Henk Van Kooten Seminar

I attended an all day seminar with Henk Van Kooten yesterday. I always love going to these events as it is always a good opportunity to catch up have a good old chat with my fellow photographers, in addition to listening to some truly inspirational speakers.

Henk Van Kooten is a Dutch photographer and his style of photography is truly amazing and it is not hard to tell the story and inspiration behind each image, although a couple had me baffled, but I am sure that was the intention!

It was a full day and the work he showed us was only the tip of the iceberg. The day ended with one of the most moving slideshows I have ever seen. At the end there was lots of blinking and looking up at the ceiling and I commend him for tackling this sensitive area is such a beautiful if heart wrenching way.

Back to work today and trying to absorb all the information that was imparted yesterday.

Hope everyone has the most wonderful bank holiday weekend.

Claire

Vic and Mark at The Ravenswood, Sharpthorne

It feels so good to be able to talk about Vic and Mark's wedding. The actual day was a secret and they had a masked ball in the evening to celebrate Vic's birthday and their very special wedding. It was great fun to watch and photograph the evening guests arriving and when they heard "we're married" it just did not sink in first time; then to see the looks of surprise and joy on their faces was wonderful and made for some great photography.

The Ravenswood is a stunning venue and I am lucky enough to be back there this weekend! Here are a couple of shots from the day. I hope you are having a wonderful honeymoon Vic and Mark and looking forward to seeing you next week.

Have a great weekend and I think it is going to be quite nice again.

Claire

Felbridge Hotel, East Grinstead and The Cupcake Kitten, Angmering, West Sussex

After photographing a really lovely wedding at The Ravenswood in Sharpthorne on Saturday it was off to a wedding fayre on Sunday at the Felbridge Hotel. This event was sponsored by Your Sussex Wedding and as always it is really nice to chat to engaged couples about the preparations they have for their big day. I never tire of hearing about the colour schemes, dress, venues and all the little touches they are planning to make their wedding really special. There is so much exquisite taste out there I am sure weddings bring out the creative side in everyone.

I had the good fortune to be sitting next to a lovely family company called The Cupcake Kitten and as you have probably guessed they make cakes...how lucky was I!! Jenny is the baker and she had some beautiful creations on her stand; there was one item that particularly struck me as being quite unique and it was called the cake pop. They were so beautifully done and really complimented her range of cakes and biscuits and I think they would make the most splendid favour at a wedding or take home gift at a party; the more I thought about it the cake pop's uses seemed to become endless. Lovely Jenny sent me home with some cupcakes and a cake pop and the delicious inside did not betray the outside. As I was half way through I occurred to me that I should have taken a picture of it; alas it was now to late so why don't you can pop along to their website and have a look for yourself.

I have one cupcake left and that is a treat to be savoured whilst editing my latest wedding!

Have a lovely week,

Claire

Portrait Photography East Grinstead - Mercedes and Anise

I photographed Mercedes and Anise my beautiful and gorgeous Goddaughters in the studio recently. Mercedes started senior school last September and it was this session that really highlighted how grown up she is becoming. What particularly shocked me? Well Mercedes is now marginally taller than me and I stress marginally, although I think this will be short lived! Anise has strict orders to stay shorter than me as I do not like being a shorty at all.

This session really shows how the girls are growing from beautiful girls into gorgeous young ladies and I really think my days of being a 'cool' Aunt may be numbered, so I have to make the most of this whilst I can.

Anyway here are some images of the girls and we already have another session planned...why not. Two fantastic models, and I think that's what they call Godmother perks!

Have a great week,

Claire

Lisa and Pete The High Rocks, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Good Afternoon,

I know, I know I am like a bus you do not hear from me then two posts come along at once! Here are a few images from Lisa and Pete's pre-wedding shoot at the High Rocks in Tunbridge Wells. This is a truly beautiful venue and I had my wedding reception here 11 1/2 years ago so this shoot brought back all sorts of lovely memories.

The High Rocks themselves are wonderful to walk around and the varying light conditions made for some very interesting lighting. The images you see here were taken using natural light only.

We have some great plans in store for the big day itself so lots to look forward to.

Have a great weekend and if this lovely weather stays with us; enjoy!

Claire

Pre-Wedding Shoot at The Ravenswood, Horsted Keynes

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog update; April was a busy month and I am doing lots of editing to catch up, so I am hoping to be able to post some more images during May. Easter proved to be absolutely glorious and I really enjoyed the Royal Wedding; I was glued to the television all day and loved it!

I had a lovely pre-wedding session with Julian and Alyson at The Ravenswood; the evening light was glorious and it was really relaxing wandering around the magnificent grounds chatting about their forthcoming wedding and having some fun with the photography. I always love these sessions and it really gives my Brides and Grooms a good idea of being in front of the camera.

Here are a couple of images from the session and I particularly like the last image as it conjures up dreamy summer days for me; I am hoping to bring this style into my photography a bit more this year.