Picture It Blog

366 project has moved!

2012-02-02T14:54:00.000Z

In hindsight I should have created a separate place for the 366 photo project, so now it's got its own blog.
Picture It Big 366

Magical Autumn Portraits

2011-11-21T17:24:00.001Z

Autumn is my favourite season by far! Nights start to draw in, with a nip in the air there's an excuse to have a real fire and dig the scarves and hats out. True, this autumn has been a little strange so far with frosts few and far between. But the autumnal colours have been spectacular especially over the last week or so. And in just a few short days the trees and bushes could all be stripped bare of their fiery glory - it will only take one gusty day or a sharp downpour.

With the ephemeral nature of Autumn in mind I have packed several photo shoots into the last couple of weeks. Of course the backdrop of scarlet, gold and burnished yellow leaves is perfect for outdoor portrait sessions but so is the light at this time of year. The sun is lower in the sky, shadows are softer, the light is kinder and if you can work quickly in the magical hour between 2.30pm and 3.30pm you can maximise all of this, resulting in stunning images.

Light on the edge of the woodland

Amazing late afternoon sunlight

My chosen location for these recent shoots has been Marbury Park but I imagine any park with decent stands of trees would be as good, as long as you've scouted out a few good spots first. Woodland can be tricky - if the canopy of leaves is too dense then it can be a tad too dark and flat but if you can find somewhere towards the edge of the wood the light can be wonderful.

At the birdhide

The birdhides made an unexpectedly great place to take portraits, as the viewing slots allowed my subjects to be lit naturally from both sides and the green wood of the hide was a very complementary backdrop.

Kids love messing about in woods and no more so than when there's an ankle deep carpet of leaves on the ground. I adore the fun of the piggyback shot but just look at that light in the background!

The other thing I love about Autumn is that the colours all go together so perfectly - Mother Nature never makes mistakes with her seasonal palette! I particularly like the fact that in my last shot here the family dog also matches in so well!

So don't hang about - you've got about a week at the most (don't hold me to that!) to get out and about with your cameras. We will have the magic of that cold Winter light next but it's not quite so pleasant doing a shoot then and kids' noses have a nasty habit of turning red and a bit runny!

Thanks to the families who have allowed me to share some of their images - these kids were wonderful - very photogenic and really fun to work with!

Well co-ordinated doggy!

The golden rules of house selling - de-clutter, stage, get a photographer in

2011-11-09T18:30:00.002Z

Home is where the heart is, but what if it isn't and you are desperate to move house, put down roots somewhere else? In the current economic climate selling your property can be an arduous, drawn out and stressful experience. So it's a good idea to make sure that your house looks as good as possible. Gone are the days when you just hoovered around a bit and hoped for the best. De-cluttering and staging are the buzz words of house selling, creating a blank canvas to help prospective buyers imagine themselves moving in and turning it into their own home. I can't imagine anything worse than having to prepare our lovely but very lived in family home for sale ("lived in" being a euphemism for messy of course!). We'd need several skips, storage units and have to send the kids and dog away for the duration! Never mind all the little unfinished DIY jobs, touching up of paintwork, broken cat flap (it's been six years since we even had a cat). And the garden, well let's not even go there!

A client did all of the advised preparations before putting her house up for sale and wisely realised that the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" is never more relevant than when you're trawling through stacks of house details. The photographs are everything, the criteria by which you decide which house goes on the all viewing list.

So she decided to invest a very small amount of money in professional photography (that's where I came in!). Together we made sure that all of the important areas of her home were shown off to their best effect. I looked for different angles to emphasise the size of rooms and also considered the right time of day with the best natural light. And it's not all about the taking of the photographs - a little post production editing adds a bit of va va voom - crispness, brightness and good standout. And all this for around £125.

My final photographs

If you would like to find out more and get a quote for your home contact me (Jane) on 07868 750505 or email jane@picture-it-big.co.uk.

A lovely day down on Redhouse Farm

2011-08-01T20:32:00.000+01:00

“What are we doing today, mum?” is a question that I’m already fed up of hearing just ten days into the six weeks holiday. What to do with two energetic and warring siblings that gets them outdoors away from the TV, Wii, Nintendo DS, computer and doesn’t involve going near shops where the next question begins “can I just have….” and then “but why not?” followed quickly by “but pleeease”. I’m full of great ideas of things to do on the odd Saturday or Sunday, but day in day out over the school holidays rather stretches my already limited resourcefulness, not to mention household budget.

Thank goodness for Twitter where I had taken refuge for a few minutes, seeking the reassurance of tweets from other psychologically battered mothers. I spotted a mention of Redhouse Farm at Dunham Massey on the outskirts of Altrincham and thought it would fit the bill perfectly. Fresh air, no electronic gadgets, no gift shop and lots of physical activity. It took just a few short minutes to invite along some friends (safety in numbers) and to chuck a picnic together – my kids always moan about the quality of ours compared to their friends’ “banquets”, but in my day some ham sandwiches and a packet of crisps were a treat!

As we spread out the picnic blanket white clouds turned black and lowering but were obviously just bluffing as there were only a few spots of rain in the end. The threat of being soaked did speed up our eating and we were soon venturing into the maize maze. The unseasonable weather in May and June has slightly slowed the growth of the maize and as a result we grownups were able to see the various points where cards had to be stamped but still not able to fathom the route between each point. It was reassuring to be able to see heads bobbing in the distance. Last time I went the maize towered all around us and I was slightly uneasy that I had no idea where the kids were.

We completed our cards and with the help of a passing cowboy managed to work out the anagram and claim prizes from the girls on the reception “shack”. The five kids then shot off in different directions, desperate to launch themselves off hay bales, pedal a go cart or bounce down a slide, leaving Nicky and I to treasure a few moments peace and a cup of coffee.

I don’t know what it is about kids and trains but the barrel train was the main attraction. Be warned that they do get a bit dusty – my kids seemed to get far dirtier than anyone else’s (?) and I was really hoping that the elegant lady dressed all in white would have a go but she opted out… After half a dozen rides we headed off to the courtyard for ice creams. Despite more threatening clouds the rain held off and we ended the day with just one last ride on the barrel train.

The Perfect Gift for a Baby Shower

2011-05-25T14:57:00.000+01:00

Did you know that it's not just Coleen and Victoria that have baby showers? Two out of three expectant mums in the UK are planning to have a baby shower and readily admit that the presents are a hugely motivating factor! I must admit that were I to get pregnant again I would consider it a mandatory perk! Eight and ten years ago respectively the nearest I got to a baby shower was being peed on several times by my gorgeous offspring!

But the trend for baby showers has really taken off - where America goes we generally tend to follow - and at least in this case it seems we Brits are adopting something postive from the USA - baby showers are fun and a celebration of new life. Of course all us non-WAGs hold somewhat more modest affairs, opting for a party at home or a cafe or restaurant. And the gifts are rather more reasonable too, tending to range from the rather more practical gifts like muslin cloths to the cutest little jacket (that will only be worn once before baby outgrows it!).

Looking for a gift that is a bit different can be quite hard. As you know (if you've come across this blog via Twitter, Facebook or my web site then you will have an inkling!) I photograph babies and children and think that it's so special to have photographs of those early years to treasure and look back on in years to come. Believe you me (and I never did listen when people said this to me) this time passes so quickly and memories fade, even those you thought would be stamped in your mind forever. So what better gift than a photography shoot for a new mum?

But then I considered that a gift voucher on its own doesn't make much impact as a present. So I put my thinking hat on (pun intended - although you won't get that till you've read to the end of this paragraph!) and tried to imagine what I would have liked to receive. Now, I knit as well - I'm learning to say that without an air of embarrassment as apparently it's another trend from the States - home crafts are fashionable! For sometime I have been knitting cute, chunky hats for new born photo shoots and have had a lot of interest in them and requests to buy them.

The cogs in my brain whirred slowly into life and in a moment of sheer genius I realised that I could put together a hand knitted hat and a voucher for a photo shoot. What a lovely gift for mum-to-be - something to open and treasure at the time and then a photo shoot to be arranged for a future date.

Baby hats are hand knitted in soft natural yarns and are available in blues, pinks or neutrals. Visit my web site to see the latest range. The hat and photo shoot voucher come packaged in a gift box, tissue and ribbon. The gift package of the hat, photo shoot and framed 8"X10" picture cost £125. The voucher is for a 2 hour photo shoot and is valid until just after baby's 1st birthday.

So if you are looking for a gift for someone who is expecting a baby (baby shower not obligatory but a great way to spoil mum-to-be) then get in touch.

t: 07868 750505
e: jane@picture-it-big.co.uk
w: http://www.picture-it-big.co.uk/

Apparently I'm a #WAHM...

2011-05-11T20:01:00.000+01:00

Took me some time to work it out too when I came across it on Twitter. Working At Home Mum and there are armies of us - just key #WAHM into Twitter and you'll see that we are a presence to be reckoned with. Social media has given us a voice, a way to connect with each other and a free and highly effective method of marketing our businesses. With a few keystrokes I can invite people to check out my latest shoot, find out what they think about it or just join in the latest gossip about #theapprentice!

Twitter has often been described as the virtual water or coffee machine where people working from home can "gather" for a short break. And although I adore social media for the infinite possibilities of marketing businesses, I have come to view sites like Twitter and Facebook as a lifeline. It's not easy being a WAHM after decades of working in offices. I miss the banter, the support of colleagues, the chance to sound some one out on a problem or new idea. I DON'T miss the politics, relentless pressure, travel, lack of fresh air (our windows didn't open and I don't know about you but I need real air from outside not climate controlled, stale air).

But I digress (or rant) - the topic here is the ups and downs of being a WAHM and Twitter is definitely an up. As is being a free agent, beholden only to yourself - and the bank manager. I love being able to choose when I want to work and most of all, being able to be the "M" of WAHM much better than in my days as an employee. But it isn't all roses, even with St Twitter to run to for support. Am I the only WAHM that journeys along a little rollercoaster everyday?

7.30a.m. - jump out of bed, feeling good, a brand new working at home day.

8.45a.m. - less good, as repeated requests to brush teeth/hair, get dressed, put on shoes fall on deaf ears and we are late to school again! How can I run my own business if I can't get two kids to school on time?!

9.30a.m. - all is well with the world. Chores done, coffee brewed and am saying "hi" to all my cyber buddies.

12.30p.m. - phone hasn't rung all morning (don't they know how fantastic a photographer I am!), postman has delivered yet more bills and my computer keeps freezing.

1.00p.m. - forgot to go shopping so it's ham sandwiches again for lunch - another thing I miss about my old job was the lasagne from the amazing restaurant.

2.00p.m. - dog walked, cobwebs cleared and I'm on a roll, firing on all cylinders. Creativity is flowing from all my pores, I'm unstoppable... but, hold on, it's 3.15p.m. already, it can't be! Off to fetch the kids from school and then put on other hat of MFT (mum's free taxi).

9.00p.m. - (huge gap filled with meals, baths, homework, picking up everything you can imagine off the floor, trying to match socks, find football kits etc etc). Check emails and Twitter and find that I have an enquiry from a new client and a firm booking for a shoot. I am a success, I am a WAHM, I can do it!! Go and drink two large glasses of wine and fail miserably at being good wife!

Slipping through my fingers...

2011-05-04T21:53:00.000+01:00

Schoolbag in hand

She leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye

With an absent-minded smile

I watch her go

With a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

The feeling that I'm losing her forever

And without really entering her world

I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter

That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute

The feeling in it

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Do I really see what's in her mind

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

She keeps on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time

(Lyrics from by Siobhan McCarthy & featured in Mamma Mia).

I don't always know exactly where my daughter is sometimes and I don't like it one bit! She has been glued to my side (or her daddy's) or in the care of someone we've handed her over to ever since birth. How am I supposed to let her go her own way without worrying myself into a nervous breakdown?

To put this into perspective (I'm just clinging onto some) she is 10 years old and has started to call on friends and meet them in the local park. I know I can't stop her going and although I can warn her about stranger danger I can't terrify her with stories of kidnappings and worse. She came home half an hour late today - it wasn't really her fault, she ended up going to pick up her friend's brother with their mum. And I can't go ballistic at the mother who is much more laid back than me as she's been through it once already. I limited myself to two text messages and five bitten nails - I'm saving the other hand for tomorrow when she'll no doubt want to exercise her new right to freedom again.

But this isn't a blog about how to let your children go out on their own without worrying yourself sick (I have an inkling that will only happen when senility kicks in). It's more of a realisation that this time is so precious and so much of it has already slipped by so quickly.

I didn't find motherhood easy and I think I have only recently become completely comfortable in my role as mummy. I had postnatal depression and spent the first five months on a rollercoaster of emotion - "yay I'm a mother and my daughter is absolutely gorgeous"! Then five minutes later "oh my god what the hell have done, what was I thinking of?! I'm rubbish at this, everyone else is coping so well, they have lots of other mummy friends, I'm the only one on my own all the time". It all happened again when I had my son 2 years later and redundancy and stress related problems didn't help me settle into motherhood either.

I think the fact that I never knew my own mum (she died when I was a few weeks old) also had an impact. Lacking a role model must have had an impact on how I would adapt. I think I've done an OK job in the end, I'm never sure if I'm being fair, over-indulgent, too strict, too much in love with every hair, mole, smell, expression - but I don't think that makes me any different to any other mum. I have a feeling I seek approval more than I should and can't believe that she loves me and looks up to me as much as she does. It amazes me that she wants to copy how I apply my make up, do my hair - I'm not a girlie girl and did not do this with anyone when I was young. Through her I think I have come very late into girliness and am so enjoying going through this stage with her. I'm making the most of it as it will be shortlived - she already tells me when I look naff and, when I let her, she applies make up much more adeptly than I ever did.

And did I mention that she is hilarious and a great mimic? When she's in her comfort zone she has attitude in spades and will hold us all rapt with her performances. I can't understand why her teacher describes her as "quiet" - are you sure you have the right child?

I feel as if we are in a magical time at the moment - her inbetween girlhood and adulthood and me finally completely content with being (1) mum and (2) photographer. I want to freeze this time and not let it slip through my fingers.

When I went to watch Mamma Mia for the first time I had never heard the song "Slipping through my fingers" before and I absolutely sobbed during the whole scene. I still think it was more than just a chick flick weep - more of a cathartic moment when a lot of stuff hit home. I love the lyrics and feel as if they were written for me and Abbie. She, however, thinks they're really dumb and has taken out an injunction against me playing the song at her wedding along with a slide show!

Mad hatter

2011-03-24T22:04:00.000Z

I’ve come up with a cunning plan to combine my two favourite hobbies and have even managed to dress it up as a strategic business development opportunity. Number one hobby / obsession has already been turned into a profession (although it will always be a work in progress). My second passion is knitting, especially knitting small things that can be completed over a few days. I used to start far more ambitious projects (note the use of the word “start”), but they usually proved to be costly mistakes. £25 of merino wool either transformed into some hideous garment that I would never wear, or simply didn’t get beyond the half a sleeve stage. Abigail was rummaging through one of my knitting baskets the other day and held up several half-finished and very un-loved projects, querying “What’s this mummy?”. One item was part of an apple green jumper for a seven year old. I could no longer remember which part and Abigail is now ten!

Anyway I digress. I am now knitting hats for newborn babies – devastatingly cute and ultra fast to complete. I can whip one out per night or per double episode of Waking the Dead. I am not diversifying into selling hats for babies (although if needs must...), but I do hope I’ve hit upon a way of breaking into a new photography market. Once upon a time newborn babies were only photographed in hospital, something I didn’t quite get. I wanted to be photographed with my precious new baby but I looked like I’d been attacked by the Michelin Man (a bit like being Tangoed but instead of being turned orange I had been inflated), not to mention the suitcases under my eyes. Many mums (me included) then waited for several months until baby could hold its head up and focus both eyes in the same direction before shelling out for a photo shoot. There’s a growing trend now for babies to be photographed within the first 10-14 days when they still have that newborn, curled up, scrunched up look. The photo shoots take place in the comfort of the home, at a relaxed pace and around the baby’s non-existent schedule. New babies sleep for England and capturing them curled up and oh so new to the world is absolutely magical. They lose that special “newness” within a few weeks, unfurling, filling out and growing at an unbelievable rate. Blink and you’ll miss it. I wish I had taken many more pictures of my children during this brief phase.

During an idle moment perusing knitting books I came across one full of the most outrageous hats for newborns and babies. The photography was gorgeous and I experienced one of those “Eureka” moments. Tiny new babies in super soft chunky hats hand knitted by yours truly. The chunkiness, texture and softness of the woollen hats give a sense of scale and a feeling of protection, as well as just being so darn cute!

Since that moment I've been a one woman knitting factory and have put together a nice little collection of natty hats. I've made very good friends with the lady at the knitting shop in Knutsford - she's probably just being nice because I'm such a good customer now! I've probably scared off a few heavily pregnant women with my eagerness to get a few models for my hats! Thanks to those mums who have let me into their homes to photograph their precious bundles.

My new venture looks as if it's going to reap rewards. I can't wait to photograph baby Ocean next week - suspect the azure blue hat will go down well. And I've had a lot of interest in the hats too. Perhaps I should offer them as a package...!

The 3 "P"s of photographing toddlers

2011-02-03T13:05:00.001Z

In 2010 I took Katie and Alice's portrait in their home and within a very short time had some picture perfect images of them sitting side by side in party dresses. Dad received a framed picture for his birthday and was, by all accounts, thrilled to bits. One year on and Mum, Tina, wants to mark his birthday again with a more up to date picture of their twin girls. Now, there's one major difference between last year and this - those girls are now toddling! When I arrived they were prettily dressed in matching tops, posh trousers and bows in their hair. Now I had more than a sneaking suspicion that things weren't going to progress as smoothly as last year - after all I've photographed a few hundred toddlers and have begun to understand the species quite well. I was under no illusion about the challenges I faced in trying to capture that perfect moment when two toddlers beamed at me, at the same time, whilst standing or sitting closely together. Once in a blue moon it does happen, usually when I'm changing lenses or catching my breath!

But let's come back to some sort of reality (and normality - I don't want mum to think that her girls are out of the norm!) when dealing with toddlers. They truly define the expression "a law unto themselves" in every sense. Whatever you think they're going to do, you can bet it will be the opposite. They cannot be directed, positioned or posed. Reasoning, begging and pleading fall on deaf ears. Distraction can work but you have to be prepared to work like greased lightening. I usually enlist the help of mum, dad, nanna and older siblings to act like complete lunatics in order to get a toddler's attention and to earn their smiles and laughter. But remember that we're talking double trouble here and you can guarantee that whilst one child is beaming beautifully at the camera, the other has got closed eyes, hand in mouth or finger up nose! I sometimes use bubbles to get them to look upwards but that usually ends in complete chaos as you can't expect any self respecting toddler to sit quietly and admire the bubbles - where's the fun in that?!

Many of my clients want that dream shot of their beautiful children, smiling together with scrubbed, shiny faces and best party outfits. And if you're lucky and the wind is blowing in the right direction and the gods are smiling down on you then you just might get it. And as kids get older and respond better to bribery and cajoling it becomes much easier. However,I try to persuade parents of babies and very young children that it's better to forget trying to stage manage the shoot, forget Pears Soap portraits and concentrate on photographing toddlers being toddlers. They are absolutely wonderful creatures, fascinated by and engrossed in the world around them. Walking and running is a novelty - they don't care where they're going just as long as they can do go there without being stopped. Toys are great but they'd pick puddles, mud and sand any time.

I hope mum and dad like the photos - we did manage to get a few of the girls smiling side by side (albeit fastened down in their high chairs!), but I will always prefer the portraits of Katie and Alice as they raced around the farm yard, splashing (and sitting) in puddles and bouncing around in glee on the trampoline!

Oh and the 3 "P"s of photographing toddlers - Patience, Perseverance but above all Play.

A triple celebration

2011-01-31T15:14:00.004Z

Annie and Ian, friends of ours in the village, held a very special triple celebration on Saturday evening, the 29th January. 25 years ago, on this date they met for the first time; 7 years later they married on the same date - making this their 18th wedding anniversary. And if that wasn't enough to celebrate, it's also the date of Ian's birthday and he is 50 this year! They decided to mark the occasion with a re-affirmation of their wedding vows in front of their friends and family, followed by a lively ceilidh, a quiz and a hot supper.

I hope I've done their wonderful event justice. Click on the link Annie & Ian to view and purchase images from the evening, should you wish to. Any queries at all please get in touch with me.

tel: 07868 750505; email: jane@picture-it-big.co.uk

A very personal diary

2011-01-14T14:22:00.001Z

My pride and joy arrived today! I am now the proud owner of a diary filled with photographs of the family, places I visited last year, and the occasional favourite client image. I have upgraded from last year's version to a larger more deluxe version and it's gorgeous! Feels a shame to write in it but I have spent an enjoyable hour going through and putting in all the key dates for the year (I know - I need to get out more!). I can't think of a better way to enjoy photographs than having them displayed in something that you use on a daily basis. And of course I use it to make appointments with clients and it's a good way to showcase my favourite pictures!

It's not too late do your own diary - I did mine online with PhotoBox - quite easy. Pick the photos you want to use (around 55 for this diary - one a week and a few for front and back cover etc) and then upload them to the PhotoBox web site. Then you just drag and drop onto the relevant page. Other companies do photo diaries too but usually only 1 pic per month. Photobox quality is good - not brilliant - I found the occasional small print fault on some images, but not enough to really complain about. And it arrived within 7 day of me placing the order - which is much faster than some companies. Oh - and cost - around £19 plus delivery.

Surprise birthday present for Dad

2011-01-10T17:11:00.001Z

Couldn't post this shoot until now as it was a surprise birthday present for the children's father. Scheduling the shoot around the dog's availability presented a challenge as he is constantly at his master's side and mum Karen had to come up with some imaginative excuses to keep him home on a Saturday afternoon. But once the coast was clear he posed beautifully with Emily and Jack. I've since heard that Dad was thrilled to bits with the framed pictures and amazed at everyone's ability to keep secrets from him!

2011-01-03T15:48:00.001Z

I have around 55,000 images in my picture library. If I assume that around 50% are work related that leaves 22,500 personal images taken since I got my first digital camera back in 2002. Forgive my shaky mental arithmetic but that works out at about 2,500 per year, or just over 200 per month on average... that actually feels quite reasonable, especially when I consider that I took 360 pictures on our recent holiday in Cape Verde. However, it would be an exhorbitant and quite impossible number if I was still using a film camera - imagine the cost in films, developing, postage or bus fare.

I guess that I could be considered a hard core user when it comes to my photography habit. Strangely enough I am often the only person with a camera at many social occasions, although increasingly less so these days. I feel bereft if I leave the house without at least one camera and am convinced that I will miss a golden opportunity - that once in a lifetime shot. Indeed it is a mantra and firm belief of mine that good photography is as much about opportunity as it is about knowing your way around a camera. Quite simply, it's often about being in the right place at the right time WITH YOUR CAMERA AT THE READY. But I'll save that lecture for another blog and endeavour to keep on topic, which, in case it's not yet apparent, is why do we take so many photographs (some of us admittedly more than others)? I'm excluding professional photographers, myself included and have my personal hat on.

The affordability and accessibility of digital photography has completely changed the way we take photographs and enjoy them. Photography is no longer confined to special occasions and holidays but is a part of our everyday life - a picture snapped on a mobile phone is uploaded onto Facebook in seconds for thousands to view and enjoy. When did someone last show you a dog eared photo of their beloved child or pet from a wallet? I'll bet it was displayed on a phone or IPOD.

The digital age has changed our relationship with photography but I don't believe that the underlying emotional need has altered. We just do more of it for the same reason - and for me that is to freeze a moment in time, capture it and make it into something more tangible than a fleeting memory. Equally as important is the need to then share that moment with others. And as time goes by, those images of moments that were important enough to us to photograph become increasingly more treasured and special, because the memories fade and cannot possibly retain all the details.

The collection of photographs shown here are all taken from my childhood and represent just about all the pictures of me upto the age of about twelve. Baby photographs are conspicuous in their absence - my mother died when I was around 9 weeks old and photography probably wasn't top of mind for my poor dad. Despite that I am still struck by how few images there are, but this is probably not that unusual for the era (1965-1977). After this period I know there are many more photographs still in my dad's possession - he was a bit of a gadget fiend and was (and still is) a keen photographer. But this handful of pictures is extremely valuable to me - I see things I couldn't possibly remember and without photography those details would be lost forever. The picture of my mum is one of only 3 that I have, sadly there are none of her with me. What I also find interesting is how much the line blurs between what we think we remember and what we are actually remembering from photographs. Our memories of smells and how things felt are often more accurate than of things we saw. I can remember how the big old sofa in the living room felt both velvety and rough and had soft gold fringes around the cushions but I can't remember sitting on it with my brothers and a ball bigger than me!

2011-01-02T15:51:00.000Z

Christmas is all over and done with for another year - half built lego models lie abandoned on the living room floor, the tree is looking a bit tired and the wine rack is somewhat depleted. I want to restore some order to my rather chaotic house and get out of this weird limbo created by all the bank holidays. I've had my fill of long lie ins and watching schmaltzy movies in the afternoon and now I want to charge forward into 2011, spring clean the house, attack my business with renewed vigour and get fit and healthy. But we're not off to a good start as I've spent the last few days crawling from bed to sofa and back again, with this flu bug that seems to have attacked the nation. This is the first time my aching eyes and sore head have been able to cope with a computer screen. I've been looking at all the pictures I've taken since the children broke up from school and its hard to believe it was less than two weeks ago. Everywhere looked so completely different - a crisp, white winter wonderland - absolutely perfect for that final run up to Christmas. What better way to start the holidays than with some sledging albeit on rubber garden trugs!

I even managed to escape for a morning to Tatton Park and found that I just about had the gardens to myself. It was quite special to roam around the snowy paths, with only the sounds of birds calling, squirrels (I hope) rustling in the bushes and the occasional soft thump of snow falling from overladen branches. I enjoyed a sneaky cup of coffee overlooking the Japanese Garden - the aroma of good coffee steaming in the cold air and a beautiful view all to myself - perfect!

By some amazing stroke of look we all were fit and well over Christmas and enjoyed Christmas lunch and presents at Gran's. Baby Joe provided great entertainment for us all, but especially kept our kids occupied. with burying him under all the wrapping paper. It was lovely to have Boxing Day at home for a change - the calm before the storm that was my brother and his family arriving for two days. The panto at Crewe Lyceum was surprisingly good - although Sam was mortified that Nic and I were such enthusiastic audience members! A visit to Legoland (Trafford Centre) rounded it off perfectly for the children - the male adults seemed to enjoy that a lot too!

New Year's Eve was spent at a James Bond themed party - I turned up later as one of Dr No's dead victims - determined not to miss the midnight celebrations.

Now all there is to do is kick this flu bug into touch and leap into action ... but I think I need a snooze on the sofa now after all this hard work...

Lunch with Santa at Nunsmere Hall

2010-12-29T18:44:00.001Z

One of my long standing clients - Nunsmere Hall Hotel - opened its doors to hordes of very excited children just before Christmas. A very special visitor all the way from the North Pole joined them for lunch and games. I was tasked with capturing the magical moment when the children visited Santa in his grotto and it wasn't hard to get some lovely pictures of beaming faces telling him that they definitely had been good! Every now and again someone would be overcome with a bout of honesty and confess to fighting with their little sister / brother. Santa assured them all that he would do his best to ensure that the DSi XL, bike, Zhu Zhu Pet etc would be there on Christmas morning. He asked everyone to leave him a wee dram and a mince pie (personally I thought he'd already eaten enough pies but I didn't tell him - so I still got my Kindle in my stocking!).

To view the pictures of the children at Nunsmere Hall's Lunch with Santa click Lunch with Santa. If you would like to purchase any prints please contact me - prices are as follows:
6"X4" prints are £8 each.
5"X7" prints are £10 each
8"X10" prints are £15 each
£2 pp for orders upto £20. Free delivery on orders over £20.

Email jane@picture-it-big.co.uk
Tel: 07868 70505

(You can usually buy images direct from the web site via PayPal but we have a technical hitch currently. Apologies - please contact me directly and I will take details of your order and provide you with payment details).

Wrap up warm and get out there!

2010-12-09T17:17:00.001Z

Bit of a shock to the system going from 30+ degrees C in Cape Verde last week (watch out for pics soon) to -11 here yesterday! But what a beautiful white wonderland we've had. I finally got time to go out yesterday morning (so glad I did as it's thawing now and looks grey and horrible). I went off to Pickmere Lake but limited myself to my macro lens and actually found it forced me to think a bit harder and more creatively about landscape shots. The close ups were relatively easy but my 60mm macro lens gives such a narrow field of vision that I had to forget my usual wide angle views of the lake. I'm pleased I did.

I also came to the conclusion that taking good photographs is more about opportunity and being able to spot a good image than it is about technical ability. All the shots were taken on AUTO, no messing about with apertures, shutter speeds etc. I concentrated on looking for interesting structures, great light and working out where the focal point should be i.e. not always in the middle of the shot. Can't wait for the next cold spell as the Flashes and Marbury Park are in my sights (or viewfinder) next.

More than just a photo book

2010-11-22T10:45:00.001Z

Wow - I wish my wedding album had been like that! Not only was that my first thought but was also repeated by many people who saw it. I only hoped that Zoe and Stuart would like it - and of course they were thrilled to bits. The photo book format is perfect for re-telling the full story of their wedding day as you are not limited by cost to a certain number of pages and prints. Their book has 74 pages and contains more than 200 images. And it is also a really good size 30cm X 30cm and the full page or double page spreads have so much impact. It is printed on photo quality paper so the print quality and colours are stunning - just like photographs. The binding is rather special too - it allows each page to lie completely flat so that you can see every part of the image - nothing is lost in the spine of the book.

I now can't wait to do my next wedding or photo book order just to be able to give someone something this special again.

I want some of what she's on!

2010-11-17T20:12:00.001Z

Posting this for a mum who can't get in to pick them up tomorrow from Wincham Toddler group. Hope she's pleased - I loved them - she's so full of life and absolutely gorgeous! Email me and I'll send you a price list.
jane@picture-it-big.co.uk

Wincham Toddlers

2010-11-15T19:14:00.001Z

I went along last week to our local Mums and Toddlers Group and did a photo session with the kids. It's quite a small and chaotic room and is used for all sorts of functions, so it's not decorated in bright colours like the nurseries I visit. I don't usually like to use a backdrop but in this case the background would have been chair legs, mums' legs and the occasional beige wall! So I compromised by taking a background but using some props to get the children to laugh and smile spontaneously - I try to avoid the fixed, posed "cheese" smile as it can look so unnatural. The "leader" of the group, Mhairi, has kindly allowed me to use shots of her very expressive and ever so slightly cheeky daughter, Jessica. I think (hope) she will be pleasantly surprised by the number of lovely pictures I got of her (and this isn't all of them!).

I also really enjoyed this session as I got to photograph some beautiful babies - hopefully I'll be able to feature some shots here in a few days.

Busy Bees

2010-11-14T19:08:00.000Z

Could have come up with all sorts of cheesy titles for this post - "bee-utiful lunch", "Oh, bee-hive!" but I settled for one that covered two recent assignments rather than just one.

I've just completed my last pre-Christmas nursery shoot for Busy Bees Nursery and photographed around 60 children, including lots of siblings - particularly twins - must be something in the water around Kingsmead. Always a challenge to get two kids looking at the camera at the same time, never mind smiling as well. But the staff were wonderful as ever and we got some great shots. Waiting with bated breath now to see orders come in - I've learned that nothing is predictable or guaranteed in this business and I've given up trying to forecast. Hopefully everyone is looking for Christmas presents.

The other bee related shoot was a very unusual but really interesting and delicious themed lunch at Nunsmere Hall Hotel. I was invited to take photographs whilst a bee keeper told us everything there is to know about bee keeping, the habits of bees, how they make the honey and why. Shirley, the beekeeper, was a very good public speaker, knew how to keep her audience hanging off her every word. She had a hive with her and all her equipment and we got to handle and smell lots of bee related paraphernalia. Needless to say, each lunch course served involved honey in one guise or another, from the freshly baked bread rolls glazed with honey to the honey ice cream served with crunchy honey comb. And Nic was particularly proud of his beeswax candle that he rolled after lunch. Hats off to Nunsmere for another bee-rilliant lunch event. (Sorry!)

Meaning of the name Abigail: "joy of her father"

2010-10-09T18:31:00.000+01:00

I rarely do a formal photo shoot with my own children - we just don't seem to find the time or the kids aren't in the right mood - and I've got gazillions of nice "snapshots" of them anyway. But Abbie went to the hairdressers today and had a bit of a re-style. And anyone who knows her will be aware of her total lack of interest in having nice hair. So when we got home I managed to persuade her into a mini photo session whilst Sam and Nic were still out and about. Her attention span wasn't long so we worked very quickly - 20 minutes max, but I'm chuffed to bits with the results and she likes them too. And even though her name means "joy of her father", I'm quite fond of her too!

Cheshire Life October 2010

2010-09-26T21:22:00.000+01:00

Very chuffed to say that one of my photographic assignments landed me a full page of pictures in this month's Cheshire Life!! Back in July I covered a Made in Cheshire evening at Nunsmere Hall and they've used 12 of my photos! I did a write up for Nunsmere too which Cheshire Life didn't use but you can read it in a previous post http://picture-it-big.blogspot.com/2010/09/made-in-cheshire.html.

I was pretty happy about the photos featured for Made in Cheshire but then I discovered that another pic had been featured on an article about Lisa Forbes - aka Canny the Dooer. I had photographed Lisa at a party she had organised for a client's little boy. So - a double whammy!!

Made in Cheshire

2010-09-26T20:50:00.001+01:00

Dinner, bed and breakfast at a luxury country hotel and kids on sleepovers – fantastic! As soon as offspring and dog were despatched, we headed off to Nunsmere Hall Hotel with a guilty sense of freedom and anticipation of an evening of fine food and wine.

This was likely to be a bit of a busman’s holiday for me, having promised to take a few photographs of the food, as it was a rather special event – a Made in Cheshire evening with all the food sourced from within the county, even including staple ingredients such as flour and salt. As people gathered in the bar and on the terrace in the warm evening sunshine, they were offered a champagne flute of locally made, chilled cider. I, in the meantime, was nipping in and out of the kitchen photographing Chef for the evening, Mark Fletcher, putting the finishing touches to the canapés of scotch quails eggs and welsh toast. I did find time to sample both the cider and canapés and was very pleasantly surprised by just how refreshing and enjoyable cider can be, as an alternative to the more traditional champagne.

I had spent some time chatting with Mark, usually the Sous Chef at Nunsmere, but very much in charge of the Made in Cheshire evening, and he had told me with some pride how he had personally sourced all of the ingredients from suppliers within a thirty mile radius of Nunsmere Hall. He came into the bar to welcome the diners and to talk enthusiastically and humorously about the menu, despite being much more comfortable behind the scenes in the busy, hot kitchen. I don’t envy anyone working in such a heated and pressured environment – it would be my idea of hell – but the kitchen staff seem to thrive on it. Behind the swing doors it was noisy with the banging and clattering of pans, instructions were shouted across the kitchen, there were people rushing about and all seemed rather chaotic to me. But then as a course was plated up and Chef shouted “service!” suddenly all fell into place, waiters and waitresses appeared as if by magic and calmly ferried the dishes out to the dining room. Mark took a gulp of tea from his West Ham mug (I promised to fit in a mention!) and then moved onto preparing the next course.

Out in the restaurant everyone was enjoying the gazpacho with a selection of breads made from locally milled flour. This was followed by a visually stunning goat’s cheese and beetroot dish, which brought out the geek in my husband: “it’s a cone bisected by a plane, which would create an ellipse if sliced across...”. Personally I just thought it looked amazing and tasted divine! Each course was accompanied by a different wine and we had a lively conversation about how hard it is to find wine that tastes as good as those in a restaurant. I think we were underestimating the skill required to match wine with food and then serve it at the right temperature in the correct glass. The goat’s cheese was followed by trout caught locally.

By now my fellow diners and long suffering husband were getting used to me dashing away from the table between courses – at least the presence of my camera reassured them that I hadn’t just got a very weak bladder! In the kitchen the medallions of beef were being plated up and Mark’s two young sous chefs for the evening were carefully adding the vegetables. The attention to detail in the presentation of food never fails to amaze me – as an artist bends in concentration, nose almost touching the canvas, so a chef leans over each dish, carefully positioning each item and then adding jus or sauce with a flourish like a signature. The end result looked almost too good to eat, but you could soon hear the scraping of cutlery on empty plates and the rise in chatter that signals the end of a course. We were enjoying the company of the people around us, the majority being strangers to us beforehand. The couple next to us explained that they had bid for the Made in Cheshire Evening (plus bed and breakfast) at a charity auction, with Steven, at the time, under the illusion he was bidding for a balloon ride and egging on his partner, Jane, to bid increasingly higher!

As we enjoyed a short break before dessert, we could see a figure with a torch roaming around the edges of the garden and eventually setting up a white sheet and bright lamp on the lawn. This turned out to be Fungal Punk, a familiar figure at Nunsmere Hall, preparing for a late night moth hunt. I don’t know about anyone else, but in my experience a restaurant dinner has never been followed by a midnight search for Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies to you and me), but more on that in a moment! Dessert was a fruit salad served with locally made elderflower ice cream , followed by a fantastic selection of Cheshire cheeses. I could have grazed on the cheese and sipped port until bedtime but the moths were gathering outside to put on a show for us. Actually it turned out to be a little too late and a little too bright (almost full moon) for them and they had to be enticed out with a mixture of wine and treacle daubed on tree trunks. We must have made a strange sight weaving our slightly tipsy way through the tree line along the edges of the lawn, stopping to peer at moths and spiders in the light of Fungal Punk’s torch (the only torch (!) and we lost a few diners along the way!).

Back to the bar, laughing about our midnight walk and a quick brandy before bed. This was a delicious, fun, and very entertaining evening and nothing like hard work for me.

“I DO!!” (photograph weddings that is!)

2010-09-25T19:11:00.005+01:00

“Do you do weddings?”

“Er, well, not really, but I can I suppose...”

Not exactly a confident and positive response to a question I get asked a lot these days. I never set out to be a wedding photographer a) because it was too scary and b) because I could see other areas of the market which wouldn’t be so crowded and competitive. But one day I said “Yes” to a friend as a favour and then another and another until I realised I’d done half a dozen in a year and had the same number of very satisfied newlywed couples. The other surprise revelation was that I discovered I really liked photographing weddings. I get a real buzz from working at such a fast pace, thinking on my feet and knowing that I am part of making the day special for the wedding party. It certainly is quite nerve wracking but in a good way – I think the adrenalin keeps me on top of my game.

In the early days (at my first wedding) I fretted endlessly about camera settings, light (or lack of it!), poses, groups, which lens for what shot, but that all comes more naturally now and I can concentrate on creating the shot. I used to be in a bit of a panic and take thousands of pictures but I’ve learned to slow down and watch what’s going on around me, looking for the best angle, the spontaneous moment.

I love the emotion of a wedding day.

We Brits are so reserved but we let our guard down at a wedding. Bride and groom let everyone know that they are totally loved up, ladies cry and men do lots of back slapping, bear hugging and hand pumping. I find it helps to let a little of the emotional mood affect me too – I’m more likely to capture the images that truly reflect the feelings on the day. I do draw the line at crying as it blurs my vision and makes my mascara run!

As I don’t actively promote wedding photography and have been busy building up other areas of my business, I’ve only taken two bookings this year and both were very different. I met Zoe and Stuart back in April 2009 and we booked their wedding in for September 2010. We exchanged the occasional email and then met up again in July this year to agree the photography schedule. I felt very comfortable with the couple and their family and that really helps everyone relax on the actual day. The photography schedule started with the groom’s arrival at the church and ended just after the first dance in the evening. I really enjoyed being a part of the whole day and can’t wait to put together the wedding album which will re-tell the story of Zoe and Stuart’s wedding. I like to give the bride and groom some pictures to look at on honeymoon and I presented them with some photo collages in a little album. They in turn gave me a bouquet of flowers and I was really made up!

My second wedding this year came out of the blue and was a much more spontaneous affair. Kate phoned me one Friday and I first met her and Phil on the steps of the registry office the following Wednesday! Poor Kate was suffering with food poisoning but still managed to look very elegant and Audrey Hepburn like. Despite not having met any of the wedding party beforehand it was all very relaxed and informal. I had arrived a little early and walked around the block and discovered a lovely little park perfect for the photographs afterwards. The ceremony itself was very personal – the registrars were really friendly and even accommodated Kate’s young daughter who decided to play an unplanned role in proceedings. The wedding party enjoyed the walk in the Autumn sunshine to the park and it proved to be a perfect setting for some romantic shots. They party then departed for a private meal with family before jetting off to Paris later in the day.

Two very different weddings, but I really enjoyed photographing each of them. I loved the spontaneity and informality of Kate and Phil’s – it was so romantic. But equally it was great to be part of the planning and attention to detail that went into Zoe and Stuart’s big day. Their love and dedication to one another was plain to see and it was important to them to share it with their families and friends.

So... do I do weddings? Yes: “I DO!”

Perks of the Job

2010-08-03T20:57:00.003+01:00

Actually there are two recent shoots which could warrant this title! The reason the first qualified as a perk is a bit sexist I suppose but I don’t think the clients will mind! The owners of the gorgeous and very friendly Bez (see earlier blog) gave my name to a couple, Stacey and Lee, with four month old India. I was really looking forward to this shoot, partly because I love photographing very young babies, but also because I knew they wanted a very stylised black and white look to the photographs. Oh – and how could I forget to mention that they also have a very handsome boxer dog called Kilo! Regular followers of my blog will know that we have a boxer too and that immediately pre-supposes that we will get on well with all other boxer owners – a bit like the Porsche owners club! (Although I don’t think Porsche would thank me for that analogy!).

Stacey had a very clear idea of what she wanted – very simple images of Lee with India primarily and then anything else was a bonus. With Lee stripped to the waist holding a naked India I set about capturing some special moments between father and daughter. We worked fast as babies have a tendency to mood swings and frequent calls of nature (India only peed all over Lee once!) and I could immediately tell that we were going to have some lovely photographs. It would have been a real shame for Stacey not to be in the shots as well and so I got a few great shots of all three of them. Stacey was wearing a strapless maxi dress and the final shots are just gorgeous, with no clothes to distract from the simplicity. The final challenge was to get some shots of Kilo and then of the family altogether. I have to say that Kilo was brilliantly behaved – are we the only people with a completely bonkers boxer dog?! What could have been utter chaos – parents with baby and dog – was really easy and painless; in fact the whole shoot had been very enjoyable, not like work at all!

Back to perks of the job – it wasn’t until I got back home and looked through the pictures that I realised I had been photographing a really hunky, half naked man. I was quite impressed with my own professionalism – not being distracted on the job as it were! Anyway, I loved the pictures and by all accounts Stacey and Lee are very pleased too. India is absolutely gorgeous and it was exactly the right way to photograph her, so that her beautiful baby skin, tiny toes and fingers and big eyes are the focus of every shot. To find out about the second perk read my blog “A night with a difference”.

We love Kew

2010-06-05T10:40:00.055+01:00

I didn't think we could top London Zoo or Mountfitchet but Kew Gardens is now officially my favourite UK day out! The kids agree and that's high praise indeed for a "garden"! From the moment we walked through the gates (only adults pay, kids under 11 are free!!!) we could tell that it was going to be a fantastic experience. Everything has been carefully thought out so that there is something for everyone to enjoy. In the glass houses I admired (and photographed!) tropical orchids and beautiful butterflies and the kids explored pathways, occasionally screaming when they were misted with water. We saw giant waterlily leaves, huge palm trees and cacti and the largest seed pod in the world ("looks like somebody's bottom", said Sam). We were so lucky that the weather was glorious as we experienced the gardens at their best, strolling around in the sunshine and sitting in the shade with an ice cream. A peacock strutted its stuff for us - I laughed out loud when a little girl, having seen it with feathers all fanned out, then walked by again when it had put them down again and exclaimed, "Mummy, it's not switched on now!"

Kew is a wonderful place for children so it's even more surprising and gratifying that entry is free for them. I've been to many places that have exhorbitant charges and less than a tenth of the facilities for kids. All the play areas and activities are designed to help them learn about their environment and nature and everything is made of natural materials. Climbers and Creepers was perhaps their favourite area - I wish Jungle Gyms was as nice! Abbie and Sam's favourite part of the day just involved good old-fashioned water sprays - they got drenched jumping in and out of the many sprays watering the plants and grass - I was very envious but my Miss Wet T-Shirts days are well behind me!

There are about 14,000 trees at Kew and I think Abbie tried to climb most of them. If we lost sight of her it was pointless to look around at ground level as she was usually to be found high up in the branches of the nearest tree. So she was in her element on the treetops walkway. Sam was less enthralled as he's not fond of heights and you could see the ground through the metal grid walkway. How is it that when you tell someone not to look down they always do it?! Poor Nic had to work until just after lunch but he joined us in the afternoon and we stayed until the gardens closed at 6.30pm.
If you haven't been to Kew then make it your mission to go this year! We are going to go again in the Autumn and stay in a little hotel on Kew Green, 2 minutes walk from the entrance - I can't wait!

Wigs, wild animals and wainforests

2010-06-03T11:57:00.006+01:00

Zoe and Abbie treated us to a side-splittingly funny sketch called “The Cheesy Girls” the other night. As they put on their wigs and costumes they lost their inhibitions and transformed themselves into two obnoxious “ladies” running the Cheesy Cafe. On the menu was cappucheeso, champcheese, edam brew and kids’ meals came with a free Mr Cheesy. They had no concept of customer service and when we enquired whether we could have dishes without cheese we had abuse hurled at us. It was reminiscent of the infamous Monty Python Spam sketch. The photos don’t convey the accents and attitude and I will try to edit the video and post it too.

Yesterday we went to London Zoo by train and tube – so all Sam’s wishes came true at once (apart from the long walk through Regents Park which we loved). The zoo is quite a bit smaller than Chester Zoo (lack of space in London I suppose) but we still didn’t get to see everything. The kids really enjoyed the Wildlife Demonstration with a miniature owl legging it (yes- running!) across the stage, a parrot dropping poo bombs on people’s heads, a skunk thankfully doing nothing and some other cute little creatures. My favourite animal of the day was the tiger lying on its back with its nose just inches away from the glass. My photos could have been fantastic but the glass was unluckily very scratched and thick (not so unluckily!). The best part of the day was around tea time, as the zoo started to empty, the light was lovely and the animals and birds began their evening calls and songs.

Another long walk back through Regents Park, a stop halfway for a glass of wine (bliss!) and then onto the Rainforest Cafe. I can’t believe we didn’t have to wait for a table but went straight in. It was really good fun, nice food, ridiculously expensive but a perfect end to a fun-packed day. Abbie wore a monkey hat all the way home and Zoe an elephant mask. The boys had their usual monkey masks firmly in place!

It's not a museum!

2010-06-01T20:44:00.010+01:00

Rain forecast all day. 4 kids. Museum! I must admit to not being bowled over by this idea but did think it would keep the kids entertained so went along with it quite happily. I have since had to take Alix to task over her description of the venue as a museum as she seriously undersold it! "It" was Mountfitchet Castle near Stanstead, chosen because it houses a toy museum (there's the one correct description) and Zoe has a school project about toys in olden times. And it was all there, Babapapa, Smurfs, Cangers, Darth Vader, Action Man, a doll with three faces (the stuff of horror films), old penny machines and a house of horrors. Abigail was absolutely terrified for the first 20 paces but then went around twice more without torch.

The musuem alone would have been a great trip out but then we headed off to the "castle", me expecting a pile of old ruins which would take all of 5 minutes to walk round. But it was actually a whole Norman village (this is where I take issue with Alix over her general museum description) and it was one of the best places we have ever visited! The buildings were all extremely realistic and there were lots of things for the kids to get hands on with - not a lot of roped off exhibits. We had the whole place to ourselves for most of the time apart from the many animals that roamed around the plot - animals that would have been part of the village in Norman times. The deer were extremely tame and the kids were blown away by the experience of handfeeding and stroking them (as were we as we watched them).

It rained the whole time - luckily lightly enough that I didn't have to put the camera away (quelle horreur!) but we didn't actually give a stuff as it was so brilliant! And tomorrow it's London Zoo - can we cope with such excitement!

Extra terrestrials and extra fast slides

2010-05-31T18:14:00.002+01:00

We've descended on friends on the outskirts of London for a few days and after a very lazy start today we headed off to Knebworth Park. The sky glowered above our heads for most of the day but miraculously we didn't get any showers. We somehow acquired two aliens along the way, Merv and Mark. There was a mini and VW show on and we enjoyed nosing in the campervans, feeling a sort of kinship with their owners (although I'm a very reluctant camper at present!). After a typically english afternoon spent having a picnic and playing cricket (us ladies opted out and put the world to rights), the kids were unleashed on the fort adventure playground. But the star attractions were the slides - the aptly named drop slide and corkscrew. Abigail obviously hadn't looked at the drop slide before she was committed to going down it and I've never heard a scream like it! She won "screamer of the day" award but then went down it another hundred times. Kids are now in the bath and we are hoping that we have tired them out - they've certainly worn us out - I can hear Nic snoring away on the sofa.

Bez the Weimaraner (who loved me just a little too much!)

2010-05-30T10:51:00.003+01:00

This was a really fun shoot with an absolutely gorgeous Weimaraner called Bez and his owners Glynn and Louise. Their family has since grown by one with the birth of a baby girl, so I imagine they now have their hands very full!!

Bez was extremely well behaved (unlike our own dear Daisy!) and even obeyed commands to go on the left or right side of his owners! So it was easy to get lovely shots of him both at rest and play. His favourite place to relax is on the sofa in the conservatory (where the furnishings are selected to match the colour of his lovely coat - it's OK - I completely understand doggy madness too!). But he's also in his element outside and was a good catcher.

He did let himself down slightly by trying to get a little too friendly with me (I'm sure you know what I mean!). Small dogs trying to hump your leg are one thing but large dogs giving you a "hug" are something else entirely! Having extracated myself (twice!) from this mortifying situation we finished the photo shoot at the local park.

Good luck to Louise, Glynn, new baby and Bez and I think your downstairs loo will be the talk of your friends once a picture of Bez adorns the walls alongside flocked wallpaper dog silhouettes - seriously the most fab and outrageous wall paper I have ever seen!

Picture It Big is now on Facebook

2010-05-28T15:04:00.001+01:00

Picture It Big

Promote your Page too

Everytime I talk about business development with anyone the first thing they ask me is if I am on Facebook and if I twitter. Having only recently joined Facebook to see what my friends are up to I couldn't fathom how it could work for a business. But after a few days of googling "facebook for business" and with fingers worn down to stumps from battering my keyboard I feel as if I might have caught on. My Picture It Big page is live and I'm trying to post news regularly. And aren't you impressed that I've managed to insert a badge that links you to my facebook page?! Apologies to anyone who keeps getting multiple invites from me as I'm still finding my way around it. At the moment I only have 11 fans of Picture It Big and I keep checking every five minutes to see if I have any more!

The next hurdle is Twitter - no one I know well twitters (or tweets?!) so I'm really in at the deep end - but I'm going to read up on it and then dive in. I'm sure more apologies will be required as I climb a steep learning curve.

Mad dogs and english men...

2010-05-23T19:39:00.004+01:00

... out in the midday sun! Phew! We've had an arctic Spring so far and then suddenly we're sweltering in mediterranean temperatures with no chance to gradually acclimatise. I've been on the verge of complaining that it's too hot but have caught myself in time and just made the most of it. I'm never more certain that I made the right decision to work for myself than when the sun is shining, I no longer have to commute to work and I can choose to be outside whenever I want. This week I've done several outdoor shoots - watch this space for more on twin boys with a lively puppy and a Weimaraner called Bez who took rather a liking to me! I've also been to three different gardens - 2 in Cheshire for my Picture It in the Garden Challenge - and one in Derbyshire.

If you are a keen gardener or visitor of gardens then you'll know that the flowers of the moment are azaleas, camelias and rhododendrons. Yesterday we went to Lea Rhododendron Gardens with Nana Maggie (the nanas in our family have to adopt the name of their dog to help the children know which one we are refering to and Maggie is a black lab owned by my stepmum Ann). We last visited Lea (nr Matlock) about 10 years ago and Nic has never let me forget that I shoved him (gently!) in the back and caused him to go head over heels down a path. Steep paths wind their way down the hillside through rhodendron bushes as high as single storey buildings and laden with stunning blooms of every hue. The kids really enjoyed exploring, hiding from each other and occasionally calling out "I'm down here, you numpty!"

Back to almost complaining about the weather - it was stinking hot in the gardens with hardly a breath of fresh air but luckily lots of shade under the rhodendron bushes and plenty of little shady benches to sit awhile and drink in the view. Shade was a scarce commodity in the tea gardens though and pensioners are particularly spritely when they spot a table with an umbrella suddenly becoming vacant! I'm usually a champion at elbowing my way over to a free table before anyone else but I was no match for this bunch.

We've enjoyed the sudden arrival of Summer in lots of other ways. The kids have almost lived outside and the hose pipe seemed to be a good substitute for a paddling pool (which fell foul of Daisy's claws last year). We've all had a lot of fun - me especially - with a bubble set which created enormous irridescent bubbles. We've spent ages swinging in the hammocks - until Nic and Daisy somehow put their feet / claws through the big one - it now has a yawning hole and I'm replacing it at Tatton in July (Nic's paying!). And we spent an interesting hour or so at the lake which has become a mecca for people far and wide on sunny afternoons. The heat did get the better of us by the end of the afternoon and we came back to find shade in the garden. Anyhow, I'm really not complaining and it's not often I can blog outside at 9pm - it's been idyllic this weekend and long may it last (as long as it cools down just a bit!)

If you go down to the woods today...

2010-05-21T16:25:00.001+01:00

Is it Christmas already?

2010-04-25T17:53:00.002+01:00

Had a bizarre but very enjoyable experience last week when I did a Christmas shoot for Nunsmere Hall Hotel. We've just about polished off our Easter eggs and I had to dig out Christmas decorations and get my head around photographing roast turkey, mince pies, Christmas pudding and mulled wine. The manager at Nunsmere managed to get hold of a real tree and arranged to have it decorated. With the help of silver reindeer, snowflake confetti and lots of other trimmings we managed to create some Christmas tableaux in April. Well, Kim did anyway! I would have plonked a bauble and a cracker down and hoped for the best! Chef prepared some mouthwatering and visually stunning dishes that had us drooling all day. My job doesn't often come with perks, but this shoot certainly did! We scoffed smoked salmon and inch thick slices of roast beef at lunchtime, mince pies mid afternoon and finished off with champagne and canapes at the end of the day! It's unlikely that we'll splash out and book into Nunsmere for Christmas but at least I've been able to sample the food!

The photographs will be used on the Christmas brochure for Nunsmere and the other 5 hotels in the group and I can't wait to see the finished article.

Nice beavers!!

2010-04-25T17:50:00.002+01:00

Sorry about the title - couldn't resist it!! And they are very cute! I don't know about anyone else but I was so proud of my little boy, all dressed up in his uniform and taking part in a parade. He's not done anything like that yet and I hadn't expected it to be such an enjoyable afternoon. Even the rain didn't spoil things - the kids got on with it, enjoying shaking themselves off like wet dogs after a particularly heavy downpour right at the start. There's always something special about a marching band and they and the beavers, cubs and scouts made an impressive sight as they marched along Chesterway bearing flags. Sam particularly liked the fact that the police halted the traffic for them and escorted them to church and back again. We didn't go into church, apparently we wouldn't have got in anyway - not due to our being sinners but because of sheer numbers. We headed off to the pub and fed Abigail - we had completely forgotten that she hadn't had any lunch. She certainly made up for it later with cakes from the stall at the end of parade. The beavers let off steam running around the gardens by the Memorial Hall and chancing their luck with the lucky dip. A lovely afternoon for all! I've sent some pictures off to the Guardian - we'll have to wait and see if they think they are nice beavers too!

idyllic blog spot

2010-04-11T12:24:00.004+01:00

A few minutes ago I was engrossed in another "best selling" thriller, when I glanced out of the campervan window and decided it would be a lost opportunity not to blog the moment. (Blog has now achieved verb status in our household.) After spending a fun-filled, uber tacky and outrageously expensive couple of days in Blackpool, we moved on to a caravan site on the Wirral. As the closest coastal area to home (I can't bring myself to include Rhyll or Prestatyn) it's a shame it has taken us this long to discover this area.
The van is parked overlooking the Dee estuary and the distant coastline of North Wales. The kids are playing on the beach below me - I can hear their occasional bickering even at this distance. Other than this and a few calls for over excited dogs there's little to disturb the peace. No loos, no ice creams but we are fully self sufficient and smug in our little van. A pub would be nice but we can go and find one later.
Nic's about to rustle up some lunch and I'm going to return to my thriller.

Beanie and Auntie Abbie and Uncle Sam (and Daisy!)

2010-03-08T19:11:00.001Z

Nic is very jealous as we have had as visit from JJ aka Beanie aka Joe Jack today. I keep forgetting that he is Abbie and Sams nephew. JJ is 11 mths old and they adore him. Although we had a few teething problems (literally) it was great to have him here for a little while. Not sure what he thought of Daisy though!

Sam & Niamh

2010-03-08T11:38:00.002Z

I met Sam at his nursery and got some really lovely candid shots of him. I was really pleased to get the chance to do a shoot at his home with his older sister. Sam is a very photogenic little boy and is not at all self-conscious. This is a wonderful combination for a photographic subject as he appears natural and confident in all the pictures. His sister, Niamh, at a couple of years older, has the same qualities but with the added poise and self awareness that usually comes to girls first anyway. Their mum will probably laugh out loud when she reads these descriptions as she probably felt that the children were less than perfectly behaved for me. But I’ve now experienced the whole gamut of kids’ behaviour (I hope so anyway) and Sam and Niamh were great. Of course they lapsed into clowning around and drifting off to do their own thing, but this is when I can often get a surprise shot which reflects their real, unguarded personalities. We were lucky with the weather and went out into the garden. Although it was just after midday, the sun was low in the sky and the light was great. This was a really enjoyable shoot with lovely results.

Double Trouble

2010-03-04T11:41:00.001Z

It's been a while since I've blogged about shoots that I've done - not good business practice really so I've resolved to catch up a bit. I met these beautiful twin baby girls at a nursery late last year and was subsequently invited to photograph them a few weeks ago at their home. Their parents had recently had a naming ceremony and wanted some pictures to mark the occasion. The girls are about 9 months old and love being near to each other. Despite the blog title they were both as good as gold, beaming for the camera, but unfortunately not at the same time! They were far more interested in playing with the tassles on the cushions. Luckily their teenage brother came home - they clearly adore him and we had big smiles all round. Mum really likes the A3 collage prints and I'm getting this one framed for her. Prints will be ready in time for Mother's Day so hopefully there'll be a happy grandmother too.

TGI March!!

2010-03-03T18:16:00.008Z

We've done it!! Survived another February, that is! The wintry weather wasn't the problem, nor the depleted post Christmas bank accounts (although they didn't help matters!). I'm talking about emerging relatively unscathed from a month of birthdays, birthday parties and half term holidays. All those years ago Nic and I failed to foresee the chaos which would ensue from deciding to make babies in the Spring. Must have been seeing all those cute lambs skipping about that made us get broody at that time of year. Lambs don't insist on birthday parties for the rest of the flock though! You can see where I'm going with this now.

I was initially filled with trepidation when Sam declared he wanted his party at home this year, but as I got into the swing of planning it with him, I started to warm to the idea. He's quite wise for his age and I think he had realised that he would have more fun with less friends in an environment he could control, as opposed to running about with his whole class at Jungle Gyms. He had some quality male bonding time with his best friends and I think it's helped him day to day at school too. For us it was 2 hours of controlled chaos, as we were besieged by 9 boys and 3 girls (who exercised more than enough girl power to hold their own!). Being a control freak I had organised them into 3 groups doing a kind of game circuit, switching between the Wii, Scalectrix and table football. The time flew by and before we knew it we had parents turning up to witness the battering of the pinata. The day was topped off by the now obligatory sleepover - not all 12 thank goodness - just 2. I've come to the conclusion that boys, although more boisterous (or "boysterous") are much easier to manage than girls. More on that later.

After several years of a less is more attitude from Abigail towards birthday celebrations, I was taken aback when she insisted on a party for her whole class at the community centre. I thought we'd exited that phase and had expected to be taking a few select friends to the cinema, followed by pizza. Somehow I found myself agreeing to a Wild West themed party, with the catering and entertainment to be provided by yours truly. Sorting out the food was the easiest part, although I agonised over whether there would be enough sausage rolls, chocolate fingers, token healthy cucumber etc. The bouncy castle was the star attraction but we had to appoint bouncers to manage the numbers and keep them from maiming each other. The craft activities kept them occupied for all of 5 minutes and I had to do some improvised games for the final 20 minutes, having already run out of prizes. It was actually a great success according to Abigail and her friends, but I never want to put myself (or Nic) through that again. Party organisers and children's entertainers are there for a reason.

In another moment of complete madness I had agreed to 5 girls coming for a sleepover the same evening. In a sado-maschistic way I sort of enjoyed it - watching Abigail as the centre of attention doing all the girlie stuff that I don't remember ever doing (applying make up to each other whilst blind fold?!). And they were, for the most part, self-sufficient, not needing or wanting any adults present (so I resorted to eavesdropping instead). I lost count of the number of little tearful spats, complaints of "it's not fair, I don't have a Go Go pet / lip gloss / Hello Kitty teddy". I also stopped counting spilt drinks, mashed in popcorn, french fries, sticky lolly sticks on the floor. The three fat ladies show was absolutely hillarious - Nic and I were in stitches and have encouraged them to do it for "Wincham's got Talent" at school this month. The only moments I didn't enjoy were at 12.30a.m., 1.30a.m. and 2.30a.m. and I don't think our little house guests were very fond of me then either! Have you ever tried shouting in hushed whispers?!

But as ever, we did have fun, the kids loved it as evidenced by the photos and it's over for another year. In years to come when they are celebrating their birthdays at the pub with their friends, we'll look back with rose tinted glasses and say how wonderful it was.

For Doting Dad

2010-02-23T21:17:00.005Z

Abbie is 9 today and I know Nic is heartbroken that he can't be here and is missing her like mad. Hope this little write up helps him feel a little less far away! Abbie loved her presents - new baseball boots (wish they did them in my size), a lava lamp (cool!), a Hello Kitty friendship book and a sew it yourself racoon key ring (from Sam of course!). But my grown up 9 year old had a tantrum worthy of a toddler when she realised she hadn't got a birthday badge to wear for school. There's no pleasing some people! Determined not to give into her demands I settled down to some work, but somehow found myself in town later, wrestling with a Hello Kitty balloon and carying a bag with birthday badge and banner in it. I came close to tying her up with the banner and attaching the badge to skin when I picked her up from school still bemoaning lack of badge!!

Anyway, all's well that ends well. We nipped out for a birthday tea and in spite of the lack lustre service at Pizza Express we had a great time. The kids had taken pens and paper to keep themselves occupied and we designed a host of hilarious anti Hello Kitty characters - my favourite was Bog Off Bunny! Both kids are now tucked up in bed - I shan't breathe a sigh of relief until I know they are asleep, but I am having a well deserved glass of wine. I should really be getting an early night as we still have a party for 30 and a sleepover for 6 to survive at the weekend.

Meet Scarlet & Dynamite

2010-02-15T19:39:00.000Z

I’m spending an inordinate amount of time in our kitchen lately but not in pursuit of culinary perfection or cupboard cleanliness – Nic would think I’d been replaced by a body snatcher or turned into a Stepford wife if that were the case. The kitchen is where we have located our gerbilarium – a made up word if ever I’ve seen one but it is quite apt, as it is a cage atop an aquarium. I hate rodents, or at least I thought I did. Although my brothers went through the gerbil, hamster, rat phase when they were in junior school (their looks have luckily improved with age) I had no interest at all. I flirted briefly with guinea pigs when I was about 13 but they didn’t seem to flourish under my care. I don’t think their life span was supposed to be just 3 months.

I ignored the first dozen or so pleas for hamsters, rabbits, mice and simply couldn’t see the attraction until I first witnessed Ginger the hamster racing around my friend Nicky’s kitchen in a small plastic ball. I was in fits as it whizzed in and out of the chair legs, rebounded off the kitchen kick boards and hurtled down the hall. I started to soften at this point but didn’t let on to the kids as I wasn’t sure we could cope with Daisy and rodents co-habiting. A few weeks later, whilst buying yet more dog food in a well known pet superstore, we happened to pause by the dwarf hamsters and I did think they were rather cute. I made the gigantic mistake of voicing this thought out loud, hence why, just a few short weeks later, we now share our kitchen with Scarlet and Dynamite. This also explains why I am to be found in the kitchen more often as I love watching them scurrying around their cage and going about their business (well, not their “business”, which in our house is done in the smallest room in the house!).

They are still very shy, understandable when I think back to their first few days with us, when giant hands were reaching into the cage every few minutes, chasing them around and upending all their hiding places. Not to mention enormous, slobbery jowls and a sniffing wet nose appearing on the breakfast bar occasionally. There has been some serious re-education and management of expectations for Sam and Abigail – they cannot expect their gerbils to behave like Stuart Little – it will be a while before they are driving around the floor in a toy car. We chose gerbils over hamsters as they are not nocturnal, although you could have fooled me. I think they have chosen to be night creatures as the safest option. I did manage to make some progress with them last week whilst the kids were at school. They will now take sunflower seeds from me through the cage bars. Apparently these are the opium of the rodent masses, although Sam was unimpressed when he sampled one.
Pictures of our new residents are noticeably absent from this blog. I can’t afford night vision kit for my camera, so will have to wait until they are a bit braver in daylight hours.

10 years wed....

2010-01-29T14:45:00.003Z

I'm torn between asking myself where have the last 10 years gone (which makes me feel old!) and reflecting with amazement on how much has happened during our first 10 years of marriage. Just looking at the number 2010 staggers me - it only seems a few short years ago that we were discussing how we would celebrate the eve of the new millenium and looking forward to our January 2000 wedding. 2010 looks like a number from a futuristic movie - we should be wearing silver suits, eating meals in tablet form (do diet shakes count?!) and travelling around in flying cars. We could have done with the latter last Friday when we were sat as good as stationery in a traffic jam on the M62 for the best part of an hour, with me desperately regretting having downed a large Costa coffee (I was even contemplating flagging down a nearby campervan and asking if I could use its facilities!).

We were on our way to York for a childfree weekend to celebrate our tin anniversary, looking forward to mooching around, sleeping a lot, sharing some candlelit meals and a few bottles of wine. York is an ideal city in which to do all of that and more. The shopping looked great - lots of variety with some lovely boutiques amongst from the standard high street bunch - and coffee shops, bars, ice cream parlours, ye olde tea shoppes on every corner and in between. We abstained from shopping - January is a rubbish time to have an anniversary as we're usually on a frugal stint - but we indulged in lots of liquid refreshment and sampled some of the international food on offer. We found a wonderful little bar serving beers from around the world and spent a couple of hours late Saturday afternoon cocooned in its cosy and unpretentious upstairs room, shut away from the outside world, immersed in our books, and drinking fruity Belgian beer. The sort of Saturday afternoon we took for granted pre children!

But we did miss the little horrors a lot. We spent far too much time planning where we would take them when we returned to York as a family (have already booked a hotel just outside York with a family room for half term!).

Didn't she do well!!

2010-01-28T19:39:00.002Z

Abigail hates it when we describe her as "arty", but ever since she's been able to wield a paintbrush she has shown a bit of an artistic bent. I've always loved her works of art, even when I didn't really know what they were, but then I am somewhat biased. I still have a cupboard stuffed full of stiff pieces of coloured paper with flaky poster paints, glitter and pasta (!) dropping off every time I move them. Over the years I have become increasingly hard hearted, relegating pictures to the bin when she isn't looking, but there are certain ones which make it onto the notice board next to my desk - her incredibly detailed cartoon strips, with tiny, intricate drawings and deadpan scripts and the card congratulating me for doing well at the dentist, amongst others.

It's one thing for us biased parents to think she's got a talent for art, but it's fantastic when she's recognised by less subjective judges! When Abigail's design for the Wincham village logo won I was beside myself, especially as I was privy to this information about 10 days before her, as it was revealed at a meeting I attended. She was presented with a certificate and prize in school and we look forward to seeing the logo in use. (Picture & article are from this week's Northwich Guardian).

Another year younger

2010-01-18T19:46:00.000Z

Sometimes life can feel like a bit of grind - especially at this time of year when Christmas lights are no longer twinkling, the family of santas, reindeer and snowmen that used to live on the back of the sofa have emigrated and the recent thaw has uncovered streets that look dirty and grey. Luckily our everyday lives are filled with little moments that make us laugh out loud or perhaps just chuckle to ourselves. My kids are at their funniest when they don't know they've said something hilarious. I was trying to persuade a sleepy and reluctant Abigail out of bed yesterday by getting her cuddly polar bear to give her eskimo kisses and telling her in my best polar bear voice that "Mr Polar Bear says it's time to get up." Abigail's deadpan reply "Mr Polar Bear can go fish!" had me rolling on the floor much to her bemusement. (She got it once I explained it to her!)

We were all giddier than usual during tonight's evening meal, as it is Nic's birthday today and I had whipped the kids up into a frenzy of birthday excitement with present wrapping, cake decorating and plates full of calorific and E-number-laden goodies. Daisy was tormented with the chocolate fudge cake placed tantalising out of reach on the table alongside Count Ducula - a squeaky duck from the kids (in Daisy's world if a toy squeaks it's hers). Conversation at the table was unexpectedly challenging with the opener "can our hamsters have sex?" (from Sam who is 6 and who, as far as I am concerned, hasn't even been given the "mummies and daddies have a special cuddle" explanation yet). Apparently the book I bought them on keeping hamsters had 3 whole pages on breeding i.e. having sex. Didn't audit that one very well did I? Never assume that if a book has cartoons in it that it's suitable reading material for 6 year olds. I hardly dare check what pictures are on the afore mentioned 3 pages! Probably the hamster-sutra. This was swiftly followed by Abigail's rendition of "Let's talk about sex, baby", - we've always subsituted the word "sox" for "sex", so her sock puppetry was particularly amusing. So life is anything but boring and all this laughter must help to keep us young. I hope I'd still be decorating cakes with smarties and candles and buying squeaky bath toys if we didn't have kids, but knowing how much they enjoy it all does make it even more fun.

Snowmen (women, kids, bears, cats...)

2010-01-10T18:04:00.000Z

(Click on the link to go to a slide show of the individual snowmen).

Walking the dog this week I have spotted lots of new temporary residents in Wincham and Pickmere. They are a funny looking bunch, mostly strangely dressed in mismatched scarves, hats and gloves, but occasionally extremely dapper. They are usually standing around on their own but sometimes can be found in small family groups. They appear to have seen better days as many are missing eyes, noses and other key appendages. Some seem to have over-indulged at New Year and can't stand straight.

I am, of course, talking about the magnificent snow men that have appeared around the villages. I decided to photograph them as a bit of a laugh and was amazed how many I discovered. I photograped about 35 today - I'm sure I missed lots - and these are the ones that really caught my eye or made me laugh out loud. What is really disturbing (or rather encouraging?!) is that I suspect many were actually built or given their amusing (and often quite rude) finishing touches by adults!

I hope you've managed to spot your creation here - so sorry if I missed it. I'm intending to send them into the Northwich Guardian so we might see some in print. (If you would rather I didn't use your's please let me know.)

Wintry Wincham

2010-01-07T17:44:00.000Z

First blog of the year and for some considerable time. The run up to Christmas was as crazy as ever, with portrait bookings and nursery orders at their peak for the year and all the usual family / kids stuff. On Christmas Eve I was delivering orders, wrapping presents and very thankful that we were heading off to family in Derby for Christmas. Two short weeks later it's all over and we are getting back to normal despite all the white stuff outside and sub zero temperatures. Kids are devestated that their school remains open so far and I am torn between catching up on work at my desk and rushing out with my camera. I've managed a healthy compromise so far but took advantage today of a request for snowy pictures of Wincham for the parish council. Before getting involved with the Wincham Word I always thought the village was lacking in landscape scenery, but the parish is actually quite large, with upper Wincham encompassing an area of Pickmere Lake and the Ashton Flashes forming part of the lower reaches of the village. With renewed enthusiasm I set off in three pairs of socks and ski salopettes (which rustled loudly as I walked) and spent a very enjoyable few hours engrossed in my favourite hobby (nice for it not to be work for a change).

Stick to the knitting

2009-11-15T13:16:00.000Z

Crocheting - it can't be that hard can it? I can knit, so I think I'd like to learn to crochet. So I booked a place on a crochet workshop for beginners and with lots of enthusiasm turned up full of anticipation at a heavenly wool shop (Fibre & Clay) in Knutsford. I would spend the day chatting with like-minded ladies, drinking coffee and eating a nice lunch, whilst learning a new skill.

Hmmm! It didn't quite turn out as I expected. Firstly I have to confess to having a raging hangover having spent the previous evening (and early morning) at a charity evening, where wine flowed freely. As we don't get out very often we made the most of it and went on to a bar for cocktails (de rigeur in Knutsford anyway). Some bright spark (neither me nor Nic!) then voted to have a night cap at someone's house - logically this had to be whoever needed to send the babysitter home. 2 hours later we ejected some well oiled neighbours out of our house and a short 5 hours later my alarm clock went off! My lasting memory of the evening was sharing with the group that I didn't want to drink too much, otherwise I would be breathing alcoholic fumes over the ladies on the crochet workshop. Some smart Alec from the group quipped that "at least it would disguise the smell of wee" - see blog below for stereotypical views of people who knit (or crochet).

Sitting on Saturday morning, sipping coffee from designer mugs, surrounded by hand crafted bags and garments (still feeling dreadful), I couldn't wait to get my hands on a crochet hook and some nice wool. We all browsed through magazines and books, picking out items we would be rushing to make by the end of the day... We established that we were all more or less crochet virgins (some had dabbled a little long time ago) and so were all at the same stage. 4 hours later I was still at the same stage at the bottom of class, along with Nicola (it's always nice to have some company), whilst other members of the group were flying along with their chains, treble trebles, gaily changing colours and yarns and discussing how many fluted scarves they could make in time for Christmas! Nicola and I on the other hand would have been happy to finish a coaster for a shot glass by Christmas - the same one we started but came nowhere near completing in 5 hours! Nicola labelled us the "special needs crocheters" as we seemed to be so differently abled to the rest of the class! We couldn't even master wrapping the yarn around our fingers to get the right tension, never mind pull a tiny loop down through 3 or 4 equally tiny loops with a hook that seemed to be like a cricket bat!

By lunchtime I had completed 2 whole rows of my coaster - ignoring the fact that it was shaped like a banana and I had an epiphany when I realised that I could turn the crochet hook, rather than holding it rigidly at the same angle all the time. Imagine trying to use a knife or fork without flexing, turning your fingers or hands comfortably around it. Lunch seriously eased my hangover and I returned to the crochet cell with renewed vigour... until I realised that we were now embarking on a new adventure - crocheting in a circle to produce a so-called granny ring. I almost lost the plot completely until I decided to rebel slightly and continue with my coaster. By 4.00pm I was the proud owner of half a coaster (it's not actually level enough to risk placing a drink on it) and had mastered the double, half treble, double treble AND the treble treble. Rashly I bought some gorgeous pink soft yarn and a hook with the aim of crocheting a bag for Abigail. I set off home eager to put my new skill into practise.

Halfway through Strictly (about three hours later) I abandoned the crocheting, having cast on 30 chains and completed 1 and a half very bumpy rows. I picked up my knitting and quickly finished another hat and made significant headway on the next one by bed time. I came to the conclusion that trying to crochet on my own at home could be compared to leaving the hospital with your new born baby for the first time. At hospital with the midwives on hand to help all the time you think you think you've mastered it, but flying solo at home is a whole different ball game. And I don't think Sarah, our wonderful and extremely patient teacher would want to move in and nursemaid me until I could go it alone.

Don't get me wrong - crocheting and me are not finished - I'm still very enticed by the wealth of delicate items that can be crocheted (fluted scarf for one) and I will pick up the hook and go back into battle another day. I will not be beaten!!

My guilty secret

2009-11-15T12:12:00.000Z

I've got a guilty secret and only my family and closest friends know about it (and come to think of it my hairdresser and some complete strangers in Costa Coffee). It's something I used to only do behind closed doors but have recently taken up in public places too... Before you ring the police and /or a psychiatric help line, I'll enlighten you - I am a knitter! After a period of abstinence I am now completely addicted once more and am rarely seen during my "spare" time without wool, needles and flying elbows.

Like all embarrassing secrets I have to weigh up who I tell about my yarn yearnings. It's amazing how knitting polarises people into 2 distinct groups - firstly the "Oh god, you don't, do you?!" group, who burst out laughing and then mentally take you off their list of exciting people to invite round for dinner. Secondly there's the "Oh so do I - isn't it great" group who share your passion and completely understand it.

Perhaps it's my snobbism but I also think that you can break the group of knitting lovers down further as well (well my marketing background encourages me to segment the market!). There are those knitters who fit the stereotype to a "T" - cardiganed grannies knitting endless blankets, sweaters, hats, scarves and socks out of leftover balls of wool that are then presented to family members who are too tactful to ask them whether they are a) colour blind or b)stuck in a 70's time warp. For those of you that believe all knitters fall into this category, you've obviously missed the knitting revolution and I would challenge you to put your prejudices aside and look again. Knitting just got SEXY! Well, not just - It's been that way for some time now. Designs and yarns have caught up with the times and it's now cool to be handknitting. People all over the country are picking up their needles and creating fashionable garments, cushions, bags out of the most amazing colours and textures.

When I tell people my little secret now I usually make sure I've got something I've recently made about or on my person (or on one of the kids), so that when they give the usual "Oh god, you don't do you?!" reaction, I can quickly blow apart their preconceptions by showing them a natty little hat out of baby soft yarn in delicious colours. I usually find that they are astonished and quite often start to hint quite heavily that they would love said garment themselves.

Bowling, bugs & bogeymen

2009-11-03T17:38:00.000Z

It seems like ages since I did a family rather than business blog - life has been as hectic as ever. But looking back at the photos from October we've packed a lot in and had a great time. Halfway through the month we celebrated my nephew Ewan's 5th birthday ("baby Ewan" just can't be 5 already!). We went to his bowling party (made it this time after breaking down on route last year). Abi was first to get a strike - hence the jubilant pictures and Sam was relieved not to come last. After a pizza birthday tea we headed back to hotel chez Patrick but ran out of time for a dip in the hot tub.

Hallowe'en started mid October with the school Freaky Friday disco, when Wincham was besieged early evening by knee high gremlins, vampires, witches and the like. After the 7.30pm watershed the slightly scarier junior horrors hit the dance floor and the noise level hit new heights. I got through the event by sharing smuggled in wine with another mum. Hope no law abiding PTA members bother to read this. Half term followed quickly after with more spooky and revolting goings-on. We visited Bug World at the Albert Docks hence photos of giant slimy beasts and zebra bottoms (no - I don't understand that either!). As we couldn't fit in trick or treating this year I allowed myself to be pressganged into a Hallowe'en tea party on the 30th and ended up quite enjoying it (well, the wine anyway). The highlight of Hallowe'en for me was the sight of Sam as a keyboard-playing, headphone-wearing zombie, dancing away oblivious to the fact that we were watching!

Kids are now back at school but no peace for the wicked. Lots of work on (good news) and all the Xmas pantos etc looming (has anyone got a wolf costume I can borrow?!)

A fantabulous thank you

2009-11-03T14:36:00.000Z

After securing a booking at a new pre-school nursery I was asked to photograph the grandchildren of one of the staff as a present for her parents' golden wedding anniversary. The four grandchildren were aged between 3 months and 17 years old and are together on very few occasions, especially as one lives in New Zealand! It was a very lively photo shoot - very normal for me - I am very used to babies who may not feel like smiling on command and 4 year old boys who have far more exciting things to do than pose for pictures.

Last weekend the grandparents were presented with the photograph of the 4 grandchildren, as a gift for their golden wedding anniversary and I received a surprise email from John, the grandfather:
"Dear Madam, your were commissioned, quite recently, by our daughter, to take a photograph of her two children together with her niece and nephew. My wife and I were the most fortunate recipients of this photograph, which was given to us as a Golden Wedding present. The discrete label on the reverse reads: "Simply stunning" - we would like to add "truly amazing, fantabulous" and to extend to you our congratulations and thanks for having created such a splendid portrait of our lovely grandchildren".
Now, I don't usually like to blow my own trumpet but I was bowled over by the lovely wording and sincerity of this message and wouldn't be doing my job properly if I didn't blog it! Thank you, John and Mhairi - you've made my day!

Maisie & Charlotte

2009-10-24T16:15:00.000+01:00

Charlotte & Maisie's parents won a photo shoot in a charity auction at Gt Budworth primary school earlier this year. When I turned up at their house (just up the road from me), I could see lots of opportunities to get some really great shots of the two sisters, inside the house in a large, bright sitting room and outside in the leaf strewn garden. Maisie, the youngerst, was a very reluctant model - continuously bribed, coerced & threatened into posing with Charlotte. But as is usually the case with children, patience, a good sense of humour & lots of help from mum & dad paid off & I got some beautiful shots of both girls together & individually.

Maisie & Charlotte

2009-10-24T15:48:00.000+01:00

Autumn is a wonderful season for outdoor shots with children & both girls were eager to let off steam after being cooped up inside. Their personalities & their closeness as sisters came across as they played in the leaves & I think both girls secretly enjoyed the shoot. Feedback from their parents, Stephen & Alison was very rewarding too.

"There are some fantastic ones there. Alison will find it impossible to choose and Charlotte will be looking at them for the next week!"

2009-10-23T11:06:00.000+01:00

To say that recommendation and word of mouth is important to my business is a whopping understatement - 99.9% of my business is generated in this way & I want to pay homage to one family which has supported me immensely in the first 18 months of my business.
I first met Gabrielle, mum of 3, when her friend recommended me. The shoot was really enjoyable as the family were very relaxed & informal & they have a lovely home & garden.

When an important wedding anniversary for Gabrielle's in-laws was approaching, I was booked again, this time to photograph Gabrielle's children & her 2 nieces. Getting 5 children to all smile & look at the camera could have been quite challenging, but again the shoot was very stress free, the children were great & the in-laws were very happy with their anniversary present! I particularly like how the colours of the childrens' clothes tone so well together, although I'm told this was unplanned!
Gabrielle then recommended me to her sister Deborah & I photographed her son Sullivan. This job was a little more taxing - completely normal with a toddler involved - & I spent some time chasing Sullivan around the garden. We hit on the idea of putting him in the swing, sitting him on a rocking toy & reading to him on his mum's lap - anything to get him to stay in one place for a few seconds! I always strive to capture the real personality of a child - busy playing, running, laughing & then the reward of a few contemplative & quiet moments.

Gabrielle has been so good at generating business by word of mouth that she's now officially my business development partner.

Melissa & Karl's wedding - a real family affair

2009-09-09T10:53:00.000+01:00

Melissa and Karl live in Wincham with their five children - several of whom are at school with my two. I didn't really know the family other than the fact that the eldest daughter was bonkers about dogs, so much so that she is referred to as Ellie Dog Lover by all her friends. I was delighted when Melissa and Karl asked me to photograph their wedding, especially as it promised to be a photographer's dream with lots of small bridesmaids - apart from Joe, obviously, who was page boy and bearer of the all important rings. The couple were wed at Northwich registry office and then went on to Wincham Hall Hotel. They wanted a modest, informal and relaxed celebration, with photographs to reflect this. They are a very close knit family with a huge focus on the importance of family life - and this was very clear all day, with the children involved throughout (often unplanned!). Melissa looked stunning and extremely relaxed for someone who was still on mum duty. I wish her and Karl and the children all the best for the future and hope that they love their wedding photographs. They were thrilled to bits with the collage print that I gave them at the evening do (see above.)

To view the wedding photographs simply click on the link below.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/janebkw/KarlMelissa?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbl5q7O2KKCgAE#

If you would like to order any prints, simply make a note of the number (the caption at the bottom of each pic) and let Melissa know, as she is co-ordinating all the orders. 4"X6" prints are £7; 5"X7" are £10; 8"X10" prints are £15. If you would like to know about the other items available e.g. canvases, acrylics, calendars etc please contact me and I will send you a price list. Email: jane@picture-it-big.co.uk. Tel: 07962 899686.

Misrepresentation

2009-08-25T19:57:00.000+01:00

Back home (a day early) from our fortnight long holiday in Anglesey and I've just finished browsing through our photographs (taken on my new Panasonic compact - more on that another day). Looking at the collage you could be forgiven for thinking that we've spent two weeks basking in the sun on golden beaches, with clear blue skies, a few fluffy little clouds and azure seas... if only! In reality the weather was very mixed and highly unpredictable from one day to the next. So in true Brit style we were always prepared for any eventuality with surf boards, wetsuits, raincoats, fleeces, wellies, suncream and swim suits packed in the boot of the car whenever we left the campsite - little wonder there was hardly any room for the dog - she's still trying to straighten out the kinks in her legs now! If the skies cleared (typically late afternoon) we were off to the beach like a shot, trying to pack in a full day into a couple of precious hours. Foreigners holidaying in Wales must have wondered why they ever left their predictable climates.
Don't get me wrong - we still enjoyed ourselves, "making the best of it" as we British are so good at, but our brave faces slipped completely after four days and nights of gales and rain with no let up in sight, hence the early return home. I'm still looking forward to getting the caravan with all its luxuries but will be heading further south next Summer. We'll keep trips to Wales for those times of the year when you expect it to be a bit mixed. Mind you, I've got friends who have just set off to Anglesey for a week and I'm fully expecting them to report back that the weather was glorious...

Goodbye little van

2009-08-14T17:00:00.000+01:00

We’ve just made a decision which commits us to holidaying in the UK for the next year or so, or certainly makes it unlikely that we’ll be booking any foreign package holidays. Our little campervan has served us well for 2½ years but suffice to say we’ve just about outgrown it. On the rare occasions that we’ve been lucky enough to have dry sunny weather for days on end, it’s been a wonderful experience – posh camping really. All mod cons – running water, heating, electricity, fridge, a gas hob and not forgetting the all important porta potty. In good weather we’ve really only cooked and slept in the van, preferring to be outdoors to eat, read etc.
But it’s a whole different story when the weather is less than perfect – 2 adults, 2 kids and a large, slobbery and very boisterous boxer dog are not meant to co-exist in small spaces. Even with the awning giving us twice as much living space, tempers fray quickly and the supposedly idyllic outdoor holiday turns into a nightmare. Mornings after the kids wake up are particularly hellish (whatever the weather) as they are understandably desperate to get out of their roof top cocoon. The only place for them to go until we’ve packed away our bed is on top of us and given that it’s often unreasonably early (for a holiday anyway) and that we’re usually slightly hungover having overindulged the night before (well, we are on holiday after all!), it doesn’t make for a great start to the day. I often retire shivering into the awning with a cup of tea, to avoid getting anymore sharp digs in the kidneys from little knees and elbows.
Life in the campervan has certainly had its ups and downs – for instance you can’t beat parking up at the sea front, a sparkling blue sea providing the view from the front window and lighting the stove to brew a cup of tea. I usually feel quite smug at this point as I watch other less lucky mortals queuing at the kiosk for an overpriced weak brew in a polystyrene cup. But it’s hard to feel smug crouching on the porta potty in the early hours of the morning, with the wind and rain lashing the awning and the loo roll soggy from standing in a pool of rain water which has mysteriously formed on the ground sheet.
But, on balance, we’ve all loved holidaying in the van – I’ll miss sitting on the backseat with the back door open, sipping a glass of wine and admiring the view – particularly on our first visit to Arrochar, where our pitch was by the side of a loch circled by mountains. And that magical time when the kids are tucked up in the roof, fast asleep after a day of tearing around the campsite with new found friends, and we’re snuggled up down below, curtains drawn, the outside world tightly shut out, relishing the rare opportunity to get through several chapters of a book without interruption. It’s somehow more precious than evenings at home where other distractions – chores, phone calls, computers, trashy TV – usually stop us spending such quality time together.
We’ve previously been puzzled by caravaners with their satellite dishes, table lamps, curtain tie backs and mini vacuum cleaners – surely they can’t truly experience the great outdoors when they wrap themselves in so many home comforts...? But we’ll be joining their ranks soon having made the decision to buy a “previously loved” caravan, which we’ll take ownership at the end of August. It will feel like a ballroom compared to the van – with fixed bunks for the kids (cue lots of shrieks of delight and arguments about who will sleep up top) 2 seating areas, a “proper” loo (no more squatting on the potty), a shower and an oven. No doubt we’ll be vilified by Wogan and Clarkson – but definitely welcomed by fellow caravanners. And I can’t wait – I’m still trying to persuade myself that this current and final adventure in the campervan is giving us chance to enjoy it one last time and say our goodbyes, but as the rain confines us to the awning yet again (kids are inside watching Spy Kids with the volume on high), I find myself daydreaming about our new palace on wheels and counting down the days to the end of the month.

Class of 2009

2009-07-23T23:05:00.000+01:00

Wincham CP School's Year 6 head off to high school at the end of the summer and celebrated with a party on the school playing fields tonight. Not really knowing what to expect, I went along to photograph them letting off steam, saying goodbye to class mates and to Wincham School. Shy and retiring they weren't as the photographs testify. And whose idea it was to give them over-sized chocolate fairy cakes....?! It was a fab event but scared the life out of me to think that my oldest will be there in 3 short years time.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/janebkw/ClassOf2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCPaC1Ijz7eWsXw#

Click on the link to view a slide show of images. To order prints, make a note of the file number and decide what size print you would like. 4"X6" is £3.50; 5"X7" is £5.00 and 8"X10" is £7.50. And then send me an email to jane@picture-it-big.co.uk . Any queries call 07962 899686. Prints can be collected from my house in Wincham a few days later. Cash / cheque (payable to "Picture It Big") on collection please.

Best dressed bears

2009-07-16T19:11:00.000+01:00

End of the term and the school year brings a raft of special activities and events for the children - talent shows, parties, open evenings and the like. This week school held a teddy bears picnic and on Wednesday bears of all shapes, sizes and colours were being traipsed into the playground. Thanks largely to Build a Bear there was a huge variety of costumes, with the inevitable princesses and ballerinas, to the more unusual punk rockers and soldier bears. I was particularly proud of my efforts (hmm - bit of a give away!). Although Sam's spaceman bear was wearing its shop bought space suit, his oxygen tank, boots and helmet were all fashioned by yours truly out of silver foil and a clear plastic lid. Sam was made up with it, apart from the knob on the lid - it took me a while to convince him that it was a communications nodule. He later complained that everyone spent all day trying to pull it off. I thoroughly expected his bear to win and was quite put out when I heard he'd been beaten by "swimmer bear"! But my spirits were lifted when Abigail announced that her bride bear had won! All that hard work had paid off and for once my kids were proud of their mum's handiwork.

Also on Wednesday was the At Home evening - when we got the chance to visit our children's new classrooms and see what they've been up to in their old ones. We all really enjoyed it - well at least I thought we had until we were on the way home...! Sam was bemoaning the fact that Abigail and I had both got things to bring home with us (friendship bracelets), whereas all he had was sadness!! Much to his chagrin we fell about laughing and I'm storing that comment away with other little gems from Sam - such as the time he was claiming he had no one to play a game with - and Abigail helpfully suggested he should play with his invisible friend. To which Sam replied: "Even he's not speaking to me!".

Business or pleasure

2009-07-12T20:05:00.000+01:00

I've got the photographer's equivalent of tennis elbow - a sore right shoulder and a callus on my thumb. The last few weeks have been very busy- I've done two large nurseries - about 130 children photographed with an average of 10 pictures taken of each - and the flower photography job is ongoing - I've shot literally 1000's of images of lavender, irises, roses and now, finally, bergamot and passion flower. I've done some really nice private commissions too and have met some genuinely lovely people. Job satisfaction has always been very important to me and on rare occasions in my previous life I thought I'd got pretty close to achieving it, but it's hard to beat the feeling I get when I know a client has got some pictures of their children that move them to tears and will last them a lifetime, possibly even getting passed onto subsequent generations. I still get a huge buzz when I know I've got a shot of my own children that really captures how they are at the moment.

It's sometimes hard to draw a line between business and pleasure when a hobby has turned into a profession. I find it hard to turn down fundraising work because I know I'll enjoy it, especially if it involves children. I've covered a fun day and our school summer fayre the last two weekends and loved it, partly for the photography and also for the reaction of the people receiving the pictures. Yesterday was my children's school (Wincham Primary) Summer Fayre - and I spent the afternoon photographing children having donkey carriage rides. After the first 10 shots I think the donkey took a dislike to my flash going off in his face and started charging unnervingly towards me instead of posing nicely. But I got braver with each glass of wine and the afternoon ended without incident. We raised some money, had a lot of fun, got unexpectedly a bit sun burnt and the fayre was overall a great success. It's back to business now, with more flower photography, nursery "graduations", and school leavers party amongst other things.

My lovely 50mm lens

2009-06-23T18:47:00.000+01:00

(Sorry for the annoying centre alignment - it's refusing all my efforts to left align - some bug in Picasa I think!)

I've been battling with this lens a bit since I bought it a couple of months back.

I'm not sure if every one is the same but I tend to have a breaking in period with any bit of new kit. I've used it a fair amount but unlike my other lenses, the results have been a bit hit and miss - too many over-exposed or out of focus shots. I've finally worked out that shooting at such low f-stops -it's the Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens - was the main cause of the problems. I love shallow depth of field, closely cropped shots, so was tending to mainly shoot at f/1.8 - 3.2 - this needs a huge degree of accuracy and is not easy with fast moving portrait shoots. When I have a problem with a new piece of equipment I force myself to use it exclusively for some non-work photography. So over this last weekend, which incorporated Father's Day, a visit to the mother-in-law's garden and a trip to the seaside, I left all my other lenses at home and had a proper play around with this one. With no deadlines or pressure to deliver I think I've mastered it and have a series of images that I'm really pleased with. With no other lenses to hand I've shot close up and distant in various light conditions. Subjects were as ever the kids and flowers. My 60mm lens is my fail safe, amazingly clear and sharp portrait lens but too narrow for close ups of three people, so to get some great quality, head and shoulder shots of the kids & Nic was good news. My favourite picture taken yesterday at Llandudno was of Abigail blowing bubbles off the pier (in black & white above). I think it really gives a strong sense of place and almost nostalgic atmosphere (but perhaps that's just the G&T talking!).

Nic's mum's garden never disappoints at this time of year - the beds and containers are filled to over flowing with scores of different flowers and shrubs. I was, for the first time over the weekend, seriously regretting not packing the macro lens but soon realised that using the 50mm lens was forcing me to compose differently, look more at the whole plant. And the f/1.8 aperture was creating some seriously beautiful background effects. Astrantia is one of my favourite flowers for plant portraits - so small and delicate but very architectural and with lots of interesting markings. I've shot them lots of times before but with the 50mm lens have managed a different take on them.

So it's turned out to be a real little beauty and worth much more to me than the £75 I paid for it.

The wonder of British weather

2009-06-05T21:11:00.000+01:00

It only seems like a few weeks have passed by since we unloaded the campervan from the Easter holiday and here we are again at the end of a week’s stay in North Wales. We are only 45 minutes from home but it’s been a real break and respite from the daily grind. The glorious weather played no small part in making this a great week away. Today’s chilly and windy 13⁰C has been a reminder of how cruel British summer weather can be. For 5 perfect days we have lived the outdoor camping life, eating every meal al fresco, having water fights (us adults didn’t so much join in as get caught in the cross fire and then get very mardy very quickly!) and not needing any of the warm / waterproof clothing that you still have to pack for any UK holiday.
We’ve packed a lot as usual into the last week, even though we spent a few days chilling out on the campsite. I did a christening near Warrington last weekend, we’ve been to 2 beautiful but very contrasting gardens – one a more formal National Trust property called Erddig and the other a privately owned garden called The Glass House. Both were wonderful to explore, with many early summer flowers bursting out, no doubt spurred on by the warm weather. I’m a bit obsessed by irises at the moment, as I’ve got a big job on photographing them for a client, along with some other seasonal blooms such as peonies. I’ve always photographed flowers to nature’s timetable and it’s proving challenging to catch them in flower, at their photogenic best in line with the client’s needs!
The kids have had a whale of a time as ever, relishing the rare freedom that being on a campsite gives them and every meal a picnic outdoors. They’ve been swimming each day at the onsite pool and running around wearing very few clothes. But I knew we packed those jumpers and long trousers for a reason – we headed into Llangollen with all the rest of the soggy tourists today, trying to steer the kids away from more tacky toys and me desperate for my fix of Costa coffee. With tacky toy purchased for Sam (remember those little furry worms on a clear plastic thread...) and rather more sensible notepad and pen for Abby, I got my coffee and, even better, a lovely meal later at a pub overlooking the river. We relived some of my childhood memories after tea, jumping across the flat rocks along the river bank. Predictably Nic fell in (unfortunately only up to his ankles) and Daisy was in doggy heaven.
We’re snuggled away in the camper van for the evening, kids up top watching a DVD, us down below with a bottle of red, a few beers and a TV with a dodgy signal. Perfect. The wind is playing increasingly aggressively with the awning (hope Daisy is OK in the pup tent) and the forecast is for heavy rain (severe weather warning for 4a.m.) well into the morning when we will be de-camping. I suppose this is penance for the idyllic weather - what is the opposite of “every cloud has a silver lining”?

Tiny Talk @ Knutsford

2009-05-20T16:02:00.000+01:00

Thank you to the mums, dads & carers who allowed me to photograph their little ones during the recent Tiny Talk signing class at Knutsford. To view a slideshow of the images, click on the link:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/janebkw/KnutsfordTTalk02?authkey=Gv1sRgCKO4zczigrToAg#

If you would like to order any of the pictures please contact me:

email: jane@picture-it-big.co.uk

tel: 07962 899686

Tiny Talk @ Hartford

2009-05-12T15:56:00.000+01:00

Thank you to the mums, dads and carers who allowed me to photograph their little ones during the recent Tiny Talk signing class at Hartford. To view a slide show of all the images, click on the link: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/janebkw/Watermarks02?authkey=Gv1sRgCISyg-v63vj4Ww#

If you would like to order any of the pictures please contact me:

email: jane@picture-it-big.co.uk

tel: 07962 899686

Bluebell Cottage Gardens

2009-05-10T13:49:00.000+01:00

Hidden away in a little dip in the relatively flat surrounding Cheshire countryside between Warrington and Northwich is a beautiful little garden and nursery called Bluebell Cottage Gardens and Lodge Lane Nursery. The garden is edged on one side by the Trent & Mersey Canal and the peace and quiet is only broken by the occasional chug of a canal boat motor or the distant whistle of a train. I first visited the garden last year after meeting the owner, Sue Beesley, at a charity event in Knutsford last summer. Sue offered to give me display space in her tearoom for my floral images and since then I’ve done a few jobs for her. A few weeks ago Sue asked me to shoot some pictures of her and the gardens for her newly appointed PR agency. Sue won BBC Gardener of the year in 2006 and a silver medal at the RHS show at Tatton Park last year and she and her gardens are increasingly in the media.
This was one of those jobs that you pray for – the weather was perfect (actually too perfect as the bright, sunny conditions made the shoot quite challenging!) and Sue was very relaxed in front of the camera. Shooting a subject who knows a little about photography also helped, as she was very aware of the light and how to position herself in it. The location was superb, with the gardens immaculately presented and spring flowers such as tulips, hellibores and pasque flowers in bloom. As the name of the garden suggests, there is also a profusion of bluebells in the nearby woods and we were keen to capitalise on this. There’s something special and unique about the light in a bluebell wood – the green canopy of leaves filtering the sunlight, the vivid blue haze of the flowers and the muddy brown of the tree trunks and branches. There was a very tranquil feeling in the woods and although the shots are all obviously staged, they come across as very relaxed and natural. Sue’s PR agency also wanted shots of children playing in the woods and my two budding models obliged later in the day. They enjoyed climbing along the falling branches and running along the narrow paths so much that it wasn’t hard to get some candid shots to meet the brief.

The wonder of babies

2009-04-28T11:58:00.000+01:00

Had a wonderful few days last week visiting and photographing babies. I met my great nephew Beanie (no official name yet) for the first time and caught up with Myrtle again, who is six months old and has tripled in size since I last saw her. Baby Beanie is a very welcome addition to the family - his grandfather, Ralph, sadly passed away last year and it's great for everyone to celebrate a new life. Beanie was just 5 days old when we visited and caused much awe in us all, especially the children who I've never seen be so delicate and attentive to anyone or anything. We spent a very peaceful afternoon sitting in the kitchen in the warm spring sunshine, with Beanie content and fast asleep for much of the time. We tried in vain to remember top new baby tips for Lucy and Alan but it's funny how your memory fades. My best piece of advice was to "just go with the flow" for the first few weeks - not that I followed my own advice but I wish I had! Lucy is a graphic designer and has painted the most amazing mural on Beanie's wall - see pics above.

Myrtle is our friends' Gael and Max's baby daughter. I spent a lovely afternoon in their back garden playing with her. She's sitting up now and it's such a lovely interactive stage. She was happy sitting there taking everything in, whether it was next door's cat strolling tantalisingly close by or pulling at blades of grass (and trying to eat them!). Seeing the two babies within such a short period of time really brought it home to me how quickly they grow and change. In just 6 short months Beanie will be sitting up, exploring his surroundings and engaging with people. I can't wait to see them both again to see how they've changed and to photograph them again of course!

Nunsmere Hall Hotel

2009-04-21T20:43:00.001+01:00

I first became acquainted with Nunsmere Hall Hotel when my husband booked a surprise overnight stay for our wedding anniversary in 2004. We enjoyed a delicious meal in an intimate dining room and loved our slightly quirky room with its own little staircase and very comfy and luxurious bed. The next morning it was very cold, clear and frosty and after breakfast we strolled around the gardens, taking photographs of the white coated lawns raked with long shadows from the line of trees in front of the lake. Little did I realise at that time that my career would take such a different direction that I would end up photographing the hotel in a professional capacity a few years later. Through my portrait work I met the manager of the hotel, Mark, and his family last year and have photographed them several times now, with the hotel making a spectacular location for the shoots. When we had the so called “snow events” in February Mark invited me to photograph the hotel and grounds and will be featuring the above shot on the cover of the 2009 winter brochure. Other shots have made it into Cheshire Life, one as an advertisement and another (see left) accompanying a feature on top Cheshire restaurants. Mark and his team at Nunsmere Hall are highly professional, but also very friendly and informal and I always enjoy my visits there, whether for business or for pleasure!

Marjorie and Allan's 50th wedding anniversary

2009-04-17T11:02:00.000+01:00

I was invited to photograph this very special family event by Gaynor and Anne, Marjorie & Allan's daughters. I had photographed Gaynor and her family at their home last year and had also taken pictures of their daughter Scarlett at her nursery. Marjorie & Allan were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at Willington Hall, Kelsall in Cheshire, a lovely country hotel which holds some special memories for the family. There are only a few occasions when so many family members gather together and Gaynor and Anne were keen to give their parents something by which they could treasure and remember it. Everyone was in high spirits when I arrived and it wasn't hard to get them to relax, especially the children, who turned into real performers in front of the camera!

The staff could not have been more helpful, reserving the bar area for photography and moving furniture for me. This was a really enjoyable shoot and the resulting photo book looked great. On receiving the book Gaynor sent me this comment:

"Thanks again for the book - I think it's fantastic - really captures the day and I am sure my Mum and Dad will look at it for years to come and it will bring back fond memories."

Blogging for business and pleasure

2009-04-16T14:10:00.000+01:00

I've had a bit of an epiphany over the last few days thanks to a seminar I went on. Although my blog is (I hope...) of mild interest to family and friends, it's not doing much to build the business, other than perhaps convincing clients that I am not a two headed monster and that, for some masochistic reason, I like photographing children. As a very new blogger I hadn't appreciated its full potential for attracting new business, not just by showcasing recent shoots but also by ensuring more hits on Google through judicious keywording.

Rather than run two blogs (which will just totally confuse me) I am going break a golden rule and mix business with pleasure. The end result will hopefully be that new clients can see my recent work and find out a bit about what makes me tick and I can continue to keep friends and family updated on family life.

The meaning of Easter

2009-04-12T19:28:00.000+01:00

What Easter means to me... usually the first opportunity since Christmas to really stop, relax and spend some quality time with Nic and the kids - without the hectic schedule and stress that inevitably accompanies the build up to Christmas. And this Easter break has been particularly welcome following a period of relentless business travel for Nic and the usual non-stop family and work routine for me. We opted for a caravan site in the Lakes and it's proved to be a real haven - a large site but sprawled over acres of woodland, with lots of tucked away little dells and copses, so it actually feels quite intimate. We are pitched next to a babbling brook, surrounded by wild garlic. Our little campervan and awning look a little like the poor relation to the luxurious caravans and motorhome around us, but we're not short of any home luxuries (if you ignore the fact that we don't have running water because the pump has decided to stop working). The kids are aghast that we only have 4 TV channels, but then they do have a CD player, laptop with mobile broadband and their Nintendo DSs should they need a fix of technology. Whatever happened to playing cards and ludo!? They've been happy to go off on their own, exploring, making dens and playing pooh sticks, although Abigail gets lost without Sam to lead her back again.

With warm, sunny weather this is truely camping at its absolute best - lazing around the campsite, reading and taking the dog for the occasional exploration through the woodland. At the bottom of the site there's a river that's perfect for a spot of paddling - for feet and paws. It's proven to be such an idyllic spot that we haven't ventured off out anywhere else, preferring to stay in our little slice of heaven.

Talking about Heaven, with a capital "H", I eavesdropped on a hilarious conversation between Sam and Abigail at bathtime a few days ago. They have been learning about the real meaning of Easter, but haven't accepted it unquestionningly. Abigail was firmly extolling the truth of the Big Bang theory and the dinosaurs but got confused about where Adam and Eve and Heaven fit in to this, whereas Sam was arguing that he believed that a greater being created the earth and all life on it. He even managed to weave the dinosaurs into a religious framework, having watched an episode of Primeval in which a dinosaur like reptile was worshipped as a god! Nic and I have tried not to influence their beliefs as we would like them to make up their own minds. I suppose it is inevitable that they will be sceptical about the existence of God and Jesus, being brought up in a mainly non-religious environment, other than what they are taught in school. We fall into the agnostic, sitting on the fence classification. Abigail came up with her own terminology for this position, declaring to Sam that she was "comme ci, comme ca" about whether she believed or not! But Jessie the cat, Ursula the next door neighbour and Uncle Ralph are all definitely in Heaven!

Dressing up

2009-04-02T20:10:00.000+01:00

Kids just love dressing up, whether it's in a uniform or fancy dress & we love admiring them. I wonder what age they'll grow out of this - I guess just before they go to high school when the majority become more image conscious and more aware of the need to fit in with their peers - although both have already kicked in with Abigail sometime ago. She's got quite an individual streak but occasionally feels under pressure to be like everyone else. Case in point is her hair, which is short, suits her so well and makes her look gorgeous (in our biased opinion), but occasionally she suddenly feels singled out because of it and wants to be like all her friends. (Please note that decision to go for drastic short hair style was all her own!)

This week saw Sam enrolled at Beavers and proudly wearing his full uniform. I wish I could freeze moments like this, when he is so chuffed to bits with himself. Later, at home, we went from beavers to bunny ears and also conjured up an Easter bonnet for the practise Easter assembly the next day. I had to persuade both of them not to wear them in bed and then had a giggle watching them walk to school wearing them the next morning. It had seemed like a lot of hassle making emergency Easter head gear at 8pm in time for the next day (either I had not read the school note as usual, or the kids hadn't relayed the message to me on time - both very typical of our hectic school week), but looking at the pictures and their faces it was very worthwhile. Whether tissue paper ears and flowers will survive until the actual event is a different matter altogether.

Hidden delights of Cheshire

2009-03-31T17:28:00.000+01:00

I was doing some work last week for the owner of Bluebell Cottage Gardens at Dutton & discovered yet another beautiful part of Cheshire. I popped into a farm shop off the A49 near Cuddington - Davenports - & thought it would be a great location for a general photography course (watch this space...) as it has some quite rare & photogenic livestock, some beautifully maintained steam driven vehicles on site and is located alongside the Trent & Mersey Canal. As I chatted to the owner I discovered that it's about a half hour walk along the canal to Bluebell Cottage Gardens & made a note to self to do the walk sometime with the family.

Unexpectedly, after a wild & cold Saturday, Sunday was a glorious early spring day & we decided to set off from the gardens at Dutton. There's something really pleasant & soothing about strolling alongside a canal. Perhaps I'm lazy & it's the lack of hills (!) but there's also the appeal of the varied wildlife not to mention the varied humankind you encounter, those on foot and on board passing boats. There's something irresistible about nosing curiously & a tad enviously into moored boats.

The major flaw with our excursion was to set off a bit late in the afternoon - I'd been on a shoot in the morning & then had a snooze in the hammock after lunch. So, by the time we got to the farm shop it had closed. By this time the kids had been whingeing for about 20 minutes about various life threatening injuries - amongst others nettle stings, aching legs & falling down underwear (yes - really!!). A nearby pub - the Holly Bush - on the A49 saved the day, with Nic heading back along the canal to the car with Daisy - despite my cold glass of wine I envied him the peace & quiet of a solitary walk back!

I got lots of chance to test out my new 50mm f1.8 lens - it's going to be MNBF (my new best friend!) for any portrait or non-macro floral work. I love the quality of light for portraits - this shot of Abby was taken under a canal bridge - great place for portraits as it's painted white, presumably to help the boats navigate safely through.

Life, loved ones & lenses

2009-03-26T18:47:00.000Z

There just aren’t enough hours in the day at the moment! How on earth did I used to hold down a fulltime job and run a family?! The truth is that I didn’t really – I stumbled from one day into the next, prioritising whoever shouted loudest, at home and at work. I used to dream of having the sort of freedom and pressure-free existence that I supposedly now lead. Surely running your own business from home should give a better quality of life and ease the juggling of home and work demands? In many ways it has - writing presentations to pointless deadlines, attending endless meetings and commuting (read "crawling") along the network of Manchester motorways is a thing of the past – thank goodness. I now spend my “workdays” either at the computer editing photographs, printing out jobs, updating the website, emailing (presumably a valid verb these days although it’s arguable whether it’s a valid use of time...), or nipping to see customers, running errands and fitting in walking the dog somewhere in between. This should all be squeezed in to the school hours between 9.15 and 3.00 but somehow time always runs away from me. Lunchtime seems to sneak up on me when I’m convinced it’s still only about 11.00, and then it’s a mere blink of an eye until 3.00 is here and I rush out of the door to collect the little peeps. Then the other part of my day starts, with after-school activities, tea and homework filling the slot from 3.30-7.00 every day. If I’m not falling asleep by 9pm then I’ll do a bit of work or blogging in front of the TV before collapsing into bed. Somewhere between 9.00 & 11.00pm Nic & I are supposed to find some quality "us-time".

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not bemoaning this new way of life – I just need to get a better handle of it. I’ve been used to a very structured working week for more than twenty years and I need to be a better mistress of this still relatively new freedom. (Here I am now in Costa at 11.15 writing my blog off-line as I can’t get a signal on my supposedly mobile broadband to go online and write some emails!)

As a change of subject, I’ve added to my collection of lenses this week. I’ve read lots of write-ups on the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, all of which conclude that it’s a must-have in any portrait / wedding photographer’s kit bag. And at around £90 RSP it’s without doubt my cheapest lens – and I got it for £75 on ebay including p&p. I’ve not had much time to play with it yet – just a few shots of the dog and the kids, but I’m already excited about the difference it’s going to make to my portrait shots, especially in low light / indoors. I’ve also fallen back in love with my telephoto lens, although I’m looking forward to the day when I can upgrade it to a lens with a lower f-stop and better quality all round, especially now that I’ve seen the potential of my recent purchase. But I still got some lovely shots of Sam, who was at his absolute posing best on Mother’s Day, when we visited Dunge Valley Hidden Gardens nr Macclesfield. Despite the fierce arctic winds he explored the gardens with me, claiming he didn’t want me to have to do it on my own on Mother’s Day and that he would be my model. So, whilst Nic and Abby huddled in the campervan, cooking chilli and rice for lunch (the tea room was closed due to flooding), Sam and I had a blast of fresh air and a blast in general, with me laughing at him for most of the walk as he tried to hold his trousers up to prevent me taking shots of his builder’s bum (Sam suffers from this no matter what he wears, having no waist and a tiny behind!). Dunge Valley will be well worth a visit after Easter, when the Bluebell walk and the Rhododendron Trail will both hopefully be in flower (and the tea room open and flood-free). The hellibores were magnificent, by the way, hence the opening shot (another great use for my telephoto lens).

Lensbaby (again!)

2009-03-17T12:11:00.000Z

I found the instruction manual for the Lensbaby & realised that although you can't change the aperture value on the camera, if you set the dial on AV, it looks after the exposure for you - duh! (Not sure who reads this & is even remotely interested but I'm a bit of a stickler for accuracy (call it "A-R"), hence this short post - whilst waiting for interminably slow web link to work (my IT department is out for the day - how dare he?!).

Blurring the edges

2009-03-15T21:03:00.000Z

After all the effort to unearth my Lensbaby I had a play around with it today at a local park, as I was wondering whether I could use it during some photoshoots to get some shots which are a bit edgier. A Lensbaby is a cute, but odd looking lens that mimics the effect of a tilt & shift lens. It looks like a short piece of black vaccuum cleaner hose with the same bendiness and it gets some peculiar looks. By stretching or contracting the hose bit and bending it at the same time you can determine where the point of focus is (the so called sweet spot) and also distort the areas around it. I've got version 2.0 which you manually hold in place as you press the shutter. More recent versions have systems to fix it in place. Getting to grips with it again was a steep learning curve but I quickly remembered how to handle it and with a very willing model I got some quite nice images for its first trip out in perhaps two years. You can't set the aperture in camera - you choose a disc with a hole which

defines the aperture. I think the one it had in it was f/5.6. Using the camera on AUTO was a complete disaster - totally over exposed, so I constantly checked and changed the shutter speed. It was a bright sunny day with the occasional passing cloud, and we moved from open grass areas into shady woodland. So we ranged from around 1/600th to 1/2000th of a second.

Anyway I've fallen in love with it again and will include it in my camera bag so that it's available for all my shoots. I'll carefully pick and choose which client I first use it with - it'll have to be a shoot where everything has gone swimmingly, it's all in the bag and I've got a willing model to practise with it on. Before the end of the week I'll have a go at some daffodils as they've all suddenly bloomed this weekend and Spring really feels like it has sprung. It's amazing what a lift a bit of warm sun on your face gives you. The grass was cut this afternoon, we had our first barbecue of the year (and I'm sure we weren't the only ones!) and the children dragged out every blanket, cushion, teddy, hammock etc insight.

Now, where did I put that lens / filter / bag....??

2009-03-10T10:52:00.000Z

For the last few days I have been hunting high and low for my Lensbaby and its accessories. In the process of scouring drawers, cupboards and various camera bags (bags are a subject to which I could dedicate an entire blog...) I have uncovered all sorts of odds and ends that I had forgotten about. When you consider that all these “odds and ends” are bits of photographic related equipment, it is nothing short of scandalous that I don’t have them all organised and accessible in one safe location.

I can’t believe I have amassed all this kit – just eight years ago I was happy with my Olympus Trip and rather ungrateful when husband returned from a trip to the States with a Pentax compact digital camera as a present for me. “Didn’t they have the Clinique stuff I wanted? I’ve already got a camera!” was likely my response. However, I think I can now trace back my conversion to the religion of photography to this moment – or to a few weeks later when it dawned on me what a brave new world my first digital camera had opened up. Gone were the days of ending up with 35 awful pictures and 1 good one. The learning curve was still quite steep but so much shorter and cheaper. I don’t know what I would have done either, without Picasa, the free image editing software from Google. My digital image library was building, along with my family – two years on and I had a toddler and a new baby to experiment on (photographically that is!)

Husband then convinced me that I was ready to move onto a camera that allowed me to take more control and we bought the Panasonic Lumix FZ20. It was a great “inbetweeny” camera for me – I wasn’t ready at that time to upgrade to a full SLR, but this looked a bit more serious, had a larger LCD screen and produced really punchy sharp images. The 10X zoom was great, especially combined with the image stabiliser function. I’ve had this camera for 4 or 5 years now and I still use it a few times a week, as I take it on my dog walks and on general outings with the kids. I tend to think of it as expendable but I would be devastated if anything happened to it (well, at least for the few minutes that it would take for me to realise that I would have the perfect excuse to buy a newer model, with face, smile & blink recognition...).

I have to admit that I continued for quite some time to use it on the AUTO setting and didn’t make use of the manual focus option either. Husband kept egging me on to try a different shutter speed or change the depth of field and was rewarded with expletives. Just as you shouldn’t learn to drive with your dad, neither should you allow your spouse to teach you photography! It was only at the end of the first class of an A’Level course that I finally understood f-stops and shutter speeds and was finally able to move the dial off AUTO and on to “A” and “S” (or TV as it would become on my SLRs).

I upgraded to my first SLR – a Canon 350d – partway through the first term of the first year of the A’Level and so began my metamorphosis into photo gadget geek. Every Christmas / birthday / Mother’s Day there was something I was dropping hints about. And really there’s no item that I regret buying or haven’t made good use of. I would be bereft without my external flash gun & plastic diffuser. Although other factors also come into play to make a good portrait, soft bounced light can really make a shot look more professional. No more red eye or unflattering direct light. The first lens I bought was a 60mm prime lens, as I had started to do a lot of close up, abstract stuff, partly for the A’Level, but also to explore my passion for abstracts of flowers and plants. I sometimes wish I’d bought the 100mm lens instead for slightly less accessible subjects when I need to be at a greater distance, but I’ve still made great use of it. These days it is my main portrait lens – head & shoulders close ups or even tighter crops – the quality is fantastic and I can get such a shallow depth of field so that the focus really is on the subject. For more candid shots I’ve got a telephoto lens – 70-300mm f.4.5 – with image stabiliser – and it’s been a real work horse for me, particularly at nurseries when I’ve been able to capture lovely natural shots of children at play. My next big outlay could be for an upgrade to one with a lower f-stop but this will be serious money. The Lensbaby was a birthday present and I used it a lot for my A’Level projects. It’s been neglected of late, hence why it was lost, but I’ve got a hankering to have a play around with it again and get some more creative portraits.

Once I got to the point where I had got a reasonable amount of work on the books I started to panic about something happening to my 350d mid-shoot, so I had created an excuse to go shopping again. At the time, the most affordable upgrade option for me was the 40d, which is now my main work horse. At weddings or particularly fast paced jobs where I don’t have a lot of time to switch lenses, I have both cameras slung around my body, but don’t seem to control them as effortlessly as some photographers do. Also for weddings and large groups I bought my wide angle lens 17-40mm. This is a good quality lens and does the job, but I have yet to fall in love with it like I have done with the telephoto or macro lenses – I find it hard to be creative with it – more practise needed as I’m sure it’s possible to get some really good results with it.

I’ve also amassed lots of other “bits & bobs” – filters, polarisers, tripods, bags (don’t mention bags – I always think I need a new one!) but as this blog is already a novella, I’ll save commenting on those for another day!

Northwich Woodlands

2009-03-09T14:23:00.000Z

This is definitely becoming my favourite place to walk the dog. I know I've gone on about it before but it really does offer such variety of scenery & wildlife & it's so accessible - free parking unless you start out at Marbury Park or the Anderton Boat Lift. I usually set off from Witton car park behind the tip - sounds lovely I know - or at the layby with the bacon van. The advantage of the latter is having a hot bacon & egg butty at either end of the walk (but not both!). Daisy is well known there now & has her usual order of crispy bacon fat. I've been to the Woodlands 3 or 4 times in the last week & can really see signs that Spring is just around the corner. Even today with an arctic wind blasting us, the sun was warm on our faces & many of the trees are sprouting fat buds. The water in the Flashes was a milky turquoise colour today, caused probably by the lime beds, but it's quite rare to see it such a vivid shade.

Another favourite section of the Woodland for me is the Anderton Nature Park. I usually approach it from Witton Mill, along the river Weaver. The sandy (slightly muddy at the moment) path snakes through the woodland & then alongside the river. The kids love this path with its steps down to landing stages for the anglers & the little bridges, which are fun on foot & hilarious on bikes. I can't wait to go again on a warm Summer's day when there'll be butterflies & dragonflies darting around. This last week I've made do with the occasional glimpse of a heron & the clarity of view that crisp, clear blue skies, low light and cold air combine to make. The Anderton Boat Lift and the Northwich Saltmine industrial buildings stand out in stark but beautiful contrast in this landscape. I don't think my photos do it full justice - they are quick snaps with dog in tow, but I have resolved to use the area as a location for some photo shoots as it is so rich in interesting backdrops & there's plenty to keep the kids interested.

All done planning

2009-03-01T00:55:00.000Z

February has seemed like a month of birthdays & birthday parties - in fact with wedding anniversary & husband's birthday falling in January, it's felt like I've been thinking of gifts, wrapping them, planning parties, buying cakes, creating invites & thank you notes since Christmas. I like to think I'm quite imaginative & creative on all these fronts, but with production on such a mass scale & deadline following on from deadline, I've been bordering on a "it'll do" attitude towards it all. And I feel guilty admitting that I'm relieved it's all over for another year. Shame really, when I know how fondly we'll look back on our offsprings' different milestones.

One aspect I do, of course, really enjoy, is recording these precious events by taking lots of pictures and already I know how much pleasure we'll get looking back at them in years to come. Sam has probably done his last indoor play centre party with scores of classmates. It's quite sad really that slides, balls and running about like lunatics probably won't be enough next year. Two years older, at 8, Abby chose a more select group & a more refined activity - making bracelets at a craft centre. In the party room afterwards, I realised that however grown up they think they are, there's not much difference between 6 & 8 year olds when let loose in a room with music & balloons! The majority of 6 year olds were much better behaved than one or two of the 8 year olds too - I'm already devising strategies for avoiding tea & sleepover dates with some - certainly until I'm back to full energy reserves & have got my mojo back!

The next crucial date on our calendar is Mother's Day - I don't expect much... ("yeah, right!" says husband on reading this), just to know that I'm not on planning, creating & organising duty.

From athlete's foot to apertures

2009-03-01T00:16:00.000Z

(Bear with me on the title, all will become clear!) I'm hoping that the process of writing this post will help me to see the wood for the trees, put some order of priority on all my projects. I feel like my brain is on overload - in a positive way, when compared to the brain fries I regularly experienced when working full time for someone else. I expected and planned for Jan / Feb to be quiet, particularly with portrait work, and decided to use the time for business planning, web site updates, even taking it a bit easy and getting to the gym occasionally. I'm feeling dragged down at the moment by a feeling that I've not made much, if any, headway on any of these, but logic and ever supportive husband keep telling me otherwise.

Portrait work was non-existent but Spring must be in the air because bookings for March keep coming in - bank balances must be starting to recover from Christmas and the gradual warming temperature and lengthening days are making people emerge from hibernation. And photography jobs involving glass baubles, food and snow kept the wolf only scratching at the door over the last two months.

The new area of business I am pushing this year is photography courses. This is something I find so exciting - combining one passion, photography, with another, training or teaching. A long time before I started taking pictures for a living, I wrote "a jargon free guide to taking better pictures" and had more or less put to bed the portrait section. I've always been excited by the idea of enabling people to improve their photography with some simple, non technical tips and techniques. I spent the last two years of my life as an international marketer developing and running training courses on foot disorders - anything from athlete's foot to verrucas. Despite the unappealing subject matter I got such a buzz from this job and can't wait to get training again. Working on my dad's old adage "if you don't ask, you don't get", I approached a number of local venues and struck gold with Willowpool Garden Centre, Lymm, an absolute Aladdin's cave in terms of photographic subjects. So my first course is booked in and I can't wait to start the marketing and get the course material written.

I've updated areas of the web site and tidied it up a lot, but there's lots more housekeeping to do - I suppose you never actually get up to date with this kind of job. If you've read any of my recent blogs, you'll know that taking it easy never happened and aside from dog walking my keep fit regime doesn't deserve the title! My "quiet period" is officially over and I'm chomping at the bit to get on with March's workload. And I think writing all this down has sort of helped with priorities and self esteem!

Techno geek husband, eat your heart out!

2009-02-24T13:53:00.001Z

Oh I am so proud of myself! With husband swanning around in Cannes, hosting cocktail parties and the like!??! I have purchased a net book with mobile broadband so that I can blog, catch up with emails etc whenever I want. I'm sitting in a naff (hot) caff at the NEC, having successfully connected and am writing my first mobile post. Sorry if it's not really worth reading but I just had to show off!!

Busy, busy, busy

2009-02-23T22:55:00.000Z

Well, it's been 12 days since my last confession... but no ordinary 12 days. It included birthdays for both offspring (we didn't plan that very well did we) and a half term holiday, predominantly with husband in absenteum. The calendar of events for the 12 days reads like the contents page of one of those guides to "1000 things to do with kids before you die". A trip to London, cinema visit, Chester Zoo, at least 3 National Trust gardens, 2 indoor play barns (aka torture chambers for parents), a party for 17 six year olds, 2 clothes shopping trips (with kids in tow)... and that's all that what remains of the functioning part of my brain can remember. For some reason this period of frenzied activity coincided with my decision to seriously reduce my wine consumption, so instead of being able to kick back each evening with a deliciously cold glass (or 3) of chardonnay, I've been irritiably sipping coke, brewing tea and finding it difficult to get to sleep without the aid of an alcoholic sleep aid. On the upside I've had more energy, been clearer headed and the Wii fit tells me I've lost 2lbs!

Looking back on the activities of the last 12 days I am no longer surprised that we are absolutely knackered, to the point of functioning like inefficient and grumpy robots by about tea time and struggling to answer simple questions, never mind the multi-tasking challenge of chatting to cashier, packing shopping and keeping an eye on daughter in the supermarket. Thank goodness something like normal service resumed with the return to school today - although husband is absent again and there's still another birthday party and sleepover to brave at the weekend! However, I am much energised by the prospect of visiting the Focus on Imaging exhibition at the NEC this week - a nirvana for any one keen on photography. I'll be bursting with ideas and enthusiasm and somewhat lighter of pocket when I get back.

I've just finished loading, reviewing, deleting and editing the hundreds of photos snapped since my last blog - the collage at the top shows the best of the crop. These pictures serve to remind me that however exhausted we find ourselves, we are truly blessed with 2 incredibly funny and wonderful kids and I would not swop this mad life for anything.

Oops - butter fingers!!

2009-02-11T15:54:00.000Z

If you are wondering where all the images have gone, I was tidying up the picture-it-big site and got a bit trigger happy with tidying up old files / images and inadvertently deleted my blog images!! So please bear with me until I've had time to re-load them - am also having problems with internet connection going up and down - computer whizz husband has been away so no quick fix either. Normal service will be resumed soon...

Shy snowdrops & elusive dog

2009-02-06T21:06:00.000Z

Well, we still haven't had a snow event in Wincham but we had another powdering on Wednesday night and in case that was it for us this winter I decided to go in search of snowdrops in snow. Rode Hall near Congleton was resplendent with snowdrops and daffodils at this time last year and it's slightly higher than Wincham, so could have more of a snow event than here. And although we weren't exactly knee deep in snow drifts at Rode Hall, there was quite a lot of the white stuff, almost too much, as many of the snow drops were a) struggling to push their heads through the surface and b) foiled by their natural camouflage (i.e. white on white). These factors combined with the cold weather kept all but the most foolhardy visitors away - we were the first to leave our mark on the pristine white footpaths, a good hour after opening time. But it was far from being a wasted journey. It was magical to explore the gardens in such wintry conditions, snow creaking under foot (isn't that a great and unique sound?!) and I did come away with some lovely images. Little groups of snowdrops in sheltered nooks and crannies (I really must ask a gardener why crab and mussel shells were used as mulch around their base - other than offering some great contrasting colour), and early blossom flowers and daffodils wearing white bonnets of snow.

And I've enjoyed some wintry walks with Daisy. I've made it my mission this last week to try to get some shots which really show her character out on our walks - this is much harder than it sounds. She moves at the speed of light, has no particular destination in mind (in fact a previous dog trainer concluded "that dog lacks focus") and is either camera shy or is getting her own back on me for all the times I've tied her to a fence. The net result is a lot of shots of dog just going off camera (cursed shutter delay on compact cameras), blurred dog or dog's hind quarters. Never mind actually going for a well composed shot with background interest! I lined up one perfect shot of her looking back at me, standing on a narrow, snowy pathway lined with tall, golden grasses and low, raking sunlight and shadows, only to find a huge splodge of mud smeared across the lens from her last mad dash past me. Anyway, here's the best of the bunch but must try harder.

Oh - and the young swans were back, posing at the lake-side whilst keeping a wary eye on Daisy - very wise.

Snow?! What snow!!

2009-02-04T20:39:00.000Z

Well... we have had a dusting of snow and I've rushed out with my camera just in case that's all we get this winter, but I am so disappointed that we've missed out on the "snow event" suffered by the rest of the country (you can tell that I am no longer a daily commuter for whom snow is a complete nightmare). I want the kids to experience the kind of snow that we did and I also want to get some winter wonderland shots - I'm still holding out for snowdrops nestling in snow this year. On each weather forecast Cheshire seems to sit tantalisingly along the edges of any areas of snow and I find myself blaming the presenter for not giving us any decent snowfall for a change! However, even a dusting dramatically changes familiar landscapes and I got a few bleak and quite striking images of Pickmere Lake.

I shouldn't complain really - our meager amount of snow brought in some extra business - I've been photographing a beautiful old hotel and its grounds and it gave me an idea to do a mail shot to other hotels and halls in the region - although the snow has now thawed and I'm back to haranguing the BBC weather forecaster. More snow is forecast overnight and tomorrow and the snowflakes on the weather map did appear to be right over Wincham, but I won't be springing out of bed tomorrow morning as I can't face yet another disappointment (for me and kids - who have long ago stopped believing the weatherman anyway.)

Perhaps I should adopt Daisy's outlook on life - even the most insignificant amount of snow makes her daily outings a fantastic adventure. As long as there's enough to rub her nose in, roll in and make the cow pats stand out more, then she's in doggy heaven!

Northwich Flashes

2009-01-31T19:27:00.000Z

It's odd - I used to dislike the Flashes just on the outskirts of Northwich - I saw them as a flat, featureless expanse of water & manmade pathways - a poor attempt at landscaping over a industrial wasteland. It's now one of my favourite places to walk with Daisy. I don't think it's just the fact that the trees and plants have all had chance to mature and that Daisy makes almost anywhere fun to go. I think my whole outlook and mood has changed since leaving the corporate world and I am able to appreciate much simpler things (sounds a bit sickly and cliche ridden but it's so true). Instead of my head being full of deadlines and endless pages of red emails and constantly having too many plates in the air - or shattered on the floor, my mind is now free to enjoy the scenery and the fresh air, often with the result that I come up with my best ideas to grow my own business, whilst I am out walking.

I could wax lyrical about the diversity of scenery offered by the Flashes and interlinking park- and woodland - I think that's what I love about it so much. On today's short walk, I passed through mature woodland, grasslands alongside the river Weaver and had views across the wetlands and expanses of water. Today was bright and cold, with a thin haze of cloud creating the ideal light for photography, especially given the low angle of the sun at this time of year. No harsh shadows and the possibility to shoot backlit subjects. The teasels against the backdrop of tall, pale and straw coloured grasses were a great example of this. The single dead leaf, curled in on itself as if in a bid to protect itself and resist the pull of the wind, in contrast to the vibrant colours of the new wood and buds marking the start of a new year's growth.

I couldn't end this entry without including a shot of Daisy looking thoroughly miserable, partly from suffering the head collar which limits her ability to pull my arm out of its socket, and also down to putting up with the constant interruptions to her walk, when I tether her to a post and get the camera out. I am sure she wishes I would take up another interest - much like the kids do too!

Landscapes & lazy luxury in Llangollen

2009-01-27T17:35:00.000Z

We just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary in style - an overnight spa break in one of my favourite Welsh towns, Llangollen. With a father who made canoes and paddled them, much of my childhood was spent on the banks of wild water rivers in various locations in the UK and Europe. My brothers and I would explore the river banks from dawn to dusk, seemingly with no adult supervision (although most of the canoeing fraternity knew who we were and probably kept half an eye on us). Llangollen is a well known centre for white water canoeing and conjures up memories of sunbathing on the large flat rocks in the river, with the white water swirling and rushing past us. I must say the very thought of a child being allowed on them horrifies me now - but what wonderful freedom we had back then. We hid under the platforms of the railway station and played on the tracks - I can only think that it lay disused for a while in the 70's. I'm sure as a child I didn't appreciate the scenery around the town in the same way that I do now - the drama of Horseshoe Pass with its wild moorland and racing sheep (!). Then the wooded mountains rising steeply around the relatively narrow valley and steam trains pulling in and out of the mostly unchanged train station. Narrow boats make their lazy way along the calm waters of the canals cut into the side of the valley, in contrast to the river Dee, which rushes under the 13th century bridge, its roar ever present in the background.

Phew!! Now that I've got that out of my system, more about the more luxurious side of our stay in Llangollen. We splashed out on a room with our own hot tub on the balcony - it was a very interesting experience getting in and out of it in broad daylight - I was convinced that binoculars were trained on us from nearby houses. Once night had fallen, I relaxed a bit and we sat watching the stars appear (and icicles form on our noses). In the morning we did a sprint from the warmth of our very large bed into the hot tub, admired the frosty landscape and drank the remains of the previous night's Cava (perfectly chilled on the balcony overnight). Sheer decadence. Monday morning was going to seem even worse than ever after this! The rest of our brief stay was spent being further pampered, then a drive up through Horseshoe Pass, then back down via an alternative route courtesy of the sat nav - it seems to love single track roads with grass growing down the middle! As a last act of rebellion before collecting kids and dog from various places, we spent the end of the afternoon in a cosy bar over looking the river, with a large glass of wine (locally brewed ale for Nic) and an early tea. Roll on our 10th anniversary when we'll be able to escape from the chaos of family life once again!

Inaugurations all round

2009-01-22T15:57:00.000Z

Almost to the minute that Barack Obama was being sworn in as president, my daughter was making her own solemn promise to keep the Brownie Guide law. Yet another emotional landmark in her short life, with much clicking of the camera and blinking away tears. And a couple of days later her younger brother joined his own little club, as he put on his brand new jujitsu costume and stood proudly next to the other little warriors. Amazingly we have seen improvements in behaviour from both of them since attending their respective clubs. Should we find it alarming that they listen to and obey other grown ups much better than they do to us?! Sam's other guru would appear to be the Wii Fit machine - he obeys it to the letter. "Mummy, the Wii Fit says I should take a break now and get a drink of water" and off he trots. Can it be programmed to instruct him to do his homework, clean his teeth and not get out of bed 10 times before he goes to sleep?!

Oi - get off my lake!!

2009-01-19T21:33:00.000Z

A quick walk to Pickmere Lake this morning, avoiding the field where the cows were grazing as Daisy and cows spell diaster for me. I'll never view them as gentle, doe-eyed creatures ever again. When you're lying inches from their hooves in mud and fresh cow pat, having been pulled over by bolting dog, they are fearsome, lumbering, crushing machines. (Can you tell that I still carry the mental scars from this incident?). Anyway, no misadventures today. I am only bothering to do this post as the swans were particularly entertaining today. A family of youngsters were having a gentle paddle about with mum and dad when some bruiser came on the scene and was eventually forced to retreat to a safe distance by the protective parents. It was actually quite something to hear the power of those mighty wings as they flapped just enough for the swans to skim across the surface of the water, aggressively seeing the unwelcome visitor off.

Birthday boy

2009-01-18T18:42:00.000Z

Nic's (the husband) birthday today so we headed up into Derbyshire so that he could see some hills. The only negative Nic can find about where we now live is that it's too flat. Having spent some happy bachelor years living in Alstonefield in the Peak District, supping real ales by roaring log fires, he pines for the hills (although prefers to observe them through a pub window rather than conquer them!). With 4 children aged 7 and under in tow (not all our's as we met up with family from Derby) and mad dog on lead, we wanted a short, easy stroll in dramatic scenery, so we chose Dovedale, knowing full well that we wouldn't exactly be getting away from it all. Daisy was in full-on mad dog mode, straining on the end of the leash, desperate to make friends with fellow walkers, not fussy whether they were on two or four legs. And there were plenty of them, queuing to get through the bottlenecks caused by narrow, steep and slippery footpaths littered with small people! We did well to end the walk with only one minor casualty - Abigail tackled to the ground by a very muddy Daisy. Tears were wiped away, mud ineffectively dabbed at and we headed to the hospitality of the Knockerdown, another favourite haunt of Nic's in a previous life.

Apart from this exciting outing Daisy has had to make do with walks around Wincham and Pickmere this week. Must be wierd being a dog and never quite knowing what the day holds - a quick route march around the village checking out familiar lamp posts or a trip in the car to a whole new world of smells. She definitely prefers outings which involve water or steaming piles of horse dung. In Daisy's world a fresh cow pat simply completes the day! A walk to Pickmere Lake ticks all the boxes - lots of mud, a few horses to bark bravely at (as long as they are on the other side of an inpenetrable hedge), rapidly scarpering ducks - whose quacks sound a lot like they're laughing at us - and plenty of familiar canine friends to greet by sniffing them at both ends.

First ever blog!!

2009-01-14T22:40:00.000Z

Well – a new year and a resolution to start a blog! Like most of my great decisions and ideas in life, it came to me as I was walking Daisy. She is our 19 month old boxer dog, a bouncing, tireless, over-exuberant and slobbery beast who ensures that we get daily exercise in the fresh air. It’s also thanks to Daisy that I have explored many local parks, walkways and nature reserves and come to really appreciate how lucky we are to have so much to offer on our doorstep.
So, back to why suddenly start blogging? Well, yet again, I headed out with Daisy on a beautiful, frosty bright morning without my camera and spent the entire walk regretting it and blaming it on the dog. I should explain that we are still training her (a very long process as we find lots of excuses not to do the homework we are given by our “dog whisperer”) and she is not yet allowed off the lead, as she tends to greet other people with excessive enthusiasm i.e. bowls them over like skittles. Owners of like-minded dogs don’t tend to mind, but those walking (or carrying...) smaller pooches of a more delicate disposition can get quite upset!! Hence, I have not quite got to grips with controlling straining, bouncing dog and carrying any of my camera gear.
But today I decided that this had to change, as our daily walks offer so many wonderful photo opportunities. Having spent the last year building the picture-it-big business, which has been predominantly portraits of children, I’ve found little opportunity to photograph anything else for my own pleasure. Today’s walk across Carey Park, along the river Weaver to the Anderton Boat Lift and back via the canal to Newman Flashes offered such a variety of scenery and points of interest. During most of the walk, the winter sun had a kind of rainbow around it – tricky to photograph but I would have liked to have tried. The dried brown grasses and teasels in the meadows along the river were topped with frost, which gradually melted as the sun reached it, to form sparkling carpets as far as the eye could see. The industrial structures of the Northwich salt mines provided a spectacular backdrop, pumping columns of steam into the sky. The low angle of the sun at this time of year results in magical lighting for a good part of the day and the canal looked particularly atmospheric, with steam rising off the melting ice and wood smoke puffing from the chimneys on the canal boats. Not to mention the wild life along the river and canal banks and in the meadows. A heron perched motionless on a rusted wreck of a barge, red flashes as robins flitted from branch to branch - just to mention a few.It’s all very well to describe all of this, but I was kicking myself for not being able to photograph it. So, from now on, it’s poo bags, flask and camera in the rucksack. Initially it will be just my Panasonic Lumix compact camera as it’s light, doesn’t matter if it gets dropped or slobbered on and gives lovely crisp and punchy images. It also has a 12X zoom which should give me the flexibility to shoot landscapes, close ups and wild life. My favourite shots will make it on to this blog, no doubt painting a far better picture than my painful, cliché ridden prose.