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!

Masters of Wedding Photography DVDs

I recently bought both DVDs in the "Masters of Wedding Photography" series.

Each DVD is over two hours long and features 6 wedding photographers, typically by following them on a wedding assignment.

I would highly recommend both DVDs as I have found them to be very inspirational. The photographers do not tend to talk about the technical aspects of their photography, but more their approach to wedding photography, how they started, their influences and what they look to capture on the day.

A number of the photographers are extremely inspirational and when I started watching the DVDs earlier this week, despite the fact I didn't finish the first one till gone midnight, I immediately wanted to go out and cover a wedding!!

Perhaps the most interesting aspect to the films is seeing the different styles and approaches taken by each photographer. A couple of those featured remain very much "in the background" and prefer to have little interaction with the bride and groom on the day. In contrast some others are more vocal (in a very polite and lighthearted way!) and will loosely direct the bride and groom throughout the day in order to get the poses and shots they want.

Regardless of style however the resulting images from each of the profiled photographers are amazing and certainly set a high benchmark for fellow wedding photographers such as myself to aim towards.

It is also interesting to see how the photographers each had a different view on the advent of digital photography with most, especially in the first DVD, seeming quite opposed to it and still preferring to shoot with film. However this probably has more to do with the fact that the first film was released in 2004 when the quality of high-end DSLR cameras was nowhere near the level it is today. It would be interesting to see if their opinions have since changed.

If you are interested in purchasing the DVDs, or would like to watch a small example clip, please click on the link below:

www.mastersofweddingphotography.com

More new wedding photographs!

Following on from my recent post "First Destination Wedding" in which I gave an overview of the wedding I covered in Cyprus in May, I am pleased to say I have uploaded a selection of my favourite photographs from the wedding to the public section of my website, please click the link to view the photographs:

www.neilredfern.com/juliaandcarl

Big congratulations again to Julia and Carl for inviting me to attend and photograph their wedding. They are a lovely couple and were great to work with on the day. And a special thanks to you both for taking the half hour out of your day to travel up to Cape Greco with me to get the sunset shots (see photos below), despite being hounded by mosquitoes up there I think the pictures were worth it!

All the best to you both for your future together - I know it will be a long and happy one!!