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An Uplifting Norton Story

Every picture tells a bigger Norton story… 13th April 2020 and I’m back out on the streets of Norton taking pictures of what I see around me during my first ever global pandemic lockdown (you wait ages for one and then three come along). I’d been out shooting during my permitted exercise walks and I was slowly becoming desensitised to the magnitude of it all, handwritten notices in shop windows all shared to same message (some made more of an effort than others), closed until further notice #staysafe….. The quiet roads and the noisy birdsong were becoming the new Norton …

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We Are The Park Bench Heroes…

For me the humble bench on Norton Green has upped its game considerably and the distanced coffee conversationalists that sit edge to edge have filled me with admiration. We were park bench heroes, Nearly De Niros, Nought to zeros, We’d come and dream… Paul Heaton   Walking through the village in the summer of 2020 and seeing The Green and surrounding benches hustling and bustling with the chit chat of toeing the line Nortonians, filled me with local pride.  Human interaction is essential for emotional and physical health, catching up with friends is one of the great essential pleasures of …

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Norton village early morning image and the tree is lit with a torch

Photographing Norton Green with a torch…

Whilst out on one of my exercise walks I came across an interesting tree on Norton Green (reading this sentence back suggests to me that I need to be photographing families and weddings again).  A tree still shining with a copper glow set against a backdrop of dreary rainy days and melancholy winter trees, can you see why it grabbed my attention? My initial creative thought was to come back and photograph it against a fresh covering of snow, with the colours of the tree punching out against a monochromatic setting.  Unfortunately we’ve had very little snow on Norton Green, …

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Norton village early morning image and the tree is lit with flash

Norton Village Captured by me…

I’m not a landscape photographer and I don’t have a style.  I’m inspired by my surroundings and I interpret each scene as I see and feel it in the moment… I am a professional photographer and my studio is in Norton Village. I’m constantly searching the area for inspiration and the lockdowns have provided me with a number of unique image opportunities, obviously without compromising myself or my family, I’ve also stayed within government guidelines.  My aesthetic is based on my love of the subject and location. Norton is where I live and my studio has been in Norton Village …

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Elopement wedding in Durham…

My 2020 window of opportunity has been cracked open, but only enough to reduce the risk of infection.  In my 20 years of photographing a whole range of weddings, from intimate gatherings to the most lavish and expensive of weddings, until 2020 I had never photographed an elopement. That all changed when I was booked by Ellen and Rob to photograph their elopement wedding in Durham (they also asked me to be a witness and it was an honour).  I won’t waffle on about how beautiful it was to photograph this elopement wedding in Durham and the fantastic weather conditions.  …

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young girl surrounded by hydrangeas

Autumn is my favourite Photography season…

Autumn is my favourite season, so I wrote this rhyme for no reason, when the leaves go, they’ll be followed by snow and if you don’t wear a coat you’ll be freezing… Gary Walsh October 2020 My car is loaded up with photography equipment and my head is full of ideas as I set off to take some children’s autumn portraits.  My weather app said 80% chance of rain, my eyes can see 100% rain.  Thankfully I have umbrella’s, a waterproof groundsheet and my cagoule.  More importantly I have my bag of portable Godox lights.  I love adding a few …

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Socially Distancing PORTRAIT Photography…

Socially distancing portrait photography is going to be around for a while, so I thought I’d best embrace it. During the lockdown I have taken my camera out on my exercise walks and documented the changing world around me, I’ve listened to entertaining podcasts on surviving and thriving, I’ve watched webinars on marketing, editing and photographing and I’ve not been within 2 metres of any other humans other than my wife and daughter that lives at home. Now exercise and lockdown restrictions have been eased, I feel comfortable photographing families and children whilst adhering to social distancing safety measures. I’ve …

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Wedding Photography at Brinkburn Priory Northumberland.

LOVE CONQUERS ALL (SOUL MATES)… We booked our wedding near enough a year to the date- having a whole 12 months to plan and prepare. We were about to find out that Love Conquers All… Where do we start? We organised many of our suppliers as soon as we had a wedding date and got on with the planning as quick as we could. From the suits and dresses to photographer, cake and band… everything was all set! Jokes aside, our worst fears were … “did we give the right date on the invitations or what if people don’t want …

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4 hospital staff wearing PPE holding framed photographs

Lockdown Exercise Walks

I’m a decent human, and I work hard to make my world a better place. This current situation is both daunting and fascinating, every day is an effort as I normally love to be accessorised by close family and friends. On the 1st April 2020, I went on my first lockdown exercise walk. It was 6am and I got back home at 7am.  The route I decided on was one I would normally take when I want a long walk into my studio to prepare for a busy day of work.  Just me, my headphones, a bottle of hand sanitiser …

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Business Portraits and Professional Headshots…

In a very visual world, workplace portraits and professional headshots are on the increase.  The way I’m gauging this is the fact that my diary is getting booked up by companies who in the past have used Colin from accounts because he has a big camera or they have been relying on Judith’s iPhone skills.  A good portrait is all about the lighting, whether that be daylight or flash, then a flattering composition followed by a subtle amount of digital polishing. Whether you’re an actor, yoga teacher or a CEO, a professional headshot is an essential marketing tool to have …

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