Would like to let everyone know about The Hamlet Centre’s 2012 Spring Fair, being held on 28th April in Norwich. This wonderful organisation supports children and adults with disablities and regularly have fund raising events.

Please support, share and/or spread the word if you can, especially as their event banner was recently stolen from the Chapelfield roundabout in Norwich, so need all the help they can get with promotion.

I will be there displaying some of my portfolio of images, so please stop by and say hi if you come.

Thank you.

To see photographs of some of the groups posing on stage, click here

If you would like to see more from some of their pieces, do take a visit to the links further down, I just wish I could add their dance music to the various folders… the stage lighting produced some very contrasting and dramatic photographs.

Such a great mix of stunning solos – Nau-Ashta, Ain’t No Sunshine, Little Egypt and Saidi Solo

Wonderful groups – The Pearl, Zillicious & Turkish Gypsy Dance, Layali Al Shara, Bollywood Spice, Tribal Drums, Egyptic, African Drums, Sabri Aleel, Broken Heart, Lailaena El Kademah, and Akula Tribal

Dazzling duos and smaller groups – Ragsat Vashti, Voodoo Belly Dancer, Desert Rose and Wuthering Heights

Thank you ladies!

It should all be up and running again soon and apologies for any inconvenience, however these improvements are necessary to keep pace with new technology and functionality.

Thank you for your patience.

Some of you may recall, last year I photographed the wonderful ladies from Strictly Suffolk Charity Dance Show, as they performed to a packed theatre in Stowmarket and raised lots of money for very worthy charities.

Well they are doing it again! This time at Seckford Theatre in Woodbridge on 17th March 2012. At least 14 groups are all busy practising their routines and advertising the show as much as possible, to raise funds for:

MIND, Ipswich Cats Protection and Just Because.

Their costumes and stunning routines are really beautiful and a show not to be missed, if you enjoy dance and wish to support these ladies.

For further information on the show, it’s performers - and to buy tickets, please visit their website www.eastanglianbellydancesuperstars.co.uk/ – and their facebook page East Anglian Belly Dance Superstars

They are holding their first Wedding Fair, at which I will be displaying a portfolio of work and launching a range of wedding ‘packages’ to choose from, which will hopefully suit most needs and budgets.

Looking forward to meeting some Bride & Groom’s to be!

Hope everyones build up to Christmas has been fun and not too stressful. This final image is the chinese lantern we sent up, containing messages to people who are very special to us.

Happy Christmas everyone, I hope you and yours all share some love and happiness over the festive break.

Staying on a theme of Christmas ‘mood’, am sharing shots from a day I was out dodging snow showers and catching long shadow around the village. Had to show the two snowmen I came across – one reminded me of R2D2 and the other, of that dodgy Birds Eye bear!

Not lots of explanation to these, except that I wanted to capture a content christmas mood and as the animals in our house are a big part of the family, as with many of you I’m sure, hope I achieved just that.

As it’s the shortest day of the year, I wanted to share a sunrise, taken not far from my home, at a point it breaks the horizon in mid winter, behind this tree. From now on, it will gradually move back to the left and break earlier… roll on longer days!

Not having a good site line for sunsets where I live, so have to make a point of going out to find them (reference 9th Decembers blog!). The second image was actually taken a few years ago from the very northern end of Australia… which is taking things slightly to the extreme as I’m sure I can find (and will) great sunsets closer to home!

While on holiday, I got up early to try and catch the Heron fishing on the river. I’d already chosen my spot to sit hidden on the bank… and I waited… and I waited… but no luck that morning. The only shot I did get was as he flew overhead, so at least I did see him… fleetingly!

In fairness, I don’t really have a long enough lens at the moment for wildlife shots, but I still can’t resist trying! So I turned my attention to the river and really like the two shots, that follow. The first was playing with a very shallow depth of field. The next one, I had turned my attention to reflections in the water and just loved how the photo turned out. A real ‘water painting’ type image of a tree reflection – happy days!