A few weeks ago I was photographing some gorgeous wildflower meadows and the gentleman I was with had his Land Rover parked near to us. I could see the back window a bit steamed up and something licking the glass and then saw these lovely faces looking at me.
‘Can I photograph your dogs’ I said ‘Of course, my wife will love that’ was the reply. I’m not sure who enjoyed the shoot the most, me or the dog!
Here are a few pictures of his dogs in the meadow.
A couple of weeks ago I met John Letts who runs Heritage Harvest in the Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire area. John and his small team help farmers grow heritage cereals for thatching straw and grain and distributes bread and flour through the Oxford Bread Group. The Prince’s Countryside Fund have helped John by giving him a grant to develop his business further. The Fund’s grant has helped to establish a demonstration farm and education centre of heritage wheat varieties in collaboration with a group of 100 thatchers, organic farmers and traditional millers. Their aim is to reduce the UK’s dependence on imported thatching materials while encouraging the development of this traditional skill and providing a valuable diversification opportunity for farmers. 10 school visits have taken place and 2 summer placements for agricultural students completed. The flour is now being used in 4 lines of Astons organic bakery and is available through the Tru Food Group with 350 members.
On a personal note John made me understand the problems we could potentially be facing as a result of global warming and how farmers need to diversify and change their farming methods in our ever changing climate. I was also introduced to some of the earliest forms of wheat including Einkorn which is one of the earliest forms of cultivated wheat dating back to 7500BC. John was very kind and loaded my car with eggs, 4 bags of flour, a sourdough starter and some fresh fruit picked from his allotment. Mrs Lord has since made some delicious sourdough bread using Einkorn and Rye flour.
Keep a look out for Heritage Harvest’s website, John is an excellent supplier of flour to anyone who enjoys baking real bread!
To find out more about the Princes Countryside Fund and how you could help please click here.
In the pictures below John is weeding the borders of the fields with a scythe, he does use motor driven vehicles for sowing and harvesting but enjoys using traditional tools where he can. I was given the opportunity to have a go with the scythe and lets just say I will stick to using a camera!
Recently I was asked by EJ Churchill a nearby clay pigeon shooting ground to do some aerial photography of their ground from the air. I was reserved a helicopter with a local helicopter company & the door was removed so I did not have any glass to contend with. I was belted and gaffer taped in and off we went! We were only up for 20 minutes but long enough to get some great shots of EJ Churchill and then a few pictures over the magnificent West Wycombe Park and House.
Only two years ago I had never worked at West Wycombe but I have now photographed several corporate events, schools leavers balls, gun dog events and The Prince’s Countryside Fund charity events there. The house offers England’s finest example of Palladian architecture set amongst Rococo follies and temples in an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is truly a breathtaking place and an amazing venue for weddings! If you are getting married at West Wycombe house and looking for great wedding photography then please get in touch by clicking here.
Here are a few pictures from the air of the house to whet your appetite for a great Buckinghamshire wedding venue! To find out more about having your wedding reception at West Wycombe house please take a look at their website by clicking here.
Following on from my post yesterday, this week I will be showcasing some of my countryside images taken in recent weeks. I know a man who lives locally who keeps free range pigs in a nearby woods in the Chilterns. I see Bruce and his produce at local farmers markets and have always thought what a wonderful experience it would be to photograph the pigs. A tweet came through a couple of weeks ago from @blackpigchills telling me the pigs were ready for their photo shoot. They have recently been filming for Downton Abbey for the next series so are getting used to life in front of the camera!
So one Sunday Becky and I travelled into the hills to meet Bruce and his pigs. We walked into the woods together and Bruce armed with a bucket of pig nuts gave the call. It wasn’t long before the pigs came trotting (bad pun) through the woods to us for a mid morning snack. It really was a fantastic sight, these pigs have a wonderful life in the woods with just 36 pigs to 14 Acres of land! That’s free range!!
The pigs are a cross of two rare and native breeds, the Berkshire pig and the Tamworth which when crossed produce high quality pork. Bruce has spent 8 years perfecting the perfect pig giving them the highest welfare standards and the most natural of habitats.
To find out more about The Black Pig in the Chiltern Hills please visit their new website by clicking here.
The Black Pigs produce can be found at The Quince Tree near Henley on Thames, Gather and Hunt, Marlow, and Ewelme Community Village Shop, Oxfordshire.
What does it taste like you say? Try for yourself!!!
This week is National Countryside week and in the last few weeks I have not only been photographing fabulous weddings, lovely people and drooling dogs but I have been busy taking photographs in our glorious countryside. So every day this week I will post a few images of our beautiful green and pleasant land.
I’ve had an eventful few weeks but the highlight must have been meeting royalty! It had been mentioned to me that I would receive an invitation in the post but it wasn’t until a large cream envelope dropped onto the doormat from Buckingham Palace that the reality of fulfilling one of my ambitions came true.
In the last 12 months I have been a proud supporter of The Prince’s Countryside Fund & have photographed several projects across the country for them along with charitable events. The Prince of Wales has long been passionate about the countryside & set up the fund to give grants to projects that help support the people who care for the countryside.
So it was a very excited photographer that traveled up to the big smoke & across London to Clarence House for a garden party to mingle with other supporters & meet the great man himself. The party was attended by some of the projects that I photographed including Hampshire Fare who help pig farmers diversify & some of the farm apprentices from the Yorkshire moors. There also were some of the celebrity ambassadors who help to raise the profile of the fund including Jimmy Doherty, Phil Vickery, JB from JLS, and Alex James ex member of Blur along with a few other familiar faces from television. We mingled in the garden with some of my images on easels as a backdrop showing the various projects the fund support. The Prince of Wales arrived & was introduced to each group in turn. It was finally my turn to meet His Highness & what can I say? It all went by in a flash! I shook his hand & we had a brief chat about photography & the work I have done for the fund before he had to move on.
It was a memorable moment in my profession and I hope I will have the opportunity of meeting Prince Charles again, maybe building a dry stone wall somewhere!
Here are a few pictures taken by the official photographer of the day Alistair Fyfe.
Some of the images I have taken for The Princes Countryside Fund can be seen on my Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/MarkLordPhotography
Last Saturday, what a day.
Firstly I awoke to lovely weather. The 1st June – ‘Is this the start of Summer’ I asked myself?
On Saturday Sarah (one of my assistants) and I photographed the wedding of Kathryn and David at Christ Church, Henley on Thames and then onto one of my favourite Buckinghamshire wedding venues, the magnificent Hedsor House. When I initially got an enquiry from Kathryn for wedding photography and was told it was a Hedsor House I was thrilled. You only have to look at the Hedsor House website to realise how fabulous it is with all of the awards and accolades awarded within the wedding industry.
With all this rain and cold weather I though we all needed cheering up so I just had a look at some of the images I took at Waterperry Gardens a few weekends ago on a jolly with Mrs Lord.
Becky armed with Instagram and me with my camera we had a great time photographing the blossom at it’s best in the orchards of Waterperry as well as many other plant varieties. I want to try a few things out with floral photography, something less precise and more artistic than the technically perfect images of flora we see in catalogues and magazines. I hope to make several visits to Waterperry this year and build a collection of more expressionistic images of flora and botanical images for future use in the countryside part of my business.
Here are a few working images I have put through Lightroom to share with you.
The next step is an early morning start to catch the early morning light! Good night all!
Mark Lord Photography 