2up Photography

365: Easter and the end of April

2011-05-05T04:05:00.000-07:00

Beardy Man!

Another busy couple of weeks with a bewildering array of images to choose from! As usual what I've ended up with is a rather diverse mix of still life and family stuff - with of course a dead thing thrown in for good measure.

My son Tom features a fair bit this time - starting with the "beard" that he grew for a friends paint balling party. When he's not shooting things up he's revising hard (?!) for his GCSE's. A couple of other shots show some of the work we've been doing in the garden - including getting rid of some out of control leylandii and renovating our old Victorian railings. Tom was also responsible for art directing the shot of him by the fire where we are burning the bits of tree that were chopped down (a platoon inspired pose for his Facebook profile).

Finally there are a couple of documentary style shots - one taken at Castle Acre over the Easter Bank holiday weekend and the other taken at a football tournament my daughter played at in Great Yarmouth.

Deadmau5

First asparagus of the season!

Easter at Castle Acre

The future face of football?

365 Project update: dead things, dancing, more flowers, more yoga and beer

2011-04-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

1 April - that Friday feeling!

Another big catch up Blog session for the 365 Project - and I have still yet to miss a day! There is lots to photograph outside now with spring well and truly underway and I have enjoyed using textures in photoshop to produce something a bit different from my normal style (or perhaps this is my new style!). This week has been very hectic - with a wedding, an engagement session, a yoga shoot and a family portrait session but its been great to be back in action after a relatively quiet winter. I'm still plodding away on our new company photography site which I''m hoping will be live by Easter. Watch this space...

2nd April - Gerbera for Mother's Day

3rd April - A poor mixy rabbit

4th April - Fish heads, fish heads roly poly fish heads....

5th April - Grape hyacinths using Leslie Nicole's purple prose texture

6th April - My mate Tracey's new bike!

7th April - More blossom

8th April - another gaze

9th April - Building high

10th April - Bill and Coo

11th April - Reverse Namaste

(Pashchima Namaskarasana)

12 April - Don' go breaking my breaking heart

13th April - I whip my hair back and forth

14th April - So cool!

365 Project update: food, flowers, earth hour and the tooth fairy

2011-03-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

21st March: country life

Once again I find my self glued to the screen when I should be doing something else and giving my eyes a rest. But I needed to get the last weeks worth of photographs edited and sorted to keep up with the 365 project. Once again a mixed bag: a pulled out tooth, a rather healthy lunch, shadows and a bit of posing...

22 March: The tooth fairy

23 March: Shadows in our office

24 March: What a healthy lunch!

25 March: The Look

26 March: Earth hour

27 March: Not quite too big to be carried.

28 March: Grape: Spring continues...

29 March: Buds

365 Project update: Signs of spring!

2011-03-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

Another rather random set of images - most snatched at odd free moments - but I think the overiding theme is that spring looks like it's finally on the way!

365 Project update: totally random moments!

2011-03-07T04:10:00.000-08:00

I must admit that I’m really enjoying my 365 project – even if I’m only just keeping up by the skin of my teeth! Making the time to take a picture a day – however random or strange it might be at the time takes me back to my early days of using a digital camera back in 2004 when I merrily snapped away at anything and everything that took my fancy and posted them to Fotopages (where they are still all online incidentally). Inevitably as the photography side of our business has taken off having the time for personal projects has diminished somewhat. But now I’m back on a roll and loving it - as you’ll see from the random selection of images from the last couple of weeks of the 365 project – with everything from sausages to yoga!

My daughter reading by the fire

Husband returns from a rather gritty training session on his bike.

My little elephants.

My daughter models her new Primark jacket (she still hasn't taken it off!)

Spring is on the way!

Taken at the blessing of our friends marriage in the Lady Chapel of St Nicholas' church in Dereham, Norfolk

Sleep

Lucy's chips - the best on Norwich Market

Pink fizz....

Chucky egg and soldiers

My son was 16 on March 1st

Believe it or not the daffodil did not wilt like the ones on the vase - perhaps our skull has strange properties!

My daughter has one of her teenage moments

A rider at the CC Breckland 10 mile time trial.

More signs of spring in the garden.

Taken of my yoga teacher Sue who needed a quick shot for some promotional material. I'm really looking forward to designing her website and doing a proper shoot.

Trip to Cambridge

2011-02-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Three weekends ago we took a trip to Cambridge as for the Sport Tours International Reps conference as Geoff is working on the Etape again this year. As part of the deal I got to stay with him at the Hotel but had plenty of time to myself to explore and shop. I love Cambridge - the eclectic mix of academia, gregarious tourists, arty outlets, galleries and of course the fashion shops! As always I had a camera rolling around in my bag in my bag (my trusty old Canon 300D). Here is a mix of the best shots from my Saturday afternoon expedition....

Valentine's day....

2011-02-14T10:38:00.000-08:00

Lots more to post today! Today's images are for a project called From our hearts to our hands set up by four lovely UK photographers - Emma Case, Joanna Brown, Debs Ivelja and Anna Hardy:

"We are four photographers who have come together to inspire, excite, support, share and create together. We want to bring together like-minded people to enjoy freedom and fun in photography within a relaxed, supportive and creative community. Please feel free to join us..."

I've never met any of them but have been following their tweets and Blogs for a while now and was really excited when they launched a their Blog and Flickr group to get more photographers involved.

Each month they plan to run a project based around a theme where members can post their own images to the Flickr group - and this months title has been - quite appropriately "From our hearts". So here are a few of the images I have posted....

Secondly as I mentioned yesterday I am working on our new photography website. As part of this I've been working on a video slide show and thought that it would be nice to preview it on Valentine's day dedicated to all the lovely couples that we've photographed over the past couple of years.

Valentine's Day Wedding showreel from Debbie Harris on Vimeo.

Long overdue first Blog of 2011

2011-02-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

Well it's been along time coming but I've finally got round to updating the Blog at long last. 2011 has been pretty hectic for us with several new web projects to work on as well as starting work on organising the Opportunities West Norfolk careers event which we have again been awarded the contract for. Along with this I've also started work on completely redesigning the 2up Photography website and Blog which will hopefully be bigger, better and fully inegrated. I'm aiming to have it finished by the end of February so watch this space!!

After starting the advent photo a day project last December I decided half way through January to turn this into a 365 photography project with the aim of posting a photo a day. I've joined Flickr (bit of a late starter on this one!)and am sharing photos in a 365 group pool. I also thought it would be good to post pictures here - so here's a taste of what I've been shooting so far.....

Advent Calendar Blog 21 {solistice}

2010-12-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 20 {skull}

2010-12-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 19 {leaves}

2010-12-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 18 {mask}

2010-12-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 17 {Christingle}

2010-12-17T00:50:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 16 {tree}

2010-12-16T00:48:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 15 {beads}

2010-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 14 {a reading}

2010-12-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 13 {warmth}

2010-12-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 12 {mince pie}

2010-12-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 11 {busk}

2010-12-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

I love these buskers and their fast furious gypsy beats!

Advent Calendar Blog 10{star}

2010-12-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 9 {sunset}

2010-12-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 8{shadow}

2010-12-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 7 {dogwood}

2010-12-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 6 {fog}

2010-12-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 5 {grapes}

2010-12-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 4 {salvation}

2010-12-04T06:31:00.000-08:00

Advent Calendar Blog 3 {cake}

2010-12-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

Geoff and I had our birthdays this week- my daughter made us a cake!

Advent Calendar Blog 2 {raspberry}

2010-12-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

The last summer raspberry.....

Advent Calendar Blog 1 {snow}

2010-12-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

Autumn family walk

2010-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

The last couple of months have been so busy with events and weddings that I've scarcely had time to get out and about and just take pictures for the sheer fun of it. Yesterday we grabbed a window of opportunity on a lovely sunny morning to go for a family walk around Carbrooke fen. It's a walk that we've done many times over the years but there's always something different to photograph!

Don't forget if you're looking for something different for Christmas then it's not too late to book a family photo shoot or buy one of our portrait gift vouchers.

Laura and Neil's wedding: Norwich Catholic Cathedral and Hunters Hall, Swanton Morley

2010-09-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Laura and Neil's wedding was a day of two fabulous venues! Their day began in the breathtaking Catholic Cathedral in Norwich - a vast space with amazing Gothic architecture. I have never shot a Catholic wedding before and the sound of the Ave Maria being sung by a beautiful solo voice drifting up and away into the vaulted ceiling was certainly one of those spine tingling moments! From the Cathedral the Bride and Groom left Norwich is their lovely Vintage car (from Prestige Automobiles ) for the beautiful country side setting of Hunters Hall on the outskirts of Swanton Morely. Here the theme was altogether more rustic - a beautifully renovated Norfolk Barn set in a lovely rural farm setting.

A Norfolk Country Wedding

2010-09-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

What can I say about Louise and Dean's fantastic wedding back in July - it had it all! On one of the hottest days of the year, in a beautiful Norfolk church and a stunning Norfolk Country residence, Hockering House - it included appearances from the Classic Brit winners Blake (I still get a tingle down my spine thinking of their acapella version of Hallelujah in the Church), a magnificent best man in the form of retired Norwich footballer Bryan Gunn, a mountainous profiterole cake from caters Brasteds (which was decapitated with a sword by the bride), a wonderful solo performance by Ronan Parke (watch out for that name he could be the next Justin Beiber) and a late night treat of an ice cream van and fireworks. It was one of those days where you have to keep reminding yourself that you are actually working because it was a huge joy just to be part of such a fabulous occasion!

Rachel and Paul: sneak peek.

2010-08-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have just finished editing Rachel and Paul's lovely wedding which happened at the Assembly House in Norwich just over a week ago. Despite the wedding Blog backlog I've still got to catch up on I couldn't resist posting a few shots from this fabulous day!

White wall therapy!

2010-08-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ever seen those make over programmes where a whole house gets transformed in the twinkling of an eye? Well we are the complete opposite! We moved into our old Methodist chapel some 18 years ago and it's still not finished. However this summer has seem some great progress - we have finally moved into our new office (above right) and our old office (above left) has had a make over in readiness for becoming our telly room.

But look at all those bare white walls...

So this week I bit the bullet and ordered lots of print for us (instead of the usual orders for clients) which are now in the process of being framed to put the finishing touches to our lovely new spaces. Here are a few of our favourite family and creative snaps that will feature....

Etape du Tour part 2 - Gan

2010-07-24T03:08:00.000-07:00

Geoff writes:

The light was a bit grey still, at this stage of the ride, but the sight of 10,000 riders thronging past on the road near Gan was still very colourful and impressive. I stood next to a lady from Scotland, frantically waving the flag for an hour in support of her other half, and was amazed how many fellow Scots gave her a passing shout!

There are lots of photos; if you're looking for yourself, or a loved one, it would be wise to know roughly how far down the field they were after about 20 kilometres! If there's a particular face in the crowd that you'd like a picture cropped in around, then please let us know.

Etape du Tour part 1- the lull before the storm!

2010-07-23T02:20:00.000-07:00

Geoff is just back from Pau, in France, where he's been working night and day with Sports Tours International on the Étape du Tour, when ordinary mortals get a chance to ride a full stage of the Tour de France on closed roads and with motorcycle escorts and yelling crowds. This year 10,000 of the fit, the brave and the crazy set off from Pau at 7 o' clock on the morning of 18th July to tackle almost 200 kilometres and 3 mountains, culminating in the formidable Tourmalet. On the way Geoff managed to capture some images of the riders from very early on the stage and at the last feed town before the mighty Tourmalet. There are also some photos from before and after the event - part one of this Blog post can be found here - more to come from the actual event tomorrow.

All of the photos taken by Geoff can be seen in the galleries on the 2up Photogrpahy website - Etape du Tour

Fridi Gras Part 2

2010-07-16T01:41:00.000-07:00

It's taken a bit longer to post than I had hoped as this week has been so manically busy! The second part of the Friday Gras has images from the performances outside the Forum in Norwich.

Fridi Gras, Norwich 9 July - part one

2010-07-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening Geoff (the other half of 2up ) and I had the fantastic job of photographing the Fridi Gras Community Carnival. The event showcased some of the brilliant work undertaken by Spirit of Carnival with a diverse range of community groups across Norfolk - from local primary schools to Norwich Pride. The event began in the Cathedral gardens where the groups assembled and put on their costumes. From there the procession moved through the streets of the City to the Forum where each group put on a performance. With perfect lighting conditions and fantastic weather Geoff and I shot hundreds of photos - these are just a handful from the procession to the Forum. Part two will feature the performances and Carnival finale.

The full gallery can be seen on the 2up Photography website

Day two of the Norfolk Show

2010-07-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well all the photos from this year's Norfolk Show are now sorted and edited! Every year we seem to have more and more images and its so difficult cutting down the number of final photographs we select for the RNAA. here's just a small selecting of Thursday final cut ( a mere 900 shots) You can see all photos form the show now online at www.royalnorfolkshowphotos.co.uk

Day one of the Norfolk Show

2010-07-06T02:03:00.000-07:00

As always this year's Norfolk Show was a fantastic event - the sun shone, the crowds thronged and the ice creams melted in the heat. Like previous years I worked with my Dad the photographer Roger Harris on a brief that covered everything from horses to hats! We also had support from my husband Geoff who shot with us on day two along with my son and daughter who also were to be seen at various points with a piece of Canon hardwear around their necks! What follows is just a glimpse of the first day of the show - more to come from day two tomorrow! And yes bunting and cup cakes made it to the Show this year!

Warming up for the Big Show

2010-06-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite jobs of the year has to be being one of the official photographers at the Royal Norfolk Show - one of the biggest and best county shows in the country. Over the course of the two days we have to cover a huge variety of happenings including Royal visits, cookery demonstrations, livestock competitions, fashion shows, performances, craft fayres...and so the list goes on.

This year will be my seventh show. I began working back in 2004 as an assistant to my Dad, the photographer Roger Harris, and I haven't looked back since. Its an environment where you have to work quickly and in many different ways - one moment you may be taking close ups of craft the next capturing the fast action of gun dogs or a martial arts demonstration. But it is a fantastic learning experience and each year is very different. For the past 4 years Geoff my husband and business part has also joined in the shooting action and together we make a great family team. Oh and I mustn't forget my Mum Greta who supports us by keeping check on our schedule, minding our kit etc.

This year I have set up a new website (which has just gone live) where people will be able to view and buy our images. You can check it out here Royal Norfolk Show Photos and see more of our favourite shots from the past few years.

Saturday night is pizza night!

2010-06-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote an article (with photos) for the Real Bread Campaign about making the perfect pizza. The article appeared in the Campaign's magazine True loaf (pun intended!) Here are a few of my photos along with the article. Oh and by the way I hope you like the new look Blog!

For the last 15 years or so Saturday night has been pizza night in our house during which time we have been on a quest to produce the perfect pizza base!

Of course what makes the perfect base will entirely depend on what kind of pizza your prefer. Over the years we have eaten our fair share of chain pizza's - from Pizza hut to Pizza Express (our favourite) and sampled many in restaurants across the world - including some fantastic ones in Italy. Our preferred pizza has a thin and crispy base with a light texture but is firm enough to be picked up and eaten with the fingers rather than with a knife and fork. To reach the Holy Grail of pizzedom we have experimented with a variety of recipes and techniques - the oddest of which involved a Tupperware container of flour and oil and a lot of vigorous shaking - and have used a variety of different fours and yeasts. We have also involved our children in the process (now 15 and 10) who at a very early age quite literally got stuck into the joys of dough making.

So with all this experience behind us and by my reckoning about 700 pizza nights under our belts, what does make the perfect pizza base?

Fresh yeast:

There is no discussion about this ingredient - fresh yeast is absolutely essential to creating a perfect pizza base (and all bread for that matter). Fresh yeast makes the dough rise more and hold more air and when cooked tastes much better than a dough made of dried yeast. However finding a supply of fresh yeast is not always that easy. For years we used a local baker who would sell us a lump on a weekly basis. Then he suddenly announced that EEC rules had stopped him from selling it to us anymore as it was considered a "live" organism. Luckily a neighbouring village bakery is still happy to sell it to us and we have also found that many of the supermarket chains who bake on the premises are happy to give away a small amount.

The right flour combination

Through a series of trail and error experiments our preferred recipe contains a 50/50 mixture of strong white organic bread flour (which we can now source locally from Letheringsett Mill in Norfolk) and an 00 type pasta flour (usually Doves Farm). This mixture produces a light and pliable dough with plenty of elasticity for rolling and stretching.

Extra virgin olive oil:

All doughs need a bit of fat in the mix - for pizza a generous glug of good quality extra virgin olive oil will give a great taste and produce a lovely glossy dough.

Plenty of time:

As all bread makers will tell you can't make good dough in a rush. To give you an idea we normally start making our dough around 5 on a Saturday evening (we know it's time when Geoffrey Smith introduces Jazz record request on Radio 3!) and the pizzas are usually served at about 7.30 later that evening. This gives plenty of time for kneading and proving.

A very hot oven:

Unless you are blessed with a commercial pizza oven or even better a wood fired bread oven then you'll have to make do with the settings on your domestic oven. In winter I usually put the over on low around the time I start making the making the dough which also helps to make the dough rise in the colder weather. Then about half an hour before the pizzas are ready to cook I turn the oven up to it's highest setting so that it's scorching hot by the time they go in the oven

Of course these tips are only part of the equation because what goes on to of the base is also crucial to producing a perfect pizza - but that's another story!

Pizza base

1 1/2 ounces / grams of fresh yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 pint/ 250 ml of warm water
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
12onces of strong white bread flour
12 ounces of 00 type pasta flour

4 oiled 12-inch pizza trays
This recipe makes 4 large pizzas or 3 large pizzas and 4 flat garlic breads

Method

Put your oven on a low setting

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water then crumble in the yeast and mix in with your fingers until the yeast has dissolved. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until the mixture starts to bubble and froth (around 10-15 minutes).

While you are waiting for the yeast to work sieve both flours into a larger bowl and add the salt and oil. Rub the mixture through with your fingers and make a well in the centre of the ingredients. Once the yeast is ready pour it into the well in the dry ingredients s and loosely work together with a fork. Once the wet and dry ingredients have started forming a dough (if it looks a bit dry at this stage then add a little more warm water) tip them out onto a well-floured surface and begin kneading. Knead away for a good 10 minutes until you have a nice smooth dough. Put this dough into a large clean bowl oiled (extra virgin again) bowl (oil the top of the dough too) then cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (this is normally about an hour).

After an hour tip the dough back out onto a floured surface and knock back and then knead again briefly. The divide the dough into four equal portions and leave covered for a further 15 minutes so that it has time to rise again. Once the portions are nice and fluffy you are ready to roll and stretch your dough into the trays. If you are making garlic bread as a starter 9 an essential part of Pizza night for us!) then divide one of the portions into four and roll each into a 6-inch long tear shaped bread. Place these on a greased pizza tray, drizzle with oil and slash each 3 times with a pizza wheel and leave while you make the pizzas.

As we don't have the knack of stretching and spinning the dough in the air like many flashy Italian pizza makers we start by lightly rolling each pizza until it is about 8 inches across then by flipping the dough from hand to hand we gently stretch it until it is about 12 inches across. However if you're not confident in doing this simply roll the dough out to the size of your tray. Either way once you have reached the desired size lay the base into the tray. Once all your trays are full then you can begin adding the toppings before leaving the completed pizza for another 10-15 minutes for a final chance to rise. When they are ready cook drizzles each with some extra virgin olive oil and then cook in the hot oven for around 10 minutes until the base is golden brown and the toppings bubbling. The garlic bread will take the same time and when these are ready spread with home made garlic butter and add a twist of sea salt.

Top tips of toppings

Tomato base - take two good quality tins of plum tomatoes and put them into a wok or large pan. Break the tomatoes up and then cook on a medium heat until they are nice and thick

Cheese - the balls of mozzarella are far superior the nasty grated yellow stuff!

Other cheeses that work well are dolcelata, Gorgonzola and stringy cheese such as emenental and Gouda. We always like to make a four-cheese pizza with mozzarella a blue cheese a stringy cheese and some Parmesan

Fresh basil - a total must. Add fresh leaves to a cooked pizza too!

Garlic - we add finely chopped garlic to all our pizza.

Something hot! We love to a hot pizza. Our normally has slices a hot salami or choritzo along with pickled jalapenos and a drizzle of hot oil.

Learning at Work day photography course

2010-05-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you not in the know, today was Learning at Work day. The day runs as part of Adult Learners' week, which promotes encourages people of all ages to give learning a go and try out a new skill. I was asked by Breckland Council to support the initiative by running a couple of taster sessions on digital photography and I was delighted to take up the offer! The day resulted in a whistle stop tour of F stops, apertures, ISO - as well as a quick look at photo manipulation and online resources. But by far the most fun part of the day was taking our cameras outside the council offices and just experimenting with what we saw. As a result of the taster courses I hope to be running a day course in the summer for beginners to expand on some of the basics we explored today -so watch this space. Meanwhile here are a few of my shots from today...

Photography for Revive my Room website

2010-05-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from the recent shoot that I undertook for our client and neighbour Paul Kerrison who has just relaunched his home improvements business under the brand Revive my Room. The shots are from a recent job which involved fitting a new bed room and ensuite shower room at a cottage in the neighbouring village of Thompson. I would have liked to had some before shots to show and am now encouraging Paul to take as many before and after shots of future projects for his website.

As well as taking these photos for Paul 2up also developed the brand new identity for Revive my Room - which included a logo, website and promotional literature. You can visit the website at Revive my Room

Back Blog!

2010-04-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

When I'm wearing my marketing hat I urge all my web clients to make sure that they keep their Blogs up to date to keep their online audience interested in them and to drive more traffic to their sites. So here I am well over a month since my last post not practicing what I preach! The last month or so has been pretty hectic though, with weddings, portrait shoots, commercial shoots along with work for new marketing clients. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be posting in a bit more detail about these but here is a quick taste of some of the things we've been involved with.

Signs of the Bard

2010-03-10T01:15:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago I had an unexpected trip to Stratford -upon- Avon as Geoff (the other half of 2up) was involved in a conference with Sports Tours International as part of the company's Graham Baxter Cycling Tours. While the delegates debated the logistics of ferrying cyclists around the Pyrenees for this years Etape, I took to the streets and the lanes of Stratford armed with my camera where signs of the Bard were omnipresent! I wonder what Shakespeare would have made of the As You Like it cafe or the Romeo and Juliet Adult Boutique!

CC Breckland first open 10 of the season

2010-03-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

In spite of the cold weather the calendar is telling us that the we are moving ever closer to Spring. In the cycling world things are also getting under way - the Paris Nice has just begun and this Saturday saw the first CC Breckland open time trial event event of the 2010 season, which was held between Hingham and Carbrooke, Norfolk. The course was changed from the usual circuit because of the number of pot holes on the road, but this meant that I had the chance to photograph the riders twice on their way out at back. The event was won by Nino Piccoli of WWW . TT-weekly.Com and saw a fantastic debut performance by 12 year old Declan Davis of CC Breckland who finished in 26.39. He's certainly a rider to watch in the coming season. All photos from the event can be viewed on the 2up photography website HERE

A Blot on the landscape: rubbish people

2010-02-24T03:15:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoon we ventured out for a short family walk around the village to take in the late afternoon sun. As always I took the camera to take a few snaps - some of which you can see in the montage above. However during the latter part of the walk I became dismayed at the amount of rubbish and fly tipping along what was a very short stretch of other wise lovely country lane. What possesses people to litter our our roads with their old computer monitors, beer cans, Tesco bags and old bread is total mystery to me....

NOTE: All of the images below were taken on just a 100 metre stretch of road.

Valentine's Wedding Photography offer

2010-02-14T03:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we're offering this deal, but to keep up with the crazy offers that seem to be out there at the moment we have decided to offer this very special deal to celebrate Valentine's Day. Take a look at our Weddings website for a better ideal of our beautiful and natural style of photography taken at recent weddings in Norfolk.

Lights, camera, dancing!

2010-02-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

These are photos from the Star Dance Show which has been running in Watton for the last two nights. In a previous life I was a drama student and teacher so just love photographing theatrical events like this! They are of course not with out their challenges - where ever possible it is far better to shoot without flash but the lighting is constantly changing so you can never relax or be sure that you've got the picture that you thought you would get. That said the lighting was fantastic thanks to Steve Jolly and his crew who did a really brilliant job. As did the dancers - all 170+ of them along with Emily, who runs the Star Dance School, and who was as was a cool as a cucumber throughout!

You can see all of the photos in the gallery on the main 2up photography website HERE

Disco Queen

2010-02-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

Germs are still rife here at 2up with both Geoff and I snuffling and coughing at our computers. I had planned to be in London on my daughter's school trip to the Natural History Museum and National Gallery both as a helper and official photographer (we have built and maintain the school website) but at 5.30 this morning I felt grimmer than the grim reaper, so had to go back to bed instead. I've spent today curled up with a clipboard and hot water bottle doing a bit of business planning as we're relaunching our main 2up website soon. I also found a little time to indulge in a bit of creative photo shopping with some pics I took on Friday evening as my daughter was getting ready for the school disco.

Ah curling tongs followed by a liberal spray of Ellnet - take's me right back back to my Farah Fawcett days!

Comfort food

2010-02-05T07:00:00.001-08:00

Colds and bugs have been the order of the day this week - first with my son who succumbed to teen flu on Monday - then with me today as I woke with a cold and a head like porridge. So to help me feel better I've been indulging in a bit of end of the week food photo therapy!

mmm... macaroni cheese

...and Chicken soup with a bit of extra zing!

Wayland Farmhouse breakfast at Broom Hall

2010-01-30T05:52:00.001-08:00

For those not in the know, this week is Farmhouse breakfast week, a campaign that aims to promote the benefits of starting the day with a healthy and varied meal. Now in its eleventh year the campaign involves farmers, producers, schools, retailers, caterers and individuals in celebrating the benefits of breakfast with hundreds of events of all sizes taking place across the country.

Earlier in the week I went to a local event at Broom Hall in the Village of Saham Toney in Norfolk. Organised by the Wayland Partnership, the breakfast has been running as long as the National campaign. As in previous years the breakfast menu featured a range of local produce including eggs from Diane Vargesson of Saham Toney, bacon and sausages from Papworth's in Swaffham and apple juice from Ashill Fruit Farm. After breakfast guests were treated to presentations by Janet Godfrey of the National Farmhouse breakfast campaign; writer and cookery school owner Mary Kemp and Richard Wills co-ordinator of the Pride in Breckland campaign.

DIY Music video

2010-01-26T03:33:00.001-08:00

My 14 year old son Tom recently bought a little program for his Sony PSP called Beaterator. Unlike most of the stuff he has on the various gaming consoles he owns this game does not involve blowing up or ripping to shreds most forms of life - known and unknown - to teenage boy! Instead the game is a clever little programme that enables you to mix your own tracks and music using a wide catlaogue of loops, sounds and effects. At the weekend Tom recorded Twisted Angle, his first full length track with lyrics which of course was crying out for a music video. Not being one to wait Tom insisted we go out filming last night when he got home from school. At 4.15 the light was awful - dull grey and getting darker by the minute. Luckily his Dad Geoff had the brilliant idea of taking one his large Screwfix torches to provide some extra lighting - which we all agreed got just the effect Tom was looking for. As well as filming the outside shots with Tom's tiny (and very cheap) little video camera I also took my stills camera to capture the mood of the shoot!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T01:09:00.000-08:00

Sekai Ishin Ryu Ju-Jitsu Renmei Martial Arts Seminar

2009-09-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

A bit of a change for me this weekend as I spent it photographing the Sekai Ishin Ryu Ju-Jitsu Renmei Martial Arts Seminar held in Thetford, Norfolk. The event, now in it's eighth year, was organsised by Kevin Pell Hanshi who founded Sekai Ishin Ryu Ju-Jitsu Renmei back in 1990. The seminar brought together instructors from across Europe including Norway, Croatia, Germany and Switzerland along with over 100 students who were able to study a wide range of Martial Arts - from Aikido to Kobo- Jutsu. The event also raised funds for the Help for Heroes charity with Sempai Will Lexton taking on a 100 man wresting challenge.

All in all it was quite an experience and I came away from the weekend feeling quite exhausted - even though the only thing I'd lifted was my cameras!

All of the photos can be viewed on the 2up Photography websiite HERE

All of the photos can be viewed on the 2up Photography websiite HERE

Neil and Genna's Weddding - Lynford Hall

2009-09-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I was lucky to photograph Neil and Genna's beautiful wedding at Lynford Hall in Norfolk. If you wanted the perfect day in the perfect setting for a wedding then this was surely it. The sun shone, the blue sky was dotted with a few fluffy white clouds and the Hall and gardens looked truly magnificent! After the wedding ceremony the bride and groom left the hall for the lovely gardens through an RAF Guard of Honour to the sound of a lone Scottish bagpiper - a stunning scene which sends a tingle down my spine even now...

The other half of 2up Ltd

2009-09-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is a portrait of Geoff - the other half of 2up, husband and business partner and who much prefers to be the other side of the camera (unless of course he's clad in Lycra racing his bike!) However at the weekend I managed to persuade him to pose for me while still sporting his distinguished goatee (grown by necessity after an incident while out on a family bike ride but that's another story!) The hat belongs to our son which can also be seen in another post HERE. The shot also features one of Geoff's home grown sculptures that appear in our garden. These are faces which he has made from the various left over bits of concrete - another of which features HERE - that he has acquired during our longest conversion in history project.

Emma and Mark’s wedding: Hethel Church and Park Farm

2009-08-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Emma and Mark’s lovely wedding was a joy to photograph and included some unusual elements during the course of the day. After photographing the bride's preparations at her mother’s home in Wymondham I headed off to Park Farm, venue for the reception, where I joined all of the wedding guests for the journey to the church at Hethel in a 1959 coach. As the Groom is a coach driver this was a very fitting way for all of the guests to get to the tiny country church which has very little parking.

The church was made even more beautiful by the lovely weather which saw lots of light streaming through the windows – perfect for the non-flash photography which is usually a requirement during the wedding service. I was also very privileged to be able to shoot the wedding from where ever I wanted in the church so could capture all the detail of the ceremony.

The finale of Emma and Mark’s day came with their first dance at the evening reception which segued from a slow dance into a fantastic jive routine – fitting indeed as the couple had met at the Footloose dance school in Wymondham!

Brancaster and Deepdale

2009-08-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

While the crowds were flocking to Wells for the Carnival on Sunday we took the quieter option and headed for Burnham Deepdale and a walk to Brancaster. As well as the usual shots of boats and the marshes we captured lots of abstract shots of fishing and sea side detritus.

Fens and fairies

2009-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Today I headed out into the fens for the final photography assignment for a brochure I have been working on for NWES. Working with a writer and designer we have been pulling together case study material about women who have been supported in the start of a new business. This morning's job took me to Chatteris where I photographed Carla and Olivia who have launched a new business called the Cleaning Fairies. Job done we headed back across the fens where the clouds were gathering for a monumental thunderstorm. It was one of those occasions where I was glad to have the camera on board!

Family photography shoot on the Village Green

2009-07-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from a recent shoot I did for a lovely family on our Village Green in Carbrooke. It's a really beautiful spot for this kind of natural "lifestyle" photography and has wildlife areas, an amphitheatre, a pond and, at this time of year, lots of wild flowers.

2up at the Etape du Tour 2009

2009-07-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

Geoff, the other half of 2up Ltd, has just come back from 5 days working as a rep for Graham Baxter Tours at the Etape du Tour in France. For the uninitiated the Etape provides the opportunity for ordinary cyclists to ride a stage of the Tour de France. This year's stage was 172 km culminating in a climb of the monumental Mont Ventoux. Over the 5 days he was away Geoff however, for once, did not get the opportunity to ride his bike but spent his time moving people and bikes around for the event. Here are a few of the photos he managed to snatch over the course of the few days that he was away.

Wedding at Cley Mill: Justin and Kirsty

2009-07-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday's perfect weather seems a long way off today with the wind and the rain outside this morning. For Justin and Kirsty, whose beautiful small wedding I shot that day, it could not have been better. Cley Mill is a wonderful spot overlooking the the north Norfolk salt marshes to the sea and it's a truly romantic spot for a wedding. It was a very lovely ceremony with Kirsty and Justin's 11 year old son doing a fantastic job as the best man!

A Norfolk Country wedding

2009-07-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was thrilled to be able to photograph a beautiful wedding in our own village church of Carbrooke. It is a magnificent church, steeped in the history of the Knights Hospitalers and has the third highest tower in Norfolk. I've wanted to shoot a wedding here for a long time as I have seen the potential offered by the position of the bell ringers gallery. I was not disappointed and spent the service shooting wide and close up shots with the lovely bell ringers (who gave me water as it was so hot) and lots of bat poo!

Photos from day 2 of the Norfolk Show

2009-07-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

The scorching sunshine of last weeks show seems like an age ago now as the gloom and rain has set in this week. Here are a few more shots from the second day of the show taken by our intrepid family team - Roger Harris, Geoff Muller and of course me!

Day one at the Norfolk Show

2009-07-07T03:41:00.000-07:00

What a cracking two days we had at the Norfolk Show! The temperatures soared giving us opportunities for lots of fantastic blue sky photography. Over the course of the two days my Dad Roger Harris myself and Geoff (the other half of 2up) shot over 4,000 images as official photographers for the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association who run the show. This little show just gives a snapshot of a few of my images from the first day. There'll be more to come from us all later in the week...

Arty Norwich outing

2009-06-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Took off to the NUCA degree show on Saturday which has become a bit of a regular thing over the past few years. We all enjoyed it and made a bit of art of our own along the way!

The end of the world

2009-06-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

This post has been written by my 9 year old daughter about yesterday's freak storms in Norfolk.

When I woke up on the day it all happened, there was nothing that seemed to be unusual. I felt that today was going to cheer up, for the sky outside was a dull, whitey, grey. At lunchtime it was lovely, I took off my cardigan as I raced around the school playing field. But, at around half two thunder pieced the air, as loud as an aeroplane speeding low above our heads. By the time we had all filed out of assembly and were heading back to our mobile it began to rain. Small droplets fell from the sky, small, mind you.

As I waited impatiently for my father to come in the rain I said cheerily to my friends Mum,
"Trust him to be late when it's raining!" I walked home in the drizzle, looking forward to my Gymnastics club that evening.

At around quarter past four or just before it started to rain, heavily. I was already changed into my leotard and was listening to the pitter patter of rain drops against my bedroom window. I went downstairs as soon as I heard that my brother was back from school. But looking out of the window told me that the walk to Gymnastics was not going to be fun. By half past four it was hailing. Large balls of frosty ice plummeted down from the sky. Thunder roared every few minutes and Lightning flashed across the sky. My mother, who was working in Norwich, would be on her way home and in that weather it wouldn't be fun. My father plainly stated that he was certainly not taking me down to Gymnastics in this weather and, as much as I argued, we both finally agreed. The storm outside was getting slowly fiercer, I was scared stiff. I was terrified of what mortal peril my mother was in and was anxiously waiting for the tell tale signs that she was home. I peered out of my brother's window with my brother and we saw, not our lane, but a river. It was deep and murky, crashing into the front of my house in angry torrents, it's colour a deep muddy brown. Hailstones were bobbing in it, like little boats in a stormy sea. The sight made me feel sick. I wondered, stupidly, whether it was like Noah's Ark and that God was going to kill us all. I knew that this wasn't true but I wondered all the same.

Me and my brother peered out of the window at the piece of land that had once been our garden. If I didn't know better I'd of said it was snowing for the garden was white with huge hailstones the size of my fingernail. A stream of water was slowly creeping down my garden, sweeping away hailstones in it's path. It was a truly astonishing sight.

My mother told me afterwards that it was the most terrifying journey of her life. It was certainly the most scariest time of my life. I ran downstairs and went into my living room where the sound of the hailstones was deafening. My brother was looking intently up at the ceiling, his hands cupped. It turned out there was a leak in the roof and my father went and picked up a bowl from the kitchen. He placed it underneath the leak. We had to do that again when my brother spotted another leak in roof so my father placed another bowl underneath the leak. I was sobbing. Thoughts of what was happening to my Mum were haunting me. Another one of my fears was that the house would be knocked over and smashed to bits, so loud was the noise of the hail. I ran from one room to another, weeping. My father told myself and my brother to go upstairs. We did so.

I lay in my bed and huddled under the blankets, trying to stop the sound of the raging storm. Sleep was almost impossible for I would just lay there wondering about my mother. My brother slunk into my room and we sat in my bed playing on our consoles, though I wished there were something else I could do. Suddenly the phone rang. My heart leapt. My brother picked up the phone, that was lying next to him, and said,
"Hello?" I immediately knew it was mum when he said, "I can't hear you!" I anxiously peered at my brother, wondering how she was. "See you!" he called and he switched it off. Well, that was good news! My father had told us that he was going down the road to help bail out someone's house. The storm had almost ceased and only rain poured from the sky. Suddenly I heard faintly,
"Hello! I'm home!" There were only two words that came out of my mouth then,
"It's Mum." We raced downstairs and I flew into my mother's arms, so relieved to find that she was alright. We all sat down in the kitchen and Mum told us of her terrifying journey home.

When we went out to help the people who's house was flooded the sight outside was astonishing. The river was still there but it certainly wasn't as fierce. We waded in our Wellington boots down to the house. Hailstones were piled up everywhere. My brother, who had left my Mother and I to help out some time ago, showed us round the back. The thing that had once been the occupants garden was now a lake of water that came up right to the top of my wellies. I saw the woman who lived there come shuffling out of the house her eyes brimming with tears. I wondered what it must be like for her, her house flooded and her garden a pond. I felt immensely sorry for her. I helped bail out the water in the house for a while and then my mother and I went to see how some of my other friends had coped. On the way down to one of my friends houses the water came right up to the top of my wellies again. By the time we had checked up on my friend my feet were soaked. As we waded back my brother joined us and slowly we made our way back home. It was the most terrible, terrifying and tremendous time of my life. I hope I'll never have to experience anything like that ever again.

The launch of Palm Farm Ltd

2009-05-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday saw the launch of Palm Farm, an exciting new business that has been set up in Toftwood on the outskirts of Dereham in Norfolk. The company specialises in hardy palms and exotic plants designed to add drama and a touch of something different to our British gardens. Business partners Jan and Dick laid on a fantastic spread for the launch party which saw over 100 guests enjoying the spring sunshine in the exotic glass house.

2up has worked closely with Palm Farm on its marketing in the lead up to the launch - including the design of its website. To find out more visit the website at www.palmfarmonline.com

You can see all the launch photos on the 2up Photography site HERE

Mattishall Presentation 08/09 Season By Tom Muller

2009-05-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

My son Tom put this excellent compilation together for his football team's presentation afternoon using photos that Geoff and I have taken over the season plus a bit of video footage taken by another of the player's mother. I will certainly put him on the company's books for future projects!

Pigtails!

2009-04-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Busy with marketing and event organising this week and not much photography so I took a break this afternoon with my daughter to visit our village green. These are just a few of the shots ...

Earth hour pizza style!

2009-04-02T05:57:00.000-07:00

Like millions around the globe we decided to switch off our lights on Saturday night and join Earth Hour by switching off our lights between 8.30-9.30pm. For us I wasn't much different from a normal Saturday night as it has been a tradition for a long time in our family to sit down with our home made pizzas and eat by candle light. The only real difference was using the oven by candlelight which wasn't a problem at all! The final part of the plan for our Saturday night pizza is to build a wood fire oven in the garden so then we won't need electricity at all!

Baby yoga comes to Dereham!

2009-03-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a great fan of yoga (I have been doing a weekly class for the past four years) so I was thrilled to be able to photograph a baby yoga class in Dereham this afternoon! The course is run by Zoe Tuijl a friend and client who runs Top to Toe Massage as a new addition to the range of complementary therapies that she offers. The benefits of baby yoga are numerous for both parents (there was a dad in the class!) and babies alike. For babies it can offer relief from colic, improve sleep patterns and strengthen muscles while for parents it helps to build confidence in handling their small children and promotes relaxation. Bonding and communication are also a key benefit and this was certainly the case in the class I photographed.

Birthlight, a charity who have been promoting baby yoga as part of their holistic programme for pregnancy, birth and parenthood claims that baby yoga can also help a baby sleep more deeply. As Zoe moved the class from activities, singing and finally to relaxation this was very apparent - as our little yogi below demonstrates.

For more information on Baby Yoga contact Zoe at Top to Toe Massage on 01362 851819 or 07710 897498. A full set of the baby yoga photos will soon be available to view in the client gallery of the 2up photography website.

Swing into Spring

2009-03-16T03:52:00.000-07:00

Creating montages from photo shoots is proving to be a very popular option for displaying images captured during a family photo shoot. When creating montages I like to create a story using details and colours along with images that naturally capture the subject. Here is one I've put together using photos taken of my daughter in the garden yesterday in this lovely spring weather.