Poor ol' Nigel. I snapped him getting a pint at the wedding. Hang on, I didn't manage to get a sip while I was running around taking photos.

Hmm, don't feel so bad now.

I haven't posted for a while. Work is a bit mental again and you hardly feel like going back on the computer after intensely slogging your guts out on one all day. And it is my mums birthday on Tuesday so I have been out with her.

And then of course it is my birthday on Thursday!

The sky looked interesting tonight and I considered going out to take some photos but, instead, I had a look around for some bits and pieces for a photo job at work, which was a complete waste of time. Maybe I will get to go out later in the week.

At work we run a fantasy football league for premiership games and it's great fun. Ian is organising it and I am doing much better than I thought I would, considering I know next to nothing about footy. (Ian if you are reading this I still think it is all fixed! Just kidding!).

The photo (above) I took this a long time ago on the beach at Fuerta. We had walked along the unremarkable coastline near our hotel and I was shooting people flying kites (Fuerta is so windy) when I turned to see my Noo looking out across the ocean.

Incidentally she hates this, and just about every photo I have taken of her. Recently she complained that she had no nice photos and I had to remind her that every time I get the camera out she runs in the other directions. I don't suppose I blame her, I too hate being photographed.

I like this and a few other shots I have taken of my girl but I don't think I have ever captured her truly. That is, like most people, you can see elements of who they are but only now and again, do you see deep within. I hope one day to capture such a shot of my beautiful Noo.

Oh, I forgot to say. I am posting this photo as the theme for Photofriday is 'beach' and, even though I have been to Tenerife innumerable times, I don't have many beach shots!

I have joined my friend Ian in ordering an 20" Apple Cinema Display TFT monitor. It is the same model I use at work and, to be honest, the CRT here I use just isn't displaying very accurately for processing my photos. The contrast could also be better so I am getting this new TFT to give my eyes a bit of a break at home. Of course now if my photos aren't up to much I will have no more excuses!

This shot, unlike the others I have done so far, was snapped quickly as the Bride's family left the day after the wedding.

I do like simple 'snaps' sometimes, that give the flavour of the moment rather then adhere to preset ideas of composition and colour. It certainly isn't the sharpest photo, although I like the tonal range which came out very nicely through C1 Pro,(still my favourite RAW converter I think).

The photos from the professionals taken at this venue are not back yet, which I can understand. The shear workload my bud Ian gets through is quite staggering and he isn't doing it full-time. I must admit to being really up for a peak at what they managed to capture.

Another from the recent wedding I went to.

The sun was setting and there was magnificent light. I went, with the wedding photographers and took shots into the sun of the newly weds. I was after a silhouette and thought I had really under exposed the shot, killing all detail. Turned out I really did, but I managed to get enough out of the image to give the general idea of shape and form.

It's not quite what I was after but not a complete loss. Oh, and Nik really doesn't like this one.

The Adobe Creative License Tour went brilliantly. I just hope I can remember all the things that were demonstrated.

I took the photo above in Birmingham New Street Station.

Off to the Adobe Creative License Tour tomorrow in Birmingham which should be really interesting. I have got a web design demo in the morning, photoshop at lunch and pure design in the afternoon. Man, I haven't been to one of these shows in a while so I am looking forward to it.

Here is another shot from the wedding I went to. The kids sure did have fun on the bouncy castle.

I have been going over getting a screen to replace my CRT which is old with naff contrast. I had considered getting a cheap TFT but honestly, what you save in cash, you really lose in quality. I don't care what anyone says, you can knock the Apple Cinema Displays. So I am keeping my eye out for a bargain while adding it to my birthday list (well, a bit of cash to help go towards one).

Another shot from Rach and Jey's wedding.

I snuck this shot of one of the bridesmaids, Nina, when we had just come out of the wedding ceremony.

Sandra D is the name of the lady we are helping at work with her business identity. Here is another shot from the photo shoot the other day.

Looking back over the pics I am more than happy with them. You can be a little irritated with soft images, but the beauty of shooting with RAW is that you can do a hell of a lot to an image post-processing.

That said, RAW is not the beginning of a good photo. Optically, if you can get as much as possible it really helps (not least with not spending hours processing images).

My pal Ian can appreciate this as he shoots weddings professionally and has the mammoth task of producing oceans of images after each venture.

The good thing about photography is like other art forms it evolves. I just hope one day I am more happy with my images that not. Although could that be the start of complacency or the beginning of laziness!?

Oh and the A.F.I.? Sandra is an Advanced Fitness Instructor. And a really lovely lady to boot!

I was out shooting for some of the day today, which was great.

We are helping someone start a fitness business by doing their stationery, website and taking supporting photos.

It really was quite difficult as one of the roads to the park, where we took the photos, was shut and we only got in a couple of hours photography because of the detour. Needless to say if you rush photography you can't ] apply as much care as you would like (the photos could have been sharper), but their not bad and there are enough to make a good start on business pack.

Still, it was great fun!

Back to work today!

I am SO not in the mood (I think that is the sign of a great holiday, even if it was only for a couple of days).

Everyone is off on holiday soon, apart from us, which is a bit depressing. Maybe Nik is right? We should go away again this year, if at all possible.

So, by the end of the year - Nan better, mum sorted out and all of us in the sun. I can handle that.

More wedding photos today. Not of the Bride and Groom, but of a little madam (Chloe I think her name was?) who loved the camera. I made this in black and white but Nik suggested the colour had more feeling so I processed a version of that too. I have another where she is smiling and scrunching her face up which I will post as well.

Weather has turned a bit crappy today so no outing to Duxford to see the planes. However Nik and I have continued 'Nik's-birthday-weekend-of-fun' with a trip to Carphone Warehouse to pick up a Nokia 6300. These phones are rather stylish and Nik needed an upgrade for her old phone. She is sitting in the living room playing with it as I type.

Apart from that here is another photo in the grass - I have no idea why I am suddenly shooting drinking receptacles in the lawn!?

All I am gona say is that women be shoppin'! Another eternal certainty like death and taxes.

Nik and I have had a few days off on holiday to celebrate her birthday and what do we do? A trip to Florence, sipping Guinness in the Republic? No, we go off to McCartha-Glen, a shopping complex, and buy clothes. Nuff said! (Although interestingly I got more bargains that Nik, Sweet!)

Apart from that here is a detail shot of some champagne glasses.

No going away but I am having a few (busy) days off from work.

Here is another wedding photo of Rach with her father walking down the isle.

I couldn't really move about much as I was a wedding guest, (and the wedding photographers were doing their thing and I didn't want to be obstructive), but I still snuck a few satisfying snaps here and there.

This one had all kinds of distracting detail around the shot and was so soft and noisy I am surprised I managed to make anything of it at all.

Once again coming back from Nikki's parents house I got some shots out of the car window, this time with the new, fast 70-200 VR. I liked this shot (below), which is similar to other abstract photographs I have taken on the way home on a Sunday night.

Sometimes you just get everything coming together; weather, guests, setting, mood, food and drink. That is how the wedding at Hadlow Manor went last weekend.

The setting would have seemed so much different if the weather had been bad. Most of the time people would have been inside, the bouncy castle wouldn't really gave been touched and the venue would have seemed a bit cramped I feel.

Fortunately the day was hot and beautiful (above) so everyone got to mingle and move around as they pleased in the large open plan grounds. God, I hope Nik and I get this kind of break when we get married. I just couldn't stand to see her dissapointed on they big day.

Who knows? Maybe we will get married on some hot island half-way around the world? Not much chance of showers then unless we arrive in monsoon season!?

Oh, and my friend John has been cleaning out his place and found lots of old letters from when my friends and I were all young teenagers. I must ask him to bring them for a giggle on my birthday when 'da boyz' come up to stay.

I can see why my bud Ian got into Wedding Photography, it is very rewarding. Although I don't think I would like to have to process quite as many shots as he has of late.

I had to remove a few photos from the last two months so I am posting an extra wedding photo here to help balance things. The first is of Mylan (I am sorry if that is not the correct name spelling) and his father. The second is of another bridesmaid, Nina, and her husband, who have been married for only 3 months.

I have been testing using movable type to generate dynamic web pages on imagi rather than the static HTML code I use at the moment. The program has all installed ok but before I do anything I realised I didn't have a new design or look, so it will be a while longer till I can overhaul the site.

It has been chores, chores, excersise, chores today, so maybe tomorrow I can take some photos with my new lenses.

Nikki's birthday looms and I want to get her something nice but I have to get my backside in gear. Our trip to the Isle of Man is looking less likely now, in favour of a nice, new shower.