#Hedsor House #Wedding tomorrow……

Tomorrow I have a beautiful wedding at Hedsor house, Taplow, Buckinghamshire. The wedding service is in Henley on Thames and then the reception at Hedsor house. I am very excited as Hedsor is such a splendid wedding venue and great for wedding photography. The Bride and Groom are really up for having some pictures taken in the grounds at Hedsor so fingers crossed the sunshine will be out and everyone will have a wonderful time. With some great props supplied by the bride there will be some amazing photograph opportunities. So keep a look out for the sneaky peek on my blog……. you will not be able to miss these pictures……

In the meantime here are a few images from the last wedding I photographed at Hedsor House.

A little bit of colour to cheer us all up from #Waterperry Gardens.

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!

Antonia and David, Wadham College and The Tythe Barn

Last month Jack and I photographed the wedding of Antonia and David at Wadham College and then onto the beautiful Tythe Barn, Launton, Bicester for the reception.

David studied at Wadham so it was a great choice of venue to wow their guests who were mainly from Belgium and Wales. Wadham College is in Oxford’s city centre and is surrounded by architectural splendour and history. The architecture of Wadham College is simply stunning and offers great backgrounds for photography. Having photographed several Oxford colleges in recent years I always get excited when I get another enquiry to photograph at such magnificent venues.

After the service the reception was held at The Tythe Barn, Launton, near Bicester one of my favourite wedding venues in Oxfordshire. Will & Emma who run the barn have restored this historical building beautifully & their attention to detail shows in every wedding I have had the pleasure to photograph there.

Here are a few pictures from Antonia and David’s stunning day. Please see more on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/marklordphotography and please LIKE my page for regular updates and offers in the future.

For weddings at The Tythe Barn I offer up to two complimentary hours into the evening if you book me for 6 or more. For more information either pick up a leaflet next time you visit The Tythe Barn or email me for details.

In the meantime enjoy the pictures…..

Charlotte, Robin and Other Animals….

A couple of months ago I met one of my lovely couples, Charlotte and Robin at Wellington Riding near Reading, Berkshire. Charlotte keeps her horse there and wanted to have some pictures with him and their dog Oswald. Pirate the horse and I originate from Cornwall so we had something in common, he is definately more handsome although my nose is smaller! I love photographing people as well as animals so this session was going to be great fun and possibly challenging as Oswald and Pirate do not always see eye to eye!

It was a great session and I think we all enjoyed it, even Pirate and Oswald! Here are some of the pictures that Charlotte and Robin had in their signing book for their wedding.

Keep a look out on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com.marklordphotography for a sneaky peek at some of their wedding pictures from last weekend!

A busy weekend coming up for weddings…..

I’m currently busy designing a lovely album for Danielle and David who’s wedding took place last weekend at Great Fosters, Egham. Keep a look out for a sneaky peek once they are back from their honeymoon – there are lots of great pictures!

Tomorrow I will be photographing a wedding at the wonderful Silchester House in Hampshire and then Sunday I will be at the Compleat Angler Wedding Fair in Marlow.

So if you are looking for a photographer for your wedding day please come along and see me and a wonderful lady photographer called Maria who will also be attending. There will also be an array of other wedding suppliers all recommended by The Compleat Angler.

Doors open 11am until 3pm. Come along and see one of Marlow’s best wedding venues on the river River Thames.

Here are a few images from Gemma and Paul’s wedding from a few years ago at the Compleat Angler.

Portrait of Film Director, Amit Gupta

Film Director Amit Gupta recently asked me to do a few portraits of him for his press releases. We spent 15 minutes together getting a few pictures and he recently contacted me to tell me his portrait is in Empire magazine and also one now online.

Amit’s first film that he directed was called Resistance and was set in a Welsh village in WWII, imagining life had the Germans invaded. With a cast including Michael Sheen it is a brilliant art house film and is well worth a watch.

To find out more about Resistance and to watch the trailer please click here

Amit’s latest film I am looking forward to watching is Jadoo the Movie, a British comedy that takes Amit back to his roots of growing up in Leicester. Its about two brothers who are chefs & what happens when they fall out. They set up rival restaurants across the road from each other in the Belgrave Road in Leicester, close to where Amit grew up.

To follow the latest news of Amit’s film Jadoo the Movie please sign up to their blog / Facebook page or Twitter by clicking here

If you are looking for portraits for publicity purposes please contact me for more information. info@marklordphotography.com

Wet and windy wedding advice…..

With the unpredictable weather we have these days who really knows when is the best time of year to get married. I’ve photographed glorious weddings in March and weddings where it’s hammered down in August. Whatever the weather the show must go on and regardless of the weather everyone will still have a great time.

But from experience here are a few tips in case the weather is not quite want you wished for.

1. Hire or buy some white umbrellas. These will be invaluable for you and your guests who need to go outside and being white they will be nice and bright underneath for some photos. Most quality venues should have some but it’s worth checking beforehand.

2. Pack wellies and enjoy the puddles. It’s popular now to pack the Hunter wellies in case of bad weather and are a great look in the photos and a nice contrast to the Jimmy Choos!

3. Give your bridesmaids a small can of hair spray for windy days and a pack of hair clips just in case it’s windy and your hair gets blown around during the group photos.

4. Ask a bridesmaid or close friend to come with you when you are having photographs with your groom. A bridesmaid can be on hand to help with hair adjustments or to rearrange your dress.

5. Have a back up plan. What will you all do if it rains all day long and you were planning an outdoors reception? Speak to your venue so you know where you and your guests can go if it’s wet outside.

6. Speak to your photographer and ask them where they plan to do the group photos if the weather is bad. A good photographer will have some portable flash heads they can set up to do the group photographs indoors.

Regardless of the weather you will have a fab day as you are surrounded by your family and friends and those that love you both.

Finally in my 15 years of photographing weddings I have never photographed one where it has rained ALL day long. Call it the luck of The Lord!

Brother in Arms – A personal photograph or two

Dont worry folks I’m not going to be talking about the album by Dire Straits but a personal photograph I took recently.

Ever since I started on my photographic voyage through life I have loved photographing people, just being themselves, as they are within their own environment. One of my first projects many years ago was photographing the villagers of Budock Water in Cornwall, where I grew up. This project was all black and white portraits of people I have known most of my life and people that have spent most of their years living in the village. Sadly many of those dear people are no longer with us but it is a project I always revisit in my head. It has led me to my career in a photography, namely being a portrait photographer.

So, a few months ago when Becky and I were in Cornwall staying with my parents I thought it would be nice to grab a portrait of my Father and his brother Joe. Dad and Joe spend many hours a week at the local churchyard maintaining the grounds and the graves. Being in their late seventies and early eighties I find the two of them incredible – they just don’t stop working. If they are not working in their own gardens, they are ‘up churchyard’ cutting the grass, cleaning grave stones and tidying up. All in their own time for the love of it and each others company.

So here is a couple of portraits of two great brothers who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty. As I said in my wedding speech to my Dad ‘you are amazing and I only hope I have your energy when I’m your age’ – half of it wouldn’t be bad either!

To see some of my wedding photography at Budock Church please keep scrolling down.

Heidi and Brendan’s sneaky peek of their #wedding in lovely #Cornwall!

Last weekend Jack and I travelled to Cornwall to shoot the wedding of Heidi and Brendan in the village of Budock Water, near Falmouth where I grew up. I have known Heidi for many years and it was a pleasure to be part of their big day.

Their day was a perfect mix of coastline and countryside and we even managed to pop down to the local beach where the two of them got engaged for some pictures. Heidi and Brendan got married in St. Budock Church where I got married last year.

The reception was held at the family stables with tea and cake served to the guests on arrival before the champagne reception later in the day. The stables were all cleaned out and bunting hung from the doors and rafters giving it a vintage charm. During the tea and cake Heidi and Brendan had organised a Bucking Bronco and even had a go themselves. Guests were also entertained by a bouncy castle, sumo wrestling suits for those who fancied a wrestle and a magician who wowed the guests with his balloon swallowing!

So without further ado here are a few pictures of Heidi and Brendan’s big day…..

Princes Countryside Fund charity clay shoot at West Wycombe Park now online

For those that attended the magnificent West Wycombe Park yesterday for the Princes Countryside Fund clay pigeon shoot hosted by Sir Edward Dashwood the images are now online and ready to view. Please contact me or the Princes Countyside Fund for the access code.

If you were not lucky enough to be there you missed a real treat. Fabulous weather, generous hospitality and brilliant clay pigeon targets presented to the guns over a variety of stands. The day started with speeches from Rob Fenwick of E J Churchill who organised the event & set the course & Mark Price Managing Director of Waitrose on behalf of H.R.H The Prince of Wales. With top UK and International clay shots there with some impressive shooting, namely from George Digweed, Ambassador to The Princes Countryside Fund, Charlotte Kerwood and Micky Rouse who put on a fine demonstration afterwards. Also showing their support to the fund were Phil Vickery, Cornishman and England Rugby Pro and Heston Blumenthal the highly renowned chef.

The fund raised approximately £50,000 yesterday with the generous support of several of its supporters who attended the shoot along with friends of the fund.

I am the official photographer to the Princes Countryside Fund and some of the projects I have photographed for them can be found further down this blog. The fund is there to support rural communities, train farm apprentices, and educate the public what goes on in the British countryside.

With many farmers suffering with the bad weather in recent months losing crops as well as their livestock the fund has donated nearly £600,000 to farmers and their families since the new year.

To find out more and to see how you can do your part in helping rural communities please checkout the Princes Countryside Fund by clicking here

In the meantime here are a few images from yesterday.