I can't tell you how amazing my family are, there are certain times when I get bogged down by business and then have motherly/wifely guilt that I'm neglecting them all, of course my business is 1 of the most important things in my life but nothing comes above my kids and hubby because without them none of the business or life in general would even be possible.  Sometimes when business  and life brings challenges they are the only people who get it hear it all, the only people you trust for advice so going away together doing our favourite things really is the biggest stress relief of all time.

On Sunday morning at 6am we all clambered into the car to go on an overnight trip to Blackpool, regular readers of my blog will know how much we Charltons love the thrill of a white knuckle ride so in the winter we get a little upset when the Theme parks close down, I think our last trip was in October when we went to Alton Towers, Drayton Manor and Gullivers Kingdom at Matlock Bath.

I have a new camera to add to my collection, I've been looking for one I can take to theme parks for ages but it had to be tiny and also give great image quality, as you can imagine this is a formidable request so I'm delighted to be the owner of a Canon Ixus 100IS, it really is a little wonder of a camera, it even has the same image processor as it's big daddy, my 40D!

Here's a few highlights of our days together, all taken with the Ixus -

 



 
This fountain is part of the new sculpture garden at the entrance of Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

 
Hubs took this one of Iain and Looby while Abigail and I were riding on the Steeplechase.

 
This time we were lucky because Looby was old enough to go on most of the rollercoasters and Abigail is now big enough to go on all of them.

 
I was so pleased that Iain came along, he had a brilliant time with us all and none of the kids killed each other which was nice!

 
Inside the river caves, I love this ride because just like the Tardis it's bigger on the inside!!

 



 



 
Thank you my awesome family for keeping me sane and making life the most fun it could possibly ever be!

Fola and Olu - A couples photoshoot - Mandy Charlton, Newcastle Photographer

Meet Fola and Olu, both very much in love and due to marry this August.


 
These are the results of a 20 minute photoshoot on one of the coldest snowiest Saturdays of the year.

 



 




 
I love couples shoots, I love showing people in love, just as they are!

 
If you want to book a somewhat warmer couples shoot for you and your partner then why not give me a call on 0191 2095442/07918 121838 or click through to my website

Emma and her extremely gorgeous family

Emma is so photogenic, her boys are gorgeous but until this point I hadn't really had the chance to get too many photographs of Emma so when she turned up at a recent shoot wearing a positively vintage look I knew the photograph would come out amazingly.


 

I adore that hat, I wish I could wear hats and look this good!!

of course I managed to get some great photographs of her boys too.

 



 
It's his 3rd shoot since we met and I can't believe how much he changes every single time.

 



 
and this one is destined to be an art director or a photographer, he's got a really good eye and is great at suggesting new ways for everyone to pose!

If you would like a family portrait then please do give me a call or click through to my website

Amy - A Model Shoot.

Yesterday I got together with wonderful model Amy Graham to create some new photographs for her portfolio.




I have to give kudos to this gorgeous lady because it was absolutely baltic, she was shaking with the cold and didn't complain at all!!



This one is one of my absolute favourites!!



Shooting models is a lot of fun for me because I usually specialise in great kids photography so I like to experiment when I'm with models and it's a great learning experience and great to do something different

If you're a model and looking to get some new images for your portfolio give me a call!

Rebeccas Bump Shoot and the resulting bundle of loveliness

3 weeks before Christmas I met Rebecca and Matt, Rebecca wanted to celebrate her pregnancy with some fantastic maternity photographs and so thats what we did -

This one was one of my favourites! It's fun, funky and fabulous!!

Rebecca wore pregnancy very well with a glowing complexion and a neat and tidy bump!



Awww!!

so fast forward and 3 weeks later baby Finlay arrived 3 weeks early so last week I popped up to photograph him.




proud mummy Rebecca who after 3 weeks is looking amazing!



Daddy Matt is particularly proud of his little bundle of gorgeousness.



and I think we can see why! He's beautiful isn't he?



How cute are baby yawns?

Rebecca, Matt and Baby Finlay, thank you so much for letting me share in this most special time, I can't wait to see how he grows up over the next few months!!

Win Your Wedding Photography with Mandy Charlton, Newcastle Photographer

Because it's good to give back! Full details of the competion plus terms and conditions can be found here

Proving Babys are Art meet Emily - 3 weeks old [baby photography newcastle]

A couple of weeks before Christmas I went to meet Kerry and Martins new baby, Emily. She is quite the most gorgeous little pumpkin and was perfectly well behaved!

I really love these photographs, and some of them are my favourite baby shots of last year, quite simply sometimes everything is perfect!




The whole family, aren't they lovely?

I really really adore this photograph.

and this one too,



and I don't care what anyone else says this is my idea of art!!