Last spring I had a great time shooting some vintage inspired post-wedding images for a very special couple, Jo Jo and Duncan. The shoot took place near my Suffolk base in Ramsholt Suffolk, starting at the harbour and then heading back inland.  As well as bride and groom, the other star of the show was Jojo’s wedding present from Duncan, a gorgeous white 1960s vintage VW Beetle.  You can read all about our session and see the images from it here and also  at the end of the post read JoJo own thoughts about being photographed by me and how she found the experience.

Whimsical Wonderland Weddings is a wonderful resource and brilliant forum for all things wedding related.  As well as being a fab one-stop  source of suppliers and all things practical for your wedding, it is also a place to seek out unusual and quirky ideas and inspiration. Highly recommended.

Yesterday I visited Louis, who is 10 months old this week, for his baby portraiture session. It was a beautiful day with bright crisp sunshine but we kicked off indoors spending a very happy and relaxed hour or so  just playing - and doting - on this little chap.

This was also my youngest mother and grandmother to date and such a lovely natural bond between all three generations.

I have to say it was Granny’s idea to give him an apple to play with -  inspired. As ever, the simple things are always a winner.  Impressive hurling action too, but then we are talking super intelligent baby here who also feeds himself his bottle with one hand!

After a nap, during which I took some photographs of mum and daughter, and a quick splashy bath in the kitchen sink - definitely a two man operation! -   we headed out to the woods at nearby Sutton Hoo for some fun and fresh air in the beautiful early afternoon Suffolk winter light.  Just gorgeous.

It is always lovely to have your pictures in print and also for my clients to see an image from their session with me published -  the children always especially love it.  In this article I have 5 families represented who have had sessions with me in the last couple of years in both London and  Suffolk - and France!

To read the full article, you can download the pdf here: interview-wwwannamccarthycom

And how often does this come around? The opportunity to photograph someone on their 100th birthday?

Derek was born on January 20th 1912 at the tail end of the Edwardian era. To put his arrival into the world in context, a few days before his birth, Scott and his companions reached the South Pole. In that same month the African National Congress was founded and Sun Yat Sen established the Republic of China.  In the same year New Mexico and Arizona were added as states in the US, the Titanic sank,  the First Balkan War broke out, and Eva Braun, Gene Kelly, Woody Guthrie, Jackson Pollack and Kathleen Ferrier were born.

In the first few years after Derek’s birth leading to the first World War the following were invented:  the first motorized movie camera replacing hand cranked cameras, the crossword puzzle, the bra, pyrex, the zip, radio tuners, gas masks and stainless steel.

My list could go on, and into each of the 10 decade that have spanned Derek’s life, but enough to say that during his lifetime he has witnessed more changes than in any other century including  two world wars, man reaching space, rapid and dramatic changes in communications, transportation and medical advancement not to mention  the birth of the computers and digitization which yes, he has luckily and wisely rejected.

Some facts about Derek:

His father was a civil engineer and Personal Advisor to Winston Churchill before the war. He also just missed being killed in the famous R101 airship crash when he was pulled out at the last minute.

Derek followed in his father’s footsteps and became a civil engineer designing and building bridges, dams, airports and factories

At the age of 8 he met his future wife Pat at a tea party in Eastbourne. They remained friends throughout childhood and beyond to Derek’s years as an undergraduate at Trinity College Cambridge.  They were married when Derek was 27 and every morning from then onwards he brought her her breakfast in bed until 1996 when she passed away age 95. They were together for 70 years.

Derek’s accomplishments are too long to list but over his life he produced and sold countless paintings,  been a  framer, designer and carpenter - in fact the maker of numerous things from porches to exquisite pieces of furniture and from bird tables to beautiful wooden toys for children…. and all this in his spare time.

He loves Clangers and gardens and flowers and rituals like walking Daisy dog,  framing pictures and making useful, and not so useful, but lovely things and drinking tea and wine with friends and helping people and making people laugh - a lot.

It was an honour to spend that hour with Derek on his 100th birthday not least for that famous sense of humour  as quick and spontaneous as ever.

When I mentioned that the bra was invented the year he was born, he replied: “Oh really? I haven’t seen one of those for a long while”.

And his response to that inevitable question: ‘What is your secret to a long life?’:

‘Work. And helping others who are troubled to be cheerful. To be happy yourself you need to help others.’

Reading congratulations card from the Queen:

and numerous other cards from the very many people past and present whose lives he has touched:

With daughter Sally remembering the birth of both daughters: Derek’s other daughter Barbie was soon to arrive from Italy with Grandaughter Gemma:

Remembering Pat, love of his life and wife for 70 years:

With his best friend and mascot, Clanger:

Quiet time and siesta before family celebrations begin:

They chose two products from my range: the Box Frame which comes in a choice of three mouldings: oak (as here) white or black.  Really any type of image looks great in these frames because of their sheer simplicity which also allows the image to do all the talking. The frame sits flush against the wall and the image sits level with the top of the 2 inch frame profile giving an image box effect. The prints are finished with a satin laminate to protect them in the years to come.

The other framed product the Shah family chose was this from my Contemporary multiaperture range. These beautiful quality and highly finished frames work really well in both a traditional and modern interior. The wood is soft wood pine/obeche. A gesso is applied to the wood and they are then finished in a smooth black or white laminate moulding.

The frames are available as single frames, which are great for individual images of your child/ren, and multi aperture frames. Multi aperture frames are a fantastic way to display a mini photo story of your shoot in a single frame as here.

This white multi aperture frame contains three 9″x6″ prints in a landscape layout, but there is also the option to go bigger with 12″x8″ prints. The overall size of this frame is 36″ x 17.5″ but you can see all details of products and sizes here

I also have a very special portraiture session coming up with Derek (1912 - 2012 and counting…) who will celebrate his 100th birthday on the 20th (more on this soon), and then at the other end of the age spectrum I’ll be photographing 9 months old baby Louis who I met yesterday and who I defy any woman not to get broody over.. an utterly gorgeous little character.

Later on this month an interview with me about my family photography will be coming out in the 200th edition of  Digital Photographer magazine. The interview was conducted on the telephone while I was in the throes of  Christmas orders so I hope I managed to say something sensible. And in a few days Sarah and I will be heading to the annual SWPP (Society of wedding and portrait photographers) trade show and convention in Hammersmith, armed with various lists to research some exciting new products we are planning to offer clients this year, as well as attending a some masterclasses and seminars. Even after 10 years (this June) in this industry there is always plenty of new stuff to learn and be inspired by,  as well as the show being an opportunity to hook up with other photographers (old and new) and exchange ideas - and yes have a good moan too!

Back to Christmas, I did pretty much down all photographic tools over the holidays but in between the revelry and domestic duties that took over with a house full of guests and children, I managed to snap a few images.  After a Christmas day of the usual rituals - tackling lego kit instructions from 6am in the morning, wandering aimlessly from room to room with alcohol in one hand  and waste paper basket in other clearing away discarded wrapping paper, retrieving half eaten squashed chocolates lodged between sofa cushions, and saving the contents of crackers mangling up the hoover  - if you have kids this will all resonate - we managed to get out for a blast of fresh air on Boxing Day. These are my two favourite images -  of my brother and his partner taking ‘time out’ on a park bench whilst the cousins let off steam.

Happy New Year!

In my previous post, I included some pictures of Beth and Ed’s beautiful Queensberry wedding album that arrived on my doorstep a few days before Christmas day and which I was able to deliver to her mother’s house so that Ed could present it to Beth on Christmas morning.

And brilliantly Ed took this snap of Beth’s anticipation and excitement upon being presented with it:

and then a day later, I received this from Beth:

We absolutely LOVE the album and it was so special to receive it as a surprise on Christmas Day! Having got engaged and married here in Sudbourne this year, it wrapped up 2011 brilliantly.

You have created a family heirloom and something of which we are both immensely proud.  I can promise you it will bring us, as well our friends and families, many many years of happiness whilst turning the pages and reminiscing (and no doubt smiling and giggling at the fun and frolics!). As well as a set of fantastic images, you have told the story of our day fantastically well as well as capturing those special moments - so much so I want to do it all again!

We knew from the start that we wanted an album and now I know we absolutely made the right decision.

Thank you for your hours of hard work and patience with us - I hope you are even half as pleased as we are!

Beth

To see images of the album itself, please scroll down to the previous post.

Beth and Ed chose a 17 page (100 images) Queensberry album as part of their wedding package,  and since their day, I have been working with them both,  and the  team of experts at Queensberry,  to produce this story of their wedding day within the pages of this stunning heirloom.

Queensberry albums are the rolls royce of wedding albums. All are bespoke printed and crafted with incredible attention to detail and using the best quality materials. From the initial design through to the binding and finishing, they are a labour of love. There really could not be a more beautiful nor satisfying end result for your wedding photography.

I told Beth and Ed that because Queensberry will never rush any job but only release an album from their headquarters in New Zealand when it is 100% perfect, that their wedding album was unlikely to be with us before Christmas. But last week it arrived on my doorstep and I immediately  hatched a plan (with Ed) to take it to Beth’s mother’s house in Sudbourne where I knew they were gathering on Christmas eve so that Ed could give it to Beth as a surprise on Christmas day.

The story of this album is so lovely I will blog it over two posts. But first up here are some images of their album which I managed to snap in the chaos of orders and deliveries and preparations that were my pre-Christmas days, before delivering it to Beth’s mother in Sudbourne on Christmas eve morning.

Beth and Ed chose a microleather embossed cover for their album in Shadow:

The album has 17 pages 34 sides and 100 images so it has a really substantial feel to it as well as a comprehensive coverage of the visual story of their day:

and these pictures I hope show just how beautiful the construction is of these albums - designed and built to last for future generations:

Beth and Ed chose white metal edges to protect the corners of their album. There is an option to omit these if you prefer:

The pagemount border inside the album is grey and the mats (wonderfully thick luxurious boarded pages) are ivory

the black and white images look fantastic against the silvery grey border and the colour ones - many of which are on a blue/ivory theme - are perfectly set off

This image shows just how accurately each photographic print is positioned and fixed to the border:

Whichever way you position the album, everything is perfectly aligned in the construction:

Last friday was a particularly special family photography shoot when I got up at the crack of dawn (setting out in the pitch black of a drizzly grey wet December morning) to visit Micaela and her absolutely gorgeous little boy Teodor in London’s Holland Park area.

Teodor, like my own daughter, was born prematurely so Micaela and I already had had lots of chat beforehand about Teodor’s journey from birth to coming home. There is something particularly special about prem babies. They have a strength and a stoicism - wisdom even - that is born of the fight they are required to fight so early in life for their health. And their parents - sexist though it might sound, their mothers -  who have often suffered from that lack of immediate contact directly after giving birth followed by weeks of monitoring and sometimes operations, seem to have almost an added delight and appreciation in their offspring.  Basically the lows are very low so the highs are then very high..  and to see this little chap so strong and happy and active was a joy.

We had a lovely couple of hours starting off inside, then a break while Teodor had a nap, followed by a super-quick whizz round the gardens before lunchtime.

Here are some of my favourite photographs from my session with Micaela and Teodor in Holland Park, London.

These 5 x 5 inch glacier blocks are particularly popular with my family and wedding clients. Newly weds often purchase one of their favourite images from their day as a first Christmas keepsake for him or her,  and parents like to give them to each other and/or as a gift to grand- and godparents. These 5 are destined on Christmas day for godparents.

It is hard to do complete justice to these lovely highly reflective blocks in a 2d image, but with the glacier block your print is mounted to the back of the 30mm acrylic block and encapsulated enhancing that ‘moment forever captured’ feel and giving a lovely prism effect. Glacier blocks are ideal on a bedside table,  mantelpiece, shelf, coffee table or desk and are a particularly personal gift and keepsake. I have a number in my own house that I’d definitely grab in the event of a fire, and over the years, many clients of mine have their favourite wedding image or image of their child/ren in these by they beds as the last thing they see when they turn out the light and there beside them when they wake up in the morning - and make a point of telling me how much pleasure they give.

Glacier blocks are available in sizes from 5×5 inch to 12×10 inch. You will find more visuals of them including the 7×5 inch version here. For more information on sizes and prices, click here if you are a family client,  and here if you are a wedding client, and to contact me to find out more or make a purchase email me at anna@annamccarthy.com or 07811 242266. There is still just about enough time for me to get one to  you before the great day is upon us.

And while we are speaking of Christmas gifts, do click here to see details for purchasing Anna McCarthy Gift vouchers and here for a special offer for 2012.