Following on from last weeks duties, today saw my little Sea Cadet took part in the South Elmsall Armistice Day Parade.
The day started with a grey gloomy sky, which soon turned into a good ol' British drizzle.  All the representing cadets were outstanding regardless of the weather.  The mix of uniforms was a sight to behold as they marched down the main street. 
Sea Cadets, Army Cadets, Air Cadets, Yorkshire Rose First Aid Society, Town Council members, Royal British Legion and local schools all paraded proudly and brilliantly accompanied by the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band and escorted by a solo RBL Rider.  (Apologies if I missed anyone).

And here, in all their glory, are our outstanding Sea Cadets.  Proud parent time for all of us watching.

David Lee Evans
Father
Son
Husband
Brother
Marine

26/3/1972 - 11/4/2018

My little Sea Cadet kicked off Remembrance duties last week with the Poppy Appeal Launch in South Elmsall - along with his fellow Sea Cadets, volunteers, members of the Town Council, Royal British Legion and military veterans.

All the Sea Cadets performed brilliantly as they did their duties.  Kitted out in their finest, they paraded brilliantly onto the pitch before doing the rounds selling poppies and collecting for the Poppy Appeal.  I even spotted a few doing the bin-bag rounds collecting rubbish!
In-between their duties they also had time to stand and relax with the rest of the staff, parents and fans as we all watched the match turn into a victory for England with a final score of 36-20. 

A proper proud-parent day for me and his mum.


Here are a few snaps from the day.  (Although I've got to say - trying to take snaps at a rugby match with a compact camera is a bit of a challenge!)

And, last but not least, a full photo of the players and cadets.  Spot my little Cadet right in the middle of things!

(Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Sea Cadets.) 

A few weeks ago we jumped into the car and headed up North to the top of Cumbria.

We stayed in a little caravan park in Silloth - a little town on the shores of the Solway Firth.
I was up there to do a charity walk along Hadrian's Wall, spending a few days with the fam before and after the event.  Unfortunately, I had to cut the walk short after an ITB injury, but every cloud has a silver lining and it meant I got a few more days with the fam before we headed home. 

Although I had to hobble everywhere...

We did our usual stuff - exploring the hills, beach walks, sea side towns, fishing villages, wildlife spotting, stone skimming, trying to keep the kids entertained when it rained...

And of course, we ate lots of chips!

The last night there was beautiful.  We sat by a campfire on the beach while we watched the sun go down and the stars come out.  Perfect.

Going home is always the worst bit, so we turned it into a little bit of a road trip and visited Keswick in the Lake District, then on down to Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales.


As always, I took too many photos...

Gear used:  Fuji X100F, Fuji XPro2, 35mm 1.4, 50-230, Samyang 12mm.

A few weeks ago I travelled down to Leicester to photograph the awesome wedding of Anna and Matt.

The day started with Bridal prep (and a teeny bit of Groom prep!) at the Ullesthorpe Court Hotel.  This was the usual fun of far too many people in one room trying to hide from the weirdo with a camera!  It was all a good laugh, the time flew by, and everyone was soon looking beautiful and loaded into a gorgeous 1964 VW bus for the trip to the main venue.

The rest of the day was held at the lovely Shearsby Bath.

Matt was waiting patiently in the lovely oak-beamed old Spa Room and before you knew it, his beautiful Bride came walking down the aisle to take her place by his side. 
Smiles-for-miles is one of my favourite words to describe a wedding day - and the moment these two saw each other, it was once again the phrase that sums it all up!
Vows were soon spoken, rings were exchanged and kisses were kissed. 
There may have been a few laughs and giggles in there too!

The new Mr and Mrs walked out hand in hand into the sunshine. 

The afternoon was spent basking in the sun with ice creams in hand, the kids were busy in the gardens and the adults were keeping well hydrated.  Well - you've got to stay safe in the sunshine after all! 
We managed to sneak a few photos in too.

It was soon back inside for food and speeches, the afternoon turned to evening, and before you knew it - it was time to get down on the dancefloor!

A perfect wedding day.

Thanks for having me guys - you two were awesome!


Here are a few snaps from their day.

Last night we decided to have a wander round Frickley Park as it's another one of those places-on-your-doorstep that we'd never been to.

When I was a nipper I used to play on the old colliery site here all the time.  We'd play near the old pit pump ponds at the bottom and walk through the woods at the back, looking for conkers and riding motorbikes on (what I called) 'the quarry' part at the back of the old folks bungalows on the Westfield Lane side - although these have all gone too.  I also used to cut across from the Frickley FC side (who remembers the 'you'll never walk alone' painting on the wall?) as a short cut when walking from my grandad's on Pine Street to my auntie's house down on Elmsdale Close.  I used to love it here - the wide open spaces made me feel like a proper explorer.  I grew up next to Kirkby pit too and always enjoyed exploring there - although I was scared of 'the tunnel' and always managed to go home filthy!

Anyway, we had a little walk round.  We started by exploring a little field of sunflowers before heading onto the old lines and following them back down to join the path into the park.  The park is lovely.  The developers have done an awesome job.  There's over 7 miles of foot and cycle paths criss-crossing through it.  There's also a few little nods to the site's mining history dotted about.  A nice touch.

We didn't get time to walk round everywhere as the sun was dropping quick, but we'll deffo be back for more.  It's a proper little den of tranquility.  We need more regeneration of our little mining villages.

For more info on the park click HERE.

Here are a few snaps.

Gear used:  Fujifilm XPro1, 35mm 1.4

A few weeks ago I was back in Pontefract to photograph the awesome wedding of Lauren and Dan.

The entire day was held at the lovely Kings Croft Hotel. 

We started off with Bridal prep - which, as always, was a good laugh.  Instead of being all squeezed into one room though, this time we had two.  Which was a good job, as there were lots of people in there!  There were also a couple of videographers in for the day too (a cool guy by the name of Adam - check him out HERE) so we were leapfrogging over each other between rooms all morning!
Time soon ticked on, so then it was time to head out to the pavilion for the main event.

Dan was patiently waiting at the end of the aisle for his Bride to arrive.  Which thankfully, she did!  It was pretty easy to see her coming to be honest - the multicoloured line of approaching bridesmaids was pretty long! 
Smiles for miles was the order of the day, and pretty soon vows were spoken, rings were exchanged, kisses were kissed and the happy couple walked out into the sunshine as man and wife.  Perfectly serenaded by the awesome 24 Live who sang throughout the rest of the day. 

The rest of the evening was laughs, love and fun in the sunshine.  Oh, and some pretty cool dancing!

A good ol' Yorkshire wedding.

Congrats you two, and thanks for having me.  Your day was ace.


Here are a few snaps from their day.

A few weeks ago I was back over in Stockport again to shoot the awesome wedding of Kellie and Rich.

The entire day was held at the Cheadle Village Hotel. 

The day started with Bridal prep - which was the usual fun of too many people squeezed into a room for two.  Add a few kids to the mix and we were falling over each other all morning!  As always though, Bridal prep is good fun and loosens everyone up.  (And gets them used to me sticking a camera in their face!)
The time flew by, and it was pretty soon time to head down for the main event.

Rich and the boys were downstairs in the bar, but got ushered into the wedding room before Kellie and the Bridal party came down.
Gotta say - Rich was looking cool as a cucumber.  That look soon turned into 'the-cat-that-got-the-cream' look when Kellie walked down the aisle!
The registrars did the business, vows were spoken, rings were exchanged, kisses were kissed, cheers were cheered and the happy couple walked out as man and wife into the sunshine.

The day was glorious.  Blue skies and sunshine and perfect British summertime Beer Garden weather. 
And enjoy it everyone did!

The rest of the day waltzed by with lots of love, laughter and some good old emotional (and often hilarious) speeches.  And plenty of drinking, obviously.

A perfect day that was finished off with a mega, everyone-involved first dance. 
The love was shining more than the sunshine!

Congrats guys and thanks for having me.  You were both awesome.


Here are some of the images from their day. 

A few weeks ago I had the awesome pleasure of shooting the wedding of Katie and Mike over in Stockport.

The entire day was held at the lovely Cheadle House.

The day started with Bridal prep - which, as always, was some good ol' laughs.  I shot Katie's sister's wedding a couple of years back, so it was nice to see everyone again.
The day was scorching hot with blue skies and sunshine, and in no time at all, it was time for the main event.
Mike was all smiles and waiting patiently for his Bride at the end of the aisle.  I'm sure it was worth the wait - Katie walked in looking absolutely stunning.
The registrars got down to business, vows were spoken, rings were exchanged, kisses were kissed and the happy couple walked out into the sunshine as man and wife.

The rest of the day was good old party time.  The weather was glorious, the drinks were flowing and smiles for miles was the order of the day.
After dinner and speeches it wasn't long until the DJ lit up the floor and after cutting the cake, the first dance was had before everyone mobbed the dancefloor.

A proper perfect wedding day.

Thanks for having me guys - you were both awesome.


Here are a few snaps from their day.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of travelling down to Shrewsbury to photograph the wedding of Georgie and Scott. 

The entire day was held at the lovely Albrighton Hall Hotel. 

There had been snow during the night, followed by lots and lots of rain.  We got lucky on the day though - the rain disappeared for the most part, with only a few scattered showers - enabling us to get outside for few shots.

The day started with the usual bridal prep, which was the usual scene of me terrorising everyone in the pre-make up stage!  I tried to sneak some groom prep in too, but I think the fellas were wise to it and were in the bar before I got to them!

The time soon ticked by, and before we knew it, it was time to get down to business!

Scott was waiting patiently, and nervously, at the end of the aisle.  Pretty soon the door opened and the lovely flower girls and bridesmaids made their way down.  Before Scott had chance to wipe away the tears, the beautiful bride followed. 

After some teary eyes, exchanged vows, swapped rings and lots of smiles, the happy couple became man and wife. 

We jumped outside for a few shots before everyone hit the bar, the hotel flipped the room round and before you knew it, it was time for food and the (pretty awesome and emotional) speeches. 

And a few more tears...

The rest of the afternoon breezed by in a tidal wave of love, smiles and happiness. 
The evening soon rolled in along with the band; cakes were cut, dances were danced and I think there might have been a bit more kissing too!

Congrats you too - you were awesome!

Here are a few photos from their day.

A few weeks ago I had the awesome privilege of shooting the wedding of Luci and Mark over in Leeds.

There was no bridal prep, so it was straight to Leeds Town Hall to get down to business.
Mark and a few guests soon arrived, so we had a nosey round the place to check out the room and take a few snaps.  Time soon ticked on, so everyone was ushered into the room before the Bridal Party arrived.
Pretty soon the door opened and the happy couple's two little girls made their way down the aisle before the bride.  I don't think Mark stopped smiling all the way through!
The registrars got down to business, readings were read, vows were spoken and rings were exchanged. 
And of course - kisses were kissed.

The happy couple walked out man and wife.

The day had been raining on and off all morning, so we all huddled under the canopy for a few snaps before making our way down to the reception venue.

The rest of the day was held at The Tetley.  A massive 30's art deco building that originally headquartered Tetley's Brewery.
The drinks were soon flowing, the smiles were still beaming and the kids were soon off on an Easter Treasure Hunt.
After dinner and speeches, the evening guests soon arrived, cakes were cut and the happy couple led the way onto the dancefloor.

Oh, and I kept dragging them outside for a few photos along the way.

A perfect day.  Congratulations Mark and Luci - you guys were awesome!

Here are a few snaps from their day.