He’s kept us awake. He’s caused near heart-attacks with his antics. And there have been many hugs and kisses.

His taste for jazz and shock rock has developed well, along with a love for 50′s b-movies.

Everyday he frustrates and amuses us in almost equal measures. I’m looking forward to watching him grow up.

Be nice to your brother.

DJ Mehow plays the kind of music that makes you dance all night long. He plays it so well in fact, that he recently played at Holly Branson & Freddie Andrews’ Pirate Party 2 days before their actual Wedding day. Usually more of a tech house DJ, he shows he knows how to rock a party when he needs to.

He’s the resident DJ on Necker Island, which is Sir Richard Branson’s private island.

Here are some shots I took of him in East London a little while back.

I shot a band called And So I Watch You From Afar, I saw them live years back at a gig in Belfast. I’d flown back in to see some friends and got taken out to see them play, and it turned out that I’d known a few of them way back when.

They were amazing.

Completely amazing and tighter than a duck’s arse.

They play instrumental metal, metal isn’t usually my thing. But I’ll love anything that’s done well with passion and dedication. And this really is, and it’s very loud as well.

I arranged to do a shoot with them next time they were in Bristol and I told them how I wanted the final image to look raw, dirty and grimy but with a feeling of subtle beauty running through. Very much like their music. I worked through my idea with Chris (the drummer) and we talked over the set-up. The band liked what I wanted to do and I set to work on the location, lighting and all the usual that goes with a band shoot.

I was to meet the boys at their gig pre-rehearsal and take them off to some cliffs. From there we would do several different shots of them on the edge with darkened skies looming in the background. The blood red ribbon was to be cascading and slapping around in the wind with a cluster of them erupting from a band members mouth whilst he screamed silently and intensely into the dirt at his feet, bare-chested.

They got stuck in London traffic, and ended up being 4 hours late.

I took this shot in the gig venue. It took 3 minutes in total and I did it in 2 shots. They loved it, I loved it, we had a pint.

I can still see that cliff edge with the ribbon slashing towards me, in my head.

Sid is looking forward to meeting his little brother and teaching him how to brush his teeth.

Come on little fella let’s see what you’re like.

Grace asked me to take some shots for her site. She invited me in to her beautiful home, and I immediately knew why people are lining up to experience her treatments. The whole session was blissful, and I was only behind the camera. Grace works exclusively with Dr. Hauschka products and the treatment is not only about making you look and feel great; the products are biodynamic and totally natural.

But, I didn’t want to just go with any old thing. I’m very proud of my work and my clients. I pride myself on doing something beautiful, unique and of a high quality. So I really had to think hard about who to align myself with.

The Wedding Salon are a group of people who think like I do. They love quality, perfection, unnerving style in the face of flighty fashions and a sense of pride in whatever you do. When they invited me to attend their rather exclusive wedding fair at Great Fulford, I could hardly say no.

Great Fulford is… well… grand! Very grand in fact. It’s an English country mansion in every way. Set in a huge amount of acreage just outside Exeter, it is a vast place that’s been in the Fulford family for over 800 years. It would take far too long to talk about the place so follow the link and see for yourself.

I digress. I wanted a stand that reflected me and stood out from the usual naff-photo-velcroed-to-a-backing-board-kinda-thing. So that’s what I did.

The other suppliers did not let the side down. Everyone put a lot of work into the show and the place looked fantastic. I was especially impressed by The Little Wedding Helper. Not only had Kirsten helped to style the venue itself, but she had laid out a beautiful display to show her skills.

The show was a massive encouragement to me to keep on doing what I’m doing.

And yes, that’s me looking a bit awkward.

I should have started brewing a batch of beer a couple of weeks ago.

I should have gone to that party years ago that is now legendary.

And, I should have posted this pre-wedding shoot with James and Becky last year. I didn’t as my blog at the time was not ideal, but this one is.

So here is the first ever pre-wedding shoot I did. I (and the rather lovely couple) am quite fond of it.

That’s exactly what Zoe and Colin did late December 2011. It was a fantastic day, filled with friends, family and laughs.

I was honoured to be there at their wedding, they were great fun and a joy to work with. They had friends who sang for them, drank with them and danced all around them.

Now I must say, I love winter. I’m Irish and I’ve spent a lot of time in Scandinavia. So winter for me is not a hardship, it’s the best. The light that appears in Autumn and Winter is beautiful. People get close, they get together and they enjoy the warmth of each other. It’s a really great time to shoot weddings. With log fires and warm booze on the go, this was just that time.

The small and intimate nature of the day made everything more special. I felt welcomed in to the day and this made my job so much easier. I went home with a feeling of having met some great people and of having got some great shots.

I would love to thank Zoe and Colin for having me at their wedding, for making me feel welcome. X