Partying at the Ashmolean

The run up to the festive season is always a busy one for me, with lots of parties, social functions and last-minute photographic presents for grandparents to accommodate, so it was great to be able to combine work with a bit of catching up with friends last Friday.

I was photographing the Pearson Christmas party, held in the beautifully stylish surroundings of the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. Recently refurbished, extended and now boasting a brand new (if you know what I mean) Egyptian artefact gallery, the Ashmolean also opens its doors after hours for all sorts of glamourous weddings, parties and launches.

Sheltering from a cold winter's evening, the 350 or so guests enjoyed champagne and canapes with musical accompaniment from classical guitarists and guerilla opera singers posing as waiters.

I took my leave as the guests were enjoying dinner and dancing in the Randolph Gallery and by all accounts, the partying continued well into the night. Here are a few shots from the evening.

Picture of the week #8

It's been a few weeks since I posted a picture of the week, but after an action-packed month or so during which we sold one house, lost another, viewed about 20 in as many hours and found a new one to rent, we have finally moved into our new pad deep in the beautifully rural West Oxfordshire countryside. As autumn comes to a close and winter starts to edge in, I am already getting excited about all the excellent photographic opportunities right on my doorstep (on the edge of the Cornbury Estate) but for now, here are a few shots of our 300-year old Corner Cottage. We're going to stay here for a while I think - can't face moving house for a good few years yet...

It's here - the new 50:50 photoshoot package!

In these straitened times, personal photoshoots are probably classed as 'little luxuries' rather than one of life's essentials, so ever one to respond to my customers' requests, I am very pleased to announce the launch of a rather special new package - the 50:50 photoshoot!

£50 gets you a 50-minute personal photoshoot in the location of your choice and a set of 5 final portrait shots. This mini-shoot is perfect for updating your LinkedIn or Facebook profile pictures, ideal for online dating shots and it's a whole lot of fast fun to boot.

It even fits neatly into your lunch-hour. What's not to love?

Here are a couple of recent 50:50 shots. You choose the location and style and away we go!

The appliance of Cyance...

A lot of the commercial shoots I take on involve photographing people at work and my images are often used to help companies project an external persona for their brand on the web and in printed media.

I really enjoy this type of shoot as it allows me to combine photography with a bit of creative thinking and a splash of marketing for good measure. So last week, I was pleased to take the short trip out to Worton Park in Oxfordshire to visit the new HQ of Cyance, a b2b marketing agency co-run by my old friend Steve.

My brief was to photograph the Cyance team, who are often called on to deliver keynote speeches at industry conferences all over the world, and to give them a set of images that they can use on their website and elsewhere to promote their brand. Cyance has a pretty strong brand persona already - 'cyance' is a play on 'science' as the agency's approach to b2b marketing is all about the data behind the campaign, and their offices and website have eye-catching cyan-coloured walls (real and virtual).

But missing from their web shop window was the agency's personality - and let's face it, a company is only as good as the people behind it. I took a whole host of shots on the day, but here's a sneak preview of some of the faces behind the brand, presented as polaroid-style snaps. Check out that superb wall colour!

OX-PA previews LK Bennett's autumn collection

Last night was a bit of a rare treat - an evening of uninterrupted browsing of LK Bennett's new autumn collection in their Oxford store.

I was there to photograph the September get-together for the Oxfordshire PA Club (OX-PA) who complemented the beautiful clothes and stylish environment with champagne and nibbles for the browsing club members.

Once again, for me, it was all about the shoes, but the collection also featured some beautifully structured dresses, silky soft knits and gorgeous tailored trousers. And with a 20% discount on the night, the ladies present were in their element!

Camper vans, cocktails and Cornwall

Summer has literally flown by so it's high time for a blog update. Besides, September is upon us, we have that 'back-to-school' feeling at Iris House so why not reflect on the holidays a bit more before they fade into autumn?

As previously advertised, the start of summer saw us picking up the beautiful Daisy, a 1973 camper van who we took down to St Ives for a week at the start of August. Daisy was on hire from the lovely Vicky at Boutique Camper Van who I can thoroughly recommend.

Re-fitted throughout in yellow-trimmed white leather and with a gorgeous banana yellow two-tone exterior, we really did feel like celebrities on our pootle down to Cornwall as every other car hooted or waved as we pottered by. If you're looking for a retro camping experience with small children, space for gin & tonic in the on-board fridge and a place to shelter out of the inevitable English summer rain, then look no further than a camper van.

On the way down to St Ives, we stopped at the utterly-idyllic Batcombe Vale near Shepton Mallet. A more beautiful and secluded campsite I don't think you could find. I almost don't want to share it with anyone and cannot wait to go back there on another Daisy-adventure. With it's own boating lake and wonderfully-quirky services, Batcombe Vale is a complete treasure.

Then it was back on the road down to St Ives, which we keep returning to year after year. Even though the weather was a bit English and it was packed with August holidaymakers, it is still a wonderful place for a 'proper' UK beach holiday. With the added attraction of Tate St Ives and Martin Creed's balloon-tastic Half the Air in a Given Space to amuse us on a wet afternoon, we really did have a great time.

Picture of the week #7

I'm hoping to brighten your day with this week's picture. It's shot on good old Velvia film and full of the vibrant colours of summer, which is quite apt seeing as we are fast-approaching (four days and counting in our house) the long summer holidays and the end of school for another year - yay!

So, as my boys' thoughts turn to dinosaur museums and Legoland and the beach at St Ives, here is a little slice of said beach, where we're heading once again this summer, in a 1973 VW Campervan no less (a shorter holiday than planned and missing out on Camp Bestival with friends due to photo jobs but I'm sure our mini-holiday will be fun nevertheless!).

Anyway, more on our intrepid mini-adventure in Daisy the Campervan in the next couple of weeks, but until then - and for those of you not imminently escaping to the nearest beautiful sandy beach - please enjoy my little take on the classic British seaside holiday.

Bonne vacances mes amis!

High heels and champagne at the Randolph

So, more about last week's event at the beautiful Randolph Hotel in Oxford. I was there to photograph the launch of the Oxfordshire PA Club, a brand new networking club for PAs and exec assistants in and around Oxfordshire.

The brainchild behind OX-PA is Claire Hickson, an inspiring businesswoman, mother of three and keen photographer herself and in a true demonstration of knowing one's audience, Claire and the team from OX-PA laid on fabulous treats for ladies attending the launch event, including champagne and canapes, shoes and frocks from LK Bennett and mini treatments from staff at the Randolph Spa.

In true 'blimey it's a small world' style, the prize draw (a chauffeur-driven dinner for two with champagne at the Randolph) was won by a lovely lady, Cathy, whose wedding I photographed last autumn. It was so nice to catch up with her, and in such beautiful surroundings too!

Here are a few shots from the event. Check out those sparkly heels...

Monsters and jelly

First things first - it's been a while between blogs! The month of June simply flew past, with holidays, 'significant' birthdays and jobs aplenty, but rest assured, the start of July sees me back at my desk, editing away.

So what have I been up to?

Well, the latter part of June found me mingling with the great and the good at the DfE and Nursery World Magazine for the National Childcare Student of the Year awards, and photographing the launch of a very exciting new private members club at Oxford's beautiful Randolph Hotel (more on that later).

I've also been working on a few 'personal' projects, one of which was my youngest son's 4th birthday at the start of June so in lieu of any more serious photographs for today's blog, I share with you our monster cupcakes and two-tiered jelly (perfected after three attempts, all of which I hasten to add, were polished off by willing children).

Sneak preview of Saturday's wedding at Poundon House

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of photographing Chloe and Kris' wedding at Poundon House in Buckinghamshire. Thankfully the widely-expected thunderstorms held off and the sun made a welcome appearance at what was a lovely wedding.

After a beautiful ceremony in the main house, the new Mr & Mrs Arnold and their guests spilled out onto the terrace and lawn for a few photographs before heading over to the gorgeous marquee, decked out in purple and white, and complete with those delicious-looking cupcakes I showed you earlier in the week (I am still thinking about those!).

Here are a few sneak peeks from the day...

Picture of the week #6

I photographed the wedding of Chloe and Kris on Saturday and am busy working on their edit (sorry folks - you'll have to wait a bit longer to see sneak peeks of that one!), but seeing as it's Picture of the Week time, I have chosen to show you the GLORIOUS tower of cupcakes Chloe's friend had made for the wedding.

As I busied myself in the beautiful white and purple-themed marquee, taking shots of the guests, I kept coming back to the cupcake tower (as did the waiting staff), lured in by the wonderful chocolatey aroma from these cakes.

 Now if only pictures were like smelly-vision eh? Delicious!

Picture of the week #5

This week's chosen picture is a riot of laughter and every time I think about it, it makes me smile. I photograph lots of best man and father-of-the-bride speeches and this one - at the wedding of Anna and Mark - was great.

Priceless expressions all round!

The Brickwork Lizards

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing a great band, the Brickwork Lizards, at the Oxford launch of their new album Zaman.

The band have a loyal following and the launch of their latest album was an opportunity for the fans new and old who packed out the venue to experience first hand the Brickworks' particular mix of silky Arabic vocals, energetic rap and a whole host of 1930s and 40's influenced tunes all mashed up together to create one crazy but brilliant sound.

Here's a taster of the full shoot. And do check out a list of the Brickwork Lizards' live dates on their website - they're well worth seeing