Kerrie and Matts Wedding

I was invited along to Kerrie and Matts wedding as a guest but offered to also shoot a little video while I was there. Dennis was also invited so also got into the action.

As I was there as a guest I wanted to keep it simple so shot it mostly handheld using the small Panasonic Lumix GX80 (GX85 in the US). This little camera offers great stabilisation particularly when used with a stabilised lens such as the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 which I used for most of the day, switching to the 7-14mm f4 I think during the reception etc. The 7-14mm isn't stabilised but as it's wide angle its less important; using the 12-35 you effectively get 5 axis stabilisation. Any slightly shaky shots that you are left with can then be smoothed out using Warp stabiliser in Adobe Premiere Pro.

I was quite lucky with Dennis's shots as when I sent him around the back of the venue Kerrie just happened to be on the balcony having photos taken and gave him a wave!

The December wedding was made complete with the lovely snowfall the day before.

Here's the final result

Its Dennis's fault

Its been a while since I last posted and its all Dennis's fault.

Dennis is my Mavic Pro Drone which I bought in July.

Since then he has travelled all over with me; Greece, Lake District, Cornwall etc.

He has flown over land, sea, lakes, canals and fire.

I have put a separate page on the website to link to videos and photos that Dennis is proud of.

He is quite addictive to use so I have neglected some of my other cameras and definitely the website. I will do better !

Coventry Motofest 2017

I didn't have much time to visit Motofest this year, but when I did I was really chuffed to find that they had used one of my 2016 photos in this year's guide - right in the middle!

Anyway here is a couple of this year's photos from my brief visit

it was great to also see Sam from the 'Seen Through Glass car vlog on Youtube

Miles Bagshaw Band

A keyboard player I know, Miles Bagshaw, asked me to video his Dissertation Gig at the Robin 2 club in Bilston. His theme was Modern Keyboardists and his band was made up of fellow music students. The standard of musicianship was extremely high as you can judge for yourself here. Watch out for these guys in the future!

Wedding in Rome

Had a fantastic oportunity to go to Rome this month and take some photos at a friend's wedding.

The Basilica (Church) was amazing, the bride and groom looked fantastic ....

Ideal Holiday Camera Bag?

When on holiday, particularly abroad, I want to be able to carry my cameras without it being obvious and a target for an opportunist thief.

Three years ago when on holiday in Jamaica I bought a 'Bob Marley' bag to carry everyday stuff you need on holiday, including a small camera etc,

I found out that I could fit the inner part of my Billingham Hadley Pro in my 'Bob' bag which gives the necessary protection to the cameras in it without advertising what you are carrying.

Perfect !

Full Frame - no zoom required

My favourite walk around, out and about camera is my Sony RX1R which I think is the smallest full frame camera on the market, although now its in its Mk ii form.

The three bears

Love these Billingham bags !

Billingham Hadley Pro, 225 and 335

Headshots

I needed to take a couple of very quick headshots for my brother-in-law's CV.

January

January is not my favourite month although it does include my birthday which helps a little I guess.

Reinventing a derelict space

I recently had an assignment to capture some faces attending the VIP night of The Albany Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol.

Lake Street Dive - Bristol

Had a lovely weekend in Bristol visiting my eldest daughter's new house and on the Saturday evening catching one of our favourite bands, Lake Street Dive, gigging at SWX Bristol.

I lost a clogball

My favourite camera bags are made by Billingham who I think started out a long time ago making fishing gear but now have a great range of bags for photographers. I've got a Hadley Pro and a 225 (I think it's called).

One of my videos on TV

I heard today that one of my videos may be used as a trailer on the Keep it Country TV channel.

Cornwall

We visited Falmouth for the Oyster Festival. The hotel we stayed at was so nice I put together a very quick video of it

Holy Trinity

It might sound as though Nikon camera users are religious when they refer to the 'Holy Trinity'.

Coventry Cathedral

I got a message on the day I got back from Greece asking if I could cover a concert at Coventry Cathedral the following night when a Scottish band called Mogwai played the soundtrack to a film called Atomic, directed by a Coventry born man called Mark Cousins.

York

We took a trip to York for the weekend and were very lucky with the weather.

Skinny Molly

I first heard of Skinny Molly when watching a Youtube video from a photographer I follow for his camera reviews.

Godiva Festival 2016 - Coventry

Once again this year I attended Coventry's annual 3 day free music festival featuring this year, amongst other bands, The Boomtown Rats, The Charlatans and Scouting for Girls.