http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/ Janine Walker's Photo Blog en-us http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=586 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=586 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:06:00 GMT
Today was:

Blog post
School run
Emails
Granny run
Baby shoot
School run
Granny run
Upload saucy pic of Ryan Gosling to facebook
School run
Granny run
Parent teacher meeting
Granny run
(Simultaneously) dinner/homeworks/import baby shoot to computer/write this blog post

And the night is still young. Still young, my friends :)

P.S. This is Alfie...the subject of the baby shoot in line 5.
P.P.S You now understand how I manage to burn so many dinners.

See that whisker in the top left hand corner of the photo? That's Cefer the cat. People always say 'never work with animals and children'. I say 'never work with cats'. You can even see it in Alfie's expression - "Come on cat, pull it together. One photo of us, that's all she wants".

If he were a dog all I would have had to do was meow like a cat. I tried this with Cefer. He looked at me like I was clinically insane.

Never work with cats.

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=585 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=585 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:43:00 GMT
I photographed sweet little Emilie Rose on her very first birthday. What a beautiful, funny, stylish little 1-year-old she is :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=584 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=584 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:39:00 GMT
My first baby :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=583 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=583 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:42:00 GMT
Michelle and Karl were home from Australia (where they live - lucky ducks!) for Christmas so we shot their engagement session at the lovely Parkanaur Manor House.It was a nice crisp wintery day and it doesn't hurt that Michelle and Karl are just so flippin' good looking :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=582 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=582 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:14:00 GMT
Now that I have a proper work schedule (thanks to my magical Mulberry notebook), I've started reading again. I'm starting to feel like a regular person with working hours and mealtimes and breaks :)

Now, let me just preface this blog post by saying that:

a) I am quite thick. I'm sure you know this already. So take anything I say with a pinch of salt - I am no expert on literary excellence or anything else for that matter.
b) I always judge a book by it's cover. If it looks like Chick Lit I don't buy it. If it looks quirky and has has a cool illustrated cover I will lift it. I very rarely buy books with photo covers unless it's by an author I like or it's been recommended. The next two things will determine if I buy - what the line at the top of the book says and how the random page that I open reads. For example, if Oprah recommended it, it made the New York Times bestseller list or won some literary award OR (in the case of The Hunger Games) Stephen King said it was awesome - then there's a good chance I will buy. Point b) in itself proves point a).

Anyhoo - I didn't like the cover of The Hunger Games but I lifted it off the shelf because I'd seen the trailer for the movie last time I was at the cinema and it looked interesting. There's a quote on the cover by Stephen King saying he couldn't put the book down and my random page read went well. So I bought the first book.

Two days later I was running out to Easons to buy the second and third books in this trilogy, having inhaled the first over the course of the weekend. I read all three books within a week. Stephen King was right - once you start them you cannot put them down. I was literally reading as I was making the dinner one evening - another night all the kids were lumped in the bath together as I sat on the cold tiles glued to my book.

Did I like it? I'll be honest - this story is very frustrating. For a start, the premise is absurd. I mean, really absurd. A couple of the 'twists' made me actually shout at the page I was reading - as far as I could tell they were just easy 'outs' to tie together all the loose ends and set the scene for the next book. Not one of the characters is likeable - especially the protagonist, Katniss. I wanted to slap her face more than once. Her two love interests are as exciting as wooden blocks and why does everyone have such stupid names? But what I will say is this - I couldn't stop reading. I was totally caught up in the suspense and absolutely had to know what happened next. It's a teen book (I didn't know this until I'd started reading), so I guess there aren't going to be any characters with real depth or feeling. The Hunger Games isn't going to change your world or get you thinking outside the box. But it's one of those guilty pleasure reads and enjoyable in it's own way. Plus, there's a movie coming out next month based on the storyline and it's always nice to see how Holywood translates a book to the big screen.

A couple of other recent reads - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Dear lord this book is life changing. One of the most beautifully written stories I've ever read, this book affected me greatly and that feeling stayed for months. I'm actually going to read it again very soon.

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. This book is totally chaotic, narrated by several characters all with their own mental issues. Well, they are teenage boys at boarding school, and the banter between them is probably funnier if you were a teenage boy. There were some real laugh-out-loud moments but this is a story with a dark heart and really is a sad depiction of today's youth (god that makes me sound old!).

I'm currently reading Extremely Loud ... Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safranfoer. I'm only a few chapters in and haven't quite made my mind up yet. The story is narrated by a 9-year-old boy with erratic thinking, it's a little fast paced and slightly irritating but the movie has Sandy and Tom in it so I'm giving the book a fair go ;)

If you've read any of these books tell me what you think - I love hearing other opinions! And if you have any recommendations for books you think I'd like do let me know..we can have a mini book club right here on my blog :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=581 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=581 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:06:00 GMT
I apologise for the thin layer of dust that has settled on the blog this past couple of weeks. As you regular blog readers know I am on leave from work at the minute (well, as much as I can be!) due to other areas of life needing all of my attention at present. However, I am working my way through the album designs for everyone who has sent their selections and *hope* to be finished by the end of the week. I've had a couple of shoots this month that were pre-booked before I decided to take a 'time-out' so I just thought I'd put up a wee blog post so that you know I'm still alive and kicking :)

I've photographed Luke for over 2 years now. This makes me so happy. He's growing up so fast and just such a lovely wee character and a sweetheart of a child. He's also gotten a lot speedier since those first couple of shoots so there were a few blurred outtakes! Luke's mum has become more of a friend than a client and I now know to book myself out for the day when I am going to photograph him - because there's a lot of chatting and catching up going on in between shots :)

This is me getting the 'thumbs up'!

Peek-a-boo :)

Funniest thing ever - Luke's current favourite toy is his granny's hoover :)

We had a cupcake break. Avoca cupcakes...yum! Syn free too!*

*(Probably not).

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=580 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=580 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:02:00 GMT
It's been an incredibly long day so there aren't too many words rattling around in this head of mine right now. I've been without husband all week (he is skiing don't you know!). Every day at 4pm I've had great intentions of getting the kids down and getting a good night's work done from 8pm onwards. But it appears that I am pining after husband for come 7pm I am lying in a heap, incapable of anything but climbing into bed myself!

Tonight, however, I managed a blog post! Vicky and Mark were married in December. It was cold but oh - the light was stunning. And we were at Galgorm Manor...my absolute favourite. When the sun is setting down there you can create some magic. Vicky was breathtaking. No seriously, what a beautiful bride. So natural. And she beamed all day long. You'll see what I mean when you start scrolling.

I've a few of these pictures but I chose the slightly blurred one for the blog. I'm not sure why, it drew me in.

OK I shall preface the next three images by saying - I know, OK?! Three shoe shots is over the top. Even when I was shooting them I was thinking "Janine, you silly, she'll only choose one for her album...". But I liked the shoes a lot. And I ended up not being able to choose between these shots for the blog. So pick your favourite and move along :)

PERFECT winter flower arrangements.

A happy MOB. Love it :)

Ah Diana you were a great wee bridesmaid. Very attentive :)

A perfect day :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=575 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=575 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:39:00 GMT
How could we possibly follow up a Pride ... Prejudice wedding you ask? Easy - with a Scottish wedding! I LOVE Scottish weddings, I love Galgorm Manor and I love love love soft Autumn afternoon lighting and tones. So there's a lot to love with this wedding. Starting with Lyndsey's bedroom - how girlie and gorgeous is this?! I had a lovely wee time to myself shooting all the details in here.

This is probably my last wedding blog post before the man with the white beard appears. But I've three weddings this month so there'll be more in January :)

P.S. I have totally lost my voice. I mean, I can barely get a whisper out at the minute. My family are loving it but if I hear the word 'what?' one more time I am going to lose the plot completely! So if you need to talk to me on the phone it's not going to happen for a couple of days. Hopefully it'll be back for David and Kerrie's wedding - otherwise how will I boss everyone about?! (Just kidding...you know I NEVER need to be bossy at a wedding...)!

Lyndsey I put the curlers on. Don't kill me!

More wedding hair perfection from Olivia Muldoon.

How amazing did the bridesmaid dresses look against the Autumnal tones at Galgorm?! I thought they were a perfect choice for the season.

Adore these flowers.

What a gorgeous, happy, lovely wee couple they are :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=574 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=574 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:40:00 GMT
"I ask you to pass through life at my side - to be my second self and best earthly companion."
Charlotte Brontė - JAYNE EYRE

I knew this blog post was going to be long - I knew as I was shooting the wedding because everywhere I turned there were amazing little details for me to photograph. Sharon is a details girl and she really did herself proud on her wedding day. Wow - way to take a theme and execute it to perfection!

I didn't really realise what a massive deal Sharon and Philip's wedding was until I arrived at the church and was literally mobbed by the crowds standing outside it. All eager to get a glimpse of the first bride to be married in the old Brontė Church in over 40 years. It was here that Patrick Brontė father of the three famed Brontė sisters, preached his first sermon. Sharon didn't disappoint with her Pride ... Prejudice theme - from her elegant letterpress invitiations to her MaryRose McGrath gowns - everything came together beautifully and anyone sitting inside that little candlelit church must have been just in awe of it all. I know I was!

Even Sharon's mum's house was a match made in heaven for this day!

It was absolutely hectic outside the church. Combine the crowds with gale force winds and rain hammering down it was nuts! I just had to push my way through and fight for these photos :) Sharon smiled every second of the way - love this girl!

Couldn't take their eyes off each other the whole way through. So sweet :)

Philip threw coins to the crowds just like in Sense and Sensibility!

Hot tea served in china cups with a selection of mouth watering treats. Just perfect on a cold, wet day.

Amazingly, by the time we got to Crawfordsburn Park to take some photos, we had a good 40 minutes of no rain to play with. I was delighted!

This couple are so easy to photograph :)

My favourite detail of the day was the favours. Every guest was gifted a classic Brontė sister novel with a beautiful personalised bookmark. Sharon lovingly hand wrapped them all - oh it was just lovely.

Again with the table plan and little bunches of flowers - just amazing attention to detail.

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=573 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=573 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:26:00 GMT
This is my last wee portrait shoot for a while and I'm glad it was a good one. Ossie is without a doubt the cutest wee munchkin around and at 8 months old just the perfect age for a photoshoot. Sitting, smiling and not quite ready to crawl (when they start crawling it's almost impossible to get photos of anything other than their butt wiggling away from you!). Ossie's parents are Christmas crackers just like me (well, his dad is at any rate!), so they wanted to capture him this first special Christmas - by the tree, in his little reindeer slippers with his cuter than cute penguin jumper on. There's also an elf costume...

We started in Ossie's nursery, which is one of my favourite baby rooms I've ever seen. I would expect nothing less from Anna ... Peter as their house is just fab. I fell in love with it when I photographed their gorgeous Cockapoos Ruby and Myrtle last year.

Ah - wee dotes the pair of them. Two of the best behaved dogs I have ever photographed.

I love this photo because I know this look. My dogs frequently give this look these days. You know they are thinking "What the heck is that weird tiny human doing now??".

He's SOOOO cute!!!

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=572 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=572 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:51:00 GMT
My wedding posts are getting longer and longer and there just seems to be nothing I can do about it. Everyone keeps insisting on having weddings that are so lovely I can't leave anything out. I've two more to finish up and then I'm fully caught up wedding-edit-wise (I can't tell you how much of a relief it will be to go to bed at night and not worry that people are thinking I suck for not having their wedding edited yet!). The last two are also gorgeous and no doubt will have nice big long blog posts too :) Come Thursday I will hopefully be caught up - hoorah!

Eve and Alastair were brilliant on their engagement shoot so I knew their wedding was going to be easy to photograph. Since they braved the most miserable evening ever for their engagement pics they would have no problem with a bit of rain on their wedding day. Luckily for them it was a glorious day up in Bangor - so nice we got to head down to the sea front for some photos, which is unusual in this country! Eve was a stunning bride - seriously beautiful. And I loved her style - hair, makeup, shoes, dress - everything was perfect.

On the way home from this wedding I actually drove past Rihanna making her music video in a field in Bangor. I was totally rubber necking my way down the motorway - very exciting indeed!

Photographing the shoes I think?!

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=569 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=569 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:06:00 GMT
I have just been dying to get my hands on Noeleen and Aidan's wedding since the day and hour I shot it. All the elements that go together to make up a wedding came together in spectacular form on this day - lighting, weather, location, church, emotion, craic and of course a gorgeous bride and groom - how could I go wrong?! There were some lovely things said about Noeleen by just about everyone during the speeches and I have to say, I agree with it all. She is such a sweet, lovely girl and together her and Aidan are one of the nicest couples I've ever met. All I can hope for is that one of my friends might marry her brother and then I'll get to do it all over again with this fabulous family. Stranger things have happened, eh?!

;)

Um Noeleen - you were one of thee most stunning brides I have ever seen. Fact.

That pesky veil made for some awesome shots...girls - no matter what is happening on your wedding day - smile through it :)

On the path up to the Manor House I insisted on a quick stop under this tree. This is what happens to me...I see a little something and then I've GOT to shoot it. Or I might implode. It could happen!

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=568 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=568 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:57:00 GMT
Another big fat wedding blogpost for you this morning! I'm surviving on coffee and chocolate at the minute (thanks to Keli for bringing me more supplies yesterday!), but it seems to be aiding my productivity as I am flying through the edits.

Victoria and Christopher were married on an incredibly rainy day but you'd never guess it from their faces. They thoroughly enjoyed every second of their wedding day. Parkanaur is a great setting, especially if it rains, the interior of the house is beautiful for portraits. Victoria is stunning - she's like a wee doll - and I have major hair envy towards her (might have told her that once or twice on her wedding day!).

How cute is Tilly?!

See this smile? All day long :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=567 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=567 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:08:00 GMT
OK so it's 1:30am and my brain is frazzled but I've still a long ways to go tonight before I get to my bed. I am working my tail off to get my final few wedding edits done so that I can be caught up within the next 10 days or so. Send me your positive vibes. Or buy me a coffee :)

This is officially the longest wedding blog post I have ever done. I'm sorry if it takes ages to load. If it helps, just load this post and not the entire blog. I had a lot of trouble narrowing down favourites from Keli and Chris' wedding. It was such a beautiful day, in one of my favourite venues - Galgorm Manor, with so much gorgeousness to photograph. I'm glad it'll be Keli and not I choosing the final images for the album!

Amazing Benjamin Adams shoes.

I just loved Kate's 'hairspray face'.

The headpiece, the Jenny Packham - both to die for...

I want to know what he said!

Keli's daughter Kate was taking lots of photos to show her school teacher - so cute :)

Kisses for dolly :)

]]> http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=566 http://www.janinewalkersblog.com/index.cfm?postID=566 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:39:00 GMT
So this is my second to last little portrait shoot before my leave from shooting these sessions begins! I've one more this week and then I'll be taking a break to be a mum, do some laundry and probably spend a lot of time photographing my own kids. But don't worry, I won't fall off the face of the earth - there's a lot of wedding left to blog, upcoming engagement shoots and of course Alfie's adventures all still to make their appearance. And hopefully at some point in the future I can start sharing some photos of our own gorgeous boys.

Jude and Lauren are 17-month-old twins so it was a very busy shoot. They are two walking talking wee miracles after being born very early and spending their first 6 weeks in hospital. But look at them now - healthy, happy and absolutely beautiful. Mummy and daddy are very proud indeed! Such different personalities - Lauren arrived first and she is the more outgoing, headstrong of the two. Jude is quieter, loves his books and is quite content to just potter about in his own wee world. They are just sweethearts the pair of them!

This boy is going to break his mummy's heart :)

Iphone - the bedtime story alternative for the modern family :)

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