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 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, All the driving being covered by the very professional and lovely ladies at Englands Finest Cars http://www.englandsfinestcars.co.uk/ .

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jenny & Jon held their Wedding at the Ramada Grange Hotel, I like this venue, the grounds are so spacious and private with loads of photo opportunities and I know I seem to say it a lot but the staff and organizers really do work hard to make it a good day, David Selworthy was the toastmaster and I wish I could take him to all the weddings we cover, Jon & Jenny wanted quite a few formal family and friends shots and with Dave’s help (and big voice!) we flew through them in no time. 

Again I had Graham as second snapper with a telephoto lens capturing all the natural expressions, when we work together we try to get two totally different shots from the same situation and this can been seen in nearly all the posts on here.

Jenny and Jon looked fantastic all day and as the late autumn light was falling we decided to take them for a short walk around the grounds to get some relaxed couple shots and try THE spinning shot, I think Jenny looks amazing and it really works in black & white.

Another wedding we really enjoyed and our congrats go out to you both.

This Wedding was held at The Bristol, a Golf course that has some amazing views over the Severn bridges and onwards to Wales.

I was working alongside Julian from 21Wedding films and we often cover weddings together throughout the year, check out their site if you need a pro DVD there good – very good. http://www.21weddingfilms.co.uk/

We met Emma at her home where as always it gets very busy with Bridesmaids, Parents, Friends but I managed to get some really good black & white shots with Emma just sat on the edge of chair with natural window light coming in, we always try to capture timeless images no matter what is going on around us.

I then shot off to the venue to meet up with Gareth and his best man and tie up with Graham (second photographer) we had a little time to get some shots of the boys before Emma turned up in a  “nice old roller”..

The day flowed really well and the staff at The Bristol really did do a top job, even laid on 2 golf buggy’s for us to visit the 18th green for some formal shots.

Emma & Gareth you’re a great couple to photograph and congratulations..

Well it was over the Severn bridge to south Wales for this stunning Wedding, Clearwell castle really is a top venue with amazing gardens a lake and um - a Castle!!

First off i met Bianca at her house and the other photographer Graham set off to Clearwell to get some shots of Antony, Bianca looked stunning and Antony looked very cool in his full military Marine uniform.

When we arrived at Clearwell the ceremony was held in the nearby church in Clearwell village and then a short walk up the road to the Castle for the reception and party.

It was another hot and sunny day and a great time was had by all.

Congratulations guys.

I knew this was going to be a fantastic wedding as a few weeks previously I had an engagement (pre wedding) shoot with Laura & Marc and they are a real fun loving couple we also got some great shots (they do look good together) – check out the previous post.

We met Marc & Laura at two trendy apartments in the centre of Bath, this is one of the advantages of having two photographers, one covers the bride and the girls, the other the groom and his boys.

From there we travelled to the ceremony at Bath registry office and it was then on to Summerhill Mansion (in a London Bus!!) for the reception.

It was a top day and even though we’re working hard you can’t help but enjoy yourself with a wedding like this. 

All the best Mr & Mrs Hamilton and good luck on your travels.

This is another option we can offer and really helps if you feel a bit uneasy about having your photograph taken, Basically we meet up at a venue somewhere (even your wedding venue if you like) where you  feel comfortable, very informal dress code and just have fun. It really helps people to relax being around a camera on their big day and we also get some great casual shots.

Laura & Marc who I had booked in for their wedding contacted me to ask if I could do this as they said “they felt they didn’t look very good in pictures!!” Can you believe this, just how good looking are they.

We visited a little area I knew would make a great backdrop as it had very urban feel and nice old brick work, we all had good laugh and I suppose it only took maybe a 2 hours max, Laura and Marc were very professional but also relaxed into having their photo taken and I knew then we were going to have a blast on their wedding day, and we did, check out the later blogs…

Wedding date 25th July – come on!!