Day 147 - Fudge

Finally a day off after a manic week! Thank goodness for bank holiday weekends so I made the most of my Monday off.
The one thing I wanted today was to have a roast dinner and had decided that I was too tired to cook one so the plan was to go out in the hunt for a pub which did a roast on a Bank Holiday Monday.....we didn't find one!! But we did go to a lovely pub, sat in the sunshine, had lunch and then went to Castleton in the hunt for fudge! Castleton probably isn't the best to go on a Bank Holiday Monday but this little fudge shop was worth it! It was one of those great little old fashioned shops with shelves upon shelves of sweets and the most amazing array of different flavoured fudge I'd seen in a long time. I bought rum and raisin, Dave bought chocolate & chilli as well as stem ginger fudge. Mine didn't last very long and I think another journey will have to be made sometime soon..thank goodness it's not far to go!

Day 146 - Grandpa

A Sunday and the final job for me this week! It's my 7th job of the week so I was quite tired but every job I do with Serendipity is different and the people I meet are wonderful so it makes the job so easy and feel more like having fun than doing work! Today I went out near Matlock to photograph a family who were celebrating the 40th wedding anniversary of their parents.
This photo is of the proud Grandpa with his newest grandson, Oliver, who is just 3 week's old. I photographed Oliver with his parents earlier in the week but I'm convinced he'd grown since then!
They were a gorgeous family who were so much fun to photograph and it was a real privilege to be part of such a wonderful occasion for them.

Day 145 - Windy Wedding

I shot my 2nd Serendipity Wedding today and after last week's wedding I was a little nervous but I ended up loving it! Claire and David are such a wonderful couple it was lovely to be part of their special day. They had been told about me by Kim, my friend who runs Sesame Catering Company. Kim was doing their catering and they were looking for a photographer so she gave them my card and they booked me! I first met them about a month ago and got on with them really well from the start. When they came to talk about their wedding I found out that Claire was struggling to find somewhere to get ready before the wedding and this was causing her a little stress. The wedding was taking place in a church 2 minutes from me so I offered her the use of my home, so on Saturday morning I was invaded by the bridesmaids and bride's family but it was good fun. I made sure they had champagne and it meant that taking photos of them getting ready was a little easier for me! This shot is taken on my balcony after Claire had finally got into her dress and was ready to get married. It was all a little windy but I loved this photo of Claire's veil disappearing over the balcony and her clinging onto it for dear life whilst also keeping hold of her champagne!

Day 144 - Family Fun

Another photo shoot today and this time it was in Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest. Dean is one of my BNI contacts and he'd asked me to go along to Center Parcs to get some photos of his family as they were there celebrating his mum's 50th birthday. I arrived at about 10am and spent the morning taking photos of the family in the adventure playground and also at the beach. They were a lot fun and so easy to photograph although it took a little bit of time for Harry (aged 2) to agree to having his photo taken! By the end of the morning I felt like I'd known them for years and Harry and I were best friends...helped by the fact we chose the same ice cream! I then took more photos for them on Friday evening as they took their mum out for a surprise birthday meal at the Blue Room in Woodseats. I think she'd had an amazing day and won't forget this birthday for a long time. As I left she was very sweet to tell me that I'd made her day! It's such a privilege to be part of such special events in people's lives and get to capture their memories for them.

Day 143 - New Family

I had two jobs today, one of them was to take some photos for Simon and Carmelina of their new baby Oliver who is just over 2 week's old. They wanted some photos of him as a new born and then will get me to take some more when he is a little older. Simon and Carmelina are such a great couple and Oliver is gorgeous although he wasn't too keen on having his photo taken! They definitely look like a happy family and I'm looking forward to seeing Oliver grow up and capturing those moments in photographs for his family.

Days 141 & 142 - Aston Prospectus

I had two days' work in my old school taking photos for their school prospectus. It was so good to be asked to come in and do this job for them because it combined my work as a teacher with my new job as a photographer. I got the best of both worlds with this job as I really enjoyed working with the students but didn't have to deal with behavioural issues or do any marking!! The school asked me for a selection of "life" shots around school which I did on Tuesday. I was able to sneak into the exam hall to get this shot of the Year 11s doing their English GCSE. On the Wednesday they wanted shots of the new school uniform which they are introducing with the Year 7s next year. I had good fun working with 15 current Year 7s posing them in different places around school and getting some good shots. I hope the Head will be happy with the photos that I have taken and that this will then lead to more work with other schools, there's definitely an advantage with me having a teaching background as I have a better understanding of the day to day working of a school.

Day 140 - Serendipity Diary

I have decided to take a photo of my diary for today because I have got 7 photography bookings this week which is really exciting but also really busy! This is my first really busy week and I'm am starting to really feel like this is taking off!

I am in Aston tomorrow and Wednesday taking photos for their school prospectus. On Thursday I'm taking photos for a lady who runs her own "house doctor" business and wants some publicity shots. I'm then taking photos for a couple who have a 2 week old little boy and want photos to send out to people. On Friday I'm off to Centre Parcs to take photos for a family who are celebrating their mum's 50th birthday. I'm then taking photos on Friday evening for a family party. Saturday is my 2nd wedding of the year and Sunday I'm booked in to take photos for a 40th wedding anniversary! Busy, busy but really exciting!

Day 139 - Bangers and Mash

I had a meeting this afternoon with a couple who are thinking about booking me for their wedding in October. I was very glad the meeting was in the afternoon because I needed the lie in after going out Saturday night.

I was really in need of some comfort food and couldn't go for a roast because of the time of my meeting so went round to some friends and had bangers and mash...perfect way to spend a Sunday evening.

Day 138 - Night Out

I went up to Leeds this morning to meet with a couple who are thinking about booking me for their wedding in 2010. They were lovely and we got on really well so I'm hoping that they will book me to do their wedding.

I then had a fairly relaxed Saturday afternoon before going out into Sheffield with Michelle, Dave, Mark and Mark. We had a brilliant evening, lots of dancing, drinking and general frivolity.

Day 137 - Dambuster's 65th Anniversary

It was an early start this morning to get to Derwent Dam to see the last Lancaster Bomber in service flying over the Derwent Dam. It was the 65th Anniversary of the Dambusters Flight and also 90 years of the RAF. I picked up Dave at 8am and we headed out to Ladybower. We parked at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn and then walked all the way up to the dam. The fly over was scheduled for 10:30am. We got there in plenty of time and spent a while working out the best place to stand to get the best view of the flyover. The Lancaster flew over 3 times before the Spitfire and Hurricane flew past followed by 2 tornadoes. It was really impressive and brilliant to be there to see it all happen. The last remaining pilot from the actual Dambuster's flight was there for the day and also some of the actors who played the pilots in the film so it was a historical day.

Day 136 - Dinner on the Balcony

Another gorgeous day in Sheffield. My friend Michelle came over after work for an evening on the balcony. We'd not caught up properly in ages so it was great to chill out after a day of work and enjoy the sunshine.

Day 135 - Grainy Sky

A frustrating day + 2 trips to the Apple store to repair my computer + one dirty car window + blue sky + camera = Photo of the day!

Day 134 - Ironic Smiles

I had a very odd day today which started off so well but gradually deteriorated into near tears! Lots of things went wrong and most of the things were out of my control which just frustrated me. This photo is almost the complete opposite of how stressed I felt which is why it's an ironic smile but it just goes to show that there's always a positive in everything...you just need to look more carefully some days.

Day 133 - Field of Gold

I have always loved the colour of rape fields at this time of year but either never had a camera to hand or never been able to stop to get a photo of one. This morning I had a meeting at Aston Comprehensive (my old school) to discuss photography for their prospectus. It was a really positive meeting and I'm excited about the work I'm going to get out of it. As I was driving back into Sheffield I drove past this field, stopped the car and jumped out to get a shot of the flowers. What I love about fields like this is that the colour seems to go on for miles. It was also good to see a flower up close and the vibrance of the yellow...thank goodness I don't suffer from hay fever!

Day 132 - Round Sheffield Walk

I went on the Round Sheffield Walk today. It was 14 miles starting at Endcliffe Park and then making our way up to Ringinglow, across to Dore, up to Bradway, around Beauchief, up to Woodseats, into Graves Park, along to Meersbrook, down to Chesterfield Road then across London Road and up to Nether Egde and then we dropped back down to Ecclesall Road. It took us about 7 hours with a few stops for lunch and ice-creams! The weather was amazing but I was very glad that a lot of the walk was through woods and the shade because it would have been too hot to be out in the sun all day.

This photo was taken at the top of Meersbrook Park as we stopped to take in the view before heading off on the last part of the walk which meant pub and pint!

Day 131 - Kim & Rafi

Another gorgeous day in Sheffield so I went down to the Botanical Gardens to meet up with Kim and Rafi. We had about 5 mins of sitting quietly & drinking G&Ts (Kim came equipped!) before Rafi decided to go wandering around the park exploring anything with water or steps! This then meant that instead of chilling out we were running around after him but it was a great afternoon and definitely needed after I felt so flat from yesterday.

Day 130 - Serendipity Wedding

Today was a big day in the life of Serendipity Photography...my first wedding. The bride, Alison is the sister-in-law of the owner of the Lounge Bar where I had my Serendipity Launch party. I had given Daniel my business card when I first met with him back in December and it resulted in me photographing Alison and David's wedding today.

I met with Alison and David a couple of times before the wedding and got on with them really well, a lovely relaxed couple. They wanted very informal photos of their big day, mainly because David isn't a huge fan of having his photo taken so I had some ideas for them and then would spend the most of the day wandering around taking photos of the the guests enjoying the day.

Unfortunately a few months ago Alison started to feel really unwell and had to have emergency surgery 3 weeks ago. There was a moment when they didn't think they'd be able to go ahead with the wedding and had to cancel their honeymoon as Alison can't fly at the moment. Fortunately they decided to go ahead with the big day but because Alison is still not 100% it did limit the type of photos I could do which was a shame but I hope I got some good ones for them.

I arrived 1:30 at the venue and spent the time taking photos of Alison getting ready but also sorting out the wedding cake, making sure the flowers were OK, showing the manager how to download music from i-tunes when he realised he'd lost the music for the ceremony and then doing up the bride's shoes just before the ceremony began! Who'd have thought this was all in the life of a wedding photographer! It was a small wedding and there were a few problems with the venue but considering there'd been moments when they didn't think the day would go ahead I think Alison and David had a really lovely day and definitely looked happy.

Day 129 - Hanging out!

Another gorgeously sunny day in Sheffield...I think that's 4 in a row and tomorrow's meant to be lovely too! I had the last few photos from my baby photo shoots to sort out this morning and then had promised myself an afternoon sat in a park somewhere before preparing for the wedding I'm doing tomorrow. I went to the Botanical Gardens and joined the beautiful people lying in the sun and enjoyed the sunshine. Dave came down to join me before we went to sit in the Cobden for a pint. I then needed my photo for the day and after a few random shots of flowers, pegs on the line and Dave's housemate Chris I came up the with this idea and Dave was a star to agree to it! Thanks Dave!

Day 128 - Lying in the Sun

Another gorgeous day! Wednesday's aren't my favourite day of the week because I have to get up really early for my BNI meeting at 6:45am...I'm not a morning person and it wipes me out for the rest of the day. I got a lot of work done today but by 4pm I was flagging and the balcony was calling so I went and sat in the sun...perfect.

Day 127 - Lunchtime in Sheffield

The first signs of summer and Sheffield is loving it! The Peace Gardens are the best place to be in town when the sun is shining, everyone was in a great mood with people chillin' out on the grass with their lunch and parents sitting and watching their kids running in and out of the fountains. I went into town to meet Kim for a drink at lunchtime before getting on with work. Days like today I love the freedom my job gives me.

Day 126 - Twins

I had another photo shoot today with gorgeous 5 week old twins Amy and Andrew. They are the children of an ex colleague of mine and I had asked if I could photograph them to help build up my baby portfolio. They are adorable but had their moments whilst I was photographing them. They took it in turns to have a cry so I didn't get many of the two of them together so this is a rare shot. Hopefully with these photos as well as photos from last weekend and Saturday I have plenty to start marketing my Serendipity Baby Package.

Day 125 - Bank Holiday Weekend

Today's been a really lazy Sunday and tomorrow is Bank Holiday Monday! I ended up booking a photo shoot with a friend's twins tomorrow so today was my chill out day, catching up with friends and having some time out.

Day 124 - Baby Portrait

I had a busy day today with two photo sessions which is really exciting at this stage in my business! I am working hard at getting shoots with babies and young children because that's what I love taking photos of and I feel I have a knack with kids so why not combine the two! My first shoot was with a 3 month old baby called Katy (great name and spelt the right way!). She was a great model and gurgled and smiled at all the right moments so was great to shoot. I got lots of lovely shots of her so hopefully will have a good number of orders for grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles etc..!

My second shoot of the day was for my friends Mike and Helen and their little girl Jess who is 16 months old. We went out to the park and played on the slides and swings and got some great shots of her plus had fun....what more could I ask for for my job! I got home shattered but had a great day and can't wait to show both sets of parents the photos which I took. A good day in the life of Serendipity Photography.

Day 123 - Fisheye Sheffield

I had lots of photos to process from my last few photo shoots and decided to take my computer down to my new office situated in Cafe Nero in town! I needed a change of scene from working from home so enjoyed people watching, whilst also working and sitting in the cafe! My friend Dave came down to join me for a coffee and I decided to do a touristy shot of the steel balls, getting the fish eye effect.

Day 122 - Serendipity Literature

I have had some business cards, magnets and postcards printed for Serendipity Photography, they arrived a few days ago but I thought these would do as my photo of the day. I'm hoping to use these to send to people and to market myself to families and nurseries who want gorgeous photos of their kids taken by me!

April Mosaic

4 months into my photo a day project so here is the mosaic of my April photos.