I have a few new toys - a 70-200 VR, (the Gun of Navarone as it's frickin' huge!), and a Tokina 12-24, after much searching and agonising. Both are beautiful bits of kit and I will post images from them when I get the chance to use them.

Here is another wedding photo, this time of Gemma, who was one of the bridesmaids, and sister to the bride, with her boyfriend Grant. Now, usually I would crop in on the couple, but I like the setting around them so I have decided to keep it in. I will let you, (reader), be the judge on this one.

Nikki and I had an amazing time at our friends wedding over the weekend near Tunbridge Wells.

Rach and Jey did have photographers working on the shoot who were really hard-working and so great to chat to. I can't wait to see their work.

I admit I did take my camera and got quite a few shots, while trying to stay out of the way of the professionals.

Nikki's parents drove me down while Nik went down the night before. By the end all of us agreed it was one of the best weddings we had been to. So much so that Nik said she didn't want us to get married yet, as trying to compare our ceremony to this one would be no contest. I am not sure I agree with that, as I think weddings are different each time around depending on the people and it's not really about comparisons, but I appreciate her sentiment.

The wedding ceremony itself was in a lovely little hotel in rural Kent. The whole event was a cultural meeting of families with Rach's family from Cornwall and Jey's originally from either India or Sri Lanka (I think?). So we had readings in both English and Tamal which was amazing and really set a great mood.

The night's festivities consisted of more food (after a curry lunch) and entertainment in the form of a DJ, band and an awesome 3 part dance, (in a sort of Bangra style), by some of the kids and teenagers. Then all the crowds joined in to dance, which was truly spectacular and great fun.

Coming back to Leicester yesterday, we all felt like we had a wondrous time and that Jey and Rach had got off to the best possible start.

Well I didn't manage to get my new lenses for the wedding this weekend, which is a bit of a dissapointment but hey, my kit will more than do. I will probably only take my 18-200, (you have to love the versatility of this lens), and cover most situations there, although the new wide angle would have been appreciated. Ah well.

This post is dedicated to my friend Ian. I have decided that he is far too talented to not get a D3, and I am far too impatient. So come Monday we shall both order a brand, spanking new pair of D3's with a selection of lenses.... Yeah, I wish!(Or maybe we can stick to our plan and get them from the states or Asia in a year or so!?).

Only joking Nik! (No more camera stuff for while, promise!).

No, the reason I dedicate this to Ian (whom know doubt is reading this??) is that he, by far, has captured many beautiful portraits of his family that I feel inspired. So nice one pal!

Here then (below) is another portrait photograph from the Barrow Babies 1st Birthday party. It is not quite as sharp as I would like, but the pose and look makes up for that I think?

Oh, and guess what? Ian, we missed out monthly photo theme for August (Days in August). I forgot, and I am presuming you did too? Oh well, maybe in a month or two?

Good luck tomorrow (though I know you won't need it). I guess it will make a change shooting outside and in the sun? I am looking forward to the slideshow.

I can post this now (I didn't want to last night in case the present hadn't been handed over).

My bud from work (Ian) had a canvas produced of a fantastic shot he did of his children for his wife. The final canvas looked absolutely amazing with the image really sitting well on the wonderful canvas material. It was a real testimony to Ian's hard work in producing a very, very polished image and to make sure that it went through the printing process accurately, to be reproduced as his image was onscreen.

I think the kids had a lot of fun at the party, judging by the photos (above and below).

I don't know why I like this image? Maybe it's because I caught him mid action. No, thinking about it. He didn't smile a huge amount, (and there were a few who didn't, being cautious in their strange surroundings at the village hall). This was the first moment I saw him really smile and it is the constrast that I like.

So it's official. The D300 and the D3 are out. I know something was in the pipeline. Still at £3500 for the D3 I think that is a little out of my budget. The D300? Looks fantastic. I will definitely go and check it out when it is in the shops (I think Ian said it is released in November). Frankly, if I buy anymore camera gear I am likely to be divorced before I am even married!

This is one of the babies from my shoot on Saturday. Out of all the children I noticed this guy because;
a) He reminded me of characters from Japanese animation. The stereotypical western look with dark hair and exaggerated eyes.
b) He was friendly, didn't cry and engaged you almost immediately. He also worked well with props. There is a fantastic photo of him holding a phone and pulling such a funny face. I am sure I will have to post that gem at some point.

God, I had forgotten what a laborious task photo processing is. I really feel for my buddy Ian, whose business is photography, and some of the mammoth sessions he has had processing weddings, sometimes back to back!

Firstly the light was crap on the day and my only 'fast' lenses are a 50mm and my macro 105mm. Not wanting too much noise I tried not to go over ISO 800 but I couldn't get the shutter going fast enough. Kids move fast and getting down to 1/60s (where both my fast lenses wanted to be) I just wasn't getting crisp images. I didn't want the restriction of using a monopod/tripod so I resorted to flash photography.

Shadows are a nightmare with flash. Especially running around doing candid baby photos as kids really don't like the bright, shocking light much. (I think 3 cried at the start). However I started getting somewhere with it on, getting shots with lots of full colour from the bounce, and getting sharp results, so figured I would just bear shadows in mind and try to minimise them.

It is a difficult balance gaining clarity and speed with the flash but putting up with hotspots, shiny skin and harsh shadows. I know my friend Ian shoots naturally all the time, and his images are amazing. With natural light it seems you do have to put up with some high ISO numbers and iron them out, post processing. Here I didn't really want to spend too much time at PP so that was a big influence on my choosing flash. Another factor was the available light did nothing to help the shots. If there had been some nice exposure through some windows I might have gone for it more, but we were tucked away.

So after the shoot I started out post processing these shots and trying to minimise the time used. It's hard to let go though, when you have taken the shots and already spent so much time on them, you want them to be the best that they can. Trouble is you could spend weeks on them if you wanted to!

So, I came to a compromise. I would try not to go too 'overboard' on the PP and still make a fantastic job. I ended up levelling the images, put some sharpening on, tweaked and cropped a few. There were no major changes and the shots are pretty much what I captured.

I think in the end I did about 6 hours on them with maybe an hour the night before (the day of the shoot). I took 350 photographs and got 90 good ones. Out of those about 50 were better than the rest and there were about 10 that had a definite wow factor for me.

I think the parents with be very happy and I know Ali (whom I did the photos for) is. And that's what counts, right?

Oh, and speaking of my friend Ian. He was at a special shoot this weekend in Cambridge. It was the marriage of the sister of our work colleague James. I am looking forward to seeing Ian and James and finding out how it all went, even with the rain.

It has been a terrific day today! Shooting went splendidly, although I turned into a sweaty mess (I dread the day I cannot dress down to shoot for a project - similarly to the time I did photography all night for a friend at her birthday party and by the end looked like I had been swimming).

It's also the first time all week I haven't felt stressed out. It all started with me considering getting more equipment for my photography and possibly doing a Masters, which all costs a fair bit. While I could get the gear and do the course it does dent the wallet and having a new house there are other things which can take priority.

This all ties in to my being 'fed up' last week. I miss not being able to get things I want straight off and with the photoshoot getting nearer and nearer, this week has been hell for me and Nik.

But hey presto, today went amazingly and the pressures off. I feel better and you can bet the missus does too.

That does leave the unanswered question of photography courses and gear. I think we shall see. I am in no rush now the shoots over. One thing is for sure, I am happy with my photographs so I feel I am justified wanting new lenses and equipment, to keep going and be the best I can at this photography lark.

And it is another shot from Tenerife tonight.

Typical! I ran around trying to shoot a beautiful red sky the other night and this evening there was a mass of bright red bathing the clouds as the sun was setting. And I was stuck inside!

You know, I don't think I will make a good photographer. I have no patience and even less luck.

An old photo from Tenerife today.

It is difficult having a hobby sometimes.

Most people who don't share the passion constantly deflate enthusiasm for the art and, now and again, I get fed up about it. Sure this is an expensive hobby but, hey, I could just as easily spend waste my time and money playing games. At least photography is creative.

So I really can't be bothered to post today.

I am still uploading this image my mum took rather than one of my own. I did say I would clean up it up to give to the girl in the photo, who is the daughter of a friend of my mothers.

I think that will do for the moment.

I am sure my friend Ian would agree, one of the great features of taking so many photos is that occasionally you come across ones you took a long time ago and paid little heed to, and suddenly in a new light they have a certain something you missed before.

I truly forget why Nikki was looking away across the forest on the side of the Volcano Teide on Tenerife in this picture. Looking now at it I don't think she was there at all. I wonder if she even knows or can remember. I must ask...

Oh, and you may have noticed I am adding thumbnail images with the links to the larger pictures. I dunno, I think I prefer this kind of anchor for the photos rather leaving the link embedded in the text only. At least you know what you are after when you click the thumbnail and I wouldn't want to make anyone sift through the blog text unless they want to.

I spent a fair bit of time last night, after swimming, trying to shoot the beautiful red sky. By the time I got back and changed cars, (the first was dry of fuel from my Nik's trips to work), the sky was darkening, but I persevered. Needless to say I didn't get what I was after, but I did get bits and pieces of night-time streetlights and cars, so I fancied making something a bit abstract tonight.

The photo reminded me of being in University and trying different art styles and techniques. Quite funny as this week I was considering going back to Uni part-time to do a photography Master of Arts.

OK, so not the most imaginative title ever!?

I have been mulling over lens choices again. What it boils down to is this.

I want to shoot more wide angle shots but i don't want to spend loads on a 12-24 Nikon DX lens, only to have to sell it in a year if I decide to get a new Nikon body with some super-duper lenses. The Tokina was my first cheaper choice for a long time. Yeah, it is DX lens so would suffer on a full frame or 1.1x camera, but it is a lot cheaper and the reviews give it a big thumbs up.

So maybe I will get a Tokina in the meantime and see what's happening in a year or so, while happily continuing with D200, 18-200 setup.

I must admit thought, the thought of a full-frame or 1.1x Nikon body matched with a 17-35mm 2.8 and a awesome 70-200 VR 2.8 would be sweet. I wouldn't even worry about the middle range as I have my fast F1.8 50mm Nikon to cover that.

Lets just see what the NIkon boys come up with, eh?

With all the wonderful weather, out come the flip flops, not only as footwear but as a piece for my photography. Sweet!

Nik and I went into town to get a new lens ordered, not for the camera, but for my glasses. They are only 6 months old and the coating is coming off the right lens. We were going to go to the Carribean Carnival after that but Nik didn't feel very well so we came back. I am quite glad actually, just sitting in the garden enjoying the sunshine.

I got my reflector today in the post. Man, eBay has lots of really great bargins if you look carefully and take a few precautions so you don't get ripped off. I mean, I got a Sandisc 4GB Ultra IV Compact Flash card for 19.00 quid! Today, in Jacobs in Leicester, I saw the older model Extreme III card for 85.00!

This relfector is massive and collapsable and comes is 4 different colour reflectors of white, black, silver and gold along with the main semi-transparent white reflector disc itself. It cost me all of 3.95 with 12.00 postage, which still makes it cheaper than the 35.00 shop ones.

These flash cards are so cheap from eBay I got another 4GB one. I didn't really realise how little room I had on my 1GB card until I have an extra 180 shots to use. I mean what's the point of having the D200's speed and not using it?

My D200 is a little Uzi! Fantastic!

I think I am really going to enjoy having the higher camera shot capacity when I come to shoot the kiddy party soon in the local village tea rooms.

As I didn't get any carnival shots, here is another close up from our garden.

I took this in the park when the deer decided to feed close to where we walked. Sometimes it feels like I have always lived in the country as I can't really remember being in the city and not going for long walks, especially with my girl. Feels kinda' cool.

Looks like my friends from back home will be coming up over my birthday which is awesome. I must remember to book that weeks friday off.

The mass of emails has ceased so I guess the site purge has cleared the last of the mal-code from my site - good riddance to the hackers (although I have had one or two suspicious emails with no title which I have just deleted straight away to be safe).

I have been thinking about the childrens' party shoot I am doing at the end of this month. I checked with Ian, who works with in natural light inside at weddings, to see how to best solve certain problems. The 18-200, while being a great lens with the VR, still suffers in low light because, although it assists with slow shutter speeds, it doesn't help if you have to shoot at certain speeds, (Shutter Priority). Shooting kiddies means I have to have the shutter going at over 1/100s. I just hope the room is well lit and it is a nice day otherwise I will have to rely on the 50mm F1.8 or flash.

Postal strikes mean my reflector still isn't here that I pais for over a week ago although my new 4GB CF card came the next day, so it is also down to the reflector seller posting this item late. I just hope they don't expect a glowing recommendation on eBay at this rate.

I am still mulling over other buying photographic stuff. The things I am considering range from filters, studio kit, more CF cards to lenses. Still there is no rush. I think I should probably just enjoy what I have. I did get some rain covers for my camera and the weather cheered up. If I had know I would have bought them months ago.

A new month. I am glad to be here after all the hacking going on. I have ended up blitzing the site to ensure all malevolent code was purged, and I have tightened up the sites codes and weak spots so I won't have to do this again, for a while anyway.

I hope I have remembered everything but if you find any broken links please email me.

Right I am off to the gym to work off my fury at the hackers. See you!