Another later in the morning blog from me today, I went to bed with a migraine and I've woken up with a really dull throbbing migraine which is just ridiculously annoying, I think I have decorators neck, if that isn't a condition I am naming it now, I think it comes from having your arms in the air with the brush for too long!  I did finish decorating the downstairs loo and actually it looks better than it has for years, i'm quite chuffed with it all, just Abigails room to go and that's pretty much ready to paint but I'm having a couple of days off to allow the swelling to go down in my neck and spine.

I am going to go for a visitors permit today so that I can openly welcome visitors into my house, maybe they'll come armed with a paint brush ;)

The hall and stairs are still desperate for redecoration but I just can't see how we can do all 3 floors before Christmas so I'll just ask visitors to shut their eyes when they're going up and down the stairs, maybe I could blindfold them?  Might be a little dangerous on the stairs!

Can I talk about work for a bit today?  So, it's not all that long until Christmas and do still have some availability in my diary for weekends and weekdays so here's the full rundown

I have availability on the following days - 

Thursday 6th December, Friday 12th December, Saturday 13th December at Tynemouth Longsands, Sunday 14th of December at Saltwell Park in the morning and Jesmond Dene in the afternoon.

Wednesday 16th December, Thursday 18th December, Saturday 20th December in Jesmond Dene and Sunday 21st of December

All orders placed by Midnight on 15/12 will be dispatched to reach you in time for Christmas, Orders placed before 22/12 will be with you in time for Christmas as long as you can pick them up from me in Heaton.  Time is running out to book your sessions though so do it today via email, my website or my facebook page

Half hour sessions are £25 at Saltwell Park, Tynemouth Longsands and Jesmond Dene, All other locations, in the home and larger family portraits are from £40 and these prices are due to rise in January 2015 so book your sessions today and you get them at this years prices.  With each photo shoot you get a web gallery for 30 days, 15% off for the first 7 days your gallery is live and a complimentary print (7x5 for half hours, 12x8 for hours).

Here's some photos from recent sessions that I love - 

So hopefully I have shown you enough to whet your appetite, quick go and book a session or maybe you could buy one for a friend or family member for Christmas, for a limited time only you can get an extra 20% value on all gift certificates, well what are you waiting for email me now!

Loneliness, Hermitude, Christmas and not being a social butterfly

I wasn't planning on blogging today but since my body clock decided that I might want to be awake at 6am on a Saturday I have a few hours to fill before I leave to go to Durham for some photo shoots, I have 4 lovely photo shoots right on the top of the hill at Wharton Park, I've been visiting this particular park for several years, well since I started my business, it's the place my Durham clients always request and as it's just a short hop up a very steep hill from the train station it's nicely convenient.

I am hoping that when I am done this afternoon I can have a stroll down into the city and have a wander and hopefully pick up a few Christmas gifts, I love shopping in Durham, it's one of those lovely cities with quirky little shops which sell unusual gift items, I think Santa would probably give Durham 2 thumbs up!

Both of the girls were at dads last night so after a couple of more lively lovely days last night was just far too quiet for my liking, it's never a good thing to be in bed before 10pm, I think that's the worst part of separation and divorce, being apart from your children a lot more than you would like, I'm the first to admit that I'm not exactly the most social butterfly of the year and I would much rather be at home with the kids, I have a couple of Christmas party invitations this year and I am going to drag myself out to them otherwise I think I'll be giving legendary hermit Hannah Hauxwell a good run for her money although I have to say I couldn't live without gas, electric or running water!

It's a little bit of a quandary really to have bouts of loneliness but not actually want to go out into the world and socialise with people because that's far too terrifying, even my recent weekly visits to Slimming World have been just to get weighed and then straight home.  At Christmas I am throwing the doors open to visitors and anyone who wants to come to my house for mulled wine and mince pies is absolutely welcome, especially on Tuesdays once the cleaner has been ;)

and so off into the world I go, well not now, I'm still in my pyjamas writing this from the comfort of my cosy tartan clad bed but soon, on the train for another photographic adventure filled day, oh and if you just happen to be popping in to get the low down on photo shoots, my latest availability is that I will be at Jesmond Dene on November 29th, Saltwell Park on Sunday 7th of December and Tynemouth Longsands on Saturday 13th of December, all have a little availability so get in touch if you would like a photo shoot and as long as you place your order by December 15th I will personally make sure that you have your goodies before Santa Claus pays a visit with Rudolph et al, I'll leave you with my thought for the day... What in the heck am I going to write about in January?

Single parenting, I've got this!

It's been a full on week of sparkle barring the last couple of days when I've been pretty ill, still feeling quite horrid this morning but I'm off into the world for 2 photo shoots in Jesmond Dene this morning and then I'll run home to a blankie on the sofa I think!

This weekend I have 4 photo shoots in Wharton Park, Durham and then 6 in Jesmond Dene on Sunday so it's a much busier weekend than the last couple of weeks but that's a good thing, I really need those 2 weeks off at Christmas without worrying about financial implications, it's always a bit of a battle taking time off when you are self employed!

I have kept up with living a life of sparkle and yesterday once the bin men had taken the 20 black bags I'd cleared from Abigails bedroom I managed to make our seating area just a little bit more sparkly and festive.

It's still a little too early for the Christmas decorations but it's never too early for a bit of extra sparkle in our lives.

I also made a practice batch of peanut butter tablet, a roaring success containing about a million calories in every bite but what the heck, it is going to be for Christmas presents after all.  I've amazed myself this year, I've made blackberry jam, I've pickled beetroot, I've made my own sweet mincemeat, my Christmas cake is maturing nicely, I've made quite good progress with Christmas shopping too, amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it!  I think I might be getting good at this single parenting thing, if I manage to get Abigails room decorated next week then I've nailed it, if only the cats could do housework ;)

So whilst you go about your wonderful weekends enjoy every minute of them and remember that being nice doesn't cost anything at all, be kind to yourselves and others dear reader and I'll be back on Monday to regale you with tales from my weekend, hoping to fit in just a little festive stroll around Durham tomorrow after my photo shoots!

Family portrait photographer in Newcastle

Dear reader, it's September and we're entering that time of year known to me as the hectic portrait season, I have Saturdays which are already full in October and as I'm only doing 1 set of 3 dates of mini sessions this year it could well be that if you don't book for your family photographs in Newcastle, Sunderland or Durham as far in advance as possible there's a chance I won't be able to fit you in.

If you want autumnal choose Jesmond Dene, Saltwell Park, Heaton Park, Armstrong Park, Leazes Park, Wharton Park, all of those are beautiful locations for portraits, especially from mid to late September right up until mid November.

If you want beachy you really can't go wrong with Tynemouth Longsands, St Marys Island or Whitley Bay

and it wouldn't be a blog post without me offering up a few samples of the photos you could look forward to.  I've noticed the current leaf fall, the horse chestnut trees particularly and I've also noticed that blackberries are ripe and ready, I think I can safely say that it's going to be an early autumn this year.

I am of course available on weekdays as well as those prime weekend dates and everyone who can do weekdays gets a big happy smile from me :)  I would just say though that even if you are thinking of a quieter weekday please do book in advance or I might just be off up a very tall building in another UK city while I continue to write the UK Cityscapes book all throughout autumn and winter.

So here's just a few recent portraits - 

So whether you are celebrating a newborn at home, telling the world how much you love each other, showing the kids off to their relatives or just getting an early start on the Christmas shopping whilst bagging some extra memories for yourselves come and create them with me, a standard family portrait session is only £40 and includes a web gallery for 30 days, 15% off if you order in the first week and a beautiful 12x8 print of your favourite image from the photo shoot, have them at any of the locations mentioned or at home in front of a cosy fire, I like the winter photo shoots at home, I get cups of tea and warm toes!

For now though, bright woolens on small people look amazing and I think photos taken in Autumn are the nicest and most enjoyable you'll take all year, those autumn colours and the magical autumnal light, there really is nothing quite like it.

To book your photo shoot today email me, contact me through my website or maybe my Facebook page

It's been a busy old half term...

Half Term proved to be a really busy week in our house, a combination of the children having a better social life than me, my son being home and me out photographing lots of lovely kids meant by the time I got to Monday this week my head was in a spin, I don't mind though, I'd far rather be busy than quiet.

This portrait was shot in the comfort of my clients home, some times it's just easier to photograph kids in their own home environments, if you would like to hire me to do that it's £40 for a one hour shoot in your home.

Mini shoots have continued at parks and lovely outdoor places around the north east including lots in Jesmond Dene and I even ended up in Cornthwaite Park which is in Whitburn near Sunderland.

kids really do shine when they're in they're out in places that they love, it's one of the reasons I love my job so much, even if I do have to sing a lot of nursery rhymes and also be very good at running after kids and being chased by them screaming at the top of my voice, haha

yesterday I even shot a wedding although it was only for an hour, boy did that go by quickly but it was lovely to be able to sweep in and out of someones special day and give them a unique reminder

So this weekend I'll be in Jesmond Dene on Saturday and have availability at noon, half twelve and one pm, on Sunday I'll be in Saltwell Park and only have 1 slot of availability remaining at two thirty pm

If you would like one of the slots please do find me on facebook or you can click through to my website Newcastle Photographer

family portrait photography in the North East of England

Being a photographer in the North East of England is probably about as much fun as you can imagine, for over 6 years now my specialities have been wedding photography for those seeking something different and great family portraits, capturing children as they really are, not just smiling well behaved little people who look like your children, I aim to capture the very essence of their personalities, I also want to make sure that every little person I photograph goes away with a positive experience and they do, they absolutely love it, we have fun, we keep it short and it never gets boring.

Autumn has been amazing this year, so much better than the non-summer we had and I think the mini sessions have been a real hit, they're a pocket friendly £20, a non child boring 30 minutes in length and you get a gorgeous 7x5 print in with the price.

You've probably already seen some of the results and here's the latest update of some of my favourites from the sessions.

If you want to book a session I have 2 mini sessions available in Jesmond Dene on Saturday, 3 available sessions on Sunday afternoon at Wharton Park in Durham and on the 31st of October I'm going to be holding special Halloween mini sessions all day in Jesmond Dene, I think I have 3 or 4 slots of availability left but feel free to contact me and I'll confirm.

If nothing else dear reader I hope this blog has cheered away the autumn blues, it's been dark and damp and dank outside for 3 days now, not exactly the perfect type of weather for leaf kicking but by this weekend it's supposed to be bright and crisp and clear again, it is also supposed to be really cold but I don't care, more excuses for cute chunky jumpers and wooly hats just like Grandma makes.