Christmas is over, everything is back to normal and it's pretty safe to say that everyone has the rubbish-weather-post-Christmas-blues.  So, we decided to remedy this by nipping to Scarborough for some fish n chips!

It was a proper flying visit - we basically drove there, walked on the seafront, had some chips, walked down the harbour and marina, went in the arcade, walked back along the beach and drove home!

The weather was half decent for us - it wasn't too cold, but the wind made it colder.  It stayed dry all day though. 
It was also surprisingly busy - I guess plenty of others were clinging onto that holiday feeling! 


Here are some snaps.

Gear used:  Fujifilm XPro2, 35mm 1.4

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.

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

After a nice, relaxing Christmas, we headed up to Scotland to spend the New Year. 
We'd booked an awesome converted barn 30 miles south west of Dumfries on the coastline near Gatehouse of Fleet. 
It was a bit cold for our usual walks, not to mention that a few of us were struggling with the usual winter lurgy, so we pretty much just chilled out with a few little explores in the car.  A lovely hidden gem was an old abandoned Kirk pretty much at the bottom of our driveway.  We visited this a few times while we were there.  I spent an hour on New Year's Eve freezing to death shooting some star photos in the graveyard.
We visited Castles and Cairns.  Had a few little walks along beaches in tiny bays and stood on the beach watching the sunset.  Went and had a nosey at the awesome Coo Palace - a Palatial Dairy Farm that is currently being refurbished into holiday apartments.  Me and my little ginger had fun exploring a shipwreck on the coastline near Kirkcudbright.  We visited Dundrennan Abbey - the place where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night in Scotland.  Like most of the other tourist spots though - it was closed, so we had to settle for views through the gateway.  We visited the lovely little Kirk at Kirkandrews and a few other local spots. 

We ate too much, drank too much, and pretty much saw in the New Year as chilled out as can be.

Happy New Year folks.  Here are a few snaps from our trip. 

Gear used.  Fujifilm X70, Fujifilm Xpro2, Fuji 35mm, Fuji 50-230mm, Samyang 12mm

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

The day also happened to be my birthday, so it was an early start to get through all the prezzies and a birthday brekkie before jumping in the car and heading over to the couple's home.
We didn't do any bridal prep on this one, just a few snaps in the house before church.
The ceremony was held at The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Moortown. 
The day had started off with blue skies above us, but, as Steph arrived in the Roller, the heavens proper opened up on us.  This pretty much repeated itself for the rest of the day - sun, rain, sun.  We did a pretty good job of dodging it though! 
James was waiting patiently at the front.  He didn't look nervous though - he looked as excited as a kid at Christmas!
The Bridal party soon made their way down the aisle and we got down to business.
Pretty soon the hymns had been sung, vows had been said and kisses had been kissed.
The happy couple walked out into the sunshine as man and wife. 
And got bombarded by confetti! 
We had a few shots in the grounds and just made it back to the cars before we got wet again.  See what I mean about the rain?!

Next stop - the reception.

The rest of the evening was held at the Castle Grove Masonic Hall.  A quaint Victorian Manor House tucked out of the way in Headingley. 
The drinks were soon flowing, the kids were soon running and everyone was soon letting their hair down and having a good time!
We stole away a few times to get some sneaky photos, but pretty soon it was time for meals and speeches.

And what speeches they were.

I can hand on heart say that this is the only wedding where I've laughed out loud and then had to wipe a tear away within minutes of each other.  The amount of family love that was on show was beautiful.

The rest of the evening was more drinking, more laughing, more running around and then some pretty serious dancing.  We squeezed a cake cut and a first dance in there somewhere too!

Thanks for having me guys - you were awesome!


Here are a few images from their day.

Went out to the Rockley Engine House and Furnace for a bit of fresh air (and for Alfie to wear his new classic army pouches!)
I like Rockley.  There's not much there, but the woods have cool trees, there's mega vines everywhere, there's a little stream, it's always quiet and the ruins are cool.

The furnace is from 1700 and the engine house is dated 1813, but reported to be older.  The engine house once housed a pumping engine that kept the local Iron mines dry.

And it looks a bit like a castle with the castellated top - so kids love it!

Freddie's favourite part of the day was 'trampoline log bouncing'.  And yep - he fell off.  Laughing.


Here's some snaps.

Gear used:  Fujifilm X-Pro2, Samyang 12mm, Fuji 35mm 1.4,

Some snaps from a little walk around the wharf area as the sun went down.

Gear used:  Fujifilm X-Pro2, Samyang 12mm, Fuji 35mm 1.4, Fuji 56mm 1.2

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of shooting the awesome little intimate wedding of Michelle and Richard over in Rotherham.

The day started with a little bit of Bridal prep at the Holiday Inn before we jumped into the cars and headed into Rotherham for Michelle to get into her dress.  After wowing everyone in the house, Michelle and the Bridal party jumped into the Daimler and we battled the traffic through Rotherham centre to Clifton Park Museum.  (Where I promptly got told off for taking photos in the reception - pesky museum rules!)
I whipped the camera away and went to check out the two rooms I was allowed to take photos in, the ceremony room and the waiting room - where I found Richard nattering away (and looking a little nervous!)
We were soon ushered into the ceremony room, ready for the Bride to make her entrance.
And she did.  Looking radiant.

Richard smiled like the cat that got the cream!

The vows were soon said, kisses were had and smiles-for-miles were the order of the day.
After being kicked out the side door*, we headed down into the park for some photos before heading on to the pub, where food, drink, dancing and singing awaited. 

Complete with the cutest little karaoke girl ever!

*Seriously venues - if you're going to run weddings like a conveyor belt, at least have some class rather than shipping the couples out as quick as you can!  #rantover.

Thanks for having me guys - you were awesome!


Here are a few photos from their day.

Everyone has been stuck in the house for a few weeks - with non-stop runny noses, sniffles and all the other little general things that go round and round making everyone feel rubbish.  So the other morning, while mummy was seriously under the weather, we tucked her back into bed and went for a little walk in the local woods - to get some fresh air back into the lungs. 

The boys wanted to take their toy guns to run around with - but as you can see, Alfie went full on Assault Team Ginger...

Sometimes that bit of fresh air is all it needs to perk you back up.  And it's always beautiful in the woods this time of year.


Some snaps.

This afternoon we had a little home-ed trip to Heeley City Farm in Sheffield.
It's a pretty small place, with about 3 million chickens, some pigs, goats, and other livestock.
There's a few reptiles and spiders too, but they were mostly hiding away.
There's a little cafe on site and a little play area for the kids.  And a little petting zoo.  And a little garden centre.  And a little veg stall.
Like I said, it's a little place!

Alfie had some animal photography to do for one of his projects and Freddie Jay enjoyed looking at everything and going crazy in the playground.

Oh, and it's free entry!  Pop in and have a nosey if you're passing by...

Click Here for more info.

Some snaps.