Good morning dear reader and it's great to be back to regular blogging every day, last week it all fell apart really between shooting 20 portrait sessions over the course of 7 days and then dog sitting plus trying to squeeze in life and home, in fact I would go so far as to say it was complete chaos but there've been some lovely memories made and this week for me is really about getting back into a proper routine and also really making a huge effort to get up to date with work and business.  I'm aiming for that hallowed two weeks off at Christmas and I feel I can only really do that if business is up to date or I just worry.

Life has been ok though, it's getting better every day I think, I think I'm a pretty good single parent, I seem to remember all of the good things to do with the kids and I'm managing to shoe horn a great business into the times when I can work.

Last week I got 2 new lovely advertisers on my blog so I want you to say a huge welcome to Spark Cleaning Services and Verity Wealth Management.

Spark Plus Services specialise in domestic and office cleaning all over Newcastle and the North East of England and in fact they are coming for a meeting tomorrow because I need an extra pair of rubber gloved hands in my house, I may be many things but I am not full on supergirl and knowing that someone is going to come and work their magic in the core essential rooms of my house once a week is of great comfort and well worth the financial outlay.

Verity Wealth Management, well as their name suggests they're the people to go and see if you need financial advice and again I think it's probable that I need to go and have a chat with them about pensions and financial planning for my future, especially going through a divorce, i'm sure that makes things a little bit more complicated and I really need to make sure that the kids are looked after in the event that anything untoward happens to me, I know, I hope to live until I'm 100, probably really should get that pension sorted out, I can't see myself out photographing kids, families and weddings when I'm 92!!

One of the highlights of the half term holidays for the children was of course Halloween and Looby and I carved pumpkins, made a gingerbread scary house and she also rocked her halloween costume which was Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Petunia provided her scary face as the wolf ;)

This went down incredibly well with all concerned, Petunia didn't quite manage the scary face but Looby came back home with enough sweeties to last until Christmas 2015 and I commend her for the effort that went into taking Petunia along for what was her first Halloween, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next year, something Game of Thrones themed perhaps?

Abigail came over for 4 days of the week and we all went down to Teeside to visit our lovely friend Li and her daughter on Saturday, what a fun day we had and we can't wait for Christmas together when they're staying over on Christmas day so that Li and I don't have to worry about indulging in a glass of Champagne or two, well it wouldn't be Christmas without being able to drink copious amounts of bubbly stuff all day, I never really manage to do this you know, I have a couple of glasses and then I'm usually craving a nice cup of tea if I'm honest!

This week I have photo shoots on a couple of days and then next weekend I have a photo shoot in Hexham in the park on Saturday so if any blog readers would like to take advantage and have a photo shoot at 11am on Saturday in the park at Hexham please do get in touch, it seems a shame to go all the way to Hexham and only do 1 photo shoot although Looby and I have already planned that we'll have a wonderful mooching around Hexham day afterwards.

Don't forget that weekday photo shoots start at only £25 for a photo shoot in Jesmond Dene, why not take advantage while the weather is still good and there are so many wonderful reasons to have photos, Christmas really is just around the corner now and thanks to Christmas 24 I'm assured of being able to watch Christmas movies at any time of the day or night.  They're not all what I would call totally amazeballs but they're festive and an easy watch, especially if I'm trying to work at the same time.  It's just a shame that the channel isn't in HD!

And so onwards as I launch myself into Monday, 2 photo shoots in Jesmond Dene this morning and then I am editing a wedding and doing album designs, luckily for me it's Monday and Iain picks Looby up on Mondays and then they go to Mcdonalds on the way home, it's their brother/sister bonding time, not that they need it at the moment, Iain sorted out Loobys laptop so she could have Minecraft installed and he helped her set everything up and she thinks he's the best brother ever, I do have the best kids ever!

Have a great day and may Monday be Magnificent!

Wedding photography at the Garden Station, near Langley in Northumberland

Something a little bit different today dear reader, I shot a wedding on Saturday and I am so excited about it that I thought I would share a couple of the images.  The venue was the Garden Station near Langley, Hexham in Northumberland. Being an occasional wedding photographer in Northumberland I love to go to places which are completely different and  this place is so completely unique, it used to be a railway station and now it's a cafe/potting shed/amazing wedding venue.  The wedding I shot was completely outdoors, probably the most laid back wedding I have ever shot in fact.

Let me share with you just a couple of images - 

This was the ceremony, just Dan and Claire, no officiant (they did the legal stuff early in the morning at the nearby registry office) just the two of them saying beautiful words which made tears roll down my cheeks, what a special thing indeed, I actually think there wasn't a dry eye in the house, I don't know about you but when a groom cries I cry, there's something breathtaking about a man over come with emotion because he's giving himself to the one he adores for the rest of his life.

                         

This next image is pure magic, let me talk to you about this image, if you're not a photographer and don't care about the wonder of Fuji then scroll past now but here goes - When I converted to the Fuji X-Pro1 the one thing I missed was off camera flash portraits, especially at weddings, well this weekend with the use of my Canon EX600 RT, a sync lead and a pair of triggers from Ebay I was back in the off camera flash game, of course it means you have to do everything manually but when it comes to off camera flash that's all I've ever done anyway, this was 200iso 1/250 at f8 with the flash at 1/1, shot at around 3 in the afternoon with the 35mm f1.4 on Midsummers day I got to create an evening portrait, something I love doing, 1 top tip though, never look directly at the flash or you'll burn your retinas!

I'm editing this wedding at the moment and I can't wait to share the whole story of Dan and Claires day with you all, it really was the most perfect way to spend a midsummers day.

If you would like to speak to me about shooting your wedding, I only take weddings on an extremely limited basis and book far in advance but do email me and we can have a chat about your magical day.

What we got up to this weekend...

It's Spring dear reader, did I mention that enough yet?  I adore spring, people start to come out of hiding, including me I must add, I am a virtual hermit during winter but now it's March I feel I have fully conquered SAD for another year and that alone makes me happy and delighted.

Interesting and wonderful things happened over the weekend, first and foremost I had a Saturday off!! That does not happen very often and so when it does you have to embrace it and grab it by both hands, usually I have my daughter Looby who comes out to photo shoots with me while Abigail goes off with Daddy and does the footbally sporty things!  This weekend Looby had a horse riding lesson booked so we swapped and Abigail and I had a mummy/daughter afternoon, she said she wanted to go and explore the charity shops in Hexham and so that's what we did, a whole £6.10 with our railcard on the train and we got some fab bargains in the charity shops, I shall not be complaining about a beautiful Per Una linen dress for £7.50!

I have some Instagrams to share from our weekend -

Claude is a famous Lobster Mobile, I've never seen him before, well until Saturday in Hexham, have you seen him?  I want to know just how famous Claude the Lobster Mobile is.

It's either horse riding or it's Lady Gaga's new fashion statement

Hexham was sort of springlike but definite touches of winter still remained!

Abigail in her £1 bargain hat

First day of sunglasses wearing this year!

Yes it was a very good mum/daughter day!!

Sunday was a portraits on the beach afternoon, catching up with old clients and new ones and having lots of fun with little people who all seemed to think that the sea was the place to be except that it wasn't really because it was very cold indeed and they didn't seem to be quite so happy 20 minutes later when they were wet through and a bit chilly!

Geek Alert, read on if you're a photographer, you care about camera systems or you're nosy, feel free to skip if you don't have a clue, haha!

This week is going to be splendid, I purchased a new camera, I've just bought into the Fuji X-Series after following the amazing and inspirational work of Kevin Mullins who I'm also happy to call a lovely friend of mine, being around him and his enthusiasm for the system as well as seeing the results finally got too much and I knew it was the camera I wanted, now I know that it's very much the photographer who makes the images and not the camera but in truth the Fuji X-Pro 1 is a complete game changer and it's half the weight and size of my Canon which means I might just avoid the claw the day after I've shot a wedding for 12 hours.  I think it's going to take me a stage further, it's going to be a path to somewhere new, I'll still have my trusty Canon with all of my favourite prime lenses but I'm excited to see what I can add to that with the Fuji X-Pro1, maybe nothing will change and no one will be able to see the difference and only I'll know or maybe everything will change and in a years time the face of my business and also the way I do photography will change forever, it's at the exciting start-line of the journey (I hate that word) and I can't wait to see what happens, I just wish I didn't have to sit and wait unpatiently for it's arrival along with the 35mm f1.4, except they're from different places so I hope they arrive at the same time, haha!

So that's it dear reader, another week commences and I'm a happy smiley Mandy, if you would like to talk to me about photographing your wedding or kids/family portraits then you can catch up with me on my website, via email or my facebook business page.

Lisa and Glens wedding - Hexham 24/11/07

Aren't Lisa and Glen the cutest couple?! We met up on a very cold wintery day for their wedding at Hexham Registry office, friends and family gathered with numb fingers and warm hearts to watch an adorable couple celebrate their love.

What November did do for us was give us edgy dramatic photos which I hope Lisa and Glen will love and cherish for the years to come.

I think these photos really suit winter weddings and I'm delighted that the happy couple chose me to be their wedding photographer.
Thank you Lisa and Glen for letting me share your wedding day with you.

If you're interested in booking me as your wedding photographer then click through to Mandy Charlton Designs and book yourself a consultation where we can talk all about your wedding photography plans and of course your very special big day!