Pigs in the woods – National Countryside Week #NCW13

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!!!

It’s National Countryside Week this week….. #NCW13

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.

A great opportunity to meet HRH Prince Charles….

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.

“Vogue’s Dream Wedding Venue”

VOGUE

“Wedding Venue of the Year”

The Wedding Industry Awards Shortlist

“UK’s Prettiest Summer Wedding Venue”

Wedding Day Venues

“Top 100 Wedding Venues in the UK”

Brides Magazine

“No.2. Royal Wedding Venue in the UK”

The Times

“No.1 Top Venue”

TATLER

“No.1 Wedding Venue in Buckinghamshire”

Brides Magazine

“Marie Claire’s Top Wedding Venue”

MARIE CLAIRE

“Top 10 UK Film Locations”

The Telegraph

“Event Venue of the Year”

Eventia Awards

If you have got this far then you may wish to take a closer look at what Hedsor can offer for your wedding day.

Kathryn got ready at Hotel Du Vin in Henley on Thames with her bridesmaids whilst David travelled up to Henley from Winchester on the morning of the big day. The service was a very special occasion at Christ Church, Henley on Thames as the church was very personal to Kathryn’s family. Her parents got married in the church and her grandfather was very involved in the church and even made the weather vane that adorns the church spire!

After a lovely service, the bride and groom went in a beautiful Bentley supplied by Christophers whilst the guests were all taken to the venue by coach.

On arrival at Hedsor House I heard comments such as ‘Its like something from a fairytale’ as the entrance to Hedsor House is so grand, long sweeping driveway, through the beautiful gardens and parkland before passing the highland cattle and finally seeing this magnificent house in front of you. With a beautiful blue sky it really was like something from a fairytale.

Entertainment was provided for the guests in the form of a Dixieland Jazz band playing in front of the house and a very popular Ice cream trike on the terrace provided by Benecci Ice Cream Bikes The beautiful flowers were all supplied by Hot Flowers and Art at nearby Wooburn Green, and the sensationally delicious catering by Caper and Berry.

The whole operation was meticulously organised by Kathryn with the help of Rachael from Serendipity Wedding Planning who did a fantastic job at keeping proceedings going as well as organising some gigantic balloons!

So without further ado here is Kathryn and David’s sneeky peek. I will be working on their images over the next few weeks and hope to show you all some more soon.

Ohh…. and the dress…… A beautiful Ian Stewart – one of my favourite wedding dress designers.

What a day – hey?

#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.

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!

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…..