David Jenkins Photography Blog

Winter Wedding, Dunsley Hall Hotel

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:30:00 -0500

A few pictures from the recent wedding I shot for Lucy and Nick in Staffordshire at a lovely old hotel (with some great gargoyles in the grounds!).

If you would like to get in touch regarding your wedding please feel free to call on 07916 337847 and we discuss everything you'd like or you can get in touch via the contact page on the main website here.

gloucestershire wedding photographers, fine art wedding photographers

gothic songs in the key of life

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:26:00 -0500

Some local flooding recently meant there were a few photographic opportunities to catch the high water mark. After editing the shot below it seemed to take on a rather gothic life of it's own which made me think about some of the tracks I've got from that style. If you weren't into the darker music at 14, here's the time to try. I was persuaded by some of the music at that age but not the clothes (although it has to be said black was a favourite of mine) and strangely I seem to enjoy more of it now than I did then.. I think I got quickly drawn by music with a faster more aggressive energy, namely, Nirvana, Pavement, Huggy Bear, The Breeders and Sonic Youth etc. The bands I was familiar with in my late teens such as the God Machine and the Cranes I also remember fondly as having interestingly dark moods but unfortunately they still languish somewhere in the loft on D90 cassettes - I will revive them someday though! This playlist beneath I've been listening to for some time now and although not all goth has that feel and certainly creates the kind of atmosphere that when played at the right time can be powerful. You can hunt them out on Spotify or where-ever - enjoy!

1.Bela Lugosi's Dead Nouvelle Vague 2.Gimme danger Iggy pop 3.Summer In Town Never Blue 4.Dr. Bucks' Letter The Fall 5.Just Like Honey The Jesus and Mary Chain 6.Ghost Rider Suicide 7.Rosemary's Baby Main Theme Krzysztof Komeda 8.A Short Term Effect The Cure 9.Insight Joy Division 10.If I Had a Heart Fever Ray 11.Velvet The Big Pink 12.The Hanging Garden The Cure 13.Schedule for using pillows and beanbag Kinski 14.Betrayal (Sorcerer Theme) Tangerine Dream 15.Dear One Pisces

It should be noted Nouvelle Vague are far from gothic but the track Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus is a classic from the genre which should be checked out. Also for anyone unfamiliar with Joy Division the small amounts of live footage there is of the band makes for compulsive viewing: She's Lost Control

Winter Wedding, St.Albans

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:20:00 -0500

I was about to put up my latest wedding then remembered I still hadn't put this one up at the end of last year. A military wedding with Tony looking resplendent in his uniform. I had shot Nikki's brothers wedding at the end of 2008 so it's always nice to see familiar faces on the day! Here are some of my favourites!

contemporary wedding photographer Gloucestershire, natural wedding photography

Let there be vintage love .... a 2009 retrospective!..part 2

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:03:00 -0500

The second of the round ups from the weddings I never featured the first time round. Hope you enjoy!!

wedding photographer Gloucestershire, fine art wedding photography Gloucestershire

We cover weddings across the whole of the UK and one or two each year abroad. If you would like to get in touch to talk through your wedding then do give me a call and we can chat about your day. As my dates do fill up quickly please enquire early. Dates are filled on a first come first served basis. My number is 07916 337847 and my portfolio is here.

Independent on Sunday

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:46:00 -0500

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I had entered a photograph into a competition run by the Independent on Sunday and the British Heart Foundation. I was completely surprised last week to discover my image had won first prize! The image was printed last week in the Independent on Sunday covering a half page. If i'd have known my words would also have been printed I would have perhaps thought longer about how best to describe the theme which was based on solitude, it came out rather more garbled however.

Here's the quote from the paper:

"Independent on Sunday Picture Editor, Sophie Batterbury explained why she and her fellow judges chose David’s photograph to be the winner “This is an incredible photograph, you really empathise with the man about to take the plunge into the ice cold pool! David’s composition is strong and striking in colour with the red against the snow white background. It has a natural feel and is really well taken.”

If you get a chance it's currently in an exhibition beside the London Eye on the South Bank until the 14th February.

contemporary wedding photography gloucestershire, fine art wedding photographers London

Portraits of Power

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:10:00 -0500

It's not every day you get a call from the Global Director of Marketing for GlaxoSmithKline. One of the biggest brands in the world, Ash Taylor joined them after having been the head of marketing at Coca Cola for Developing Regions. After he was asked to be one of the judges on this years Drum Marketing Awards he decided he needed a contemporary portrait. The brief was relaxed, modern and professional. With this kind of portrait there are many subtleties that can affect how the sitter is viewed and we chatted about how exactly he wanted to be seen and decided the Hotel Du Vin in Cheltenham was a suitably sophisticated backdrop to accompany a few studio shots in my newly converted studio room in the house. The image of power today, combines the look of being approachable as well as confident; Ash has both in spades naturally which helps an awful lot.

Let there be vintage love .... a 2009 retrospective!..part 1

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:32:00 -0500

A round up from 2009, better late than never! Here are a few highlights from last year. The focus here is on all the shots from weddings I never included on the blog the first time round. There are one of two favs in there that have been been posted before. The colour shots are vibrant and vintage, and the black and white are the subtle moments that I like to capture at every wedding.... enjoy!

If you are interested in finding out my availability, please contact me via the contact page on the main website. Dates fill quickly so do enquire early. David.

Wedding photography gloucestershire , vintage wedding photographers gloucestershire

British Heart Foundation Photography Competition

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:49:00 -0500

I entered this competition recently organised by the British Heart Foundation to raise awareness. The rules stated that the theme was Red for the Heart. The colour red must be incorporated into the photo. The winners are announced next week as part of the start of National Heart Month and there will be an exhibition of selected prints on the South Bank next to the London Eye until the 15th February. If you do want to donate to the British Heart Foundation please go their website for all the information: British Heart Foundation. Hope you enjoy my three entries!

Wedding photography gloucestershire, Fine Art Photography

Outer Places in Twilight

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:08:00 -0500

I went out recently (just before the heavy snow) with my dog and my camera to a wood I hadn't been to before near my home in Gloucestershire. It looks out over Cheltenham and in the evening light the mood it conjures is truly remarkable. The light pretty much disappeared as we got there leaving strong colours in the skies which was the plan. For photographers, to give you an idea of just how dark it was, for some of the shots inside the woods I was shooting at iso 1600 f4 and hand holding down to a 25th of second. The mood however low light gives you is not achievable any other way in way in my experience. A great master of this and someone who I've mentioned many times on this blog as I'm a big fan, is Joakim Eskilden who takes fantastic shots in the twilight. Hopefully some of these shots will shortly be finding their way into an exhibition of my work; more information to come on that though.

wedding photography gloucestershire

Summer Days

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:18:00 -0500

After spending a bit of time out in Gloucestershire shooting a few shots in the snow, I thought this might help for people not so happy with it. I was rooting through some old pictures for my girlfriends sister, event designer Clare Kavanagh and I came across this one from a wedding from a few years ago in Majorca that I'd completely forgotten about. It sums up the feel of warm Meditereanean air pretty well. Clare has just set up a solo company specialising in events of all kinds called Clare Kavanagh Events and she also organises the annual supercool food festival, the Wimborne Food festival. If you live in the Dorset area you should check it out in October.

Snow Music

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:05:00 -0500

I am huge music fan, I've mentioned this before, so here is a mix for anyone who enjoys modern classical, ambient, soundtrack, folk or chilled seventies. The snow is falling and this is the kind of music that works for me when you're driving home through white snowy fields and there's no reason for conversation ...

Winter Woozy Chill

The shot above I took last year when we had snow from the top of Cleave Hill. I have taken a few more this year and they'll shortly be making an appearance.

Lucy and Mike's Gloucestershire wedding

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:09:00 -0500

Here are the images finally up, from Lucy and Mike's glorious Cheltenham wedding from the very stylish grounds of the Pump Rooms. These are a few of my favourite shots!

What is cool?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:27:00 -0500

Not so long ago I purchased a vinyl copy of the re-mastered "histoire do melody nelson" by Serge Gainsbourg. I put it on while I was still in bed the next morning and after a couple of tracks of Serge's dulcet whispers over languid bass lines I started thinking "wow this is cool (and by proxy I must be pretty damn cool too)". Or not. The point being, the images inside the sleeve, the music and voice of the man himself are, and I'm not overstating the issue here, dripping with sexy dry sophistication like only the French can serve up. It's the kind of music that makes you want to take up smoking (if you didn't have to huddle in doorways every time you wanted a fix). I then started pondering what it was that makes an image cool (seeing as this is a photography blog) and what "cool" is in general. Someone being cool in reality and an image/film being cool are two very different things, at least to me anyway. If I meet someone laid back or socially intelligent or any number of other fine qualities, you might be thinking "yeah they were cool", but if that same person was then photographed those things don't necessarily translate and therefore you're looking for other points of reference. So what images do I think are cool (in the sense of oozing sophistication, sex appeal, youthful rebellion etc etc. as opposed to simply a great image just being "cool") The images that spring to my mind, (without going overboard on the obvious connection that good bone structure helps develop your iconic status) are, the images of the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and bands of that ilk, actors who were known for their enigma as well as their work such Dean, Bardot or Brando, the work of the fantastic French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino and as mentioned a plethora of images that came from the time of the French New wave and the 60's art scene as depicted in the film Blow Up a time which generally oozed a sultry atmosphere infused with sex.

To tie up these thoughts (or ramblings depending on your viewpoint) the depiction of cool is something fairly intangible and difficult to create artificially without the result simply being another fashion shot. The subject and more importantly their attitude at the moment of capture are vital to creating that feeling. The look of cool is perhaps the biggest branding trick there is; and maybe all the things we think have deeper resonance are just linked to one big marketing facade anyway, feeding our desire for an unattainable chic (and maybe that's the reason why I bought that Serge Gainsbourg album in the first place), but on the other hand if something makes you feel cool, then there's usually something else at play behind the look and that's the character or mindset of the subject. To be near that approach to life is perhaps what we want, whether we have it or not.

To me several shots of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin (below) sum up what I view as cool and they seem to have a great connection in the images some sultry, some sexy and some fun.

Above a great shot on the set of a film by Jean Bapiste Mondino. This shot below unfortunately I haven't discovered who shot it, but it's a great natural moment and when combined with the fashion and s tyle it's exactly what I love in great reportage shots.

Keeping close to weddings, this famous shot of Mick and Bianca Jagger has a number of things I enjoy, a fleeting moment feel, animated expressions, movement, sex appeal and fantastic style. Taken by the great Patrick Lichfield famous for his swinging sixties London shots (as well as many celebrities) he managed to fill images full of vivid glamour.

Lastly a shot of the band that are perhaps the epitome of cool, The Velvet Underground. At some point I'll get some other shots up of bands that present a certain attitude.For the time being this is one I like, just relaxed but well composed. There is another shot somewhere that I love where John Cale is the central focus, and he for me had the best look, slightly dark, very unique and usually with a violin in hand.

A quick look!!... Lucy and Mikes Cheltenham wedding

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:50:00 -0400

This was a great wedding for two big reasons, Lucy is a childhood friend of Sarah's and I've come to know her and Mike over the time I've been with Sarah so it always fun and relaxing to be around familiar friendly faces. The second reason being it all happened locally. I travel a fair bit for weddings, wh ich I'm more than happy to do as I enjoy seeing new places and meeting many different people, but on this occasion it was nice not to have to venture too far.

Cheltenham is a great area for anyone that hasn't been here before and some of the surrounding countryside is classic Gloucestershire and Cotwolds. Anyway the wedding was a glamourous and fun occasion, here's a quick shot before I get more up next week.

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait prize 09

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:18:00 -0400

I meant to put these up a long while back as the selection for the exhibition finished in August and alas my entries were not part of that list, once again. I got a feeling for a short time (I'm very much an optimist) one of my shots could well have made it through (despite the other 59 999 entries) as it was a shot that fit their criteria well in that it was about the identity of an individual (in this case my girlfriends' father - sitting where he likes to sit to have a cigarette - it also means he has the pleasure of being surrounded by his tools). Persistence is the key I feel and I will be entering next year. Go and see the exhibition if you're in London, it opens at the National Portrait gallery... sometime soon.

Big thanks to my friends, Wing and Wing and also Simon for generally stopping the cloth go everywhere.