Thoughts of Rheged enchanted the children today with the chance of seeing another Imax movie but when we went we found that they don't give you 3D glasses, WTF??? we watched the 3D dinosaur movie in 2D and it really wasn't the same, if you want to see and Imax movie do yourself a favour and get to Bradford, it's a whole lot better!! Anyway we still managed to have an enjoyable day out and spent a while at Ullswater, we had afternoon tea with the biggest pile of fresh baked scones ever at the Howtown hotel, well worth a visit if you're in Cumbria and visiting the northern region of the Lake District!

Not too many photos today, I only took along my 50mm f1.4 and took a smattering of shots.



OOh yes, my husband is a hotty :D


Abigail running down the side of a mountain after chasing sheep or Lammers as Looby calls them!!




Iain on same said Mountain!!




Looooove this one, if you all know me by now I love taking photos of the back of people, notice Looby wearing Pauls big cardi because she was feeling chilly!!

Hopefully this week I might blog more but I can't promise as I'm knee deep in work although not fun photography type work, sadly it's businessy stuff which of course has to be done, luckily starting next weekend I commence a hugely busy period of photography, Yay, only 1 week tommorrow and it's Amy and Shakers wedding and only 1 week on Friday and it's Jayne and Stuarts, I know they're both so excited they could burst right now and as luck would have it I can't wait either, not long to go now guys :D

Anyone want a portrait photoshoot this weekend?

Something quite bizarre seems to have happened, I have no bookings for this weekend, now I could rest, relax and prepare myself for the weeks ahead when I have 2 weddings and shoots in the same week but Oh no, I can't bear the thought that I might be not shooting this weekend so if you've been thinking of having a shoot and you can fit in this weekend I'll reward you by giving you the shoot at half the regular price so that's only £25, sounds like a bargain if you ask me ;) If you want to partake give me a call on the numbers above or contact me through my contact page.

Heather and Joel came over last night to view their wedding DVD, it was so good to see them both and they look very much the married and in love couple :) I love Heather and Joel to pieces so I was even more delighted that they loved their photographs and I'm currently begging them to let me take care of their album. I definetly think above all else that marriage really suits them both, they used to look in love, now they postively glow together!! Note to Heather - I hope Moses settled in alright in his new abode ;)

Home news - Iain is just coming to the end of SATS week and I'm so proud of him, he thinks he's done ok and I'm just happy that the exams will be over tommorrow, next week is the start of creativity fortnight and obviously I'll be involved just a little, I think I'm due to go in and do a little documentary photography next Friday for Alien Day, looking forward to that!!

Sending out many many positive vibes to Christine, I'm busy with her wedding album at the moment and she's due to have her baby in something like a weeks time, this little one is really going to change life for her and hubby Darren, I really wish them all the best and can't wait to take photographs when the little one arrives!

No photos today :(, I've been too busy designing albums and sorting print orders out!!

OOh did you know that I now have a £695 wedding photography package with an album? It's a pretty fabbo album as well, it's kind of a hybrid but it's in the digitally designed range so it's gorgeous, I've already started to sell them so if you're having a smaller wedding but still want a lovely album check out my pricing page.


I've just upgraded the services I get with my website so now all brides get their own web-page for entry to their gallery, this is quite fantastic and it's great for sharing all your lovely photographs.

Do you need a gardener/landscaper, did you know that my hubby is one? Meandering Gardens is the perfect business for all your gardening and landscaping needs, you can call Paul (for whom no job is too big or small) on 0191 2289515 or 07505 004043. He's booked about a month to 2 months in advance at present but he's got tons of happy happy clients, once again I'm so proud of all he's achieved over the last year, I love that man SO much!!

Right, well thats all my news for now, hopefully someone will fill up some hours on the weekend with a childrens/family portrait shoot, please don't make me have to twiddle my thumbs!!

Oh Man, totally forgot to tell you to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds, my blogs new URL is www.mandycharltonphotographyblog.com it's the first step in my rebranding and becoming Mandy Charlton Photography, please tell everyone you know!!

Adrian and Stephs Pre-Wedding Shoot at Linden Hall, Northumberland

Linden Hall definetly makes me feel lucky that I'm a photographer, it's a gorgeous venue up in Northumberland and I was quite awestruck by it's beauty. I was there to meet up with wonderful couple Adrian and Steph for their pre-wedding shoot, they're getting married up there in September and it was the perfect afternoon to check out all the nooks and crannies!




Aren't they a lovely couple.




They're so relaxed and cool as cucumbers these two, they're sailing onwards in their wedding countdown and enjoying every minute.



The cherry blossom was awesome today.



I bet you can't guess what these two do for a living?




You're not going to believe me when I tell you they both work in computing as they don't look in the slightest bit like techie geeks, way too cool eh?!



We took a signposted 10 minute walk, let me tell you my new yellow heels (yes I wore heels??!!) did not like the soggy path and I got stung by several nettles!! LOL




Gotta love this one, can you feel the love, are you all squidgy yet?



More cherry blossom, I love this photograph.




Thats my dreamy style you all have come to know and love!



We went inside to the magnificent building and the staircase is just phenomenal but I didn't want to spoil the wedding photographs by shooting on it today so you'll have to wait until September to see it in all it's glory.



Steph - she's gorgeous isn't she?!


and Adrian who is of course charming and handsome.

Adrian and Steph, I can't wait to shoot your wedding, you're a wonderfully warm couple who make spending time with an absolute pleasure, I hope you love these as much as I love them.

Denise and Stevens Pre-Wedding Photoshoot at St Marys Island

I met up with Denise and Steven this afternoon on a scorcher of a day down at St Marys Island which for anyone who doesn't know is just outside of Whitley Bay on the Beautiful north east of Englands coastline.

There's something about Denise and Steven which makes you instantly want to spend time with them, they're such a great fun couple and a wonderful match for each other. I honestly got so many great photos from this session it's probably one of my most favourite sessions of the year.

so I bet you want to see some photos?




Dancing on the beach, they dance at home all the time they tell me!



Nice Dip Steven!!



Awww!



They really are a gorgeous couple.



This one is just a little more urban but I loved the Green door



This one was down a set of quite steep steps, worth the walk down them though!



Ok, this one is my quirky shot of the day, lying on my back (in a dress!!) with my camera upside down, I really wanted to get the whole lighthouse in even though I was right next to it, well I think I managed it!!



This one, well it's one of the most beautiful photographs ever because it's just filled with love.



and another wonderful moment, these 2 wonderful people laugh all the time and Denise told me that one of the reasons she's marrying Steven is because he makes her laugh every day.



Awwww again, I love Romance!



The groom to be practicing for his wedding day.



Denise, this pose is going to look fabulous when you have your wedding dress on!!




I'll end on this dreamy dip which surely deserves to be on a 6ft canvas ;)

Denise and Steven, I really can't wait to shoot your wedding in August, you two are a unique and wonderful couple, thanks so much for sharing your time with me.

Quick post before the weekend.....

Friday is upon us again and for me it's been the busiest day of the week! I have a weekend ahead of meeting new clients and having photoshoots with some of my favourite clients, well you're all my favourites of course for different reasons!! On Saturday I have Denise and Stevens Pre-wedding shoot, really looking forward to that and then on Sunday I'm off up to Linden Hall to shoot Adrian and Stephanies pre-wedding shoot so I'm crossing my fingers for more of this gorgeous weather and the photographs should be completely spectacular!!

So I'll end the week with a dreamy photograph of Looby I took in the park the other day, Happy Weekend everyone :)

The National Media Museum

In Bradford is lots of fun for parents and children alike, obviously I was quite attracted to the fact that the Henri Carter Bresson exhibition was on and it did not disappoint and neither did the Imax 3D presentation of Space Station. It was the first time I had seen a 3D Imax movie before and I was blown away by it all! Can't wait to see another really!

So onwards with some photographs from the museum :-




Iain was delighted to have photographs with a Dalek.




He also tried his hand at reading the news.




Ok this one is a bit of a dodgy photo but I love it, Looby was on a blue screen with the teletubbies and here she is watching the tv which showed the Teletubbies with her, she was a little confused as to where they were.


Standing against the blue screen.




Iain with his 3D glasses on waiting for the movie to begin.




What is hubby concentrating so hard on?




Why he's colouring in a monster of course!!



The original cast of Playschool



Gordon T Gopher, one of my favourite TV icons!

and ending the day and the story of our holidays with who else but....



George and Zippy of course!

So Monday night and we returned rested and relaxed, we crammed so much in and had the best time ever, I love holidays. I've hardly seen Paul since we returned as he's so busy with gardening that he's actually got someone helping him at the moment.

I really can't wait until our next weekend away, when will it be and where? Well I don't really know but you can guarantee it will be fun, fun, fun!

The Secret Nuclear Bunker

Ok, so on Sunday the weather was Wet, Wet and even more Wet, we decided that going to some water gardens probably wasn't the best idea and Paul really wanted to go to Hack Green, a disused secret nuclear bunker. Now being that I am a total Pacifist the whole place freaked me out and the thought of enjoying a mock nuclear explosion really didn't turn me on!


So I only took 3 photographs and got out of there as quick as humanly possible, Paul of course enjoyed it immensely but it made me feel really uncomfortable, well you can hardly feel at ease when you're surrounded by Radiation signs can you?!

We decided that the rest of the day would be spent at Bridgemere Garden World, Europes biggest garden centre, so big it even has 6 acres of gardens to walk around. It was dreek though so I ended up buying a huge golf brolly, actually though the day was really for Paul we all enjoyed ourselves and Paul and the girls all got new hats.



Abigail also practised at being a new variety of butterfly.




Iain also had lots of fun wandering though we did have a crisis when he tripped and fell tearing his knee open, you'll have to ask him about his wailing and the resulting limp!




The six acres of garden there really are gorgeous and it was wonderful to see all the tulips which are of course one of my favourite flowers.




Apparently 4 gardeners planted 400,000 bulbs each.



I loved all the tulips and only wish I could have brought some home.




Oh and this folly really got my attention



I did think one of the locals though was a bit green and stiff


We even climbed up to the top of Bridgemere mountain which wasn't all that tall really and calling it a mountain was a slight stretch of the imagination. The kids though loved ringing the bell at the top!




another fabbo day was had by all and we returned to the hotel with slightly tired feet.

Tommorrow look out for my post about our journey home and trip to the National Media Museum in Bradford.