This week off has been bliss, nearly 10 whole days with the kids and for several of them even hubby managed to be not at work.  on the Easter weekend we entertained ourselves at Kielder and then Belsay Hall and then this weekend we went on our inaugural camping trip!

Staying at Dunroamin Farm Camping and Caravan Site in Kirkinner on the beautiful Southwest coast of Scotland we had a blissful weekend and I have to say that living under canvas officially rocks!  I have to say that the site itself was gorgeous, the most amazing display of stars I have ever seen and the facilities were all beautifully clean one thing I had worried about.  I'd thoroughly recommend staying there, especially if you have kids because they have loads of stuff for the kids to do including a games room, adventure playground, basketball ring and plenty of balls, they even have a sandpit!!  Our kids also made friends with the other kids on site which was so lovely.  Here's some highlights of our Easter breaks

Starting with one taken by Iain, yeah he's getting good though I've given him a tip to try not to cut his sister off doing arty things!

Kielder, just as we were leaving on the Osprey ferry

Love this one of Iain but oh my he's getting so big, he could be in a boyband!

The Creetown Gemrock museum, I swear that Looby has a career in comedy ahead of her, love the gemrock museum, definitely a must visit if you're staying in the area, kids will love it.

Wigtown is gorgeous but if you have a chance walk down to the harbour for views like this, absolutely gorgeous!

Adore this portrait of Looby, she wasn't the happiest of bunnies when this was taken

Next to the Caravan site was several farms and an evening walk with Looby meant that I got to photograph some of them.

This is the view you wake up to every morning, I'd swap Newcastle for here any day of the week

One of the local sheepdogs, love this photo

Yesterday we went to the Logan Botanic Gardens, what an amazing coastal garden this is and we had the perfect day to visit it.

Looby in amongst the bluebells in the woodland at Logan

and of course the Gunnera is at it's most magnificent at Logan, definitely a highlight, I just wish the Gunnera in our garden would grow as big as it does at Logan

Villain Thomas, My Other Life, Yes I am cool actually!

I always wanted to photograph bands, it's what the cool kids were doing when I was photographing cute babies and children, something which I absolutely love and feel no need to apologise.  The thing is that I'd just never had the opportunity to photograph a band but I knew one day I would and on that day I would be pretty darn fantastic!  Now anyone who knows me knows I am the queen of a quirky concept, really I think it's probably more that I am the Queen of Quirky but what the hey I'm not going to complain.

So a couple of months ago I received an interesting opportunity, would I like to photograph one of Newcastles rising stars, would I like to photograph the awesome Villain Thomas, aye said she, lets go to a nature reserve on a late afternoon for soft hazy light, well that sort of didn't happen and we ended up at St Mary's Island at mid-day in glaring sunshine clambering over rocks with tons of camera gear, situation and lighting not so perfect but you work with what you've got so I rocked it, well just a little bit, it's taken me a long time to be so confident in my own work but I'm way past the stage of asking if it's good enough.

and so there you have it, an afternoon spent in the company of uber cool band Villain Thomas, I love them, they're having a launch for their EP "The Waters" on April 27th at 8pm at As You Like It, Jesmond, I'll be there photographing it along with a few other photographers but come down, by a copy of the EP, it's pretty awesome stuff!

and onwards to the future and my involvement with another North East Band, a band who are so close to breaking it that it's untrue, I love, adore and cherish this band and think they're quite the coolest thing since sliced bread and I'm not just saying this, I've seen them play live several times now, I have the EP, I know the words to the songs, my husband and I danced to their music just last weekend.  Yesterday they made the official announcement that we're going to be working together and I was so excited that I ran around the house squealing.  We have such big plans for amazing shoots, My Other Life, here I come....  I know it seems like they're just a footnote but you watch this space because this is going to be big!

Occasions with Dr Mariann Hardey at the Cedar Court Grand, York

So what is Occasions, well for the last 4 years I've been shooting boudoir but to me boudoir felt like it should be part of a shoot but maybe not all of it and so Occasions was born, Occasions are for men and women, quite simply you want your photoshoot to be all about you, you want to be glamorous and you want it to be in a chic setting, it's always for half a day so that you have the full treatment, you can choose to give it a fashion edge or do something different or dramatic, it's completely up to you.

And so to my first Occasions shoot with esteemed author and social media expert Dr Mariann Hardey, Mariann is as beautiful as she is clever and she's also quite simply fabulous!

We planned our shoot with the help of the Cedar Court Grand in York, this amazing 5 star hotel has taken York by storm, there's quite simply no better place to stay if you crave for luxury and even if you can't stay you could still hang out in their chic cocktail bar, I recommend a Most Unusual.

The lovely people at the Cedar Court Grand could not have been more helpful and I really hope that I get to shoot there again soon.

So some photographs of delightful and inspiring woman and author of Proper Facebook Etiquette, a guide to living in a web based world, read it, it's a seriously great and informative read.

This one I love because it's got such a film noir feel to it and we're due to do another shoot in just a couple of weeks when the whole theme will be a Facebook Noir

This one was for a headshot to be used in those serious situations, Mariann often works with the BBC, The Guardian and other such publications as a social media expert, even here though Headshots don't have to be boring!

Simply stunning, I think I'd kill to look like this just for one day!!

again, we played with lighting to give a dramatic feel.

Beautiful, nothing more to say!

So do you have an occasion you want to celebrate, half day shoots are available at only £295 for a limited time, to book call 07918 121838 or see my website http://mandycharlton.com for more details and have your afternoon feeling like a model, a movie star or just simply celebrating being the very fabulous person that you are.

Mandy Charlton is an award winning photographer {award winning wedding photographer, Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham}

I always wanted to say that, I see it on so many websites and always wonder what the various people have won and now I am actually award winning, thanks to wedding photo of the year 2010 where I came second and got the Silver Medal, second from 700 is no mean feat and when I tell you that this photographer used to be agoraphobic and not even let her husband go out to work only around 5 or 6 years ago you'll realise just how very proud I am of myself.

It's been such a long road and although it's been a rollercoaster at times, it's been a fun one, I can't thank people enough for all their support, my friends, my family and all you lovely people who hire me and then become my friends too!

So whats in store for the future, well hopefully I'll enter the competition again this year and win!  This was my very first competition entry ever so to do so well is remarkable and now I have something to aim for.  You know at times it's been unbearable, the public vote is always the hardest to achieve, especially if like me you're not really into the whole self promotion thing and I'm not, it's taken me so long to even rate myself in the professional world.

I reckon my daughters are the most pleased about this, they bounded in from school and said that from 700 to come 2nd is a win and they're proud of me so thats quite enough for me.

So, this photo was taken in March 2010 and this photo below was taken in March 2011, a possible entry for next year?

well you'll just have to stay tuned to find out!

The wedding of Li and Phil and Wedding Photo of the Year 2010 news - [photographer newcastle, mandycharlton.com]

Wedding Photo of the year closes at Midnight tonight and I'm still in second place and yes I know that it would be amazing to have the second favourite wedding photo of the year but to me it feels like I should still be trying to win so please if you have 2 seconds and you haven't voted yet could you please vote for number 7 :)

http://www.ukweddingbelles.com/wedding-photo-of-the-year

and while we are on the subject of gorgeous wedding photos, last weekend I shot my friends Li and Phils wedding which was so romantic and lovely that I cried behind my camera.

How gorgeous is Li, you know if you meet her for lunch she looks just as good as this during the week!!

The dashing groom, first time i'd ever seen Phil in a suit, I think he looks quite dapper

Li and Phil were mobbed shall we say by a very enthusiastic Busker, it was hilarious though I'm quite glad he didn't come anywhere near me as he was a tad eccentric and thats me saying that!

I know Li and Phil love their photos and thanks also to Tommy Jackson who second shot for me and generally helped when cars didn't arrive etc.

Li and Phil, my dear friends, I hope we'll be friends for a very long time to come and I hope you all have the happiest of marraiges and a wonderful life together and always remember "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return"

Also more news about the new website, so can you please update your browsers to point at http://mandycharlton.com

The Latest and Greatest News, and OMG it's mandycharlton.com

Yes People of the blogosphere update your web-browsing thingamajigs and surf on over to my lovely, spangly website mandycharlton.com I know that this now means I have 1 too many websites but my other one was looking dated and they'll be merging over time.  Believe me though mandycharlton.com is where it's at!

So much to tell you lovely people, firstly I had a big old blog post on uber fabulous wedding blog Brides Up North, go see what I got up to with chief bridal blogger Julia on Bamburgh beach, not so much Trash your Dress as Rock The Dress

My dear friend Christine is due to have a baby at any moment and I realised that I didn't share some of her gorgeous maternity images so here's a couple for your delectation and delight.

I think we'd all agree that Christines bump is nicer than Mikes!

This graffiti wall has been repainted since we were there so Christine and Michael have a unique piece of art.

I love being able to visit more than 1 location and you can do that if you spend a little more time than usual, maternity shoots don't have time limits, it's your last chance to be glamorous before the little one comes along and that should be celebrated!

I really have been photographing every single day of late and I need to have a serious look at what I've got and blog as much as possible but for now, here's a few more highlights.

Love these ladies who brought back the 1940's for me!

This is Christian, I do still shoot weddings you know, although not quite so many as I used to, this wedding though was a dream, a lovely couple and a great day up at Longhirst Hall considering that it was February, we managed to shoot all of the groups outside even though it was a little chilly.

Vicky really was a beautiful bride and as this was my first wedding of the year Christian and Vicky got it off to a great start.

aww they're just so happy, I love Love!

This lady goes by the name of Daisy Chainsaw and she's all seven flavours of awesomesauce

and this lady is also called Daisy but this is the fabulous Miss Daisy Stays, Daisy does Costumes, Corsets and also puts on a little show called Gullys Emporium and I happened to bump into the lady herself today, I have it on good authority that Cath Kidston handbags are coming soon!

Don't mess with her though or she might just hit you with that frying pan!

and so my lovelies, that just leaves one thing and last but not least Wedding Photo of the year 2010 closes at Midnight on March 13th, if you haven't voted yet please, please, please could you do it now because I'm second and I'd really truly love to win!!

http://www.ukweddingbelles.com/wedding-photo-of-the-year