Tuesday, October 14, 2014 | Greenwich, Greenwich Register Office, London wedding
It’s such a thrill as a Greenwich Registry Office wedding photographer to meet a couple on their wedding day – see what they’re wearing, which guests they have chosen, their flowers and other finishing touches.
Petra and Duncan had agreed not to see each other before their civil wedding ceremony, so Duncan and his best man arrived at Victoria Hall first. They love the building, so while they waited, I photographed them as well as details of the hall such as the pink and white painted ceiling, wonderfully restored.
Petra arrived with her best friends, giggling and excited about the wedding. Staff snuck her into a side room near the registry office so that Duncan wouldn’t spot her. He also had helpfully sat with his back to the main doorway of Woolwich Town Hall – what a clever groom!
We did a quick portrait of Petra and her two best friends on the steps of Woolwich Town Hall
Petra settles down to wait until her wedding ceremony in this office. Every bride needs access to a photocopier just before they walk down the aisle, right?
After a bit of an unscheduled wait – the registrars are running late – we’re off. Duncan goes into the ceremony room with the wedding rings and Petra waits just outside.
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Monday, October 13, 2014 | Greenwich, Greenwich Register Office, London wedding, Register Office
The Greenwich civil wedding of Anna and James with their closest friends and family had a buzz about it that reflected their easy smiles and happiness. Anna, originally from Sweden, wore a classic cream dress and jacket with bouquet from Manchesters Flowers. James wore a cream buttonhole in his cream linen suit, also from Manchesters Flowers.
Their wedding took place at Woolwich Town Hall, the base for the registrars for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, that is Greenwich Register Office. We waited in the magnificent Victoria Hall, with its turn of the century architecture including high domed ceiling and beautiful paintwork.
Anna carried a bouquet of white roses and greenery tied with a white ribbon and James wore a white rose buttonhole.
We did some portraits on Victoria Hall’s stunning stairs before Anna and James’ civil wedding ceremony. 
There was a lot of laughing and joking from the guests during the Greenwich civil wedding, putting Anna and James at ease. 
Greenwich registrars, like other London registrars, use archive-quality indelible ink in the registers. The best man keeps Anna and James’s rings safe on his own fingers. 
Anna and James exchange vows with her father looking on from the front row. 
And finally they are announced man and wife – celebrating with a traditional kiss, to the delight of their family and friends.
Anna and James’ guests throw confetti to celebrate the marriage of Anna and James. Congratulations! 
Thursday, June 20, 2013 | Greenwich, Portraits
In the same way that the cobbler’s children have no shoes, the photographer often finds their own work at the back of the pile. It’s only now that I have had time to work on these two Greenwich naval portraits I took at last month’s unveiling of the newly renovated west wall of Old Royal Naval College’s Painted Hall, Greenwich. There was no brief and we had not been introduced – I just asked these two if they would mind me taking their portraits. Very kindly, they obliged. Don’t they have just the most characterful faces? They are John Furlonger, head of the Greenwich, Deptford and Rotherhithe Sea Cadets, and HMD Middleton MBE. The Painted Hall’s west wall is in the background.
Thursday, April 18, 2013 | Greenwich
I visited the Painted Hall in Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) this afternoon to see the restoration of its west wall. The ORNC has been restoring the Painted Hall since December last year and today was the last open scaffolding session where you could be close to the restoration work. It really was something being about 10 feet from some of the gold leaf decoration around the top of the hall.
The Painted Hall is the work of architects Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor about three hundred years ago and its wall and ceiling decorations are by James Thornhill. Our scaffolding session leader Maggie, though, showed us some painted flowers which were thought to have been painted by Thornhill’s assistant Dietrich André. Given the task of painting the hall took 19 years, it’s not surprising Thornhill had some help. The west wall shows George I surrounded by his family and Thornhill in the bottom right-hand corner with his paintbrushes and palette.
This is the eleventh time conservation work has been done on the Painted Hall, the last time being 70 years ago. This restoration has mostly been done with small sponges and water to lift off dirt and cigarette smoke.
Our group of nine and two guides started by putting on hard hats and high visibility vests.
We passed a man restoring a door edging, after vacuuming it.
We were very much surrounded by a scaffolding web as we climbed to the first level.
As we went up another level, we could see the ceiling details through scaffolding gaps.
Heritage Lottery Fund London Committee chairman Wesley Kerr joined the tour to see how the fund’s money was being spent.
And after what seemed like too short a time, we were back at ground level.
It was gorgeous weather after earlier rain, so I took some photographs of the Painted Hall’s exterior.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 | Greenwich
It’s a fabulous month when two fellow photographers have Greenwich photographic exhibitions on at the same time.
The first is Jo Tennant, exhibiting her work as part of The Body, Movement and Dance at Made in Greenwich gallery opposite Cutty Sark station on Creek Road. Greenwich is lucky in having Jo’s work as part of the exhibition. She created a stunning panel of 20 images of dancers to gain her Fellowship with the British Institute of Professional Photography, inspired by a childhood of dance training.
Jo has an established business as a wedding and portrait photographer and her dance fine art prints were taken and printed in her spare time as a challenge. She has framed and mounted prints for sale in the exhibition.
The second photographer is Mike Curry, who has his landscapes at The Greenwich Gallery on the corner of Royal Hill and Peyton Place until March 31. The exhibition Mike describes as “an eclectic mix of work from sweeping panoramas to more abstract studies.” Mike will be at the gallery every Saturday and Sunday to answer questions about his work.
Sunday, December 23, 2012 | Greenwich
Today’s annual Greenwich pantomime horse race took place to raise money for Demelza Children’s Hospice. Comedian Arthur Smith mounted an ostrich to start the race, then joined the horses, a banana, tomato, chicken and knight as they raced, or crawled around the backstreets of Greenwich, visiting four pubs along the way.
Santa visited before the official start.
After an official launch from Mr Smith, they’re off, with photographers ready to capture their every move, er, hoof? Note the importance of the tomato and his sound effects. 
Breaking news – apparently it’s hot inside a horse costume.
As the only entrant with a (chicken) jockey, this horse still needed a guiding tail from the horse in front.
