Here's a couple of quick shots I took of Jonesy (my totally gorgeous wife) today. We were doing a spot of location hunting for a forthcoming shoot whilst on our way to visit a client in La Herradura, near Almunecar. Southern Spain is known for its whitewashed walled villages so it was great to find somewhere with a splash of vivid colour.

Quick image upload

I just wanted to upload another shot Sam & Larry's wedding that's I've
just been playing with.

I also wanted to test the email-to-blog function on my blog, so here
goes.

Mirjam & Chris's Wedding - Casarabonela, Spain

Wow, what a day that was. Chris and Mirjam decided to get married in a tiny village 100 km inland from Marbella, but wanted to start the day with a shoot on the beach. So Fi and I met them at our farourite beach location just after 0900, when it was already 26 degrees C.

Chris and Mirjam are a really fun couple and had hired a fab replica 'Speedster' for the day, which really added an extra dimension to some of our shots. After the beach we headed inland but we couldn't resist stopping at various locations along the way to get some more photos. First was the 'Pueblo Blanco' of Monda, which is a typical spanish white village where the bride and groom were greeted with countless cries of 'Viva la novia'.

By now we were up against the clock a bit, but the guys just wanted keep shooting, so we stopped off at an old iron bridge, which crosses the Rio Grande (was dry not grande!) and then an old finca before heading to the wedding venue in Casarabonela. By the time we headed to the church it was 37 degrees celcius in the shade, but thankfully there was none of the humidity that we have suffered on the coast this year.

What was really sweet was that Chris and Mirjam drove together to their wedding. That's a first for me and I think it's just a beautiful way to do it. Not traditional at all.........love it.

As ever, a big thank you to Chris and Mirjam for being such fun and open to trying different ideas for their wedding photos. Hope you like the shots, I think they'll make a great album!

Mirjam & Chris's Wedding - Casarabonela, Spain

Nina & Mike's Wedding, Marbella, Spain

As someone said at a recent wedding I photographed, there are 2 sorts of people, the Irish and people who want to be Irish. I'm definitely in the second group. The Irish are indeed a special race. Whenever I shoot an Irish wedding, which is very often at these days, Fiona and I are made to feel welcome, almost part of the family from the moment we turn up.

Nina and Mike's wedding in Marbella was no different. Mike, the Best Man and the Ushers were on good form and Nina looked absolutely wonderful. We had a really fun day, which included a 'walk-about' photoshoot in Old Town Marbella after the ceremony, followed by a drive back to the hotel in a funky, car (just wish I could remember the model). Here's a sneak peak of a few shots from the day.

Thanks to Nina and Mike for asking us to be a part of their special day.

Mike and Nina's Wedding, Marbella Spain

Sam & Larry, Villa Padierna, Marbella

Sam & Larry, Villa Padierna, Marbella

I often say how lucky I am. I don't actually believe in luck at all, so I guess I must be 'blessed'.

This week, though, I shot a fantastic wedding at the beautiful Ritz-Cartlon Villa Padierna near Marbella, and couldn't help thinking all day 'how lucky am I?'. Sam and Larry, the bride and groom, came all the way from Chicago to tie the knot here with their friends and family.

What a delightful, fun and caring couple. They gave me the time to get the shots I really wanted to get for them, but the truth is I could have gone on and on. Sam looked absolutely stunning, whilst Larry stayed cool, calm and collected, despite temperatures in the late 30's celcius. They both made my job so easy. Thanks, Guys.

Sam & Larry, Villa Padierna, Marbella - Sneak Peak

Magazine Shoot

I met a very interesting person earlier this year, by chance really. Having agreed to do a favour for someone who needed some quick promo shots I ended up doing the shoot at the salon of a very successful and well renowned make up artist who is now based here in Marbella. My new friend, who shall remain nameless, made his name working with the world's top models on the catwalks around Europe and New York.

So here I was, suddenly working with a real pro. He is extremely creative, and has turned out to be incredibly supportive of me and my work, although I can't work out what I've done to deserve his help and support. I am so grateful for it though.

Anyway, we were recently asked to create a collection of shots for an upcoming magazine article (can't say which yet) and I ended up back at my friends salon to do the shots. I think he is a genius and hopefully this comes through in the shots below.

New arrival

Whilst we're on the subject of music, tomorrow should see the delivery of my new baby! No, not the patter of tiny feet, but the arrival of my new bass. I think it's a thing of beauty. I have an audition for a new band, so just need to get the fingers warmed up a bit.

Long time, no post

It's been way too long since I last posted, so I am going to try and make a better effort of this whole 'blog thing'. Our life and business continues to change positively so it's not like I don't have stuff to write about. So my mid-year resolution is to post, post, post, and not necessarily just about photography.

So where are we? Well, 2009 has been a monumental year so far. It feels like everything has changed, or is changing. Yes, times are hard, but we seem to be in demand, we have some very nice new customers, and people are still getting married. But our business is changing. We are getting involved in so many new and exciting things it's hard to catch your breath some times.

Music has always been my number 1 passion, above photography (which is number 2) even if I am completely honest, and this year we have made countless new contacts in the music business and a large part of commercial and marketing business is now primarily aimed at promoting, producing and marketing musicians and musical artists. This new area of our business has come as a complete surprise to us, although, in hindsight, it shouldn't have. And this has given us the confidence to really dive into new areas of business for no other reason than we enjoy them.

For me, music is my life and everything revolves around it. It's taken me a long time to realise this. Photography is very similar to music. It is art, and for me that means it has no other use other than to give people enjoyment. That's it! Music and photography are simply about providing enjoyment to others, and yourself, of course.

So I am lucky. I get to take photos for a living and am increasingly involved in various aspects of the music 'industry'. What more could I ask for? Well, with passions number and and number 2 taken care of, I guess I just need to get involved with Leicester Tigers rugby club to make it 3 out of 3!

Well, summer must be coming because it's gone a busy as hell. We're involved in a number of new projects at the moment as well as getting into to full swing with our weddings. We have two new ventures in the pipeline, which I'll post more details about in the near future hopefully.

For now, here are some quick shots from Tallulah and the Boy's Preview Show held at the fabulous Ogilvy and Mailer restaurant near Marbella last weekend.

I am putting the final touches to Tallulah's website (http://www.tallulahcabaret.com/) and everything should be up and running in time for Tallulah & the Boy's Preview show at the exclusive Ogilvy & Mailer Restaurant, near Puerto Banus, next week. I'll be the official 'smudger' for the evening and am really looking forward to seeing Tallulah perform.

I am also putting together Tallulah's new blog but she still needs a little encouragement to start posting. I find this a little surprising because she is such an interesting lady, who's life is full of rich experiences. Not only that but as a successful novelist (see 'The Crab Man') you'd think blogging would be second nature to her. That said, I have a feeling once Tallulah starts we won't be able to stop her.

Keep an eye out for shots from Tallulah & the Boy's preview show on this blog soon. Above is the artwork for some promo materials I put together for Tallulah.