Red Roses or Blue Violets?....

No, but we saw some gorgeous flowers on our trip to Alnwick gardens and The Tree House today.  We decided to have a family day out to celebrate Valentine's Day. I haven't got green fingers, indeed I tend to kill plants but know that the first are snow drops and answers on a post card for the purple ones!   Happy Valentine's Day.  x

Hearts... Curves.... & Lace

Tis February again, the month which is symbolic of, and filled with celebrating love (even our love of food on Pancake day, yum).    It's also a great time to brave the colder weather by going to a gorgeous location, taking the thermals off and putting on something sensual and special, having your hair and make-up professionally done and tying it all together with a boudoir shoot......     Contact me at claire@burnsrowattphotography or 07962 393664 if you'd like more information.   Happy Valentines Day.  x

Wedding fairs I will be exhibiting at

I have listed below the wedding fairs I will be exhibiting at this season.   If you need a wedding photographer come along and say hi, see some of my work and I can answer any questions you have about wedding photography.   There'll be lots of other gorgeous exhibitors there too for great ideas for your special day.....

Sunday 19th February 2012 - Redworth Hall 11am - 3pm
Sunday 11th March 2012 - The Bowes Museum 10am-4pm
Sunday 1st April 2012 - HM Bark Endeavour Ship in Stockton 10am-4pm
Sunday 22nd April 2012 - The Newcastle Civic Centre 11am- 4pm
Sunday 13th May 2012- River Tees Watersports Centre 10am-4pm

Hope to see you all there.  Claire x

2011 Highlight

Happy New Year!

I'm excited to do my first blog of the year and thought I'd share a highlight from 2011 with you all.

I had the honour of being asked to be part of the Womans Weekly Centenary Portrait Exhibition, Infinite Variety, in London.  The exhibition was to celebrate, along with Dame Harriet Walter, the lives, experiences and marvellous individual beautry of their readers.  Women whose lives are reflected in their faces. Women who have experienced happiness and sadness, raised families and cared for others, loved and been loved in return, embraced and experienced life and all it has to offer – good and bad.
So I met up with 2 lovely local ladies, Brenda and Hazel to take their pictures.These were to be included in the exhibition, which toured Britain and at the Women's Weekly HQ in London.

It was a great opportunity to work on an important project, one where I could use my skills to highlight that there is beauty in the ageing female face......

Brenda is a wonderful lady who, despite having her own health issues, volunteers every day at her local Sheltered Housing Scheme, Oakfield Court in East Herrington, Sunderland. She was nominated for the portrait by Scheme Manager Janine Proctor as she is an invaluable member of the team with an abundance of energy, vitality and a lust for life. Her smiley face and sunny disposition is valued by all. The Scheme has a lovely homely atmosphere and I was made so welcome by Brenda, all the residents and staff at Oakfield. Thank you so much. x

Hazel is a lovely lady who has had MS for 7 years but that doesn't dampen her passion and enthusiams for gardening. Her grandfather was the head gardener at a local Hall, from which she has inherited her green fingers. To celebrate her love of gardening we decided to do the photo shoot in her garden with her gorgeous purple flowers, which she is so proud of. Thanks for the stories and looking through your modelling photos which you've treasured over the years. x

Claire

Clogs, Windmills and Gallant parking

I was recently doing some photographic work in Holland. I was really looked after while I was there - the Danish people are just lovely. As I was coming out of my hotel one morning I noticed this parking sign...

The Danish people really know how to look after their ladies :0) x

Gary Grace - King of Swing

I met Gary Grace at a recent wedding at Ripley Castle where he was singing with his swing band. Gary has an amazing voice and his band give a high quality performance and I was soon singing away whilst photographing the bride and groom's first dance. We kept in contact and he asked me to take some photos for him whilst he was performing his 'A Tribute to the Kings of Swing' show at Ramside Hall, where he sang a couple of Michael Buble songs, which went down a storm. If you'd like to book Gary he can be contacted at http://www.garygrace.co.uk/ or his page on Facebook.

Becky and James Pre-Wedding shoot

Becky and James are getting married at Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire and decided that they'd have their pre-wedding shoot there too. There had been weather warnings all week before the shoot and when I got up on the Saturday and looked out the window, there was our second fall of snow for this winter. Snowy pictures are so rare in England (as opposed to lots of rainy ones ;0) ) so I was very excited to head down to Ripley and meet them. They were very brave being out in the snow but they wrapped up warm and we never stopped laughing all the way round.....