Last weekend saw the wedding of Steve and Julie at The Talking Point Conference and Exhibition Centre – a very modern, converted church near Scouthead, Oldham. I was delighted to be asked to photograph their wedding – a lovely, relaxed couple at a unique venue – what could be better! Well… the weather could have been slightly kinder but hey – nobody was going to let that get in the way of having a great time!
Julie and Steve opted for coverage at from arrival to the first dance.
Recently, I have been working with Lightbulb Design on a couple of projects. The main project is for the Marsden Moor National Trust Estate and still receiving some spit and polish so I will keep it under wraps for now but as a bit of an aside, one of my images is been used on the Holmfirth Artweek website (also designed by the good people at Lightbulb). The website has been designed by Lightbulb as a gift to artweek in recognition of the money they raise for Macmillan Cancer relief. I was shocked at how the level of activity that artweek has – Last year they raised £650k and exhibited 18,000 artists work! Makes me feel a bit small that I was only one of them!
Anyway.. The main reason for this blog – photography!! The Marsden Moor project got me itching to return to the hills again. I headed for Raven Stones on the edge of the National Trust estate – at 500m up, it was a bit on the breezy side and, been the daft sod I can sometimes be, I’d left my car in a hurry and forgot to pick up my tripod. Oh well.. Things didn’t work out too badly..
Watching The Sun Go Down
West Nab Trig Point - Meltham
Fenced Off - Grass Tuffs On The Moor
Bob
Towards Rebrook and Swellands Reservoirs near Marsden
Good Night
I stirred early on Saturday morning (perhaps in practice ready for the imminent arrival of our little one!) and decided to have a wander about in the hills around Meltham and Holmfirth. I rapped up well (-6C up there) and was ambling about up there by well before the sun came up with only the grouse for company. As the sun came up I set up for this shot with the moon still in view and the frosty boulders in the foreground.. More to follow.
Sunrise, Moonset - Meltham
Chill Under Foot
Bright Start
Also I’d like to mention – I have dates available for wedding photography from June onwards. Get in touch if you or someone you know is planning on tying the knot! Take a look at my wedding packages or blogs from recent weddings
Never one to be put off my freezing conditions, I headed up into the hills above Holmfirth to capture some pre-sunrise landscapes. Well worth getting cold for (and driving round a few road closed signs!)
Keep watching this post.. I’m going to keep adding more pics over the coming days.. Merry Christmas!
These are taken around Saddleworth / Meltham moor. As always – prints are available.
Snow Covered Wall
Wessenden Wall In The Snow
Day Break Over Holmfirth
Gateway To The Big Freeze - Holmfirth
What a wonderful winter wonderland with a blanket of snow for Gill and Anthony’s wedding at Bagden Hall near Denby Dale at the weekend! I had a fantastic time and have to thank Gill, Anthony and their guests for making me feel so welcome! I felt like I was at a friends wedding – I even got fed (and wow! They know how to feed people at Bagden Hall – much better than my pack-up!)
The wedding took place at 3PM and was conducted by the same registrar that carried out the ceremony between my wife and I (brought back some memories!) Whilst the guests were enjoying a nice mulled wine around the real fire after ceremony, we braved the sub zero temperatures to do a quick shoot outside – thankfully Gill came prepared for the conditions! The light may have been fading but it was an opportunity not to be missed!
The evening reception was also held at Bagden, been kicked off with a choreographed first dance. Strictly eat your heart out!
Also a quick thank you to Bob for the loan of his lightstand since mine didn’t (and STILL hasn’t) turned up. It came in really handy for the group shots which were shot using a shoot through umbrella.
Here is a sneaky peek at a few of the shoots whilst I finish off the processing on the rest.
Oh.. I forgot to mention.. The best man did a superb job of videoing the whole day.. Such dedication.. Even to the point of him videoing himself handing over the rings 
Rod – will you cut me from the final edit 
You can read more about my wedding services here.
CHEERS!
Just when you think you’re all alone in the middle of nowhere, you get spotted! I was out walking the moors above Digley Reservoir (Bradshaw) one morning last week, admiring a stunning sunrise and thinking I had it all to myself – later in the day I was told by a friend that they had spotted me from Issues Road on the other side of the Valley!
I managed to find time to take a couple of photos whilst I was there but I also spent quite a bit of time sat on a dry stone wall just taking in the view. There is something really special about the sunrises in this area of the Peak District.. I hear from a friend that the intensity of the sunrise and sunsets are partly down to the dust in the air coming over from Manchester – so Manchester is good for something after all!
Back to the more local and familiar landscapes around Holmfirth!
Winter sure is hanging on in there this year. Last week I made a diversion to my normal route home to Honley to pay a visit to West Nab that tower over the village of Meltham. Seems that there is quite a bit of snow up there still! It is one of my favourite spots to head to for a bit of fresh air.. Access is via a permissive path but I believe that most of the area to the south of the path is open access (if only the ordinance survey maps onBing showed the right to roam areas..). Careful where you do go up there though.. Some of the land is part of a firing range and is used for grouse hunting.
The grit stone boulders strewn across the is evidence of the powers that shaped this landscape during the last ice age.
On my way up:
My Rocks, West Nab - Meltham
At the top! I like the line made by the cloud.This shot was taken north of the Rocking Stone – considered sacred by some.
West Nab's Snowy Top - Meltham
I was pretty much out of light after that.. I’ll hopefully head back up there again soon, now that the days are getting longer.
It finally seems as though the big freeze of January 2010, if not finished, has gone dormant. The snow is almost gone apart from on the top of West Nab and I didn’t need to dress up like an arctic explorer today. I have mixed feelings about that because it has led to some great photo opportunities but it has made it hard to get anywhere (hence most of my shots seem to have been from in and around the Holmfirth, Meltham and Marsden area recently!)
I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite shots taken over the last couple of weeks here.
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