All weddings are special but when your future husband is only back in the country for a short break it seems a little different, Andy is a corporal in our great armed forces, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his words he found his wedding more frightening than going into operational war zones, this was before he saw his lovely bride to be when you could see the color return to his face, I think he was more relieved she had arrived as she had been delayed by 30mins (brides prerogative.............but 30 minutes). This was a truly great day and the couple wanted to hold their wedding in South Shields as it was a favourite location of theirs, I had never covered a wedding at this location before but I can see the attraction, part of the remit was to capture some images with a local icon, the Herd Groyne Lighthouse which we did. What a great couple and what a lovely wedding. Best wishes and a safe journey through life to a lovely couple.

Wow, busy times, which is why the blog is a little bit behind, every weekend has a wedding at the moment and only two weeks away from Beth and Neales wedding in Spain, cant wait to do some photography where the sun is shining............Only joking the wedding at Headlam Hall for David and Jane was changeable weather but still a lovely day, it set off with showers and brollies, moving to sun hats in the afternoon, Headlam Hall is a beautiful venue and everyone made the most of it. David and Jane made a very impressive almost choreographed first dance that had everyone applauding. Anyway thought I would put a couple of images for everyone to see the lovely bride and groom.

The Royal Hall in Harrogate was the venue for H Bomb, this event was organised by Kelly Gavanah, who raises money for Victims of Domestic Violence through organizing live music festivals etc.
This event was unusual in that it was a mix of fashion and music, it was described as "An evening of cutting edge fashion, music, dance and film to raise money for people affected by domestic abuse in Harrogate. Toni & Guy, Sudo Attire, Snob, Fashion Degree students Harrogate College, Music from ROB REYNOLDS, Book of Job, Dead English Poets, Crossed Wires, DJ L-Rok, DJ Rory Hoy (Skint/Loaded Brighton) and Gravity Control Dancers. Make up by the amazing Danni Alexander!! This was a great event that was well undersold and should have attracted a packed house, however for those that were lucky enough to attend there was great variety. My personal favourite was Rob Reynolds but don't let that detract from the others who were all amazing.

You can view the show on the following link and just below there's a taste of some of those images.

Images from rehearsal through to Rob Reynolds

The Girls have been busy again, this time they have entertained everyone attending the "Ladies Day" at Ripon racecourse, the day itself was glorious and I have the red nose and tight forehead to prove it.... serves me right, reminder to myself... add suncream to photoshoot checklist as UK weather can be surprising and the sun does occasionally shine!

It was a great day in many ways even though I didn't win any money on the horses, the ladies day brought out a vast array of styles with a definite look at me........ most of them for the right reason!!

The girls once again did the college proud and as Annabel the course lecturer explained to the guests enjoying their champagne lunch, many of the girls have already secured positions with renowned companies.

You can view the fashion show on the link below.....happy viewing

Harrogate College Fashion Show at Ripon Racecourse

What a great day for a pre wedding photo shoot, Neal and Beth are getting married in Spain in September and I have been commissioned to do their wedding photography. 

Bethanie Lunn is a Writer and Presenter specialising in beauty, life and fashion.  Her book, The Modern Girl's Guide to Fabulousness will be published in October 2010 by Book Guild.  She is the resident Fashion and Beauty Expert for Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield.Bethanie's work appears in Daily Mail,Scarlet, Brand Alley, Stylebible.com, ChicToday.com, On: Yorkshire magazine andbookshelfboyfriend.com in addition to regular radio, event and TV appearances.

Neal and Beth wanted a pre wedding photo shoot at their home, like I said earlier the weather was great, although we all hope the weather in Spain will be even better for a beach front wedding, roll on September.

Best wishes to a lovely couple...

Wow, its now 24 hours since the show and I,m still sat back in pure admiration at the effort, team work and dedication that culminated in a fantastic show for the students of Harrogate college, there are vast differences in the styles they produce but the differences disappear when its comes to working together to produce an evenings entertainment.
I believe Annabel Smith the course leader and lecturer must be proud and rightly feels confident that these individuals are "well prepared to tackle any challenge they face" and in my eyes there are some lucky future employers out there.

I have included a sample of images from the show and also a link to an overview of the rehearsals and the two two shows

Harrogate Fashion Show - Link

The Harrogate Fashion Show is just around the corner, the date is the 27th May, I have spent  much of this week surrounded by beautiful young girls many of who are working hard towards a career in fashion and design. The garments look great but they tell only a small part of what is really going on, these photo shoots are a small part of a very busy day, and there is a great deal of organizing to take place. Just when you think you have everything planned there's always a glitch, for Marika who is organizing this show she has just four days to find 200 chairs as the original supplier has let her down............... so if you know of anyone who can help her please let me know.

One of our shoots took place in a lovely local apartment and the image below is from that shoot, its very bridal in its format and would look lovely in any wedding album, I will let you know how the fashion show goes, or better still grab a ticket and come along for a fun session, there are two shows starting at 4pm and 7pm.

Have fun..... I do, Steve

Val Mcdermid creator of TV's "Wire in the blood" has just launched a couple of books and the publishers have chosen more of our images to use on their bookcovers, keep your eyes peeled for this one and another called "The torment of others"  I haven't read it all yet but I just repeat the words of the Daily Telegraph's Gerald Kaufman,who stated that 'It may be that McDermid will write better novels thanthis in the future, but I do not see how.' so please keep your eyes open for this one and if you do read it let me know what you think?

Steve

Well......,  back to work this week after enjoying a lovely weeks break in the Lake District, found out my fitness was not where it needed to be for all the cycling and walking we did but non the less, it was worth being out of breath for the fantastic scenery. Landscapes have always been a passioin for me and there is something about being up at sunrise or waiting for sunset that always provides a magical moment to capture, I have included a couple of images that were taken less than one hour apart and the difference in colour is amazing, this is an area in the lakes called Wast Water, it has great walks leading to Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Yew Barrow and many more, it also has a nice little pub to relax in.....

Hi again,

Thought I would share a couple of images taken today at the studio, these are of Marika who attends the Harrogate College studying fashion, I said in my last blog I was going to photograph some students as they required some professional images to use in a presentation.

I have just offered a portrait session for auction at the Rossett School PTA auction that takes place on Friday 26th March, if you fancy bidding to have some stunning portraits of you or your family log on to http://www.rossettpta.co.uk/ check out the other prizes up for auction.