Meet Emily and Oliver - Rag Dolls

Please meet Oliver and Milly posted as a special request for Jo, who's wedding to Chris I am photographing in April next year at Gaynes Park.

Oliver above is 3 years old his favourite habit is waking me up in the middle of the night (lately about 4am) for me to turn the bathroom cold tap on for him to drink (the water fountain being far too common).

Emily above is just 6 months old, has a different way of waking me up slightly earlier in the morning - an exposed big toe (she is very selective) is lovingly bitten.

My Daughter Rebecca has appeared in the Eastern Daily Press (26 June) under the headline "'Thought provoking' student art on show - to Quote"Rebecca Court, 22, who achieved a First in a BA Fine Art, is exhibiting a multi-disciplinary installation that looks at what has been lost in London's East End as a result of development for the 2012 Olympics "

Rebecca's Graduation is next week - Due to the extreme cost of embarking on a Fine Art Degree, perhaps I should insist on being introduced as her Patron!!!

Wedding Photographers in Essex and Toastmasters at Furze Hill

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet with my good friend and Toastmaster Richard Palmer together with Toastmasters Richard Waugh and Andrew Morgan - all based in Essex. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: firstly to discuss how as both Toastmasters and Wedding Photographers in Essex we can work seamlessly together for Brides and Grooms on their wedding day, and secondly to do a pre-wedding visit to Furze Hill where later next month Richard and I are working together at the wedding of Lucy and Steve

Ashley and Helen Pre-Wedding Shoot by CourtOnCamera THE Wedding Photographer Essex

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Ashley and Helen for the planning meeting and pre-wedding shoot prior to their marriage later on this month at All Saints Church Edmonton and Gaynes Park (CourtOnCamera are recommended wedding photographers at Gaynes Park Essex).

The shoot took place at their home in Enfield on a somewhat gloomy evening - it had just started to rain. My trusty Nikon D3 and 85mm 1.4 lens coped well with the bad lighting and inclement conditions. For the technically minded the shot above was taken at 20sec F5.6 at 6400ASA in Ashley and Helen's front hall.

Nicola and Ian's Wedding at Leez Priory

This Saturday I had the privilege of taking Nicola and Ian's wedding photographs at Leez Priory a wedding venue located in the depths of rural Essex. First founded in the 13th Century Leez Priory is a wonderful combination of rooms and features surrounded by beautiful grounds.

The ceremony was held in the tower which is only accessible by a narrow winding stone staircase to add to the atmosphere.

Fresh from photographing the Gherkin last year, I have started to develop both a taste and head for heights - Of all the wedding photographs taken, the group shot in front of Leez Priory carriage gate perfectly illustrates this. The question of course is how high was I when I took the photograph? Answers on a postcard to david@courtoncamera.co.uk.

Wedding Photograph Album - Weddings at Layer Marney Tower It is for me one of the the most rewarding times (as it probably is for many Wedding Photographers in Essex), when the Wedding Album is finally delivered to my Bride and Groom. I just love watching them together open the album and look at their wedding photographs for the first time, but at the same time it is tinged with sadness in that it is the end of a very special relationship which has built up over in many cases a very long period of time.

Such was the feeling yesterday when I delivered to Jenny and James a beautiful album which recorded their wedding which I photographed at Layer Marney Tower earlier this year.

Emilie's Choice - A new Wedding Album package by CourtOnCamera THE Wedding Photographers in Essex

As a professional Wedding photographer in Essex, I am constantly looking for new and exciting albums to offer my Brides and Grooms, my criteria is quite simple would I like this album for my Daughter's Wedding Photographs?

I recently went to a Mario Acerboni Trade Show and fell in love with a beautiful album which I am now offering as Emily’s Choice (my sample album arrived on Friday). This is a stunning a “Senesio” A4 wedding album from Italian Manufacturer Mario Acerboni. This album is hand made to order (taking 6-8 weeks) and has 30 sides, the cover is made of Quality full grained leather in red, brown, blue, green, or black with a simple but stylish design of an embossed vertical line across the cover, it comes with a choice of either black or white pages.

This album is strictly not for vegetarians - it has that wonderful smell that you can only get with new leather - I love it!!

Jon and Georgina's Wedding at Gaynes Park and Theydon Garnon:

Jon and Georgina were married at Theydon Garnon Church on Saturday by the Rev Geoffrey Connor - Team Rector. Having seen Jon and Georgina at the Church on a number of previous Sundays where their Banns (from an Old English word meaning "to summon") were read, it was very special and a privilege to be able to photograph their wedding

From the church it was a short journey to Gaynes Park Barns where the reception was held, even though it started to rain nothing was able to spoil the enjoyment of the day.With the wedding photography at Gaynes Park taking place in the rain, how do you take a group photograph of the 130 wedding guests? As you can see by the photograph above I managed it. With the help of my trusty Nikon D3.

CourtOnCamera (wedding photographers Essex) are recommended photographers for Gaynes Park .

Toastmaster Training:



Yesterday I had the pleasure in assisting my good friend Richard Palmer in the training of John Claxton a new Toastmaster from Oxford. Part of the training is to develop an awareness of other wedding professionals, what they do and together how they can ensure the Bride and Groom have a day to remember. It is surprising how this close co-operation is noticed by the Wedding Party and guests alike and is constantly commented upon - It is this total inclusive approach that makes Richards training unique.

An example can be seen above, with Richard escorting Lorna's Mother, Jan into Bocking Church prior to her marriage and wedding reception at Gosfield hall. The wedding photographs at both the Church and Gosfield Hall were of course taken by myself - CourtOnCamera.

Black and White photographs are enjoying a massive surge in popularity, there is something quite timeless about an image without the distractions of colour. How often years later have you wished those fashionable purple shirts would disappear. The above photograph was taken at Greenstead Church near Ongar, but when?

See blog below for a clue!

Having just received the latest version of Australian Photographer Yervant's Page Gallery software, which is specifically used when designing Graphi Studio Albums. I was interested to see what additions had been made to it. I was not disappointed, most of it's new features are linked to it's close integration with Photoshop and Graphi.There was no better way of testing the software than with a couple of images from Daniel and Fiona's wedding at the Reid Rooms on Friday.

Page Gallery is the de facto software used by the world's top photographers including Yervant himself and Bambi Cantrell - only available to professional photographers it comes of course at a suitably impressive price.

Fiona and Daniel's Wedding at the Reid Rooms

Despite the threat of rain, the weather remained fine until late in the evening for Fiona and Daniel's wedding on Saturday at Greenstead Church Ongar and the Reid Rooms at Margaret Roding. Greenstead Church is generally accepted by manyas being the oldest wooden church in the world dating back to AD 654. A little know fact is that also the body of King Edmund of East Anglia (who died in 870 at Hoxne) is said to have rested there in 1013, on its way to reburial at Bury St Edmunds. Problem - how do you get out of a car with high heels when you are parked next to a grass lawn? As you can see Fiona got carried away by Daniel's soloution.

The weather on Saturday was really quite amazing for Lorna and Stephen's wedding at St Mary's Church Bocking and Gosfield Hall. I really have to stand back and take a reality check sometimes, am I really getting paid to photograph two people at such a wonderful and happy event? I do soooooooooooo love my job as a Wedding Photographer in Essex.

As an added bonus the supporting crew were first class - Sue from Gosfield Hall really made us all at home, Theresa the Wedding Planner made sure we washed our hands before we sat down for our tuck, Phil Judd and the Video Crew were just plainly nice guys and are highly recommended, Mitch from Classic Nomad provided the music to his usual high standard, whilst my good friend and Toastmaster Richard Palmer made sure the day ran like clockwork - and tucked in Stephen's shirt when necessary.

Good things never last, the evening ended in fireworks - Lorna and Stephen's Wedding at Gosfield Hall was CourtOnCamera by THE Wedding Photographers Essex.