Our Pearl of Wisdom for the season, is that according to folklore, leaving conkers near doors or window ledges will guarantee no creepy-crawly arachnids will come into your home.  There are various beliefs behind this one, the most probable one being spiders don't like the smell the oil in conkers give off. 

One of my favourites was they break their legs as the conker rolls around and they fall off! 

Well, I can't recall the last time a spider limped past me, so I'm not sure about that one.  Whatever the reason I will be collecting conkers this Autumn!

Can you believe, Giles just asked me what this has to do with photography!!?  I just wanted to pass on something useful, and interestingly - conkers does sound like bonkers!

Back to the Photography ........

Giles Christopher AMPA

Here at Media Wisdom Photography HQ, we are thrilled that Giles was a FINALIST in both the prestigious National, Kodak Portrait Awards and The MPA Awards of Excellence.
He also achieved a Certificate of Merit in the Master Photographers Association Awards.  This weekend Giles picked up his certificate and trophy for being awarded Associate of the MPA, at the Master Photography Awards ceremony.

With so many people buying digital cameras and calling themselves Photographers these days, it's vital that clients work with, and recognize the value added by commissioning professionals who can deliver a high quality end product.  Going with that cheaper quote, or a mate with a camera, is a false economy, a waste of your valuable time and resources, and the end results will be a huge disappointment.

This is one of the reasons we felt it was important to join and support the work of the MPA.  The MPA, the Master Photographers Association, is the only trade body in the UK to insist its members are full-time professionals and are qualified to a high standard, undergoing a rigorous assessment of their work, and following a strict code of conduct. 

Media Wisdom Photography Ltd is a proud member of the MPA (Master Photographers Association), The AOP (Association of Photographers), GBCT (Guild of British Camera Technicians), and strives to give their clients a service that exceeds their expectations.  For award winning images to enhance and complement your business along with a friendly and professional service, please call 01932 226352

http://www.mediawisdom.co.uk

The 20 images we submitted for Giles' panel to be approved, successfully, for Associate level can be seen on

http://www.mediawisdom.co.uk/clients/gc_mpa/index.html

Lawrence Walsh Fine Furniture

We love the challenges we face with each new commission, be it a simple corporate portrait shoot to the larger location or studio shoots where we need to put an appropriate professional team together - and we have a great team. 

Lawrence Walsh was a fabulous challenge, produce a selection of images to complement the quality of their entire bedroom furniture range, on a tight time scale and budget.  The team at Lawrence Walsh approached us as their previous image selection was in desperate need of updating.  They realised that to stand out above their competitors, they needed new images to grab client's attention and to enhance their brand.

The shoot involved building two sets in one of the large studios at Halliford Studios.  We chose Halliford as it was convenient for the client and made the logistics of transporting their furniture, and skilled craftsmen much easier.  

This project was definitely a team effort and couldn't have been achieved as successfully without the professionalism and support of the Lawrence Walsh craftsmen and women and our talented crew.   Joining our team was Jo Manser, a fabulous set designer, and his stylists Caroline and Pixie.  Jo's team created individual looks for each of the thirteen different designs in just four days, and incredibly within budget!  We also called on the talents of  Joanne Craske, a highly experienced photo re-toucher.  A magician basically! 

'What more could a client ask for.  Well a really helpful, understanding and professional crew, and a superb photographer in Giles who put up with all our requests and idiosyncrasies, without a complaint.  Finally a set of superb photos which have inspired our designers to produce the catalogue and website we dreamt of'.  Ross Walsh (Director - Lawrence Walsh Furniture)

If you are considering new fitted or free standing furniture, then please do take a look at the Lawrence Walsh website or contact them for a brochure (nice photos!).

Little did we know then, we would be moving to Halliford Studios permanently, but as it was such an enjoyable, successful shoot, Halliford had nothing but positive, happy memories - and continues to do so for us and our clients.
 

Whatever size of shoot you have, please do give us a call for a FREE no obligation consultation and quote.

http://www.lawrencewalsh.co.uk

The Dog Squad - Dog Walking Team

If we had dogs, and believe me, Giles keeps trying to convince me we should, we would entrust our furry member of the family to these guys!  We spent a glorious couple of hours with MJ and her team out in the park on a typical dog walking session recently, and a good time was had by all!  Fortunately not all our clients lick us to show their appreciation, it's not something we would encourage, as rewarding as it is, a simple thank you is fine!

Our great chum Onika Staas of OS Web Design is creating a site for this wonderful dog walking team as we speak, so please watch this space, especially if you need a dog walker in the Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond, Shepperton area.

If you would like the most important member of your family photographed, or even your children, we are available for personal family commissions.  We find we get rather busy towards the Festive Season, so please book early to avoid disappointment.  You can either come and visit us for a family photo session in our studio, or we come to your home.  We are currently updating our website for family portraits - so please keep this link in your favourites.

http://www.miniwisdom.co.uk

The Great British Duck Race 2009

From dogs to ducks, and once again we were asked to be the official photographers to capture the events of the day for The Great British Duck Race, and again it was a huge success!

• A world record broken for the number of little plastic ducks racing along (205,000 to be exact - I didn't count them)
• Thousands of pounds raised for charity
• One lucky person won £10,000 just for having their duck come first!
• A great family day out, just messing about by the river
• SUNSHINE and a nice bunch of people!

Next year is already booked in.  If you are around near Hampton Court on 5th September 2010 - come along and join in the fun!

http://www.thegreatbritishduckrace.co.uk

Gillingham Business Park

Haven't we been lucky with this fabulous weather!? 

We really did feel very lucky to have such a glorious day a couple of weeks ago when we produced a selection of images from around the Gillingham Business Park for design company Hartley-Stone.  To capture the business park and warehouse units, as you'll see from the pictures, our pneumatic mast was the perfect piece of kit to use.  The mast offers clients a cost effective aerial experience and has proved the perfect piece of equipment for business parks, building sites - progress shots and completed building works,  construction companies and highways agencies.

If you have a project that could benefit from our mast shots, please give Abi a call 01932 226352.

More of our latest work

To see a portfolio of some of our latest work, please click on

http://www.mediawisdom.co.uk/clients/autumn_newsletter/index.html

Over the past few months, we've been working with regular clients such as Warren House and Loch Fyne Restaurants, along with new clients, Betts Packaging, Carillion and Michael John Hair & Beauty

We Love....

A STAR PRINTING

For this year's Great British Duck Race we thought we should be sporting Media Wisdom Photography t-shirts, but as Duck Day crept up on us and we had a Bank Holiday Monday thrown in there too, we didn't have much time to design and organize it.  Fortunately we discovered A Star Printing who went beyond the call of duty and produced not only fantastic branded clothing on high quality fabrics, but everything arrived in plenty of time, and they were so friendly and helpful through-out the design, printing and delivery stage.  That's why we LOVE THEM! 

Not sure about the blonde model though!!?  He is available for Boris Johnson look a like parties!

http://www.astarprinting.co.uk

WE ALSO LOVE....

Inside all of us is HOPE......

This is a very personal LOVE - one of my favourite books as a young thing was 'Where the Wild Things Are', so you can't imagine how excited I am that it has been made into a film, out this Friday!

I'm not going to be disappointed am I?

 http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com/