This week I was lucky enough to win a pair of wristbands for the Olympic Torch Relay Party on the Newcastle Quayside from the lovely people over at BDaily Looby was chosen to go after a bedroom tidying contest and we prepared ourselves for a once in a lifetime experience.

I have to say that we had an absolutely amazing time and please excuse me for sharing quite a few photos of our evening.

It was a rainy day in Newcastle but that didn't stop Looby and I having the time of our lives

being given the watchful eye by a BBC Cameraman, who is he, do you know him?

There was a great performance by Twist and Pulse and the Samsung Street Crew (I think thats what they were called) lots of leaping and bounding

 These guys who I can't actually remember their names were pretty amazing, I think they might have been called the Lloyds TSB future flames or something like that, anyway, they did lots of acrobatic stunts and were generally uber impressive

 I was so near to the stage I thought I'd get a shot of all the crowd in a lift the camera over your head, focus and shoot, it worked really well, there were 5000 wristbands given out and despite the rain there was a pretty huge crowd

The Little Comets played, haven't really heard of them if I'm honest but I kind of loved their sound, Looby said it was far too loud!!

the torch carried by inspirational torch bearer Will Downs is carried onto the stage, I had tears rolling down my cheeks at this point, inspirational young person and a combination of my utter pride to be both British and  Geordie

this one is my favourite, the cauldron is lit and so the Olympic Flames are officially in Newcastle

 The torch burned bright through the rest of the entertainment as Kathryn Tickell performed the inaugral performance of a new piece of music specially composed for the 2012 Olympics, I think called Jig Hop but don't quote me on that!

Looby had the best time ever tonight, she says she's going to win a medal for something in a few years time and I really hope this experience has inspired her to do that.

 One of the best parts of the night, one of the torch bearers let Looby hold the torch so I could get a photo of her, I reckon she'll show this one to her children in years to come.

Our beautiful city, an Olympic City, I can't wait to go to the Olympic football matches at St James Park on July 26th, I don't even like football but this is definitely one of those once in a lifetime things!

Richard and Donna get romantic in Jesmond Dene

You can't beat Jesmond Dene in June, even when the weather hasn't been brilliant it's just so very green!  I met up with Richard and Donna who's wedding I'm shooting in just a couple of weeks to get some lovely couples shots of them, of course their doggy Charlie was a big old poser even if he did display some doggy diva qualities!

Richard and Donna have chosen this image to be displayed on a 16x20 signing board at their wedding, there'll be lots of room for people to write lovely happy messages on their special day and afterwards they'll be able to hang it on their wall as it comes ready with a frame.

Richard and Donna have been together for ages, they have grown up kids and what gives me warm and fuzzies is that it's so obvious how very much in love they are, I can't wait to shoot their wedding at the Mansion House in Jesmond

They've planned a small intimate wedding and I think it's going to be a brilliant day, all we need is for it not to rain!!

If you would like to have a chat about your big day or maybe you just want to get some couples shots of you and your other half then please give me a call or click through to my website

Flaming June, more like raining June!

In the Northeast of England, it's been a grim old month weatherwise, well I say that but I remember shooting a wedding at the end of the month in scorching heat.  It seems there's a theme of rain, rain, rain, heatwave, rain, rain, rain.....

This month I have been really busy, I haven't stopped working, in fact i'd go so far as to say that if I'm not working or spending quality time with my lovely family I'm probably asleep, there's really not much room for anything else to fit in!

So, what have I been up to well if you follow me on Instagram you'll know I post quite often and it's a great way to keep up with my busy life, find me here http://instagram.com/MandyCharlton  there's also my facebook business page which has feeds for both my Instagram Feed and also my Pinterest feed, you can find me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/MandyCharlton

Today on this not so rainy Sunday I'll leave you with a quick preview from Kay and Robs lovely wedding yesterday, we were lucky to be shooting at The Baltic because the rain was torrential, luckily for us we still get to have an outdoor feel because of that wonderful viewing box with gorgeous even when soggy views of the Tyne.

Congratulations Kay and Rob!

Kay and Robs Pre-wedding Photoshoot

Last week the sun actually shone for a whole hour!!  Can you remember what you did during that precious time?

Well I know what I did, I went to the Quayside to catch up with Kay and Rob who get married next month.

I cannot wait for Kay and Robs wedding next month, their reception just happens to be at one of my favourite venues, The Baltic!

Kay and Rob claim they're not a photogenic couple but I have to disagree and obviously it was lovely when Kay commented that I was a genius after she'd seen them, haha

If you are planning your 2013 wedding or maybe you've been caught in a whirlwind romance and need a photographer for later this year, please do contact me and I'll hopefully be available to do your wedding photography.

Chillingham Castle, Birthday day out and a great place for a wedding!

Chillingham Castle in Northumberland claims to be the most haunted castle in the country, so on my daughters 10th birthday there's nowhere else she wanted to go (possibly because she's a wannabe goth).

Now obviously I wasn't going to refuse to go somewhere beautiful as photographers like to take lots of photographs even on their days off, or at least I do anyway!

There are creepy statues all over the garden, like something out of a Dr Who episode I was sort of frightened to turn my back on them!

I have a feeling this lady statue might be glad she can only see her face in that mirror given the sorry repair of the rest of her

 Out of the gate in front of the castle and along a woodland path you come to this beautiful lake, well worth 5 minutes walk.

I have to say that this is probably the creepiest castle I have ever visited, there are cold pockets everywhere (a purported sign of spirits) and the whole place feels, well spooky.  a lot of the castle seems quite ramshackle and like it hasn't been touched for years and I think thats one of it's most charming features.  The Castle is closed on Saturdays as it becomes a wedding venue, this is a venue I want to shoot a wedding at, I think it would be an amazing surrounding if you're a little quirky like me.  Seriously if you are a bride and groom and you're getting married here contact me and I'll give you a 10% discount on your wedding photography package

and of course no blogpost would be complete without the birthday girl herself, this was indoors, no flash and yes this years birthday portrait also contains a wrist cast, something which will hopefully be removed when we go back to the hospital on Thursday.

So, did we see any ghosts?  Well sadly we didn't much to Abigails disapproval, I will tell you that the torchure chamber was probably the most gruesome I've ever seen and yes every now and again it would become suddenly really chilly.

Back tomorrow with another blog of either a recent wedding or more lovely kids portraits from last weekend.

It's Friday, Happy May Day Weekend and Happy Birthday Abigail

Yep it's Friday again and not just any Friday, it's the May bank holiday weekend which means only 1 thing, my sometimes darling daughter, sometimes malevolent pixies and queen of all things black is 10 on Monday.

I took these photos a few weeks ago when I grabbed her on the way into the house, she's not a fan of being photographed so I was quite surprised how posy she was, she also has a very low attention span and a low boredom threshold so it only took 5 minutes and then she was done!

Of course she claims she's old and sophisticated this year and doesn't do toys anymore so she's getting birthday gift certificates and a Kindle as she's a bit of a bookworm!

I of course am now feeling older by the minute and like bamboo it would seem that the crows feet are visibly growing around my eyes.

Have a wonderful weekend and a Big Happy Birthday to Abigail,  I'm posting this now as we'll be out for the day on Monday, family days out in celebration of birthdays are the best thing ever!!

Wedding Photography, Portraits, here's what you missed...

It has been a manic month hence the lack of blogging so I thought I'd do one of my famous catch up posts to let you know what I've been up to.

First of all I shot Kelly and Simons beautiful wedding at the gorgeous Jesmond Dene house hotel, one of my favourite venues and always a pleasure to photograph weddings and events at.  Here's just a few highlights from their day -

a really beautiful celebration of 2 people in love and I'm so happy that I got to shoot the wedding.

Also this month as usual there have been lots and lots of portrait bookings in the studio

So lots of lovely babies, toddlers, children and families to photograph and it's all been a pretty fantastic month.

In the last week I've booked 5 weddings and I would say that if you want to book me for your 2013 wedding please don't wait around too long or you may find that I'm too full as I only shoot 15-20 weddings a year.

If you would like to talk to me about shooting your wedding or if you want to arrange a time to come in for a family portrait please click through to my website