Today was  somewhat cooler than of late,  lower temperatures,  light showers and a bit of a breeze. Mark and Mary arrived at Alexander House Hotel, to capture the celebrations of Lindsay and Trevor’s wedding day.

After greeting the groom, we headed up to the brides changing room, to capture the story of the bridal preparations.

With a glass of champagne to calm those nerves, Lindsay beamed, as her hair was pinned and beautiful ringlets created, her make up artist working with a proud mother and friend looking on.

The young bridesmaids looked gorgeous in their cream dresses with pale pink sashes – colours that themed the day in a subtle, delicate way. Lindsay’s bouquet was a simple, yet stunning, ensemble of cala lilies, whilst the bridesmaids carried cream and pale pink flowers, soft, subtle chic and girly.

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The MPA (Master Photographers Association) annually holds its awards, at both National and Regional levels.

Mark, has previously won numerous National and International Awards including the highly sort after two MPA Oskars, so this year he entered a variety of photographs from client sessions in the studio, wedding and travel images.

With over 250 entries at the Regional level, competition was tough.

Mark was delighted to win both the ‘Classical Portrait’ and ‘Pictorial / Landscape / Illustrative’ (with a beautiful image of ‘The Racetrack’) categories. As well as these he received an ‘Award of Excellence’ for his ‘Cherubs’ photograph, three further ‘Merits’ in ‘Fashion and Beauty’, ‘Contemporary Portrait’ and ‘Pictorial / Landscape / Illustrative’

Are all Photographers the Same?

Winner of the Pictorial / Landscape / Illustrative catergory MPA SE Region

Winner of the Classical Portrait MPA SE Region

This year was the 30th anniversary of the WPPI convention held in Las Vegas with new records being set for attendance – over 14,000 people.

Our trip this year covered 3556 miles in 17 days. Our hired jeep, a Ford Escape, had just 4 miles on the clock when we collected it!!!!

Saturday 20th  – Sunday 21st March

This morning we had a short (by our standards) hop over to San Francisco – time for a bit of sight seeing, a ride on a trolley bus, dinner and bed! The following morning we just had time for a quick drive to Sausalito, some photos of the Golden Gate bridge, then off to the airport for our overnight flight back to the UK.

Thursday 18th – Friday 19th March

We spent the next two days exploring Yosemite NP, quite a change in scenery from our usual desert climes! Our hotel was a relatively short drive (20 mins) to the park entrance, however it was another hours drive to the valley floor. Large areas of the park are closed at this time of year due to snow, but even so there are still areas you can access in relative solitude. Our two “golden hour” sunsets were somewhat disappointing (and somewhat chilly!!) but I like the slight hint of colour in this photo.

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This time we are driving along the Gold Coast from Cairns to Sydney, as it is Jackie’s (my better half) special birthday this year. Whilst we are away the studio will be open as usual so contact Jane if you need any help.

Cairns our first destination .

Our journey started with an eleven hour flight to Hong Kong, then a further eight and half hours to Sydney, followed by a mere three hours and some change short hop to Cairns. After travelling for 34 hours door to door we finally made it!

We are spending the first couple of days here just getting over the travelling, before picking up our hire car and beginning the drive back to Sydney. I’ll post as and when I can get access to the internet.

Cairns is a lively and vibrant town and is used to get access to the Great Barrier reef . There is no beach here, so they’ve built a pool and beach on the Esplanade. There are lots of trendy bars and clubs and the nightlife is fairly hectic! Late nights are followed by lazy mornings with street side coffee bars abound. This is in total contrast to the expensive looking boats and luxury hotels around the very pretty marina. Cairns I would say is a town of contrasts!

Tomorrow we are exploring Kuranada, so hopefully will post some photos from our trip!

Kuranda

Today we took the skyrail up across the rain forest to Kuranda, where we visited a butterfly sanctuary and wandered around the small town before returning to Cairns on board a real steam train.

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We are well into the busy season now for our Christmas Portraits. This year we have a special Christmas offer, which is proving highly popular (see below for details) So if you are thinking of booking a family portrait for Christmas now is the time to do so!!!!

Christmas Special – Family portrait & complimentary print for just £55!
Limited availability – contact the studio now on 01883 344852 to book your place!

(Ps Stuck for an idea of what to get for Christmas? We have gift certificates available to buy now for Fashion Makeovers and Family Portraits the make a great Christmas present)

For further information contact Jane at the studio on 01883 344852 and quote Christmas Special / MPA

We are offering you the opportunity to become a member of MHP Studios wedding team!

We are looking for a keen, enthusiastic person who is not afraid of hard work, to assist Mark on next years weddings. If it all works out, you will be second shooting (with Mark) and potentially shooting weddings for the studio in 2011!

What we are looking for is somebody who loves weddings, is keen to learn and can get along with people. No technical or photographic skills are required as we will provide all the equipment and training.

Please remember that most weddings take place on a Saturday (and more frequently Sundays these days) so you will need to be available most weekends.

All you need to do is send an email to; office@mhpstudios.co.uk
NO LATER THAN the 30th OCTOBER 2009
with your contact details and outlining why you would like to be considered for this opportunity.

Yesterday the National News is full of how one photographer has been (rightly) sued for truly dreadful work.

Just one of the multitude currently giving true Professional Photographers a bad name. Many are new to the profession, many are unqualified, untrained or even part-timers, doing a full time job in the week just earning a bit of spare cash at the weekend.
Think about it, every wedding takes us 30-40 hours of work and uses skill level built from many years experience and on-going training, let alone the thousands of pounds of photographic and computing equipment and back-up spares that are needed.
MHP Studios (Mark Hughes) is a member of the The Master Photographers Association the only Association for Full Time Professional photographers,

Do ask questions of your Photographer, are they insured, are they a qualified Members of the MPA or BIPP can you see THEIR work, do they have testimonials, do you like them as a person, are they passionate about what they do or
is it just for that bit of extra cash?

Price is important, but don’t spoil the wedding!

Question why somebody would offer to do photography AND video for under £1450?

This Saturday Mark and Graham photographed the wedding of Michelle and Andrew at Alexander House

Set on 170 acres of stunning private gardens and parkland, Alexander House is both a boutique retreat and an unsurpassed destination spa in the heart of the Sussex countryside.

The weather was amazingly hot as was Michelle and Andrew!

This Friday Mark and Claire photographed the wedding of Susie and Matt at Langshott Manor.

Despite the changeable weather of late, Friday was a gloriously sunny day which allowed the bridal party and guests to enjoy drinks and canapes on the terrace.

Susie and Matt make a great couple and both looked stunning on the day.

Mark is the recommended photographer at Langshott Manor which is a beautifully restored 16th century manor house set in a secluded country lane and surrounded by three acres of stunning gardens and an ancient moat.

Mark has photographed numerous wedding at Langshott and knows how to make the best use of the elegant interiors which feature exposed beams, polished oak panelling and glowing log fires.

Congratulations to Susie and Matt

We got a bit over excited and wrongly stated are achievements at the MPA South East Region Awards!

We only won Overall Portrait, Open Portrait and Commercial categories and was Runner up in the Fashion Category!

Ah well maybe next year!