A passion for a nice photograph

S is for Sorry....

2012-02-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

I am sorry. Sorry for not seeing to my Blog since November; sorry for going away and leaving you bereft of my bleeting and sorry to have broken the regularity at which my Blog was being updated.

My trip to New Zealand seems so far away and sometimes even a far flung dream. Now that I am awake I have some wonderful memories and pictures to match and am going to use this as a spring board for 2013. Having knocked January off the map I am a month behind and so am busy making new year's resolutions - I've even joined the hopeful gym enthusiasts and started swimming - give me a month and it may have worn off, my local leisure centre is a far cry from the warm blue waters of the South Pacific Ocean - but try I will and the next step is to replace the bike that kept being stolen only this time with multiple locks!

Being so far away has opened my eyes; London feels different and even friendlier in places. I feel that anything is possible and have learned that travel does that. I don't mean a two week break on a package holiday in Greece and a brief encounter with a Greek waiter but a full on backpacker experience where you fall in love with everything and realise that you don't actually need much to live on when there is plenty to see and new people to meet. The trick now is to try and encapsulate this feeling and pounce on it's inspiration while I still have it. I can already feel it sliding away and so the importance of this blog is a way to remind myself how I felt and what my intentions were back when it was all new.

Part of my trip was taken up with the stunning Waiheke Island wedding of a gorgeous London couple. I was spoilt for choice with the scenery but in true wedding day fashion the time we spent taking the shots was minimal and naturally the couple wanted to party with their friends and family rather than pose for photos for hours. Luckily the church was on the beach and so our first port of call was taken care of. It was also a Saturday and a holiday weekend for the Kiwis and so eliminating as many of the inquisitive public from the beach as possible was quite a job but with a little help from a keen guest and a wedding party who loved the camera we got some cracking shots and I can't wait to show the happy couple when they get back later today!

This January wedding was a gorgeous way to start the year and has given me a glance at what it feels like to work so far from home. How incredible it feels to replace the frosty mornings of London with the dramatic shores of the Tasman Sea, the hot pools of a volcanic island and the warm climate of the southern hemisphere, so wonderful that this could fast become a common theme. If you're reading this and are considering a New Zealand wedding in January or February then I just may be your girl.

Happy New Year everyone and I hope to see you all soon x

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!

2011-11-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Exactly one year ago today my blog was born.

As a kind of therapy he kept me company throughout some hard months and then while I was road tripping my way around Nevada and Arizona again he was there for me, documenting my every move. Since then he has been a less constant but trustworthy companion, rearing his head only when he is required and watched from the sidelines as I became a busier lady in 2011.

I never thought I'd make a year with this blog but to make it easier that year has flown by and I'm not sure where it has gone. Some say that this speed comes with age, others that it is simply a matter of enjoying life more with every year. Whichever it is I don't like the pace and often wish it would slow itself down just a little. Take today for example, I have been sitting at my rather wintery cold desk and upon wondering why on earth I was already hungry realised it was because it's been six hours since breakfast, there's no wonder! (Break for lunch.) When I get this hungry I tend to eat what I see which can be dangerous in my kitchen when I haven't gone shopping in a while. If the fridge had a stomach it would be groaning, one packet of cheddar cheese and some wine doesn't quite constitute lunch. On the kitchen table sits an open packet of Cadbury's Roses, some Elderflower champagne and one tomato. Half a pound of cheese and six Roses later I am unsatisfied, still hungry and feeling a little fat actually. All I need now is Iceland's new double decker pizza and I'm definitely on my way to obesity. (Drama Queen alert)

Incidentally, have you read about this crazy new pizza that is 1800 calories? More than a woman's daily calorie allowance. What are they trying to achieve with this?! Everyone know that once you've cooked a pizza you tend to eat the whole lot!

So Happy Birthday Blog! Many happy returns and here's to another year of occasional writers' block but mostly inspiration for the year to come.

I wonder if today is the right day to break it to Blog that once my new website is live I will be transferring to Word Press for all of my blogging needs? Probably not, don't want to rock the therapeutic boat.

Watch this space for news of the new website. It promises to be bigger, brighter, better and I can't wait!

R is for romance

2011-11-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Romance in the city!

I love Winter weddings. Years ago when I started out life as a photographer I was petrified of using extra light. Petrified of the single most important thing about my job. Over the years you learn a few tricks her and there, how to use the stuff, how to find it and how to manipulate it. Winter weddings can be challenging because there is very little natural light around and they often require the use of two or three light weight flash guns and somewhere not too far from warmth and shelter.

I have recently started using assistants for weddings because there is never enough time to shoot everything.We bound from one location to the next fulfilling the bride and groom's dream shots and all the while dragging the camera, lenses, lights and brollies around. London seems to make this all the more difficult because parking is always an issue.

But this is far from a rant about shooting weddings. On the contrary, I have learned to love them and under pressure seem to work far more efficiently. Infact a wedding shoot gives a photographer an opportunity to not only see new locations and venues but also to push themselves technically. The longest time given to me to shoot a bride and groom alone was forty five minutes and half of that was spent slowly trundling to the location they had chosen for their photography, so we never have the time we would like to get the winning shots we want. This means working fast is key and in my case accepting that there will be cuts, scrapes and bruises along the way, to me as photographer not the happy couple I better stress here!

Sandra and Andy, above, chose a city wedding venue and so naturally wanted photographs to reflect that. The road shot proved tricky but being a weekend we knew there would be less traffic. In my naivety I thought that traffic would see what we were trying to achieve and cut us some road slack, but in true London driver fashion we were made to move on quickly. I took three shots in the road with my assistant standing on the curb, the safest position available (well, we couldn't lose the light stand) and it was a real gamble with the settings and lighting but me managed to get the shot they craved and I hope they love it as much as I am proud of it.

The alley way shot was littered with fag ends, dog pee and piping and it was the bride's choice to use it. Thank goodness she pushed me to get this, I love it! Making snappy compromises on the day when the schedule has to run on time is common place and this was chosen over another shot because we were slightly behind and needed to make up time.

Working on this album will be so much fun but I better pre-warn them that extra pages are definitely on the cards!

Love to you both and best wishes for a long and happy life together x

Q is for quality not quantity

2011-10-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Batibou Bay, Dominica W.I - one of my favourite trips ever where I was very selective about what I shot

This past week has been made up of days spent pouring over websites, those I like, those I dislike, those I aspire to be like and those that just shouldn't be live. In between the long hours researching web design, talking to web geeks and trying to figure out what I want to say with this new website I have photographed a London borough mayor, screeched at small children and lost my voice in the process, and prepared some beautiful wedding albums. So not really a conventional week but a suitably calm one, despite the children, before the onslaught of next week when it all goes a little bit too crazy.

I have also found out that I have a lazy bottom! This is more commonly known as a tendinopathy in the gluts but in layman's terms it is 'lazy bottom'. I am still slightly bemused at this news. How did my bottom become so lazy? I exercise, don't spend endless hours in front of the TV (that I don't even own) and my job requires a lot of walking, climbing and standing and often raises my heart level. So how does a thirty three year old active photographer get a lazy bottom? And why hasn't anyone else I know got one? So me and my lazy behind are now having physio and it hurts, constantly.

But enough about my lazy behind and more about the website that almost is.

Designing the website has made me really consider where I want to be and what I really want to be doing and it has been an excellent exercise in focusing my thoughts and channeling all of this energy that is obviously not getting used by my behind. It has made me realise where my strengths are and where I need to improve. One massive realisation is that my work now is different from the work I was doing six years ago and this is not only a good thing but a surprising one. Six years ago I could only dream that I would be where I am now, making a living out of something I actually genuinely enjoy and spending every week doing something different. I meet new people all the time and I am a very lucky lady.

The new website will showcase my work better than ever before and I can't wait to get started on it and unveil it soon.

So just like my lazy bottom has taught me that the way you walk is what matters rather than how far you're going, my new website will show that it is quality that matters not quantity and I am so excited I want it live now!

P is for Parents

2011-10-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

We all have them but do we really appreciate all that they do or have done for us?

Take a moment to reflect on how much you appreciate yours and if you can, tell them that you do. It doesn't take very much, no matter where they are.

Hopefully mine won't mind me posting these pictures taken last weekend in the garage at home..

Thank you x

O is for optimism

2011-10-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

optimism n. 1. the tendency to expect the best in everything. 2. hopefulness; confidence. 3. the doctrine of the ultimate triumph of good over evil. 4. the philosophical doctrine that this is the best of all possible worlds.

Anna, after Imogen Cunningham

I was wandering through Covent Garden in London on Tuesday. A day of back to back meetings, interspersed with a nice lunch and frothy coffees, a day of discussing business. I took a detour on my way from one meeting to the next when I walked past a shop window, a menswear shop I think, possibly Hacket, when I saw a quote in the window that inspired me. It read,

"Which of my photographs is my favourite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow."

Imogen Cunningham is one of the 20th century's greatest women photographers. Her working life is an inspiring one for me as she explored various different kinds of photography. She started out life studying printing techniques and ended it shooting artists' hands for Vanity Fair. She died at 93 with a stunning portfolio of black and whites that emote so much mystery in their use of darks and lights that it's a wonder why I have only recently discovered her work. Her work took over her life and sadly caused the sad divorce she went through. When you look at her pictures you can see how much she loved her art.

Imogen was optimistic with her remark about her favourite photograph. She had faith in herself, faith that she would just get better and better at what she did and this is where we are similar. I believe that if you love your craft you can only get better and better because you want to get out of bed and do it all over again the next day. My clients and friends wouldn't dare to say that the work I did five years ago was rubbish, and it probably wasn't, not totally, it's just that I am my harshest critic, most of us are, and I can see that what I did then has been improved on ten times over since. We can't stagnate, we have to improve our art or we wouldn't survive but the key to this is optimism, and the passion for what we do drives that optimism.

My shoot tomorrow in Wiltshire will go well because I'm excited about it and I'm working with a great team of creative people who all know how we can get the best from it. Five people in a barn in deepest Wiltshire. I'm optimistic.

I am losing a friend next week to another country and as much as I am sad to be losing them just as we are getting to know eachother, I am also happy to have had the opportunity to know them and optimistic that we will remain friends. Safe travels darlin'.

N is for nostalgia

2011-09-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

nostalgia n. 1. a yearning for past circumstances, events, etc. 2. the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc. 3. homesickness

Yuri Felshtinsky 2007

As I get older I become ever more nostalgic with a strong desire not to but rather to look to the future with excitement and optimism.

I am definitely one to fall under nostalgia's spell but then I don't know a woman or man who doesn't from time to time. Isn't it quite 'normal' to wish for a feeling we had in our past? A moment when we felt in love, a time when we got the job we wanted, when we passed the exam we didn't think possible, the time we did something we were really proud of and were celebrated for it. All of these wonderful moments produced such a strong emotion and why should we feel crazy for wishing them upon us again?

If we know we are capable of feeling these things once surely we are evermore capable of feeling them again? As we grow we learn and understand more what we are about and what we can achieve and more importantly where in our lives we want to achieve them and how.

This morning I heard a man say the following on the radio: "Yesterday is yesterday", and it made me remember the recent times I had wished something either hadn't happened or would happen again and realised, over my cup of earl grey that he was right and sometimes radio 2 does have something good to say (NB, sometimes, only sometimes). We should leave things in the past and learn from them but not hang onto them. The desire to reminisce is addictive. Unless these stories and thoughts can be used with positive regard it is important that we switch off the time machine in our brains and focus on the present. Such strong emotions we once had are easily remembered and it doesn't take long for the body to remember exactly how we felt and replicate it. It is the same with music, just one song can evoke all sorts of feelings.

For me, (and this will sound like a chapter from a self help book but I assure you it is how I feel) the future is what gets me out of bed in the morning. I want wonderful things in my already pretty lovely life and my list of achievements is ever growing. The mental age shifts as I get older but as the author of this mental list I am allowed to shift the goal posts, afterall, I am now well into my thirties and it was just unrealistic to think I could have achieved everything I hoped for before I reached my fourth decade.

Last week my wonderful friend Charlotte turned thirty four and late on Saturday night we found ourselves leafing thorough her photo albums with her new boyfriend. She was somewhat embarrassed by the photos but it was the most fun I had had all night as we reminisced about hysterical times over the years, the fashion of our early twenties, the spotty boyfriends, the sheer act that the years had disappeared so fast and everything in that box felt like yesterday. I woke up on Sunday in a slight vodka haze, thinking about that box and how everything in it was a happy memory. That's the beauty of photographs, they don't have a memory, they're just paper and once we've thrown them away the memory is gone. In the days of printing roles of film this was easy, now we tend not to delete digital files for fear of needing it someday and being able to keep it without the need for a box stashed under the coffee table. We can keep it in outer space if we like until we need it. I am often surprised when searching in my computer to find something in the search results that I really didn't want to see and suddenly a powerful, distant memory materialises. As much as I want to delete these digital jpegs I can't, what if I ever needed to give evidence?! Neurotic or wantonly nostalgic?

As I have been composing this blog entry I decided to perform a spontaneous test and force some Monday night nostalgia on myself. The test was to search for the oldest photograph on my computer. The photo had to have been taken by me and wasn't allowed to be on an external hard drive to qualify.

The resulting image was shot in February 2007 at the start of my photographic career, just eleven weeks after Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London. I was hired to take a portrait of Yuri Felshtinsky, Litvinenko's co-author on the book Blowing Up Russia: The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror (which I have a copy of if anyone is interested). I was to meet Yuri in his hotel room on Park Lane. I went alone and fearing there may have been Polonium 210 slipped into my water I didn't touch a thing and made sure to wash my hands once back in the safety of the Hilton's lobby half an hour later. It was possibly the most exhilarating hour of my life to date. I can barely believe I was that close to the drama of it all and remembering how nervous I was travelling to the twenty first floor in that lift has made me appreciate my life and all that I have. Powerful stuff this forced nostalgia.

M is for the wonder of Marriage and a bit of mewling

2011-09-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

There isn't an intentional 'love' theme running through these recent blogs but I must admit to it being on my mind as I work through these stunning weddings and make up their equally stunning albums.

I received a lovely note this week thanking me for one of this Summer's recent wedding albums. It brightened up my day to know that I had made them even more happy than they already are by producing a lasting memory that they love and will treasure forever. Satisfaction indeed.

Not a wedding goes by without me shedding a tear. During the church service of the wedding featured above I hid behind my Nikon because tears were streaming down my cheeks. I haven't always cried tears of joy at weddings, it started in my late twenties and is usually set off by the most weepy of all hymns Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. These is something in the tune that just sets me off and I can't stop. Of course by admitting this I ruin my chances of being booked for any more weddings so I must stress that the tears of joy I cry on your wedding day will never impinge on the work I am there to do.

My mother always cries in church and I don't remember the last time we went with her. It could have been the Christmas I spilled my Smarties all over the flagstones and they dropped, one by one, through the iron grate in the floor causing stares from every angle. Maybe the tears are an inherited trait and I will never escape them. Why would He make us cry? Is it guilt perhaps for not going to church often enough? Or is my own guilt, a hangover from my Catholic school days where we were forced to attend twice a week? Whatever the reason I cannot enter a church without wanting to cry, wedding or not my eyes fill up like washing machines and I can't control it.

When I looked up alternative words for 'crying' all I found was 'mewling' and apparently only babies and seagulls 'mewl'. I haven't heard myself cry in a long time but I am fairly certain I don't sound like either. However, when stifyling a cry maybe I do and so perhaps M should have been for mewl.

A page from Alice and Paul's wedding book

Love is .... about finding the best ingredients

2011-09-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

... and not an easy subject to choose. Carrie couldn't write about it until she married Big because she didn't really understand it before; I may be under qualified too but I can't resist the subject. I photograph 'love' as part of my job and am constantly surrounded by it and feel very lucky for that: (in no particular order) I love my job, I love my life, I love my family and I love my friends, and I am pretty sure they all love me too.

Whilst you will have to excuse my tardiness with this blog entry I am sure you will understand when I tell you that I have been photographing something very exciting! Sadly that exciting job has sworn me to secrecy until it is made public and so until October I will have to keep shtum about it. Annoying as it is, it will give me something to talk about later in the Autumn. Watch this space...

So, back to the subject of 'love'. A great many women (see footnote) base their day dreams of love affairs on what they read and see at the cinema. This is a dangerous game, it's seldom the same and actually the better love stories never end happily. Rhett and Scarlett's timing was all off which I know many of us can relate to. Emma and Dexter in the recent blockbuster 'One Day' follows twenty years of friendship, infatuation and missed opportunities and leaves us weeping in the darkened aisles. Lara and Yuri's war time Russian love affair is complex and inevitably ends in a death. Romeo and Juliet is young, extreme infatuation which ends tragically. Much the same is Anthony and Cleopatra, love at first sight and a dire ending. The list goes on, some happy some sad but they are beautiful and afterall love is beautiful and complex and can be found in the most unlikely places, see the film Green Card as a reference here.

Photographing people in love is a job for me but one of the more romantic and, for want of a better word from my missing Thesaurus, rewarding. Capturing that loving glance and the total adoration in the eyes is like winning the lottery for me as a wedding photographer. Very few of us like posing for the camera and we are paid to capture that candid, loving smile or glance. Of course it does have to happen naturally but the chances are it will on a wedding day.

One of the most popular readings at weddings is 1 Corinthians chapter 13 with the familiar verses being 4 - 8: "Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope and patience never fail." The Bible goes on to say that without love we are nothing, and here I have to agree. If we had nothing to love wouldn't we be ever so lonely and bored? Love isn't just for lovers though. I love my job and it is this passion that enables me to be happy in my work. Considering that we spend more than half our waking lives working this is very important for me. Why else would I have given up the desk job to do it. I also love my family and aside from the obvious unconditional love that requires I do actually love them all for who they are.

The question of what is love is a hard one to answer. Writers have penned pages and composers songs about it since the dawn of time because it's what makes the world go around and a world without it would be dull and lifeless.

For lovers, finding that one true love isn't always easy. I don't believe that there is only one true love for us all but I do believe that there are certain compatible ingredients required to make up the best possible recipe of 'true love' and if we are lucky enough to find those ingredients how fortunate we are.

Human beings are made to have partners and so I wish all those ingredients out there the best of luck finding their perfect recipes.

Congratulations to the gorgeous couple featured in this blog on their marriage and I wish you all the best for a happy, love filled future together. Your wedding day was stunning and I was honoured to share it with you as your photographer. x

Footnotes
This is not based on any tangible research but rather on personal experience of blogger and friends of blogger.

K is a tricky one

2011-08-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

The letter K has caused me some problems this past week in more ways than one but we won't go there just now. It is a headache of a letter and whilst some of the more interesting words start with it (I'm thinking kaleidoscope, kalashnikov, karma, knowledge, knight, koala etc.) it is the common kiwi that I have chosen to highlight for this week's blog entry.

Kiwi fruits are tasty and good for you; packed with vitamins these little furry fruits are nothing but goodness and I love them.

This past week and the next three I will be travelling the south of England with my favourite new macro lenses on a commission to photograph good looking food and (in some cases) good looking chefs at work for a book. It is a fabulous commission and one I am more than excited about but I'm not allowed to talk about it, well, the specifics aren't allowed to be publicly discussed so all I can say is that it's great and I will be enjoying good food and meeting some really very interesting creators of all things edible. Once the book is out I will be making sure you all know where to find it and how to get a copy but until then I've been silenced and sworn to secrecy, not something I am particularly good at actually.

The humble kiwi above reflects this commission. Unable to publish any of the beautiful food photography I have been shooting I have had to resort to something I had at home and something that would fit in with the nasty letter K.

So there you have it, I'm shooting a lovely job, I have a shiny new computer (that is causing me some problems but I think it's just teething trouble with it's new owner) and I'm looking forward to the Autumn.

Night night letter K.

J is for Jolly

2011-08-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

I recently spent the afternoon with this jolly little fellow and his lovely parents. Our first shoot was done at six weeks old, the second will be at six months, just as he is sitting and really becoming a little man.

Baby photography involves patience and a lot of time. We have to allow for feeds, sleeps, little accidents and discontent and it can be hard work waiting. When you get that smile, that calm far away expression, those weeny outstretched fingers and toes, the afternoon light from the open window crawling across their porcelain skin, it can be the most beautiful of portraits. A new life, wide open eyes exploring it's new world and recognising shapes and contrast for the first time, such a magical time and so worth capturing on film for years to come.

This is my favourite picture from our shoot because he is beaming with enjoyment as he outstretches his little leg and pushes it away. We had been going for the curled up eyes shut shot but this little man wanted to play and you can't predict a baby, they make the rules during the shoot, if they're having a good day then you'll have a good shoot, if they're not, you may as well go home and reschedule!

Thank you little one for behaving so beautifully.

Shot using a Nikon D700 and 50mm 1.4 lens.

I is for iMac

2011-08-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

She's so pretty

Monday has started in a rather topsy turvy way but nonetheless it has paved a rather interesting way for the coming weeks ahead. While the world of photography is calming as others enjoy exotic holidays and honeymoons I am planning Autumn's schedule and making big fat tracks with updating, exploring and spending on things I didn't have time to consider earlier in the year. I am doing what you might call a mid Summer clean and it's therapeutic.

I am a new me and with my new iMac by my side we are going to conquer.

The predicted Summer of discontent is under way with 80's style riots in London but so far all is quiet on the Western front in Notting Hill where people gear up for carnival and the Chelsea tractors have disappeared in favour of cottages in Cornwall and sailing on the Norfolk broads.

I was surprised this past weekend to find that many of us have chosen to stick around this Summer and enjoy what London has to offer us city dwellers. Swimming in Hampstead ponds and enjoying al fresco evening drinks as double deckers chug by can be romantic with the right companion and a Tanqueray gin by your side. Lap it up I say, before long we'll be sipping mulled wine and huddling under mushroom heaters.

As I watch the slowly churning blue bar on my new baby as it 'migrates' the information on the old mac I have been given a good excuse to stop what I was doing and breath some life into my blog which, you may have noticed, I have let fall off slightly lately. For this I am sorry but sometimes there just isn't time.

Face Time, Photo booth, Lion, Mission Control, Magic trackpad and 27 inches of shimmering beauty are just some of the new wonders of my new baby. OK so I am a little behind the times but the old Mac hasn't stopped me producing killer photography and I am a firm believer in the tools not making the man. However, with this new tool I predict more productivity because I want to sit by it's side night in night out and play with it's shininess, and that shininess is likely to inspire and dictate how I work. Watch this space, I bet I'm right. We all like new toys but we become very complacent when they've been around a while. When I got my new car I drove everywhere, everyday, now it sits outside begging to be used. The Nespresso machine oozed so much sex appeal when it first made it into my kitchen that I became so addicted to coffee I couldn't sleep at night, now I am weeing myself of it and using the kettle more. The soft chocolate brown leather jacket was my pride and joy a year ago, now I actually lend it to people, unheard of! The cream sofa that came in 487 pieces wouldn't stand indigo jeans on it six months ago, not it is stained with wine and a little darker in one corner. When did I stop caring for it like I did when it was new? Why have I become so complacent about these lovely things? Am I spoilt? I wonder if this 27 inch beauty will become just another piece of the furniture and stop getting me so excited when I catch a glimpse of it?

Four hours old and the excitement is still palpable. If you're lucky you can catch me on Face Time or Skype later playing with the built in HD camera I've never had. Does this mean I have to dress properly now for an editing day? Apply make up when I know I can be seen? Oh hell, I hadn't considered that but maybe dressing nicely will help with this anticipated productivity..

Whatever the outcome of having this new creature in my life is I am happy to finally own it and with my new increased desk top space (from 15 inches to a wapping 27!) my touching up promises to be better than ever before.

H is for Harbour

2011-08-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

The harbour - Mousehole, Cornwall

G is for Gorgeous

2011-07-31T04:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started out a usual summery Saturday with a beautiful wedding to shoot and ended with a stunning set of pictures that I can't wait to show the happy couple.

Not everyone is comfortable in front of the camera and this was a big concern for yesterday's newlyweds. I hope that the sneak peek below will prove to them that on one of the happiest days of their lives, all the ingredients they needed for their stunning alone shots were the right photographer, some quiet time, an open space, one (or two) willing ushers and two chilled glasses of champagne. They look gorgeous with a capital G and I hope they agree!

Not everyone books a photographer for their big day and what a shame. I hear the same sad tale over and over again and just yesterday a slightly sad bride approached me with her regretful story of why she hadn't booked one. It was a case of not wanting to spend time away from their guests on their big day that had initially worried her but how else would she have got the beautiful ever lasting portraits that she now doesn't have? Relying on a relative or friend to get anything other than reportage style shots can often be too much to ask because that person may not be confident when it comes to posing or even lighting people. It's a tricky one but actually when you ask yourself what these pictures are worth to you over the years surely it's worth spending just a little bit more now so that when you're old and grey you have something to look back on and be able to marvel at how gorgeous you really were?

If it is cost you are worried about then why not ask a photographer to come and do only the alone shots or which ever part of the day you know you want covered properly? This way you can get the relative or friend to do what they're good at in their own time thereby easing the pressure of them and ensuring you have some really fabulous photography too. If the friend comes up trumps then 'bingo!', you have two sets of gorgeous photographs!

Nobody should have regrets so think about it... afterall you are gorgeous and you deserve gorgeous pictures on your gorgeous day!

F is for Framing

2011-07-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

F is for Framing and Iike many artists and photographers I love to see my pictures in frames.

The above mocked up frame is for a couple who were married in the Highlands of Scotland and I am putting this together in time for their first wedding anniversary. The actual size is slightly larger than A1 and it contains twelve of their favourite pictures of them and their families on their big day.

There is something so romantic about frames. Canvases and aluminium are now the trend and can look lovely but there is still nothing like a beautifully mounted, framed picture adorning the wall. Solid stained wood, glass clear as crystal, heavy matted card and a beautifully printed photograph come together to create a lasting romantic memory of an amazing day. A day filled with love and lots of laughter (and the odd mosquito!).

Happy Anniversary Mr and Mrs Mills x

E is for happily Ever after

2011-07-25T03:21:00.000-07:00

Alice and Paul strolling through Pageant Gardens

I am nearing the other side of wedding season and my desktop is awash with romance: Beautiful white dresses, stunning brides, dashing grooms, pretty flowers, bubbly champagne, bright blue skies, cheery smiles and crazy dancing are all part of my every day life and what a lovely job I have.

The mood of a wedding is infectious and not a wedding ceremony goes by without me shedding a tear of joy. Friday's wedding allowed me one tearful moment during the tear jerker of all hymns Dear Lord and Father of Mankind but Saturday's was particularly tearful when while standing with friends and keeping my cool professional head on I had to force back the waterfall of tears while hiding subtly behind my camera body. It is a tricky task being photographer when you know the family and friends well. Nobody wants a tearful photographer blubbing during the happiest day of their lives but keeping completely cool isn't appropriate either so finding a happy medium is paramount. When faced with this task lists are important. When getting caught up in the 'how are you's' it can be very easy to forget your next task and so a paper list stashed in my pocket is the single most important piece of kit for me because even at the best of times my memory isn't as sharp as it was a few years ago!

Being back in the town of my teenage years, seeing old friends and teachers and visiting old haunts is quite a tornado for the senses and has really got me thinking about how far we have all come since. This feeling coupled with the romance of seeing two people tie the knot is quite overwhelming and has left me feeling a little exhausted. However, it has also cemented in me a belief in the ritual of marriage and just how important our friends and families are in supporting this life long commitment to someone special.

There is no doubt in my mind that these two couples will live long and happy lives together. Both appear made for one another and I wish them all the happiness in the world and a fairy tale happily Ever after...

(Blub blub)

D is for Doors & Decisions

2011-07-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

We are faced with decisions on a daily basis. Sometimes big ones, often mini ones.

On Friday night I had to make a decision; the bold move that followed made me smile so I knew I had chosen well.

When I woke up on Saturday morning I had to make another snappy decision and it wasn't an easy one but I also chose this one well.

Sunday came and yet another choice had to be made, this time not so easy but with the help of a large mug of tea, a steaming hot bath with a salt scrub and enlivening moisturiser to finish I came to a conclusion, stuck to it and survived to tell the tale.

You don't need to know the specifics of the above because that's not the point of the story. It suffices to say that for those who know me, I am not one for decision making and often let things unfold slowly so that I don't have to choose. I hate deciding period because I am scared of what might lurke behind each decision I make. How do we know that we're right and how will we cope if it isn't the right choice? We wouldn't have any sort of life without taking risks or making tricky decisions but where do we get the courage to make them?

When we choose a life partner we just know that it's right. Well, I've got that wrong before and someone recently and rather reluctantly told me that they thought I just wanted to think it was right and there's a difference. Mmmm, OK, there's nothing to say on that apart from we'll just have to wait and see.

The only thing I can liken this 'you just know' to is that when I wanted to take up photography it felt like the right decision at the right time and it turned out it was. I love it, I'm doing well and it makes me happy. If only other aspects of my life were this easy.

I have chosen to take up Spanish recently and have found that I have a flare for languages or so my 'teacher' tells me. I can speak broken basic German and even more basic French but it is Spanish that intrigues me. The reason I am learning? It's a hunch decision. Spain and the Spanish language keep creeping into my life and I believe that these are a string of events that are setting me up for something: I gained a new Spanish client, shot a wonderful set of portraits and an album cover for a Spanish band, got back in touch with a dear old Spanish friend, got back in touch with a dear old English friend who is fluent in both Spanish and German, and spent some time in Chile where I fell in love with the sound of the Spanish language (albeit slightly different from that of Spain). Suddenly surrounded by all things Spanish I have decided it is time. What with that and the swimming lessons I am on a learning role and my brain is alive once again. (The fact that only today I got the German and Spanish flags the wrong way round is no indication of this, more long day syndrome).

So back to my decisions. I liken these to different doors. One opens, it then closes, only to be reopened when we want and closed to make time for another to be opened and closed and tried out. It is the same for decision making, we choose a door to walk through and if it isn't the right door can't we just walk straight out and try another? Is it that simple? I think it is. If we don't try things we will never know if we enjoy or like them. Take my swimming lessons as an example, I have always hated front crawl because I didn't listen when we were taught (and was probably skiving off P.E that day) and so now hate it because I can't do it very effectively. By taking lessons, I think I will learn to love it and will certainly be a much better and possibly faster swimmer for it providing I keep it up and learn the strokes. Maybe by personally financing it myself this time around I will gain more from it...

"When one door closes another one will open", another firm piece of advice from a trusted source in my life and one that I keep in mind when deciding that things have to end. That's the beauty of doors, they can both open and close thus providing two options, an end and a way forward and I like being able to make something positive out of something negative.

Today's strip of pictures were shot at (in no order): The Strip, Las Vegas; Port Stanley, The Falkland Islands; Route 66, Arizona stretch; The Hoover Dam; Arizona side; Hotel Sacher, Vienna; Vis Town, Croatia; Zakynthos, Greece.

C is for Cricket

2011-07-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

Sara and Richard were married on 22nd May 2011

Two teams, Summery skies, green lawns, white outfits, Pimms, civilised spectators = All the ingredients for a game of cricket or a beautiful wedding.

B is for Blog

2011-07-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

I started this Blog as a kind of therapy. I've never been one to sit down and have a good old think. I don't meditate well and even when out walking I engage my brain with what I see rather then what I need to ponder. Writing a diary made me feel more like sad little Adrian Mole than sexy fun loving Belle de Jour, and so my blog was born.

In the beginning were lots of words (there's a Biblical link here, another 'B'), I anticipated a secret diary full of my thoughts, an anonymous poets corner where I could spill my heart and soul to anyone who wanted to listen. I soon realised that this wasn't really going to get me anywhere and so I redirected my writing towards my photography. Afterall photography is my passion and relating beautiful and interesting photographs to the spaghetti junction that is my mind is actually easy. There is always a photo for a thought and likewise numerous thoughts for photos. It is now the minutes taken to post these and marry them up that takes the time, even the writing flows from somewhere within. All I seem to need is a starting sentence, some thumping music and I'm thundering off like the battle for Middle Earth.

The new alphabetical approach to my blog gives me some structure in an often unpredictable working life. Today's letter 'B' was a real toss up because there was so much choice but I have gone for the most obvious in my eyes. I also favoured this image above most of the others from my recent trip to Las Vegas. I can't say where it was taken because of strict copyright laws attached to it but for those who have been there you will know where it is. It is the most fascinating museum I have ever been to and one day I hope to be able to go back and use it as a location for a shoot.

For my followers, of which I am pretty sure there are more than the number published below, thank you for your time spent reading what I write. If you didn't, there would be little point in me writing.

Happy Friday and I hope you enjoy your weekends x

The Alphabet by Philippa Gedge Photography: The Apostrophe

2011-06-28T02:23:00.000-07:00

Do the & Crowns really belong to Tiara?

Today marks the first day of my themed blogs and I have chosen the alphabet as a hinge upon which the next twenty six will stem from. Today we start at the very beginning with A.

I was recently inspired to do something grammatical when I stumbled upon this sign at a family fun day shoot. How on earth do we expect children to grow up understanding the apostrophe when us adults cannot get it right? It makes my blood boil.

There are times when I have to stop and think and even consult my handy Penguin guide to punctuation but at least I care about getting it right and make sure I never get it wrong. (Nervous note to readers: Please don't quote me on this, we all make mistakes but it doesn't excuse the sign writer above, this is an obvious error.)

Lynne Truss's book Eats, shoots and leaves was a top seller back in 2003 which must mean most of us do care about the way we handle the English language. It may also highlight the truth that most of us have either forgotten how to use punctuation or were never really taught that well in the first place. I found the book extremely helpful and only wish it could have been around during my school days instead of a cross eyed teacher shouting abuse at us when we got things wrong. Lynne's approach is not only humorous but clear and she has an entertaining and gentle approach that just makes you want to keep reading and therefore keep learning. Note to my teacher friends, make punctuation fun please!

So the message is pretty clear here but goodness knows what the letter 'B' has in store for my next blog. Using Brackets perhaps?!

People versus Landscapes

2011-06-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

Late December and early January is a great time to be away which is why I am doing it.

The purpose of the trip is not only as a well earned break but something of a photographic assignment inspired by my trip of a lifetime to the southern hemisphere back in 2009 when I visited the Falkland Islands and Chile. This trip, now commonly known as 'Patea' was the start of my desire to get away 'properly' every year. Not just to get on an Easy Jet flight to Greece but to travel further than is usually possible. The Patea book which now houses the best of the best pictures taken on my explorer trip inspires me constantly to fulfill my fifteen year old dream to be a National Geographic photographer. This wasn't realised, and is unlikely to be now that I have discovered my passion for people, but it is never far away from my thoughts when I remind myself why I got into this professsion; it's important to remember why you love something.

For the past month I have been shooting the 'people' assignment sent from heaven; ordinary people having fun. Social photography can be very rewarding and at the same time dealing with the general public a bit of a minefield when it comes to rights. That aside I have been in my element for weeks now and with a wealth of vibrant photography to show for it I am more than happy with the results, some of which can be seen here.

Come December I will hopefully be kayaking Milford Sound, lazing in pools of hot mud, exploring caves and tramping glaciers and whilst these fascinating places all lack the people I so love to photograph I hope to come back with a bank of stunning landscape photography to show off. Now all I need to do is get on with the rest of the year and try and forget that I have this awesome trip planned!

Happy Fathers' Day

2011-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Spectacular windy skies over Beale Park, Berkshire

"Some things in life are bad, they can really make you mad, other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't grumble, give a whistle, and this will help things turn out for the best."

Always looking on the bright side of life is the best piece of advice I have ever been given.

This week's weather has been tough; my outdoor shoots have either been rained off or difficult to manage, but this shot, taken last weekend, is the result of a windy, rain filled sky and without this current weather pattern would have been a dull lifeless shot.

There are two sorts of people in this world: those who always see the negative and those who are able to see the positive in the negative. I've been taught the latter and it has stood me in good stead for all things.

This entry is for my father for Fathers' Day tomorrow. He made me see that every dark cloud has a silver lining and I thank him for that.

Enjoy yourself, you will only live the once

2011-06-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Unless you are a Buddhist you will believe that you only live once and that this is your sole opportunity to enjoy your life.

This motto has helped me make all of the bigger decisions in my life; from what I should study as a degree (and indeed whether I should do one) right through to who I share my life with and what I should do to make the money I need to do the things I want to do. My recent heaven sent idea to travel to the other side of the world was made using this same idea and has helped me justify both the time off and the financial implication it will have.

I met a couple recently who seemed to have used the same thought process for their wedding day and it was obvious to me that they were going to really enjoy their lives together through the plans we made for their photography. Seldom do a couple want to spend time on their photographs, opting instead for the reportage style that has become so popular. Don't get me wrong, the majority of my wedding work is shot in this candid way but I do like to pose the couple when we do their alone shots; I just make it look unposed. That is the skill that separates us from the amateurs.

Gemma and Lee wanted to use and abuse the Kent countryside as best they could within the time constraints of the day. We never kept guests waiting making sure they were fed and watered and could see what we were doing so that they didn't feel separated from their friends. The results make me well up with happiness that the fun we had comes through so much in the photographs. They aren't back from their honeymoon yet but I can't wait to show these off and hope they will love them as much as I do.

All shot using a Nikon D700 and a mixture of my 50mm F1.4, 70-200mm F2.8 and 24-70mm F2.8.

Congratulations and I wish you every happiness. With love x

Hola me llamo Philippa y mi grupa preferida es Ochentaycuatro!

2011-06-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

This week one of my favourite group portraits, ever, was chosen as the album cover of Madrid's hottest band, Ochentaycuatro. The cover picture was then butchered and used as a poster to promote the band's concert but I don't mind, they're using the picture and they love it so let 'em!

It was this band, who back in March on a cold rainy night on the river Thames, convinced me that Spanish was a language well worth learning and if I was ever to visit them in Madrid I would need to learn the lingo. Three months down the line and with only a few key phrases under my belt I am so ready to get to Madrid and see the beautiful boys again. Our time together was short but so memorable as we wandered through Hyde Park in the morning mist and ended the shoot on a patch of dewy green grass where they played their latest single before speeding to the airport and back to their lives in Spain. They made quite an impression on me and so I am all the more proud to have taken pictures that they are so happy with and have them adorn not only their album cover but all of their promotional material too.

You've seen the portraits back when I shot them but I cannot resist showing you again as album cover and poster. Proud PGP.

Butchered but still mine! The band's album cover on a poster in Madrid shot today by the band so that I could see it in use

The album cover

Promotional poster

Summer Sale!

2011-06-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

Philippa Gedge Photography is having a summer sale!

We are offering 35% off all 'Art For Your Wall' canvases and framed prints until the end of July when the gallery will be changing to make way for a fresh look as we enter Autumn. Enjoy browsing!

Big mistake, huge

2011-06-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

Portraits shot in London this week

Long gone are the days of the oh so romantic glossy strip of wet film hanging in the dark drying cupboard, post squeegy, desperate and waiting to be printed. I long for the art college dark room again, the place where I used to dream about a life of long days and nights spent shooting on grainy black and white film, developing, dodging, burning, then hanging heavy thick wet Ilford paper to dry under red lamps in my East London warehouse. I would emerge tired but excited in the early morning, a washing line of fabulously evocative prints ready to be admired behind me and a morning of fresh coffee and cigarettes to look forward to. My naive student self didn't ever consider where the money would come from to buy the warehouse equipt with dark room and white airy spaces overlooking the canal but I loved dreaming and that's what got me through my degree in Graphic design when I really wanted to transfer to the photography course.

Life hasn't quite worked out the way I thought but when I sit back and compare the dream to the reality I am actually not that far off now. OK so the dark room is obsolete, I shoot on a digital Nikon and sit in front of my Mac for hours on end, I don't live in East London having favoured Notting Hill nine years ago, I don't smoke apart from the odd cheeky one here and there. I do drink fresh coffee however and enjoy it most in the sunshine at the Coffee Plant on Portobello road mid photo edit.

Despite the dream not quite matching my life now I can say that I am doing something I always longed to do and loving your job and having a passion for it is what most people wish for. Photography is in a funny place at the moment, anyone can be a photographer with the dawn of the digital camera and we are being forced to think up new ways of selling ourselves like never before. The competition is fierce and it is hard graft staying afloat. But for those 'make a quick buck' people out there who are undercutting and producing only mediocre work with it, there is still a plethora of knowledge we have and we are not sharing our secrets; they took us years of practise, research and experience to hone and fine tune and you haven't got that. So for anyone choosing a cheaper photographer with little experience over a more expensive one with years experience in the bag, in the words of one pretty woman, it's a big mistake, huge ......well I have to go shopping now.

Seeing things that are right under our noses

2011-05-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

Herne Bay

This past weekend I have been reminded at how lovely the UK can be. I have lived here since I was born and am ashamed to say not travelled that far within. I have taken flights across oceans to meet penguins but never seen them at London Zoo. I have ridden a camel along a wind swept beach in North Africa but never ridden a donkey along the beach in Blackpool. I have eaten Croque Monsieur in Paris but until this weekend never eaten an oyster in Whitstable. I have drunk iced tea in Miami but never drunk whisky on the isle of Skye, been to Chesapeake Bay but never Holkham.

This Summer, my camera and I intend to see more of the UK. Visiting Whitstable this weekend has inspired me to get out more and enjoy what we have to offer rather than destroying the planet and flying somewhere that doesn't serve Early Grey tea.

'Tis the season to drink Bolly

2011-05-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than the romance of an English country wedding

Wedding season is upon us: wedding planners are frantically coordinating, photographers are rushing up and down the country with heavy bags and long lenses, brides to be are losing weight and knocking back rescue remedy, dress makers are taking swathes of fabric in and and letting some out, caterers are stocking up at New Covent Garden Market and replacing ruined chair covers, venues are sprucing up their interiors and mowing lawns and grooms to be are sinking pints in the pub to escape from it all.

I used to prefer the Winter months but since becoming a photographer I have fallen in love with the romance of Summer. As photographers we see so much beauty and love, who'd not want to do our job?

Learning the art of timing

2011-05-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Comedy actors are taught to master the art of timing. Athletes are trained to better their time. In outer space timing is critical to astronauts. In music, the timing of the notes makes the difference between a terrible piece of music and a masterpiece. When trains and planes fail to arrive or leave on time it ruins our day. When you think you may have missed your chance at something wonderful with someone because the timing wasn't quite right it sucks.

Timing is everything.

When it comes to taking a portrait timing also matters.

When a person books their session they need time to sit; there is no use booking a session before or after an important meeting because there is never enough time, whichever way round you do it.

Picture a person who you've made comfortable, they're sitting, leaning, standing for your camera, at ease, smiling, engaging with you in a conversation that you daren't end for fear of them remembering where they are. Suddenly they laugh, tilt their head, throw their arms up in the ultimate gesture, they giggle, they relax, they are them and you've missed it, your shutter is too slow, you've blurred the shot, caught it a split second too late and that moment is gone forever, it is almost impossible to repeat it unless your subject is an actor of some sort but even then you still won't get that perfect expression back. That moment in time vanished forever.

The same goes when photographing children and brides on their wedding days; unless you've got your lens trained on them, you will miss so much.

Of course there is a case for good luck that can also play a part but we can't rely on that. Being in the right place at the right time is always a nice surprise when it happens but it is learning to predict people's next move that is what I am training myself to do. If you're close enough to a conversation quite often you can predict a joke coming, and you know that that joke will make someone laugh. As a woman my instinct is dominant within and I use that all of the time when I'm working.

Today's chosen portrait was totally unposed. I was facing the way the little boy is looking and spotted someone staring at something just behind where I was standing. When I turned around it was obvious what the woman was looking at, this beautiful little boy was staring into space, out into the sunshine, he was watching the party from inside the room. As I lowered myself down his stare broke, he looked straight into my lens, from a distance of about four metres, and smiled. Almost as soon as he had he turned to his father: the moment gone.

Shot using a Nikon D700 and a 70-200mm F2.8 lens on a sunny day in Notting Hill.

Welcome to the world that hasn't ended

2011-05-22T03:17:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I was told that I was a lucky lady and that I had been slowly poisoned by a faulty boiler chucking out four times the safe amount of carbon monoxide. I took the news in my stride; the guilty boiler was turned off and by the following morning all valves were replaced making me safe again. The news didn't come as a surprise because now I had a reason as to why I had been getting colds, sore throats and feeling run down and sick since January.

So now that all is well at home I am told that we're all going to die anyway and that at 2am last night the world should have ended. Well it didn't and I am still here having now survived carbon monoxide poisoning and the apocalypse 2012: I feel lucky to be alive. Put all of this in a list with photographing and meeting Hugh Grant this week and you've got a pretty memorable few days in the bag.

But the chapter of this long past week that has stuck with me the most is yesterday's christening shoot in West London. Christenings are overlooked by so many people because of religious beliefs or lack of and it is a shame not to welcome a child into the world one way or another. Naming ceremonies are now very popular for the agnostics and atheists amongst us but there is something about being in a church that makes it all the more special. Yesterday's shoot resembled a wedding in so many ways; we photographed the baby waking up, being dressed, having her head blessed with holy water, there were then more than twenty groups to photograph with the little girl and a party to celebrate afterwards with the most enormous cakes to rival William and Kate's. This little girl had just had the most almighty welcome into the world and I hope that one day she looks back on my photographs and thanks her family for such a lovely party. After I left there was still a singer and DJ to follow; Roman Catholics sure know how to throw a christening party. I'd like to do more of these...

There is nothing quite like being in love

2011-05-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

There is nothing quite like being in love. Days spent walking on air, an inner happiness that you can feel right down to your toes, spontaneous bursts of giggles when you think about them, the adrenaline rush of excitement when you are going to see them, butterflies and flips in your tummy, contentment and safety, all bright and breezy.

This entry is for all of the people in my life who have found that heavenly emotion and especially for the gorgeous people yet to find it. I wish the dreamily in love couple above all the best for a long happy marriage. Congratulations to you both and it was a great pleasure to spend the day with you on your stunning wedding day last weekend.

6am (but no mention of Friday the 13th)

2011-05-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 6am, the London Underground: the perfect time to travel, no one around and no one to see the bleary eyes and wide mouthed yawning but what a completely antisocial time to get up.

The things I do for my clients...

A little note to all meeting planners

2011-05-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am finding more and more that my clients prefer 'in action' portraits over the classic posed shot. We can stage this easily enough but to kill two birds with one stone I am often invited to an office where there is a meeting planned to capture each subject around the table, mid conversation, hands gesturing a must and preferably with an intense look on their face. I love this sort of work.

Of course I often try and sneak in some individual posed, at camera shots too, but then I never know when to stop and am always after the ultimate portrait.

My kit for these types of jobs is very simple. Depending on the size of the room I use either my favourite 85mm 1.4 or a 70-200mm 2.8 with a hot shoe mounted flash bounced off a nearby side wall close to the window so that I don't cross my light sources. I prefer to side light, where I can, giving the subjects a more three dimensional look. An aqua blue or slightly grey green (often found in metallic blinds and windows) is my favourite background colour for every skin tone. See the first and third shots above for an example of this; it never fails and always looks fresh and clean. Plants and neutral walls also work well.

My point then today is: Meeting planners please be aware that the room you choose for the meeting makes an enormous diference to the outcome of the photography!

Kiss your troubles goodbye

2011-05-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

Zen and the art of relaxation

2011-05-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Day three at the spa and I barely know what day it is let alone how to string a sentence together anymore.. bliss...

The spa is a good place to contemplate the crossroads in your life

Secret gardens


That holiday feeling in Hampshire in April	!

Serial killer or beauty therapist?

2011-05-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

As I approach my second night in a gentle cocoon of healthy eating and spa treatments I am wondering how to keep this up at home.

The answer sadly is you can't. Our lives are such that we need to work and rush around in order to get things done. But I have asked myself what I could live without doing on a daily basis and numerous things sprang to mind so already I am able to create a less hectic lifestyle for myself. Moving to the country was fairly high up on my list but as I have described to some of my friends recently whilst sipping gourmet cocktails in Notting Hill's finest watering holes, it isn't time yet; London's still too exciting and I'd miss it.

Spending time in a spa alone is an alien experience. I knew this before I booked which is why I chose an award winning establishment. It came at an award winning price too but you can't compromise on health is what I have convinced myself. Set in forty-seven acres of National Trust park land with indoor and outdoor pools and treatments that sound good enough to eat I was sold and so booked only five hours before I made the short journey out of London on Friday afternoon.

We all know this is the worst time to leave any city but I did it anyway desperate to get out before the phone started ringing. An hour's journey took me almost two but who's counting when upon arrival your main concern is whether to go for a swim before you use the steam room or after you use the sauna. Now that I've been here thirty hours these questions are trickier and far more important than you would think. If you've just had a treatment you won't want to swim for fear or washing the heavenly scented oils off your super soft body and a sauna is out too because you'll only sweat it out. Another treatment so soon after would ruin the effect of the first and an exercise class is dangerous considering how drowsy you now are. The only available option is to sit quietly in the relaxation room with a glass of lemon water or sprawl yourself on the feather sofa in the drawing room with a lemon and ginger tea and read about Kate and Wills and what 'Look' magazine says about their future together. My hands were tied, I'd been told not to do anything, and so that's exactly what I did, for three whole hours until lunch was served.

My second treatment of the day was literally taken from a scene in the US hit series Dexter. For those who aren't familiar with the series I will briefly describe it: Dexter, a forensic scientist working with the Miami Police is a serial killer. But he doesn't just kill anyone, he kills the bad guys. Once he has injected his victims with a sedative he lies them naked on a sheet of plastic and covers them with more plastic to keep them still. The rest is too gruesome to describe and isn't required here. My point is, when I lay on my sheet of plastic today in the scarily dark room I felt my heart quicken. It could have been my slight claustrophobia kicking in, it could have also been the fact that I'd never had a Marine Algea Wrap before and so didn't know what to expect but I was briefly scared and made the mistake of telling my therapist why. I'm not sure she will ever feel comfortable about this treatment again and I apologise for that; she didn't seem ammused which only aggrivated the tense situation we found ourselves in. But there was no turning back, she was elbow deep in exfoliator and had already covered my right side, we were in this for the whole hour, just her and me and the crinkly plastic beneath me.

Once I was exfoliated washed down and then sufficiently covered in green sludge and smelling like Lyme Regis harbour I was wrapped in the plastic and left in peace. By this time all fear of being slaughtered alive on the table had disappeared and I felt warm and cosy in my basted body. I was being baked and it felt amazing. So amazing that I fell asleep and after half an hour my therapist had to wake me up with a gentle prod on my sludgy warm shoulder.

I cannot recommend a solitary spa weekend enough. The portions of food may be small and seconds of the lunch buffet frowned upon, and there are no snacks during the day apart from the most almighty fruit bowl next to the fruit tea selection but it's pretty interesting to learn that you aren't hungry on this amount of food, proving that most of us eat too much. Whilst eavesdropping today I realised that this was what every woman in the room was discussing and so if we all go home and keep up the good work of 25% protein, 25% carbohydrate and 50% vegetables on a small plate for every meal we will be healthier, slimmer and potentially happier. Now that's got to be worth the investment. Infact, why don't the NHS send us on these sorts of weekends away? It is too hard to limit diet at home because of temptation but when the nearest shop is a mile away and stealing away after dinner in your car to the Co-op so damned obvious, you're left with no choice but to eat healthily.

NB For the record, unlike Dexter's victims I am one of the good guys and like to think I'd never end on his butchering slab.

Wonderful people doing wonderful things

2011-05-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

Charity logo

This is the story of my photographer friend, Richard Budd, who was sent to the Sudan on a photographic commission and came back and set up a charity to build a school. While he was there he found that there was a desperate need for education in the country and now he and his wife run 'Grace Secondary School' from their home in Dorset alongside a successful design and photographic business.

Speaking to him over coffee recently I quickly realised that his heart is totally cemented into this project and whereas I went there to discuss our link as photographers and how we can help each other, we actually spent most of our time looking through pictures of children he has helped in Africa and talking about Grace, because let's face it, they have nothing and we have everything and the stark contrast hits a nerve.

The Budds have had numerous TV interviews, been featured in the national newspapers and have even hosted Prince Charles in one of their mud huts but they still need funding to continue the project - it is a continuous fundraiser. What most of us don't appreciate is that donated money runs out and unless we can keep donating the children won't have school rooms to learn in.

With the money raised so far, the school is taking shape, children will soon have the shady school rooms they so desperately need to learn in and educated teachers to teach them.

Building the school

I wanted to do a little to help Richard and his wife on their quest and knowing the people who read my blog I knew you'd be interested too.

Grace has a website where you can learn more and donate if you wish.

http://www.gracesecondaryschool.com/about-the-project.shtml

Location of Grace Secondary School

I joked and called Richard the Geldof of Dorset but he didn't like that very much; he is an unassuming, quiet but confident man, a superb photographer and the dedicated founder of Grace and deserves all the recognition he and his wife Claire can get for this project.

Good luck and congratulations on your amazing work so far.

I just want to add that I met Richard recently at a fundraiser in London for the New Zealand earthquake and the people of Christchurch. We were both there for charity and our friend - chef at the Wild Garlic in Beaminster, Dorset - Mat Follas who raised over £60,000 on the night. It seems that Richard is a bit of a Geldof after all..

Love is...

2011-05-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Nine women, two heads and a members' club

2011-05-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Photographing groups can be every photographer's nightmare: closed eyes, weird expressions, quirky poses, balance, different temperaments and lighting all have to be considered and managed. 'Borrowing' pairs of eyes from another photograph because someone had their eyes closed when everyone else looked perfect is a common occurrence in group photography. I've even been known to swap a child's head over because he or she was pulling such a vulgar face in the front row when the bride and groom above looked their best. This is what we are paid for and I welcome it gladly; I signed up for it so I take the rough with the smooth but always try my hardest to get everyone looking perfect simultaneously so that I don't have to play plastic surgeon late into the night.

Today's shot was one of those rare moments when everyone had their eyes open, they were all smiling and all looked gorgeous. Of course the only way to do this was to ask them to look anywhere but the camera, but it worked and it made me very happy. I like to think of this as my Tatler cover shot: a group of gorgeous women in beautiful dresses smiling and looking sophisticated. Thank you ladies, you rocked. x

Shot at Electric House, Portobello Road, London using a Nikon D700 with a 24mm lens, two Profoto 500 watt heads and a large white reflector.

That back to school feeling

2011-05-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

My Easter break was a self declared well deserved rest, a chance for my brain to switch off and get some deep sleep. I left behind a mountain of admin which I am facing but now that I'm refreshed I can start the Summer with much more zing than I had in the Spring. On Monday I had an overwhelming 'back to school' feeling; a hangover from my early boarding school days when on Sundays I counted down the seconds until 6 o' clock when we would have to get in the car and make the hour long journey back to Somerset, to a school which seemed scarily huge at the time and always smelled of wooden floor cleaner and biscuits. Just thinking about that school by the sea sends cold shivers down my spine.

At a hen party on Saturday, a sunny Richmond day of wine, cocktails, rowing on the Thames and one tiny naked man followed by the smallest night club in Surrey, we reminisced about our school days until we cried. The hysteria was palpable; I haven't laughed like that since I was at school!

Still feeling a little nostalgic for those days, a small part of me wishes I had been naughtier than I was. I got into some pretty impressive bouts of trouble but I could have pushed it; smoking at 'the log' (unusual spot considering the smoke that billowed out through the branches?!), painting statues and drinking vodka in the bathroom seemed enough at the time and have produced some laugh out loud memories but they could be naughtier!

The two cuties above have all of that to come and where their mothers will be pleased that I won't enforce bad bahaviour, they should know that I do encourage individuality and experimenting at a young age so will be on the end of the phone when they do!

My first shoot this week marked the start of silly season; the time of year when I shoot more weddings than I have suitable dresses and when people start to smile and enjoy life more. Nothing beats driving to a shoot, windows wound down, radio blaring, sun shining; I love my job on days like today and am thankful that I am no longer making that sad journey back to school, it's someone else's turn now.

I now declare you....

2011-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

I met the lovely Alice and Paul today ahead of their wedding in Dorset in the Summer. A gorgeous couple, oozing love and with so much to look forward to. I am really looking forward to spending their wedding day with them and their lovely families.

This is the reason I love my work, I get to spend time with lovely people doing something I adore.

She's done it again!

2011-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight's feast: Mushroom brasied plaice and samphire served with pan seared scallops, cauliflower puree, asparagus and hollandaise sauce.

While Tim Anderson was winning Masterchef 2011, Mrs Gedge was cooking up a storm to rival his final dishes. I wish she had been brave enough to enter the competition when it was first on the box; there is no doubt in my mind that she would have been in the final if not won the competition.

Despite piling on the pounds this week, I am feeling very honoured to have eaten such wonderful dishes every day. Thank you!

Check out my knockers!

2011-04-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Easter Monday desert

2011-04-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

Two scoops of lemon juice sorbet, one scoop of rhubarb and ginger, a sprig of sweet mint and a brandy snap filled with vanilla cream: Dining out at home just gets better every day.

West Dorset Crab & Butterflied Lamb

2011-04-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmm, a blissful Easter Sunday lunch with my family.

There should have been three courses photographed today but in my haste to try freshly baked homemade brandy snaps filled with vanilla whipped cream eaten in a hurried, happy, sunny wine haze, my tummy full and my plate empty, they only get a mention and no photograph...

West Dorset Wild Garlic Soup

2011-04-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

The kitchen I grew up in, did my homework in, read my books in, played with my care bears in, pinned countless tails on donkeys in and later on drank my first sips of wine in, stole puffs of my mother's cigarettes in and danced the night away to Andy Williams in, is always a hive of culinary activity and today is absolutely no exception.

My perfect Easter Saturday started with a cold bottle of beer followed rather quickly by a very nice dry sherry and a bowl of this year's blue bell wood pickings of fresh wild garlic as a soup with lashings of double cream. Oh my goodness, what a winner, there ain't no virus gonna land on this body now that I've OD'd on this bowl of loveliness.

The leaves, picked by my nutty niece and nephew on a blue bell picking scavenge with Grandad have made a phenomenal soup worthy of one if not two big fat Michie stars; and my mother, who can turn any ingredient into a gastronomic experience fit for a Queen is once again at the helm currently baking langoustine with chilli oil while the fish pie is in the Aga.

As I sit here writing, sipping Tio Pepe, my father is laying the table, winding the chef up, 'tasting' the wine we will be eating with the fish pie, and generally making a nuisance of himself in the 'chef's kitchen' it is business as usual and there's nowhere I would rather be for Easter.

Is this the most beautiful building in London?

2011-04-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Eau de dog pee

2011-04-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Jason Bennett - Coming to a screen or bookshelf near you soon!

When I was recently commissioned to do a shoot and the brief stated that it had to be edgy, industrial and urban, I knew exactly where I needed to be. I live in the brief and so my doorstep was perfect for the job. As much as I dream about days shoots in stately homes in middle England with horses, meadows, lakes, butterflies, warm breezes, lens flare and floaty white dresses, it is the urban chic of North Kensington that really gets me going.

There's nothing like scrambling around on tow paths on a quiet Sunday morning with a slight eau de dog pee in your nose or having to touch out great dollops of pigeon poo from the perfect spot for that pose adding an often hysterical touch to any nervous subject on his or her first photo shoot. All of this is what I love about my job, there is always a surprise just around the corner...

Pride

2011-04-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

To complete my series on the seven deadly sins, today's entry is all about pride.

When you look at this picture and consider it's story and subject you may think that pride is not the nicest of subjects to attribute to it but in defense I want to concentrate on the pleasure I gain from someone else's achievements rather than my own.

My beautiful, gentle, intelligent and now surprisingly aquatic seven year old goddaughter won a medal last week for swimming and I am bursting with pride for her. Her mother was in the swimming team at school so it really shouldn't come as a surprise but it is one of those early life achievements that should be celebrated; the day a little person achieves something in a competitive environment is both character building for them and a proud moment for you as a parent or relative. I'm not a parent but I can see the effect these moments have on my friends and as a godmother and auntie also have on me. I am always surprised at the youngs' abilities to learn and pick up things far faster than I now can, and often wish my brain was as fast now as it was then, or so I assume it was then!

Pride in one's own success I have no time for; when faced with someone of this ilk I flee. But today my slightly embarrassed yet confident little friend above was humbly pleased to be showing me her medal. If we all took a leaf out of her book the world would be full of much nicer people.

Starting the week the way I mean to go on

2011-04-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

This week is a busy one. What with four bank holidays on the horizon and wedding season starting, there is a great deal to get in order before Easter. To avoid a mental melt down today I decided to get away from my desk and get some exercise. My run took me north to Maida Vale, land of red brick Edwardian terraces, mansion blocks and shiny new cars. I made a mistake by not taking my camera, it is always when I don't have it that I see more. Today I saw a man in a wheelchair being pulled, husky style, by his dog. Arms aloft and his one good leg pushed out as if to brake, this man was having a ball in the sunshine and was travelling considerably faster than the cyclists around him. What a way to travel.

I also noted (and highlighted to later tell my fellow single girlfriends) an increase in not uneasy on the eye members of the opposite sex out running. But this isn't a new sighting; whilst standing, sun dresses on, Jug of Pimms by our feet and sunglasses fresh out of their cases, at one of my favourite public houses last week I was astonished that my local area seems to have given birth to a nice new variety of this species. Is it the sun that has brought them out of the woodwork? Am I just more aware? Or is it my new batch of contact lenses, could the new lenses be thinning down waists, evening out skin tones, messing up hair, applying light tans and dressing these gorgeous creatures?

Now more than ever I must make sure to apply lipstick before leaving the house and not go anywhere without freshly washed hair or in my trackies, not even Tescos late at night on a biscuit hunt. So tonight I have started as I mean to go on and painted my toenails as an optimistic sun chant to wearing peep toes and flip flops between now and late Autumn. Summer time at long last.

(Please don't let me have spoken too soon.)

Things by half

2011-04-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Jason Bennett - actor, author

Why do things by half when you can do things properly and have lots of fun! Sleep well everyone x

Today's photograph of Jason Bennett was shot today in London using my 85mm F1.8 lens, a Nikon D700 and 1 reflector.

Give yourself some more time

2011-04-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

A quiet think to herself (the most photographed girl in my life)

A perfect day in my world is one where I achieve a lot, work hard, take a beautiful photograph, eat some nice food, see a friend, drink a nice Sicilian red, and get a good night's sleep. It's really very simple.

Lately I have managed to achieve this quite regularly and that's great and makes me happy but I do feel I never get enough quiet time to reflect on what I'm doing and how I might be able to do it better, and I live alone. We all need more time for ourselves and aren't we able to make it happen? I hear this complaint so often so why aren't we all doing it?

Maybe we should switch off the television, turn down the radio, put the book down, close the kitchen door on the washing up, leave the rubbish until tomorrow, let the washing basket overflow for another day, let the dust settle on the bookshelf some more, turn down the after work drink, the mid morning coffee and just sit and meditate on us for a bit. Half an hour a day is probably all we need.

I'm starting today, don't you think you should to?

Calling for feedback please

2011-04-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Getting creative in Notting Hill

Social media is officially taking over my working life and as I have described before, it is consuming me and I am struggling to keep up with it but I am making the most of what it has to offer, trying my best to keep things updated and enticing my readers and followers to read and follow more.

With this in mind I have taken some advice from someone I met recently and enhanced my Linkedin page. Dull and geeky as it may sound, the enhancement is actually quite exciting and I think makes my profile page stand out from others.

I'd be interested to know what you think so have a look at these links and post a comment either here or there. Feedback is important so please, let me know what you think.

Linkedin profile page

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=31531064&trk=tab_pro

Women portfolio

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Women/1249865

Men portfolio

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Men/1249947

Families

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Families/1262233

Mumbo Jumbo?

2011-04-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Amethyst ring

Citrine necklace shot against some bark

In Sedona there are hundreds of people who will read your palm, your cards, your crystal ball, your aura, your skin, your eyes, your teeth, your hair, your tongue, your faeces, your urine, your toenails, your everything; anything can be read by anyone.

The town sits on four vortexes and so attracts spiritual people of all shapes and sizes. It is said that if you're at all sensitive, you will feel this energy and it can be an uplifting experience. I like to think I trust in and believe this but while I was there I felt exhausted. I was at the end of my trip and had done a lot of driving and seen a great deal but when I arrived in Peach Springs at the scary hotel I felt alive again. How do you explain that? Were the vortexes draining me of my energy, feeding of me? I had the polar opposite reaction to what everyone writes about.

There were shops selling crystals everywhere; beautiful shiny crystals for sale, promising love filled and successful futures and happy times. I've got two and they sit by my desk and by my bed. My selenite promises new beginnings, mental clarity and order and the rose quartz disc contentment, calm and love. I like having them around, I can't explain it, I just like them, they're pretty and they sparkle in certain lights.

When I was approached to photograph some crystal jewellery for a new business I jumped at the chance. The thought of spending days with lovely colours and sparkly objects was like a dream. Today's pictures show an amethyst ring and a citrine necklace. It's a shame the business hasn't taken off, maybe it is just a little too spiritual for many of us....

Jack of all or master of one?

2011-04-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Marketing shots for Vuju

I have always believed that a master of one trade is far better than being a jack of all. I would much rather concentrate on portraits, events and weddings because they involve people and I enjoy making people smile, or not, as the case may be.

But today, in true Philippa Gedge Photography blogging style I am about to contradict myself royally by posting a photograph of some work I have done for a drinks company.

At the beginning of my photographic career I was trained as an assistant by a food photographer in Notting Hill. I learned a great deal about how to make food look good and how to light cooked, frozen and very reflective foods and packaging. That is why I took on this job for Vuju; I had the lighting, I had the large backdrop, I knew how to compose and I actually quite liked the break from a subject that couldn't answer back!

This shoot for Vuju lead me to a jewellery designer who needed sparkly, close ups of her crystal pieces but I'll save those for tomorrow's blog. They are very pretty...

You look tired..

2011-04-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am, night night.

Lapsang Souchong and luck

2011-04-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lucky me today

Today's shoot is over, it went well, I met lots of inspiring, interesting and useful people and now I can settle down to a cup of Lapsang Souchong before a night out. As I gaze out onto the market and the pub that never sleeps where yummy mummies and dodgy dealers rub shoulders I am feeling very lucky. Lucky to have work, lucky to have friends, lucky to have family, lucky to be happy, lucky to be free from unhappiness, lucky to know what I want and need and lucky to live in a city where Summer appears to have come early for a change.

But as I wonder about luck I am also thinking that I may have had a hand to play in this luck, it has been said that we make our own luck, we lay the foundations for it and that must be right because otherwise how would it find us? Google has a hard enough job finding me and my business so how can such a metaphysical thing as luck ever have a chance when it's unguided? I chose my line of work because I loved it and think I'm good at it, I made the good friends I surround myself with, (the family weren't chosen by me and I may have lucked out there!), I made sure that the thing that made me unhappy went away, by doing this I realised what it was I wanted and needed, and I chose to live where I do. So actually, apart from my family, I chose it all and I think I chose well...

Enjoy the sunshine Londoners, long may it last!

You just don't know until you try

2011-04-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Occasionally we branch out, and now, at this point in my life, is most definitely the time to do it. Today was a learning curve and a wonderful experience, I was slightly out of my comfort zone and I loved it, proving that you just don't know until you try.

The new online boutique will sell lovely things, including the dresses you see above and needed lovely photos to go with it. I was drafted in, The Electric was booked and the Playroom was ours. I had two hours to photograph ten women and the pressure was on.

What a day, what a lovely day at that and what a nice start to something I like the thought of pursuing...

Good lookers in Swindon!

2011-04-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

I love shooting portraits, it's why I took up photography.

One of this week's shoots was for my favourite client in Swindon. These portraits are from a series of shots for the company's new website. Instead of the usual stock shots they wanted real professionals doing real jobs; it just so happened that these real professionals were also nice looking and a complete joy and giggle to shoot making my day in Wiltshire so much fun. I hope they like them!

Shot using a Nikon D700 and 85mm F1.8 lens.

Envy

2011-04-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

The iPad 2!

Continuing with my seven deadly sins theme, today's pick is Envy. Infact 'Envy' is what really started the whole idea of, with the help of a new follower on Facebook and Twitter it gave birth to this small series. I like series so expect a theme to develop at some point there..

There is no denying the fact that I crave an iPad. I have completely convinved myself that it is the way forward for a photographer and can even act as a portfolio without the bulk. I like good old fashioned prints, vibrant colours, large prints that jump off the page, but it seems the same can be said when viewing images on an iPad and it is calling me.

This week I met Nick, he was sitting at my table looking into his lap, the pool of white light shining up illuminating his face, far too bright for a common phone, this had to be something special. I leant over and sure enough, there it sat in his lap, out of envious sight hidden underneath the table. Lightweight, skinny, with images crisp as a Winter's day, gorgeous..

A word of warning though, never ever touch someone's iPad without asking. Treat it like you would a wedding invitation; you'd never ask to be invited, you must wait for the invitation to arrive. Your smudgy finger all over their clean crisp screen? A big no no. I had known Nick a good few hours by the time I touched his screen but that wasn't long enough, and almost scuppered my chances of the shot you see above. Tread carefully around the proud new owner; it is unlikely to be insured and is as precious as a new pair of Laboutins.

One day I will convince myself that the iPad can be claimed as a portfolio expense, but for now I will enjoy sneaking a scroll on everyone else's.

Kai We Care raises over £60,000, and counting...

2011-04-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Mat Follas of The Wild Garlic, Beaminster

Haka performed by Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club

Mat Follas and Dave Ahern, Kai We Care's creators

Mat Follas with Ellie Mathars, Janet Lurie Dawe, Karen Lister, Rebecca Marcus-Monks, Ashlin McMillan, Genevieve Von Lob

Last night One Moorgate Place in London saw Mat Follas and Dave Ahern create their own pop-up restaurant and raise over £60,000 (and still rising) for Christchurch New Zealand. The event started as a small ticketed 9 course dinner for 30 people and within 5 weeks and using only the power of Twitter it grew to a 200 strong dinner served by some of England's finest chefs.

I was so honoured to have been part of this fabulous evening and wish all events could serve this sort of food, it was to die for...

Well done guys; gorgeous food, great venue, good company, excellent entertainment and all for a very worthy cause.

If you would like to see a small selection of the photographs from front of house see this Facebook link:

Philippa Gedge Photography Facebook 'Kai We Care'

If you would like to see ALL of the front of house photographs, please visit my website:

Kai We Care Web Gallery

For more information on Kai We Care, visit http://kaiwecare.weebly.com/index.html

Mothering Sunday

2011-04-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

My mother today enjoying some quiet time

Without them we are nothing. Wherever your mother is today tell her you love her, any way you can; it may be to her face, it may be on the phone, it may even be in a prayer, but whatever you do tell her because she deserves it.

Happy Mothering Sunday x

A406, M3, A303, home, relax.

2011-04-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

It happens instantly, as soon as I turn off the A303 towards West Dorset I relax.

The air here alters the way I see the world and makes me the person I am today. The cocktail of being in the house I grew up in, with the loving family I couldn't live without, going on the fresh air walks that revive me, looking at the views that inspire me and eating the food my should have been a chef mother cooks for me, is one I never tire of and crave when life gets too hurried in our capital city.

Outside the window in the town's square there is still noise, but it is a different sound to London, it's calmer and despite the odd boy racer, it is peaceful. Life is slower here in the country and it provides just the sort of escape we all need from time to time. At this point in my life I couldn't live here but I must admit that when I am at home I want to. I still smile when I drive back to London, it still excites me and I know that it isn't my time to pack up the late nights and workaholic lifestyle I lead just yet.

It is almost as if I see it all for the first time. Walking here is always wonderful and today was no exception; the sun was setting and the air was still warm while we picked wild garlic and gently ambled around the hills.

Gorgeous.

The power!

2011-04-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a long day which you may have gathered by my lack of blog article, slap my hand and firmly tell me off, I feel bad but a girl has to let her hair down occasionally after a long day's shooting...

Something interesting did happen yesterday though, and it has cemented my faith in the power of social media.

I arrived in Swindon for a shoot and whilst waiting for the clients 'Tweeted' and 'Linkedin' the fact that I was in Wiltshire for the day. It was a throw away comment highlighting what I was up to. Not ten minutes had passed since the posting when I received a phone call asking me to do some portraits while I was in the area! A free piece of advertising with a result that can be directly attributed to it. Oh how it made me smile.

This doesn't mean you will now be bored rigid by my every move but it has made me realise just how powerful a few free words can be.

Quel result!

Men in suits

2011-03-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Shot using a Nikon D700 and with the exception of the group, a 135mm F2.8 Nikkor lens

I don't actively call myself a feminist or wax lyrical, ever, about the still perplexing ratio of women to men at the top, but that doesn't mean I am not troubled by it.

This week saw that annual 'Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award' go to a civil engineer from Northern Ireland. I would have loved to have been the photographer for the awards and am secretly hoping it wasn't a male photographer; sadly this ratio is still tilting in 'their' favour.

I have to admit that being a female 'helps' me in some situations as a photographer. I'm not talking about wearing a low cut top (although that will get a room full of men in suits looking in your direction), I come at it from a trust perspective. Generally speaking people trust women more than they do men. I photograph people for a living and through the power of observation, by being on jobs with my male counterparts, I have noticed a far more relaxed reaction to my camera than theirs. I do have a few secrets up my sleeve on how to make people relax and smile but am utterly convinced that my femininity helps me do my job better.

Where I as a woman fall down is that I am not as strong and bolshy as most men. I am far too polite and would never make it as a pap, infact the thought of it scares me to hell. I once shot the May day riots, it was some years ago before I was a 'photographer' and once you've been hemmed into Oxford Circus drowning under a tide of anti capitalist marchers, riot police and large horses, lens crushed inbetween your body and that of a police shield, you never want to put yourself in harm's way again. Some women do it but really, that is no place for us, honestly, we have too much precious material at risk in our bodies to undergo that sort of situation; I will leave that to you men.

My shoot today started with a group shot at quarter to nine, far too early for any of us to be standing around, suited and booted under the glare of two photographer's lights and a large lens, but the men in question posed beautifully, considering, and that is what inspired me to write this. My client highlighted the fact that I had started the day of really nicely and that my charming female presence at the top of The Gherkin had helped what can be a really dull situation. I somehow made them smile and laugh and all before a cup of coffee has passed their lips. It's all in the secrets I have up my sleeve and it never has to involve a low cut top, that's not to say it can't involve a tight white t-shirt, it just needn't!

It's Spring!

2011-03-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this the radio tells me that rain is on it's way tonight and it will then rain for days, it will be wintery and miserable. Just as we feel Spring in the air, the clocks are put forward and the lambs are prancing around the fields, the daffodils are springing into life and soon we'll see blue bells! Hip hip hooray Spring is out to play!

Then, thud, rain..

Why is it that just as soon as you feel happy, content and are looking forward to life, that something comes along and bursts your bubble and wrecks it all?

'Sod's law' is the term used by so many but there must be some sort of mathematical equation or astrological measurement that really explains it. Honestly, why does it happen all the time? Is it the world's maker's way of telling us not to take it all for granted? Is it because we cannot deal with too much joy all at once? Is it us, projecting our negativity onto our own lives?

I've had enough of wondering why and just want to get on with Spring and all the nice things in life. We must try hard not to dwell on the people who knock us sideways, people who complicate our lives and make us question our decisions. They should be gently removed to make way for nice, pretty people who smile and who's outlooks are positive and sunny.

It's officially Spring, ignore the rain, remember that it's good for your gardens and get outside and prance around, buy something new, treat yourselves to a haircut, Spring clean your homes while it's pouring outside, light a nice smelly candle and pamper yourself ready for long Summery Spring days to come the other side of Easter.

Anger, or wrath as I prefer to call it

2011-03-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Controlling one's anger can sometimes be a hard task and some of us reach for the bottle, others meditate and sip on Rescue Remedy. Those who need to be heard march,yell and burn Trojan horses. I didn't dare venture into central London on Saturday with my camera but I can see that yet more mayhem rained down on our streets and as much as I hear what they're saying, don't make us pay for the clean up, surely that doesn't help any of us?!

We're all angry at the moment, everything is costing more these days but anger is not the answer. Yes it overwhelms us, it is hard to see beyond and it consumes every emotion but we can learn that by putting on our trainers and turning on our iPods, there is nothing a good hard run cannot actually solve (for ourselves at least). And then when you get back a long hot shower and a large beer is even more deserved! Writing can also do the same, take pen to paper and write it all down, it's surprisingly effective.

OK so I'm not really seeing this from a political perspective but we all know that that's not my forte.

A recipe for happiness

2011-03-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

A recipe for happiness

*One non rainy day, preferably just like today, sunny

*Unlimited supplies of outdoor space

*One warm breeze

*One or more friends/company to share with, but remember, it is quality not quantity here

*Love in limitless quantities - friends, lovers, family, relations, self; your choice

Mix together and consume daily.

There ain't nothing quite like a sunny day outside to life the soul.

The sloth (not the fury kind)

2011-03-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

Slothfullness is an aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence, and I and a London cyclist are guilty of it today.

The reason started yesterday as I was waiting for a friend in London's salubrious King's Cross. I had chosen a clear spot where there were fewer people so that she could see me from a distance. I stood by the railings, close to the road and was enjoying watching the people on a busy Friday evening; watching excited young girls and boys get off tubes and trains and disappear into the chaos of the city's veins, watching happy couples greet each other at the end of their busy weeks, overloaded mothers with small children unable to manage their luggage and with no help from anyone, there were nervous dates, possibly meeting for the first time and deciding where to go for the evening, pigeons nibbling on dirty pavements, loud Evening Standard guys thrusting papers into everyone's hands, even the children which I don't understand (do they work on 'number given out'?). Then there were the school children, slowly meandering home, cigarettes in hand, ties undone, skirts pulled higher, trousers pulled lower trailing along the pavement, the future leaders of this country..

It was an educational twenty minutes, I felt like a nosey neighbour, a voyeur indulging myself in the people of the city; how often do we have time to just watch human nature.

I was getting lost in my thoughts and slightly concerned that my friend had been consumed by the crowds when something hit the side of my leg, it felt quite hard, like someone had kicked me. In a flash I turned and I saw a bicycle disappear up Pentonville road, left hand stretched out still in a sort of a wave. By my left leg was a full cup of coffee, it's contents splattered on the pavement next to where my injured leg had been. With no bin nearby this won't have been a near miss and so I was quick to accuse the lazy cyclist of slothfulness. I needed something for yesterday's blog and he had just supplied it. But what utter rudeness, do I look like a dustbin from behind? Had someone secretly stuck a target on my back? I couldn't believe it, I really couldn't, but then I remembered where I was and it was no longer such a shock, this was King's Cross and unless you're getting a train or undertaking a study in social behaviour, don't meet people there.

I was however introduced to a fabulous award winning Spanish Tapas restaurant and courtyard Sherry bar called Camino so if you can face the mean streets head for that. The sherry menu is pages long, the beers and wines are Spanish, the ham is carved off the bone and on a Friday night the coutryard is awash with young people laughing. This is why I love London. They also let you sample the sherry and you know how I love a sherry!

In conclusion, I am guilty of failing to write my blog yesterday, slightly slothful, and I am not proud but the real focus should be the cyclist who was too lazy to find himself a dustbin and use me instead.

Greed

2011-03-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

To defend the blatant greed in this photograph; it wasn't mine. I may have been in the Bellagio, just happened to be sipping a dirty martini and smoking a Marlboro light (all for show you do understand) whilst lending a helping hand in winning some of the wonga, but contrary to some people's beliefs, I am not a gambler and nor do I ever plan on becoming one.

So that I can retain the anonymity of my roulette table partner there are no people present in this photograph, a damn shame I agree but casino house rules state that no photographs should be taken and this was war enough to gain permission to take just this shot.

Greed is like oxygen in Vegas and you can't blame anyone for falling under it's spell. Like lust, it is addictive and dangerous and so much fun while you're under. But don't be fooled, greed can last but your luck won't and soon enough you'll be in the pawn shop selling your iPad and your right kidney and you can't live without either.

My advice? If you need some greed in your life, play on the coin drop down machines in any English seaside resort, the adrenaline isn't as powerful but given a little imagination you could be in Vegas..

Gluttony and the offer of a dieting incentive

2011-03-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

I think we all have moments when we feel the desire to stuff our faces full of food to satisfy our hunger but a lot of us don't actually need that food and are doing it just because we can, because we're bored, and because we like the texture or taste of something. I have moments when I can eat a while tray of Cadbury's Fingers and then hate myself for days afterwards; I punish myself by running up all escalators, walking faster and with longer strides, eating only broccoli and making sure I avoid all sugary foods. But this only lasts a matter of days before I'm back to normal and the bisuit incident has erased itself from my memory. I've done this four times in my life and there is always a reason, and it is usually the exact same reason, weak, very weak.

Cadbury's Fingers aside, the act of Gluttony is a bad one and I believe that if things weren't so readily available to us we wouldn't be tempted, bad food is cheaper, available everywhere, tempting us constantly, and once you've got that sweet tooth it is hard to shake it off. It's an addiction and anything addictive spells trouble.

A good trick to stop yourself being gluttonous is to remind yourself that some people in the world don't have enough to eat, think about Japan and the crops that are now contaminated since the earthquake and the nuclear power plant exploding, part of their country have very little to eat. If only we were able to send food parcels that would actually reach them. This is where the Red Cross come in and the best thing for us to do is donate to them in the hope that food will get through to the people who need it most. It's all so sad but we can do our little bit to help. We can also remember that before we dig into a fatty snack we actually don't need that that money would be far better off in someone else's pocket and donated to charity; now that is good diet incentive to chew on...

Lust

2011-03-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Lust can be very dangerous, approach with extreme caution. When handled in the right way however, it can be quite exciting, can enrich your life and keep your heart thumping healthily. But it can also make you very poor, in so many ways, so watch out, don't get got by lust and remind yourself that the feeling won't last forever..

Right place, right time

2011-03-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

There is so much to be said for being in the right place at the right time.

Is it luck or foresight that enables it? I think it's a bit of both.

Take this photo as an example. The band wanted 'British' and 'London' for the shoot. I placed the guys next to the red letter box knowing there were pigeons close by. I didn't know they'd fly right through the centre of the photograph but I did know that to make them fly we needed to interrupt their scavenging; we got the band's manager to run over and scare them; luck and foresight on the manager's part dictated that they flew in my general direction not over my head.

Bingo!

Shot on a Nikon D700 with an 85mm lens: 1/640th, F2.2 at ISO 200.

"You inspire us"

2011-03-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

Someone told me today that I inspired them; that is an amazing compliment and made me very happy.

The last thing that truly inspired me was the Grand Canyon, but not as you would imagine. It was the snow, the light, the monstrous walk I did and the freedom to be just me that inspired me the most.

I thrive on inspiration and get very excited when I feel it, that's why I write about it so much. Without it I can't do my job or be myself. I would go so far as to say that that is what fulfills me the most, being inspired to create something or do something.

I wonder what life would be like without it?

Raising money for Marie Curie

2011-03-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

This week I continued my support of HSBC's fundraising in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care by photographing one of their events in London. I will be donating the proceeds from print sales to the charity and my new home page highlights this for all of the guests at the event.

www.philippagedge.com

HSBC have put together a team of 30 ordinary people (currently in fast and furious training!) to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in June. Their aim is to raise as much as they can for the charity which is rather sadly so close to many of our hearts.

HSBC fundraising events are supported by Planet Planit

I wish them lots of luck and you have my full support on your journey to both raise money and climb all that way!

Dancing for New Zealand & Japan

2011-03-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

As the country comes to the end of Red Nose Week, once Red Nose Day, we are quite rightly forced to think about people who are far less fortunate than ourselves. Sadly there are so many of them these past few months and it is difficult to comprehend why there is so much suffering all over the world. We can all do our bit by hoping and praying and financially supporting them through this horrible time and if Radio 1's record breaking 52 hours on air, raising over £2 million, is anything to go by, we all have a little spare cash we can donate to the most worthwhile of causes, saving other people's lives.

So as the list grows: Japan, New Zealand, Libya, Egypt, Australia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Red Nose Day's Africa and UK charity marathon, I sit here thinking just how lucky I am to be where I am.

My good friend Thalia is raising money for Christchurch, New Zealand and the Japan earthquake effort by hosting a street dance class to help these far away people. Join her at Notting Hill's Virgin Active on Saturday 26th March 2011 at 3.30pm - 4.30pm - all levels of dance welcome; I am useless at anything 'street' but I'll be there attempting some rhythmic moves!

Thalia's Street Dance Class for New Zealand & Japan

Night night, sleep tight, but before you do make sure you give some thought to the people the other side of the world who need our help and who can't sleep tight tonight...

Happy St.Paddy's day to all you Irish

2011-03-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Vesa smoking

In 1999 I spent three months living in Finland and had an extraordinary time. My memories of it are hazy but I do remember the important things like the guy I was dating for a while and the one I was dating after the first, the ice cold weather, in well well below minus figures, the fact that your eyelashes stuck together if you let you eyes water and the snow so deep it had to be carved by trucks each morning.

To keep warm we spent most nights in the local 'pub'. The Fins don't have pubs but this one in Lahti town was the same the world over, it had a green swinging sign outside, a neon pint of Guinness on the window, shamrocks carved into the freezes, posters of harps and a lively band playing fiddles every Thursday.

The picture above was taken in this smokey, noisy, Irish pub in a small brewery town in middle Finland. It was shot on my Olympus OM1 with a 50mm lens, my favourite camera to date.

Happy St. Paddy's day everyone, sleep well.

Four celebrities and a funeral

2011-03-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those days when they never seem to end and all you want to do it sit in your favourite pub with your funniest friends and laugh out loud at everyone and everything, or just go home and sit on the sofa and stare into space? (I've been in two minds today and both of these desires have sped through my mind needily.)

Today has been long, changeable and sort of useful.

I was up at the crack of dawn to attend our dearly beloved and recently departed Teresa Convey's funeral in Kent. She was sent off in a tidal wave of people, tears, celebration, limousines and fields of cut flowers in a horse drawn cortege to her final resting place with her beloved husband. The day started with her enormous family squished into her little two up two down drinking whisky and patting each other on the backs; think Mike Leigh film and you've got the scene right there. The mood was somber but there was still a splattering of laughter from some of the seven children, twenty grandchildren and eight great grandchildren (soon to be ten).

The funeral was very well attended, she was a wonderfully funny woman with the warmest of hearts and the wickedest of wits and much loved. Whether it is coincidence or not that this Irish family planned Teresa's funeral the day before St Paddy's is anyone's guess but I think it's in keeping with the spirit of things down in Kent today and am sure that Teresa would have loved the idea of seeing her off and seeing Paddy's day in in one sitting a thoughtful gesture..

By mid afternoon I was on my way to the advertising industry's annual awards ceremony in Battersea and found myself knee deep in beautiful people quafing champagne and once again, slapping one another on the backs, there were even tears towards the end of the evening so not disimilar to this morning's sad start actually. The awards were ceaseless and the night too; more celebs needing pictures next to this director and that critic and my feet were aching and all I could think about was the debrief I was going to give myself later on tonight. Now that I'm home, armed with lots of lovely pictures and feet that desperately need a rub I am pondering the bigger picture.

I stood in that large Battersea room tonight but my heart was still in Kent with my extended family and the thought of losing someone really close to me. A death tends to put life into sharp perspective and for many, alters the way they think and go about their own lives. I've made two small and one large decision today and that's all because my day has been so varied; I've seen both sides of my life and been able to see it from an almost aeriel perspective.

This perspective is useful but can be difficult to reach and it seems that today's sadness and frolicking with the stars has helped me get there. My father once told me that every dark cloud has a silver lining and I thank Teresa and the family for showing me that lining today.

Try not to fall in love with your subjects...

2011-03-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

My skills as a pro photographer were tested today when I turned up at a shoot with one idea on what the brief was and was told that it has been completely turned on it's head and that it was the polar opposite to what I was expecting.

That completely different something was a pull out all the stops moment and think on your feet, infact no, not on your feet, think as you are telling the clients what it is you want before even you know yourself.

The results were interesting and I surprised myself that I was able to think so fast, to make a firm decision on something that was as wide open as outer space. The floor was mine and so we began by walking to the park; this gave me time to think, look around and chat to the clients.

And so I was introduced to James, Raymond and Berries, three Spanish musicians who sing and play so beautifully that the camera was neglected at times and I had to be forced from my dreamy, happy state that was la la land. Their voices are deep and sexy, the melodies catchy but stunning and they love what they do, they get lost in the tunes and themselves have to be forcibly disturbed to move from one spot to the next. Their band is called '84' and despite some searching I still can't find anything on them but I am told that they are quite big in Spain and I will be searching some more worth with..

I wanted to convey their style in the pictures, the way they dress, the types of songs they sing and the type of instruments they play. The results are thought provoking and whilst not in keeping with the magazine they are intended for, they reflect them and I hope they like them as much as I do. Spain's young music magazine La Revista 40, a magazine intended for ages 20-26, is soon to be showing this series of pictures and plenty more taken on the shoot, and I'm beginning to think I better learn Espagnol so that when I meet those three talented men next I can charm them with my new accent..

Go England!

2011-03-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks I have been part of a team and it has felt fantastic.

On a daily basis I work for myself, alone at my desk editing photographs, and apart from when I am actually shooting, it can be a lonely profession. I like my own company and am quite good at entertaining myself and being alone but we all need some time with other people, time to laugh and bounce ideas around, time to be silly, talk things through and socialise. That's what our friends are for and we have to make time for them no matter what our home lives.

Today I am at Twickenham watching a match I am ashamed to say I didn't know was even on but I'm very happy to be here because it's inspired me and my blog. The two teams on the pitch are two of the world's best and I daren't put money on who will win because I'd only lose it. In Vegas I lost £100 and I feel my gambling days are over - or rather never really began - so why start now? But I am with someone who may just put the odd pound note down and I guess that's why were here!

I can't imagine what it's like to play to such a large crowd in one of England's largest stadiums but I do know that they must feel such amazing adrenaline to be part of such a successful team in a world class tournament watched by 82,000 people.

I'd like to be part of a successful team but still prefer being my own boss to being dictated to; I'm stuck between a rock and a bit of a hard place with this one...

To all my geeks

2011-03-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

'Geeks' at the Mills & Boon party at The Wallace Collection, London

Over the years the definition of the word 'geek' has altered considerably. Who first began using it in it's new form is unknown and it has now become a frequently used, rather derogatory word throughout the English speaking world. I used it just last week - something I'm not proud of - to describe someone doing something I thought plain weird.

These days we use it to describe a person who is overtly knowledgeable and preoccupied about computing or someone who is boring and a bit of a social misfit.

Once upon a time it was used to tell the story of a fool, a carnival performer who did crazy thing to please a crowd. If we used it in this context now I think the performer would be offended. How times have changed.

I have lots of geeky friends, I think we all do. We all know people who can bore us to tears about the technical ins and outs of various pieces of equipment, the science of things, how things work, how things are made, all interesting facts but not what most of us want to be discussing in the pub on a Saturday night, we want gossip and flirting, not quantum physics and Intel Pentium processors.

Of course having a geek in your life is extremely useful, they understand why things get broken and can make it all work again without having to call a switchboard in India or the £500 per hour handy man on a Sunday. I love all of my geeks and thank them for being in my life.

Always be prepared for the unexpected

2011-03-11T11:12:00.001-08:00

One of my favourite jobs is taking portraits. My portrait work varies with the bulk being for professionals who are in the press, these can be boardroom style corporate head shots, bright and breezy outdoor shots, desk bound photographs 'at work' or action shots in and around the office. Whatever it is it is always on location and always a challenge because nine times out of ten I won't have done a rece and have to be prepared for all lighting eventualities that will arise.

This spontaneity is what keeps me from becoming complacent in my work and I believe that unless I'm challenged I don't do as good a job and wouldn't push myself as much.

A few weeks ago I went through what every professional who relies on a piece of electronic equipment dreads: my kit broke. The camera's mirror jammed, the shutter locked and there was nothing I could so to rectify it. Naturally I carry a second body but the incident left me shocked and upset and nervous that if the second body also gave up the ghost I would be hung out to dry. The chances of that happening were one in a million but my mind convinced me it was going to happen. I treated my back up Nikon D2X very carefully, I shot fewer photographs and cradled it like a newborn baby when I wasn't using it - I was more nervous than when I shot my first wedding.

I came through the job fine, took some excellent shots and learnt a lot about myself that day. These two portraits are from that shoot; shot using my older D2X with an 85mm lens in pretty horrific conference centre lighting with two off camera flashes and my trusty reflector that I take everywhere - it all came good but it shocked me into thinking that I needed to be more prepared for the unexpected. My emotions almost got the better of me that day but somehow I contained them and just got on with the job. The client and I giggled our way through the portraits and all the while me thinking that any second now the shutter would give up - I sprouted my first grey hair that day..

Don't drink the water

2011-03-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

Don't drink the water

For the past four days we have had torrential rain in Spain. In a country which boasts nine months of sunshine per year this has been unusual. Coming from an island where the sun only shines on a Monday morning when we're all at work, this has been somewhat frustrating and has resulted in a streaming cold because I failed to use the hotel umbrella.

Rain aside, almost two weeks working in Spain has been a nice break from the norm but I have missed the outbreak of Spring in London and feel like I've been gone for months not days.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to getting back to my own home again where the rain doesn't feel like monsoon season and I can drink the water that comes out of the tap. This time the heating will have been on low and the energy saving hall light left on to welcome me home. I know I am supposed to be helping to save the planet but when you arrive home late at night and you need to feel instantly at home, these home comforts will make all the difference. Goodbye room service, daily lobster buffet, nightly lashings of fine red wine and desert twice a day, hello lent and home.

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, which are you?

2011-03-08T02:18:00.000-08:00

Today's breakfast

OK so I'm not particularly religious in that I don't often go to church. I am one of those who goes to church at Easter, Christmas, for weddings, christenings and funerals and seldom in between but I do like the ritual and feel calm and safe inside those four holy walls. It could be a hangover from my Catholic school days when I attended mass twice a week but those services just frustrated me; I liked the singing, the sermon was usually interesting and held my attention but the responses, said and sang throughout bored me and I would panic that my palms were too sweaty when it came to the 'peace', but then I'm not Catholic so what did you expect. I like a short, friendly, innocuous service with tea and biscuits afterwards - that suits me just fine and when I walk out into the world it always feels a better place than when I entered it's stone walls.

Today is Shrove Tuesday. When my eight year old niece found out that I wouldn't be there to make her pancakes today her lower lip rolled over and she had a little sulk; "Auntie Phil makes pancakes on Saturdays when she stays over AND lets me flip them and it isn't fair that she's in Spain all week and won't be here", apparently it won't be the same and whilst I am flattered I do feel for my sister who can make pancakes just as well as me if not better. Sorry sis...

So as I ponder on what to give up for lent and consider how hard it will be to stop the puddings, the chocolate and the wine with my supper for the next forty days, I am also wondering whether there really is a God or if it is just something that makes us feel safe? This definitely isn't a question for a casual daily blog but it is something I think about and am yet to decide on. With an agnostic mother and a church going father my views are split.

A balance

2011-03-07T14:06:00.000-08:00


Sometimes one is better than two

There are times in life when sometimes one is better than two.

When you need some peace and quiet.

One bottle of wine at a dinner party is plenty, two makes you feel sick.

One rose stem rather than twelve is far more symbolic.

One cube of ice in your water not a glass full.

One pillow when I fall asleep.

One suitcase to check in.

One pint of milk; the second never gets drunk before it goes off.

One coffee at 11am; the second makes me hyperactive.

One helping of chocolate mousse.

One DVD; I always fall asleep in the second.

One glass of water before bedtime.

Sometimes we need two, we need to be part of a 'we'; whether it's someone to share what's happened that day with or just someone to hear us when we need a moan.

We all need times when we're 'one' and times when we're 'two' but we definitely all need a balance in life and it can be a tricky road finding that balance.

Laughing

2011-03-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

I have laughed a lot this week and it has felt amazing, but the last time I lost it laughing I was with my Mother in Vienna, this is the picture I took...

My Mother and the biggest wiener schnitzel in the world!

There are no words that can describe a Mother and the love you share and have for them. My thoughts are with, have been with and will be with Mike and his family since Theresa's death last week. It has affected us all but the pain it is causing her children is so sad and I send my love and hugs to them constantly.

Come and kiss me on Facebook!

2011-03-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Come and kiss me on Facebook!

Most people like to be liked, it is human nature. Usually when we realise we are disliked we hate it, we wonder why and any normal being will plan their route to being liked again. Some don't bother, some people actually thrive on the fear they create for others but in my eyes that's sadistic and wrong and I don't want them as friends or colleagues or clients for that matter!

So this is a call to all those I like and all those who like me. Please visit my NEW PGP FACEBOOK page and 'like' me because I long to be liked and need to get my numbers up! All those who 'liked' the previous page, thank you, but can you please now 'like' the new page?

Thank you to everyone who helped my to reach my 100+ goal in five days on Twitter, I made it and it is growing still at which I am very pleased.

Come and 'like' me on Facebook!

Home Sweet Home

2011-03-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

After a week away there is nothing like coming home. Walking into a warm, welcoming environment, the smell of fresh cooking wafting around the house, the curtains drawn and the fire roaring, a bottle of red wine open in the kitchen and a large crystal glass on the side ready to be filled.

At least this is how I imagined returning home today after five nights in Marbella but the reality was somewhat different: hall light blown making the first flight treacherous with a 17kg suitcase (why did I take so many shoes?!), the heating and hot water off for those nights away to help save the environment and with it being only 5ºC outside and the broken office window still stuffed with makeshift 'insulating' polystyrene, things felt a little Antarctic. But this isn't a cry for sympathy, this is what home should feel like and how lucky we are to have one to come back to.

Because home is here, and because I love it and treat it like my palatial small private world, it is special and despite what state it is in it is always warm and welcoming, the smell of cooking and the roaring fire don't physically need to be present because my reaction is the same without them, I am home and this is where I want to be.

The heating is on and I'm going to bed with Cathy and Heathcliff, and for the first time in six days, I don't need to set my alarm for 6am. Heaven.

Some people don't have a home to go to

Birds do it, bees do it..

2011-03-03T10:20:00.001-08:00

Spanish Swans being romantic in the midday sun

I like to write about smiling

2011-03-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

An unknown poet once wrote the following:

A smile costs nothing, but gives much-
It takes but a moment, but the memory of it usually lasts forever.
None are so rich that can get along without it-
And none are so poor but that can be made rich by it.

It enriches those who receive, without making poor those who give-
It creates sunshine in the home,
Fosters good will in business,
And is the best antidote for trouble-
And yet it cannot be begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is of no value
Unless it is given away.

Some people are too busy to give you a smile-
Give them one of yours-
For the good Lord knows that no one needs a smile so badly
As he or she who has no more smiles left to give.

Don't sit next to her, she'll punch you

I like it a lot but then I smile a lot.

The picture I choose to highlight my post is not one of a smile but a helicopter. I love helicopters and had wanted to fly in one since I was a very little girl. In January I got the opportunity and I smiled so much I thought my face would stretch, my eyes welled up and I playfully punched the passenger to the right of me; I was exhilarated and the smile was infectious, the passengers grinned, the lady pilot grinned and we all laughed out loud, the view and the experience were overwhelming. A real cheesy 'Kodak moment' and one of my favourites to date.

Amazing

2011-03-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Today in Marbella

I have learned that being happy in your work is very important and if you're not, that unhappiness impacts heavily on your life. I listened to Jo Simpson, executive leadership coach last week who talked about using your intuition more and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

In 2005 I was made redundant from a job I no longer enjoyed and it was a crowning moment for me and my life. I fell into the job after art college and after two promotions found I had a desk bound publishing job that upon reflection I didn't actually want. My waist band was expanding and I was growing paler by the week, something had to change and miraculously the redundancy offer fell onto my desk one day and I knew what I had to do.

I had always wanted to spend my life doing something I enjoyed and make a living out of it and now was the time to give it a go and so I did. I am now living that life as a photographer and I love every minute.

My short message today is look inside yourself because there is usually someone you don't yet know screaming to get out, and actually you have known he/she has been there all along and it takes some courage to let them free. Courage won't always come from your own mind and often comes in the form of a comment from someone else, possibly even someone you have just met or chatted with. I urge you all to open your minds because when you do it feels pretty fabulous and anything becomes possible. I meet people almost every day and while I have been in Marbella have met a couple of people who have opened my mind more than anyone has in the past ten years, it is really something to think differently and I feel like a new woman.

Maybe it's the sun, maybe it's the fresh fish every day, maybe it's the sea. All I now is that I am happy and it feels amazing...

Theresa Convey

2011-02-28T14:23:00.001-08:00

We will miss you Nanny Convey

I am a lucky lady: As I sit in my Marbella suite having eaten lobster, walked on the beach and drank lovely wine tonight I can't help thinking how lucky I am. The past few weeks have brought such sadness for so many whether it be in Egypt, Libya, New Zealand or my friends the Hodgsons, it has been dire news everywhere and my thoughts are sincerely with them all.

But it is closer to home that I concentrate on tonight: Nanny Convey suddenly passed away an hour ago after a long period of ill health. She leaves behind seven children, lots of beautiful grandchildren and great grand children; what a woman, what a life, what hysterical and wonderful company, I just wish I had been able to enjoy it more.

My thoughts are with Theresa, her children Mikey, Martin, Chrissy, Pat, Noel, Moira and Margaret, their children and Theresa's great grand children. You are in my prayers and we will miss you so much.

With love ...

Hazy

2011-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Occasionally we over work ourselves and the world starts to turn a little hazy around the edges. It isn't a good sign for health reasons, but at least we know we've put everything we have into life and what it has to offer. If we work for ourselves, love what we do and want to be the best at it, it is no surprise when this happens. Today is that day and despite checking into a simply stunning room by the sea in warm southern Spain I cannot wait to climb into bed, feel the cool sheets in between my toes and dream sweet dreams.

I love to be busy, I thrive off it, and this week I will enjoy every moment (as long as I get at least one night's worth of my much desired ten hours).

Blurry but beautiful