Playing with Canon Cameras and Manfrotto Tripods & Heads

I have a little project going on (and on and on...!). I want to take a photograph in the same place at least once per week of the same subject. I intend to put a photobook together for the local church to sell as part of it's fundraising later this year.
My subject? Wentood Forest And seeing it is just up the road from my cottage in Llanvair Discoed it is an ideal spot.   It is also one of my favourite places to walk with my two dogs and wife. We can be there in 5 minutes and the place is so large we never have to see any human again all day!   Needless to say the dogs just love the idea!!
I'm using the same lens as well as the same camera body - Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 24-70mm f2.8 L USM. Along with this I am also using a Manfrotto tripod and joystick head.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Manfrotto tripod and joystick head

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Manfrotto tripod and joystick head

As you can see the tripod legs really extend out and I can raise the centre column and move it to 90' to the legs. This allows me to get really low down (I could get lower with this set-up) and provides loads of stability for a 10 second timed shot.

View back towards the main car park at the top of Wentwood

View back towards the main car park at the top of Wentwood

As usual comments always welcome!!

Andrew Miller

www.andrew-miller.co.uk

Rowenna & Justin with Andrew Miller Photograph

Fort William – Scotland

Yes that's correct - Fort William. Just to prove that I do travel "internationally" !!

I shot a wedding in December 2009 up in Scotland – Fort William and a few local places around. The weather forecast was spot-on. Sunny, bright, blue sky, foggy clouds and a wee bit of foggy misty stuff!!

Rowenna comes from Newport, South Wales (UK) and her mum Janice organised the whole thing from so far away. I was totally impressed that EVERYTHING and mean EVERYTHING worked to perfection – well done Janice. (Can we have you running the London 2012 Olympics now please??!!!)

It was a small intimate wedding, with only about 15 people. They wanted something outdoors, different and loving. They got all of that and more!

The couple were fantastic and madly in love! For me this image just shows how great the pair of them were!!

Now on the long journey home  editing the images and I can already see I have some very special ones there.

More images here:

Rowenna and Justin Sample Images

Snow in Wales!

Llanvair Discoed

Yup – loads of snow, and it being the Winter Solstice up I went with a camera and tripod at some ridiculous hour (actually 7am) to get these shots… albeit a little belated!

Click the link below:

Snow in Llanvair Discoed, Wales

Other Landscape images from Andrew

Nancy & Matthew with Andrew Miller Photography

The Old Court Hotel, Symmonds Yat

Well, the last wedding shoot of the year was Nancy & Matthew. And what a day it was – the snow was pretty horrendous! It was actually touch and go if I managed to get to the hotel or not, and getting back was another story in itself!!

The Old Court at Symmonds Yat is a great little hotel set in a fantastic area of the country. Thing is – when the weather gets bad it is sooo easy to get snowed in!

Anyway, all the guests managed to arrive though I think some stayed at local B&B’s rather than try and get home due to the weather.

The constant snow and time of day for the wedding stopped the outdoor group shots so I concentrated on the candid / reportage type of shots of which I managed to capture everyone in the wedding party.

Click below to see some images from this wedding!

Nancy & Matthew at The Old Court Hotel, Symmonds Yat

Thanks

Andrew

Nicola and Matthew with Andrew Miller Photography

Cwrt Bledyyn, Usk

My first wedding of the year went smoothly with Nicola and Matthew getting married at a great venue, the Cwrt Bleddyn near Usk.

I was asked at the last minute to step as the couple were going to get good friend and photographer to shoot the wedding, but due to snow and the general weather conditions they asked if I could do just in case! As it turned out their friend splipped on snow and hurt himself – lets hope he gets better soon!

It was a small wedding, about 40 guests and the room at the Cwrt Bleddyn was decked out in a gorgeous manner. Nicola & Matt got married and had a great evening partying on.

The only downer was the weather – overcast, foggy and still with snow on the ground so outdoor photos were out of the question. I had to make do with one large group shot in the main room using the curtains as  backdrop.

3 days later Nicola had her lipstick back (I always offer to carry the brides makeup in my pockets – lets face it, designers don’t design wedding dresses to hold things!!) and a CD with the images as proofs from the wedding, and all the images upload onto a secure website for viewing by friends and family.

To see some images from this wedding please click below:

Nicola & Matt at the Cwrt Bleddyn Hotel