Wait…

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!

What? 

Daddy, Daddy!

Yes!?!

Daddy… Where’s mummy?

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Undeterred we headed back on January 6th and had a great time extending the festive fun in to the new year.

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Nevertheless, I still love photography and I will continue to make images both personally and professionally. With less time spent on client work though, I’m eager to keep my skills up with some personal projects, and chief among these will be continuing to photograph my family.

I’ve found less and less value in social media in recent years but I still want to share a selection of my images from time to time. So I’m returning here to my personal website and hope to share plenty of work on my blog in 2024. Here are some favourites from a recent day spent with my daughters.

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I think of my dad and his heart attack aged 41. I remember cowering in the college corridor on hearing the news. The “I’ll be fine” as he was wheeled away to have two stents fitted with a life-saving sense of urgency.

When my grandad had his triple heart bypass, he would be given a little can of Guinness, each day on the ward, to help him recover. Something to do with the iron content. The man in the next bed showed us his chest a neat row of staples running from top to bottom. He told us he’d complained to his surgeon because the large, bright orange tiger which adorned his aged pecs was now skewiff. Apparently the doctor had  offered to open him back up and realign the tattoo, to which the man politely declined.

My Grandad was told “Give up smoking and ease up on the drinking and you should get another ten years. It’s your chance to see your grandchildren grow-up.” I’m forever grateful that he did.

Familial Hypercholesterolemia is what it’s called. It means that even at the perfect BMI, while consuming a delicious Mediterranean diet and staying physically active, I’d still have high cholesterol.

Granddad had a triple heart bypass. Dad has his two stents. Since welcoming him home in a flood of tears, and still unmatched relief, I’ve been determined to continue the generational de-escalation.

At first I tried running away from heart disease. 10k’s and half marathons, chasing my older brother as he trained to be a Royal Marine. I couldn’t keep up. In our primes I still looked like the before shot to his after, on an imaginary Royal Marine boot camp DVD.

Then I discovered cycling. Inspired by the Brailsford bunch to cycle to work then from coast to coast, and then on meditative long rides up and down my adopted Yorkshire terrain. Now I’m the dad. I’ve got a wife and two kids, a proper diagnosis, medical supervision and 40mg of Atorvastatin with my morning coffee.

But the child seat doesn’t fit the road bike and the three hour rides are about as compatible with the demands of fatherhood as a packet of fags and a triple heart bypass.

So it’s now a 15 minute e-assisted ride over the huge hill between home and office. The science is clear – regular moderate exercise beats sporadic vigorous sessions quite literally every day of the week.

The e in my e-assist could stand for excuse. A bit of a headwind or a sleepless night at the hands of my two year old are no longer good reasons to opt for four wheels over two.

Even today, on the freezing roads, I should have been fine. With all the (moderate) physical  exertion complete, I just got lost in the sweeping downhill. I was back on the road bike in search of racing lines and heady acceleration.

Until I wasn’t. The patch of black ice was so big there was enough to separate me from my bike AND provide a taster session of the luge. Luckily the run came to an end short of the on-coming traffic

I stumbled back to my feet, heading back up the hill to the bike. The window rolled down on a huge SUV that on another day I might have found myself impotently gesticulating at after another close pass. “Alright mate? Bit dicey this morning!” I nodded in appreciation for the concern as I  straightened the handlebars.

I know better than to jump straight back on, having ridden for 45 adrenaline fuelled minutes after a previous tumble, only to find myself pretty banged up on arrival.

I roll along the pavement before sheepishly remounting for the final few minutes of my commute.

A few hours later and I’m confident the arm will be fine and determined to get back on the bike. I know that if I can keep getting on the excuse eliminator my heart and maybe even my grand children will thank me. When the girls are a little older, I might even have just enough fitness left for a return to those long rides on the road bike. No excuses.

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You doubted your shoulders breadth

A pain you weren’t built to overcome

Too much pain, and yet…

You exercised and exorcised

Oh how those shoulders grew

To carry the pain, through all your days

But start each one anew

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our pride fills your sails.

We watch as you steer

the high waves and strong gales.

Further you venture,

on the horizon, a dot,

yet more oceans ahead,

home almost forgot.

Sometimes we can’t see you,

but know you’ll turn back

home to your safe harbour

when life deals you flak.

And when the high seas

seem too scary or fraught,

stay in your safe harbour

just like you were taught

and if storms take the wind

right out of your sails,

we’ll fill them with pride,

to face all life’s travails.

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I’ve asked Chloe and Adam to share more details about them and their wedding day below, accompanied by some of my favourite images.

How they met

We met in Lola los in Cambridge, I was a fresher and Adam a 3rd year student and it was during freshers week. I had just walked in and Adam came over and whispered in her ear ‘You have an incredible smile’ . He says that he felt like he just had to talk to me. I was pretty much sold from that point.

The proposal was just as romantic, we did a sunrise trek up Mount Batur in Bali and I could tell there was something going on. I also knew there was something different because Adam planned all this and that is out of the ordinary ha. The walk up was difficult but worth it and Adam got down on one knee as the sun was rising right at the top of the mountain, perfect holiday!

Planning the Wedding

We found planning the wedding very easy, we agreed on pretty much everything. The venue was perfect and did not need much decorating. Nevertheless, we were very adamant we wanted to do everything ourselves.

We had a lot of fun doing all the arts and crafts! I think we are both glad it’s all done now though and we can just spend quality time together. The most difficult thing was finding Adams suit. He is very indecisive bless him!

Favourite Moments?

I think our favourite moment was going down the beach. It was just a special moment just me and Adam and definitely what we needed to reflect on everything. Another very memorable moment was saying our own vows. We were so happy with how they turned out after not showing them to each other.

Wedding Tips

Take that special moment on your day for just you two.
Don’t spend money on all little extras, you won’t notice them on the day
Make sure you have a part of you as a couple in your day.

The Photography

Everything to do with the photography was so smooth. We loved every minute from the engagement shoot to the day. We are so happy with the results, they all just seem so natural. Both our families are also absolutely in love with them.

To discuss your Newton Hall Wedding Photography, get in touch.

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Alongside their Yorkshire Dales Wedding Photography, I’ve asked Emily to share some more details about their story and their wedding day, starting with when Pete decided to pop the question…

The Proposal

We had just moved into our new house (the first house we bought together). We’d done the move ourselves (which was a mistake!) and we were both exhausted. We got a takeaway at the end of the day and sat eating like zombies in our new kitchen. Pete disappeared for a moment and the next then I knew he was on one knee beside me. Through a mouthful of chicken bhuna, I said yes!

The Planning

We had 18 months to plan so it wasn’t stressful. We booked all the suppliers really early on and then didn’t plan anything else until a few months beforehand. I think you can choose to make it more or less difficult. There’s so much choice about every decision out there and it’s easy to indulge in all the different options – but making decisions quickly makes it a whole lot easier to plan and less stressful too.

Styling

There was an outdoorsy/Yorkshire theme to the day. The ceremony was outside and the reception was in a marquee in the most beautiful setting. We styled the marquee with lots of flowers hanging from the ceiling, and table decorations consisted of jam jars with flowers from both of our parents’ gardens and also a local Leeds supplier who grew them on her allotment.

My dress was lacey, off the shoulder (no idea what designer it was, if any!) and Pete’s suit was a woolen check. The grooms party just wore their own blue woolen suits with matching pocket hankies and ties that we gave them. We didn’t do the traiditonal hat and tails, and the bridesmaids wore lacey nude pink dresses with dropped hems and low backs.

Memorable Moments?

The whole day was incredible! But favourite moments probably include the ceremony itself, which was officiated by our close friend Phoebe rather than a traditional registrar. We wrote our own vows and the whole ceremony meant a lot to us. Other favourite moments include watching Pete’s dad tear up the dance floor, chasing sheep out of the marquee and simply seeing all of our friends and family in such a beautiful setting. It was quite overwhelming to think that everyone was there purely because of us.

Yorkshire Dales Wedding Photography

We love our photos. The whole process was great – Mark was really relaxed and appreciated that we wanted quite an informal feel to our photos, which he captured perfectly. We Skyped him a week beforehand which was the first time we met him, and on the day he fitted right in. He was darting around all over the place, lying on the ground narrowly avoiding sheep muck, hanging from the poles of our marquee and wading in rivers all to get a good photo! The results captured the day perfecty. Lots of belly laughter!

Wedding Tips

Don’t feel pressured to spend money on things you don’t want, spend it on what’s important to you.  We weren’t so bothered about the little details, and we didn’t even have a cake! Everyone’s priorities will be different, but if you go with your gut and don’t succomb to the crazy world of wedding planning then it will be money well spent.

The Suppliers

Food – The Hog & Apple Food Company http://www.thehogandapple.co.uk/
Day music – Laura Kindelan – https://www.laurakindelan.co.uk/
Flowers – Yorkshire Petals http://www.thehogandapple.co.uk/
Band – Motown Gold https://earcandylive.co.uk/acts/motown-gold/
Marquee – Yorkshire Yurts http://www.yorkshireyurts.co.uk/

To discuss your Yorkshire Dales Wedding Photography, please get in touch to check availability.

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I’ve wanted to update my site for quite some time and after moving to a new hosting environment (shout out to Site Ground) last year I decided to do a subtle refresh of the site as well. With that all done (a few bugs and content updates not withstanding) I’m really pleased to share some of the best wedding photography of my 2017 year.

This post also gives me the opportunity to once again say thanks to all of the couples who trusted me to capture their wedding day last year. It is always a great privilege and adventure and its one that last year took me all over the country once again.

You can see more from some of the weddings featured in this post on the blog and if you’d like to check my availability for your forthcoming wedding day, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

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Kerry and Richard met at Harper Adams University College in Shropshire. It only took Rich 9 years to pluck up the courage to ask Kerry to spend the rest of her life with him. The couple live in Perthshire and headed up to Kinpurney Tower, near their home on what Kerry describes as a “cold, snowy and miserable day” in February, where Richard proposed. Kerry admits to almost refusing to go to the top as the weather was so bad but says it was worth it when they got there!

I’ll leave it to Kerry to tell you more about the day, along with some of my favourite images:

Planning

I loved every minute of planning the wedding! We decided to just go for it and got married just 7 months after getting engaged but it was totally do-able! We had a marquee at my parents Farm and the company we chose were great. I fully advise listening to the advice of the experts! They do it all the time and can really be very useful!

We used a lot of skills and help of family and friends and it was great to have so many people involved. My Dads cousin made the cake, my Aunty made the favours, my school friend did the flowers and my uncle made our transport.

The most difficult bit was the guest list but at the end of the day we just had to be realistic and accept we couldn’t have everyone! Its very difficult to keep everyone happy but remember its YOUR day – they’ll get over it if you don’t decide to go with their ideas!

Styling

‘Happy faces and bonny kilts’
An English Bride and Scottish Groom called for white roses, purple thistles, lots of tartan, kilts and greenery!
My dress was from a lovely local shop in Perth called Alison Kirk Bridal from designer Ellis Bridal. They were brilliant! I also got my Bridesmaid dresses there too from Dessy Group – they were a gorgeous sapphire blue (to match my engagement ring) with a bit of lace detail (to match my wedding dress).
The groom wore his family tartan kilt, as did his Dad and brother.
The Brides brother was an usher and him and the Brides Father had tartan trousers made in their family tartan to blend in with the Scots!

Favourite moments

Heading down to the Church with my Dad in the cart! My uncle modified it so that it could go behind my late Granda’s old grey fergie tractor. It was really special to have a part of my Granda there, my uncle driving and my Dad worrying about my hair in the wind!! Honestly what a laugh we had!

Our first dance was ace! We did a ceilidh dance called ‘strip the willow’ and it meant we got to dance with loads of the guests! Everyone had smiling happy faces and it was so much fun! Even the dress survived!

The speeches were also a highlight! None of them were particularly keen speakers but they all did such a great job! We laughed and we cried – what more could you want?!

Photography

We never felt like we spent ages away from our guests taking photos. Everything was super chilled with no cameras in our faces, Mark just blended in like one of the guests – but the results were still first class! We couldn’t have wished for better photos! They show the whole day perfectly from start to finish, so many happy, smiling faces!

Mark was always very quick to respond to any queries and offered us some very valuable tips and advice! We also did a pre-wedding shoot which I would highly recommend as it was great to meet Mark before the ‘big day’ and we felt much more at ease after having a practice run!

Wedding Tips

• Enjoy every second! You only get to do it once! Don’t be afraid to delegate jobs – people LOVE to help and have a role!
• Don’t worry about the tiny details you run out of time/money to do – honestly no-one will notice!
• Try to greet all of your guests as they arrive at the reception. We stood at the door and said hi to them all as they came in and it was great! For some it was actually the only chance we got to speak to them.
• Take a moment with your partner to step back and survey the scene. Let it sink in that its YOUR WEDDING DAY!!! Then get back to the dance floor!

Suppliers

Collingwood Marquees
Wilkins Fine Dining
Stationery by Julia Eastwood
Wedding and Bridesmaid Dresses – Alison Kirk Bridal, Perth
My fabulous school friend Rachel Blakey from The Blossom Bee did the flowers

Northumberland Wedding Photography

I’ve loved shooting in Northumberland this year and look forward to returning there again soon. If you are looking for Northumberland Wedding Photography I would love to hear more about your plans. Get in touch to check availability for your date.

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