John Leech Studio

Some of my faves from Jenny-maria and Stefan Ratcliffe wonderful wedding in Morecambe

Another homage to Bill Brandt's Snicket, taken on the way to Studley Pike from Hebden Bridge. Ah, The Snicket, one of my all time faves of Brandt. This one's also for Graham Beaumont and the rest of the crew from Dallam Running Club

Stormy weather - Holme Island, Arnside and the Knot on Morecambe Bay. The outer edge of Storm Eunice.

A selection of photos from yesterday's shoot with DC Stained Glass - Debbie's Shed a mix of commissioned panels and stand alone animals and Christmas trees

Wedding photography for Francesca and Chris getting married Cragwood Country House Hotel, Windermere, in the Lake District. Look out for the amazing cake.

A fine day to race... 2nd best option was taking pics of everyone. It's been a while since I carted a decent camera to a race 😍 Please share the link with anyone you know who ran the Arnside Knott Fell Race https://johnleechstudio.smugmug.com/Events/Arnside-Knott-Fell-Race-2021/

I've been photographing this big bend on Morecambe Bay for months from my bedroom window. Last night the moonrise aligned nicely with it - most times, the moon rises far more to the east so is way too high in the sky by the time it reaches this point, or the sunlight has faded too far making a satisfactory exposure impossible.

My first wedding since the first lockdown 😄
What a great wedding, thank you to Siobhan and Jonathan Miller for choosing me to share this special day and take a portfolio of photographs for you, a good time was had by all.
Here are my 10 (or so) favorites from the day. The main venue was Radstone Hotel, Lanarkshire.
I first met Siobhan and Jonathan at Jane and Russ' wedding in Morecambe 3 years ago. Half way through the day they called me over and asked if I would consider travelling to Scotland to photograph their wedding. Of course I would, although I'm based in Cumbria I photograph weddings throughout the UK and have travelled to Germany and Finland in the past!

I had a great shoot with Debbie last Friday. It was good to catch up with her and see what she's been creating over the last year. We also ventured out to photograph two of her major commissions on location here in Cumbria. Fantastic pieces. I've wanted to see the Salmon close to after seeing Debbie's posts on DC Stained Glass - Debbie's Shed and https://www.instagram.com/dc_stained_glass/ and, of course, is was great to see the finished stag... that window is seriously large (see pic with Debbie stood next to it). The rich details, textures and colours, oooooh, so nice.

It was a pleasure to photograph DC Stained Glass - Debbie's Shed lastest stained glass commission yesterday. No surprise that her happy clients were pleased to show off their new front door and windows! More of photos of Debbie's work here: https://johnleechstudio.smugmug.com/Commercial-photography/Debbie-Copley-Stained-Glass/

I intended to post four or five more from Jane and Russ' wedding photographs, but choosing one individual shot to represent some of the sequences of expressions and emotions just doens't seem right. So here's quite a few. A really great day in Morecambe and what makes wedding photography the best job in the world. I shouldn't say this, but lets face it, signing the register shots aren't the most exciting from the day... until now. The chemistry between these two made the whole day a joy for everyone.

A fresh look at some of my wedding photos from Sarah and Rojs' wedding at the Cumbria Grand Hotel.

Bring me sunshine, in your smile
Bring me laughter, all the while
In this world where we live
There should be more happiness
So much joy you can give
To each brand new bright tomorrow
Make me happy, through the years
Never bring me, any tears
Let your arms be as warm
As the sun from up above
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine
Bring me love

Here's an oldie and an all time fave. I had no idea this guy ( I'm pretty sure it is Liam Stubbins) was going to jump in the air when he did - I'll have been saying something to the group, trying to keep everyone's attention on the camera whilst stood on top of the wobbliest step ladder Woolworths would sell (note that it is impossible to keep everyone's attention on a camera when you have more than one in a group!). A nice surprise when I came to process the set :-) Dominique Drewe-Martin Daniel Drewe-Martin Amy Shepherd Matthew Shepherd Chrissy Ashmead John Ashmead Jason Fox Jo Nrubhsif

Taken yesterday, another super stained glass piece by Debbie Copley. This one is a commissioned panel to celebrate a 50th Wedding Anniversary. Hey, that's the closest I've come to taking a wedding photograph since lockdown!

A few moments from a memorable night - though if you can remember it then you weren't there :-) Reporocessed for more black and white grit. Ah, don't you just love it when the parents teach the kids how to dance? Chrissy Ashmead John Ashmead Dominique Drewe-Martin Daniel Drewe-Martin Wedding photography Shottle Hall, Derbyshire

Emily and Magnus' spectacular finale to their 1st dance getting a great reaction from all their guests - needs to be seen large enough to make out their faces :-) Wedding photography at the Grange Hotel

Update of my 'this is what I look like' photo

A soft light start to the day. I was ready to go back to bed when the line of cloud drifted in from Arnside. One of the best dawn shoots I've had watching it develop and change.

Grange over Sands as the blue hour light fades away

One of Debbie's latest stained glass windows. Great use of the window shape. [not my photo]

Going with the beautiful flow… ‘Tis like living in an aquarium’… said the house-owner, gazing up at his newly installed panel. A pair of salmon… so lets swim backwards through how I did this one… A …

Looking back through a set of wedding photos from last year - I found this one which I didn't process at the time. Culling the extra images is always the hardest part of every wedding.

What, clouds? Oh yeah, I remember clouds. It seems like ages since any passed this way. Taken on a walk over Hamsfell.

First and last shots this morning. The blue one was taken at 4:53, the pink one at 5:08 and I was back in bed by 5:08:01

Quite a moody storm rolled through this afty.

A gritty start to the day

Today's walk from our doorstep was to see the best known bluebells in Cumbria (secret location 🤓). Needless to say, we were a week too early. Lets hope next week I don't feel we're a week too late. Here's a visual trail which will help people pinpoint the exact spot. Not.

I happened to be awake for a vibrant sunrise today, got a good pic of it too - but two and a half hours later this jumped out at me. One of those rare shots that is straight out of the camera with no fiddling at all - good enough to be from a cameraphone ;-)