Mike is a Shakespearean actor so I thought it would be a great idea if we took a scene from the Shakespeare play ‘Hamlet’. To set the scene: As two clowns dig Opelia’s grave, they unearth the skull of Yorick, court jester to the former king. This king’s son, Prince Hamlet, just happens to be strolling through the graveyard with his friend Horatio, and he joins the first clown in a round of morbid jokes. Hamlet’s spirits, however, are dampened by the smelly skull, whose grim visage belies the prince’s vivid memories of the frolicsome rogue. The line I am portraying in the images is “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy ……” This quote is more known as “Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well” although in the play Hamlet didn’t actually say that. By the way it isn’t a real skull, just a prop.  

Last Saturday myself and Brian were at Justine and Allan’s house photographing a lifestyle portrait shoot. Boy did we have fun … the football was out, they had running races as well as space hopper races. It was a chance for the family to get together and have their photos taken unobtrusively. They wanted to capture fun and laughter which came across very naturally to them. We had a very enjoyable time too. This is the style of photography I love doing, being able to capture people in their comfort zone, enjoying and being themselves.

I have just returned from a two day photographic workshop hosted by The Flash Centre at Studley Castle. It was such an inspirational time and I am still buzzing from the experience which was awsome. It was led by Mike Larson, an International Wedding Photographer from California, who demonstrated to us how natural light could be enhanced by using the California sunbounce in order to make images pop out. He exudes passion for what he does which came across by his enthusiasm to share it with us. As well as Mike there were other mini workshops and one that wowed me was led by Adam Duckworth who is a strobist genius.  I am always learning and the two days have definitely taken me to another level. Thank you to all involved.