Tag: beach

Helen & James’ Devon seaside wedding with an ocean sunset

You might remember Helen and James from their bluebell woods engagement shoot. I was certainly looking forward to seeing

Helen got ready at The Paddocks, on the Ocean Kave site before making her way to the church in Instow, Helen’s childhood home. I whisked Helen and James off for some pictures by the Ocean – it was a very typical English summer but the moody grey skies gave a very atmospheric feel to the images (I love them!) The reception was at Pier House at Westward Ho! (the only place name in the UK with an exclamation mark in it) briefly interrupted by sparklers and a surprise glorious sunset just as the sun dipped into the ocean, after which the fun when on late into the evening with a ceilidh…

Congratulations Helen and James!

21 Aug ’15
FEATURED IMAGE: Oblivion: Lovers by the Sea

People ask me what I like about being a documentary photographer. I tell them that I love the special gift that comes with being a photographer; the privileged ability to record memories and moments in time. And if successful, to each viewer, the image will retell the very story that the photographer saw, a story that moved them so much that they chose to document that moment.

It was during a fashion shoot that I spotted this couple sitting by the waters edge. Seeing them huddled up, looking out over a tempestuous sea made me pause a moment, reset my camera and capture a memory they thought might only be theirs.

What was the moment that I saw? A story of lovers oblivious to anything else. Their world stood still – it was just them, their love and the sea.

[Best viewed whilst listening to ‘By the Sea’ by Suede, if you will]

16 Jul ’11
South Wales Coast: A stroll by the sea with Marley Hamilton

At the end of a recent shoot, I spotted Marley walking in her Ugg boots by the sea.

I started snapping, she started playing. End of story…and the beginning of this documentary photostory 🙂

Meet Marley:

4 May ’11
South Wales Coast: Of Legends

I’d been bedridden for months following my operation and feeling glum when the awesome Angi Nelson (well known for her amphibian and reptile photography http://www.reptilephotographer.co.uk/) invited me to Wales last weekend. Not yet able to drive, Martin Gillman (http://martingillman.co.uk/) gave me a lift and away we went.

The destination was stunning with sweeping cliff faces and dramatic fissures on the rocky flats. It took some time to get down the cliff and across the rocks on my crutches, but eventually I made it and it was totally worthwhile. Although it had been some time, it felt natural to have my camera back in my hands and as soon as the models arrived, we started shooting! It was so good to get back to photography after being stuck in one room for months.

This was my first shoot with budding actress, Marley Hamilton (http://www.modelmayhem.com/1777728). She bought along a stunning dress that looked like it had come from a set for Atlantis or Merlin – the stuff of legends.

With thanks to Marley, Angi and Martin!

25 Apr ’11
“I left my soul there, down by the sea”*

The flames fanned by the Photography Parlour shootout, and wanting to learn more about working with flash, I looked up my local Strobist group. Strobism is another name for off-camera flash use.

I really knew close to zero about working this way and turned up at Clevedon Beach to learn what I could and without knowing what to expect. The guys set about their business, enthusiastically setting up their lights so they could shoot the models, who were mainly girls in their swimsuits. Most were more than willing to let me get pitched in with them, which in many ways was brilliant and in other ways, I was in at the deep end! Following a ghastly day, we were lucky as the weather was extremely kind to us with a beautiful sun set to boot.

The models did really well, especially those for whom it was their first time modelling. It was also a good experience to direct first-timers. I enjoyed directing two models to look like a couple in love when they’d only met 10 minutes beforehand and trying to making the most of the flare from the setting sun.

I love to be by the sea and would love to do some more beach shoots somewhere like Cornwall. Although I very much like the pebble beach and rugged cliffs of Clevedon, I wouldn’t have thought of it as a modelling location, but our models bought a touch of glamour and romance to the ordinarily mumsy destination. Actually, I think it could pass for California or Ibiza in some of the shots!

Huge thanks to the Strobist team for their baptism by fire (or flash…) and the great models who were all so accommodating. I was surprised to get some usable shots from this shoot, a bonus!

With thanks to all who collaborated, including:
MUA
Cat Parnell http://www.modelmayhem/1518216
MODELS
HanahMarie (finalist in Bristol’s Next Top Model 2010!) http://www.modelmayhem.com/hanahmarie
Ryan Spong
Iain Gorrie http://www.modelmayhem.com/1701420

Ami Tipps BubbleFaery http://www.modelmayhem.com/816798

*And the blog title? From the Morcheeba song…

5 Sep ’10
Story behind the image: The Big Blue

I was in Cuba and had hit a fair few of the more rural areas of Cuba from the wild untouched lands of lizards and lava to the dirt tracks atop sierra ranges. I had started in and had a bad time in Havana two weeks before and had had a stomach bug for most of the time since then. I was absolutely loving the country and its people, staying with local people in their Casas Particulares and eating local food, but I needed some TLC before returning to Havana on my way home.

Cubans are not allowed to transport foreign people in their own cars. We got around this by a Cuban hiring a ‘tourist’ car (how he did this, I do not know) and driving me anyway. He took me to Cayo Santa Maria, on an archipelago north of Santa Clara. He did this because he had never been there and was curious, as locals were not allowed on the island. We went over a hundred bridges linking the coral islands and when we reached the guarded barrier, he said he was my boyfriend and we were allowed through. I can’t imagine how strange it must have been for him to see abundance that he didn’t have access to on the other side of the barrier. He stayed for a cocktail and he left.

Dark rainclouds were on the horizon. A storm moved in and cleared just before dinner time. I ventured out over the slope that led to the beach and was astonished to find crystal clear shallow waters stretching out for a kilometre or so before the sea bed dropped off to deep blue waters. The completely still sea reflected all the colours of the sun battling the retreating storm, from orange to purple and back again, melting into the sea. It was impossible to see where sea ended and sky began, you were caught up in endless sea or sky and a moment of absolute serenity. I glimpsed an otherworld; brought back to Earth by the fish darting between my feet, brought out to play by the rain.

But no, I didn’t have my camera with me…the ultimate sin for a photographer. But I don’t think I could ever have recorded that moment anyhow. This picture was taken a couple of days later when the sun was presiding high in the Caribbean sky. Some people say that Cuba’s beaches do not shine. They have clearly have not ventured far. I went to several wonderful beaches in Cuba, this one was the best. I do hope it is never spoilt.

29 Jun ’10