There really aren’t enough adjectives to get me through the descriptions of Jen and Phils’ wedding. Lets throw a few in early on so you can all get a feel for the kind of wedding that it was, the shenanigans that occurred and also the great people who were involved. So: awesome, fortunate, bright, emotional, sweet, grand, beautiful, wicked, dope, supafly… okay that’s enough. I always say that it is the characters that make any wedding day shine, regardless of weather, planning, location, style or color themes. This…. This wedding was no exception.
The Merewood is a favorite for me and I am sure that I am not alone in saying that as the location and the views are some of the best in the Lake District. Being high up off the Windermere shoreline means that you get a later sunset too. For winter weddings this is great as it means on clear frosty days you get at least another 20 mins of good light. Not to be sniffed at when you only have six hours of daylight total on a winter wedding. This was a summer wedding though and everything down to Jesus Church in troutbeck had a lovely hazy glow on an overcast but warm day. As I was photographing in Jesus Church I was consigned to the back as usual on the balcony but managed to get some really nice images with a long lens.
After church and a great confetti shot we retired to the Merewood for a few extra images, drinks and giggles. I could put another hundred images into the online portfolio alone. Every single one was a keeper and together produced a portfolio of mighty proportions. A great day in the heart of the Lake District… Thank you both.
A conversation that I had on a blog recently with a friend of mine who has a studio in Bowness-on-Windermere set me off thinking about why I still shoot on film as well as digital. I thought I might clarify this for anyone wanting to book me to photograph their wedding and also add my two cents to the wider debate on film vs digital etc….
Digital images are synthetic versions of their film counterparts, so a digital image is one that seeks to replicate and improve upon the older film process that we used to use to create our photographs. Film is an organic or largely chemical process which works on the same principal as digital of having something behind a focused glass lens to capture an image of whatever your camera is pointed at.
Film: fuji 400 pro vc: camera Nikon F4: 85mm lens.
I found that when post processing my digital images on the Mac that i was striving to achieve a filmic look from the effects that I was employing on the images, bearing in mind that this period was after I had already invested significantly into digital technology, learned how to use it and done my Adobe Photoshop accreditation.
The reality of the situation was that if I shot film, I would make my images look exactly how I wanted them to look in camera. This would mean that whatever came out of the dark room to be scanned would be the finished image, plus a little retouching for imperfections. However……….. There is no denying that digital has its advantages of which the chief advantage is cost. Memory cards can be used for an indefinite period as long as you format and keep them clean, to clean a sensor on a digital camera costs around £35 every two or three months of heavy usage.
Film costs around £7 for 36 images once chemicals to process the film and scanning time at the computer are taken into account.
Shot on a Nikon F4, Ilford HP5 400 film with a 50mm F1.4 lens.
I decided that I would work on a percentage at all of my weddings from 2010 up to the weddings that I will be shooting in 2012 and 2013. That split would be 80-20. 80% digital and 20% film, carrying two cameras at once with the digital backup in my bag so I can always shoot on either, freeing me up to shoot the images that I want to shoot on film and the bulk digitally.
There is no doubt that I am an oddity in this respect as far as how I work with the two mediums together and I can find no-one locally doing anything similar or even considering using film based alternatives to digital.
Digital rules the roost in wedding photography because the technology allows us to do things that with film were impossible, so film has been left behind with only Kodak pushing the technology and Ilford in financial trouble and Fuji struggling to justify opening its plant to produce the stuff.
The future for film looks grim……
shot on a olympus om40, kodak tri-x 400 film and a 50mm f1.8 lens
Does this then mean that images like these will become a thing of the past? Shoe boxes of photos in the cupboard will no longer exist because they are all online in our cloud storage and film cameras will become obsolete with expensive ones going to museums and collectors and the cheap ones going to the dump? For all intents and purposes, yes is the answer. Film will die eventually, no matter how many resurgences it goes through as its production cost will become astronomical. A cost that will be passed onto us as photographers which we can little afford.
shot on a canon eos 50e with a 70-200 f2.8 lens. Ilford fp4 100 film.
So we have resolved that film is expensive and because it is no longer a popular medium, the emulsions used to capture images on film are at least ten years old and it takes a lot of time to develop and get right……
But just look at it.
The range of tones that film can capture, the subtle way that with care you can make light fall off a subject, its muted but accurate colours and the sharpness and clarity with which it delivers black and white make film completely unique.
Its not about delivering an image that your clients are happy with but rather an image that your clients are ecstatic with, being able to reproduce images from negatives that are real and have a permanence, with a tactile finish to each negative and print.
From my own point of view the smell of chemicals used to develop the film at home will be a memory that my little girl can revisit hopefully when she is old enough to pick up a camera. Seeing the negatives soaped and coming off the reel for the first time and knowing that what is on that strip of negatives is going to look exactly how I saw it in my mind when I pressed the shutter on the camera.
shot on a Nikon F80, 50mm f1.4 lens and Ilford HP5.
The reason that my images look so different to everyone else’s is because I use techniques and processes that nobody else has the time or patience to use. My background is in modelling, editorial, fashion and studio work, so my influences are different to everyone else’s too and I take ideas from all over the media from MTV to Vogue, Harpers, ID and a pile of American wedding magazines that I subscribe to and love.
Film is perfect for vintage styled or themed weddings of which I have a few this year and am really looking forward to. The future is without any doubt digital and what I continue to use for at least 90% of my photography and 80%-90% of weddings, but as long as my clients still demand the type of images that only film can produce, it will always accompany the digital.
Shot on a Nikon F4 with an 85mm f1.8 lens and fuji 400 pro film
Sorry this post is a little ‘image heavy’ but we covered so many locations throughout the course of the day that I just had to cram them all in somehow. Tara and Nigel had a very relaxed approach to their photography and their day was suitably relaxed to match. They were married at St Marys Church in Rydal, followed by a quick shoot in the beautiful gardens at Rydal Mount, a racing run down to the jetty at waterhead bay and then back to the Merewood to join the rest of their guests. I also got to go in the beautiful camper from splitscreen dreams along the way. If that is not enough to go at, I caught Sebastian Vettel going out of qualifying in Q2 on the radio in the Chinese Grand Prix, so all in all a successful day.
I will cut into the mass of images with updates as you go further down the page.
Tara getting her Makeup done in the beautiful room 2 at the Merewood
The bridesmaids were great in the morning. The mood was very relaxed.A lot of detail and preparation + giggles = great images
After taking a few images of the girls and with 15 or so minutes in hand I decided to drop in on the boys who were getting ready in room 5. There was a little Lakeland ale going on, hip flasks, and a fair ammount of jibing Nigel. Quite a contrast to the girls, but a hoot to photograph all the same.
Yes that is the Grand Prix in the top left corner..Lots of confetti. A lot got thrown too.
Tara and her Dad exchanging a few words before walking down the aisle.
Tara and Nigel at the AltarThe Interior of St Marys is beautiful.
How well do these colours work together? Well done Tara.The groups look great in the church interior.
Tara in a vintage blush tone. This really made the image pop.Great light at the top of St Marys.All of that confetti got used in style.
After leaving the church we headed up to the grounds at Rydal Mount. I had to be careful here as I am familiar with so many images from this location. Going off the beaten track and away from the run of the mill images that other wedding photographers would produce was a must. There are so many images from this location even though we were there only a small amount of time, so I have shown only the ones that I intend to go into the album.
Loads and loads of Tara and Nigel after we left the church.Tara in amongst the amazing foliage at Rydal Mount.
This jetty has been photographed a billion times. Maybe this is an alternative to the norm?
Some images shot in the evening when the light was coloured like parma violets.
What a day. I could show people more from the Merewood, but this post would go over two pages. Congratulations to Tara and Nigel who have a big job getting through the 500 or so images that have just landed in the gallery space. I hope you enjoy them all.
We are doing more and more wedding stories at the Merewood and having a photographer that produces images that are a little more timeless than other styles seems to be a much more popular choice for people.
It feels like things go full circle nowadays. No sooner has the events season finished that the weddings take over with gusto and I am thrust into the world of flowers, love, parties and celebrations. Much better than being a funeral photographer!..
This year we have a heap of weddings to show off on the Lake District blog and also on our facebook pages too so feel free to friend us to keep up with our updates.
I will listen to hundreds of toasts this year, so I thought that getting one of my own in early would maybe create some inspiration for the year to come: Heres to long and nostalgic summer evenings, beautiful brides, laughter, alcohol, amazing weddings, style, passion and creativity……
I have compiled a set of images from 2011 that I consider to be my personal favourites. This may give people who are looking at my site and blog a little more insight into what I am looking for as a photographer. In here there are a mix of set-up images and also some photojournalistic style images and I have put in only one from each wedding that I have attended and there are still more to come from weddings that haven’t even been blogged yet!
David and Abigail at the Merewood Hotel, Windermere
I chose this for the amazing setting, the fact that we fought to get to the location in the first place as it is actually at the Cragwood Hotel. After all that, this image really was worth the effort.
Rachel & Shaun at greystoke, Penrith.
I chose this image of Shaun and Rachel from a mountain of images shot on the day because it really does sum them up. The colouring reflects the vintage feel of the wedding too. Rarely am I happier with a posed image than with this one.
Nicola and Tom at the Punchbowl Inn
Tom & Nicola had two photographers on the day and this was one of my favourites. We jumped back from the church in Grassmere to take this at St Johns in the Vale and is just off the road. We fought a bit of rain to get this shot but it was well worth it.
Andrew & Jill at Armathwaite Hall Hotel, Bassenthwaite.
This is by far my favourite of Andrew and Jill and I think it is theirs too. The depth and height of the trees adds a real perspective to it and by muting the colours is is far less green than the original. Armathwaite hall has so many locations for all types of weather conditions and it is a real treat to photograph weddings there.
Andrew and Kelly at Rheged, Penrith.
Some brides and grooms are up for anything.. Andrew and Kelly were no exception as they jumped at the chance to have images in the IMAX at Rheged. The screen wasn’t actually on and the light is coming from a flash positioned on a boom in front of the screen. Certainly one of the most unique shots from their wedding and a personal favourite. The rest of their images will follow in a blog post shortly.
The wedding of Dawn and Mike at Inn on the Lake, Glenridding
I know that this is quite an odd choice for a favourite, but in a fraction of a second this moment was gone and this was the only time I could get a clean shot as everybody piled onto the dance floor. All of the elements that were required to take it came together for a 60th of a second. A firm firm favourite from this year.
Lucie & Hamish at the Heather Glen Hotel, Ainstable, Carlisle.
This is again, just another moment. I will even admit that this image was not part of Hamish and Lucies’ final selection for their album, but it is one that really makes me smile. Maybe you had to be there to feel the nerves and excitement to appreciate this quiet moment, shot from the hallway. The room was bathed in beautiful sunlight and apart from a little colour correction, this image is largely untouched in photoshop.
Joanne & Paul at the Greenhill Hotel, near wigton.
Joanne said that she wanted something different as a portrait of herself to run alongside the more posed images of her from her wedding day. I love it because this window has been used a thousand times by nearly every photographer covering weddings in Cumbria and after a moment to think, I decided on a partial silhouette. Its a first from me and maybe a first for the Greenhill?
Victoria & Kevin at the Roundthorn Hotel, Beacon Edge, Penrith.
Victoria was luminous on her wedding day and photographed with ease from start to finish. This image stood out mainly because of how it flows from top to bottom and really shows off the vibrancy of her dress, even in mono.
David and Michelle at Abbey House Hotel, Barrow
As far as classic wedding imagery goes, this is it for me and I really could create images like this one all day long. This wedding was shot as part of our two photographer team at Icon Wedding Photography, where you get the option to have two full time professional photographers covering your wedding day. Abbey house is a beautiful venue and one of my favourites in south Lakeland too. There is so much to see there and its potential for great wedding images is huge. We were even shooting once it got dark which I will show you all in a later post.
Matt & Adele at Armathwaite Hall
Matt was getting a real roasting here from his best man, who’s wedding I also covered. Its not a traditional wedding picture and Adel isn’t even in it, but for me this image sums up these two to a tee. For more of Matt and Adels’ images search the blog as there are heaps on the blog. Armathwaite hall delivered us a lovely low sunset in their fantastic grounds.
Mike and Katie at Inn on the lake, cumbria.
Talk about smiling from start to finish and there was no telling them both to be natural either… They just did it. Inn on the lake is rapidly becoming my home venue as year on year my weddings there increase. Its no bad thing as it is without doubt one of the best hotels for photography in the lakes. This image is an alternative to the normal stand at the end of the jetty and have a snog or look longingly at each-other pictures… I tend to have an alternative for every stayed or overdone picture. Jonathan and Gary are some of the best planners around too and make every wedding run like a well oiled machine.
Melissa & Lee at Carlisle Racecourse
This shot of Melissa getting ready opens up Melissa and Lees’ album and spreads 24 inches across the page. Its a real knockout image taken on my Yashicamat 66 and is as smooth close up as it is from afar. I could have chose from hundreds of images of this wedding but I just love the expression on Mels face and the fact that she is in her dress and no-one else is ready. Carlisle racecourse is a fantastic place for a wedding and as an alternative venue to big country piles it makes for a very different setting and a very different style of photography.
Nick & Maggie at St Begas and Graysonside, Cockermouth
Nick and Maggie seem to pop up on this blog a lot after having their wedding and pre wedding photoshoot done by Lake District. This image is timeless and has one of the most picturesque churches in the Lake District as the backdrop. Without doubt one of my favourites this year. Graysonside, Nicks family home is also now a wedding venue, so if you are looking at this and don’t have a venue yet, have a look at their site by clicking here.
Stacey and Stephen at Hundith Hill, Cockermouth
Just over the road from the above venue at Graysonside is Hundith Hill, the chosen location of Stacey and Stephen. The rain really didn’t stop on the day, so I shot some bits inside while we waited for the weather to subside. The wall frames Stacey in this shot and makes the image really pop out. Staceys’ looks are flawless and make for a perfect bride who thankfully quite enjoyed being photographed.
Rachel & Ian at the Greenhill Hotel, Red Dial.
Just remembering that I have to choose one image from each wedding for this exercise, this is Rachels’ favourite image and its mine too. The light is quite flat as we were in the shade but the dying embers of the evening summer sun can be seen lighting the staircase inside. The Greenhill Hotel, is where I shot my first big wedding after moving back from the North East, so is kind of a special place for me and I like to think that this is a nice portrait of the hotel too.
Rachel & Rick at smiths hotel Gretna.
Caught this as we were setting up for a shot on the balcony outside Rachel and Ricks suite at Smiths. Its safe to say that this one had preference over the setup image by quite a long way.
Sarah and Peter at the Crighton
Another wedding that is yet unblogged but expect to see it in the future. Sarah and peter had the worst mother nature could throw at us and still smiled all the way through. I stepped in a puddle but still managed to deliver over 400 images of a fantastic day for them both.
Scott & Donna at Inn on the Lake
This has to be a wedding photograph that will live in infamy for me and one that I have clients ask about all of the time. This version is untreated with the union Jack left in. See the blog for more images from their beautiful wedding at Inn on the Lake.
Victor and Jennifer at the Grange Hotel
So 2011 ends where it all started, at the Grange with Victor and Jennifer. This was a wedding that I felt really at home with. Vintage styling and a really lovely couple who have left me some very nice comments on their blog post. This shot was captured as they walked away from their wedding breakfast and really was a lucky shot. I love it.. Adam from Lake District Wedding Photography.
Unfortunately I have no control over the weather or every wedding day would be a nice patchy, sunny day with a nice sunset at the end of it. Abigail and David don’t have the ability to control the weather either or they would have probably gone for the same kind of day that I would have wanted, but rain it did…… lots. I had my assistant Emma Stoszkowski with me to assist who is fast becoming a great photographer in her own right just after finishing her photography degree with a 2.1 (congratulations!) and she also came up with a stack of images from what was an emotional and stylish wedding day.
The clouds parted for the most important parts of the day, which is all that mattered, as there was a boat trip on windermere with Windermere Lake Cruises and a short trip off the beaten track to a fantastic boat house on the shores of the lake. The Merewood is a fantastic location for a wedding in Lakeland and is helped along by its proximity to Windermere on one side and Ambleside on the other. I shoot maybe three weddings a year there, and always look forward to going back as the inside (should it rain) is equally as nice as the outside.
So, on the day, Abigail’s awesome lace topped dress was made by Lyn Ashworth and the cars were provided by Touch of Class in Workington. Enjoy the pictures and my apologies for them being a little extensive. I liked lots.
What a cake. Not sure who made it but they sure are talented.Fisheye jetty image.Ok, just a few more. This one I love.Just a few more to finish off down by the lake.This old boat was awesome to photograph from.Stunning bride, great location.A few on the boat and then in the 1970’s Rolls Royceinside and outside the beautiful St Marys in Windermere.St Marys church for the ceremonyThe girls getting ready.
Rain, rain, rain, with sun when we needed it most and overcast conditions when we needed it too. This was the first wedding outing for my new medium format film camera which produced some very fine images indeed, with some arty ones and some a little more rock ‘n’ roll. This camera will only shoot 12 frames on a film and I only took two films with me so it did make me a little slower and deliberate about what I was taking pictures of. The Lyn Ashworth dress that Abigail had chosen had amazing detail and was everything but standard as wedding dresses go.
David and Abigail booked me over a year ago now to photograph their wedding at the Merewood and I have to say that it was an absolute pleasure to spend the day with the both of them, their beautiful twins, friends and family. Their church was one of the less frequented in the Lake District, St Marys at Bowness on Windermere. It gets mobbed by tourists when a wedding is on due to its proximity to the Windermere motor launches. Davids and Abigails day was no exception but they both accepted the applause and Abigails wolf whistles from the crowd with style and grace.
After the service, we moved on to the lake cruise with Windermere Lake Cruises from Bowness. The rain was light enough for people to get outside on the boat, so spirits were kept high as we toured the lake as far down as Waterhead Bay and back.
After coming off the cruise, the guests headed back towards the hotel and the driver from Touch of Class in workington dropped us with an usher so we could head to the Cragwoods boathouse and jetty for a few more photographs of just David and Abigail together. The light in the boathouse was awesome, with the old beams casting long shadows down the walls, I needed to wait for clouds to cover the sun to dampen the light enough to shoot. What an amazing and unique location.
After that it was back to the hotel for a few more after wich the rain came down like cats and dogs. My assistant on the day was amazing, Miss Emma Stoszkowski (rapidly becoming a great photographer in her own right) who has just finished at university with a 2.1 degree in photography, so congratulations Emma and I can’t wait to see your new website.
The images below will soon start with a collection of six from the Medium format film camera and for all you geeks out there, the film stock is the awesome fujifilm pro 400h and most were shot at f3.5 on a Rolleiflex. Not bad for a 55 year old camera. Enjoy the images David, I know you were dying to see them. Your full gallery is available now in the Your Images section.
P.S. What an amazing cake.
getting ready can take a while, i’ll never say no to more time!Abigail looking amazing.Cake of the year?Abigails mum walking her down the aisleOn the way back from Windermere and on the boat.The view down the lake towards Hill Topa fisheye lens held down near the fishwhat a great bride to photographinside the boathouseAt the lakeside and boathouse
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A full day’s wedding coverage (8hrs)
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Option of a half-price photobooth (£200)
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Lake District Wedding Photography, 21 Mill Road, Glasson, Cumbria, CA7 5EE
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Lake District Wedding Photography, 21 Mill Road, Glasson, Cumbria, CA7 5EE