Oxfordshire Christening

It was a glorious summer day ten days ago for the christening of Charles at Kencot church. Family and friends had gathered to celebrate, including siblings Ella and Henry, and I was invited to take some photographs of this wonderful occasion. The glorious weather meant we could spend the afternoon in the garden after the christening and get some great shots of the kids at play.  Some of my favourites from the day are shown below.

  

SWPP Members Training Day - Morag MacDonald

Yesterday I attended a SWPP members training day.  It's been a while since I found time to attend an educational course for myself but it was a good reminder of the benefits and inspiration we can get from observing others work. The day focused on using natural light and creating additional lighting where necessary in a way which still retains a natural look. Something all photographers try hard to achieve! Morag MacDonald has I style I appreciate being a fellow documentary photographer so I was particularly keen to learn how she approaches her work and creates her images. Like me, she tries to avoid overly posed images and may direct on occasion rather than formally pose a shot.

Her work shows strong influences of film noir and uses natural light to create shadowy, contoured images which give her subjects a 3D feel and realism and thus creates a natural feel to her work. The ability to place a subject in the available light and position yourself as the photographer correctly to create these images is a skill and an art not learnt overnight but with many years practise and refinement. I came away from the day feeling inspired and with a passion to attempt some of what I learnt.  Although we have similarities in our style, it is not my intention to copy Morag.  As with all art and photography that inspires me, I take the learning on board to use and create images in my own style.  A few images from the day are posted below. (Thanks to our model for the day Vivienne Edge).

Another bronze award from the SWPP

I love taking all kinds of photographs - if its there I'll shoot it!  Every style and subject is a learning experience which feeds into my professional work.  So I was pleased to achieve another bronze award from the Societies for this single entry shot of an Eagle in last months competition. June is going to be a busy month with half-term over its back to business - prewedding shoots, SWPP members day course with Morag MacDonald....and that's just next week! 

Competition Honours

Its been a while since I found time to enter any competitions but last month I submitted an entry to the science and nature section of the SWPP monthly competition and have been award a bronze for this image of a dandelion. It always great to get recognition for my work and encourages me to try new areas of photography to expand my skills.

Some of my previous awards are below:

Silver:

Bronze:

Springtime in bloom...

Gardening is one of my passions so I was delighted when Holly from Thanks a Bunch, the florist in Faringdon, agreed to let me do some photos of the flowers in her shop.  They are updating their website so its always important to have fresh, up-to-date images to accompany the site. It was an interesting morning and gave me an opportunity to capture some lovely spring blooms in her shop.  Some of my faves from the shoot are below.

Springtime

The gorgeous weather this week has made it a joy to get out and capture some spring flowers. Here in Oxfordshire the daffodils are in full bloom and helebores are still looking good. While my business focuses on shooting families, I wanted to share my passion for plant photography with you here on my blog. As always, the light is an important consideration for capturing good shots.  Strong sunlight will desaturate the colours and create shadows giving harsh contrast in your photos.  Early morning light or late afternoon when the light is softer creates stronger images.

While saturated colours give a warmth and vibrancy to an image I also like to create monotone images which enhance the texture and structure of a plant. Minimal post production was carried out on these image using lightroom presets and some minimal cropping. Images were taken using my canon 5D mkII and lenses 50mm f1.4mm, 70-200mm f2.8 Hope you enjoy them.

Editorial for JCP!

I was really please to have an editorial about Judi Checketts Photography published in this month's Advertiser (Vale of White Horse). It explains about the business and how a lifestyle shoot works. If you've yet to get your copy you can pick one up in local shops and nurseries. More details on my special offers are on my website.