It's been an amazing 10 days....

Talking, chatting, demonstrating, acts of kindness, smiles, laughter, photography, yoga....

Sometimes you go along and you're super aware and engaged with your surroundings and sometimes you're just not, life is hectic, things get in the way, weeks fly by in what seems a blink of an eye or a sneeze and whoosh! it's gone.

I've just gotten over the flu and it was not pretty AT ALL...I was a sneezing, snivelling germ bag walking around in a cloud of garlic....how people came near me I'm not sure, my cough alone sounded like I smoked a million cigars since I was 2 years old and well it's amazing I feel better at all ...lol ok, ok...perhaps I'm tipping in to man flu territory now lol...I digress...

Amongst me feeling absolutely dreadful were wondrous moments which made me sparkle (I knew I was sparkling but I have a feeling the snot hid it for a while!!)  I'm wondering if I noticed them more because I wasn't racing at a million miles an hour and my brain couldn't do its normal multi tasking thing or the universe was just delighted I'd slowed down...I'm not sure BUT I wanted to share these moments because they are so lovely and too good not to share and pass my smile on...share it around, feel the love and delight, warm up on it, beam...

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FIRSTLY....I had an AWESOME photo session in London with Aparna & Jayesh...such a wonderful couple, super cute together and so much fun and not only really natural in front of the camera, super playful too and busted out some fab dance moves and brilliant lifts! 

The very next day still delighted with the session in London I headed to the beach! I am happiest like a little piggy in do do when in my shorts and wellies with my camera in hand AND I was doing all this AT. THE. BEACH. sooooo cool! Above is the last shot of the day where Ellen made a funny face and whilst it's soft focus I love it because she is such a live wire. 

This is our annual photo session and I was so delighted when I approached her car to meet her and her daddy, she saw me and just lit up, excited for pictures and to run around on the beach I think..it's really special to photograph little people and watch them grow + I think this is our 5th photo session....so precious.

Wednesday came around that week and I participated in a fabulous night of Photography as part of Photomonth London. Luke Dodd of the Guardian and Observer spoke about the influence of Jane Bown for our 'Girl Town' residence + we followed with a panel discussion on influential women in the industry. The panel comprised of an awesome line up : David McCoy, Creative Imaging Manager at the Guardian, Karen Harvey of ShutterHub, Dan Gaba, Photo editor of the Wall St. Journal, Maggie, Founder of Photomonth, Becky Warnock, Projects Manager at Photovoice and me (Me in action above!!) 

Some of our FAB speakers in action (photo courtesy of Kate O'Neil)

Images: Top: Melanie Eclare, Wendy Ewald, Jane Bown, Bottom: Mary Ellen Mark

OK, so that was just a few days.....I rolled on with the flu.....edited, photographed..AND THEN.....the weekend rolled around and a few amazing things happened. I didn't really tell many people what was on the horizon as to be honest I was a little nervous! I have spoken about photography and taught photography for years so I can stand up and chat away BUT this weekend I spoke for the first time on Yoga. (my other passion!) I was so excited and delighted to be asked to join my wonderful friend Yvonne Bishop Weston and discuss stress and how yoga can assist in managing it. Yvonne is a nutritionist and so these two talks complimented each other perfectly and enabled us to form pieces of a jigsaw puzzle when it comes to healthy ways to tackle stress, OH and the talk was at OLYMPIA...yes the one in London, the big venue lol

IT. WAS. AMAZING.a whole room doing alternate nostril breathing, chair yoga + being given tools to help manage their stress. The goose bumps I had as I left carried me all the way home and well in to the following week. I guess now would be a good time to confess that when I'm not photographing, I teach yoga + I love the combination of this dual career :-) My yoga instagram snap below.

OH + whilst I was traveling by train to the venue, hacking like an old women about to loose a lung, the guy next to me offered me a mint...how kind and what a lovely gesture....for a few seconds I hesitated worried it was drugged or laced with something nasty (because that happens so often right!!! omg!!) + then I quickly thought, it's a packed train, I'll be ok and accepted his SUPER KIND offer and we started chatting. so lovely+ so rare to have a whole conversation on the train, but it was so wonderful, such a lovely act of kindness that I really treasured and appreciated.

Two speaking events, on two of my fav subjects in one week was just incredible. So inspiring and uplifting. London, the beach...photographing in great locations AND......

My dad surprised me too - I've been looking (this is not photo related at all) but I've been looking for a bench to go with my dining room table, a well loved, bashed up a bit, shabby chic number..we've had a few chats about where I could find one and my hunt has been consistent......that was until visiting my parents last week they suddenly said "Oh, we found you a bench"...oh my goodness what a find! What joy...when I asked where, Dad just said he bought me one and as mum led me to the garage she tutted," he didn't buy it, he MADE it"!!!! So in time for my birthday next week, my dearest dad has made me a wooden bench + I love it! No pictures yet as he's still painting it, but what AMAZINGNESS!

Have an awesome week everyone! Smile at everything (without looking like a nutter) + enjoy the incredible array of colours Autumn is blessing us with this year xx

London Engagements.......

I LOVE weddings AND I LOVE capturing Proposals!

If you were at a talk I gave recently, you would have seen I was about ready to burst with delight mentioning them.....here's why......I stood up after the amazing Kate O'Neil had presented and fabulously announced "If you can shoot weddings, you can shoot anything!" YEP, absolutely! I beamed listening to her describe weddings as every possible photographic event on one day (Landscape, Still Life, Portrait, Event....you get the gist). It's true!

I still LOVE photographing weddings, I love that it pushes my creativity, I LOVE that I get to interact with people ALL day, some peoples idea of hell, my idea of Heaven!! I love that I set the scene with Landscape pictures. Capture the details and stillness in my still life pictures and get to smile ALL day long whilst capturing and creating moments between two people that will last long after their wedding day. I get to chatter and banter with all the guests when I take their pictures, their laughter and cheekiness, hilarity and fun. I get to set up some pretty awesome lo light / dark pictures using giant sparklers and a wall or my tripod. This summer I have a mix of destination and English countryside weddings to capture, hurrah!! I'm so excited!!

I REALLY LOVE capturing the surprise, the shock and the delight during a proposal too......The start of a new journey together and an amazing chapter in two peoples lives.

Allan & Gaufaloupe visited London in June from beautiful Brazil. Guadeloupe had wanted to visit and see Phantom of the Opera as a small girl and her very thoughtful soon to be fiance organised secretly and totally under the radar, for me to be at Her Majesty's Theatre ready to capture his proposal. OMGoodness......super delightful. Allan proposed inside in a private room and then we went outside before curtain up to capture some more special moments!! These smiles!!! Their looks of love and delight...Congratulations Allan & Guadeloupe, wishing you both an amazing future together xx

I quite like this...

Looking at light...finding beauty in the shadows, don't worry not as dark as it sounds and I'm the furthest from depressed you could be right now. I'm just seeing new things in new ways which make me dance a little inside :-) 

Kitchen envy lol (I LOVE my kitchen) but every once in a while I'm sitting in a kitchen with an island or work station (which I'd LOVE) + am captivated by the view and pieces of the kitchen which burst character...this is blue heaven + I just want to share its beauty xx

still life's whilst waiting for a shoot to start

So I'm just hanging out, early Tuesday morning waiting for my shoot to start upstairs and I notice how pretty the light looks and how in this usually busy pub, it's silent save for me and the barman ...my camera meets my eye and I record what I see, pretty stillness....I feel like Karen Harvey should be with me (of shutter hub and blog fame) wherever she goes she fills her instagram feed with obscure wonderful finds which are a delight to see and very inspiring - maybe she's been rubbing off :-) 

Pretty pink ceiling shades, tea cups, wood, grey paint...I mean, how divine! what more could I ask for x 

5 TOP TIPS for helping create beautiful memories of your gorgeous day….

1.Breathe…..Breathe…Breathe……

Easy right?? Wrong…when we’re stressed or in different situations our breathe can get laboured and irregular – a mix of excitement and anticipation can make our breathe shallower so 3 super deep fill up your lungs breathes to start enabling a calming effect and clearing our mind REALLY helps

2.Schedule an engagement session or pre wedding photo shoot with your photographer

This is really helpful to get used to being in front of the camera and being directed by your photographer or just understanding how to move and laugh and relax 

(a lot of people stop breathing or hold their breathe when a camera is pointed at them so this is super useful to cross this off the list – see 1. above) it’s really popular now and well worth it, it also is a great opportunity to really fine tune with your photographer the images you’d like captured on your wedding day.

3.you want to look your sparkling best...

If you’re planning a dinner or meal the night before your wedding with guests or family and you’re planning on starting the celebrations then – why wouldn’t you right? Well, be mindful if you want to look your sparkling best on your wedding day the bubbles/beer/cocktails will show from the night before – have cucumber, cold spoons and plenty of water ready to reduce puffy eyes, swollen cheeks and dehydration

4.Enjoy...

This leads wonderfully on to my next point…..ENJOY your wedding day, I LOVE bubbles as much as the next person and part of the prosecco shortage was I’m afraid to say possibly down to me (not a lush just love a bubble) HOWEVER..I am not being a party pooper but alcohol is a relaxer….it will relax your facial muscles (awesome b’cos of all the smiling you’ll be doing) BUT keep it fresh, the more you drink, the more your face will start to fall off your chin and that I’m afraid is not a good look for photos (unless it’s midnight + the last shot of the evening celebrations) you've worked super hard at perfecting your day so just go easy until after your couple shots are captured :-)

5.Be sassy!

Finally, Flirt with the camera, be sassy, playful, silly and enjoy every second!

An American pregnancy in London.....

Ashley has written a beautiful blog piece on her experience of being an expat pregnant in London and it's super informative!! I had the complete pleasure of working with Ashley and Jeff for Flytographer creating fun 'bump' pictures in Notting Hill before Xmas and then when Margot arrived in January + at 11 days young we captured gorgeous new born pictures......

" have someone else find you a photographer. // Being in a new city means limited resources — and since none of our friends here had hired a maternity photographer before, I wasn’t sure who to ask. I started to poke around online a few times, but I was always overwhelmed… when your only requirement is “NOT CHEESY,” Google doesn’t really deliver the goods.

After one too many websites full of photos of hand-hearts on bumps in cornfields (you know the ones), I realized that DUH, I didn’t need to find other personal recommendations — Flytographer already has access to some of the best photographers in London. We booked a 30 minute shoot, and as soon as we met Jackie, it was like hanging out with an old friend. Best of all, she didn’t ask Jeff to kiss my bare belly ONCE.

Obviously, it was a no-brainer to ask her to take our newborn photos, too."