Contrary to common understanding abstract humour didn’t exist prior to 2000, the year in which Oli invented it. A former student of mine whom graduated back then, the year that abstract humour was born to the world, Oli went on to set up Blue Zoo, one of the foremost UK children’s animation studios along with his course-mates Tom (whose marriage to Caroline I photographed last year), Adam (who saw fit to marry before I started out in the world of wedding photography) and Nic (who married in Australia more recently but possibly took my assertion that I’d be perfectly happy to fly there to photograph her big day as mere flippancy).
Emma works for Cancer Research UK and purely coincidentally sits next to another Nic (whose marriage to another Tom I also photographed last year) whom she is firm friends with. Accustomed to putting others at the centre of her world Emma had an interesting experience being centre of attention on her wedding day but both she and Oli did it all with aplomb. One to remember!
Emma’s Dad was busily at work completing his speech when I arrived. He handed off the final draft to Claire, Emma’s chief bridesmaid, to test it out for humour levels…
This week’s answer the the existential crisis of wedding photography involved three mirrors. Did you know that I’m younger in that image than I was at the point at which it was recorded? With a couple of big mirrors facing inwards either side of me and a particularly powerful telephoto lens I might even have been able to photograph my own birth. Ask Flann O’Brien if you don’t believe me. If you can’t get hold of him it might be easier to read The Third Policeman.
The girls, just hanging out on the stairs…
Not for long though…
“Your dress is amazing,” I said to Emma. “I suppose you have to say that,” she responded. “No, I don’t actually,” I concluded the exchange. I use different derivatives each time :~) I do though keep coming across amazing wedding dresses, different on every occasion. It’s the clients I get. Introducing the Flamenco number…
¡Olé!..
I made my way to the church at the appointed time for me to pick up the converging narrative strand of Oli’s progress via the neighbouring pub. Oli was nowhere to be found though so I kept myself limber with an arriving guest (Mike, a former student, observed by Rory, a former student, having emerged from a van driven by Liz, a former student, said van having largely been full of former students)…
I spotted a cluster of guests approaching from down the street so thought to myself, seeing as I was there, I’d get a cluster of guests approaching from down the street shot. Just as I readied to shoot, an enigmatic figure floated across my frame, a pink spatted shaman, the reaction of the cluster of guests approaching from down the street suggested to me that this was my target. For those of you at home watching in black and white, the pink spats are above the black shoes (sadly not the green shoes, which would have rounded off that now somewhat historical pun rather nicely)…
Oli was proving my most difficult client to photograph thus far. Every time I thought I had him framed, he was off like a camera shy ferret. Eventually I caught up with him and locked on with my wedding photographer’s tractor beam…
To boldly go where… many men have gone before, frequently…
Though I dare say not many were firing a camera. A few more perhaps have brushed their teeth though. “That’s me sorted for the first kiss,” I seem to recall hearing on my way out…
The processional was rather an emotional one. I have it clearly documented but will keep it teeny weeny here for the benefit of narrative flow. I’m sure Emma can have a good laugh looking back on it all with the full size images…
Banished to the back under the all photographers behave the same banner, even after I provided a demonstration of the whisper quiet shutter of my X100. I claimed I’d be invisible where I’d hoped to position myself (in the choir stalls behind a buttress). I was told that I’d not be invisible though. Love of metaphysics aside it wasn’t the place and time for me to argue the point. As it happens though, whilst it didn’t allow me to clearly frame the facial reactions and interactions I normally like to relate it afforded me a better angle than I would have had on some key moments and the essential essence of the ceremony is all still there.
Voice of an angel. Voice of a future multi-platinum music star in all honesty…
The broodinator…
Adam, bottom right of quad, the only director of Blue Zoo whose wedding I’ve not photographed as he wasn’t inclined to hold off marrying until I’d decided to get around to photographing such things (I suggested a renewal of vows at some future point) had been asked to shoot some film of the wedding. He promised to keep out of my way. I told him not to be silly, he was a snazzily dressed guest brandishing a cool retro 8mm cine camera and he was going to get well and truly photographed. I suspect he’d hoped otherwise…
Not Oli…
Though I felt at times like I was playing a game of Where’s Oli…
A close second place to the fun of a confetti canon, a confetti canon that’s malfunctioned…
If Adam had been privy to what was revealed about Oli’s driving skills during the speeches later that day, I’m not sure he’d have taken that particular position to film the getaway…
Inside the Tipi, an abundance of DIY priti…
Emma loves wild flowers…
Oli designed an individual place-name for each of the 160 guests using found visual elements for the typography. It took him a wee bit of time…
So the lady on the left comes up to me and asks if I photographed Nicola and Tom’s wedding. I told her I’d known that her face was familiar when I’d seen her earlier. I suspect she thought I was just humouring her…
Would have been rude not to…
All I’m certain of is that it wasn’t anything I said…
In your own time ladies. I think out of a hundred takes I have one where just about all of them are looking in roughly the right direction…
Oli was always a sucker for the old hypnotherapy trick…
Well hello ladies…
Apparently I should have seen what he was doing with his hands when I took this one…
I’ll have it if you’re not certain :~)…
MC David Brent in the house Tipi…
Damian had the best seat in the house Tipi…
A whole barrel of fun still to come in part two >>>
Contact Warwickshire Wedding Photographer Phillip Allen : phill@misterphill.com : 07870 696248
