Saturday 29 December 2012

Wedding at St Oswald Church, Castle Bolton, and Simonstone Hall Hotel - Photography

Back in September I had the immense pleasure of photographing the wedding of Euan and Sarah at my favourite venue, Simonstone Hall Hotel, in the Yorkshire Dales.
As I arrived at the hotel it was a foggy foggy morning, much to my dismay, as the venue is perfect for photographs. However, while shooting the bridal prep pics, I noticed a sunny patch appear on the fields across the valley, which proceeded to grow and become a completely sunny day. Perfect!
Preparations were done at Simonstone Hall, the boys met at The Bolton Arms in Redmire. What a lovely little pub for drinks and bacon butties outside in the sunshine before getting married.
On to the church.....St Oswald Church in Castle Bolton, an amazing little chapel in the shadow of a castle. What an incredible place to tie the knot. So quaint, so historic, and so romantic.
Back to Simonstone Hall for the reception, held in a marquee overlooking one of the best views in the world.
On to this backdrop, put one of the loveliest couples I have met, and one of the craziest (in the best possible sense of the word) bunch of families and friends, and the recipe is duly mixed for one of the best days of my life.
I hope the photos did it justice, and Euan & Sarah were exceptionally pleased with the results, so I guess they did. The stunning quality of a Graphistudio storybook album with metallic print pages will be the ideal way to display the pictures too, and the design is just about ready to send to Italy for printing. I can't wait to see the finished article.








































Tags: Yorkshire Wedding photographer, Simonstone Hall Hotel, Weddings, Photography, Rochdale wedding photographer, Simonstone Hall Hotel Wedding Photography

Wednesday 26 December 2012

The Flying Lesson - A short film

I had the enormous pleasure of shooting the production stills for a rather ambitious short film recently, by The Philm Company and Motley Flying Productions in association with Frantic Film.

It was an amazing experience to be working alongside an exceptionally talented team and a WW2 aircraft.

For some of the still photos produced, and to keep up with the film's progress, please visit the Facebook Pageor follow the project on TWITTER, or view on imdb.

Some of the photos I shot have been used to produce the teaser poster, below.

The trailer is available to view HERE.



With much thanks to:

Thursday 20 December 2012

Naked Cyclists Calendar, to raise funds for the North West Air Ambulance

I was approached recently by a local mountain biker who wanted to produce a charity calendar to raise funds for the North West Air Ambulance.
Needing a photographer, he tweeted a request for local assistance and, following a reply asking for more information, I volunteered my services.
Over the last few weeks we have had a load of fun with a few very brave people, who have also volunteered to help, but for them it meant disrobing in the interests of producing some humorous/arty photographs to use in the calendar.

We have a Facebook page where people can follow the progress, and see some of the teaser pictures: HERE

To pre-order/subsequently order  a copy of the calendar, CLICK HERE

Just to give you a feel for where we were aiming with the photographs, here is a selection of the practise-runs, prior to shooting the actual calendar images.

We started off on Blackstone Edge on a foggy Sunday afternoon...






Then in Healey Dell the following Sunday afternoon...

All under the watchful eye of Leon, the organiser...



Then it was the turn for the girls...



...and Leon wished he was girl so he could ride a bike as cute as this one.

Dave at Cycle Addicts in Rochdale, agreed to pose as well...

A couple of special people to be included...
1. Anthony, while riding at Lee Quarry, he took tumble which left him unconscious, with a dislocated shoulder, and a couple of broken bones. Due to the remote location, Anthony had to be airlifted out by the North West Air Ambulance, and is a particularly pertinent inclusion in the calendar, as he can personally vouch for the services of the amazing people who run the NWAA service.

2. Gaz, known as the 39-stone cyclist.. an amazing, inspiration of a man...
Gary Brennan (Gaz), a man with a story of personal achievement that inspires many, and leaves most of us standing. Follow his story here: http://thecycleoflife.co.uk/
Gary agreed to pose for the calendar, and this is just further testimony of his progress in life. Please follow his blog, and follow him on twitter: @39stonecyclist. You will be inspired!


Thanks for looking, and please support a very worthwhile cause by ordering a copy, using the link above.

Tags: Photography Rochdale, charity calendar, naked cycling, naked cyclists.