Dancing To My Own Tune

Golden Hour portrait of Laura after her recent outdoor Festival Wedding at The Firs Wedding Venue

When I started seriously pursuing this precarious line of work, all the advice was to "niche down."  Photographers are told to choose a field and stick to it.  Websites and all social media accounts should, according to those in the know, rigidly adhere to said field.  The advice is very much "stay in your lane!" 

I created a separate Instagram account devoted to alternative wedding and elopement photography and became affiliated with various industry directories, parting with hard earned money in the process.  Lesson number one.  Don't waste your money!  These communities really only serve as networking opportunities, but it's very easy to be side tracked into thinking that exchanging likes on posts will translate into bookings.  As time moves on, I've realised that my work and opportunities have come from word of mouth, self promotion (mainly getting published), forging relationships with local venues and good old Google.  

Outside of the cyber space bubble, I've encountered freelance photographers who openly acknowledge that they take whatever job comes along and if you were to scroll through their Instagram gallery, you might be surprised.  A good example is a local press photographer.  He also does weddings.  His Instagram account is void of any wedding or photo journalistic content.  Instead, he devotes that space to his passion for street photography.  

And therein lies lesson number two.  Time is precious.  I've made the decision to suspend my wedding Instagram account and focus on my original account and include the varied content I choose to share (obviously incorporating examples of my wedding photography).  Social media is a beast and the official advice is very contradictory.  Stay in your lane;  concentrate on one area of expertise vs Let people see the real you and what you're about.  

For better or worse, I'm doing it my way.  I'm tuning out advise from supposed experts and forging my own path.  Ultimately photographers love taking photos.  Some might be passionate about travel or street photography; others (including myself) enjoy exploring multiple genres.  This might invite accusations of Jack or all trades, master of none, but I happen to think that you learn something with each and every challenge and every bit of experience informs your work moving forward.

Anyway, I've had a busy old couple of months, with my camera working overtime.  Having agreed to take some behind the scenes photos at a studio beauty shoot in Birmingham, I've realised just how much I love photographing people.  

I got the bug at the beginning of the year after setting up a little home studio and arranging a Hollywood inspired photo shoot. (Read about it here: Winter Peach Photography: Hurray for Hollywood).  I received the news last week that that first studio session with Ania Cummins as the 1950s pin-up (her look created by Sensual Passions) has now been published in Michael Bann's US magazine Retro Lovely.

Obviously weddings are full of people, but the beauty shoot was different.  The majority of people there were entirely comfortable in front of the camera.  They do it for a living and know how to pose.  The others were there for content creation and were also therefore happy to be photographed.  There was no cajoling or utilisation of relaxation tricks and techniques.  I just had to concentrate on spotting the golden moments and pointing and framing the shot.

We had a lot of fun and hopefully the photos convey that.

Even though I was booked for behind the scenes photos, I still took the opportunity to grab a couple of posed shots and between shots moments.  Here's Papi, who's just signed to an agency in Milan...

...and again with Adjele...

Here's a close up of those bejewelled lips, courtesy of Kacey Marsh.

Emily Massey making red eyes look incredible...

...and again here, with Papi.

It was a good day with this bunch of creatives:  Rekindle The Moment (photographer), Portfolio by Paige (photographer), KC Make Up Artistry, Harriet Smith MUA, Macy Rose MUA, Models:  Papi, Adjele and Emily Massey.  If you want to see more, here's a short video I created.

Winter Peach Photography (@winter_peach_photography) | TikTok

In other news, the rain finally let up and we had a pretty good Bank Holiday weekend.  Saturday was wall to wall sunshine and we visited the One Heart One Way Music Festival taking place in neighbouring town, Stourbridge, which culminated in a ticketed gig by local heroes Ned's Atomic Dustbin, supported by Jesus Jones.  

We soaked up the sun, met up with old friends and enjoyed some brilliant music.  Naturally, I was in paparazzi mode and for once, pre-planned and took the right lens (my clunky but functional 70-200mm).

Sorry, I didn't catch the name of these musicians, performing at a jamming session at The Duke William pub, but I very much approved of this guy's hat, T-shirt and performance charisma.

This girl wanted to know where I bought my jeans.  I wanted her gin and tonic, but didn't have a spare hand.

Checking out the t-shirts.

A very quick shot of this fella on the way out of the pub.

In town, there was a mesmerising performance from singer songwriter Timothy Parkes...

...energising music from three-piece drumming band Bhangra Smash Up...

...and a great performance (and more than a little swagger) from rising Black Country rock trio, Headwired, who later requested I send them all of my photos from their set.

They'll be performing at this year's Lakefest at Eastnor Castle for any local rock music fans.

The crowd loved it!  Dancing in the sunshine with a long weekend on the horizon.  What could be better?

In other news, we managed to catch the stage version of the infinitely quotable film Withnail and I (my all time favourite) at Birmingham Rep at the weekend.  Photos were prohibited (other than the obligatory phone pic of the stage).  For once, I wouldn't have dreamed of taking in my camera.  I wanted to be fully present and hear all the classic lines!  The sets were incredibly creative, there was a live band belting out some late 60s hits from the period with certain members doubling up as cast members and strong performances from the leading actors, but I'm afraid nothing compares to the original for me.  No regrets though.  We enjoyed it and it's a must for any true Withnail and I fan.

I'll leave you with a link to a particularly funny scene including the quote:  "We've gone on holiday by mistake."  At the weekend we depart for Belfast and a week in Ireland, which is very much not a mistake, but a long overdue return to the Emerald Isle.

See you soon!  

Weve gone on holiday by mistake! (youtube.com)

She's a Rainbow

I'll start this post with the meteorological phenomenon that is a rainbow, shot both from the door step and through the rain-soaked loft window.  It's no longer news to say that the weather is capable of extremes.  However, I've been finding it difficult to sleep lately with my energy levels dipping by mid afternoon, often only revived by a second cup of coffee and a cheeky bit of dark chocolate (90% cocoa 'cos I'm that hard!)  

So, in order not to challenge my sleep deprived brain, I'm going to record my memories of the week in conjunction with the colours of the rainbow, as per the old Peggy Lee song: Sing a Rainbow.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOmDYt2a9Gw

Sing along if it helps.

"Red and Yellow..."

Here's a mini photographed at last weekend's British Mini Club's annual Mini & VW Bus Meet which takes place in our home town....

Beautifully fragrant roses, captured outside Hagley Church on a Sunday stroll...

"...and Pink..."

I made a special trip to capture a local poppy field...a week too late.  Not to be defeated, I decided to photograph them in their faded grandeur, the red draining from drooping petals, leaving a lifeless pink in its wake.

That's more like it!  More roses from Hagley Church.

A flattering shade of pink can also be found in the form of my make-up staple, Dr.PAWPAW's multi-purpose balm in a delicate peach/pink shade.  

Vegan, cruelty-free and 100% natural, it's always in my bag.  I use it (extremely sparingly) on my cheeks, directly in line with the pupils of my eyes on the apples of my cheeks, gently blending in circles outwards towards the tops of my ears.  It creates a wonderful glow for people who don't like the feel of make up.  I also use it as a lip balm.  

Oh and the original clear balm also makes an excellent moisturiser.  I use it on my hands, elbows and to tame frizzy hairs.

"...and Green."

I mentioned recently, that I was looking for an unstructured blazer.  Admittedly, this is a nod to current trends, but in my defence, I only adopt the ones I like!  I am also quite taken with the vibrant pea green colour that is everywhere at the moment (brace yourselves).  I was therefore very happy to come face to face with exactly what I had been searching for in a charity shop this week.  The jacket was part of a suit but I persuaded the Manager to sell me just the jacket and I've teamed it with the only new purchase I have made this year - a pair of Zara patch pocket denim shorts.

More greenery in the form of National Trust managed property and green space, Dudmaston, where we headed to celebrate our wedding anniversary this week with a shandy and a scone in the apple orchard, just before the rain started.

The geese were on the lookout for something...the lady of the lake?

We had a little look inside at the property's art collection, but the heat inside was pretty intense, so I purchased some vibrant postcards featuring the artwork of Wolverhampton born sculptor, artist and art collector, Anthony Twentyman (1906-1988), who, incidentally, was a friend of the previous owner and was commissioned to create sculptures for the Dudmaston Estate(more info here:-  

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dudmaston/features/anthony-twentyman-where-art-meets-nature-)

... and soon headed back outside, where we picked some lime tree flowers to make a calming tea (aside from producing an exquisite fragrance, they produce a deliciously delicate tea).  

I also managed to snap one of three resident cats we counted, hunting in an area of wild flowers and taking us neatly into "Orange..."

"...and Purple..."

Dudmaston, shot through lavender.

 "...and Blue."

After that rainy interlude, the sunshine and blue skies returned!

I rounded off the week with a visit to my friend Jenny's driveway plant sale.  Here's a glimpse of her lovely rainbow coloured flower border. I left with an Agapanthus and a couple of foxgloves for our woodland garden.

Gareth has had a chesty cough and streaming cold and so I left him on Saturday night to dose himself up while I disappeared for a while to celebrate my friend Jackie's recent nuptials.  

The remainder of the weekend has been spent in the comfort of our front row sofa seats at a number of Glastonbury performances. The view from Kingswinford was pretty awesome!  Jack White was delightfully eccentric and loud.  Is musical Tourette's a thing?  I think he might have it. Sadly he didn't sing one of my favourites from his tenure with The Raconteurs, so I'll leave it here and dedicate it to my husband of 21 years, my Broken Boy Soldier.  

The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier (Official Music Video) - YouTube