WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY BASED IN DERBYSHIRE,
AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE.
MADE TO BE FELT
EST 2012.
The Art of Noticing.
Capturing the stories within your Wedding.
No performance. Just what happened, pre-empted by an artist and reader of people.
The glimmers within each wedding are different, I am here for yours.
How are you coping? Decision overload?
jenny
macaré
Your Wedding Photography does not have to look like everyone else’s
Have you been searching for something less “same-y”? Don’t want your Wedding to be all about posing for certain shots? Would you like someone to photograph exactly what is happening in an artistic way?
A softer, intuitive, people first approach. Shooting for your legacy, creating a commentary of your day, beyond expected “Wedding” images. A collection totally personal to you, your chosen supporters and family.
KIND
WORDS
LEGACY
OVER TRENDS
Digital and 35mm
WHY I LOVE DERBYSHIRE
My base in the rolling Derbyshire countryside of the East Midlands of England. Close to the city of Derby with it’s cathedral and industrial heritage mills and great transport links to the rest of the UK. My work centres around The Peak District National Park, Britain’s first national park. A stunningly picturesque location for photography. It’s scenic Dales, criss-crossed with drystone walls, rugged terrain, epic escarpments and rocky edges is popular with walkers, hikers and visitors all year round. I’ve scaled Kinder Scout the highest point of the county. Walked the beautiful limestone villages of Tissington, Hathersage, Ashford in the Water. Love, The palace of the Peak – the famous historic estate, Chatsworth House. Just one of many magnificent historical buildings in Derbyshire others of note Calke Abbey, Kedleston Hall and Melbourne Hall.
Derbyshire is full of juxtaposition. It’s rich Industrial heritage to its epic scenery. Derwent Valley Mills and UNESCO world heritage site recognising the birthplace of the factory system and industrial revolution. Charming Market Towns, The historic Spa town of Buxton and the market Town Bakewell, home to the famous tart. The worlds only source of Blue John stone.
Derbyshire’s four distinct regions: The Dark Peak, upland country formed by the silt from great rivers; The White Peak, an underlying layer of limestone formed when Derbyshire was under a tropical sea; The north east Derbyshire coal fields, and the clay and sandstone plains of the Trent. It’s these contrasts of landscape that make Derbyshire such a fine place for an epic mountain walk or a stroll through the woods.
The Peak District forms the southern outcrop of the Pennines and the Pennine way, the walking / hiking trail begins at Edale, straddles the high moors of Bleaklow and Black Hill. Passing gritstone sculptures, heather clinging to rocks, moor grasses and peat. Then Castleton, Mam Tor and the Great Ridge, tired cliffs, caves, caverns, underground streams and underground wonders, deep wooded gorges, dales, high pastures captured by intricate stone walling. Dovedale, Lathkill Dale, Monsal Dale inspired generations of writers and poets, Wordsworth, Tennyson and Ruskin. Outside the National Park Matlock Bath in Derwent gorge a seaside of amusement arcades, with hillsides that look across half the country. The coalmines surrounding Chesterfield now returned to nature, newly planted woodland and pastures, with wildlife returning.
The heart of the English countryside. A beautiful and varied county to live in, Derbyshire has it all. Traditional pubs and cosy cafés, Rolling hills and dramatic landscapes, Stone-built villages, Limestone dales and valleys, Scenic countryside escapes, Hidden gems and peaceful retreats, Outdoor adventure and cycling routes, a warm village community feel. I love to be based here, shooting Derbyshire Weddings. It is also a perfectly placed central location right by the M1 to travel all over the UK and worldwide to photograph Weddings.
I studied BA Hon’s Photography at NUSAD, art school community left a lasting mark on my soul. I continue to champion and collaborate with artists and creatives outside of Weddings. At university I studied both analogue and digital photography techniques. Shooting and developing 35mm, 120 film and Polaroid tests, using medium format Bronica camera’s, removing the dark slide before each considered exposure, the comparison to digital back studio photography was an invaluable, of a time experience. I built sets and full scale projects to shoot inside. Learnt studio lighting and how to create atmosphere using only a blank backdrop and a single light source. Then out on location with a borrowed Nikon FM2 I found my eye and what speaks to me within an image. Back in the darkroom, developed b&w film and transparencies on enlargers. Learning about processing, correct exposures and how to affect the feeling of an image using post shoot edit techniques. Dodging and burning, vignetting. I printed by hand, both colour and black and white images from film and transparencies. This was also invaluable in fostering intentionality, patience, technical understanding of light, contrast and colour. Seeing my own prints emerge from the developer was captivating. Learning these processes manually, helped my digital photography and editing process progress and I still think in these terms when editing even now. My time on the picture desk of the largest UK weekly magazine, honed my eye for editorial composition and layout, also giving me the ability to react and adapt quickly to ever changing stories and conditions. My favoured lens is the 85mm, beautifully sharp for emotive portraits with depth and bokeh. I use a series of mirrorless full frame professional cameras and back up equipment, varied lighting options for OCF and constant lighting. Also a fail-safe backup system honed for speed and protection after many years in the industry.
After 14 years running my own creative business, an artist who feels the heart, emotion, and depth individuals invest into their Weddings and creative endeavours. In recent years I have seen many more intimate Weddings, Micro Weddings and Elopements and I particularly align with celebrant – led personalised ceremonies. They are so joyful and I would advocate anyone currently planning their Wedding to look into a celebrant ceremony. See my Blog post explaining the differences between, religious, civil and celebrant ceremonies in the UK and Scotland. Photographing personal Elopements, just concentrating on the couple and their promises is such a privilege. Another favourite part of Wedding photography is seeing families, friends, and your chosen Wedding party come together to support you as a couple, stepping in with help on the day, dressing the space, cake making, sign hanging, flower moving, master of ceremony duties and the unnoticed support. It is the people and their stories within your Wedding that I highlight as well as the atmosphere and feeling. I love to photograph sustainable, back yard / garden, countryside, family farm, home based Weddings. If you are an adventure lovers eloping to a remote peak. Holding a huge fun filled festival in your Tipi meadow. Or a micro Wedding at a chic city gallery, do contact me! My photography appeals to couples who have distanced themselves from the pressure and noise of the Wedding industry and social media “must haves” and simply want to gather their most important supporters in celebration and thanks. I shoot with a softer, intuitive, people first approach, and really enjoy unwedding-y spontaneous celebrations that are unique to each couple and are a relaxed expression of their love. Proudly championing couples who want something different from their Wedding celebrations and photography.