Ugh, why is it still January?

This week I've been getting prematurely excited for the springtime even though it hasn't really been a proper winter here yet so I just know it's going to get colder which is annoying, because I'm desperate to get out into the garden and see things grow there again. This week we visited my Dad's family in Walsall so Rory could spend some time with her cousins. There were Pringle dinner dates and Frozen lip-syncing competitions and she loved it.

Esmee's baby portrait at 7 months - 29/01/2016

The first time I photographed Esmée she wasn't a very big fan of the situation. But now that she's almost 7 months old, my camera and my massive curly hair are fascinating rather than strange and she posed like a champ.

Photo Challenge Week 4 Portrait: Headshot

Not having a permanent studio set up can be incredibly frustrating sometimes, especially when I'm feeling inspired, but not feeling like I want to spend 20 minutes setting up my portable gear. That being said, not having a fixed studio definitely forces me to be more flexible and creative when taking portraits by working with the available space, and has sharpened my eye to ambient light and makeshift backdrops which has proved to be incredibly handy at weddings especially.

I took this shot in the little patio area outside of my house, using it's 3 white walls to act both as light reflectors and backdrop and used my 50mm to make a nice narrow depth of field to blur out the background texture of the walls.

Our New Kitten - 24/01/2016

Meet our little kitten, Gatsby! He likes sneaking around, sleeping ridiculously close to my face and chasing his tail. He's so sweet.

Low Town, Bridgnorth - 22/01/2016

Even though we moved here almost a year ago, I hadn't ventured into Low Town with my camera, which is a huge shame, because it's filled with fascinating architecture and buildings like this one.

Photo Challenge Week 3 Artistic: Red

For me, photography is  as much about storytelling as any piece of writing and I've always had a fire burning in me that is eager to devour a story. Both mediums are catalogs of loss, ways of documenting and reliving moments or feelings long after the memory of them has faded and making them new again. They allow us to see through the eyes of people who came before us, to see the world in ways we lacked the experience or opportunity to know for ourselves, to travel through time and space into the lives of other people, making the world smaller and larger all at once.

This week - 17/01/2016

This week has been stressful, but I finally learned how to make soft cookies which more than makes up for everything else.

Studio Light Testing - 15/01/2015

Ro

Photo Challenge Week 2 Landscape: Traditional

 The only resolution I made for 2016 was to find and join a photography challenge to give me some inspiration to just go out and shoot for fun. I found this one which has a really active facebook following and am enjoying being a part of it. The second week's theme was to shoot a 'traditional landscape' and while I am certainly no landscape photographer, I had fun roaming around looking for the most attractive scenery and shot my first ever sunrise. It maybe cliche, but it's undoubtedly traditional.

This week - 10/01/2016

One morning a few days ago and completely out of the blue, Rory started talking about 'The Spiderwitch'. At first we thought that maybe she meant a sandwich made of spiders or wishes made by spiders, until I remembered these books I put on her shelves for when she's older, that I'd obviously told her the title of and that had stuck in her mind, assuming it to be the name of the creature on the cover. 

For a full day she continued to tell us things about the Spiderwitch, such as how he'd drank all of the milk and how he likes to hide in the dark places in the house, so she and her Daddy spend much of that day and the next hunting the Spiderwitch around the house with our newly acquired torch that she is equally taken with. 

It was adorable.

But as adorable as imaginary friends can be, they are equally as creepy. So after watching her holding conversations with her hand for enough time to venture into Danny Torrence territory, I decided to make her an actual, physical buddy.

Isn't he hideous? We love him intensely.

Holly & Iris Mother daughter maternity photoshoot - 08/01/2016

 Holly, Iris & The Mcsorley Baby of the Future

Photo Challenge Week 1: Self Portrait

I found out about this photo challenge on the last day of the first week and since I didn't want to start off late, I snapped a quick selfie. No frills.

Hilly

At the end of last year we decided that the time had finally come to put our dear old Hilly to sleep. For all 12 years of her wonderful little life she'd been my sidekick in all things, following me to all of the homes, cities, counties I've lived in, covering all of our furniture in her fur and making all of those houses a home. It wasn't until after she'd gone that it really occurred to me how much of my life had been adapted to fit her in it, and everywhere feels so empty without her there. We miss you Boony, rest easy.

This Week - 03/01/2016

So far, 2016 has been wet. Every kind of rain (including the frozen kind) has showered upon us and so we've been stuck inside for much of the last week. Thankfully we've had Chris at home to keep us from going stir crazy. Well, mostly anyway...

 

Bridgnorth Musical Theatre Company Fiddler on the Roof Headshots - 01/01/2015

In December I was invited to take portraits of the principal cast for Bridgnorth Musical Theatre Company's February production of Fiddler on the Roof. It was a real treat for me to work with such talented performers who weren't in the least bit unnerved by my camera and their rehearsal sounded amazing.