Oxfordshire Wedding and Portrait Photographer Al Birmingham

Lighting Play

albrum — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:22:20 +0000

I’ve been playing with flash and reminding myself how to balance it with ambient light with the flash well off camera. Sadly my daughter wasn’t available (I can’t afford her fees anyway) so I had to make do with a very uncooperative cat. Typically he was more interested in getting attention or being fed than he was in modelling, but I managed a couple of shots! the flash is at camera right, 2 ft up and aimed onto the cat in the first shot, for the second it is above the camera, again aimed down at about 45 degrees. The flash has a lastolight frosted filter in front of it to give it a softer look, both shots are straight from camera.

If You Go Down To The Woods…

albrum — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:07:20 +0000

Well folks the Bluebells are out, a bit early this year meaning the Beech trees haven’t had time to add their fresh green leaves to all the colours but they are no less welcome for all that.

Eve and I thought we’d take a look, as always we took our cameras and as usual Eve took the best shot of the day – and I don’t say that just because it is of me!

As usual I picked on Eve but some passers by made for a decent shot too…

If you would like some properly taken, beautiful photos of your loved ones or even yourself this spring give me a call…

Young at Heart, Full of Life….

albrum — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:53:18 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I had another chance to work with my sister Penny Hardie. We were invited to photograph a wonderful and somewhat unusual wedding…. again!

The Things I do for a Living!

albrum — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:08:59 +0000

Back in October I landed a job with 99 Sqn RAF, sometimes this job has its draw backs like having to go abroad – OK, to be fair, Long Beach California is much nicer than certain destinations in the Middle East! I stayed in The Renaissance Hotel on Ocean Boulevard, if you go there I can recommend the friendly service and excellent location.

This was the view from my room, look carefully and you will see The Queen Mary out there!

Day one, dull, windy and cold – not the California I was expecting! Still had to go and get a photo of the grand old lady though…

The Dueling Piano Bar, always a must…

A few street scenes….

Then there was the view down Ocean Boulevard from the hotel’s external elevator…

Finally, a short trip away was is Huntingdon Beach, where the beautiful people live.

It wasn’t all fun, just most of it!!!!!!!!!

A Trip to Old Minster

albrum — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:39:52 +0000

Old Minster is a big favourite with local photographers and when Eve announced that she wanted to go out and about this evening to take some photos I couldn’t resist, there is always great light here and the scenery means you can’t fail…

If you would like to see your loved ones photographed in a fun outdoor setting give me a call! Details are at the foot of the page…

The Shape of the Future

albrum — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:10:28 +0000

There are modern aircraft at Brize Norton now, this shows a C17 soon after landing with the new Voyager in the background. Voyager will replace the noisy old VC10′s and the Tristars. This was taken on a cold and chilly morning about a week ago, the light beneath the C17 is actually the sun reflecting off a puddle.

Me? A Judge?

albrum — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:25:38 +0000

I have just received a reminder that last year I agreed to judge a local camera clubs competition next week, I ‘m really looking forward to the meet because they are a really friendly bunch who don’t take their photography overly seriously.

The theme for the competition is ‘Patterns in Nature’ and I can’t wait to see all the different interpretations of it. For now, here’s one of mine (not entered, obviously).

A Cheeky Little Family Shoot

albrum — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:12:29 +0000

At last I can show you a few shots from a family portrait shoot I did back at the start of the year.

It is always great fun to photograph a family get together and this one was particularly special because it was a birthday celebration as well.

As is often the case it was down to the kids to show their parents how it’s done, although these two bright sparks can’t really be called kids anymore! Laughing and joking right from the start, we were soon getting some great shots for the photo book.

Be under no illusions, nobody gets away with just standing or sitting down in front of my camera.

Even the grandparents ended up joining in on this shoot, it seems that fun photos can be truly contagious…

If you fancy a relaxed, fun family photo shoot give me a call using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

One of the Fastest Shoots in History?

albrum — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:35:58 +0000

I have the joy and pleasure to be the official photographer for three local primary schools, in exchange for an exclusive contract for their individual and class portraits I offer free staff and governor photos, free coverage of important school events and products like staff boards etc at cost price.

Last week I got an email from one of my schools, “could you come and photograph the new governors just before a meeting one evening please?” No problem I thought, the meeting will be in a pub so it could prove worthwhile… “Just one thing, you can’t set up before 6:30pm and must be gone by 7pm and we want white background please”. So tonight I set up white background, associated lights (two to light the background and one for the subjects), photographed two governors and took the whole lot down again in just under 30 mins. To cap it all I had to drive and was denied a pint! Ah well, it was still fun!

Want to see them? Go on then but remember they are not meant to be works of art OK?…

A Walk on the River…

albrum — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:19:30 +0000

It was a lovely day today, so after spending some time at my parents Eve (my daughter) and I stopped off at Radcot and went for a walk along the river.

Of course it was bitterly cold but the setting sun provided us with wonderful light, and if you can’t take photos for fun then there’s no point in having a camera! Eve has begun taking an interest in photography too, perhaps in a few years she can work for her Dad!

Obviously we saw a few boats tied up for the winter, but for me the river itself provided the magic…

It was a lovely way to finish the weekend.