Wedding Photographs Sharon & Adam

At the start of the month I was honoured to be asked to photograph Sharon & Adams wedding that took place at the Essex Golf and Country Club. It's not a venue i've worked at before but everything went smoothly and a good time was had by all.

You can see a few of the wedding photographs in a slideshow by clicking here. The weather just about managed to hold out and give us enough time before the heavens opened.

The shot on the left here is amongst my favourites for the day although i did have a bit of trouble convincing Sharon to trust me and it would look good. I was realy pleased with it, I don't think I would have had been forgiven if it had looked wrong!

On another note the lifestyle photographic training day is getting near is maximum number of delegates and i can't wait to meet up with everyone who's coming and share some ideas and tricks. I'm meeting up with Doug tommorow to have a run through and ensure everythings going to plan. If you wanted to come on the day you can still book but be quick the details can be found on my portrait photography website just look under the tips section, or just give me a call on 01376 567995 and i'll talk you through it.


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Brit Bowl 20

This Sunday was the British American football finals held at Don Valley stadium in Sheffield. I went up on the Sunday to watch the Divison 2 and 1 finals. I must say the whole day was fantastic, and very professional a real showpiece and advert for the sport in this country. A long time ago i was lucky to go to the superbowl in Atlanta and whilst the BAFL have a way to go in catching the NFL in showmanship they can truely hold there heads up high.

Both games were excellent, finishing very close with The Oxford Saints beating the West coast Trojans in the Div 2 final and the London Olympians beating the London Blitz for the Britbowl trophy.

The picture here is of Antonio Fargas who most people will know as Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch although he was also recently in, I'm a celebrity get me out of here. Apparently his son plays for the Raiders in the NFL. He was sitting two seats in fromt of me for the Div 1 game and was introduced to the crowd at half time. Aplogies for the picture quality as it was taken on my new phone, not too bad for a phone but not up to work standards.


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My New Digital Camera

So after the last 3 months of my mobile phone playing up so no-one can hear me when i talk i decided it was time to have a face off with 02 and demand a new phone (i've had the same number for 12 years).

I pluck up all my, I'm not going to take any nonsence attitude and make the phone call explaining how in my opinion i deserved a new phone at no charge. After talking continually and putting across my arguement the guy on the other end of the phone says ..... ok i have the choice of these three phones you could have. The one I chose is on the left here, the guy on the other end of the phone tells me it has a 2 megapixel camera, and thats a big deal (his words not mine). Having played a little I don't think i'll be retiring the Hasselblads and Nikons just yet.

On a slightly more serious note it's true that camera manufacturers have noticed a massive drop in compact camera sales as everyman and his dog now has a perfectly good camera on there phone. No wonder the smaller camera manufacturers have started to go bust.

Changing the subject the numbers for the lifestyle portrait photographic training day on the 8th October are going great. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with everyone and sharing some special images. if you're interested in this course check out my site and look for the lifestyle portrait training under the tips section.


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Lifestyle Photography Training Day

The last week has been a planning week getting ready for the lifestyle portrait training day i'm due to host on the 8th October in Chelmsford. Already the numbers are filling up and I can hardly wait to meet up with and share some ideas and methods in order to help others get great images.

There's so much to organise but thats part of what makes it so much fun. Seeing the day slowly coming together speaking to the attendees on the phone. I find it incredibly encouraging (and a real compliment) when I realise how far some people are willing to travel to come on these days, spending many hours on the road and this time we even have someone flying in from Germany (hi Keith looking forward to meeting you in the flesh).

I so look forward to these days, it such a pleasure to meet up with you all and chat during the coffee breaks as well as answer all the questions you have (when i can). If you're at all interested in attending you can find the detailsd on my site under the tips section, look for photography training. Just drop me an email or ring if you prefer and i'll let you know what the day involves. I'd love to meet you and hopefully show you some of the tricks to getting the natural style of images that I love.

If you wanted an idea of the style of images we will be capturing check out this slideshow that gives a little more information about the day (make sure your speakers are on it has sound).

Speak to you soon.



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American football season is over!

Damn!! I was just starting to get into the British American Football scene and the Gladiators go and get knocked out in the wild card playoffs by the Norwich Devils.

In fairness Norwich were by far the better prepared team and took Colchester out of the game by half time.

My images from the Colchester Gladiators v Norwich Devils can be found by clicking here. I may go to the finals at Don Valley Stadium at the end of September but other than that its eight months till the season starts again.

On the work front the wedding season is starting to slow to normal levels again. As soon as a get chance (and permission) i'll load some more slideshows. Last night I was working at the Savoy in London. The venue and staff were exemplory as always but parking was awfull. When i get chance i'll put some images up.


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Christening Photographs

Another of the joys of this wonderfull career I have found myself in is the way that every single day is differant. Like most people I've had several jobs before i finally found my true vocation in life. The worst thing i found with all of those jobs was after about two years they began to get very repetative.

Luckily now i've found every single job makes every day differant, normally in differant parts of the country and occasionally differant countries altogether.

Recently I was commisioned to photograph a Christening very close to my home town. Believe it or not this is highly unusual for me. Most of my work is either in the London area or sometimes further afield so this was a real benefit.

You can see a few of my christening photographs by clicking here. I hope I achieved my aim of exceeding the customers expectations. Does life get any better? People paying you to do something you love doing .... Fantastic!!

If you're interested in photography you may be interested in my free online tips available from my lifestyle photography site. Just go to the tips section and fill in the form. you'll be joining about another 1,000 people who all regul;arl;y receive the tips and get this no cost!! If i can help other people have fun and improve their photographs, I see that as payment.


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Photographers are coming back to film

Shock gasp, here's a write up from a magazine about how professional photographers are turning away from digital cameras back to film ...... I never went away!!

Many photographers are returning to film for medium and large format prints, claims mail-order lab Peak Imaging which has recently upgraded its film processing equipment.
Peak Imaging's managing director Wayne Gledhill told us this morning: 'They are returning to medium and large format film because of the size of print they can get, while retaining quality (20x16in and above). Many fine art, product and landscape photographers are showing signs of preference toward film.' He claimed that many photographers are returning to 120 and 5x4in film for larger format prints.
'Recent upgrades in wet processing equipment have also confirmed Peak's future commitment to the processing of E-6, C-41 and black & white film,' he continued.

How can this be a suprise to anyone who has ever shot film and digital on the same job? Don't get me wrong digital has its place for something that is needed immediately (press for example) but don't try and tell me digital and film are the same quality ...... in another 12 months maybe but not yet.

Colchester Gladiators beaten by Norwich Devils

O.K. so maybe it had to happen. An extremely confident Colchester Gladiators, who were newly crowned champions of Division 2 East went to play their final game of the regular season in Norwich on Sunday.

What started as a brilliant game for Colchester slowly began to fall apart just before half time. Silly mistaked and a no nonsense reffing team caused alot of wasted yardage.

The Norwich Devils put on a great show and proved they are a force to be reckoned with now the play offs are around the corner. This loss means the Colchester Gladiators now have to play another home game (27th August), for there right to play in the next round.

The pictures form the Colchester Gladiators @ Norwich Devils game can be viewed here

For details of the wildcard game on the 27th August check out the Gladiators website here www.colchestergladiators.com. Why not dust of your camera and come and cheer the team on!!

Apologies for allowing a week to go by without updating the blog. I've got a ton of stuff (slideshows etc) to add but i'm waiting to show the clients and get their permission before i put a live link to them for you all to see.


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Plasterers Hall London

Just a quick entry today on the count that I'm pretty tired due to not getting back till gone 1 am last night. The wedding yesterday was at a new venue for me. Its called the plaisterers (yes it is spelt correctly) hall and is located at 1 London Wall in the city.

Completely stunning venue and to top it all an NCP carpark within walking distance ..... do wedding venues get any better?

Seriously though car parking in central London can be a complete knightmare and not having the threat of having your car towed away is a real advantage in my eyes.

On another note the Colchester Gladiators won on Sunday which makes them the Divisional Champions. One more game (this Sunday) at the Norwich devils and then it's play off time. Keep up to date with the Colchester Gladiators here.

Colchester Gladiators v East Midland Saxons (home win)

July 30th saw the return match of the East Midland saxons coming to broad Lane stadium in Wivenhoe to take on the Colchester Gladiators. Just like the previous game it came right down to the wire with the Gladiators managing to hold out in the dieing seconds to gain another win. This means the Gladiators progress to the play offs and are now playing to get homefield advantage. This is a realy important factor as the games start to get further away and the Gladiators home crowd can kick up a noise to wake the dead.

My images from the Gladiators v Saxons are here.

For once I actually appeared in a photograph (as shown here) many thanks to Allen Jackson. Although I was a little busy shooting I did manage to have a quick chat with him. He told me it was his first time shooting American Football and from what I have seen he did a great job. The gladiators next home is this Sunday but unfortunately due to work commitments (wedding) i won't be there but you could be ..... check out the Gladiators website here for timings etc.


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Hours at the Computer

The bulk of this week has been taken up with administration. Apart from a quick shoot on Monday morning (pictures to follow) I've been sitting in front of the P.C. typing out quotes for wedding enquiries answering questions via e mail etc.

The picture you see here is a commercial job I was commisioned to shoot. The building is an old barn that has been converted into a fantastic house.

The decor and size of the house are fanatastic. The kitchen area was something totally amazing. As i have said before commercial photography isn't my favourite side of the business but occasionally it makes a welcome change with far less pressure.

Later on today I'm off to shoot the Colchester Gladiators at their home ground, they're playing the East Midland Saxons and it promises to be a great game (again pics to follow). The Gladiators have been getting some pretty good press coverage in recent weeks including, full pages or page dominance in, The Evening Gazette, The Essex County Standard and The East Anglian Daily Times. All of the write ups include my pictures and include my details, great advertising for free!

Also this week i've had another three enquiries from people wishing to come on my portrait photography training day in October. This is promising to be great and places are going fast, if you want details just e mail me or click through to my site www.martinwilmottphotography.com and whilst your there you can sign up to my free photography tips (look under the tips section).

One last thing if you look at the bottom right of this blog you'll see a map, feel free to click on it and add yourself, i love seeing where people who have signed up to my free tips are from, all over the world!


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Colchester Gladiators at East Midland Saxons

This weekend saw another amazing game! Colchester Gladiators travelled north to Peterborough to face the East Midland Saxons. Unfortunately I missed the first half because of other work commitments but managed to arrive just in time to see the last couple of plays of the 2nd quarter.

The sun was beating down making an already very physical game even harder on both sides. Colchester pulled the game out of the bag eventually winning 24 - 23. Every game seems to come down to the wire. It seems the Gladiators always struggle to get started and then somehow turn it on for the second half.

To see my images from the Gladiators @ Saxons click the underlined words. Next week (Sunday 30th July) the Gladiators have a rematch against the Saxons, you can bet it's gonna be serious, loosing by one point after a three hour game never goes down well and you can bet the Saxons will be looking for revenge.

For details of next weeks games (and the rest of the season) check out the Gladiators web page here www.colchestergladiators.com. See you on Sunday?


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Family Photo Shoots

I was lucky enough to be asked to photograph a family recently. The difference between this and a normal lifestyle session? (if there is such a thing). Not much just the amount of people involved, 8 brothers and sisters.

Now anyone who has attempted to photograph more than one person will realise the more people the harder it can be. The trick is to work fast and hopefully make it enjoyable for everyone. Also try and listen to what they want and attempt to get it for them, just because they're young doesn't mean they don't have an opinion.

I've put a few of the images together here I think we managed to capture the true spirit of everyone and all without any tantrums or sulks.

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Only Fools on Horses

Saturday night saw the final of the only fools on horses competition. for anyone who's missed it or not from the UK the basic concept was celebrities were taught to ride horses and then how to jump and competed against each other.

I was lucky enough to be offered a VIP ticket to the final and went along (it was held at Towerlands Arena Braintree not far from where I live). I wish I could say what a thrilling night of energy and fun it was but unfortunately it was anything but. Because it was the Sports relief night the programme was recorded in lots of little bits and for a spectator in the arena it never really got going. The first thing that happened was everyone had to practise clapping and then clapping and cheering and then build up from small applause to a big cheer etc. All very false, the crowd also had to practise the ooohs and ahhhs incase a horse refused or a rider fell.

All in all it was an OK experience but because of they way it was recorded (they didn't want to show it live in case of a major accident) made the evening a bit boring. Having said that all the celebs seemed genually nice with a special mention to Sally Gunnel who went out to meet members of the public whilst the rest were guarded by a Gestapo like security.

No chance of any pics inside the arena though, the Gestapo security saw to that, even with no flash the movement could have upset the horses apparently, yeah right and a crowd being whipped into clapping and cheering frenzy wouldn't!

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Colchester Gladiators at Cambridge Cats

Last Sunday saw the Colchester Gladiators travel to the Cambridge Cats for a re match. When these teams met earlier in the year the game was won by Colchester with a touchdown scored with one second left on the clock. Close is an understatement.

The game started poorly for Colchester as they went behind for three scores, the team dug deep and started their comeback getting back a score before half time. Again it was a completeley thrilling game which could easily have gone either way.

The final score ended being Colchester Gladiators 26 Cambridgeshire Cats 25. Too close for comfort but this means the Gladiators now top the table with a 4 wins 1 loss record, with a record like that theres a real danger they could go through to the playoffs and possibly the Brit Bowl (to be played at Don Valley stadium in September).

Of course i got some images that you can view by clicking here
Anyone interested in the Gladiators can find details of their next games here www.colchestergladiators.com

Look out for there last home game on the 6th August, It's going to be a big major event with varius stuff laid on for children etc. Whilst i was at the game i got chatting to another photographer covering the game, it turns out he works for First Down magazine and covers NFL games in the states, ......... I offered to carry his bags but he already had that one covered.

Work wise for some reason there has been a sudden rush of enquiries for weddings and portraits throughout the year, no sense or reason it just happens like that sometimes.

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Great Weddings

One of the great things about this job is I get to enjoy many fantastic days out (and call it work). I feel sure every bride and groom must spend weeks / months planning every little detail which ensures these fantastic events. However having done the easy bit (capturing the images) its then time to do the hard bit.

Alot of people don't realise how long is spent in post production after a wedding / event and think photographers only work one day per wedding (I wish). I estimate a wedding job takes me about 7 days in total to complete (not back to back). I often wonder when I read about photographers doing 50 / 60 weddings a year what sort of end product they produce?

There are many hours sitting infront of the computer, firstly sorting the images, then adjusting them and then producing them in a way so they can be viewed. That's only half the job done, having been viewed it's now time to plan the albums that are ordered and place the orders to the various companies so they all come together like clock work at the end. It is hard work and stressfull sometimes but i can tell you it is really worth it when the bride is given her album and the tears come to her eyes.

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Bar Mitzvah Photographs

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be asked to shoot a young mans Bar Mitzvah party. The party was a massive success and was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody.

Part of the entertainment was the waiter you see here in the picture, unbeknown to everyone he was actually an actor hired by the young boys mother. As a waitor he started of reasonably well but was a little to over helpfull and got people the wrong drinks. He was also extremely clumsy and fell over on several occasions needing to be carried out by various guests .

When everyone had arrived he called the guests through to the marquee to be sat and promptly announced that the chef had unfortunately eaten one of the starters and had come down with food poisoning, but not to worry as he was going to take control and cook the meal.

As you can see from this next image he wasn't a complete success in the kitchen. To be honest i've seen a few similar style shows to this but I think I can say this was the best of the bunch.
His name is Mark Howard and has his own web site here www.sillywaiter.com.

Having had the oppurtunity to sit and chat with Mark in between courses it soon became apparent that he has worked in some major venues and also for some big names in the entertainment and business community. If you're planning a special occasion and were looking for something a little differant, I highly recomend him.

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Commercial Photography Shoot

I am completely snowed under at the moment so apologies for the lack of entries on the blog. Here's a shot of a fantastic kitchen that I was asked to photograph last week. It always seems strange to shoot inanimate objects, they don't laugh at my best lines .....

The kitchen was built from scratch by en-masse interiors. It always completely amazes me how someone can take a drawing and raw materials and make something so stunning as this. Dave Conlon (Director) has a fantastic talent, I highly recommend his work which not only includes residential but shop fittings and coffee shops etc. Watch this space for more of his work.

The image is low res to make it easier for the web page to load but believe me the attention to detail is second to none. Every vertical line is completely straight (not an easy task to complete I am told).

On another note the Colchester Gladiators had a fantastic win at home against the ex league leaders (Norwich Devils) so Colchester now go to the top. halfway through the season but all to play for, check out their next game here www.colchestergladiators.com .

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Pre wedding Shoot

I always offer a pre wedding shoot to any couple who contact me about shooting their wedding. There are several reasons for this but the main one is to get to know the couple and see what sort of people they are (and how far I can take them).

Recently I shot this couple Sharon and Adam (on the left), it took about 30 minutes but was a very worthwhile excercise. We got to know each other and they now get to see my work before deciding to book me and paying any money. Works best for both groups.

You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive (well most people wouldn't anyway) so why not test drive your chosen photographer? I have nothing to hide and it also helps to realise why there's a differance in the prices people charge. Of course it's not always practical to do a pre wedding shoot (especially if the couple are living in another country) but whenever possible I always do.

Any way if you want to check out some of the images from the shoot click here pre wedding photographs. There are great couple with a real cute little one. I know shootingtyhere wedding will be fun!

Oh by the way the England game was due to be played that afternoon hence the patriotic clothing.

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Lifestyle Photography

Apologies for not keeping the blog updated as regular as normal. I'm right in the middle of silly season with weddings / bahmitzvahs / christenings etc happening and all whilst the world cups going on.

Talking about the world cup I rather smugly thought i had managed to put off any work that may mean me missing any of the england games. Whilst chesking through my diary the other day I discovered to my horror if England win the group I have a booking for the sunday they are due to play!!

The young lad you see in the pic is part of a family i photographed back in Febuary. He was so full of fun and charector. See for yourself I believe he could get a job on the stage or acting if that is what he decides he wants to do. We all had a great day out and although it was windy at the time we managed to get some great shots.

So roll on Tuesday and Englands next game, in a strange way it would be better for me if Sweden beat England. The footballs been getting to everyone, i even heard a rumour that the queen was watching with interest!

Saw the trooping of the colour this morning, makes you proud to be British!

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