Blue Tits

A very unexpected surprise waking up to a sheet of white snow this weekend. A quick cuppa and I was off with the cameras in the field behind my house.  My aim for today was photographing blue tits. Blue tits are such beautiful birds but as they’re so common, I feel they are underrated. A short hike in the snow I soon found a great spot. I had to hide in a bush for around 30 minutes so they got used to me a little, they then started to land close by.

I LOVE the canon 135mm f2 L  as its such a sharp lens, the focal length isn’t that long but as I was patient and it paid off. The 135mm f.2 L really compliments the Canon 5D MKIV as its quick sharp and extremely responsive.

After getting cold and wet I decided to head back to the warm and start editing these few photos. Straight into photoshop Lightroom I quickly decided I wanted to slightly change the way I usually edit. I was aiming for a painted/sketch effect so I played around with the sharpness, noise, clarity and contrast to achieve this. I think it works perfectly for these shots.

I might even use these for the next batch of family Christmas cards.

Im Shooting Katherine and Tims wedding this September and they decided to go ahead and have a pre wedding shoot. This took place in Druidston in west wales which is a stunning part of wales, untouched and rare to see anybody in sight. Katherine had her first birthday here on this beach followed with many of family holidays throughout the years.

Being England the weather was not on our side. This was the only weekend we had to make this shoot happen and the forecast was definitely not on our side, the forecast was torrential rain but luckily the wind was reasonably low. Woke up nice and early so I could hike around and scout out the area. Off I went with Full waterproofs and went hiking in the rain for a few hours, this rain was extremely heavy and wasn’t going to stop for nobody.  A few hours past and the heavy rain had no sign of clearing . We were both on stand by then around 5pm the clouds lifted ever so slightly and the rain stopped. We arranged to meet up on the beach and give it ago regardless. Luckily for us the rain stopped and we had a great shoot, the clouds were very dull so I played around a few different techniques to make the lighting more appealing. I had flash guns on tripods with different coloured gels to replicate the hidden colours behind those clouds. I also played around with silhouettes to make different sort of shots for Katherine and Tim.

This shoot took around 2 hours but this flew by as of the walking around, skimming endless amounts of stones and having a great catch up talking about the big day ahead.

Katherine and Tim are getting married at Aldwick court farm & vineyard this september, I love this venue and can’t wait to shoot there again and see this wonderful couple getting married

www.aldwickcourtfarm.co.uk

My Falconry Experience

A few weeks back I went on a Falconry experience day at Raptorcare Falconry in Cromhall Gloucester. Ive always wanted to look at these birds up close so I took the opportunity to get some shots of these beautiful birds. It was surprisingly tricky photographing these birds as of the pure speed they fly.  After a few practice shots I managed to get the hang of focusing correctly.  I used a couple of lenses during my day one being my canon 70mm-200mm F 2.8 L which worked superb! It was fast, Sharp and has some incredible colours. Another lens which I had in my kit bag was the canon 135mm F2 L which in my eyes worked amazing. This is such a fast focusing and sharp lens for all those close details of the eyes which also gives amazing Bokeh (background colour)   I never leave the house without the 135mm.

If anybody has the slightest interest in birds then you MUST give these guys a call and book yourself in. I walked out like a little kid at Christmas and I’m still overwhelmed on how amazing these birds are.

If your getting married Tony Bryant delivers modern and medieval wedding displays with the birds, he also visits schools for shows, village fetes, Private parties, Medieval events and corporate days. On top of all of this he does Falconry experience days just like I did, you get to handle the Barn owl, Kestrel and the Harris hawks. If your a keen photographer or would love to witness these amazing birds up close get in touch and book yourself an experience day.

Contact Sheila or Tony Bryant

01454 294258

07770580687

www.raptorcare.co.uk

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CHECK OUT THIS ISSUE

This year I’ve started to branch out my advertising into wedding magazines,  which is a great way to reach out to all the Newly engaged couples and plus its a great read when I receive the Mags every month. Ive recently been sending work into  ‘your Bristol & Somerset Wedding’ magazine as I love the mag and the staff behind it are so helpful. I’ve had features in previous issues of this magazine but this is the first Cover photo of mine. I was over the moon when I was asked to be apart of this months issue.

In this issue I have the HUGE Honour of having my work on the front page of this magazine, this beautiful couple were from a wedding I photographed last year at ‘Priston mill’. The couple were such a joy to photograph as they were truly natural in every shot, they had a great relaxed approach towards the day which made photographing Mr and Mrs Kennedy such a delight. They will be receiving  their issue through the post ASAP

Also inside, there is a four page feature from a wedding I shot back in September at ‘Olveston church’ then the reception held at ‘The Park hotel’ The spread includes photos and an interview from my clients amazing wedding day.

This months issue is outstanding coverage for my photography and I hope to keep working alongside the magazine for future feature weddings ahead

I was very lucky around the Christmas break to have a couple of days spare to explore my local surroundings with the camera! The weather forecast was looking perfect for the shots I had in mind, it was -4 degrees with the clearest of nights and the most outstanding morning mists! I packed my bag with a couple of minced pies And set off around Stinchcombe. I’ve had my eye on a certain composition for a while but just needed the right weather for it.. Today was the day for it!

In the night we had a sharp frost which made the ground crispy and white. Once the sun had woken it started to form a strong mist around the tops of the fields building its way up the hills around the north nibley area.. Just as the mist stared to fill I set my gear up, high on a hill and found my compostition, at this point I was one extremely excited photographer. I had Tyndale monument and All of Nibley in my shot, all I had to do is patiently wait for the mist to rise up around me so I could grab the shot I wanted!

This photo consists of 19 single photographs all stitched into one panoramic photo using Photoshop Lightroom cc. To be honest I didn’t really do a great amount of editing on this shot I just played around with the shadows, hues and sharpness as I wanted this to look as natural as possible.

Katie and lee’s Wedding was a truly special day as earlier last year I photographed one her best Friends wedding ‘Rebecca and Judd’ So when I had the phone call to book me in, I instantly knew this was going to be a great wedding.
The Day started at Katie’s Parents house which was all kitted out with bunting, signs, flowers, photos and Balloons and not to mention the HUGE spread her parents put up for everybody to eat whilst getting ready. Katie was extremely calm on the morning of her wedding I’m putting it down to the few glasses of fizz which the girls kept feeding her.
Megan Jones was in charge of Hair, Whilst Katie Pheiffer carried out the make-up. Im not sure if these girls have worked together before but both styles of hair and make-up really complimented each others masterpiece beautifully. Not to mention Tiger lily flowers who matched up to the colour scheme perfectly.
Katie arrived at St Marys church, Olveston in what I can say is an absolute classic vintage motor called ‘The Imperial’ She stepped out the car in such a beautiful wedding dress which was purchased from ‘All about Eve’ bridal wear, funny enough thats where my wife got her wedding dress from.
After the joyous ceremony we all headed to the Park hotel where the sun was shining and the drinks were flowing, The afternoon flowed perfectly so I grabbed all the shots I wanted plus more I had in mind.
The Park hotel were In charge of the food, Which was set up in a marquee in the gorgeous grounds of the venue. Big surprises just before the dessert when the waiters and waitresses turned into singing waiters, This really got the party started as the whole room were singing and dancing with ties and napkins being thrown across the room.. These guys were having fun.. To top it all off I worked alongside Richard Parsons who is an outstanding Magician. Love this guy!
This was a great wedding to shoot and a real pleasure to be a part of.
These are some of my favourite shots from their big day.

I was asked by a client to go and Photograph the Severn Bridge as the bridge had just reached its 50th Anniversary. They really wanted to change the appearance of the bridge so they fitted lights all over the suspension cables. On the big launch this really transformed the bridge and made it look spectacular. I can remember flying back from a weekend away in Paris and noticing these lights standing out from the window of the plane.. I had to go a photograph it!!!

The following day I Checked the tides as I wanted to have two separate shots of the bridge one with high tide and one with low tide. As a keen fisherman I know the area very well and love how the bridge reflects off the water.

New Canon 5D MKIV

This was my first ever play around with my new CANON 5D MKIV (full review on the way) WOW what a camera!!!!

When I went out on high tide I wanted a sunset with this certain tide, the weather was defiantly on my side and I knew this was going to be a great evening to try out the new camera.. I got there early to get all my gear set up and a good composition.. It was a cloudy sunset which for me worked very well as I had great detailing in the sky and the colours really made it pop out..! ! Around a week later I caught low tide at around the similar time as before, but this time the sunset was just perfect, No clouds just pure colour in the sky, as the tide went out it left such a beautiful reflection of all the lights from the bridge and the sun setting amongst the waters edge.! Once the sun was set I still had one more shot in mind, this was now pitch black so I carefully walked under the bridge and grabbed myself a shot at a different angle.

I had shots at different angles on different tide so my client had a good variety to chose from on ordering some prints.

Since then I have sold numerous copies of these prints 🙂

‘The bridge, which took three and half years to complete at a cost of £8 million, was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth ii on 8th september 1966.! At the time it was the lightest suspension bridge in the world for its span and loading, and the seventh longest in the world – a real feat of british engineering!’ – Caption from Itv News