Daniel Speller Photography

Just got a call from the company who produce my acrylic pictures and they want to exhibit one of my pictures at Focus (the biggest trade show in the photographic industry) at the NEC next week so that was nice.

It was a photo taken at Rhinefield House, one of my favourite venues which is in the New Forest. Here’s the picture which the bride bought as a Christmas present for her hubby last year.

Steph and Pete,Rhinefield House

Angry pony chases bride away!

Well it didn’t feel like a winter wedding! The sun was out, it was dry and most of the photography took place out on the lawns of the Balmer Lawn (Brockenhurst). Maybe the bride was just brave! Braver than me that’s for sure particularly when a rather determined pony got it in his head that i was being out of order taking photos on his patch! On top of this said pony then decided to pursue Rachel the bride which totally put her off having any more photos taken-you can’t blame her really!!

Garry and Rachel were a fantastic couple to work with and I know both families had a great day in the lovely New Forest setting.

Yesterday i photographed the wedding of Becci and Marshall a young couple from Lincoln. There was a big contingent from Glasgow there so when it came to outdoor photos i thought this will be no problem with the Scottish crowd used to the cold!  However it wasn’t long before i could see people huddled up together which prompted a request from me for everybody to spread out a bit. Then Marshall the Groom said ‘we’re all cold! Soon enough everybody went inside for some more photos.

The wedding was at the Forest Lodge Hotel in Lyndhurst quite a nice venue for a smaller wedding with a lovely room there for civil ceremonies.

Becci’s daughter Amy was a bridesmaid and seemed a really natural poser which made my work a lot easier!

Amy the confident bridesmaid

Time seemed to fly and then it was time for the wedding breakfast. I needed one last shot so before the light faded Becci and Marshall agreed to brave the cold one last time!

Becci and Marshall

Well a new year has got me thinking about some new ideas! Now i need to put them in place. That’s the hard bit especially after attending a recent trade convention where there were some inspirational speakers from all over the world sharing their expertise and ideas. Now my brain is really working overtime!

Had quite a few families in for portraits recently which has been great fun. I have a lovely portrait studio housed in a log cabin and it’s just a perfect size for average size families etc

Here’s a nice shot of some kids i did recently-cousins in fact!

Heard from Mark and Candy today they received their wedding proofs and were delighted with the results. That’s what makes the hard work and hours spent at the computer worthwhile!

It’s a good time of year for photographers-quite a few portraits and always a lovely Christmas wedding or two full of festive cheer (i hope)

Lee and Jane came along on monday for some pictures with their little beauty!

Lee was back home from the middle east and was having a great time bonding with his little daughter.

Now i’m thinking about Saturday. A big wedding at Kingston Maurward and hoping for some snow! The last time i photographed a wedding with snow was last February over at Corfe. We managed to get into the grounds of Corfe Castle and got some lovely shots including a few where you could still see snow on the hills.

Spot the Snow!

Hi, Well i really enjoyed the wedding fair last Sunday at the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth. It’s always good to meet prospective clients face to face rather than via email/phone!!

My stand attracted quite a lot of interest especially the Cheryl Cole photos, and i got a few provisional bookings for 2010 weddings so that’s great. There were two people who stood out as really interested in booking me but only after quite lengthy converstations did it transpire that I was already booked for the dates they were getting married. Very frustrating!

Just met a lovely couple this morning, Chris and Emma, who decided to book me for their wedding next August-a Compton Acres/Harbour Heights wedding-two of my favourite venues.

I’ve got a Nikon D200 for sale.Bought second hand in April 2008. If anyone is interested in finding out more please let me know

Received this email this morning about a recent wedding. It’s always great to get positive feedback. Read below

Daniel,

hello again, hope you are well.  just wanted to email and tell you how brilliant the photos are and how much we have enjoyed looking at them today. We are delighted with them.  You have really captured our special day.

thanks so much!

speak soon
Denise

Here’s a photo of Denise and Richard from their wedding at the Petersham Hotel,Richmond on October 3rd

Sue Bunn gets ready for take off!

Jenni and Anthony at The Elvetham

Ok so i’m rubbish at blogs-updating them that is! Maybe it’s just a lack of time but i’ve not updated this blog since April! Exactly what is my problem? Can’t quite put my finger on it-maybe too many weddings, a new baby (in Feb), a kids footall team to run not to mention three bedrooms to decorate (plus of course a demanding wife and two very active sons!

Maybe i need to take fewer pictures at weddings. The problem is though I love to shoot in a photojournalistic style. This creates the problem of hundreds of images to sort through because i don’t think any client wants to view 600+ pictures afterwards. Let’s face it most albums tend to look best with about 80 pictures. Anyway I would much prefer to present about 250-300 fantastic images and I think for most people that’s plenty.

So what venues did I visit last summer? Woburn Abbey for a start-what a fantastic venue! The Elvetham up in North Hampshire was lovely too with some beautiful gardens. I’ve just been up to a wedding at the Petersham in Richmond-another lovely venue with an amazing staircase for photos right by the entrance and also great customer service. Plus of course the usual lovely local venues such as Highcliffe Castle, The Sandbanks Hotel, Lulworth Castle, Compton Acres and The Highcliff Marriott,Bournemouth to name but a few.    

Rebecca and Jack at Bournemouth beach

It’s always nice to go to new venues in different parts of the country but nothing beats taking a bride and groom onto one of the lovely beaches in the Bournemouth/Poole area especially when it’s quiet. Talking of quiet one wedding which really stands out is Will and Kat’s wedding athe Miramar. It was a civil ceremony which took place in the gardens of the hotel. As we neared towards the 1pm start time, I noticed the registrars getting a bit edgy. ‘I think we need to start’, one of them said, ‘the Red Arrows are due to fly over in about twenty minutes.’ Sure enough just as the ceremony ended the roar of the engines could be heard drowning out all the usual end of wedding ceremony shenanigans. Suddenly all eyes were focused on the red and blue trails of smoke in the sky.

Nice of you to pop by to Will and Kat's wedding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s something slightly odd about going back to the same venue two weeks on the trot but one thing was for sure i was determined not to produce the same set of photos as last week so i went along before going to the bride’s home to have a look at the Japanese Garden as i hadn’t shot there before. Once i saw it the ideas started to flow and my mind was made up.

A few hours later the bride arrived down the aisle and both the bride and groom burst into tears.

Bride and Groom in tearsNot a dry eye in the house!

One thing really stood out about this wedding-that was the bride. She was a really happy sort and laughed all day long (after the initial tears that is!) but friends told me she is always like that so lucky David!

Happy Bride

After some fun group photos David and Becci seemed up for the quick hike over to the Japanese Gardens perhaps the best feature at Compton Acres

Nice Colours!

Blimey a photographers paradise this place-I could have stayed all day but David and Becci had the small matter of their wedding reception to attend so off we headed to Harbour Heights. Here I said a quick  ’Hi’ to Beverley the wedding co-ordinator there. Is there anyone who loves her job more than Beverley? I think not! Can’t do enough for you and i’m just the photographer. Becci’s mum sang her praises and i bet there are thousands of others out there doing exactly the same.

Before i go i have to mention the cake-what a fun idea! Today was another great wedding one of those days when i feel really lucky to do what i’m doing

Eat,stink and be scary