I have just got back from Chillington Hall’s open day and I want to thank the many people that came along, I was rushed off my feet all day so if I didn’t manage to answer all of your questions then please feel free to call or email. I know there were a few people that wanted to talk more in depth about albums and the different things that I offer, I have a few pages here on my blog that cover the different products and services I offer and they can be found here.

If you would like to discuss things further please do get in contact so we can arrange a consultation in the comfort of your own home.

As the recommended wedding photographer at Chillington Hall, I will be attending this sundays open day and to show you how wonderful your wedding could be, I have uploaded this slideshow for you.

All images used in this short film have been shot at Chillington

Doors are open from 11am until 4pm, hope to see you there!

Every year the NEC plays host the the biggest UK trade show for the photographic and imaging business. I have attended the show for several years and this year I helped out my good friend Uzair from SF digital while he gave a presentation on the business side of portraits for Nikon.

You can see the photos I took as well as read Uzair’s thoughts on the day here.

SF Photo School is a great resource for photographers in all parts of their career and I recommend taking a look.

I am thrilled to announce that my new website design is now live at www.greswolde.com

The new design brings bigger images, an all new gallery as well as more information on weddings and portraits.

We have loads of ideas to help you prepare this Christmas.

Portraits are the perfect way to commemorate life’s milestones and Christmas is a fantastic time to sit back and think about the year that’s coming to a close. If this is your first year as Husband and Wife or the first Christmas in your new home why not mark the occasion with a fun photo session and a beautiful portrait which will remind you of it for years to come.

Our beautifully crafted photographs will make the perfect gift for friends or loved ones to cherish forever.

Baby’s first Christmas is a magical time for everyone to remember, why not take a look at our special greeting card packs which are personalised with your choice of image and start from under £2 per card!

You could surprise your loved one with an early present, treat them to a wonderful portrait session to really show them how much you love them.

On top of all of this we have crafted a special offer thats sure to get you in the Christmas mood!

Have a wonderful, personal location portrait session and take all of you pictures on a disk for the special price of just £99 (disk usually £200)
And because we really do like gifts at Christmas, we are reducing our 6 inch, 10 page portrait album (20 prints) from £150 down to only £80

So thats a portrait session, a disk of your photographs and an album containing 20 of your favourite images for under £180, thats a saving of £246

Don’t miss out this Christmas
Book today to avoid disappointment
01902 780010
or use the contact form below [contact-form]

A few weeks ago in one of my many tweets I announced I was working on an exciting new project, well today I can let you all into that secret.

I will be co-hosting a series of seminars with my good friend Uzair Kharawala from SF photo school. The seminars will cover the new and emerging market of combined photography and video. We will be covering three areas, namely, portraits, make overs and action sports.

I am really looking forward to these events and expanding the services I offer to my clients and now to other photographers. More information about the seminars will appear on my corporate website www.greswoldephotography.co.uk in due course and as soon as I start to offer these new services to clients I will blog about them here and feature the information on my main website www.greswolde.com

In the meantime, here is a session Uzair and myself shot at Chicksands bike park.

BMX 4X promo from Greswolde Photography on Vimeo.

Just a note to let you all know that as recommended photographer, I will be attending the Chillington Hall open day on Sunday 17th October 2010.

As usual, I will have a selection of albums available and will be more than happy to discuss your requirements for your big day.

Just to let you all know you can come down and see me at the Molinuex wedding fair on Thursday 17th of June. Doors open from 6:30pm until 8pm

It’s only a short show but its sure to be packed full of great suppliers and lots of bubbly brides. You don’t have to be a fan of Wolves football club to enjoy the show as its a great opportunity to view suppliers products and get some great advice while your there!

Map and directions to the Molineux can be found here

UPDATE

Today I received news that our government have backed down on clause 43 of the digital rights bill.

Many thousands of photographers have campaigned against this clause that could have seen our livelihoods threatened. Congratulations to us all and many thanks to the people who helped.

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I have been aware for around a year that the government intended to rewrite a large proportion of the UK copyright laws surrounding the digital online use of photographs, in fact, I wrote about in this blog article. I was also made aware a few months ago on how the government planned to give non-commercial websites free reign on any image they so desire in an attempt to “curb copyright infringement” and to “make getting clearance to use an image easier” these statements are not only laughable but they are totally ludicrous. Its similar to saying we are removing all national speed limits in an attempt to reduce speeding offences. There has been a petition set up on the 10 Downing street website and I urge all of you to sign up here.

The government has now gone one step further by trying to force through the Digital economy bill. This bill basically states, among other things, that if the copyright owner of a photograph can not be found after a reasonable search, commercial publications can use said work after paying a small fee to a collecting body. The bill calls these photographs “orphaned works” and as the copyright owner of an image used in this way you are able to apply to receive whats left of this tiny fee after both the collecting authority and the government have had their share, thats assuming you notice your image is being used in the first place.

To compound the problems the bill makes no definition of what a reasonable search is and makes no attempt to ensure orphaned works are avoided in the first place. In virtually all occasions that a photographer is either commissioned by a publication, or a publication legally licences an image, they state that no copyright information can be placed on the image and in many cases that are not obliged to print a by line stating who took the image and both of these two actions will lead to orphaned works. Once a professional photographer loses their right to control where their images are reproduced they also lose the right to this revenue stream which will push prices up to cover this missing revenue. It also removes a photographers right to decide where and for what purpose their photographs are used for, for instance, I may decline the use of my images for uses that I find either distasteful or morally objectionable, once this bill is passed all of my wishes and the wishes of my clients will be ignored after a “reasonable search”.

If your reading this as either a customer or as someone with an interest of photography please do not assume this only applies to professional photographers, in fact it may apply more to you that it does to me. I am fairly easy to find, a search for Martyn Greswolde on google.co.uk shows that any of the links from the first page will get to my contact information. I also embed code (called IPTC data) into every single photograph I take with my contact details, web address and copyright information. How many casual photographers are this easy to find? to compound the issue many casual photographers post images on sites such as Flickr using nicknames that would be almost impossible to trace back to an individual, so your images are more at risk than mine.

You may think that it would be cool and flattering if your images were used and if you could receive a couple of pounds for the privilege everything is great but what if your image is used to advertise an embarrassing product or worse for something you find questionable? You would have no recourse to have the image removed but you would still receive the few pounds if you could prove you took the image. There are several petitions on the 10 Downing street website relating to this bill and they can be found here, I would urge everyone of you to read these petitions and sign up for them.

Once again the UK government have proven they can not be trusted with individuals rights and are not concerned by public or small businesses concerns or opinions.

There are a lot of web resources available on these topics, a few I have found useful are here-
Long but very detailed – http://www.copyrightaction.com/forum/uk-gov-nationalises-orphans-and-bans-non-consensual-photography-in-public?page=1
or a more concise post – http://www.wirefresh.com/uk-photographers-stop-government-plans-to-strip-you-of-your-copyright/