Sunshine outside my window dear reader, excuse me if I get just a little excited about that, I've heard the temperatures might get close to dizzingly high (for March) today so I'm going to celebrate that, I've also just been informed that it's the International Day of Awesomeness today so go forth and be that my lovelies!

We haven't been feeling so awesome in the Charlton house unfortunately, I came down with flu for the first time since 2008, I am never ever ill so it was a bit of a shock to spend the entire weekend in bed and now Abigail has fully fledged flu, we are not amused, I am hopefully on the mend though.

So here's my weekly recap of what I've been up to personally and professionally.

On Monday I was just happy that it was springlike and sunny in the garden and everything seems to be green again which makes me happy.

I also noticed that it's my favourite time of year for really noticing the golden hour, it's around this time of year when although it happens all year round you really seem to notice it after bland winter days with no sunshine.  Obviously it's a great time to take a selfie ;)

On Tuesday I got very excited because of the arrival of this, sadly the arrival of the lens I ordered has been delayed until the 25th of March so currently I have my pile of new memory cards, batteries, a new double rapid strap, a whole new camera set up and no blooming lens, there are a couple of other lenses I want to add to the Fuji X-Pro1 collection anyway though so I'm hoping to pick up another this week, eventually it's my goal to have the 18mm, 27mm and 35mm which will sit nicely alongside my Canon selection of 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm, I shoot all primes because they're light and they're fast glass, I rarely use f3.5 or above and most of the lenses I own will happily go to f1.4, I actually think if you're just starting out in photography the glass you buy is a lot more important than the camera body, you'll replace that many times anyway but your lenses will stay with you forever.

On Wednesday I met up with one of my best photography friends in the whole world Jamie and we had a mooch around the Baltic (there was nothing on at all) but we did go over to the Side Gallery and saw a wonderful exhibition about the fall of the Berlin Wall (sort of) anyway, I loved the images, I loved the black and whites and the juxtaposition of some of the images was beautiful, go see All That Falls while it's still on.

I also received a delivery from Amazon which was full of inspirational books, if you want to know more about the laws of attraction or if you practice them and want continued inspiration these are the titles to read.

Clearly there were a lot of hours in Wednesday as I also managed to go to see Looby horse riding in the evening, she's really confident now and loves those horses so much, apparently all we have to do is find some land to stable a horse and her granddad is going to buy her one, she's a lucky little girl, no one ever offered to buy me a horse!!

Thursday I went off to Saltwell Park to meet with my favourite Welsh clients, sadly I can't share images of their beautiful little girl because they want to minimise her digital footprint which is fine by me, my clients privacy is of the utmost importance!

So you'll just have to settle for my instagram, perfect photography day it was.

I also met with a couple planning their 2015 wedding and had a great meeting with a lovely friend who I hadn't seen for ages and there's a little wedding photography prospect in there too so Thursday was definitely a good day.

Friday I was feeling snuffly, little did I know that by Friday night I would be ill with a capital I!

I went to Tynemouth on Friday for a 1-2-1 workshop with aspiring kids photographer Stacey, I offer 1-2-1 workshops to help other photographers with the fundamentals of running a successful photography business, over the last 8 years I've dealt with most situations and I've also gone from a teeny tiny business to the behemoth it is today, I've experience in all areas and have coached other businesses on all kinds of things, my speciality is Facebook marketing and social media, if you would like to have a 1-2-1 session it's only £150 and I promise I'll add value to your business.

Here's one of the little models I arranged for Stacey on Friday afternoon

and finally here's what's happening next weekend and a few photos from last weekends sessions, if you would like to book a photo shoot with me or a 1-2-1 or perhaps meet me about shooting your wedding you can contact me through my website, email or my Facebook page

Whatever you get up to this week make sure it's a good one!

Minitographers, guided photo walks and workshops for little people and their parents

Is your child a Minitographer?

So what is it?   The first Minitographers event will be on the 12/01/14 in Jesmond Dene at 1pm, there are only 10 places available, kids must have something to take photos with but it doesn't have to be a camera, it could be an iPad or a camera phone. 

Quite simply, it's creative photography so nothing too technical and as a parent why not bring along your own camera, I'm sure you'll pick up the some brilliant tips and enjoy our big walk through Jesmond Dene which will last 2-3 hours.

As guidance these special Minitographer days are suitable from 5 years - 13 years and the best bit, after the day you'll be able to email me your childs favourite shot, I'll work some magic and you'll receive back a framed and mounted 7x5 print (worth £29.99) to put on your wall.

Further dates and locations will be announced so you can always buy a gift certificate now for Christmas but join us on a future session (as long as you let me know when the dates are announced for the Minitographers session you would like)

The Inaugral Minitographers guided photo walk is filling fast, I announced this 2 days ago and already there are only 6 places remaining

For the first session everyone will benefit from a preferential rate of only £45 per parent and child (that's £45 for both of them not each) This price will revert to £50 per parent and Child on 01/01/14 so get your gift certificates now and save!

Age range is 5-13 but that's only a guide, if you think your smaller child would like to do it and they don't mind a 2-3 hour walk in Jesmond Dene on a winters day then by all means sign them up.

To sign up you must book in advance and I'll prepare you a Minitographers gift certificate so perfect for Christmas/Birthdays or just because you want to spend a fun afternoon with your little person having a fabulous time!

Don't fancy Jesmond Dene on 12/1, the next date after that will be on Saturday 8th of February when we'll be meeting in the cafe at Sage Gateshead and spending 2-3 hours walking and taking photographs around Newcastle, who knows what we'll get up to!

Just remember it's creative photography, nothing too technical for the little people but parents should be able to pick my brains for some hints and tips.

To buy your gift certificate or if you have any questions or queries (it's an E-Voucher so it's all done by email) please email mandy@mandycharltonphotography.com