With all this hot weather we've been enjoying recently, this shoot might be a slightly odd sight as it took place when we had all that snow.
Snow is all well and good for making a city look all romantic and festive but I lost count of the amount of times I almost slipped and broke my back. It was so dangerous. But hey, if my pain provides people with a temporary smile then it was worth it...Please don't quote me on that.

We live only about 30 minutes away from Bath so we're there very often and we always manage to find some new corner.
In fact, at the weekend we cycled there and back. Our legs are still aching!

Ian and Lucy used to live in Bath so they knew the city very well and we ended up in some corners of the city that I've never even seen before.
When we found a little book shop called Bath Old Books, I had to pop in and ask the owner if we could take some pictures inside. Lucy, being an English teacher was in her own absolute heaven!
Afterwards, we found a bakery called The Bertinet Kitchen that we could smell at least a block away, we popped in and bought some very tasty scones. (for photography purposes only of course!)

Please enjoy the pictures. Look out for their wedding on here very soon and have a look at the picture of their invite that I was given and that was designed by Lucy. It was a great taste of things to come!

Because so many of my couples love the city, I imagine that I've shot more engagement shoots in Bath than in Bristol.
Here are a couple of them:

Jimmy and Louise
Ed and Lucy
I've got one more to blog soon and one more shoot coming soon. That's definitely not a complaint!

See you soon!
 Joseph

Neil and Kat got married up in Liverpool back near the end of last year, there were still leaves on the trees, bright golden they were.
I had never visited Liverpool before so for me it was quite exciting. Everywhere you turn has some reference to the fab four, (no, not the Backstreet Boys).
Neil and Kat held their reception at the incredible Sefton Park Palm House, a conservatory palm house built in 1896. It was beautiful inside and out, with a huge variation of exotic plants.
At a few times throughout the day I looked out of the window...the whole building is basically a big window to be honest...and noticed 3 or 4 wedding cars drive up to the front gate, brides were getting out of the cars to have their picture taken with the house in the background. I felt quite lucky to be inside a building that obviously was a popular landmark that meant a lot to local people.
During the evening reception I was talking to one of the guests, she said that when she was a little girl she used to come to the palm house on a Sunday with her parents and read the newspaper. It was much warmer in the Palm house than what it was at home. Apparently, it was quite common for everybody to do this, it saved on heating costs!
Now the Palm house has been beautifully restored and it's a pleasure to be inside.

Neil and Kat didn't have the best day weather-wise, It was a typically chilly northern late-Autumn day with lots of showers. Personally, I can't stand the rain, but I do like how rain makes people huddle closer together to try and stay warm and dry under one umbrella. It makes for great pictures. That panic that hits people when the heavens first opens is quite a funny site to record through photographs. Californians might have a steady supply of golden and lush light, but we've got the rain and atmosphere!
I'll keep on telling myself that's how I like it.

Regular readers might recognise Neil here, he's appeared on the blog before along with another couple which I'm very sure you'll recognise.

Enjoy the pictures and please leave a comment at the bottom of the page!

The ceremony itself was a pleasure to cover. Real emphasis was put on making the marriage strong by making their God come first and by supporting each other and working as a real team. Often I find that church ceremonies aren't personal to the couple which is a real shame as it is such a personal day.
On many occasions, the priest/vicar/officiant has got the couple's name wrong and it's so embarrassing!
To save their own embarrassment, I've often been asked if I know the couples name.
"Sure, I'll tell you if you pay me real good money!"
Of course, there was no shame or mess-ups. Perhaps because my very own brother was best-man. It was very strange having him around, as I'm sure anybody will tell you!

It was a great wedding full of friends, old and new. Many of them previous clients of mine (a term that I hate using) 

Please enjoy the pictures, I know a lot of you have been looking forward to this wedding so if you've seen the pictures, please leave a comment and spread the word!

Thank you as always.

Joseph

A couple of months back, I met up with around 30 photographers from around the UK.
All these photographers were members of an online photography forum created by Rosie Parsons, a fantastic business woman and photographer.

Rosie had arranged 4 models, hair and make up artists, vintage tea sets, dresses, food and a massive boat for us to use to our leisure.
With me being a skilled sailor, I made sure that everyone was taken care of.

I shot with 3 models and they, in order were; Clara, Siobhan and Nathalieh.

These are just a few of the pictures I took.

I've known Mike for a little while but met Gabi for the first time at Rowan and Faye's wedding a couple of months back.

The engagement shoot
We met up at Blaise Castle which you may of seen a couple of times on the blog here, here and here!
When couples ask to shoot there, it's music to my ears! It's on my backdoor step, and it's beautiful there!

We started the shoot in the typical way by having a chat and helping them to see that although I may look like a total hunk in my picture, I'm actually very approachable, as is my camera!

The actual pictures!
Enjoy them, leave a comment and more importantly look out for their wedding on here soon!

Now for the wedding of a super smoking-hot couple from the Midlands.
Yes, there is such a thing.
Nathan and Kate got married at the Kingdom Hall in Cradley Heath and then went onto Hotel Du Vin in Birmingham.
I loved shooting there as the light all around was gorgeous.
Having the reception smack in the middle of the city was a pleasure, I don't believe I've ever had that privilege.

The great thing about shooting in the city is that in the day, the sun bounces off the windows and metals creating gorgeous spots of light, and in the evening, all the offices and car parks still have their lights on making for some beautiful yet sometimes challenging lighting. I was in my element.
Please enjoy the pictures!

Nathan was as relaxed as anything I've ever seen.

Nathan had his Dad as his best man. He was just another one of the boys.
Here's the Bride, doesn't she look amazing? And that veil? She made it herself. So creative!
Mum and Dad

It's always a pleasure to see the groom's face as he watches his Bride walk down the aisle.

A gorgeous day for a wedding!

Oversized bouquets for ushers are now officially "in". You heard it here first!

Oh, Kate also made her bouquet herself too!

Inside, good light was hard to find but was amazing once I found it.

Yes, this little boy really was that cute.

We popped out for a few minutes whilst I had a raging headache to get some special portraits.

Bubbles never boring whatever your age...

...or whatever form they come in!

Kate's father's speech was hilarious! I think with all these speeches I hear each weekend, I'm going live a long life!


Here come the boys. I love that city light, and also how Nathan's Dad is clutching onto his Son.

Nathan and Kate hired a juke box for their evening reception. Clearly, this presented the guests with some extremely difficult decisions.

Me: So Suzzie, how long have you been friends with Kate?
Suzzie: Urrr, she's my sister?
Me: Sure...

Congratulations Nathan and Kate, and thank you a million times over for allowing me to be with you all day.
Enjoy your lives together.

Joseph

Brilliant!

This couple here are Ed and his lady, Lucy and they follow my unusual strain of couples who are so amazing.

Ed and Lucy are getting married in Aberystwyth later this year and want Jessica and myself to cover their wedding and I honestly can't wait!
When we met up at Boston Tea Party, which is my favorite coffee house, we had a general chit chat about what's going on and about how their plans have been coming along.
They really surprised me when they asked me if Jessica and myself would like to join them on the beach the morning after their wedding for a paddle. We are so there!!

These two are the loveliest couple around and we had loads of fun shooting in Bath. (Bath, the city where you can shoot with your lens cap on and still get beautiful shots)

Enjoy!

We were blessed with amazing light!

See?! I'm hilarious!

Such a gentle couple...

Looking at this image now, I really wish I photoshopped that car out on the left! So annoying!

Lucy is leaning against the glass wall of the Bath Thermae Spa which Jessica and myself have been to and it is A-MAZ-ING!

Lucy and Ed really spoilt me! They were the perfect couple to shoot!

And Lucy has such great eyes!

I shot through the heads of a night time tour of Bath, I love the feel of this image!

And finally...

Ed and Lucy, honestly, you really spoiled me, I really loved being in your company and when it comes to your wedding, I just can't wait!

Thanks for reading.

I was inspired today by two photographers.
One of them is Zack Arias. Without wanting to sound like all weird, he's a real rock and roll photographer.
"Just how rock and roll is Zack, Joseph?"
"Well, he named his youngest Son, Hawke Danger Arias (yes, Danger is his middle name)"
Awesome baby names aside, Zack is an inspirational person and I highly respect his opinions.
A while ago, Zack set himself the challenge of shooting 10 total strangers in 10 hours.
Today, after months of me thinking "I could do that", I did "it" or something similar.
Before you see any pictures, I'll show you who else inspired me today.

His name is Jonas Peterson, and I've been following his blog quite closely for the past year, maybe?
I read his "About me" page today and watched his slideshow.
I recommend that you also do that, along with very carefully viewing his latest wedding here.

Before I went out to find amazing people to take pictures of in Bristol, I knew exactly who I would start with.

Didn't know his name, I just knew where I could find him.

His name is Julien.
Julien is 65.
He owns a shop or "a sh*t shed" called Garden Trappings
Julien has owned his...ahem...shed for 10 years. He sells plants and flowers.
He like to throw bird seed onto his corrugated roof for the pigeons.
He has managed rock and roll bands, owned a chain of fashion shops and used to work in Saudi.
He believes in respect. He doesn't want people his age to be seen as Racist, he just wants fair play.
Julien is a non practising Christian, believes that someone, or something is up there, but that's about it.
He doesn't believe in global warming, he knows we're not helping but it's just not as bad as the media are making it out to be.
Julien loves his wife of 8 years.
She is called Faye.
She calls Julien "Faye's Fossil"
He gave me some advice.
"Follow your own trail, don't be led by others"

I knew Julien was going to be interesting, I just didn't realise how interesting he would be!
So he's my new friend!
Enjoy getting to know Julien a little.

Thanks for reading.

One  of the subjects that seemed to get quite a bit of attention was something that I previously hadn't posted on here before, and going by the title of this blog, I think you've probably worked out what it was.

As wedding season is starting to thaw and we've been getting allot of encouragement, we've decided to pursue a skill that previously, neither of us wanted to admit we had!

We've both loved baby photography in '09. Although, to paraphrase one of my current favorite photographers; brides and grooms tend not to cry for 99% of a photoshoot. Don't worry, I really have no plans on abandoning weddings.

So enjoy these baby pictures and keep an eye out for some new faces, and some familiar faces too!

If  you're interested in having some beautiful pictures of your baby, then please contact me.
Jess works along side with me and will help you to distract and entertain your baby, along with wiping the sweat off my brow!

I was feeling full of a chest infection and all the things that come along with it, and it was a really gloomy cold day in Bristol, but Mark and Amy brought a little touch of class to the cold city, their company was very warming! In fact, the sun even came out to play. Which was nice!

After the shoot with Mark and Amy, I'm really looking forward to their wedding at Priston Mill even more!
Make sure you keep an eye out for their wedding on here a little later this year!

It was a great way to get to know them a little bit more.
These shoots are the ultimate way to get used to having your picture taken!

Enjoy this little collection of Mark and Amy in Bristol!

First we stopped behind the tobacco factory and took advantage of some ACERONE work.
As a fan of both graffiti and photography, ACERONE is the perfect antidote for me!
Work like this can be found all around Bristol, it really makes me proud to live here.

See what I mean about bringing a little class to Bristol? Lovely stuff!

Oh, didn't I tell you? Mark and Amy can levitate. Proof:

And Mark is an incredible dancer! ;-)

The clouds went, which made us happy, and a little warmer.

We found this ugly background so we decided to get a little dark and moody with some harsh lighting.

But Mark cracked! Brilliant!

I love these colors on the harbor-side 

Incase you missed the teaser the other day...

Great words!

One of my favorite pictures. Just simple and sweet.

And Amy's face in this picture! Brilliant!

When Mark and Amy aren't levitating or dancing, they like to shoot energy balls from their faces.

And we'll finish here with a little bit of warmth. Thank you to the Big Issue vendor who blessed us with some colorful comments to make us blush!