I'm joking of course, i'm not that bad, but last night before we were ready to call it a night, just like a little boy who really doesn't want to go to bed, found every excuse to stay up a little longer.
I did my usual stint of checking every website that I follow to see if any of my favorite photographers had blogged, checked my Twitter, e-mail, facebook. I'll just look at the WPJA site too, I knew I hadn't won anything because I hadn't heard anything from them.
So I was *pretty happy* when I saw that one of my images came in the top ten. EVEN happier when I saw that another of my images had been awarded 3rd place in one of the catergories! I may of screamed like a school girl! I am now very proud!

I've been a member of the WPJA since October of last year, and the amount of booking that I have received has been incredible!
So congratulations to all the other WPJA winners, especially the ones from the UK. It's always nice to see photographers who are nice and close!
Please make sure that you view the other winning photos here. They are all amazing! Honestly, in fact, mine look pig awful in comparison!

Both of my winning pictures are from Owen and Jane's wedding at Clearwell Castle. A venue that I know quite well.
I'm very pleased to be given recognition for the second shot. By far, that room, for me is the hardest room to shoot in. Ever.

I really enjoyed this wedding, I was there right up to the very end which was great as I really got to know a couple of the guests.
I certainly felt like one of Owen and Jane's friends by the end of the evening as they made me feel so welcome!

So, thank you, you two!
I hope you made your flight to San Francisco for your honeymoon in the end!

This one picture is just a little teaser.
It really caught my eye when I was going through the 1400-ish pictures!

I love that Owen's mum made time to glance at her son at a very important moment.

Keep an eye on the blog as I've got another great teaser to post before I blog the best of Owen and Jane's pictures from their wedding at Clearwell Castle.

Enjoy!

I've loved 2009, I've met some incredible people, learnt some good lessons, ate some wonderful food, attempted to dance with the best dancers to the worst and best music, seen some incredible bands and taken some killer pictures.

I can't wait to get wait to shoot my first wedding of 0'10.
It already promises to be an even more successful year than '09.

Thank you to all my brides and grooms who have chosen me over other photographers, I've really enjoyed meeting you all and getting to know you.
We've had fun.

And finally, thank you to my amazing wife. None of this would of been possible.
You really have no idea how patient she is with me!

Enjoy my look back at 09.

First, I shot our close friends, the Hornby's as an anniversary present for their parents.
Gorgeous weather in Bristol on that day!
Look out for Sabrina, she's just booked me for her wedding this year!


Then came the wedding of Debby and Craig, this was a biggy for me for many reasons.

I can't believe this was in 09! It feels like years ago!
Mark and Laura are a wonderful couple, I loved shooting them.

This is my brother Phil, and his wife, Hannah.
They're allot of fun and awesome family to have.
This shoot was a little embarrassing for me as I had to tell my brother how to kiss photogenically! Mmmm!

Then came a really great wedding!
Ian and Grace
This by far though was one of my favorite ever bride portraits.
(I was also very pleased with the edit!)

Bianca and Jimmy came next, I did an engagement shoot with them in Knighton. For those who don't know where Knighton is, it's no where near anything.
Bianca and Jimmy are great friends of ours, I was really looking forward to shooting their wedding!

I did a few child portraits around Bristol, mostly in the Ashton court grounds.

Then a Bristol photoshoot with this couple, Mark and Laura are allot of fun to be around.

Then their wedding came, I forget now but by the looks of it, the photoshoot was either 1 or 2 days before the wedding!
A great wedding, and a beautiful bride.

Some familiar faces in there? I should think so! And look out for Rowan in the middle here, I'm shooting his wedding this year too!

Paul and Cassie, what a great couple and super good looking too! People like this make my job very easy.
Another engagement shoot where the wedding was just a couple of days later...



By Far, my favorite groomsmen portrait of '09.
I would never usually edit an image like this, but with such awesome faces, I had to push it to the extreme.
Without the expressions, this picture would be a flop.
FYI, I had a bride book me because of this picture.

Right, I've been looking forward to posting this one. For sure, a favorite engagement shoot. This was text book.
1) Luke and Jasmine both put allot of effort into looking good for their shoot.
2) Both start the shoot quite nervous.
3) But, chose some great locations with personal attachments
4) Light was perfect
5) Did a little trespassing
6) By the end of the shoot, I'm sure Luke and Jasmine forgot I was taking pictures, they felt so relaxed.
7) Shot roughly the same amount of images on this shoot as what I do at an average wedding.

Bianca and Jimmy's Wedding. Loads of fun!

Another experimental groomsmen shot.

Then my first wedding of many at Clearwell Castle. Thanks Will and Cindy

Luke and Jasmine got married. Of course, with one of my famous Joseph Yarrow Engagement shoots, Jasmine and Luke were totally relaxed in front of the camera! Book now!

Then a really fun Engagement shoot in Badminton with Adam and Lucy. Their wedding is in the summer. Remember that season?

Then I tried something that I've not really done before. A baby shoot. Harvey was easy to shoot, as were his parents, Becki and Ben.
Looking forward to doing a few more baby shoots this year.


Certainly one of my favorite shots from the shoot.

Followed by an engagement shoot in Sheffield!

And a wedding at Clifton Mansion house in Bristol. I can't wait to shoot there again this year!

This also was a text book shoot!
Great looking couple.
Awesome locations.
Both started off nervous.
Ended up dancing by the end.
True story

A few weeks before, I had been inspired to change my equipment to make my pictures better.
This part of the shoot was at dusk... well into dusk actually. This was shot with totally natural flash.
I was nervous about changing my equipment, but shots like this made me confident that I had made the right choice.

I'll keep this one short and sweet.
I was contacted by this lady, she asked me to take some pictures of her and her husband in their wedding attire for the wedding anniversary.
Sure, no problem at all, but why?
She was so disappointed in her images that she had to have them done again.
I hear this sort of things very often.
Do not book a photographer that you're not sure about.
I personally know people who have cried because their wedding pictures were appalling.
Your wedding pictures are one of the only things left from your wedding, so don't mess around.
Anyway!...
This shoot was allot of fun!

Matt and Annie got married.
Hands down, one of my favorite weddings of '09.
You should of been there!

I don't think I'm doing this couples wedding, but they were guests at a wedding that I also was a guest at. Tried my best not to be an Uncle Bob

Got this great shot of Jessica with her two brothers Micah and Keir

Strictly speaking, I didn't take these pictures. Jessica did, so although I set up the lighting and camera, she takes full credit for the shots.
Unfortunately, she doesn't plan on taking any more shots as she doesn't think she's good enough! Crazy I know, but I think we'll do a few baby shoots together, with Jessica entertaining and assisting!

Amazing weren't they!!?

Really looking forward to Chris and Victoria's wedding in March, that's going to be allot of fun.
This shoot was loads of fun!

On my way up to this wedding, I got an email from the WPJA saying that they wanted me to join their organisation.
This was the best wedding/business related news I was given all year.
I was so glad that I could shoot a wedding the very next day!
Thanks for booking me Andy and Julia!

Hands down, the hardest engagement shoot with Paul and Rebecca.
We had so much fun though!

Another wedding at Clearwell Castle. Thank you Dave and Paula!

Nathan and Vicky's wedding came next. Fun!

Matt and Yvonne had an engagement shoot by the harbor. It was here that I realised that the evenings were getting darker, so this shoot was quite a challenge for me. Great couple though, they made it much easier.

Jimmy and Louise chose our favorite city of Bath for their engagement shoot!
Another text book shoot!

Then Matt and Yvonne got married!
Nothing...I repeat Nothing, beats the expression of the guy behind Yvonne! Brilliant!

Then for my last wedding of the year, Jimmy and Louise got married at Clearwell Castle.

Whoa!

That was a busy year on reflection!
My original draft of this blog had about 200 pictures in!

A huge thank you goes to all my Bride and Grooms, past and future.
You've treated me like a King and I've eaten like one (Although I'm sorry I'm so hard to feed with my food intolerances!)
Thank you also to all the great comments on my blog, I love receiving them, they always make me feel so great!

Keep on visiting and commenting!
I can't wait for this year to get moving!

At the weekend I shot another wedding at Clearwell Castle.
Remember Jimmy and Louise's photoshoot in Bath?
We had loads of fun in the fog and the cold on that day.
Unfortunately, Jimmy and Louise wern't exactly blessed with good weather at the weekend, but the great thing about Clearwell Castle is the fact that it always feels so warm there and even if it's rubbish outside, there are so many great rooms to discover!

This was the biggest wedding I've shot at Clearwell and certainly the most fun!
It was also my first chinese wedding, so plenty of new sights I've not witnessed before, like the tea ceremony which I found fascinating!
I'd love to be there for their Chinese wedding in Hong Kong, it sounds loads of fun!

Friends and family flew in literally from all over the world to see Jimmy and Louise get married, so the atmosphere was amazing!

Unfortunately, so far this is the last wedding of the year. I can't imagine getting booked for another December wedding now!
It's been a pretty busy year and I've loved it, I think I'll post a "best of" like I did last year.

Whilst I edit the rest of the images, enjoy this little teaser.
The full blog will be up in a few days.
Check back soon.

Joseph

Louise really compliments Jimmy, she's a smart and sweet girl and goes perfectly with her future husband!
Jimmy likes to explore new places he's never been before, wether he's holding Louise's hand whilst looking for little side streets on holiday, or cycling, or rock climbing! I'm sure Louise will take care of him!

This was my first morning engagement shoot, which was a little odd for me as I usually try to revolve it around sunset. It was very foggy Unfortunately, none of these pictures show the fog as my camera is just too good!! Nah, I joke, there simply wasn't any in the city!
But it was very cold! It could have been worse though, it could of been raining!

Anyway, we had fun. I know I say this all the time, but these engagement shoots are really good fun! I think it's very important to have a little shoot like ours before your wedding day, especially for someone like Louise who doesn't enjoy her picture taken. When her wedding day comes next month, she'll be a natural infront of the camera!
It's also great to just have a little jolly around somewhere you wouldn't usually go and get away from all the wedding pressures!

Enjoy Jimmy and Louise's pictures and remember to look out for their wedding pictures next month! They're getting married at Clearwell Castle which is quickly becoming a regular hangout place. It's the last wedding of the year too!!.... so far!
Enjoy these pictures from our engagement shoot in Bath!

We started off in a location that I've wanted to shoot in forever, and I'm still desperate to go back, but I don't want to spoil the magic of it!

You can really see Jimmy always looking after Louise.

The great things about cities is the diversity of places to shoot, ultra modern graffiti in a city that is now a world heritage site!

They're a really cool couple! Their wedding will be loads of fun!

BIG thanks to Anemone Flowers who let us shoot in their stall for a couple of minutes!


I love the contrast here! Also, Jimmy likes his horror films so he was quite happy. Louise is more of a good book/chick flick girl!

Autumn is such a great time, but it just seems to pass so quickly!

I love this picture of them both though, its a little bit sexy, but very classic too.

This might be the cheesiest shot I've done, but hey! It's all good fun really!



Louise and Jimmy are somewhere down there!

And I'll finish with this sneeky little shot! I love the light in this, and the lines leading up to them!

So thats about it!
We had fun, but in Bath its very easy. It's such a beautiful city. Jessica and myself agreed that it was our favorite city and could easily live there.
Maybe one day hey?!

Remember to look out for Jimmy and Louise's Wedding pictures at Clearwell Castle on the blog soon!

But it was still quite a surprise to me that this is the only reception venue that I've shot at before!
You'll remember Will and Cindy's wedding earlier this year if you're a regular reader. Dave and Paula had quite a similar wedding also at Clearwell Castle, but obviously at a completely different time of year. The trees at the moment are so beautiful, perfect for pictures!

As soon as I got out the car at Clearwell Castle, the smells hit me! At first I could smell whatever the guests were having for lunch which made my saliva glands go crazy, but the best smell was of burning wood, and as I walked into the castle I could see the open log fire crackling and it filled the whole room with this gentle warmth that wrapped around my cold face! Even throughout the day when I was shooting outside, the air was full of this amazing wintery smell!

I introduced myself to the staff, and then a very happy looking Dave came up to me and without being blase he had to be one of the most relaxed grooms I've ever met. I went upstairs to see Paula and she was equally relaxed whilst she was having her hair done by her best friend Claire. You can always tell if it'll be a relaxed day if the two most important people are relaxed, it was perfect!

Enjoy these pictures, hopefully it'll give you an idea of the feel of the day!

Megan, Dave and Paula's little girl holding onto Mummy's hand

The Bridal suite is incredible!


A smile like Dave's really sets the mood for the day!


I like this picture, I think its the fact that he is surrounded by these martini glasses, and he's just casually sipping his orange juice like a little dude.


And on the subject of long pictures with people sat on chairs, I present you with this;


I have to end with this one! Check this little man out!! He's almost as good looking and charming as me!

Congratulations Dave and Paula!
Me and Jessica hope that you have a really great time on your skiing honeymoon! (not jealous at all!!!!!!)

http://www.photoboxgallery.com/josephyarrow

This was a real last minute wedding!

This was a good thing, as it gave it me no time to work up my nerves (which I always get before I shoot a wedding)
Cindy's Dad found me on Flickr ("or was it twitter?"), rang me up and asked me to do the thing that I do, for his Daughter.

Will and Cindy were wed in Clearwell Castle, not far from the Forest of Dean.
Seems like the castle has had some pretty cool modern history! Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Bad company have all recorded, or rehearsed there...and I quote from wiki: Black Sabbath came to the castle in 1973 seeking inspiration after a series of fruitless writing sessions in California. The band found what they were looking for (including "the riff that saved Black Sabbath") in an underground "dungeon" there, writing the critically acclaimed album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

Cool!
What it doesn't say on wiki though, is that Clearwell Castle probably has the largest collection of furniture I've ever seen!

Thank you so much to the staff at Clearwell Castle for making Will and Cindy's day go so well, and special thanks goes to Elise.

Anyway, the wedding was a really relaxed affair, it was a pleasure to be there and it was awesome to see two really great people marry.
Thanks allot for allowing me to be part of your day.
Enjoy these pictures won't you...

Will and Cindy's Cutie-Pie-Little-Girl, Isla


Mr Groom, Will!

The competition.

Will with their Son, Noah

Will's Best Man and Brother, Doug

Grandad!

The Bride!











Not everybody was pleased! =P



The Hyde Family!







Where do you think you're going?

Don't Mess.

No Grooms were injured in the creating of this image

The Ladies were allot more...Ladylike



Quite an impressive venue, I'm sure you'll agree!

Congratulations Will and Cindy!