Marc Chagall @ ArtCo

Back in the day, before our children began to swallow up most of our disposable income, we used to buy quite a bit of contemporary art. We usually bought it from artco run by our friends Simon and Leah. It's a great little gallery and not only do they have some beautiful contemporary stuff for us to drool over, but more recently they have been mounting exhibitions of work from some well known 20th century artists such as Matisse, Picasso and Dali.

An invitation to their latest show plopped on the mat a couple of days ago - Chagall this time. Here's a bit of blurb from the catalogue:




"Marc Chagall, born in Russia in 1887, established a reputation as one of the best-loved artists of the 20th Century. His work was dominated by various rich sourses of imagery: memories of Jewish life, Russian folklore and the Bible. After studying in St.Petersburg he went to Paris in 1910. On arriving at the Gare du Nord he was overwhelmed by the colours, novelty and bright lights of the city which immediately informed his art.

In 1922 he first experimented with printmaking and fell in love with the process. This exhibition include etchings from the Fables of la Fontaine and lithographs from The Paris Series, The Bible Series and Odyssey Suite. Whilst the ownership of a Chagall painting is, for the majority of us, out of the question, his original prints made in small editions are relatively accessible."

We love going to these small but perfectly formed exhibitions - seeing work up close by such fantastic artists is always an inspiration to us.

The opening day is on Saturday 9th February between 11am - 4pm. The Gallery is open daily 9am - 5pm during the week and on Saturdays 10am - 4pm.

What a GREAT Weekend we had

First Alex & Paul's wedding on Saturday


We had such a great day - the wedding ceremony took place at the beautiful St. Anne's Catholic Church in Keighley, then it was back to Chevin Country Park Hotel for the reception. I was joined on the day by two great friends and fantastic photographers - Mark Miller - & -John Archibald

- thanks guys, it was a pleasure as always!

Alex and Paul were an amazing couple and didn't mind braving the windy conditions to get some romantic pictures of them around the lake. They were a joy to be with and to photograph.

We wish both of you every happiness for the future - thank you for letting us be part of your special day.

Phil x







Take a look at a few more images in the slideshow below -Enjoy!

On Sunday we had the pleasure of exhibiting at the Weetwood Hall wedding fair in Leeds. It was so busy, and I didn't have Lou with me to help out as she usually does, so I had to brave the crowds alone!

It was great, though, and I met some lovely people. If you were at the wedding fair yesterday and I didn't manage to speak to you for long, please drop us an e-mail or pick up the phone and we can have a chat. You can also download some information about our service and prices here on the blog.

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Queensberry Albums

We've just added a new link to our blog - you can access it on the left of the page - giving a bit of information about our albums. We sometimes get asked by prospective clients about our products, and our albums in particular. We usually encourage people to arrange a meeting to see them 'in the flesh', but we felt we had to put up some details for everyone to see.

We're so proud of the albums we produce, although a great deal of that credit goes to Queensberry, our suppliers. We only use Queensberry, as we (and lots of other people) believe they are the best in the world - we've certainly never come across any of better quality, and we've seen a lot!

The beauty of Queensberry albums is the unlimited capacity for creativity - each album is handmade to our specification, so what that means to us and to our clients is that we can design each album specifically around the chosen images, whether there are 10 or 200 of them. Everything, from size, page colour, cover material and image sizes within the album is completely bespoke, so no two albums are ever the same. Plus we are also able to offer both matted and digital styles, so we can offer our clients a classic or contemporary look to their albums.

I could wax lyrical for ages about these albums, but I won't! But come and see some up close at our forthcoming wedding fairs - we'd love to share the magic!!!!!!!!!

I love my clients

It's great when we get letters and cards from clients who thank us for the photographs we take for them. It really means a lot to us and makes us feel that we a have achieved what we set out to to do for them.

I had a card today though that made me laugh a lot.

When I opened it, on the front was a photograph of ME!.

Not something I was expecting - Alison and Mark whose wedding we did last December sent the card. Thank you guys for the card it really did bring a big smile to my face. Also thank you for your kind words inside.

I'm glad Prague was fun.

Rain Rain Go Away

All it seems to have done for the last 3-4 days is Rain Rain Rain. Yorkshire seemed to get the worst of it and according to the news half of Leeds was supposed to be underwater. So I went for a drive today trying to find all this flooding. I couldn't find many affected areas until I came across some workmen trying to pump water out of the main Leeds to Skipton rail line.

I knew it was a great photo opportunity, so I got out of the car and asked the workmen if I could come onto the tracks to take some images of the flooded track. To my surprise they said yes. 

It is something I have learned in business is that if you don't ask you will never know. The worst anything someone can say to you is NO, but in my experience they rarely do.

So if there is a someone you want to network with to help your business then go and visit them, make an appointment, the worst they can say is NO but you might find they are just as keen as you to network and you could have start up a new business alliance. 

So Phil's lesson of the day (!!) is: Go out there and talk to people - it's not as scary as you think!

Bedtime Reading

One thing I"m going to try and do a lot more this year is read a lot more books. Lou will tell you that I'm not much if a book worm - instead I tend to read magazines and surf the net a lot. A want to vary the type of books I read - ones to help inspire me for the business and then ones for me to enjoy personally.

So this month I'm starting off with two. The first is 'The Anatomy of Buzz' by Emmanuel Rosen. I did read this at the beginning of last year but the internet has grown so much and there are always so many new ways of marketing yourself, that I thought I would give it another read. I first came across this book when it was recommended by an American photographer David Jay. He has a great philosophy about his business and how he promotes himself, which gives him so much freedom and control over his life.

The second book is called "Italian Grammar". Sounds a bit dry, I admit, but it's for a reason. One side of our business we would love to develop is to do wedding photography in Italy. My parents have a house out there and we have spent many a summer in Italy thinking wouldn't it be great if we could do weddings here. So one personal goal this year is to start learning the language. In the meantime if there is anybody out there who is getting married out in Italy and still needs a photographer please get in touch - We would love to hear from you:-)

Final look at 2007 Weddings

This past year I had the best clients ever, and it is these guys that make the pictures look great. It has been so much fun and an honour to take them. Looking back at these photos (and there were getting on for 10,000 to look through!) has really made me smile this evening and remember some great times. It's so fantastic to have a job where you're sharing peoples' happiest days - I love it!

So before we go headlong into 2008, here are just a few of my favourite wedding images in a slideshow - Enjoy!

Helen & Terry Pre Wedding Shoot

Before I went over to the wedding fair this afternoon I was up in Saltaire doing Helen & Terry's pre-wedding shoot. Although I've been up there lots in the past, I've never done a shoot there, and I think I'm hooked! It's such a fantastic location - I think I'll definitely use it again.

Helen & Terry were great models and I really enjoyed getting to know them a bit better. Their wedding is in May and Lou and I are really looking forward to what should be a great day.

Now that we're in the new year we've got quite a few pre-wedding shoots booked in, so keep checking in to see some more.

Wedding Fair

We had a good day today at the Midland Hotel wedding fair. We met some really nice people as we always do at wedding fairs - hello to you if we saw you today!

Meeting Time

We had to go into Leeds today and decided to have a quick business meeting in Starbucks (well, that was our excuse!)

It's great every now and then to do some work in a different environment - and to get out from in front of the computer screen - we had a nice long chat about some plans for 2008.

We've got some new and different ideas for projects this year - keep stopping by the blog . We'll keep you updated with what's happening in the business.

Now what a nice way to spend Friday mornings. Kids are at school so I can have a quite coffee with my lady wife and of course that fine chocolate brownie. I'll have to row a few more metres tonight to work that off. 

The New Year diet didn't last long.

My most favouritest Lens....!

I am in the middle of producing a slideshow reviewing some of our best work during 2007. Some of my favourite images were produced using a lens which we got last year - the 50mm f1.2.

This is such a great prime lens. It just gives sharp images time after time after time. I love it for doing detail shots - the fade off into the background is amazing and makes for some really effective images.

This is has become my favourite lens by far - but we're currently  saving the pennies for an 85mm f1.2, so next year I may well have a new favourite! 

These are two images from a wedding back in November which give you an idea of how beautiful the drop-off is using the 50mm at 1.2.

I'm hoping to add to my growing kit even more this year with some other lenses, lighting and maybe some other gadgets which are not necessary but have me drooling nonetheless.

So just in case any of you are - like me - sad techy geeks, I'll keep you informed of all my major purchases in 2008 (please don't snore at the back!!)

We love APPLE!

I just want to let you know about a great experience that I had down at the Apple store in Meadowhall Sheffield. Last year we took the business decision to switch from a PC based system to an Apple system. We now run the business on iMacs and Mac Book Pro's.

They do come at a price but I have been reassured by their level of customer service which I experienced today. The power supply for the Mac Book Pro was not charging the battery properly. So I booked a slot at their 'Genius Bar' on line last night. I turned up at the store at 10.15am. Was greeted at the door and was directed to where I needed to go. My name was up in lights on some plasma screens on the wall. 

Another member of the team welcomed me - he knew my name and was already aware of my problem. He discovered very quickly that the issue was with the power supply and then proceeded to swap it out for me. Now I'm the owner of a brand new power supply. The whole process from beginning to end was less than 15 minutes. FAB!!

Running our own business we are very aware that we need to offer our customers impeccable service. We really try to do this - it's relatively easy for a very small company like Phil Barber Photography to give good, personal customer service, but much harder for big international ones. Apple seems to have managed it, though.

Oh, and they make gorgeous stuff too (now, if only I could persuade Lou to let me have an iphone...........!)

Wedding Fair Season is upon us again

Now that 2008 has started and the Christmas decorations have been packed away, it's time to turn our attentions to the new wedding fair season.

We really enjoy wedding fairs - it's a great way of meeting new clients. It's always nice to be able to meet couples face to face initially rather than over the phone, and I'm sure from a bride & groom's point of view it's good to have the opportunity to look at some of our work and have a chat and see if they like us!! It's also a great opportunity for us to meet other wedding suppliers.

Anyway, our first wedding fair is this Sunday 13th at The Midland Hotel in Bradford. We've got a few more over the next few months - I've listed the details on the left.

If you're planning on coming along please drop by our stand and say hello!

1 Million Metre Challenge

One of my other goals that I have set myself this year is to row 1 million metres!! I got a rowing machine a couple of years ago and I have used it on and off. Probably more off than on though. So in setting this goal it should keep me motivated during the year. I might lose a bit of weight as well!



You can follow how i'm doing by looking at the running total on the left hand at the bottom.

Down with the kids

We paid a visit to some friends today, and (predictably) what started out as a civilised get together went rapidly downhill when 5 under sixes decided to show each other their Christmas presents with hilarious consequences. Oh how we laughed as Playmobile ricocheted off the walls onto our heads!! We managed to calm things down a bit by suggesting they expel a bit of energy in healthy outdoor play and sent them out to play on the cobbles with a couple of skateboards. We stayed indoors to bathe our Lego wounds. Here's a photo of the young scamps - there's another on my project 366 site.

Project 366

Well I have started my task of taking a picture a day called 'Project 366'. The picture above is the one for today and can be found with all the others via the link on the left hand side of the blog.
2007 was a good business year for us but found I had little time to actually just go out and play with the camera. So the idea behind this 'Project 366' is to make me pick up the camera every day throughout 2008.

It reminds me of an article written by a great outdoor photographer called Charlie Waite. The article is mainly about ensuring photographers keep practising. "Photographers must photograph!" he said. But it is the final lines that I still have on my wall in my office.

"For a photographer to deny themselves regular photography is tantamount to a starvation diet. I urge you to eat."

I can't claim the idea for Project 366 as my own (I nicked it from another photographer in fact!)so I encourage you all to start your own project 366 for 2008 (or project 363 now...) I'd love to see some of your photos so please get in touch with me to share them.

The sun rises on 2008

Hello world and welcome to 2008! I thought I'd start as I mean to go on this year, and this is my New Year's resolution - please feel free to send abusive messages if I don't stick to it!

I'm going to start a visual diary and take a picture a day (please don't worry if you've booked me for your wedding - I promise to take more than one picture on your day!) and I'm going to post them online to a separate site (link to follow). Hopefully I'll have a great record of the whole year by the time we get to 2009. Here are a few I took today on our family walk. I'll try and take a real variety of pictures which will stretch my imagination a bit more than it's used to - please look in every now and then to see what we've been up to.

I'm going to be posting a bit more often on my blog too this year - not just shoots we've done but a few ideas I've had - philosophical musings if you will (!!)

Anyway, enough from me for now. I'm really looking forward to the coming year, and I hope 2008 brings you all you are hoping for. Please continue getting in touch with me. I love hearing from people from all over the world. It gives me a lovely warm squishy feeling inside to know that that, even thought the world can be a pretty nasty place sometimes, the vast majority of us are pretty nice people!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!