Travel Photographer of the Year Award

On Sunday 16th of January I was delighted to be awarded The 2010 Travel Photographer of the Year Award by the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP).  Every year in January the SWPP hold their week long annual conference, with hundreds of lectures and training events, a trade show which all ends with the Awards Dinner.  Throughout 2010 a monthly image competition was run where you can enter 1 image per category per month and over the course of the year thousands of entries are submitted and less than 2% are awarded 'Gold' awards, which then go to final judging for the annual awards.  Over the course of the year, as you will see in the previous post, I won 17 Gold awards across various categories of which the picture of the man in Marrakech was narrowed down to the final 3 of the Travel Category.  This image was taken when I was in Marrakech to photograph a wedding in May of which thanks must go to Siobhan Murphy Photography for passing the couple on to me in the first place. The Awards dinner was hosted by TV personality Philippa  Forrester, who's husband is an acclaimed wildlife photographer and videographer in his own right and I have to admit, I really never expected to win.  When I was named as winner, it was a very proud moment for me and although it may sound a bit Cliché, after my Grand Father who had given me my first camera to learn with, had passed away 2 weeks earlier, there is really only one person to dedicate the award to.

The judges comments about the image were as follows. 'Interesting and intriguing image of the man, cat robe and bike. A lot to see and gives the feeling that you want to know more'.

So, as a Wedding Photographer in Lancashire who is Travel Photographer of the Year, I can now offer a fantastic service to Bride and Grooms.  When you go on honeymoon, take me, I will go out and take all your photos of the local area and you will not need to leave your hotel room.  But in all seriousness, I hope you all enjoy looking at the images I take and if any invoke a smile or a good memory then it means everything to me.

Below, is the winning image and an image courtesy of the SWPP of me being presented with the award by Phil Jones, Societies CEO.

The Winning Image

Nominated For SWPP Travel Photographer of the Year

Recently I received notification that I had been nominated in the last 3 for Travel Photographer of the Year with the SWPP thanks to an image I took in Marrakech in May. This year, I was quite successful in the competition. My target at the start of the year was to beat last years total of 4 gold awards. In the end, I managed 17. The Travel category alone had nearly 500 entries throughout the year and the Golds awarded make up less than 2% of all entries.  So at the awards dinner in January in London I get to find out if I am successful or not.  Either way, it has been a fun year.  Below are the images that were awarded Gold awards.

Travel Gold Award

Merry Christmas to you all
Paul

The Wedding Of Laura and Paul 6th November 2010

The beautiful location of Eaves Hall near Clitheroe was the venue for the wedding of Laura and Paul.  The weather on the run up to the day was very poor but on the day we were blessed with bright sunshine albeit a little on the cold side.  On arrival myself and able second photographer Jamie made our way up to the Bridal suite where we were met with the calm of the Bridal preparations.  I am not sure who was the most nervous, Laura or the Bridesmaids Katherine and Shannon.  Everything was running like clockwork, Mel was busy doing everyone's hair, although I did try and say mine was fine as it is.  The flowers from 'The Flower Shop' Clitheroe all arrived on time and looking beautiful so a few shots to capture the proceedings were taken before we left them to get into their dresses.  It was now the turn of the gentlemen to get their pictures taken.  The boys were in very high spirits and best man Paul and Usher Glynn were not going to give Paul the chance to get nervous.

It was then back up to the Bridal suite to get the last few shots of the Bridal Party before the ceremony.  The ceremony was emotional and it was so obvious to all that the vows made meant everything to them.  From then on the time just flew past as it always does when you enjoy yourself.  The speeches before the meal were excellent and everyone who spoke should be justifiably proud of what was said.  It was quite hard to try and capture the shots as I was laughing just as much as everyone else.  There were also the moments that had guests reaching for the Hankies.

The evening was started off with the first dance to Wonderful Tonight, which was well rehearsed for the watching friends and family.  It was then my time to leave and let them carry on with the fun.  We would like to wish Laura and Paul all the very best for the future and it was an honour to be part of your day.

Below is a slideshow of just a few images of the day.

Paul and Jamie

A Touching Testimonial

As a Wedding Photographer in Lancashire, it is always nice to receive positive feedback from clients.  Last week at the business networking group I am a member of a testimonial was read out to me that really made my day.  The text from the testimonial can be read below.

Our wedding was arranged in a record time of 3 weeks after Peter was diagnosed with cancer.  Many of our family and friends helped with the wedding including the photographer which was a gift from friends, Amanda and Lee Carus.  When we met Paul we were instantly put at ease, he was very reassuring and professional and told us not to worry about anything at all, as, if anything did go wrong he would have plan b up his sleeve.


On the day Paul arrived at my parents house to photograph the wedding preparations - he captured all the memories we could have hoped for and was never intrusive - in fact most of the time we didn't even know he was there.  During the service and after, Pauls organisational skills shone through - he had even prepared a list of photos so all our family and friends knew who was next to be photographed.  Many of our guests commented that Paul's organisation was great and it ensured the smooth running of our special day.


Paul stayed well into the evening and took over 500 photos in total.  Then came the hard bit, picking 90 out of the 500 to go in the album.  After hours of deliberation we emailed the list of photos back to Paul and we were amazed that within a week the album was ready.


We cannot put into words how fantastic the album is - the quality of the photographs, the design of the pages, the beautiful leather bound case - everything about the album is perfect.  Most of all we and our girls have had our memories captured and will treasure them forever.  Thanks Paul


Nicola and Peter

The thanks also comes from me, it was a total privilege to be part of the day and glad I have captured some memories that will last forever.

Award Winning Images from August and September

My 3rd video blog, this one is showing the 3 images that won gold awards in August and September.

If you are looking to save money when shopping online or even searching prices online then download this free shopping App for PC and start using.  An installation guide can be found here.  If you wish to know more about how this application is being used as a fantastic income opportunity then just send me your details using this page.

Video Blog Post - Images from Blackpool

The second of my video blog posts.  This is a slideshow of images from a recent trip to Blackpool.  Please feel free to subscribe to my Lancashire Wedding You Tube page and add me on there as a friend also.

First Video Blog

Well here is my first video blog post. This is something I am hoping to adopt and improve over the next few months so please be patient with me whilst I gain confidence in front of the camera and not make so many mistakes. This post is about an opportunity I have for you to save time and money online.

Thanks for looking.

Paul Brown is a high quality wedding photographer in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and across the UK and is also a principal photographer with one of the countries busiest wedding photographers based in Yorkshire, Mark Pearson Photography.  So if you are getting married in the Yorkshire, Humberside, Lancashire and Cheshire regions, you want superb customer service, quality imagery, and photographers who are both passionate about there business and photographers who will ensure your day is a wonderful experience.  You will find yourself not needing to look further.