Photos by Allan

Alvin and chipmonks

2011-12-23T14:05:00.001Z

Tinie

2011-11-01T20:08:00.001Z

Diane & Martin - Armathwaite Hall Wedding

2011-08-27T14:00:00.000Z

Just a quick post with some sneak peek photos from yesterdays wedding at Armathwaite Hall at Bassenthwaite Lake.

What a day for a wedding...

2011-07-17T11:12:00.001Z

We woke up yesterday to a very wet day, with the rain hammering down and bringing our week of sunshine to an end.

At 9:30 we headed off to Candice's mum's house to capture for history Candice getting ready for her wedding. With visits from Vicki from Zenya styling the hair, and Blusha of Dumfries applying the makeup the morning went really quick, and thankfully the rain died away and the sunshine came out, allowing us to get some photographs of Candice and her mum and dad beside the fantastic Beauford car owned by Derek Scott.

Meanwhile our second photographer was at Johnny's house capturing the lads getting ready.

At Wetheral church I met up with Johnny and Tony his best man, and with guests assembled the scene was set for a fantastic wedding.

The sun stayed out all through the wedding, and even allowed us to take some photographs outside the church where doves from "Doves for all Occasions" were released to symbolise external love. We then took Candice and Johnny away to a location close to Wetheral viaduct for a few images to capture the special day. Storm clouds were gathering, and in the distance we could hear the rumbles of thunder, so off to the reception at the Creighton Rugby Club in Carlisle we went for a fantastic reception.

The day didn't end there, with food provided by the Vallum Hotel, and a cake to cut and of course the first dance.

We left the couple enjoying the rest of the party at 8:30 and we headed home to backup the images and start working on getting them ready to show.

An amazing day all round, and thankfully the weather didn't spoil any of it!

What happens to the images after a Photoshoot?

2011-07-06T19:49:00.000Z

One of the questions that we get asked often is what happens to the photos after a photoshoot?

Many people think that we take the pictures, then upload the photos, which is often what people do when they have been to a party and want the pictures on Facebook quickly.

So what do we do?

First we put all the photos on to our computer, and at this stage put keywords into the photos so that they can be found quickly if need be.
The photos are then backed up to blueray discs and to additional hard drives. We would hate to loss any photos having taken them.
Next we go through the photos and remove any where people have been blinking or dont look very good.
If we have carried out a photoshoot at an event that the local paper might be interested in, then we pick a few photos and fast track them through the rest of the processing stage, so that the paper can pick them up often within a few hours of an event.
We go through the photos a number of times and whittle them down to what our team feel are the best images.

These images are then run through photoshop to carry out sharpening, colour saturation and any other processes that we feel are necessary to make them look fantastic. This might involve airbrushing, blemish removal or retouching.

Once the images are created they are all backed up many times and then small versions are created along with relevant web pages and posted on www.kelticrose.co.uk with some being put on www.facebook.com/kelticrose and of course some used on this very blog.

The images are then available to buy for around 4 months before they are removed from our website and in many cases the images files are then deleted..

From Bump to Baby

2011-06-15T22:41:00.000Z

Have you ever heard of Bump Paint Click?

This is an amazing new product from Jelli Nelli and Keltic Rose Photography

First you need to be pregnant (Sorry gentlemen). Then you come for a bump painting session with Helen from Jelli Nelli, then you have a photoshoot to show off the bump and help with your memories in years to come.

Then we post the photos on our webpage and you get a disc of photos for facebook, and a 9" x 6" photo OR £10 off any photo products.

When Baby is born you can come back for a FREE Baby photoshoot (within 3 months) and bring the family along too, and we will give you a FREE 9" x 6" photo of your choice.

Candice and Johnny's Pre Wedding Photoshoot

2011-06-12T22:05:00.001Z

We arrived at the village of Wetheral yesterday just outside of Carlisle to find a beautiful wedding already taking place at the Church. This was where I had planned to meet my next engaged couple, so a quick phone call and we met on the green instead, and enjoyed watching the wedding from a distance.

After a little while when the church was clear we moved down the hill and started a pre wedding photoshoot which allowed Candice and Johnny to get used to posing for the camera, along with getting used to me :) and my second shooter.

Unfortunately yesterday the heavens opened and cut short our photoshoot. We just hope that the bride and groom from the wedding had managed to get their photos done before the rain came down.

Lets hope we get better weather in a few weeks time for the wedding

Images now only kept for 4 months

2011-06-06T11:55:00.003Z

It's really brilliant news that we are so busy, but one of the downsides is that we are running out of webspace and computer disc space for old photos.

We have always tried to keep photos on our website for around 9 to 12 months after a photoshoot, and have tried to hang on to the images indefinately. The problem with this is that we are finding that we are using so much webspace for photos (which is quite costly) which usually are no longer purchased after around 3 months after a photoshoot.

With this in mind we have looked at a few options, of which one was to increase the prices of prints to pay for the required webspace. We decided this probably wasn't necessary if we created a new way of working. Which is that images from events, portraits, makeovers etc will now only be displayed on our www.kelticrose.co.uk website and stored for 4 months. After this time we are sorry but photos will not be available to purchase.

Wedding photos are excluded from this and will be kept for 12 months.

Don't forget that we offer the ability to have all photos from a photoshoot put onto a DVD for you to print up to 12" x 8"; or you might choose the 10 photo option. We also offer an option to put your photos to music so that you can play them in a DVD player.

Julie and Michael's wedding

2011-06-05T20:47:00.000Z

Just one more from the wedding of Julie and Michael.

If you like these photos then you will find more from the wedding at www.kelticrose.co.uk

Julie and Michael - Sneak View

2011-05-22T19:44:00.000Z

The weather forecast looked like we were in for a wet wedding day for Julie and Michael, but thankfully the rain kept away until later in the day.

Michael's parents had travelled from near Worthing to Carlisle to see their son married to his work colleague Julie and would be delighted by the fantastic wedding and excellent reception. Julie and Michael left their chef's whites behind (for the day) and dressed up for a day to remember.

Their lunch time wedding at Tullie House in the centre of Carlisle managed to stop the traffic as Julie's limo pulled up in style. After a beautiful ceremony it was drinks and photos in the gardens before sitting down to wedding breakfast and speeches.

The evening saw a few more friends from work come along to see the cake cutting and first dance, and dance the night away with Mikey's Mobile Disco.

Big Weekend lives up to it's name

2011-05-18T22:19:00.000Z

What a fantastic time... We were so lucky to get tickets for the Sunday and set off in search of a bus early on Sunday morning. So early that there wasn't even a queue for the bus, so we arrived at the airport far too early.

Standing in the rain on a Sunday morning is not the best way to spend a Sunday, but finally the gates were opened; security satisfied that my camera was on this occasion not carrying a telephoto lens, and that we only had our allowed 1 sealed bottle of water each, and in we rushed.

Straight to the main stage in a big top with flooring, where there was a change of times, and Bruno Mars was coming on first.

After Bruno Mars we went out to see the rest of the festival and get some food... To be continued

Excitement Grows

2011-05-12T19:58:00.000Z

Everyone seems to be talking about it in Carlisle at the moment. Did you get tickets? how many? what day? Have you seen Chris Moyles? Do you know where the country house is? Wow, loads and loads of questions - all about the Radio 1 big weekend.

Signs have now gone up directing the Big Weekend traffic to the airfield. Tents are now in place and the airfield has taken on a party like atmosphere. Reports of stars etc being sighted at university, the rex bingo hall, the bandstand in town and all over the place. Even in the local pub in Armathwaite. Well I say local. It is if your living in a country manor near Kirkoswald, owned by Michael and Marie Lawson. Lovely house and I hope it does well from its appearance on TV.

So what will the weekend bring? Shattered silence ;) Loads of people bringing money into the local economy, loads of fun and yep more excitement.

Must admit I'm really looking forward to Lady Gaga on Sunday :)

These were quick snaps taken a few minutes ago of the airfield.

Light on the river

2011-05-09T21:40:00.002Z

The River Ouse at Bedford, is a great place by day to watch the swans and the rowers doing battle, but by night it takes on a fantastic atmosphere with coloured lights.

I spend quite a bit of time working for a company in Bedford and often stop at the Swan Hotel just beside the river. Would i recommend it, well lets just say it's getting better :)

Face to Face

2011-05-08T21:18:00.000Z

Most of my time is spent taking pictures of people, and so it was great taking pictures of people as art.

I love these masks that dominate the town in Bedford

Julie & Michael Pre Wedding Photoshoot

2011-05-07T20:40:00.000Z

It's not long until Julie and Michael tie the not at Tullie House in Carlisle, so we went for a walk in the local park the other day. The sun was beating down so Julie and Michael enjoyed one of their few days off from work together.

Remember all of our wedding packages come with a free pre-wedding photoshoot. Our prices can be found on http://www.kelticrose.co.uk/ along with more photos from this photoshoot.

Jo's Iconic Makeover

2011-05-07T15:42:00.000Z

What a great 21st birthday present for Jo. Her idols are Cheryl Cole and Emma Watson (from Harry Potter), so we did some research and came up with some iconic photos of these stars that Jo liked. We then set about with our partners Jelli Nelli from http://www.jellinell.com/ to makeover Jo in the style of Cheryl and then in the style of Emma and take pictures in similar poses to those that Jo had chosen.

Below are a few from the photoshoot.

If you like the idea of a photoshoot in the style of your icon then why not give us a shout. All our prices are on http://www.kelticrose.co.uk/

Pirelli International Rally 2011

2011-05-02T21:05:00.000Z

Saturday saw the Pirelli Rally start and end in Carlisle. This year many of the events revolved around the racecourse so myself and the kids went up to have a wander round a few times during the day. The rally itself took place in Newcastleton forest, and Kielder forset.

Ruaridh and I went up about 8pm just in time to see the winners coming through, just as the sun was starting to set, and just as it was getting cold ;-) .

First place went to David Bogie and Kevin Rae who were in the Mitsubishi Evo 9 followed by the lads from Ireland Robert Barrable and Damien Connolly in a Skoda Fabia S2000.

Behind the Scenes

2011-05-02T18:01:00.000Z

It's not often that I post behind the scenes pictures, but I really liked this one which includes Helen from Jelli Nelli (http://www.jellinelli.com/) working with Jo who really wanted to have photos in the style of Cheryl Cole and Emma Watson.

Valentine Photo Shoot

2011-02-24T20:29:00.000Z

Candice and Johnny were lucky winners in our 12 days of Christmas competition and won not only a photoshoot together, but also a bottle of sparkling wine, a box of chocs, and a framed print.

I think they had loads of fun last week working with myself, and Jelli Nelli. Jelli Nelli taking care of the hair and makeup.

Later this year we have the pleasure of recording the fantastic day which is Candice and Johnny's Wedding. Should be great :)

Snow Lifestyle shoots

2010-11-28T19:23:00.000Z

Wow, was it really May time when we last updated our blog, Oops...

So the snow has hit Carlisle area and we thought we'd go out and do a few lifestyle shoots in the snow.

Why not take your family for a bit of fun, and we can capture it on camera at the same time. Lifestyle photoshoots in the Carlisle area are £30 for an hour, and you get a 9" x 6" photo or £10 off a photo product. For the next few weeks we are also offering FREE hair and make up from Jelli Nelli

Interested then give us a shout - photos@kelticrose.co.uk

Emma & Tony's Wedding

2010-05-30T22:30:00.000Z

Last Saturday was a fantastic day for a wedding. The sun came out and shone all day long. Tullie House in the centre of Carlisle was the venue and was an excellent place for photos.

Good luck to Emma and Tony, and I hope their enjoying their honeymood in the Sun.

Emma & Tony Prewedding Shoot

2010-04-25T16:29:00.005Z

What a stunning day it was in Carlisle yesterday. I met up with a lovely bride and groom to be to have a look around their wedding venue and get to know each other.
Really looking forward to their wedding in a few weeks time now :)

Illuminating Hadrians Wall

2010-03-14T10:47:00.005Z

The photos taken from Bowness on Solway at the end of the wall.

Late afternoon a miniture army was assembled of the kids from the village, after recruitment they were marched from the school to one end. They then picked up another band of roman soldiers and marched back through the village, to the site of the last beacon on the hadrians wall.

After a short ceremony the beacon light was lit and flaming arrows were catapulted and fired from bows into the sea.

More photos can be seen at http://www.kelticrose.co.uk/eventpics

Wedgewood Printing Works - Burslem

2010-03-13T14:54:00.002Z

Time has certainly moved on in Burslem, Stoke on Trent. What was once a really impressive office has now fallen into rack and ruin.

You might have seen this bridge before!

2010-03-01T22:34:00.001Z

Ok so it has to be done, but I really like Skiddow in the background peaking through the mist.

Marion and Alan's Wedding Day

2010-02-09T21:26:00.003Z

What a beautiful day for a wedding! Last week we had the pleasure to attend Marion and Alan's wedding in the Lodore Falls hotel at Derwentwater in the Lake District.

More photos can be found at www.facebook.com/kelticrose

Derwent Water

2010-01-23T23:21:00.003Z

I don't take that many landscape photos, but whilst at the Lodore hotel the other day I took a walk to the jetty.

The Derwent was still frozen over in parts, and the mist hung around waiting for the rain to finish off the day.

This would make a beautiful place for wedding photos, but the road down to it looks a bit washed away at the moment, so instead I hope to do some informal prewedding shots around here.

Great shoot last Sunday

2010-01-21T21:28:00.001Z

Had a brilliant time last Sunday, a lovely family came for a studio session and at the end brought in their two dogs.

Lodore Falls

2010-01-16T21:51:00.006Z

Today was a day of rain, and it brought the snow running off the fells. The Lodore Falls stand next to a beautiful hotel where we are lucky enough to be wedding photographers in a few weeks time.

We couldn't let the moment pass without having a look at the falls. The roar was fantastic, and I might post the video in a few days to show how noisy it was.

Give me that !!

2010-01-09T18:35:00.003Z

After -14 C last night it was a great day for a walk out to the local pond today. The pond was frozen over such that folks were walking on it. (Not to be recommended).

The poor ducks looked a bit lost, "who had pinched the water!". We decided to feed them but the Gulls were a real pest. One even tryed to take the bread out of a ducks mouth! Thankfully on this occasion the mallard won.

Happy Penguin

2010-01-04T17:20:00.000Z

As if Christmas and New Year weren't enough to put up with we also have a birthday over the festivities.

Our middle son was born on new years day and as he is Club penguin daft we thought this cake was fitting for him. If you've never heard of Club Penguin then thats ok I can send the boy round to talk to you for hours and hours about it. In a nutshell its a Disney virtual world that is free to use, unless you want to do certain things, then it costs. Yep you guessed it - he wanted the extra bits ;)

PS - The tree is still up :) and I'm off down south.

Is Christmas Over?

2010-01-03T17:46:00.002Z

Like many I return to work tomorrow, so I ask is Christmas over? Should the tree come down or do we wait until epiphany?

(This isn't my tree by the way ;) - just one I was commissioned to photograph ).

Did you know?

2010-01-02T18:15:00.004Z

That today's date is a Palindrome 02-01-2010, BUT only if you're an American! as in 01-02-2010. It's that sort of useless but interesting information that sometimes gets fired at you from Twitter.

Well it may have been a palindrome but it was definately a problem

The hill at the top of the street was so icy that for most of the morning cars couldn't get out. By late afternoon it was fine, but will probably be bad again tonight.

As you can see from the pic, it doesn't take much to stop the world.

A New Year

2010-01-01T17:33:00.001Z

Happy New Year!

Carlisle Castle must be one of the coldest places in the town on a wintery day, unless you happened to be one of the gentry that were able to sit in the great hall by the big fireplace. I have a feeling that most of my ancestors would have been down in the dungeons, with no fire.

Bamburgh

2009-02-01T12:21:00.003Z

Bamburgh in the North East of England is an amazing castle.

Last year the family went to see it whilst we were on holiday in Alnwick.

January 1st 2009

2009-01-01T22:37:00.004Z

Wow 2009!

and hello old Blog :) - I feel a bit like mole in Moles Christmas where he is on his way to Ratty's house and suddenly thinks about his house, which he hasn't been too for ages. After a lot of looking he finds his house and then wonders why he ever left it.

So today is the start of something new. It's also A's birthday so in honour of him here he is.

Easter Time

2006-04-17T11:38:00.001Z

Easter Time - after our trip to the Cathedral we all headed to the local park to roll some painted eggs.

C is now 9, A 8 and R will be 5 at the end of next month, and Rosemary well she's not telling :)

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T12:13:00.000Z

R and Dad

2006-02-13T21:55:00.001Z

Ullswater

2006-01-25T20:59:00.000Z

Bewcastle Cross

2006-01-22T23:00:00.001Z

C and I took a trip up to Bewcastle which is on the borders.

Well actually it was a dull and overcast day so the real photo (before photoshop) is the one below:

After a bit of photoshop

2006-01-09T23:33:00.001Z

Little boy lost in thought

I altered the levels and cropped the photo in tight, to concentrate just on R.

Blackpool Tower

2006-01-01T21:29:00.000Z

It could be the Loch Ness Monster

2006-01-01T21:28:00.000Z

Under the waterfall

2006-01-01T21:26:00.000Z

Birthday Ice Cream

2006-01-01T21:25:00.000Z

Blackpool Zoo

2006-01-01T21:20:00.000Z

The Eyes Have It

2006-01-01T21:17:00.000Z

Chocolate Box House

2006-01-01T21:11:00.001Z

Splashing around in Silloth

2006-01-01T21:08:00.000Z

Davaar

2006-01-01T21:05:00.000Z

Looking across to Davaar Lighthouse

Rockcliffe

2006-01-01T20:59:00.000Z

On Point

2006-01-01T20:56:00.000Z

Merlin

2006-01-01T20:47:00.000Z

Whitehaven Festival 2005

2006-01-01T20:29:00.000Z

Over the Edge

2006-01-01T20:27:00.000Z

Talkin Tarn Thoughts

2006-01-01T20:23:00.000Z

Hadrians Wall

2006-01-01T20:18:00.000Z

8th January 2005 - Carlisle Floods

2006-01-01T20:02:00.000Z

Wonder if the post will go on time?

2005-10-14T20:24:00.007Z

The Heron on Gigha waits for the fish

2005-10-14T20:24:00.006Z

Gigha harbour

2005-10-14T20:24:00.005Z

Here comes the Cally Mac

2005-10-14T20:24:00.004Z

A misty day in Campbeltown

2005-10-14T20:23:00.006Z

On the trip to Gigha

2005-10-14T20:23:00.005Z

Gigha Church

What are you looking at

2005-10-14T20:23:00.004Z

2005-10-14T20:22:00.004Z

Machrihanish Beach - Very Busy on a good day

2005-10-14T20:22:00.003Z

Carradale Harbour

2005-10-14T20:22:00.000Z

The Guliona comes in, bringing with it the fruit of the sea

2005-10-14T20:21:00.002Z

Is Linda sitting on the seat?

2005-10-14T20:21:00.001Z

The Campbeltown Harbour

2005-10-14T20:21:00.000Z

Mull of Kintyre in the mist

2005-10-14T20:20:00.000Z

Campbeltown Whirl

2005-10-14T20:08:00.001Z

Still Life

2005-10-14T20:03:00.002Z

The Rally comes to Carlisle
@K.Allan Blackett