Jo and Ross got married in a lovely church in the midlands in the middle of summer, and what happens in the summer in the UK? It rains. A lot. Did that bother the bride and groom, not in the slightest! The reception was at Clumber Park. The theme of the day was a multitude of colours, it looked fantastic. Below are a few pictures to tease the bride and groom before they get back from a secret honeymoon. Keep your eyes open for the Real Wedding Stories article that will be coming soon!
7pm in the park with Kirsty and Dan. Natural light all from behind.. glorious sun!
Kirsty and Dan came to London to see Kirsty’s sister and it was a great time to get the pre wedding photo shoot taken. They are getting married in September in Lincolnshire.
It was an absolutely stunning evening, loads of sun and natural light. This is one shot from the shoot, and the rest will get blogged after they have seen all the photos properly!
Beautiful light in the park at 1930!
If you book Darren Bell Photography, a pre-wedding shoot is a must and the best way for you to get to know me and start to build rapport! All wedding packages come with a pre-wedding shoot..
The shoot will be very informal, and during this you will get used to having a camera around, there would be nothing worse than you getting nervous of the camera on your wedding day! The pre-wedding shoot will take about 1-2 hours. Photographs taken at the shoot will make brilliant and beautiful presents for parents (or even a gift to treat yourself). Many people are going for a photograph of the pre wedding shoot in a frame so guests can sign the mount instead of going for the traditional guest book!
Today I took my niece to the park under instruction from my mother (Grandma) to get a good picture of my niece playing. Well, it’s very true what they say, “don’t work with children or animals”… nearly 150 photo taken in 20 minutes… and I did manage to get a few good images (below). Aliyah is 3 next month and is a bundle of energy.. I have been taking photos of her since she was a baby and recently I think someone has encouraged her (only when Uncle Darren comes to visit and gets the camera out) to stick out your tongue!
I think the below have done the little “monkey” justice! This post is more for fun than a brag sheet on photos! But if anyone does want children’s lifestyle photos taking, then I am your man, but please make sure there is a Vodka waiting on the other side! 
I was commissioned to take some photos of a new office reception… the photos are below….
Dartford Bridge (Queen Elizabeth II Bridge). Long exposure photography
Another night photography session in London.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is a 137 m (449 ft) high and 812 m (2,664 ft) long cable-stayed road bridge across the River Thames in south eastEngland. It was opened in 1991 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The bridge is the southbound element of the Dartford Crossing, a strategic congestion chargeed road crossing the half mile wide river east of London. It was built alongside two earlier tunnels under the Thames, which now form the northbound element of the crossing.
When it was opened, the bridge was Europe’s largest cable-supported bridge. As of 2008 by main span length it is the second largest cable-stayed bridge in the United Kingdom behind the Second Severn Crossing (6 m longer and opened in 1996) and the 41st largest cable-stayed bridge in the world.
I entered in the below photograph to the SWPP June “Open” Competition and it was awarded a gold.
Gold Awards will go forward to the annual judging and are deemed to be images of the highest standard and will be published in Professional Imagemaker magazine!
St Pauls From the Millennium Bridge: Manual. F8. Exposure 5Secs. 48mm.
http://www.swpp.co.uk/image_competition_june_10/winnerspg01.htm
I had nothing to do on Saturday night, so I decided to go out and make the most of the warm evenings and take some night time photography.
The Millennium Bridge:
The London Millennium Footbridge is a steel suspension footbridge crossing the River Thames in London, linking Bank side with the City. It is located between Southwark Bridge (downstream) and Blackfriars Railway Bridge (upstream). Londoners nicknamed the bridge the Wobbly Bridge after participants in a special event to open the bridge felt an unexpected swaying motion. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It was reopened in 2002.
The southern end of the bridge is near Globe Theatre, the Bankside Gallery and Tate Modern, the north end next to the City of London Schoolbelow St Paul’s Cathedral. The bridge alignment is such that a clear view of St Paul’s south facade is presented from across the river, framed by the bridge supports.
The Tate Modern Gallery
The Tate Modern in London is Britain’s national museum of international modern art and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online, part of the group now known simply as Tate. The galleries are housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Battersea Power Station, and built in two stages between 1947 and 1963. The power station closed in 1981.
St Pauls Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It is generally reckoned to be London’s fifth St Paul’s Cathedral, all having been built on the same site since AD 604. The cathedral is one of London’s most famous and most recognisable sights. At 365 feet (111m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world.
All of the below photos are taken with a very long exposure with a high f stop. (all at ISO 100 to avoid noise).
Under Millennium Bridge on the North Side of the river showing the tip of St Pauls
Millennium Bridge & St Pauls Cathedral - Long Exposure. B&W Filter
Same as above but in Colour
Tate Modern & The Millennium Bridge
St Pauls & The Millennium Bridge. People are walking over the bridge. Long exposure gives the images a fantastic blur.
St Pauls & The Millennium Bridge. People are walking over the bridge. Long exposure gives the images a fantastic blur.
Same as above but with an interesting green and blue colour shift.
All of the above images are available to buy. Please email darren@darren-bell.co.uk.
This is my first prime lens; one of my good friends has one of these and I have been very dubious to the point of not wanting to borrow his…. But after much persuasion I decided to get one.Well, to start with the lens is only £100.00 and for me this was an unusual lens purchase as all of my previous “glass” has always cost more than £800.00. Secondly its as flat as a pancake and adds no weight to the camera…
After an hour of using this Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens I discovered that this lens is as sharp as a tack and focuses very very quickly. I have only tried it out on my poor cat but the next human portrait sitting will be purely on this prime lens… practice makes perfect! Now i am after a 105mm f2 prime lens. Maybe I have been converted….
A sample from my reluctant “cat shoot” is below. Harvey waived the modelling fee!
Darren Bell is a wedding and portrait photographer based in London and the Midlands. Visit my website here
Part of my Real Wedding Stories series. The below is by Penny & Bob who got married in Epsom in May.
How did you meet?
Bob and I first met in primary school when we were 4 years old Bob then moved and changed schools and we lost contact (as much contact as you can have as a 4 year old!)! until 3 years ago when we found each other on facebook. After the dilema of trying to remember each other we met up and the rest is history.
Tell us about your proposal: -
Bob proposed mid week in his bedroom of his parents house. i was sitting on the bed and he bent down (as he had apparently dropped something on the floor) and popped up with a ring! I burst into tears, said yes immediately, then we both went racing down stairs to his parents who were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting!
How did you find your wedding dress?
The saturday after we got engaged I went to ‘From this Moment Bridal Studios’ and my dress was the 3rd one I tried on. The reason I chose it was because when I came out of the changing room everyone cried, including the shop assistant.
What was your favourite detail of the day:
Our favourite detail of the day was……all of it. We both absolutely loved every second.
Most memorable moment?
Bob has two memorable moments. His first was when he was standing outside the church, he saw one of his closest friends hobbling (as he had a bad leg) down the pathway for a hand shake and a hug. His second is standing at the front of the church and seeing me walking down the isle, he found it so hard to fight back the tears!
My memorable moments are driving to the church in the vintage car with my Dad, and walking down the isle seeing me friends and family smiling at me, and my Bob waiting for me at the end.
What’s next for you as a couple?
Next for us are a few more sunny holidays as we loved our Honeymoon in Mexico so much. Egypt is next on the agenda!
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Darren Bell is a Photographer who loves the beauty and emotion of a wedding day. Check out the website for all wedding photography details, and if you want a wedding consultation to find out what you can get on your wedding day click here.
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