DJB Photography Blog

The second wedding this weekend was Rachel & Andrew who married at St Mary’s Church in Boston Spa, with their reception at Goldsborough Hall.  Another fantastic day for me, though weather wise a bit overcast for most of the day.  Both the church and Goldsborough were very well presented which makes it so much easier from my point-of-view and Rachel looked lovely in a dress that really was made for her.  Andy is a great guy, at ease with everybody and relaxed throughout the whole day.

It was a really lovely wedding and one I thoroughly enjoyed.  I wish Rachel and Andrew a great time on honeymoon and look forward to creating an album for them.  Please see some of the photographs below:

A busy weekend this weekend with two weddings.  On Friday I photographed the wedding of Alison & Will at the Treasurer’s House in York.  Although predominantly overcast the day was great.  Alison & Will are a lovely friendly couple who were great to photograph.  Their family and friends also made me feel very welcome, and I captured something a little different as I strive to push myself so as not to do the same thing every time.  We had a little time during the drinks reception to make the most of the fantastic surroundings of the Treasurer’s House, before moving on to the Royal York Hotel for the reception.

A very enjoyable day and I am sure you will agree the photographs look great.

Due to demand I have put together a photography course which I am planning to run locally to start in the next few weeks.  The course is aimed at beginner level and was conceived as a result of a couple of friends who expressed and interest in learning how to take better photographs, but who are not familiar with the basics of how a camera works and the majority of functions of the camera.  The course has been built on the back of a course I have provided to businesses who have a camera they use for taking photographs of products, or at events, who are wanting to ensure better results, with a better understanding of the camera.

The course is aimed at anyone looking to learn about the ‘fundamentals of photography’, ‘how to use the functions of your camera’, and the art of taking better photographs’.  The course is therefore structured so that for the initial weeks we look at the technical aspects of using a camera to obtain a better photograph, looking at focusing, the lens aperture, shutter speed, and film speed (ISO rating) and how they relate to each other and the effects of changing each of these settings.  We will look at aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode, and full manual mode.  The course will investigate the rules (or guidelines) of composition to help capture a more pleasing structured image.  We will then look at lighting, and explore taking photographs in different lighting situations, also looking at artificial lighting, and the white balance settings depending on the colour temperature and type of lighting available.

There will be various pieces of work that I plan to set for the class each week so that the other members of the class can review and comment on each others results the following week.  The pieces of work will be themed to encourage the class to be creative in the subjects they take, allowing members to interpret any set work in their own way.

If this course proves successful then I may consider putting together an advanced course at a later date.  My reasoning for holding a course to start imminently is due to the light evenings there is the possibility of take photographs outside during class time.  Also class members are more likely to photograph during the summer when they go on holiday so will hopefully put into practice what they have learned, and if a more advanced course was to run then class members can bring the photographs they have taken during the summer.

The course has fully illustrated course notes, with example photographs used to help people understand about what is being taught.  A laptop with projector will be available during class time to be used to show photographs and examples, and class members can show their photographs via this method as opposed to printing out photographs if they do not have the time or facilities to do so.

If the more advanced course was to run later in the year then this will probably look at the history of photography, looking at famous photographers work, investigate different cameras used throughout the life of photography, how photography was conceived, how photography has changed, where it is going and how it is changing.  It will possibly also look at the more technical aspects of photography and the use of artificial light, and creative use of artificial light.

The course is likely to start the second week in June probably on a Monday evening, and I realistically require a minimum of eight people.

I am back from one of the loveliest weddings I have had the privilege of photographing.  Held in the beautiful village of Aldborough, it has been a great day and I have captured some lovely photographs as the weather has been, for the most part, pretty good, and the colours have been excellent.  Nicola & Mark are a lovely couple and were recommended to me by Paul Dayson at Spa Travel, who I would very much like to thank.  Aldborough is a beautiful setting for a wedding and in the short time I was at the wedding I get the sense there is a great community spirit.  The wedding was a late afternoon wedding with the ceremony taking place at 4pm.  Nicola got ready at home and walked to the church, and despite the weather forecast indicating that the day was to be a washout, for the most part it was very good with only a handful of short sharp showers.  When the sun was out however, being late afternoon, the light was stunning, and the colours that Nicola and Mark had chosen for their wedding has meant that very few of the photographs I am to show you I have made black & white.

I wish Nicola & Mark well for their honeymoon and married life together and look forward to creating an album design for them.  In the meantime please find below some photographs taken today.

I have just returned from a very inspirational day at the BNI Annual Conference held at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield.  A very well organised event for business owners with plenty of opportunity for networking, the event exceeded my expectations with quality speakers who really got everybody motivated at a time when the economy is quite suppressed.  With several hundred attendees it is somewhat difficult to identify who to network with, but for the most part the people who I spoke to were enthusiastic to find out about me and my business, and similarly I found it interesting to hear about their businesses.

Speakers for this years event were  Geoff Liberman, Penny Power, Andy Bounds, and Allan Pease.  Geoff Liberman is a motivational speaker believing that fun leads to success encouraging you to step outside of your comfort zone, and make something that feels uncomfortable to feel comfortable.  Focus on your goals, believe in yourself, and do things that others are uncomfortable doing.

Penny Power talked about the future of social networking in order to grow your business.  A joint founder of ‘Ecademy‘, a business online social networking site for business owners, she believes that nothing replaces face-to-face contact, but online social networking adds another facet to get referrals.  It helps turn strangers into friends, who can then become profitable relationships.  Online social networking helps you keep in touch with everyone you meet, and share knowledge to your network.

Andy Bounds is the writer of ‘The Jelly Effect’, a book about how to make your communication stick.  Speaking very enthusiastically about having the right mindset, speaking to the right people, and saying the right things, and how working on these three things helps to make your what you have to say remembered by the people you talk to.  Focusing on your ‘Afters’ as opposed to what you do as a business will help people not only understand what you do, but will also lead to increased sales.

Allan Pease really got everyone laughing with his very animated approach to body language.  Writer of several number one best selling books including “Why men don’t listen, and why women can’t read maps” and “Why men don’t have a clue and women need more shoes”, he talked about hand gestures and body language and how to tell the signs of whether someone you are talking to is interested in what you are saying.  He also talked about the difference between men and women and the way each communicates.  It was an interesting and very funny speech.  If you were to ever get the opportunity to listen to him I would recommend making the effort to.  In fact if you ever have the opportunity to listen to any of the speakers above you will not be disappointed.  All were extremely interesting and well worth taking the time out of a business day to do so.

The BNI organisers have done a great job pulling together this event and I am pleased to have been able to attend.  Anyone who missed it missed out BIG TIME.

Next year’s event is scheduled for the 10 June 2010.

I thought with the pending Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Revival Festival that I would share with you some photographs that I took when I covered the 2007 Revival.  If you have never been then the Revival Festival is an experience not to be missed.  It is literaly like stepping back in time in every way shape and form.  For the most part everybody who attend takes part in dressing in period clothing, and anything modern day is hidden away.  Everything is from no later than the late 60′s, and even if you have no interest in motorsport, there is so much to do and see.  The displays are fantastic, and if you are interested in the racing there is plenty of on track action.  It is seriously competitive stuff.

I would highly recommend you considering attending simply for the experience.  I was very fortunate to have been granted a press pass in 2007 so gained access to areas not accessible to the public.  As such I photographed a whole array of celebrities including Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Murray Walker, Tiff Needell, Derek Bell, Rowan Atkinson, Patrick Stewart to name but a few.  It would be great to get the opportunity to attend again.  Please see below a small selection of photographs that I took in 2007.

This week I have been helping pick asparagus on a morning for a local farmer, Spilman Farming, as Sally has apparently had a few problems managing to find people to pick for her.  Her workforce is primarily made up of polish workers who stay for the summer and after the asparagus season help with soft fruits (strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries).  This reminded me of last season Sally asking me to take some photographs of picking both asparagus and soft fruits for her business, and some of the photographs were on display during the Helperby Village Fayre last year.  I thought I would therefore share with you some of the photographs taken which I am sure you will agree look great.  Incidentally if you are looking for nothing but the best asparagus and soft fruits then I would recommend Pasture Lane Asparagus and Spilman Soft Fruits.