Lovely dog – although she was a bit wary of the camera! Stephanie and Mitchell were great though and kept her calm – and got in on some of the photos too

Charlott Strandberg, Gunilla Backman, Sussie Eriksson

I received Gunilla Backman‘s new CD today (eventually – post from Sweden is really slow!). Definitely WELL worth the wait though  

This prompted me to look at concert photos from the summer – I’d forgotten how much fun there is to be had taking these photos!

Children and animals are easily distracted, but to get adults relaxed enough that they don’t care about having their photo taken can be a lot of work! This makes something like a concert ideal – plus the photos depict the people doing what they love, and that’s always good news

This concert was totally in the middle of nowhere, in Småland, southern Sweden. I love having a big zoom lens for situations like this – we were on row 15, so really not very close to the stage at all!

These two photos came from a totally different type of concert! This one wasn’t at a Folkpark in the middle of nowhere, sitting on plastic chairs and trying to understand people with the thickest Swedish accent I’d ever heard… this concert was at Hampstead Heath in London. The event was Sweden on Stage, to celebrate Sweden taking presidency of the EU.

It’s photos like these that make me rate my Canon compact point-and-shoot so highly. Considering the camera I used in Sweden cost about £1000 more, I don’t think these photos are too bad at all!

Benny Andersson

Helen Sjöholm

Maybe not the best idea though – now I’m itching to be back in Stockholm! Although I am going in a few weeks – so keep your eyes open for more photos. I’ll be visiting Gothenburg for the first time too, so hopefully some interesting photos of a new city coming soon!

Solna

I’d actually gone to Solna to take a photo of the windmill. It wasn’t until I started walking that I realised there was a lake across the road. Only, it wasn’t a lake – more a big sheet of ice. Wasn’t much of a road either – everything was just totally white. The snow surrounding the lake was insanely deep – I ended up going home with wet socks even though I was wearing wellies.

The lake was pretty amazing. If you look into the sunlight, you can see how much steam was rising off the ice. Most sensible people stay indoors when the weather is like that – so I had the whole area to myself. Lovely

First off I’ve decided to create a Leicestershire gallery – this is mainly for scenic shots. I see most of these when out with my dog, hence the fact that she appears in a lot of them!

Here are a few of my favourites:

Fosse Meadows

Before Chelsea jumped in and disturbed the water, the reflection was staggeringly clear. The colours were also lovely because it was so late in the evening.

Clump Hill

Looking out from Clump Hill, in Broughton Astley, you see Leire in one direction and Dunton Bassett in the other. This particular evening was far too cold to walk to either, but was perfect for photos.

Croft Hill

I’ve still not had the luck to have been up at the top of the hill in the right light to get the perfect photo of the view. However, I’ve had a lot of luck with dog photos as we rarely see anyone else so I can have Chelsea’s attention for long periods of time. This is definitely not one of the perfect photos, but I love the way her face just says that she’s really not into havíng any more photos taken!

Sam

Well, this weekend I’ve photographed a Yorkshire terrier puppy – and a horse. Slight difference! But with variety being the spice of life and all, I think the difference is a great thing

Lottie was fun – although the photo below doesn’t sum up the photo shoot in any way! It seemed like she hardly sat still for a second.

Sam was lovely – I’d never been asked to photograph horses before and it’s a totally different experience to photographing dogs!

Lottie

Chelsea, Croft Hill

 I’ve always loved photographing her (as she’s just so photogenic!) and she’s been my main subject when practising new techniques.

I can’t believe that once upon a time someone didn’t want her! And I don’t think she can either – she knows she’s spoilt now

But there are still so many dogs without homes, and I want to help them. So – and here I actually get to the main point of my post – 25% of ALL profit I make through pet photography will be donated to Leicester Animal Aid.

And – until the end of November, all pet photo shoots are half price.

Please contact me if you would like more information, or to book a photo shoot.

In the time since I last posted on here, I have been pretty busy getting my photography business up and running. I’ve done weddings, pet photography, child and adult portraits, bits of school photography, and on Friday I covered the FOTE conference in London. (Click here to see the Flickr stream of these photos).

My website has a more extensive selection of my work to view.

I don’t think I’ll ever reach the age where I don’t go “Aaaahhh” when I see lambs! And my trip last week definitely wasn’t an exception. The kittens prompted some funny noises from me too!