Wedding Photography Showcase 2008

2008 has been a great year for me. I have photographed lots of great weddings, including my first destination wedding in Cyprus. The couples I have worked with throughout the year have all been lovely and have made my job so enjoyable, so thank you to each of you.

I have also launched my new wedding photography website this year (www.neilredfern.net) which will be taking over from my existing www.neilredfern.com domain in the New Year.

The slideshow above contains some of my favourite wedding photographs from the year. To view the slideshow just click on the icon in the middle of the frame.

Many thanks again to all my clients for making 2008 such an enjoyable and successful year for me, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. Neil

Photographs from Norton Grange Hotel Wedding - October 2008

On 11th October this year I covered a church wedding in Failsworth which was followed by a reception at the Norton Grange Hotel in Rochdale, North Manchester.  However, this was no ordinary wedding for me as the bride was my sister, Karen!

I have covered a number of weddings now for close friends but this was the first time I had photographed a wedding for a member of the family.  In some ways knowing the bride and groom so well can actually make things harder from a photography point of view; it isn't as easy to blend in to the background and take natural shots when the majority of the wedding party know you and it can seem strange for the bride and groom to be posing for somebody they know so well.  However Karen and her new husband Gary were great and were more than happy to pose for me without falling in to a fit of giggles every time!!

It was a lovely wedding and everybody, including me, had an amazing day.  I even managed to have a few drinks myself once the speeches were over...!

Despite the fact Karen and Gary were reluctant to ask me to take their photographs because they wanted me to be able to relax and enjoy the day I'm really pleased I talked them round because I was really happy to be able to give them their photographs and album as a wedding present and I wouldn't have wanted anybody else to do it. 

Congratulations again Karen and Gary, I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together. Neil

More photographs from Karen & Gary's wedding can be viewed on my new website - www.neilredfern.net

Gold Award in SWPP Monthly Competition - Wedding Traditional Category

I was pleased to learn today that I have been awarded a Gold in the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) monthly competition.

The photograph which received the award was a reworked version of a photograph I took earlier in the year.

This is the second gold award I have received since I started entering the competition in April this year but it is my first in a wedding photography category so I'm very pleased.

My aim for 2009 will be to get at least 6 golds within the wedding photography categories, it won't be easier but I will be covering weddings at some lovely venues next year so I'm confident I can do it!

Feedback and Wedding Photographs from Liverpool Town Hall's Bride of the Year 2008

In August this year I photographed the wedding of Elizabeth & Austin at Liverpool Town Hall.  

Shortly before the wedding Elizabeth had been named the Liverpool Town Hall Bride of the Year 2008 and whilst we were taking the formal group photographs the Mayor of Liverpool made time to say hello to Elizabeth and Austin in person and, much to everybody's surprise, present them each with a personalised bride and groom "superlambanana".  The Superlambanana has become the unofficial symbol of Liverpool during the Capital of Culture Year and Elizabeth loved them so she was obviously delighted with the gift!

I recently received this lovely note from Elizabeth and Austin thanking me for their photographs:

To Neil,

Thank you so much for the amazing job you did at our wedding.  We love the photos so much that our only problem was choosing our favourites!  Everyone has commented on how lovely you were and how fantastic the photos are.  We can't wait to see the album.

With thanks and best wishes, Elizabeth & Austin

It was a pleasure to work with Elizabeth and Austin, they really are a lovely couple and I wish them all the very best for their future together.  I have posted below some photographs from their wedding - including the Mayor of Liverpool presenting them with their Superlambananas!

New blog address - www.neilredfernblog.com

Just a quick update; my blog (which you are reading now!) now has a new, alternative domain name - www.neilredfernblog.com.

The blog can still be accessed at www.neilredfern.blogspot.com but as this address doesn't exactly trip off the tongue I thought it would be worthwhile getting a new address that would be easier for people (including me!) to remember!  

Neil

Strictly Come Salsa - Photographs now online

Following my recent posts I am pleased to confirm I have just uploaded all the photographs from Shameem & Mat's Strictly Come Salsa dance event from last Saturday in Whitehaven.

To view the photographs please click here and use the password: whitehaven (no capital letters)

If you were at the event I hope you like the photographs!  Prints of the photographs can be purchased direct from the website.

Strictly Come Salsa - Update

Following my post earlier this week I have nearly finished sorting and editing all the photographs I took at Shameem & Mat's Strictly Come Salsa event in Whitehaven last Saturday and all the photographs I took at the event will be available on my website by the end of the weekend.

I will post a message on here once I have uploaded all the images so please check back over the next few days.

In the meantime here are a few more of my favourite images from the night...

Staffordshire Wedding Client feedback

I received some lovely feedback recently from Louise and Jonathan, a couple whose wedding I covered earlier this year in Staffordshire.

Louise & Jonathan were great to work with and I wish them both lots of luck in their future together.

I've added a few of my favourite photographs from their wedding below:

Strictly Come Salsa!

Last night I covered Shameem and Mat's 'Strictly Come Salsa' event in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

I really enjoyed covering the event and it was a great night.  The event was a 180 ticket sell-out and Shameem and Mat should be extremely proud of what they have achieved since starting their Salsa classes a year ago.  Their show dance last night was simply amazing!

I will be uploading the photos I took at the event to my website later this week.  Once they are uploaded they can be viewed here: www.neilredfern.com/salsa the password for the gallery will be: whitehaven

For more information on Shameem and Mat's 'Salsa Studio' please visit their excellent Salsa Studio website

October SWPP Awards Results

The results were recently released for the October competition last week and I was awarded three silvers and two bronzes.  This is quite a good result but I'm quite disappointed that I didn't get another gold as I thought a couple had a very good chance.  The image below (entered in Wedding Contemporary) was one that I thought was perhaps deserving of a gold but it received a silver.  Oh well, always next month!!

Gold Award in September 2008 SWPP Competition

Firstly - I must apologise for the fact I haven't updated the blog for so long!  Things have been so hectic with weddings and portrait sessions in the past couple of months, whilst I'm also building my new website.... no rest for the wicked!!

I'm also conscious that I haven't updated the images on my website for a while with none of my recent weddings being on there.  This should be rectified when my new site goes live in the next few weeks.

Anyway I was pleased to find out this week that I was awarded a Gold award in the latest SWPP monthly competition.  Unfortunately, not for a wedding image (which I would have preferred - instead I was given a silver and two bronzes for the wedding categories) but for a shot I took of a seagull a couple of weeks ago.  Here it is:

New website update

Further to my post last week I am currently working on a new website which I hope to have live in the next month or so.

I am extremely busy at the moment as it is the height of the wedding season at the moment so I have not been able to dedicate much time time to the new site, obviously weddings are top of my priority list, but the site is shaping up nicely and I look forward to putting it online.

The new site will feature my new logo and branding and an availability checker so potential clients can check a calender to see which dates I am available.

National Geographic video

I was alerted to this video recently featuring David Griffin, Director of Photography at National Geographic magazine, talking about some of the magazine's most iconic and powerful images.

I think it's fair to say that the images of the shark caught in a fishing net and the elephant killed for it's ivory were far more powerful than words could have been.

The story at the end about the seal is just amazing!

www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_griffin_on_how_photography_connects.html

New website coming soon!

Watch this space....

SWPP Awards - July

The results for the July competition were announced recently and I was awarded 3 Silvers and 2 Bronze, so quite a successful month.

Here are the three images which received silver:

Dancing in the rain - the Great British weather

I have covered two very enjoyable weddings recently, one in Manchester (Kath & Tim) and one in Liverpool (Elizabeth & Austin), which were both affected in part by that great british institution - the rain.

With both weddings I had made plans with the respective couples to take a certain amount of photographs outdoors. In the case of Elizabeth and Austin's wedding in Liverpool we had even planned to travel to an Abbey after the ceremony to take some photographs of the bride and groom on their own.

Unfortunately however rain played a part in both days and we were unable to take the shots we had planned. In Kath & Tim's case we were lucky enough to still take soime photographs outside but not in the area we had planned (which had turned in to a swamp!)

However neither couple let the rain affect their mood in the slightest and both had amazing days. I'm extremely pleased with the photographs from both of these weddings and it is clear from the images I took that neither couple really gave the weather a second thought on the day as they were far too busy enjoying themselves!

So, should the weather not be great on your big day, please remember that it is really not that big a deal. As long as you remember what the day is really about you will have an amazing day whether (no pun it intended!) it be raining, snowing or sunshining - and that in turn will result in beautiful photographs.

Part 2 of my transition to Apple - my new 24" iMac

Following the iPhone I bought last week, part two of my switch to Apple is now complete after I finally purchased a 24" iMac.

Although it is not online yet (just waiting for O2 to take over my broadband) I have already been extremely impressed with the iMac. The huge screen is amazing and will make sorting and editing my photographs far easier and faster. I have already installed Adobe Lightroom (albeit only version 1.1 until I'm online) and it absolutely flies compared to my PC version.

Once I'm online I'll be able to sync up the calendar and contacts on my phone with the iMac, and vice versa. This will make appointment making far more efficient and straightforward. I also bought a package called "mobile me" which means that my email, calendar, contacts and photos will also be stored in an online "cloud" (Apple's words not mine!) so even when I don't have access to my Mac or phone, providing I'm near a computer, I'll be able to refer to all this information.

Despite the fact I've only had it for a few days, I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending the iMac. As well as the fact it's clearly going to make my workflow so much faster and efficient I don't have to worry about viruses, trojans, spyware, malware and all the other nasty things PCs tend to attract, to anywhere near the same extent as I have been up to now. One of the reasons my current PC runs quite slowly is because of all the ant-virus software I have installed. Macs are not infallible but they are much more secure than PCs.

Will let you know how I get on when I'm online and using the Mac as my first choice computer!

Neil

Mobile number working again!

Hi everyone,

Following my post yesterday I'm pleased to confirm my mobile number is now working again.

Apologies if you tried to contact me during the time the number was inactive.

Thanks,

Neil

Mobile number down for 24 hours

Hi,

Just to let you know, as part of my transfer from my existing mobile phone provider to O2, my usual mobile number is not currently working. I hope that the transfer will be completed no later than tomorrow (Thursday 24th July) at which point my number will work again.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I had to change providers in order to get the new iPhone 3G. I absolutely love the iPhone though so the transfer (and the hassle I had to go through to keep my existing number... less said the better) should be worth it.

In the meantime should you wish to contact me please do so either by email or by calling my landline number (listed on my www.neilredfern.com).

Many thanks

Neil

Client feedback

I received some lovely feedback yesterday (see below) from a couple whose wedding I covered in May. As always it's great to receive such lovely comments and makes all the hard work worth it!

Many thanks for taking the time to send me the feedback Eva. It was lovely to work you with yourself and Martyn and I wish you both the very best for your future together.

"We would like to thank you for making us feel relaxed and comfortable on the day. We were both dreading having our pictures taken but we hardly noticed you were taking them most of the time. We love our album, it's really special and we couldn't have hoped for anything better! Thank you again, you were brilliant!"

Part 1 of my transition to Apple - my new iPhone 3G

I am now the proud owner of a new iPhone!

I haven't owned an iPhone before but had obviously heard of their great reputation. My first impressions are... it's amazing!

As with most Apple products the iPhone looks stunning and certainly has the wow factor. However for me the best thing about it is the way it will allow me to sync up with other applications such as my email, calendar, photos, contacts etc all without me having to do anything.

For example if I add a new appointment to the calendar on my iPhone, it will automatically be added to the calendar on my computer, and vice-versa. I can also check my emails wherever I am (to be fair I could do this before but the interface of the iPhone will make replying to emails 'on the go' so much easier - no more writing on a tiny screen). Internet browsing is also fast and, thanks to the huge screen, quite enjoyable (not the case with some of my older phones)

My ability to do these things however depends on stage two of my transition, moving from PC to Mac, which will start happening this Friday when I buy a new 24" iMac - more to follow on this when it happens!

The only potential stumbling block, or rather delay in all this, is how easily I am able to get a PAC code for my phone (allowing me to keep my existing number - which is invaluable to me) and a MAC code for my broadband connection so I can change providers.

This shouldn't be a problem but without naming names the existing provider of both my phone and broadband (same provider) are notoriously poor at allowing people to leave their clutches - even when their customers are no longer within contracts....

Fingers crossed my change over won't be too painful or frustrating...!

SWPP Awards - June 2008

Each month the SWPP (one of the UK's largest photographic organisations) holds a competition for it's members, whereby photographers are invited to submit their images for marking.

There are 22 categories in total and each member is able to submit one image per category. Due to the relevance of the categories, I tend to submit photos in 5 or 6 categories each month.

Each photograph is then individually judged and awarded one of four classifications; unclassified (not good!), bronze, silver or gold.

I do not know the official statistics, and obviously the figures change each month, but I would estimate that around half the images get bronze, a quarter get unclassified and the remaining quarter receive either silver or gold (although gold is probably awarded to only 5% or so of the submitted images).

I have only been entering the competition for the past three months. The first month I submitted two photographs which both received bronze, the second month I received one silver and 5 bronzes and last month I received 3 silvers and 3 bronzes.

I was obviously very pleased with June's results and it is encouraging to see that my results have been improving month on month so far.

The images for which I received silver in last month's competition are below:

Photographs on Walkden Gardens website

Hidden away off the junction of Marsland Road and Derbyshire Road in Sale, the beautiful Walkden Gardens seems to be one of the area's best kept secrets.

Despite the fact the gardens are located in a residential area, not many people (even locals) seem to be aware of their existance. I live in Sale but hadn't heard of them until I was introduced by a couple whose wedding I was covering last year. The couple were getting married nearby and thought the gardens would make a lovely setting for their family group shots and photographs of the two of them together. They were right!

Assuming the weather is good (not always a given in Sale!) the gardens are perfect for bride and groom photographs as they are relatively private, have lots of different sections (good for variety) and, most of all, are extremely photogenic!!

Walkden Gardens has it's own website (www.walkdengardens.co.uk) which is maintained by "The Friends of Walkden Gardens", a voluntary group who help manage the gardens and ensure it's upkeep and long term future. After becoming a fan of the gardens (I've now since been back with another bride and groom) I recently got in to touch with them to offer my assistance should they require any photography for their website etc. They were very appreciative of my offer and I recently spent and evening in the gardens taking photographs for them.

These images are now online and you can view some of the photographs I took by clicking on the following link (my photographs appear at the bottom of the page): http://www.walkdengardens.co.uk/seat.html

Alternatively I have uploaded a few of my recent pics below.

For those reading this who live nearby I would certainly recommend visiting the gardens. If you do perhaps you could drop the Friends of Walkden Gardens a quick email (contact details on their website) to tell them how you heard about the gardens and to congratulate them on their hard work!