philippe & catherine's blog

Rebecca & Jonathan's Wedding

2011-06-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Rebecca & Jonathan were married at Llanwarne Church, between Ross on Wye and Hereford, and then had their reception in the grounds of Jonathan's father's farm in rural Herefordshire. It was quite a chilly windy day but it didn't spoil this lovely wedding. Becky looked absolutely stunning in a very elegant, sparkly dress. The bridesmaids dresses were really beautiful in the pale pink that ran through lots of the details on the day.

Hannah & Matt's Wedding

2011-06-20T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hannah & Matt were married at Glangrwyney Court, just outside Abergavenny. It is a new venue for us and is a beautiful Country house set in stunning grounds. Hannah looked simply beautiful and the colours of the wedding were lovely. Another lovely day!

Karen & James

2011-06-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

Karen & James were married at Beechfield house near Bath. Karen looked absolutley stunning in the most beautiful elegant dress. Such an enjoyable day!

Jo & Tim's Wedding - Clearwell Castle

2011-06-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Such a lovely wedding in and around the beautiful grounds of Clearwell Castle. Jo had spent a long time making her own jewellery for the day and the cake was really the fairy tale castle you always imagine!

claire & jim

2010-10-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

Claire and Jim's wedding took place at St. Pierre's Hotel, Chepstow. They were married in the little church in the grounds and then moved into the main hotel for the reception. It was another lovely, lovely day. Claire looked stunning and she and Jim had all their friends and famliy there to share their day. The best man's speech was hilarious and the day as a whole was just fantastic to photograph.

michelle & david

2010-10-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

Michelle and David were married at Parkway Church on a rather rainy August Saturday. Michelle looked beautiful and the flowers were simple and so elegant. After a lovely service in the church, Michelle and David sped off in a white Cadillac to a transformed Bishopswood Village Hall. Michelle's parents had organised a surprise of doves to be released once they had arrived at the hall. A ceilidh in the evening rounded of a lovely family day.

becky & tim

2010-10-26T01:25:00.000-07:00

Becky & Tim's wedding was at Lemore Manor just outside Eardisley. The weather was meant to be a bit mixed but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Becky looked stunning as she walked down from her room and round to Tim, waiting at the main door and were married in the doorway. The whole day was again so lovely and relaxed and such a fun emotional day for us to photograph.

jo & julian's wedding

2010-10-26T00:56:00.000-07:00

Jo & Julian were married at parkway church and then went onto Flanesford Priory just below goodrich castle for their marquee reception. Jo's dress was exquisite and all the little details she and julian had prepared through out the day were just lovely. Parkway church was lovely and light and enabled us to capture the ceremony really clearly. Then off to Flanesford Priory in a beautiful red morgan with a litle stop off where Julian surprised Jo with two glasses and a little bottle of champagne. The reception was lovely on the lawn with high tea and beautiful sunshine. The party went on late into the evening. This was a really happy relaxed day.

margot & andy's wedding

2010-10-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

Margot and Andrew's wedding was set in the stunning surroundings of the Atlantic College, St Donat's. The ceremony was small and intimate in the Art Centre in the college. Margot looked absolutley stunning and Andrew and his groomsmen looked great in their kilts. Another lovely family wedding and Philippe loved the opportunity to speak French, with so many of Margot's family travelling from France for their special day.

adeline & mark's wedding

2010-10-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

Adeline & Mark's wedding took us all the way to Kuala Lumpur. It was a full day of preparations, games, the wedding ceremony, tea ceremony and the reception in the evening. Although the wedding was in Malaysia, there was a definate Scottish and Chinese influence with the tartan sashes and bagpipes during the ceremony and the chinese traditional games and tea ceremony. As you can see from the images, it was such a colourful event. The tasks that Mark had to pass to collect his bride and take her to the ceremony included eating durian fruit, a particularly smelly fruit but considered a delicacy! Also eating a range of hot dried and liquid chillis and feeding money in red envelopes under the door to persuade the bride to allow him in. All this was looked on by the bridemaids and both families. Then onto the ceremony in a beautiful courtyard with the bagpipes ringing out. The tea ceremony shows the respect amongst the families and is a way of accepting the bride and groom into the others family. The buzzing atmosphere in the covered veranda during the reception was amazing with all the delicious food and entertainment- most of the guests weren't aware of the thunder and rain outside! A truly unforgetable experience.

Ria & Neema's Wedding

2010-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Ria & Neema were married at Clearwell Castle in May this year. It was such a clolourful wedding as not only did they have a traditional civil ceremony but also a hindu ceremony within the Castle itself. Both families were so gracious and friendly. Both the ceremonies were very emotional .. such a lovely couple. Ria, the bride, looked so elegant as you can see below. Another simply beautiful bride.....

Laura & Mat's Wedding

2010-07-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Laura & Mat had a wonderful day at Court Bleddyn, Usk. Both families were so welcoming and we had a really lovely time photographing their day. Laura was absolutley beautiful as you can see from the images below ....a truly stunning bride.

Catherine & Glyn's Wedding

2010-07-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Catherine & Glyn were married at tucked away Preston Church and then went on to Parkfields County House in Walford. It was a fun relaxed day with a real Spanish feel. Friends and family travelled from far and wide. Catherine looked stunning in a gorgeous vintage style dress. A really lovely day......

Lucie & Craig's Wedding

2010-07-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Lucie & Craig were married earlier this year at Mallory Court, a beautiful venue near Warwick. We had great fun photographing the small group of family and friends in the afternoon and then more guests who joined in the evening. The cake was incredible as you can see below but Lucie stole the show and looked absolutley beautiful.

Linda & Peter's Wedding

2010-07-20T10:01:00.001-07:00

Linda & Peter were married at The Stonemill Restaurant, Rockfield, Monmouth just before Christmas 2009. Family had flown over from Australia especially for this lovely wedding. All the family and friends celebrated with Linda & Peter in the cosy warm restaurant with a sparkly Christmas tree and they braved the snow outside for some lovely evening shots.

Clare & Ben's Wedding

2010-07-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Clare and Ben's Wedding was at Clearwell Castle in late December 2009. It was a very cold day but no snow appeared. It was a beautiful day with a lovely couple. Clare was stunning in a gorgeous sumptious dress.

Commercial Shoots

2010-07-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

We have had a number of commercial commissions recently. Mostly images required by local buisnesses for their websites and brochures. Below are some of the shoots we have carried out.

Emma Webster Flowers is based in Monmouth and she commissioned us to shoot images of her shop on Priory Street aswell as some examples of the funeral flowers she creates. She designs and creates all sorts of stunning arrangments for all sorts of events.

These images were commissioned by a local company, Buffers. Philippa designs and makes fleeces and jackets and she uses some gorgeous colours!

These product images are commissioned by Thirsty Cups. A new company based in Monouth who needed nice clean crisp images for their new website.

The following images have been commissioned by Izzie's Catering. The food is divine and we are lucky enough to taste it when we photograph weddings at Flanesford Priory in Goodrich as well as various venues around the county. These images were taken for Izzie's brochure.

Below are just a few images of The Whole Earth Cafe, White Swan Court, Monmouth. We were commissioned to take some images for their new website. It is a very friendly cafe for coffee & cake aswell as lunches and really lovely Thai Menu!

The following images are for Wye Valley Cakes website. A local cake maker who makes tasty cakes and biscuits. They are really really delicious......

family, children & baby shoots

2010-07-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

As we are so far into the year already, I thought I would put a small selection of some of the images from our family, children and baby shoots from the last few weeks. Some very gorgeous little faces! We have shot a lot of our images with white and black backgrounds but look out for some much bright bolder backgrounds over the next few months!

Updating Blog

2010-07-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are into the second half of 2010 and I realsise that our blog is not up to date with all the great shoots we have had so far. I am going to have to give a little taster of some of the things we have been up to so far this year. Watch this space....

new year snow

2010-01-20T06:40:00.001-08:00

Quite an unexpected start to the year...snowed in! As a result, the studio has been closed for the week and several bookings re-allocated...what can you do!

Even Goodrich castle, open every day except christmas day was closed.

The only thing to do is accept it and get on and enjoy it. We had some fun with our neighbours on the slopes of Coppett hill with a bit of 'toboganning' and snowman building.

But you got to know when to stop taking piccies of the kids...btw, he missed...

My little eskimo girl

CJ's shoot

2009-12-01T13:44:00.001-08:00

The video below is CJ's shoot around Monmouth. Please allow a minute for the video to load! Thanks

Animoto.com

2009-12-01T13:43:00.001-08:00

National Star College

2009-11-26T04:36:00.000-08:00

We were recently invited to the National Star College to do a workshop with the photography students on studio lighting.
Sue Bezani, a photographic tutor and regular visitor to our studio in Monmouth organised the workshop and introduced us to the college, tutors and students. The idea was to explain the basics of studio lighting and let the students play around with lighting and composition for the day.
Here's a selection of the images that we took aswell as those taken by the student themselves. We will be working with them again in Monmouth at 'the Bridges', taking portraits of students from the local Girls School and a tea dance. We will add those images next week. The photographs we have taken are of the photography students themselves, Katie, Sally-Ann, Hannah, Madeleine and Emily. The students photographs are of guests and staff at the college aswell as each other. I think you'll agree that they did a fantastic job!

It was a fanastic day and we look forward to working with them again next week.

Sally-Ann

Students + tutors

Students

Emily

set up

Madeleine

Katie

Hannah

Here are the students images....

Cally-Ann by Hannah

Hannah by Sally-Ann

Sally-Ann by Emily

artist PJ by Madeleine

Pauline by Katie

Fashion & Beauty Photography

2009-10-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months we have undertaken a few fashion and beauty tests shoots. This is an area we would like to expand into. We would welcome interest from make up artists and hair stylists to work with us in the studio or out on location. Please do get in touch with us if this is of interest to you. Below are just a few shots as an example....

Catrin & Julian's Wedding 22nd August 2009

2009-10-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

Catrin & Julian were married at St Mary's Catholic Church, Monmouth. All the guests arrived in two red London buses, poignant to the couple as they met in London. Catrin read her vows in Welsh and the Welsh male choir gave all the guests goose bumps. A simply lovely service!

With the guests all back on the buses with a bottle of pop we returned to Clearwell Castle for the reception. After drinks on the lawn, the wedding breakfast was held in the large hall.

A really fun and enjoyable day!

Rachel & Jon's Wedding 14th August 2009

2009-10-14T04:08:00.000-07:00

Rachel & Jon were married at St Mary's Church, Monmouth. After the service, Rachel & Jon made their way to Flanesford Priory where Izzie hosted another lovely happy relaxed wedding.

It was a shorter day than usual for us but the lucky guests got to taste the cake!

Rebecca & Paul 8th August 2009

2009-10-14T03:59:00.001-07:00

Rebecca & Paul were married in St Mary's Church in Ross on Wye. The very same church in which Rebecca's parents were married. A very imposing church that dominates the sky line as you enter Ross on Wye. Inside the church, stairs up to bell tower, looking down onto the service made for some lovely elevated ceremony images.

The reception was held at Rebecca's parents home with a marquee. Izzie laid on another delicious meal and I particularly remember the colourful flowers on this occasion.

This was a really buzzing wedding with lots of laughter.

Suzanna & Paul 1st August 2009

2009-10-14T03:51:00.000-07:00

Suzanna & Paul were married at Lyonshall Church, West of Hereford followed by the reception at Suzanna's family home in Lyonshall.

Izzie's catering laid on another fabulous wedding breakfast in the beautiful Burgoyne marquee. Although we had a little rain, it didn't dampen anyones spirit. A really lovely day!

Helen & Alec 30th July 2009

2009-10-14T03:45:00.001-07:00

Helen & Alec were married at the Newbridge Inn at Usk. A lovely venue set right by the river and and the most equisite bangers and mash I have ever seen!

Again, a lovely relaxed day with a really fun family feel to the wedding. The speeches were particularly amusing.

Ruth & Russell 24th July 2009

2009-10-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

Ruth and Russell were married at the Priory Hotel in a small close family and friends wedding. The Priory in Stretton Sugwas, just outside Hereford, is a beautiful country house with such a welcoming friendly atmosphere and fantastic food. Again we were lucky with the weather and the confetti throwing was quite something.

A beautiful day all in all!

Gillian & John's Wedding 4th July 2009

2009-10-14T03:23:00.000-07:00

Gillian & John were married at Linton Church and the reception was held at Flanesford Priory just outside Goodrich. The whole day was so relaxed and the weather beautiful the only rain came while all friends and family travelled from the church to the priory.

The beautiful setting of Flanesford Priory, below Goodrich Castle and on the other side the backdrop of Coppett Hill, let alone the Priory itself, was a photographer's dream. Izzie's catering provided quite a feast once again!

Jo & Christian's Wedding 20th June 2009

2009-10-14T03:16:00.001-07:00

Jo & Christian's wedding was held at Almeley Church and the reception at the beautiful Lemore Manor just outside Eardislery, west of Hereford. The manor itself has been beautifully renovated and Jo, Christian and their friends and family were able to stay there for the run up to the wedding and for the duration of the weekend.

The horse and carriage was fabulous!

Jason & Christy's Wedding 19th June 2009

2009-10-14T03:12:00.000-07:00

Jason & Christy's Wedding was held at a beautiful church within the Brockhampton Estate just outside Bromyard. The reception was held afterwards at the Sapey Golf Club.

Bumps & Babies

2009-10-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

We have had some really gorgeous babies in for shoots over the summer. It's even better when we photograph the bump and then the baby a few months later.

Below are a few of the cuties so far........

posted by Catherine

Portaits Shoots

2009-10-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

We have had a variety of portrait shoots this summer. These have included young families, extended families, a 21st birthday present and shoots for groups of friends.

As we are a bit behind with our blog, here are just a taster of some of the images...

Studio Opening June 2009

2009-10-13T13:52:00.001-07:00

After my return from the Gambia, we decided to extend our studio to create a much bigger studio area to work in aswell as allowing the reception/office to be more spacious. After 4 weeks of renovations we finally held an opening for family, friends and local businesses.
Thank you for your support!

Pictures of our new improved studio to follow soon.

Judges Award May 2009

2009-10-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

Really pleased when when I found out that I had received a gold award in the SWPP monthly image competition for the image below... Then really amazed when found out it received the Judges Award for their favourite image for May.

The image is from my trip to Gambia - having a cuppa!

Gambia 2009

2009-10-13T13:25:00.001-07:00

I have returned from the Gambia having had the most amazing trip. Supporting the charity, GAFSIP, which helps to train the local fire fighters in different area of the job as well as documenting the trip with my trusty camera!! Haven't done a final count of images but still haven't had a chance to look at all of them with such a busy summer. Here are a few images to give a feel of the trip.

Summer 2009

2009-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

We have realised that we have not posted on our blog for a very long time. So, we thought we would do a run down of some the events since our last post. Here goes .........

GAMBIA MARCH 2009

2009-03-22T00:23:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy since our return from the SWPP convention. We have had lots of wedding enquiries for this year and 2010 as well as commercial work and family portrait shoots.

Philippe is away at the moment in the Gambia, aid working with a charity called GAFSIP. I have had a few very quick phonecalls and it is proving to be an incredible experience and I am sure this will become an annual trip. He has his cameras with him so we will post some of his pictures up when he returns. It may take a while as I am sure he will have hundreds and probably thousands of images to look through.

I have a long list of jobs to complete while Philippe is away so I have been kept very busy in the studio. I have also updated our website this week with a new newborn & young baby page and gallery. This is an area pf photography that I personally adore and will hopefully be spending a lot of my time shooting while still assisting Philippe with weddings.

We also have a Spring offer with our portrait shoots to encourage families to make the most of the photography opportunities with this lovely weather!

Philippe is back next weekend so we will post some of the images from his trip as soon as we can!

Catherine

the SWPP convention, Hammersmith, London

2009-01-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a very, very intense week at the annual SWPP convention at the Novotel hotel in Hammersmith, London.
14/01-20/01/2009, it was a packed week, beginning with 2 days of business seminars delivering experience and advice from a range of quality speakers...Catherine Connor, Doug Gordon, Jane Breakell, Mark Cleghorn, Rita Chandarana (daughter of the great Maz) and of course Howard Butterfield of 'the imagefile'.
What a fantastic line up, I still can't face up to the pages and pages of quality notes that I took!

This was followed by 4 more days of high quality lectures delivered by seasoned photographers, covering subjects from traditionnal lighting, posing, troubleshooting and so much more.

Many of the lectureres had travelled from afar..among them ex-pat David Simms, Doug Gordon, Julie Hughes, Jose Villa and many more....all full of overwhelming enthusiasm and knowledge.

Aswell as all the lectures, alot of education, networking and friendship was made in the bar at the end of each day (lectures ran from 8 am until 8 pm and so socialising was a necessity to bring you back to earth). As an active member of the swpp forum, it was great to meet up with so many 'virtual' friends who are now lifelong real friends.

WHAT A WEEK!

And the grand finale, the prize giving awards ceremony on the Sunday night. Everyone dressed up in black tie and cocktail dresses with Philippa Forrester presenting.....

And guess what...........I WON A PRIZE!!!!

UK Commercial Photographer of the Year...with my chilli pepper image...what an honour!

But what a great week. And many thanks go to the family 'Jones' that runs such a great society, one that is gaining more and more prestige in the photographic world, for all their ultra hard work and commitment over the week! fantastic.

A lot of hard work to come, now, by Catherine and myself to put everyting into practise.

2009-01-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

Hi, hallo, bonjour, gruss scott, salut etc etc

Welcome to our new blogg. Catherine and myself, Philippe, run a small, family, photographic business, concentrating on weddings, portraits and commercial photography..and a bit more!
We've not done this before, so bare with us and hopefully enjoy!!!

What I intend to do is keep a log of our photographic business and our newly opened studio in Monmouth, south Wales, aswell as offering tips, techniques and links to other admired photographers in order to promote and advance our skills in photography.

2009, despite the problems with the recession, in my view looks to be a promising year. Those of us in the photographic industry need to up our game and exell beyond the realms of the average enthusiast. It's already happening, with wedding photography moving to the artistic, worlds away from the traditional image of the 70's/80's. Now is an exciting time to be involved in the industry.

What are we doing to progress in this new order?
Next week sees us attending the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers annual conference in London. The society aims to promote, train and offer advice to the professional photographic industry. Philippe (me) is a qualified member of the society.

It's going to be an exciting, exhausting week of intense lectures and seminars that can only improve our business and love of photography....bring it on!

As I have said, I will keep up the posts and hope that this blogg works both ways,

cheers philippe