LA Fitness - a good time to get in shape...

I've developed a good relationship with the staff at our local LA Fitness (Newark). They are a great bunch and I have recently re-done their staff photographs.

We have put together a special offer for their members during January and February. We are offering a portrait sitting with a complimentary 7x5 print completely free of charge. In addition, you can have a £25 off a PureWoman Experience, a location portrait or a Photobooth booking. See one of our leaflets in the club or ask at reception for details. You can also find details at our 'We Love' pages for LA Fitness.

I was at LA Fitness yesterday to complete the last few staff photographs and they had just received new combat kits for their new promotion. So we took some pictures with these and hey presto....

10,000 images later....

I've enjoyed having a look back over some of the pictures I've taken over the past year. We are often so busy taking and then presenting our images that there rarely seems time to pick out favourites. Well that is what I have done.

One of the core aspects behind PureLight is our commitment and passion for great photography. Those who appreciate the difference between a snap and a good photograph will realise what I mean.

In total, I have over 10,000 images from the past 12 months - and as I use film this means that I have shot a lot of rolls.

Here are some of my favourites.

This picture was taken in July this year and is a portrait of Raj, one of our grooms. The setting was quite ordinary - a brick ally. I used a portrait lens - a 50mm or 85mm - with a shallow depth of field. I used black and white film, as I knew the picture would work best in black and white. I have also selectively darkened the image using my computer to accentuate the tones.

This next picture was taken in November at Jonathan and Helen's wedding. I like to add a sense of depth in my pictures, to enhance its composition. One of the ways to achieve this is to place people at different depths in the picture. The picture has more balance than just a row of people.

Pictures of details form a large part of what we do - many people find great pleasure in remembering many of the details of their weddings and if taken well they can also make for very pleasing photographs. The challenge is do more than simply record the detail but use composition and light to create a pleasing image. This picture is a good example:- it was taken at Chris and Keddie's wedding in August. The subtle background colours and soft light work well with the flower and I also like the composition.

The choice of lens was also key. We have invested a lot in our range of professional lenses and this one enables the main subject - the flower - to remain in focus, whilst the background is blurred - this also creates a sense of depth in the picture.

This picture is of Victoria, who was also married in August and held her reception at Branston Hall, Lincolnshire. This picture was taken at home, whilst Victoria was getting ready. Thanks also to Victoria for not throwing me out of her room. She has several brothers, so I guess she is used to boys being around.

The pictures below are some of my all-time favourites. They capture a chance moment. The first was taken at Holdenby House and is of Amy walking down the main staircase with her dad waiting. This was of course a completely candid moment, caught whilst I too came down the staircase.  

The second picture was taken at Fawsley Hall and is of one of the flower girls with a chance look of wonder as she looks up at the bride.

The next picture was more planned. I could see this couple coming down the path and wanted to create an extreme panoramic picture - I waited for the right moment and then took the picture.

I'm not really a twirl sort of person - but on this occasion it just made sense and I wanted to create a sense of movement in the picture, so I asked Caroline, the bride, if she would do some. 

I obviously said the right thing and she seemed to enjoy the opportunity to do some twirling - and this picture made for a lovely image. The wedding was held at Stoke Rochford Hall, just south of Grantham. The hall has recently been restored, following a major fire several years ago. This was one of the first weddings following completion of the work and it is an amazing venue and great for photographs.

We love to photograph Asian weddings for all the reasons you could imagine - the colours and sheer vibrancy are a joy to capture. We have met some wonderful couples this year and have enjoyed every aspect of these weddings. This picture was taken at Jignesh and Meghna's wedding and is during the Hindu ceremony.

Our first Asian wedding was last year, when we photographed Vinesh and Dipti's wedding at the Leicester Marriott - and it was this wedding which lead on to several more Asian bookings last year and more again in 2008. We photographed Salima and Arif's wedding in September 2007 and we were immediately asked to photograph the wedding of Karima - Salima's sister - this year. It was like a family re-union for us and an even greater joy to photograph because we knew so many people.

I love to capture moments in an abstract way, with less emphasis on technical perfection and more on capturing the right moment. This picture of Raj putting the ring on Karima's hand is a good illustration. I love his expression and the fact he is mid-way through putting the ring on Karima's finger. To me it is a priceless moment captured forever.

And here are Salima and Karima with those fantastic smiles, taken at Karima's wedding. 

One of the strongest aspects I have found from working with Samantha and now with Jade is the stimulus this provides for creative development.

When I worked on my own then, to a degree, you stick with what you know and for good reason tend not to stray too far from your comfort zone. We all learn from each other and this provides us all with the necessary confidence to try new things. One area that has been new for us all this year has been portraits. 

You may have seen on our website a growing presence of boudoir, location, fashion and studio portraits, photobooth and now nursery pictures. The technical, creative and people skills are different for each one and this has expanded our own depth of knowledge. The picture above is of Mia and Dom, one of my first portrait commissions - they loved the more relaxed style of photographs and I really enjoyed taking their pictures.

We opened a studio at Hexgreave Hall in the spring, located between Newark and Mansfield, not far from Southwell. The hall is set within a country estate and we have the run of the estate to take photographs. The following picture was taken in the autumn and is also one of my favourites.

Photobooth is an idea brought to us by Jade. We were aware of the concept but this was something that Jade, in particular, was keen to establish. We did our first three events earlier this year and they went down a storm. 

For those who are wondering what exactly I mean by photobooth then the best way to explain is we set up a mobile studio, complete with lights and white background, and then basically we get the guests to play up in front of the camera. It provides great entertainment and makes for some very different photographs. 

The two pictures here are from Matt and Sarah's wedding, which was at Norwood Park Hotel, Southwell. We set up a photobooth in the evening, running after the meal and until around 10:30pm. It was located next to the dance floor and as you can see, it went down a storm.

If you would like to see more then you can see a slideshow containing some of my favourites from the past year.

As you can see, this past year has kept us busy. For those who visit our site on regular basis...a big, big thanks and with best wishes to you all in 2009.

Facebook

It's been a busy weekend. We photographed Emma and James' wedding on Saturday at Belton Woods Hotel, Grantham and then we photographed Jo and Scott's wedding on Sunday at the Priest House, Castle Donington, Derbyshire.

The weather worked out well on both days, although we nearly ended up in Derby for longer than we wanted on Sunday. Jo and Scott were married at Derby Cathedral and the guests were to be taken back by coach. The coaches had been instructed to wait for us, whilst we took a few photographs of Jo and Scott in the Cathedral. As we were coming out, the coaches were heading off, leaving just a vintage Rolls Royce, Sam and me together with Jo and Scott. I waved profusely to Scott's dad, who was driving off in a mini-bus, fortunately he had the presence of mind to see me and so we got a lift back. Otherwise it would have been an expensive taxi ride to the Priest House. The rest of the proceedings for both days went to plan. Many congratulations to Emma, James, Jo and Scott.

Moving to the subject of this post - Facebook - we have created a page where you can access our Page on Facebook. There are tons of new material we need to add to this page...but in the meantime if you are on Facebook then feel free to become a 'fan'. It will spur us on to add new material.

Hope you have a good week and a great Christmas.

Kiddies...

If you follow our recent work gallery then you'll see that Sam has uploaded some PureWoman shoots - including a mum-to-be with her bump - and I have just uploaded some pictures from a lifestyle shoot of Cathy and Andy. Cathy and Andy came across to Hexgreave Hall, where our studio is based, and I took their pictures outside in the grounds. It was a cold but very sunny day in December and the colours have come out beautifully. You see, it does not have to be a hot summers' day for photographs. You can see all these at our Recent Work Gallery.

This is a busy time of year for us, with many wedding albums to complete, we had a wedding last Saturday and we have a wedding this coming Saturday and Sunday as well. I had a day off from official photographs on Sunday, as I went to see my Dad for a birthday meal (it was his birthday on Monday) in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, along with my mum and my immediate family. It was nice to see everyone and we should do it more often.

Many of you may know that I have been doing some nursery pictures recently. I have been granted permission from one of the parents to use the images on our website, so I here are a few pictures of Shannon below. These were taken at Fernwood Nursery, which is close to where I live and is south of Newark. The nursery is run by Dawn and I have to say is a delightful place, even if it does get a bit hectic at times. These pictures were taken in the nursery, using a mobile studio, complete with white background and lights.

End of the week...

...well Friday is here. The week seems to have skipped by quite quickly. I delivered the prints back to my local nursery at Fernwood, Newark, and I understand all the parents have been very pleased with the pictures, so much so that they wished they had ordered more copies. So that was a nice thing to here.

I met up with Jade today in Derbyshire. She is doing a pre-Christmas shoot for families at the Riverside Centre in Derby tomorrow, so I've lent her some lighting equipment and returned her white background that we use for photobooth. It is good to be able to share equipment and learn new techniques from each other.

Earlier in the week I was down at LA Fitness in Newark. They have a new manager, Sarah, and we have done quite a bit of promotion with them in the past, so I offered to do some staff photographs for their display. They have some great offers on at the moment and they all seem a really nice team. They are getting ready for the January rush .. apparently gyms get very busy straight after Christmas, I wonder why...

Samantha has also been busy with PureWoman shoots, which are turning out to be very popular. She had a viewing session last Monday with some girls and they were all taken aback by the results, with emotions running high....in a good way, of course, and she had another shoot this past Thursday.

I was with Jade on Monday in Derby. She was doing a shoot at a local solicitors, Timms, who were launching a new brand and wanted some photographs of the celebration and then we took some staff photographs for their new website. So, you see - we don't just laze about all week....

On the domestic front we have a couple of extra small dogs staying with us...so that makes 6. They are all rather small but sometimes I do wonder if I should get a kennel, so that I can get some quality time to myself....I guess that is my study.

I also saw Sarah and Matt, who were married in early October...as they came over one evening to Hexgreave to choose their wedding album. Matt and Sarah were the first wedding where we did a photobooth in the evening, where we set up a white background, some lights and get people to play up in front of the camera. They were over-the-moon with the results and so were their guests. More on this topic early next year.

I've also been busy creating a Facebook application, as we can now create a slideshow of our wedding album designs for our clients on a dedicated Facebook page, which makes sharing with friends so much easier. The first one is for Amy and Richard, who were married at Holdenby House in August. Here is a preview of their album design below.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Babies, babies....

Well, it does of course follow on from weddings...and it is so nice to receive pictures from past couples of their babies!

Here are two recent ones:-

This is Nancy and the very proud parents are Tina and Simon, who were married on a rather wet Saturday last June. I was so taken by the picture Simon sent me that it was my computer wallpaper for around a month - so I started my day with Nancy looking at me. Call me crazy, but it was a good tonic. Nancy is a few months old now, as she was born in the spring.



And this is Phoebe, who was born in September. Lucy and Dean were married in May 2006, so they have enjoyed child-free life for a little longer and I know they are delighted with Phoebe and I am sure so are all their families. Christmas will be very different this year.


Both photographs courtesy of the respective parents and a big thanks to Simon and Tina, Lucy and Dean for sending me their pictures.

Silly Sausage

For those of you who have joined up with me on Facebook you may know that I have been doing some nursery shoots this past two weeks. Suffice to say I have survived the unenviable task of trying to get smiles out of many under 3s and have said 'silly sausage' more times recently than I think I have ever in my entire life!

I am fairly used to children - with four daughters of my own, although they have mostly grown up now. You need lots of patience, that's for sure, and a calming approach.

As for the pictures, well they have turned out really well. We use a white backdrop and take several pictures of each child, so the pictures are more akin to a contemporary studio than the more traditionally posed nursery pictures. I can't show them here because of the obvious reasons on privacy but I am really pleased with the results, and more to the point so are the parents. If fact one parent said to me that she never normally buys nursery pictures because they are not very good - but with these she wanted a print from each image. That was nice to hear.

So it looks like I may be saying 'silly sausage' a bit more.

Leicester Marriott Wedding Show

Today we're at the Leicester Marriott exhibiting at an Asian wedding show. It is full of bright colours and lots of very tasty food! Asian weddings have become a big part of our business, as you can see from our website. We have really enjoyed photographing Asian weddings - they are so much fun, lots of hard work, but we so enjoy them. In fact our first Asian wedding was at the Leicester Marriott, the wedding of Dipti and Vinesh.

If we saw you today at the show - then 'hi from us'.

Burghley House Weddings

Well it was been a busy few weeks.

Congratulations to Jonathan and Helen, who were married on Saturday 8th November at Wollaton, Nottingham - the weather came good at the important moments in the day - and the day itself was very special. They held their reception at the Priest House Hotel, Castle Donington.

On Sunday 9th November we were at Burghley House, Stamford, Lincolnshire for a wedding show. This was the first ever wedding show at Burghley and it was very busy. If we saw you there then a big hi from us!

Last Monday I was helping Jade with a shoot in Derby with studio pictures at Fresh Faces - Little Creations, held at the Riverside Centre at Pride Park. We have started to do a few nursery and children shoots. This coming Wednesday I am at our local Nursery, Fernwood (Newark) doing the same thing. These are, of course, the more modern types of children photographs.

I've also being doing a few lifestyle portraits and some in the studio at Hexgreave. You can see the studio portraits of Luke and Grace and lifestyle portraits of Joanne and Scott in the recent work gallery. I have some gorgeous pictures of baby William, which were taken out by Woodhall Spa - taken on location, so the setting with autumn leaves and straw bales is wonderful. And last Saturday I did some lifestyle portraits of two teenage sisters (Amy and Bethan) together with their grandma's puppy, Hamish. These were taken in the grounds of Hexgreave Hall Estate and again provided a wonderful background, with plenty of autumn colours.

Sam's also been busy with some PureWoman shoots, which are now held at Allington Manor, near Grantham.

And finally, this coming weekend we will be at an Asian wedding show on Sunday 23rd November at the Leicester Marriott, which runs from midday to 7pm. So if you're in Leicester on that day then call in and say hi.

It's been a busy year...

Well we are just about to kick off October...

This time last year this site was not even live - we wanted to create a site that people would want to come back time and again. We now we have over 200 pages, full of new content and every week we add more.

This year has of course been busy with weddings - a big thank you to all our couples, we have enjoyed both meeting our clients and capturing their photographs.

We have visited a number of great venues - including Stapleford Park (again), Fawsley Hall, Holdenby House (we fell in love with this venue), Swinfen Hall, The Priest House, The Barn at Bury Court (in Surrey) - along with many local favourites, such as Branston Hall, Colwick Hall, Holme Pierrepont Hall, Kelham Hall and the Petwood.

Portraits has been one of the major new developments for us this year - with the PureLifestyle and PureWoman brands. We have brought our own style of contemporary photography to this. Someone said to me that if you can take a good portrait then you can take a good picture - because it is one of the hardest areas of photography. I can understand that, because the combination of technical and people skills is paramount. You can't just be a fly on the wall, you have to be able to direct people but still maintain a contemporary feel to the picture.

We opened our new studio at Hexgreave Hall, Jade and Vanessa joined our team - Jade as a third photographer and Vanessa on album designs, and we have had much fun working on various fashion shoots with Lincolnshire Pride magazine.

I have picked one picture to show here- amongst the many thousands I have taken. There were of course so many that I could have picked. It is a recent picture - taken in August at Hexgreave - of baby Grace and her mum Sally. I took Sally's wedding pictures last July - we love to get to know our clients and it is always great to meet up again. I was delighted when Sally and her husband Nick asked if they could bring their new daughter for some portraits. This is called lifestyle photography and the picture was taken in the grassy fields in the Hexgreave Hall estate.

Off to London for the weekend

If you ever wondered, on one of those rare moments, about what it is like to be a wedding photographer well here is a small insight. I'm off to catch a train in a moment, to London to stay overnight. I will be photographing Hayley and Gavin's wedding tomorrow (congratulations to them) just by St James' Park, central London. They are getting married at the Horse Guards Chapel and the reception is on the other side of the park. The finish is a bit late, so I have arranged to stay over on the Saturday night.

I am meeting a couple on Sunday morning in central London who are getting married next year and are interested in booking us. Their wedding is in Surrey, so it made sense to meet up whilst I was in London. I've also said that I would do some 'try before you buy' pictures for them, as I will of course have my camera equipment with me anyway, and it will be something different for them.

Oh, it is my wedding anniversary today and I even managed to go out for lunch with my wife, which made a nice change.

Samantha is shooting a different wedding tomorrow, Ellie and George (congratulations to them also), although this is a bit more local. This weekend is one of the busiest for weddings, as it is the first weekend of the school holidays.

Well, I hope you all enjoy the nice weather.

Recent Wedding Pictures

Hi and good morning,

I'm starting to recover from last Sunday (see post below)! We met a couple yesterday evening for an enquiry meeting at our studio in Hexgreave Country Hall and I was briefly speaking to them about how we set up this website, so that we have control of the content on the site. This means we can add fresh content as our photography develops and to reflect our most recent work. It is not uncommon for most websites to be rather static, by this I mean most of the content stays the same and inevitably it gets out of date. We wanted this site to reflect the contemporary style of our wedding and portrait photography and so we have the ability to upload fresh content as we like.

This is all to say that I have just added around 20 or so images to the wedding gallery, which are all images taken within the last 6 months. They are from a slightly larger group of my favourite images from the last 6 months (see post below). It may take a short while to load, but please feel free to have a look. Here is a link: Click here for our Wedding Gallery

It was a long day..

We left Newark just before 7am on Sunday morning to travel to Birmingham. Karima and Raj were getting married at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel / Golf Club later that day. We photographed the wedding for Karima's sister, Salima and her now husband Arif, last September and so this was always going to be a really nice event to cover. Asian weddings are so friendly and welcoming - at least that is the case with Karima and Raj and their families, we feel like part of the family!

I dropped Samantha off at Karima's parents' house at 8:30am and then I went to the hotel and met Raj for around 9am. The wedding was not till 12 noon, but we had a lot to cover before then. I won't go through all of the details for the day - but the main reception was for around 300 guests and included - as is always the case at asian weddings - lots of dancing. The wedding ended at around 9:30pm, when the families said goodbye to Karima and Raj in what is known as the crying ceremony, for the obvious reason. By the time we packed up and said our own goodbyes it was just after 10pm.

Sam dropped me off at home at around 11:40pm - which made it a rather long day.

It was lovely to meet all the families again - we feel we know so many of them. Look out for the photographs, which will be on-line towards the end of August.

Off to sleep for me!

Some Recent Favourite Wedding Images

Today was very unusual, in that we had no wedding to photograph - a nice change. My wife decided to go down to London with two of my daughters and I have been on dog-sitting duty.

So, I have put together a collection of some of my recent favourite wedding images. These have all been taken this year and they are simply my favourites - no other choice or criteria involved. Every photographer has a slightly different style and these images reflect my style and the type of photographs taken by PureLight. You can view them by clicking the show below. It might take a short while to load, so please be patient.

You can also see the same show in a new and larger window by clicking here.

A busy weekend...

It has been a busy weekend for us with wedding photography. Samantha was in London, near Harrow, for the first day of an asian wedding whilst I was in Shropshire covering a wedding. And on Sunday, I was in Heathrow at the second day of the asian wedding whilst Samantha was covering a wedding in Nottinghamshire. Our weekends are not normally this busy - but the spring bank holiday is popular for weddings.

The wedding I did on Saturday (Lucy and Peter) in Shropshire was extra special because I had photographed the wedding for one of their bridesmaids, Lizzie, in 2006 and I also met the parents of one of our brides for next year. Lizzie has been very busy recommending our services because this year we are covering 3 weddings for people she knows! Lizzie and her husband Ben are a lovely couple and it was such a delight to meet them again. Lucy contacted me last year and her original date was already booked - so she changed her date to one that we could make!

The wedding from yesterday for me was the evening reception for Ash and Geeta. It was a fantastic evening and was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Heathrow. It is quite normal to have a large reception for asian weddings - and whilst this was not overly large by asian standards - only 300 guests - it was still quite large. The overriding sense though is a joyous celebration in style.

It was a late night last night, as I finished around 12:30am this morning and decided to stay over on route rather than drive all the way back to Newark. So today has been a steady day of rest!

Oh, and we have a new dog staying with us - Daisy, a british bulldog - she is a lovely dog but very lively and very strong!

Some pictures of Lizzie and Ben - who were married in July 2006:-

Catching up...

We had a few technical issues with our blog, which meant we have not been able to post for some time. Thankfully these are all fixed now. It has been such a busy time that we barely know where to start with what we have been up to - there is just so, so much to add! Here is a very quick guide:-

We have...

...opened a new country-based studio at Hexgreave Hall. This is a wonderful location and an ideal setting for photography.

...been busy setting up two new types of photography for our clients, purelifestyle and purewoman. Whilst these are based around portraits they are very different from the more typical portrait photography business.

...been doing several fashion shoots at Duddington Manor, which is a great location just outside Stamford - and the pictures have been stunning too. These will be featured in Lincolnshire Pride magazine, so look out for the features.

...introduced engagement shoots for all our new wedding bookings. These have proved a real hit.

...taken on two assistant photographers, Robs and Emily, to be part of our team.

...introduced an album design service for all our wedding clients, in the form of Ness, who is a professional graphic designer and now designs all of our album layouts.

...some 40 weddings booked this year, covering English, Asian & Chinese ceremonies and covering locations as far as Welshpool, London and as local as Nottinghamshire!

We will try and update you on all these and more in the coming weeks.
Glen

Asian Wedding Show

Today (Saturday) we've been in Harrow, north London, at an Asian wedding show. We will also be there on Sunday (24th) too. It is at the Harrow Leisure Centre, from 11am to 6pm.

We've had some really positive response from people - and if we met you today, then 'hi from us'. We approach the photography for Asian weddings in the same way we do for English weddings, that is with our own style of contemporary photography, capturing the day, and also the character and emotion from the wedding. We are not just taking snaps, but our approach is completely professional, with image quality that speaks for itself. This has been a growing trend in English weddings for some time, and now seems to be growing in demand for Asian couples too - and we've had very many positive comments from people today. So thank you for that.

There are a number of Asian weddings in this site, including Mandeep and Sukhdeep, Dipti and Vinish, and Salima and Arif. You can see a selection of images at recent weddings, some album designs and all the images in our client galleries.

Oh, and the food is just wonderful!
Well, off to bed for me, as I have an early start in the morning,
Glen

Lifestyle Photography - Half-term offer

We have recently teamed up with Duddington Manor (located near Stamford), to offer lifestyle photography at Duddington Manor. The manor is a beautiful 17th century manor house and is wonderfully fitted out inside with gorgeous views outside. We are offering limited places during half-term next week. Use the link below to find out more...!

Lifestyle Photography at Duddington Manor

We just wanted to say thanks...

Well it is just over 12 months since Samantha and I formally started to work together and from which we created PureLight By Sam & Glen. We set out to provide a high quality service for couples who appreciate beautiful photography. As you can tell from this site, we both have a passion for fantastic photography, but we could not have imagined the level of positive response we would receive from clients.

We wanted this website to be a dynamic site, not just the usual photography website. We wanted it be a service for our clients and to create a site that people would come back to again and again.

So thank you to all the couples we've come into contact with over the past year. It is a privilege to be a small part in other peoples' lives and we hope we have captured some happy and wonderful moments for you to cherish for many years to come.

If you like this site and you think others will too, then please feel free to post links to PureLight by Sam and Glen in other blogs and even places like Facebook, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, digg, or any other site you think people might be interested. In short, if you love this site, even if you just like it, then feel free to spread the word. I'll do a separate post if you're not sure how to create a link.

New York, New York:-
by popular request, here is another picture from my time in New York in January. Click on the picture to see a larger version. I think it may have been taken by my eldest daughter, so I won't claim any credit - but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
have a good week and a good Feb,
Glen

It's been a strange few weeks..

As you will tell from the posts below, both Sam and I have been away for most of January, so it has been a strange few weeks.

A key part of our plan for the PureLight business is continuous professional development. We invest a large amount of time and money to improve our own skills and also to upgrade our equipment. We've recently invested in some new off-camera lighting systems, which means we can use artificial lighting more creatively, and also in some new lenses. Anyone who knows even a small amount about photography will know the importance of the lens to the final image. Professional lenses cost a small fortune and we've just added a few more to our range. So we are fresh with lots of great ideas and some new kit for the 2008 season.

I was in Northern Ireland last week. My youngest daughter did her work experience there and we decided to use it as a good excuse for a break. It was a bit wet, but it made a nice change. I've no pictures, as I tend not to take a camera when I really want to relax - but it was a very pleasant time. We went to the Giant's Causeway, which is quite remarkable as a natural sight. The volcanic activity that created the natural feature means that the rocks are like you might see from Star Trek, shaped in perfect hexagonal 'tubes'. We also went to Armagh, which is a beautiful cathedral city and well worth a visit. We went to the Belfast Grand Opera theatre to see 'A Night in November', starring Patrick Klelty. This was a one-man performance and quite amazing at that. It is a comedy but very much cutting to the heart of the politics of the area. Well worth seeing if you ever get the chance.

We are at Branston Hall wedding show on Sunday (27th) and also Sam is visiting Tania-Tapel (wedding planners) at the Asiana bridal show in London on this day. We have started to do quite a few asian weddings and we get on really well with the team at Tania-Tapel, they are just great.

Hope you all have a good week,
Glen

Sam and Glen in Tampa!

This is the proof, Samantha and me in Tampa at a professional photography convention. This picture was taken by Irit, who is a professional photographer from Brazil. We got on really well with Irit. She started her photographic career in commercial and fashion photography and therefore she has a great eye for good pictures. If you're thinking of getting married in Brazil, then she is our recommendation!

As you can see by our name badges, the convention was by the DWF (Digital Wedding Forum). This is a great forum for professional wedding or portrait photographers. It also has a start forum for would-be professionals too. It is great place to learn and share.

This picture was taken on the last day. It was a 4 day convention with around 500 professional photographers from around the world, including the States, Canada, Europe, Australia and, of course, Brazil. We were a bit tired at this point, as each day was packed with several inspiring seminars. You can see in the post below that these were truly inspirational and we have come back with lots of great ideas for 2008.

Glen

Totally Awesome!

We've been away from 1st Jan through to the 10th, on a mixture of business and pleasure. The pleasure part was a trip to New York. I went with my wife and youngest daughter to visit my eldest daughter, who moved to New York with her husband last year. She lives in the centre of Manhattan and we were able to stay in her apartment - so that was great. You can see a few of the snaps below.

I had been to New York only once before and it was a real delight to be there for several days, especially staying in Manhattan. We were able to get a good sense of Manhattan, which I had not realised was so restricted in area - it is small island measuring only 3 miles wide, and hence all the skyscrapers. The metro travels up or down-town only, and with most roads arranged in a grid (north-south and east-west), finding your way around becomes quite easy.

They say it can get cold in New York. It was freezing, like minus 5C, which felt like minus 11C. If you took your gloves off for more than a few moments then your hands became very cold, very quickly. That did not stop us from Ice-skating in central park, which was a nice way to pass some time outside. We also went to the Statue of Liberty and then Ellis Island - but the queues were quite long and I have never been so cold, my feet were almost numb! Ellis Island is well worth a visit. It is where immigrants were processed and so you get a very good sense of the history and origins of America - it was also heated inside, which on that day was very welcome!

The business part was something very exceptional. Samantha and I belong to a professional network of wedding and portrait photographers from across the world - Digital Wedding Forum - and so we went across for the annual convention, which was held over 4 days in Tampa, USA. There were over 500 professional photographers from all over: USA, Canada, Europe, South America and Australia. The convention was packed full of teaching seminars, with top photographers from around the world, and the chance to network and meet other professionals. So we have come back refreshed and alive with plenty of new ideas for 2008.

It was, in the words of our fellow american photographers, totally awesome! We met so many great and inspirational photographers. Samantha had a mentoring session with Garrett and Joy Nudd, two amazing photographers based in the States, and I had a mentoring session with Mark Lutz, another great photographer based in the States.

We attended seminars by James Walters, who showed us some very helpful techniques for off-camera lighting, Yervant, who is based in Melbourne and is known across the globe as a true high-end wedding photographer, and Cliff Mautner, who is based in New Jersey and is an exceptional, award winning photographer and one of the few in the world to be sponsored by Nikon. There is much else to say that I won't extend the list - but you can guess, mixing face to face with such great photographers is both a privilege and an inspiration.

So here are some pictures from New York. They were either taken by me or my daughter:-


I don't need to say much about this one!


Ellis Island is well worth a visit. It has been made into a visitor centre, as it no longer functions as an immigration centre, but it has been fully restored and is very well laid out.


This is inside the main building at Ellis Island, the large hall, where immigrants gathered for processing.


This is the Manhattan skyline on the way back.


As a special treat, we went for a short helicopter ride over Matthattan in the early evening and this shot was taken as we were coming into land. There was little opportunity to get the camera settings 100% right on this one!

On the subject of album designs..

It has been a busy few weeks for us. We've had our heads down and have been busy beavering away getting as many album designs done as our little fingers (on the mouse and keyboard) can manage. The exciting part is when you see someone's album come together, with a selection of pictures that tell the story from the day. As we get more completed we will upload them to the album design page, so do have a look.

Traveling by train...I never used to do much train travel, but I use the train quite a bit now. I went out to Nottingham on Wednesday to meet another photographer and our web design company. It was only £4.50 return from Newark to Nottingham, and only took 30 mins each way - far better than using my car. I guess the key is being near a station at both ends of the journey.

I have a wedding free weekend coming up, so we are off to London for the day to see the Christmas lights and generally chill out - although hopefully not literally. Taking the train again, and making use of my family railcard. Must remember to take my camera!

We love.....I have added some new pages to our "we love" section, so feel free to have a look. We like to recommend other suppliers who we know we can fully recommend.
bye for now, Glen

PureLight News

We have created our first E newsletter! - Click to the right to see it:-PureLight E-News

Update from Glen

Okay, so it has been a busy few days. It is now Saturday night and time for me to be getting tucked up in bed. No weddings or wedding shows this weekend, which is a nice break - as it has been a very busy summer - with something like 30 weddings from late May through to late September and 6 wedding shows.

I travelled out to Northern Ireland on Thursday evening for business and arrived back last night - travelling always makes me feel tired. I went to see 'run, fat boy, run' today at the cinema with my daughter. It is a good film and just what we both needed for a Saturday afternoon.

I meet with Salima and Arif this morning (hi Salima and Arif!). Samantha and I covered their wedding and reception in early September. They are a truly lovely couple and both Samantha and I really enjoyed taking their pictures - we felt like part of the family, they were all so welcoming. They came across today, from Manchester, to view their pictures (I have a viewing area set up with a large screen) and to finalise their album choice. This is offered to all couples and saves months of never-getting-around to sorting out your album choice. It is also nice to meet up with couples again. We will be taking the photographs for Salima's sister's wedding next year. It is always nice to do weddings where we already know some of the family.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is also a busy day, as we have three couples coming round, 2 for enquiry meetings and another viewing session. Weekends inevitably are mostly busy here, so I will try and have a quiet day on Monday. I think my wife has some shopping in mind - not sure if that is what I had in mind, but the change will be nice!

I hope you have had a chance to look around our new site - we are constantly adding new content - whether new recent weddings, or new album designs or new 'we love' pages, or just updating our wedding gallery.

Comments please....!

To new and old viewers alike,

If you go to recent wedding gallery you will see that you can add your own comments. This section will be updated on a regular basis. The comments are designed so that couples, their families and guests can add their own comments alongside the images. This makes for a nice 'guest book' for people to read - words and pictures go very well together and help to give a real sense of the occasion. This is also helpful for prospective couples, who can get a real sense of the experiences from our recent weddings - of which we receive many, many very positive comments, but they are always difficult to capture.

So if your wedding is on the list then feel free to add a comment. We are updating this on a regular basis, so if your wedding was quite recent but is not there yet, then it will be soon...

Also, if you look at album design, under the heading "Gallery", you will see that we have added a few more album designs. This is to give people an idea of what our albums look like. Again, we will be updating this on a regular basis.

We have had this site designed so that we can keep it constantly up-to-date with fresh content - so feel free to come back every so often and see what is new.
with best wishes, Glen

Hello!

Hi folks, just a quick note to say we had a great time at Prestwold Hall today - we were exhibiting at a wedding show - and if you came along and saw us then Hi. You can see a wedding I shot there a few weeks ago in recent weddings / online albums - Phil and Fru.

We always get really positive feedback from couples at shows and it is nice to meet and talk with other suppliers. We realise that we are not for everyone but it is always nice to meet people who appreciate and value what we do. Our site goes fully live from the middle of next week, which means we will be able to upload fresh content on a regular basis - and that is something we are really excited about. We wanted the new site to be fresh and developing all of the time.

Anyway, it is getting late and I've got a busy few days ahead - heading off to Leeds tomorrow and then Oxford on Tuesday, for some meetings - so it is time to get a takeaway - my folks love Chinese, that is where I am headed next. (for some unknown reason the time on the blog is very strange, it is actually 6:20pm Sunday evening - how peculiar)
best wishes, Glen

Prestwold Hall Wedding Show

Just to let you know that we will be exhibiting at Prestwold Hall wedding show tomorrow (Sunday 28th Oct). Prestwold Hall is located near Loughborough, so if you are in the area then why not come along.

Some family snaps

Here are some of my favourite holiday pictures:-


We went to Disney!


Most of my pictures include people, but I have refrained from embarrassing my family too much by posting their pictures here. But this one caught my eye. It was taken several years ago and is a simple, everyday scene – but to me the way the picture was taken turns what could have been a snap into something more.


I like this picture simply because it tells an obvious story – our two dogs waiting very patiently for a walk.


This was also taken on holiday, whilst in Italy. I was standing by a very large lake and was looking for a composition that would make a good picture, which is tricky with large lakes. I then looked down and saw this jetty in front of my nose. It provided what I needed to turn what would have been a rather empty picture of a large lake. I like the black and white image, with the gentle graduation in tones across the picture.


I took this picture whilst on holiday in Maderia. It was a casual picture. I was looking around to see what was the best angle. I was stood above these men and looked down. I liked the composition and light. The picture has a degree of balance to it, to me at least. Composition and balance in a picture are important to me.