Candle in the Wind

Sadly I did not get to photograph this wedding

      As I seem to spend most of my waking hours concerning myself with weddings it is hardly surprising if my mind turns quite frequently to iconic brides.
     There is no doubt that Prince William's bride Kate Middleton is a lovely girl, a very pretty girl and a very sane, sensible seeming, girl. She was a beautiful bride, who it easy to believe will make a wonderful wife and mother to William and his children for many years to come.
     But when it comes to icons, I don't think she can hold a candle to the fragile, dangerous and extremely vulnerable glamour of Princess Di.
    And coming across two photographs I shot of her when I was working as newspaper photographer in London in the early eighties you can see some of the reasons why.
     I was lucky enough in those days to photograph many members of the royal family, the Queen, Princess Anne, the Queen mother and Prince Charles as well as Princess Di.
    The only one who held any truck with the pack of photographers, that always surrounded the royal family, was Prince Charles, who I remember at a Sports Festival in Battersea Park seizing a bicycle made for two, leaping upon it and cycling away from us shouting "I bet you can't catch me on this".
      Indeed we couldn't but it made us laugh as we tried vainly to run after him.
      In those days he was nicknamed 'action man' amongst the press corps.
      But the one thing the whole family had in common was a 'Touch me not aura' that was like a transparent fence. I don't remember anyone ever trying to touch any of them.
    However Princess Di was the exact opposite wherever she went she had the famous 'common touch',  an emotional contact with everyone she came in contact with. This often led to members of the general public reaching out for her.

At a birthday party in an old people's home in Wandsworth

   She stood closer to them and shared their experiences as if she were a member of their own family rather than a royal.

Look how close to this barrier Princess Diana is standing

Causing people, complete strangers to reach out and in this case pull her towards them before planting a noisy smacker on her cheek.

For more beautiful and iconic brides visit my website

Panoramic possibilities

Wedding day blues: the skin tones are first red then gradually turning blue for this brave couple

      Even in February with the bride and groom shivering under threatening Welsh skies in Craig y Nos Parc, for the photographer, a stretch of water is an immediate cue for a bit of creativity.

     For this couple a swift embrace is the only way the bridegroom can combat frostbite.

Sam and Damien at ease beside the water garden in the Villa Romana, Marbella

      I was about to write a piece about wedding traditions but it will have to wait.

      Having just finished creating an album for a delightful couple, who got married last month, I realized that, the album is one of the areas of being a wedding photographer that I absolutely adore.

Lindsey and Jonas sharing an umbrella beside the beautiful small lake at King Arthurs Hotel on the Gower peninsula

            This is partly because of my passion for the panorama!

         The last half a dozen albums, put together by yours truly,  have all contained this quite rare beast. In fact I bought a camera last year that was supposed to do the job for you… and more to the point I actually tried it out several times. However, unsurprisingly, cameras really can’t  be relied to create this sort of image without some pretty uncomplimentary distortions to faces and bodies.

            No it’s back to the photographer to remember that when they shoot the image they must shoot another half as much again to create their final image in the darkroom or in photoshop. 

For more brides and grooms testing the water see my website

Laughter is.......

 Craig y Nos Parc after their wedding ceremony Anghared and Matin relaxing

       Having spent an entire week on my computer, closeted with the two romantic souls who married last week on Valentine’s day, I discovered that the gentle portraits I shot between the ceremony venue in Abercraf and the reception venue  at the Brecon Castle Hotel were not necessarily my favourite photographs of the day.

     I’m surprised at how often this happens and I imagine that possibly the couples themselves experience a similiar progression.  First checking out the images where they both look gorgeous and then maybe? preferring the laughter and shared special moments.

When it comes to carrying off his bride, no caveman could do it better.

 Beautiful Angharad pleased to discover her new husband has survived his efforts.

     The only problem with the computer is, it can't tell me what on earth Martin can have said to her
while the choir was singing to produce this burst of laughter.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with the words the choir are singing.

For more laughing couples visit my website