Sunday, July 15, 2007

07-07-07 Most popular wedding date ever

I had an astonishing 14 enquiries from all over the UK for today, as the date proved popular due to the 7,7,7 aspect. Kerry Hughes and Aly Mackay, from Willowbank, Wick were the lucky ones who booked me first though! Unfortunately the day which was supposed to be lucky was a day of non stop rain. That never stopped me though! The wedding was in the Old Parish Church in Wick, with reception at the Portland Arms, Lybster. We went to a very wet Latheronwheel Harbour for about ten minutes, just long enough to get at least a few outdoor shots. This was a great wedding - Aly and his family were close friends when I was growing up so it was great to see them all again, especially my old friend David, who is in Australia now. Kerry was stunning and a natural in front of the camera. I enjoyed it despite the awful day!

07-07-07 Antiques Roadshow

Today the BBC were at the Castle of Mey filming. I was there covering the event for the Castle. It was a day of torrential rain, but a total of 900 people turned up with items for valuation. Michael Aspel was happy to pose for a few pictures as well.



Thursday, July 05, 2007

30th June Dunbeath

Today saw an early start - up at 5.30am to catch a ferry back over to Scrabster. That's the middle of the night for me! Anyway today's wedding was at Dunbeath Church and it was the turn of Gina mackay and Liam Sutherland, who are both local but live in Maryburgh now. It was a beautiful sunny day (yes, too sunny for me!) but we had a good day. We went to Dunbeath and latheronwheel harbours for pictures before heading to Lybster for the reception at the Portland Arms Hotel.

Kirkwall 29th June


Today I travelled over to orkney for the wedding of Elizabeth Leslie and Richard Booth. The couple are from Tankerness. The wedding was at the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral, with the reception in the British legion in Kirkwall. The bride arrived in style in horse and carriage. We went to Earl's palace across the road for photographs after the service. It was a lovely day and good fun.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Moray Firth Flotilla 24th June

Today I was out at sea photographing the Moray Firth Flotilla as they set sail from Wick. Many thanks to Norman Macleod for taking me out on the San Veronica. It was a bit choppy out there, but good fun. It was nice to get so close to the boats. It was a pity the weather was so poor over the entire weekend, as it prevented many of the boats getting to Wick. I'm sure it was a great success though.






23rd June Portland Arms Hotel

Today's wedding was Lesley Gunn and David Campbell, both of Thrumster Mains. They were married at The Portland Arms Hotel in Lybster. It was a miserable day, and rained pretty much all day. However that didn't stop me persuading the happy couple to get an umbrella and head for Latheronwheel Harbour as previously planned. We ended up having great fun despite the miserable day. They were great fun and happy to pose in the rain, to my delight.


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.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

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!




Monday, June 04, 2007

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 :-)