In response to my call for your blogstories Laura and Dermot dropped a few lines about these two photos below. You don’t have to write a novel, you know, but I’ll have  a better idea which kind of images you like and value.

#15 Laura wrote: “I think this picture is amazing!! thankyou…..my husband looks very sexy!!”

#223 “This is my favourite picture…..thank you so much for doing such a wonderful job with our photos…they are perfect…personal yet relaxed and natural as you promised……we are very pleased and we are and will continue to recommend your services!!!”

The advice I am going to give you in this post is very-very important so read on! It is inspired by a recent article from Steve Bavister, the editor of the British Institute of Professional Photographers magazine.

So you have bought your digital negatives, all nicely presented and boxed. Do you think that you can now print your images from that CD-ROM in many years to come? Do you plan to take your just-received disk to Jessops or Boots to use in their self-service kiosks? If you do, you are exposing yourself to the risk of data loss.

Before you proceed with anything, please-please-please make sure that your images are safe, protected and secure!

The mass-produced music CDs and film DVDs that you normally buy are commercially pressed and will last for a long time (unless you step on them or scratch them). Individual CDs and DVDs burnt on a computer have a life span of two to five years. Producers of “gold” versions claim longer longevity but of cource one cannot guarantee anything. The recording surface of optical disks consists of a layer of dye that is modified by heat to store data. This dye may gradually degrade, resulting in the data “shifting” on the surface and making the disk unreadable.

Images that you think you can reprint forever may be unreadable by 2010. Scary, ay!

We may not have the technology on our side, but it does not mean you cannot enjoy your images longer and do something about it.

First of all, when you get your precious CD-ROM, please copy the images to the hard drive/external drive of your computer. Then burn another copy and store it somewhere safe, preferably at another location. In about two years reburn your original CD-ROM onto another disk to give it a new lease of life. Do not leave your CD lying around without the case - sun may kick-start the dye shifting and you run the risk of scratching the surface.

Once you insured that your data has been backed up properly, you can now get on with picking your favourite photos on your hard drive to go to the lab. The least technically challenging method is to select the relevant file names in your Windows browser and copy the files to a custom CD to take with you to Asda, Boots, Jessops or other consumer processing service. My advice to you is not to use your original CD.

In the next instalment I’ll focus on more high-tech ways to order reprints from your high resolution files.

Our March studio newsletter went out to you on Wednesday. The archive copy is stored here (http://www.galinawalls.co.uk/news/issues/GWalls_220306.htm) just in case if you haven’t received the email.

The main article was about high-resolution files. More and more of you are buying them, others considering it as an option for the future. Once I started including them in some of my packages, a flood of emails queries followed. I have decided to post the answers to the most frequently asked questions in this blog under a new sub-category “Resources/FAQs” for easy reference.

Here’s the 1st question-and-answer entry quoted from this month’s newsletter to get us started:

“Q: What are the benefits and negatives of purchasing your digital negatives vs purchasing prints from the online gallery?

A: First, the benefits:

You can print your photos yourselves any time you want and at significantly cheaper prices than the reprints available from my shopping galleries. You can share these files freely with your friends and family. If you move county/country and lose touch with me, you’ll always have access to your wedding memories.

You can buy an album yourselves and have a complete control over how your photos are arranged on its pages.

The negatives:

The quality of high-resolution files is as if they have come directly from the camera. Some basic colour and density corrections are made during their conversion from a proprietary RAW format to a universally readable jpeg format. Some images are converted to black and white, some cropped for better composition. However, no retouching, artistic interpretation, enhancement or sharpening is performed.

When I receive a print order, every image is examined, further corrected, warmed or cooled, resized and custom sharpened before it is sent to the lab. The entire process is performed in a completely colour managed environment on a calibrated monitor with a printing profile needed by the lab.

So you would not have a print of the same quality from your high-res file that you would have from a custom print prepared by a professional photographer. This will show most dramatically in your enlargements. However, if you are only after unlimited 6×4 or 5×7 prints and just want a record of your day, this may not be your concern at all!”

I had a pleasure recently of providing a photographic coverage of the 1st WEETU award evening at Norwich City Football Club.

For those who do not know what WEETU is it’s “Women’s Employment Enterprise and Training Unit”, an organisation that enables women to retrain and start their own businesses. There are education programmes, pier support groups, ongoing access to practical advice and low interest loans and job brokering services. And much-much more. Run by inspirational women who are genuinely interested in your success, it’s a truly unique organisation!

Once upon a time I stumbled across WEETU via my friend Xenia who was attending WEETU’s financial education programme because she wanted to open her own toy shop.

Armed with Xenia’s advice, I have arrived at WEETU’s offices at Sackville place. I had a PhD in History of Art and lots of other professional qualifications, but no prospect of art history career because of the lack of teaching posts in Norwich. John, my husband, had an interesting research post in environmental risk assessment, and I was stuck and very unhappy! Whenever I applied for a mundane job I was turned down because I was way overqualified. I kept thinking: “What’s wrong with me? Am I that unemployable?”

The only thing apart from art history, painting and design I knew well was photography because I grew up in a studio as my dad is a professional portrait photographer. John and I hatched a hare-brained scheme of me starting a photography business in Norfolk - if no one employs me, I’ll employ myself and become much happier in the process.

The problem was that I didn’t have a clue how to run a business, especially in a different country!

So there I was standing on WEETU’s doorstep desperately hoping for advice and training and fearful that I would be turned down yet again. I remember that I actually broke into tears at one stage! Not only I wasn’t turned down, I had an opportunity to join two business training programmes teaching me how to create a business and marketing plan, how to price my work properly, how to look after my clients, how be assertive  but positive etc. I never imagined that there are so many aspects to running my own business!

WEETU does change lives. It certainly changed mine! This is why it was a pleasure to photograph the 1st ever award ceremony to recognise the accomplishments of all women who benefitted from WEETU’s help and the boundless energy and enthusiasm of women who created and ran these programmes.

Lots of people attended the evening, both men and women. They were entertained by a jazz band, a magician, a caricaturist and a baloon artist. Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, opened the proceedings. Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, also gave a moving speech in the course of the dinner. And of course, awards in various categories were given.

Here are some of the photos that will hopefully give you some idea what it was about.

You all know how uncharacteristically cold the weather was during the last couple of weeks. Well, last weekend Donna and Alan braved the elements - the cold, the wind, the waves, and me and John (who was the most unfortunate of all of us because he had to carry all my gear).

The shoot took place in the area of Cromer pier. I wanted to use this location last year for Liz and Martin’s pre-wedding shoot, but it was raining heavily and we ended up photographing everything in Liz’s dad’s conservatory.

This time we had more luck. Thanks, guys, for being so supportive despite the weather!

Here are some photos from this shoot:

I went this week to the seminar with Joe Buissink in Coventry. Joe is a celebrity wedding photographer in LA - he photographed the wedding of Jennifer Lopez etc. His fees start from $10,000. It was interesting to hear him sharing his techniques and stories behind his favourite images. He is very passionate about wedding photography - he’s got an infectious ”shoot from the heart and the money will follow” attitude. And his advice to be adventurous and dare to break the rules, backed up by his own life story, is invaluable.

It’s ironic that after 10 years of shooting celebs, however lucrative it was, Joe’s retirement fund came from photographing a bulldog, Max, whose posthumous line of calendars, greeting cards and other merchandise will be launched in about 2 months time. Needless to say, Max was also shot “from the heart”.

Do you want to see how you would look like as a South Park cartoon character? It’s the funniest thing I’ve seen recently.

Here’s me as created by Duncan Kerridge, a fellow Norfolk-based photographer:

I am not that ginger, honest!

Here’s Duncan (by his own mouse). You can tell that a) he has a streak of artistic genius in him; b) he has too much time on his hands! Well, and as I am blogging about it now - so have I (point (b) that is)!

Anyway, here’s the link where you can make up your own South Park avatar: http://www.planearium2.de/flash/spstudio.html

You are welcome to email yours to me and I can post it here.

Pre-wedding shoot season has started in earnest, and a lot of couples have already booked theirs with me in March, April and May. I can only photograph these sessions in spring and autumn (from October onwards), because in the summer shooting actual weddings and delivering the goods is a priority!

As you remember, your pre-wedding shoot is an optional complimentary service to get to know each other so that you are more relaxed in front of the camera on your wedding day. I am one of very few photographers in our area who are offering a pre-wedding shoot free of charge - and of course, my reasons are entirely ulterior!

I am constantly learning and trying something new, and I need willing subjects to refine my skills and test some ideas in as many varied locations and lighting conditions as possible. I also want to be excited about what I do, so to avoid the “beach-park-my garden” routine which just perpetuates a mechanical reproduction of techniques, I have imposed a condition that each session should be bespoke and unique. Each couple should come up with an interesting brief/location/activity.

That’s why I was very pleased when Wendy and Max called me and suggested that we hold their pre-wedding shoot in Cafe Rouge in Norwich. This place was important to them because they started seeing each other when they worked there at one point! Needless to say, I was very excited - I wanted to have a cafe shoot for ages! We only had a very small area available to us not to disturb the customers, but still - it’s so rare to get permission to do it at all!

Wendy and Max were fun and very natural in front of the camera. I am looking forward to shoot their wedding in April.

Well, just as I promised - here’s a short report on my visit to our annual photography trade fair in Birmingham.

We set out at about 9am. I had an attack of verbal diarrhoea (I am not that clever - had to look it up in the dictionary!). Duncan, as a proper English bloke, suffered me without complaining. We reached Birmingham at 12.30pm and went to pray at the altar of the God, aka Jeff Ascough, a famous documentary wedding photographer, who held a couple of professional development seminars. We met a couple of friends and ended up having a dinner at Inn Keepers, generously sponsored by Christine from Art Leather album company. Thank you, Christine!

The dinner spontaneously evolved into photographers’ piss up - by then Christine had already retired. Photos were published on our private forum but they are not fit for posting here as the image quality from small digicams are awful, even if these cameras are wielded by some of the most proficient shooters in this country!

Anyway, after a lean continental breakfast we all departed to the Focus again, this time to do business. Duncan and I “split upon each other” and went our separate ways through a huge maize of stalls, exhibition stands and so on.

My eye was set on buying a new prime, Canon 35mm 1.4 L. Unfortunately, every vendor sold it out!

I had several couples who expressed an interest in high quality matted albums, as opposed to magazine-style books that we are currently selling. I had a chat  about arranging three new sample books with Nick who imports custom-made Jorgensen albums from Australia. The quality of these books is amazing! and Nick was very good at explaining the ordering process and the benefits of carrying this range of albums. Thank you Nick! Since the sad demise of the Norwich branch of CPW I had to switch to Parker Photographics in Midlands, and their order fulfilment, stock control and turnaround were very disappointing. Hopefully, Nick’s company will be more reliable!

As you remember, I went to visit Peter Prior in Eastbourne several weeks ago. He kindly showed me his sample Jorgensen books and I was very impressed. Then the God (Jeff Ascough) sang praise about their turnarounnd and the ease of design. What to say - I am hooked! Now I have to find time to sit down and design a couple of sample albums of my own.

I upgraded my Photoshop CS to CS2 and got a Wacom A6 baby graphic tablet - I love it. Bought 2 pairs of lab cotton gloves for album assebly and an anti-static brush for prints. Had a chat with my insurance provider about a possible claim to repair my 70-200 IS L lens. Popped in to see Barrett and Coe stand to say hello to Brian Barrett who taught me at the Norwich School of Photography. Joined the MPA (Master Photographers Association) - my BIPP membership year is coming to an end in March and I want to switch, because the MPA chapter is more active in Norfolk. Discussed options of getting a credit card machine to accept major credit cards. And so on and so forth.

All in all, it was a very productive day.

We left at 4.30pm and headed into a snow storm, duly warned by my husband John who said that it snowed all day in Norfolk. Ha-ha-ha! The roads  were clear and it was sunny. Duncan, who bought a new compact camera at the show to keep in his car, stopped to photograph a spectacular sunset. As the journey progressed we doubted John more and more - quite loudly - sorry, John. We saw the 1st snow flake 4 miles from Norwich, and the closer we came to Melrose Road, the more it resembled a mini snow storm, localised between Unthank Road and Newmarket Road. Well, whatever it was, it certainly made John work from home on Tuesday…