Brian Harte People Photographer

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This year I was invited again to take the official party photographs for the Ilkley Candlelighters fund raising Ball at Rudding Park.

The Ilkley Candlelighters raise funds throughout the year in order to purchase equipment and fund treatment of children suffering from cancer.

The Ball a glamorous event and the committee set the benchmark high.

It’s a time to let your hair down, enjoy the entertainment and of course raise money for a great cause too.

There was a lot of balloons and it quickly became a sport to let them off cause as much mayhem as possible!

Auctioneer Jon Hammond whipped up the crowd in to a frenzy.

with bidding war’s for star prizes happening all around me…

Dancing seemed to be a major theme on the evening

with even a little dancing on the tables going on

The year the band was The Bogus Brothers who were a real party band!

As well as the band in The Radcliffe Room there was more entertainment including casino, multiplayer wii racing and pitch & putt

One of my favourite shots from the evening was an in love couple cuddling and laughing.

In total the night raised over £36000. I donated a prize to the auction which helped raise £800.

Along with taking the photos from the ball I also take the photographs which are used in the brochure to show the good work of the charity. Two of the photos from last year are now used on the main Candlelighters website.

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I was chatting with Rudding Park a couple of weeks ago when they told me they were holding a Valentines Ball.

My mind starting whirring with ideas and I asked “Do you have a photographer in case any one goes down on one knee?”…within a few seconds I’d somehow managed to volunteer to be offical photographer for Rudding Park!

So on Saturday evening I arrived in Harrogate hoping that someone would pop the question and knowing that even if they didn’t I’d still have some fun taking photos.

A few moments after midnight, in the early hours of February 14th, Robert Bell surprised his Valentine Tracy Kipling by proposing on one knee.

She said Yes!

Full of happiness they immediately hit the dance floor to celebrate the moment.

I am sure Robert must have been on edge all night knowing what he was about to ask. I could tell they were so in love before he asked and they were even more so after.

It was a privilege to capture the memory for them and I wish them all the best in the future!

They had a fab swing band on the night called Chris Hiltons Little Big Band (formerly Simply Swing).

If you are looking for a swing band for a wedding or event they were very good. Check them out here.

As well as Robert and Tracy there was lots more love at The Valentines Ball…

Plus lots of fun and dancing…

There was even a photo of me taken sporting my winter beard!

I had to leave before it finished as the next day I was at a wedding fair but when I left the dancing was still going strong!

This week has been charity week for me. Not only have I been involved with the Ilkley Candlelighters Christmas Fair, I was also delighted to attend and take photographs for Anita Massarella’s evening of glamour and entertainment which raised money for The Acorn Charity.

Anita is celebrating her 20th year as a leading fashion designer and the evening was compered by Gaynor Barnes from Yorkshire Television.

After a Champagne reception everyone was ushered in to the Radcliffe Room. The Fashion show kicked off with a catwalk show of Anita’s new and old designs from both her wedding and evening wear collections.

Being a people photographer I like to see faces in photos but some of these dresses have to be seen from the back to really appreciate them.

The dresses were perfect for the models to enjoy swirling around…

And sometimes there was so much dress I got lost in the material!

Moving around gave me a chance to use the light to make a more atmospheric photograph.

The models were great but the real stars of the night were the past clients and brides of Anita who graciously offered to model their wedding and evening dresses one more time.

The show ended with a human beatbox group playing out the models.

The night was organised in aid of the Acorn charity who are a local charity supporting those affected by dementia and scleroderma.

As well as the fashion show there was a charity raffle with many donated prizes.

Once the show had finished the dresses were packed away.

But the night was still you and many people stayed on to party…

…with music performed by the Jazz trio Around Midnight (01484 608388).

If my eye’s don’t deceive me the trio turned in to a 5 piece band for the evening!

I had a great evening and as I was leaving I took a photo of the impressive entrance to Rudding Park.

The fashion show urn flowers were generously supplied by Joanna McCrea from Twisted Willow flowers.

This month I am involved in a Glamourous evening at Rudding Park in Harrogate, and best of all it is in support of a local charity.

Anita Massarella couture dress designer is organising the event to support the Acorn Charity raising funds for dementia and alzheimers. Acorn Charity are a Yorkshire charity and more information about their cause can be found at their website.

Anita and her team of winning designers are celebrating their 20th year of creating stunning dresses and tell me that it will be “an evening of Red carpet glamour with a celebratory fashion show”. There will also be live Jazz, wine tasting with Rudding Park’s very own wine expert and to top it off will be compered by the lovely YTV Gaynor Barnes.

I’ll be there supporting and enjoying the event so get yourself down too!

To books your tickets for 17th November call Anita on 0113 268 7783. Tickets are £20 or £25 for front row seats.

Today I was visiting the National Media Museum with a friend and we decided to make a trip around the photography exhibition.  Part of the exhibition was audio visual and part was photography and what struck me was the lack of photography in the photographs.

For me photography has always meant drawing with light (from the Greek phos (meaning light) and graphis (meaning stylus or paintbrush) and although the photographs exhibited were full of concept and semiotics they lacked in photography as I know it. The art of using light to paint a picture is poles apart from simply pointing and shooting.

Last Sunday I shot family photos for a client and old friend. Upon seeing the photographs of their young children the father confessed that there was a world of difference between photographs and photography and when pressed for an explanation told me that any one with a good camera can take a photograph but what I had created for them was completely different. It was a wonderful sentiment that made me stop and think about what photography means to me.

When I hold a training day for eager photographers I say that once you learn to see light as a photographer the world is forever changed. From small things such as observing in a casual conversation how light is striking my friends face, and knowing instantly how to modify it, to seeing a space in the world and seeing the quality of light that is in that space, even before we have arrived at that space. Sometimes that space is a corridor or break in a forest other times it can be that the light has changed all around us with a subtle movement of a cloud or the setting of the sun.

Apart from the art of my profession, photography for me is a social interaction. A perfect blend of entertainment, hospitality and psychology. I love being able to talk, play and explore with people to relax and unlock the social barriers and get photographs that people relate to and empathise with. From the self concious 6 year old girl who thinks she must do as she is told (until she realises she doesn’t) in the photos through to the at first moody teenage boy who opens up when we discover a shared interest in science every one is different and everyone has a story.

No two days are the same…there is always different light and there is always different people which makes me realise that my original career choice to be an optician was working with the right elements of people and light only the wrong mix.

And so to answer my question: photography, for me, is the right mix of light and people.

When Trash the dress started a few years ago in America I didn’t think it would catch on over here. A couple of brides have hinted to me that they may like to do something like this after the wedding so my questions is….

You might remember Helen & David’s wedding photos, well I had an email from Kath who supplied the flowers saying that she really liked the photos and would I like to come and see her garden flower studio.

The studio was brimming with flowers and table mock-ups which Kath makes up to show every customer how their wedding flowers will look. She can also supply wedding chair covers, cakes and table decorations so it’s a one stop wedding shop and you know they will all match in colour and style.

Kath is full of energy and we didn’t stop talking all afternoon about flowers and photography. I had a gut feeling that she might be a pisces too, so I asked, and you guessed it she is! No wondered we chatted the afternoon away!

If you have your wedding flowers to organise ring Kath on 0113 255 4938 and see the studio for yourself

The wedding flower company website

The Ilkley Candlelighters 2009 Ball photos at Rudding Park are now online and a contribution from every order will go to the Candlelighters fund.

The photos can be found at http://brianharte.jambino.com with the password candlelighters2009

Thank you to Andrew McMillan, wedding photographer in Crawley Sussex, who has sent me his photos to place online alongside mine. Andrew has been giving his time to the Candlelighters photos for 14 years and has handed me the reigns after moving down to Crawley.

Thank you Andrew for your help on the night and I’ll hold you to your promise of a guest appearance at the ball in the future!

On Saturday 9th May I dusted off my suit and bow tie (dusted off from all the building work I have been having done lately!) for the annual Ilkley Candlelighters Charity Ball. The Ilkley Candlelighters are a local charity who each year raise thousands of pounds in support for the regional centre for the treatment of cancer in children.

The committee worked hard through the year to make Saturday a night everyone will be talking about for a long time to come.

This years theme was magic and along with magic I also much fun and dancing.

It was hosted at Rudding Park in North Yorkshire, a popular venue for functions and weddings. The committee had spent most of Friday and Saturday morning preparing the table decorations and magic table surprises and as you can see they did a stunning job.

The famous 80′s psychedelic rock band Doctor and the Medics headlined the event.

and even The Doctor commented on the great atmosphere of the event…

As well as raising money the night was a reason to let your hair down and have a bit of fun

My final shot of the night was of Sarah and friends. Sarah, along with her many other roles for the charity, runs the Ilkley Candlelighters website.

Earlier on in the year I made a trip to St James Hospital in Leeds to take the photographs of the children for the Candlelighters brochure. I also donated a prize to raise money on the night.

If you would like to be involved, become a sponsor or make a donation to the charity The Candleighters would love to hear from you.

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The Ilkley Candlelighters 2009 Ball photos at Rudding Park are now online and a contribution from all orders will go to the Candlelighters fund.

The photos can be found at http://brianharte.jambino.com with the password candlelighters2009

…and popped the question myself, she said yes (after a stunned pause) and now I can look forward to planning my own wedding!

I had the ring ready and had spent a few weeks looking around for just the right one. Eventually while looking at engagement rings on the web I stumbled upon Serendipity Diamonds who specialise in engagement rings.

Here is a photograph of the one I chose…

I was having a romantic break at a romantic cottage in Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire, owned by a Peter & Helen Massey who chose me to take their wedding photos in 2007. When I told Helen the good news she told me her good news, a baby girl and now I’ll be taking her Christening photos this summer!

Now, who do I get to do my wedding photos???…….