They do say that small businesses are the barometer of the economy (don’t they?). Well after a quiet spell earlier in the year, it seems at the moment as if the phone is perpetually ringing. I am obviously delighted for Breeze, but am I bucking a trend, or am I riding the wave of recovery? A ‘straw poll’ of my colleagues has not helped provide an answer. Some, like myself, have seen these mythical green’ shoots’, while others are still sweating through their business development plans with no revenue to show for their efforts. Are you running a small business? What do you think?

One of the things that I really enjoy about my job is the variety. There seems to be endless possibilities of things to be photographed in different scenarios for different people. So I was delighted, and not too surprised, to be called on to shoot two grown men eating a pasty at Marylebone railway station! Well, if truth be told, they didn’t actually ask me to photograph them eating it – but they were sporting enough to eat when asked.

The assignment was to publicise the new ‘Steak and St Austell Ale’ Pasty from the West Cornwall Pasty Company. I’ld like to thank Piers and David for being such sports. I haven’t tried the pasties yet, but during the shoot they smelled fantastic!

You hear so much in the press about young people causing trouble and generally being a nuisance. I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the 160 youngsters that I photographed at the Burghfield Sailing Club Optimist Open meeting on Saturday. Demonstrating sportsmanship, competitive spirit and independance, they really highlighted the postive side of being young.

The photography was a little challenging though! I spent most of my time alone on an island in the middle of the lake with no company other than a dead goose, trying to photograph directly into the sun. Luckily as the day progressed, the fleet spread out a little and the increasing cloud cover allowed a little more creativity.

As you may already know, I love sailing and am passionate about boats. If you fancy giving it a go, for you or your kids, why not have a look here:-

Burghfield Sailing Club
Berkshire Sail Training School

I do like Burns night. A little tradition can really add an extra element to a Black Tie supper. I was delighted to be photographing this years Burns night supper at Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre. This splendid venue specialises in offering a uniquely ‘green’ conference facility, situated in rural West Berkshire. We offered a full instant printing portrait service, which proved very popular with guests – if we could catch them between enjoying the homegrown organic haggis and the scottish country dancing!

Hello and welcome to the my new blog! Thankyou for joining me.  In this forum I will attempt to keep you up to date with events at Breeze and the world of photography.  I will also attempt to provide a personal comment on the local business climate and other small business issues.