jayne and Andy at the Langdale Chase Hotel on Windermere

2009-04-19T02:05:00.001-07:00

Engaged and looking forward to a fab Winter Wedding, Jayne and Andy came up to the Langdale Chase Hotel on the shores of Windermere for their engagement photo-session.

The Langdale Chase Hotel will be the venue for their wedding... a Winter event so those lovely fireplaces will be ablaze... can't wait!

Promised Jayne I'd make a portrait with eyes open... :-)

Anyway, we definitely had no need for roaring fires this morning... the sun decided to come out and play...

And we made use of some fantastic light filtering through the gardens...

Before it was time to say "goodbye"... (what a fab old manor house: check out these stone steps winding up through the gardens)...

Jayne and Andy: did I do OK? And more importantly, Jayne are you scouring eBay like we talked about?! ;-)
Speak to you when the rest of the photos are finished!

A fab portrait/fashion shoot in Carlisle

2009-03-29T09:33:00.001-07:00

(Edit: Added a couple more photos at the bottom after processing this shoot completely).

It's been busy round here recently... and quite a while since I posted any work to the blog... so let's fix that with this brief preview of a stunning portrait shoot for Katie, in her last year at school and looking forward to getting out in the world.

With dresses and hats from Genevieve in Carlisle, hair by Dada and make-up by Alex (also at Dada), we set off for the Crown and Mitre Hotel in the centre of town to make the most of the architecture in the lobby (have a look next time you're passing!).

The enormous stained glass windows set above a winding staircase was where we spent most of our time... we even got lucky with the occasional ray of sunshine!

Katie was a star: elegant, happy, moody... we covered everything... there'll be no problem making a fab album from the shoot.

Anyway, then it was time to brave the elements and head off round the corner to the cathedral. Katie chose a great outfit for this image (although what you can't see is her super-cuddly furry coat just out of shot... it really was freezing cold!)

It's difficult to choose just a few shots for this preview: there's a ton of images here that I need to process, but let's finish with one more, this time from a set of dramatic photographs set against an ancient wooden door we found.

Katie: thanks for a great shoot! Hope you enjoy this preview, and I'll text you when there's more to see.

Another shoot featured in Carlisle Living

2009-03-29T09:32:00.001-07:00

Just saw that the March edition of Carlisle Living features photos from an engagement shoot we did for Lucinda and John. It was a fun shoot and I can't wait for their wedding later in the year!

Recent wedding featured in Carlisle Living!

2009-03-02T01:26:00.001-08:00

I picked up the latest Carlisle Living magazine (a new monthly from the publishers of Cumbria Life) and found a feature on one of our December weddings – a nice surprise!

The wedding was one we'd posted here on the blog, and since turned into an example gallery in the wedding section of this website: have a look... a lovely Christmas wedding.

Commercial photography for a Carlisle dental practice

2009-02-20T11:56:00.001-08:00

So, a bit of a change from weddings and families for my blog, but I had a really interesting shoot at York Place Dental and thought it would be interesting to post some of the results.

So after doing a little business portrait session up at Lexus Carlisle in Kingstown, I shot over to Upperby and found the place...

Now, I'm not a great fan of going to the dentist. Childhood memories of drills and having my mouth yanked about, you know?!

But this shot pretty much sums up the feel of York Place Dental:

Lovely restful surroundings, great coffee, comfy leather armchairs, and the friendliest staff you could hope for:

... and more staff...

The facilities are fab, of course:

and patients are given iPods to listen to during treatment... what a great idea!

Children are treated in a unique way... dental staff with fluffy wings and those beedle bopper thingies. Bet you've never seen that before... another really good idea, I thought.

So that's it for now. Thanks to everyone there on the day for making this shoot so much fun. Great results and I'm sure you'll like the portraits we made... more to come soon!

Louisa and Adam's Merewood Wedding

2009-02-08T09:37:00.001-08:00

An amazing way to start the year: Louisa and Adam had a gorgeous wedding at the Merewood Hotel on Windermere in the Lake District. The Merewood was a perfect venue: roaring fires, sumptuous furnishing and a great setting that overlooks Windermere. You'll get an impression of the atmosphere from this set of details:

Speaking of details, Louisa decided that sparkly things was going to be a theme. A tiara, obviously, but what about a sparkly cake!

Before we get carried away, let's talk about Adam. He needs to save up for his own castle: he seems so at home here!

And with his family in the drawing room:

Before meeting up with the rest of the boys:

Meanwhile, Louisa was getting ready... difficult to choose a single portrait for this posting: there are so many stunning photos of her.

And with her bridesmaids: a lovely trio!

So then before we knew it, the ceremony was over... say "hello" to the newly weds!

We went outside after dark for a few photos before the dancing: veils are A GOOD THING!

And the dancing... pretty well choreographed!

And that was that: an amazing day at an amazing venue.

L&A: this really is the tip of the iceberg for your photographs... can't wait to process the rest of them and show you everything! Speak to you when you're back!

Changes to the Website

2009-01-27T15:38:00.001-08:00

For regular readers, this post is just to let you know that some updates to the website have finally gone live to show off some recent work. The highlights are...

A couple of new weddings, including a Christmas wedding at Hundith Hill near Cockermouth in the Lake District

and a Summer wedding at Lumley Castle in Durham

Some recent baby photo-sessions, which I just LOVE doing! The first is a baby from Carlisle

and then a younger baby from Langwathby

There's also a new portrait session in Carlisle from the Autumn, which was great fun!

and another session from the Summer on the Cumbrian coast north of Carlisle with a family and their horse (now living in the USA)...

What else? Oh, there was an experimental shoot we did with Penrith band, Absolutely:

And there are some other new examples of work that I can't quite recall: you'll find them I'm sure!

I've also added some of the feedback people have written after their shoots on the Testimonials page, which makes for happy reading!

Time in London

2009-01-20T02:12:00.001-08:00

I've been away in London meeting my suppliers for the last few days. Not the easiest people to meet do day-to-day: my albums and some new products come from New Zealand and Australia! Anyway I've come away with lots of ideas for this year... more on that over the next few weeks!

I also had the privilege of hearing talks by some of the heros of my world: the 'energetic' (to say the least) Californian wedding photographer, Joe Photo, out and about shooting a freezing bride under Hammersmith bypass; the awesome Yerburys from Edinburgh shooting artistic nude studies, and renowned pet photographer Paul Walker.

I didn't bring any gear with me, just a snappy-snap pocket camera... admittedly one that happens to hook up to pro lighting gear (the Canon G9 if anyone is interested in a snapshot camera that can be used in full manual mode). So if there are willing models hanging around it seems rude not to make the odd picture here and there!

Excuse the snapshot quality of these but you might enjoy them! :-)

Paul and Fiona's Winter Wedding in the Lake District

2008-12-30T06:32:00.001-08:00

A lovely couple, fantastic locations in West Cumbria, and perfect weather. That just about sums up this wedding. (For friends and family: Paul and Fiona will give you directions to the online gallery after their official viewing in a couple of weeks).

So, let's get in the mood: obviously this was a Christmassy wedding, and Fiona had chosen a beatifully simple dress.

Sophie started the day by helping to finish off the cake. Well I think that's what she was doing with those cake decorations that she appears to be eating... Anyway, here's Sophie before...

And here's Sophie after her makeover. I know, I know... so cute!

So while Fiona's Mum was stitching Fiona into her dress, the girls were busy having a quick drop of champagne to get in the mood. Everyone looked stunning at this wedding.

Where were the boys? Over at Hundith Hill Hotel, near Cockermouth: a gorgeous Lake District country house: Paul's the handsome chap in the middle, flanked by his best-man and page-boy.

You're waiting to see lovely Fiona aren't you? OK, OK, here she is -- stunning!

And finally, a couple of shots of the happy couple from after the ceremony.

OK, that's all the photos I've finished so far. Lots more to come and I expect this album to be stunning of course.

Fiona and Paul: thanks for a great day and can't wait to show you everything else.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-21T04:45:00.001-08:00

... and the story behind this year's card is that the santa hat was a huge adult size... Alexander (our nearly-two-year-old) doesn't 'do' hats and certainly wasn't going to keep this thing on his head... and we shot the photos in our almost complete extension to the house, which will be our new studio sooooooon...

Anyway, the end result was funny and that's what we wanted!

Hope you all have a great Christmas and Happy New Year.

Alicia and Keaton in Carlisle (with parents!)

2008-12-06T12:37:00.001-08:00

Another great baby shoot: three week old Alicia was so good despite wanting to have a quiet forty winks. And secretly I think two and half year old Keaton might be a model -- what a great poser!

So here's Alicia being very cute:

Oh yes, finally, a chance to have a quick nap... look at her fab pink ballerina dress!

Meanwhile Keaton reminded me of my own son: small and very funny (you 'Charlie and Lola' fans out there will understand that!)

And finally for this little preview of a lovely photo-session... love this shot:

OK, that's all for now -- loads more to come at the viewing!

Online shop

2008-12-05T03:09:00.001-08:00

Now there's a slightly off-topic photograph from the Summer -- thought I'd remind you of warmer times!

Anyway, it's time to announce something I've been working on for a while: a brand new online gallery/store for clients. A few of you have already experienced it -- thank you for enduring the inevitable teething troubles... your rewards are on their way. :-)

Apart from the private galleries, there is a 'Store' link so that anyone can buy gift vouchers for a cash value, or for our baby packages or for lifestyle portrait sessions (with a discount on some pre-ordered products). I'll add more gift ideas over the next couple of months.

So, check out the new online store and keep your eyes peeled for some interesting gift ideas as I add them!

(Edit: from the link above you can either log into to a gallery if you have your 'event code', or you can go to the store -- look at the top right of the front page.)

My recent trip to Ireland

2008-11-24T00:00:00.001-08:00

I spent last week in Ireland, attending a workshop by the amazing Australian photographer, David Williams.

David is an inspirational portrait and wedding photographer, a real artist, and a very generous teacher.

Here's a portrait he made of me, loafing around in a scruffy t-shirt... I didn't realise this was going to happen else I might have made more of an effort!

So I'm now recharged, inspired, and ready to get out making more photographs for my fabulous clients!

Horse by Elaine Walker

2008-11-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note that one of the photographs I took some years ago for a personal project has been published in Elaine Walker's new book about the history of the Horse. A fascinating book for those riders out there (I know who you are!). Amazon is currently out of stock but they do have Horse for sale.

Absolutely in Penrith

2008-11-16T14:09:00.001-08:00

Spent the afternoon with a great band, Absolutely (from Penrith), and a good friend of mine, Suzanne Black, who's a fab photographer from Fife.

Between us we drove round with three or four studio lighting systems, a ton of speedlites and lots of coloured gels and light-stands to shoot the band in some different locations. Not that we used much of the mountain of gear in the end, but you never know!

Anyway, I'm off to Ireland soon so until I can process some more of this shoot, here's one of the early photographs as a quick preview. More to come!

Hayley, Tom and Grace

2008-11-15T11:23:00.001-08:00

Linstock, east of Carlisle is the home of Hayley, Tom and Grace (who has the gorgeous-est curly hair, ever)!

We shot some portraits at home before setting off for Rickerby Park because the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Here's the whole family enjoying the sunshine at the park.

Lots of things to explore in the park. (What fantastic autumn light!)

Even though it was dry and sunny, there was a very boggy bit of the park that we tried to run across. But Grace's wellies got stuck... one step, two steps... and into the mud in bare tights! See if you can find Grace's wellies in this shot!

Tom was luckier until just shortly after this shot, when he fell down going super fast down the hill... mud everywhere... oops!

Hayley, there are lots more lovely photographs from this session that I need to get processed for your viewing. Hope you like these as a sneak preview and see you when I get back from Ireland!

Lucinda and John, engaged in Carlisle

2008-11-08T08:02:00.001-08:00

Lucinda and John are having their wedding next year in Penrith at a fantastic venue.

They've been engaged a short while, so we celebrated by making some photographs at home and then at Bitt's Park in Carlisle... just in time before the rain started as it happens!

Here they are together, with Lucinda's lovely engagement ring.

And the gorgeous Lucinda herself!

...with her very cool fiancee just hanging out in this funky tunnel we found!

Lots more to come, L&J, but there's your sneak preview! Look forward to seeing you again in a little while!

Louisa and Adam engaged in Kendal

2008-11-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

Louisa and Adam, very newly engaged, will be married next year in the Lake District! Hooray!

We made some engagement photographs at their home and then moved out to the woods underneath Kendal Castle (or "slug mountain" as it's otherwise known, well, to me anyway).

So to prove their engagement, here's Louisa (casually showing off her lovely ring!)

and her fiancee, Adam... cool, calm and collected...

...snuggled up against the cold: don't they look great together?!

Fantastic place to visit at this time of year (thanks Adam!) and we made the most of the Autumn colours. We saw grey squirrels running around this area like crazy!

Louisa and Adam: thanks for a great shoot and good choice of location. Hope you both enjoy this little preview, but I have to tell you there's a load of great stuff waiting for me to process here!

See you in a couple of weeks for your viewing!