Dunbeath Castle 22nd June

Today was the wedding of Kirsteen Sinclair and Iain Mackay of Mount Pleasant Farm, Claredon, Thurso. They were married at Dunbeath Castle, with the reception held at The Portland Arms Hotel in Lybster.

Although it was very misty and a bit on the cold side for June, the weather wasn't too unkind. We had a fun day and got some great images, although Kirsteen is going to shock the dry cleaners when they see her dress!! Not my fault this time!

Oh, and I found another red phone box.

15th June Tracey and Paul

Today was my first wedding at Tulloch Castle. I have 4 there this year, and I'm already looking forward to the next three. What a great place! Tracey Forsyth and Paul Hudson got married there. Tracey is from Inverness, but the couple now stay in Gosport, Hampshire. It was a lovely day, probably too sunny to be honest but we had a great time. Megan seems to have developed a liking for shoes, which is a worry, but maybe she's just been watching me too much.

9th June Helen and David

Today's wedding was in the Crown Church, Inverness. Helen MacDonald and David Sandison, both of Croft Road, Scorguie, Inverness. The reception was at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness

We had a really fun day, ending up on a Dutch sailing ship in the canal. The Tecla was about to leave when we arrived, but I managed to persuade the skipper to tie her up for another 5 minutes while the happy couple got onboard for a few pictures. Video was by Video Viewpoint. Another highlight was the rather cool olde worlde coach used to ferry the guests to the hotel. Not sure where this came from but I loved it!

2nd June Alladale Wedding.

What a day we had today!! One of the most amazing weddings ever. Alladale Lodge is an amazing place. It's one of those places that you would never appreciate until you've been there. Some spectacular scenery and wildlife, and the Lodge is beautiful, with some wonderful staff.

Clare Sessions and Paul Howard found it through the internet as they tried to find somewhere that was a bit different and suited their love of outdoor activities. We had a wedding service on a small piece of decking in the middle of the glen with nothing but beautiful scenery all around. It was a bit windy but a good day for photography. We had the BBC film crew in attendance as they are shooting a series of programmes about the estate, and also I had a thirty minute helicopter ride with the bride and groom which was amazing.

Went a bit crazy and shot way more pictures than normal, hitting just over 1300 - I normally average about 700-800. Megan, who is becoming a valuable asset, also shot over 200, so it's taken longer than normal to edit, but fun!

31st May - phone box

For one reason or another I won't forget this telephone box in a hurry. Anyone who knows the story, will know why ;-)

26th May Valerie & Younes

Valerie Hendry and Younes Amin, of Proudfoot Road, Wick were married at The Bridge Hotel, Helmsdale. It's the first time I've been to this hotel, which was recently done up, and it is beautiful. It was a lovely day, possibly too sunny, just the usual weather for us :-)

We took the happy couple up the Strath of Kildonan for some pictures and then stopped off at the clock for a few at my request. We had lots of fun, and thanks to Valerie for being up for some fun pictures including bouncing on a trampoline before leaving for the wedding!!

23rd May Yervant and Buissink Seminar

Travelled to Grangemouth to see an MPA seminar featuring Yervant from Australia and Joe Buissink from USA. They were very good and well worth going to see.

18th May wedding

Today was the wedding of Susan Allan and Richard Sutherland, both of St Magnus Road, Thurso. The wedding was held in the lovely BigHouse Lodge in Melvich. The bride got ready at BigHouse. It was a lovely day but VERY windy which went limited opportunity to shoot on the stunning beach. The reception was at the Weigh Inn Hotel.

A great day apart from my 1D camera body packing in fairly early in the day. A shutter blade bust on it, but luckily I have four camera bodies with me. It was about 4 days inside it's 1 year warranty :-)

Tuesday 15th May Tony Corbell

Today I attended an SWPP seminar at Loxley Colour in Glasgow. The speaker was the amazing Tony Corbell from San Diego, who knows everything there is to know about lighting. He was very, very good, and lots of fun. I met Tony in London in January and attended one of his masterclasses, so knew it would be good. I wasn't disappointed!

Met up with a few old friends as well which was nice. A great day, which ended about 1.30am when I finally got back to Thurso. Thanks also to Chris from Loxleys who gave some of us a guided tour of the lab, which was very interesting.

14th May Glasgow

Travelled down on Sunday to do another shoot with Elske Bridal. Today's shoot was at Mar Hall, which is a magnificent venue. I loved it here and would really like to do some weddings here!

We had 4 models today, Lauren, Rosemary, David and Graham from Model Team in Glasgow. Highland Dress was supplied by Martin Gill of Blackstairs in Wick.

A few images from the day......

12th May Wedding

Today was the wedding of Stephanie Macleod and Kevin Sinclair. both of Thurso. They were married at the Weigh Inn and went to the beach at Scrabster for photographs.
Cars were by Dunnetts, and we had a visit to Caithness for the very first time by Spud the Piper

A couple of shots from the day will follow - not finished them yet!!

Sunday 6th May

Disaster! Smashed my car on the way North. had 2 portrait sessions to do today as well. Had a head on collision at the entrance to Kincraig House Hotel near Invergordon. Someone overtaking and I couldn't get out of the way. Spent half the day on back of a truck. Nobody seriously injured though apart from me having a bit of a sore back.

Oban 5th May

Today I had a wedding in Oban, so drove South overnight after yesterdays wedding. Today was the turn of Lynn Mitchell and Scott Robertson, both fom Oban. Ceremony was at Muckairn Church, in Taynuilt, with the reception being in the Royal Hotel in Oban.

A couple of images from the shoot at Dunstaffenage Castle:

Friday 4th May Wedding

Todays wedding at Wick Baptist Church was that of Liza Stewart and Wayne Reid, who live in Aberdeen, Liza is from Wick originally. The bride got ready at her mothers house in Seaforth Avenue. She arrived in Prestige Cars White Rolls Royce. The couple went to Olrig House, outside Castletown to have their photographs taken. What a place!! It's just been sold so I guess I won't be doing any more here - what a pity!! I could spend a week here and not run out of spots to work. The reception was at Mackays Hotel back in Wick.

A couple of pictures from the day:

Aberfeldy 3rd May

Edinburgh based band Aberfeldy are currently touring the Highlands and I was commissioned to photograph them as they sailed to Orkney on the Hamnavoe. Band member Sarah McFadyen is from Hoy, so it was a homecoming story for her. The band played a fantastic gig in the ferry bar which was very entertaining. They were playing 2 gigs in Orkney over the weekend.

A few images from the day..

Inverness Model Portfolio Shoot

A couple of preview shots from Saturdays portfolio shoot in the Inverness area.