Turning Green - The Greener Photographer in the UK

At the end of last year I joined a group called Greener Photographer which is a place for photographers to consider the environment - surprisingly I am one of only two photographers to have put their name up on the list!

Looking for greener ways of working is something really important to me and so I have been reviewing the way that I work and looking for ways I can make a more positive impact on the environment. At home I already recycle and compost and so I already do the same thing in my business where I can. For example, I shred all the paperwork for the bin, but instead of putting it in the bin I add it to the compost heap.

New things I am doing - well, through Greener Photographer I discovered that not far from my base there is a place where I can recycle ink cartridges from Epson. I have also set up MobileMe which uses iDisk - this is a 'cloud' or cyberspace storage system. From later this week you will be able to contact me for information on my wedding, portrait or fashion photography, or photography workshops, and you will be given information for accessing the on-line brochures. This reduces the amount of printing and use of harmful inks in the production of brochures - and let's face it, more brochures find their way to the bin because things change before we have ever used up the whole supply.

I'm still looking for more ways I can become greener - for example, bulbs are being changed to energy saving bulbs as they blow, and I only put lights and the heating on when it's an absolute must! I switch off the computers at night, nothing is left on stand-by, and I no longer use studio lights, using natural light to create amazing photographs. Over the next few months I hope to find yet more ways of becoming greener and reducing the carbon footprint that Zoe Photography creates.

Some recent work

Well, still in that vein of trying to get back up to date here is a selection of photographs that I have taken recently at our new location at Stanley Grange on Knowsley Hall Park. More to come!

Keeping up to date

Keeping up to date is quite an appropriate title for this post! Firstly, I seem to be falling behind on my blogging, so this post is to start me on getting back up to date!!! And secondly, I think it's incredibly important as a photographer to keep pushing myself, improving my skills so that I am always fresh and able to deliver the highest possible standards of photography for my clients.

To that end, I went on a course recently, run by Annabel Williams at CPT in Stavely, Cumbria. Most of the course was focusing on business skills, but one day was devoted to photography. I tended to hang back a bit because there were a lot of people newer to photography than me who I thought might benefit from being able to capture some great shots, but I managed to get a few that I was really pleased with, as you'll see below.

I love shooting into the sun - the light on Tracey's hair here is just beautiful, and I love the mottled background effect created by the light.

I would have been really happy to take Eliza home - she was gorgeous, in personality as well as to photograph! You can see some of her personality coming through in these photographs of her.

Confetti Wedding Show, BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

Wow, what a wonderful weekend! I admit though that I am really tired now! Rob and I spent the weekend staffing our stand at the Confetti Wedding Show in the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool (and what a fantastic location it is - all the staff are so friendly and helpful too). It was a fairly busy 2 days, and we met lots of really lovely people, some of whom were kind enough to tell us that my photography was amongst the best there - that is such a humbling experience to hear that when I admire so many of the other photographers who were also exhibiting.

We are now looking forward to the meetings that we have set up with couples, and hope we will be able to do the wedding photography for some of the really lovely people we met. And if you were there and haven't yet booked a more relaxed meeting with us at our base on the Knowsley Hall Park, please phone Pauline who will be happy to book you in - we have a handful of appointment times left for this week and next week.

Remember, if you book a Signature package by the end of the month you can enjoy a saving of 20% - but the wedding must be in 2009 and the photography must be paid for in full. This might particularly suit you if you are getting married February through to June this year.

The next wedding show we will be exhibiting at is the Formby Hall show on Sunday 8th February this year, followed by the National Wedding Show at the NEC in early March.

Knowsley Hall Park - The New Home of Zoe Photography!

More news and some photographs to come on this exciting new development in Zoe Photography, but I am really excited to announce that today I picked up the keys for our new office which is based on the Knowsley Hall Park.

It's so heavenly, approached by a tree-lined driveway. The office is set in Dovecote Court, Stanley Grange, which is a renovated set of farm buildings within the walled grounds of Knowsley Hall. Pauline and I are so pleased to be part of the community there.

For now though, it's hard work painting and preparing to actually move in by the end of the month!

100 Things

I've been looking at a friend's blog - Shawna K, of www.pattycakephoto.com and just loved this post, that she invited everyone to copy. Copy and paste it into your own blog and then just bold the things you’ve done! I've made a few minor changes to fit a European set of bloggers a bit more! So go ahead, have fun!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Italy
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland Paris
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Gone on a hot air balloon ride
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon - shame that the number of 10ks I've run doesn't count!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Princess Diana Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Scottish Highlands
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else’s blog to your own

Happy New Year

Well, I saw 2009 in but not quite in the way I expected! I had the great pleasure of working with Mike Patterson in Ireland photographing a wedding (more of that to come) and then promptly fell ill with the winter vomiting bug. So I have been really poorly for the last few days!

I had great plans for a slideshow of some of the great moments from 2008, but that will just have to wait until I am back on my feet!

And then there is an exciting announcement that I was going to do on New Years Day, but having missed that I'll now aim for telling you all the news on Thursday! So watch this space for that.

In the next few days I'll get photographs up of the 2 weddings that I worked on with Mike, along with the review of 2008. And tomorrow I am planning on taking my own photograph - afterall, it's my birthday!

Louise and Barrie Get Married At Langley Castle

The beautiful Langley Castle in Hayden Bridge in Northumberland was the spectacular location that Louise and Barrie chose for their wedding. They had a civil ceremony followed by a blessing in the small chapel at the top of the castle. Everything looked gorgeous with the twinkling lights and the Christmas decorations, and the scents of mulled wine filled the air - it really was very romantic.

I was fortunate to be accompanied by Nikki McLeod from Scotland, a very talented photographer and the two of us have wanted to work together for so long - so it was a great pleasure to have her working alongside me - she was a willing light holder as well as a fantastic 2nd photographer for the day!

Here is the happy couple, along with a few more photographs. A full slideshow will be online by mid-January, after Louise and Barrie have had a chance to see their proofs themselves first.











Those of you who keep up to date with my blog will know that I have been collecting comments for cancer charity contributions this Christmas - for reasons that Louise and Barrie and their friends and family will be aware of, this is something that is important to them as well, and so I am extending the comments for cancer charity for another week until my birthday next Monday - any comments on this item of the blog will be added to the total number of comments leading up to Christmas, and will help to add to the contributions pot that will go to Macmillan Nurses.

Charity to Benefit from Comments

I don't do Christmas cards - haven't done them for about 10 years because of the over-commercialisation of Christmas, and, well, because I would far rather say happy christmas in person or by email in a way that is personal to each of the wonderful people in my life. And so every year I make a contribution to Macmillan Nurses because of the amazing work that they do supporting people with cancer.

This year, having seen Anne Ruthman's Cans for Comments on her blog it got me to thinking about how I could do something similar to link in with my Macmillan Nurses christmas card contribution. So, for every comment I get on my blog between now and 5pm on Monday 21st December 2008 I will make an additional contribution to Macmillan Nurses.

Thanks to Anne Ruthman for the inspiration!

The Baker's Dozen

Well, loads of female photographers have been getting in touch, and excitement is building over The Baker's Dozen. More information in the new year!

Get in touch if you fit the bill of a female photographer taking amazing photographs - this is one of the most exciting things to happen in 2009 for photographers.