Welcome To Our New Blog

Hello

Welcome to the westphotography blog.

On this Blog  I will be posting photography from mostly Weddings and Engagement shoots to hopefully show you a consistent flow of high quality professional photography.

It will also give you a insight into our style and how we work.

Hope you like it and please feel free to leave comments

Martyn Baker   

westphotography

Ashley & Nicola, Redwood Lodge, Bristol

On the 5th April last year I had a email enquiring about wedding photography from Toowoomba , Queensland, Australia! I thought great another wedding abroad but then realized the wedding was in Bristol,  Ashley and Nicola were to get married at St Luke’s church in Brislington then onto Redwood lodge for reception via a photo shoot at the Suspension bridge.

Well what a couple, Nicola is from Bristol and now living in Oz and Ashley is a Aussie through and through both were really up for creating some great photos, They were also so happy and photogenic it just made my job a complete joy and if they lived in Bristol I would be working with them a lot more I’m sure.

Graham the second photographer joined me on this one and captured some awesome shots throughout the day, the advantage of having  2 photographers can been seen in the church as I was shooting from the right-hand side and Graham from the back with a big telephoto lens, also the wedding cars driving up park street, I was driving and Graham hanging out of the window for the cause!!

Our congrats go out to Ash & Nic and thank you for being such a fun couple.

Natalie & Stuart, Wild Geese Lodge, Zimbabwe

This was a big wedding to arrange for all concerned, Stuart and Natalie both live here in Bristol but Natalie is originally from Zimbabwe and that is where the wedding was going to take place, always brides choice!!

I was asked if I could cover a wedding abroad so I said, yeh no probs where is it? Zimbabwe, oh right!

Now when I think of being asked to cover a wedding abroad I was thinking Italy, France, somewhere quite close, Zimbabwe is a long way and I did have my reservations to start with as there has obviously been troubles there in the past and the thought of carrying all my photography kit around did make me a bit nervous.

Once everything was all put in place and arranged I was really looking forward to getting there and checking out the venue Wild Geese Lodge, well what a stunning venue, it has its own grounds and has a very old colonial feel, beyond the grounds is a game reserve and in the distance the Mizowe hills.

The wedding day itself turned out to be great the sun was shining it was a outside ceremony and lots of guests from all over the world.

I must say that Zimbabwe is one of the most beautiful places I have visited,  the people are so friendly and kind,  this is particularly true of Natalie’s family who have a lovely house and everyone who was there was made to feel right at home.

I feel I have made some good friends from this wedding none more so than Natalie and Stuart who went to the effort to get me out there to shoot their wedding for them, Thankyou.

Natalie & Stuart Pre Wedding Shoot

Natalie and Stuart originally booked me for their wedding  in Zimbabwe and wanted to add a little bit of England to their wedding in Africa, a pre wedding shoot was suggested with a bit of a difference.

They mentioned that that they were going to bring along some numbers 1- 9 and these photos would be used for the table settings at their reception, now I thought the numbers were going to be printed on paper and just held up, no! these numbers were made out of wood and had been professionally made, I was impressed and they looked so good and just jump off the pictures on this chilly March day.

It was a cold day but Stu & Nat wore some nice colorful clothes which is always a good idea and it gives the photos a nice punchy feel.

We also got some great shots together and their favorite one would also be taken to Zimbabwe and have a large mount around it for people to sign, such a cool idea!

Well I can’t wait for their big day in “Zim” what a way to kick off the wedding season in 2010.

Livia & Paul, Falera, Switzerland.

This was a very special wedding to me, I have been a friend of Paul (the Groom) and Dean (the Best man) for a long time and while we were on holiday in Cuba about 7 years ago Paul met a lovely Swiss girl called Livia. To cut a long story short a holiday romance blossomed and that was followed by a long distance relationship and now Paul has a new life in Switzerland and he’s even fluent in Swiss German, top man!

Although i was not the official photographer as I was invited as a guest I couldn’t help but take my camera along to try and get some natural shots of the day.

This was probably the most picturesque venue I have been to, The scenery was just mind blowing and the church was perched on the side of a mountain looking down the Swiss alps – Wow!

After the ceremony we all walked up through the town of Falera with all the local residents clapping as Livia and Paul walked past, we then came to a chair lift and everyone was surprised to find out that we were going to be whisked up the side of a mountain to a ski lodge for the reception, The whole experience of this Wedding was amazing and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

Livia & Paul, our warmest Congratulations go out to you both.