In Praise of Older Women

 

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve signed up with the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency and am currently working on my next book project, In Praise of Older Women. Nudity, glamour, sex and humour (strictly no Photoshop!) are used to celebrate REAL women alongside their remarkable life stories.

Criminal London

Following my book photography for Size Matters Not (adapted by the BBC as Life's Too Short), I'm thrilled to be collaborating for the first time with my author husband, Kris Hollington. Criminal London is a photographic guide to the capital's underworld and you can now pre-order on Amazon. It is published by Aurum and out in March 2013 (so there will be more shameless self-promotion nearer the time :-)

Here come the Dancing Queens!

Respect to Lexington Catering for another night of wild shenanigans; the 1970s relived by Lexington's hard-working staff at the Light Bar in Shoreditch. And, boy, some of the guises had been months in the planning!

And here's what Lexington had to say about me:

Click below to see some more outrageous outfits!

Emma's Birthday Bash

It was a pleasure to be called back after first shooting the Big 4-0 Birthday Bash of Emma's husband, George. This time it was for Emma's own birthday and it was an impressive do with ice statues, oyster feast and  the one-and-only New York band, Odyssey.

Licia and Kellie get civilly partnered

There's nothing like a good party wedding and Licia and Kellie know how to rock'n'roll, baby! At one point, I suggested doing some pics near the flowerbeds. Oh alright, I was planning to do a - heaven forbid - posed shot, but what I got was a jump, tussle and roll-around in a flowerbed (above) - like I said, not your average wedding. Click below to see more pics (and the best wedding cake I've ever seen, including my own).

LexingTEN Charity Auction

Hats off to Lexington Catering who, as part of their ten-year anniversary, are finding ways to give back - this charity auction was in aid of the Ben Jonson School in Mile End. Co-hosts Reed Smith were to thank for the event's fantastic views over London as it was held on their premises on the 31st floor of the Broadgate Tower. The evening involved guests dressing up as chefs to carve their own delicious leg of lamb, a fierce competition for the most creative trifle design (let's just say that there were some very creative designs out there and...not very edible ones) and, of course, some even fiercer bidding to get some of the top prizes (helicopter flights over London, anyone?)

UK Sport Olympic debrief

I was chomping at the bit to shoot this media briefing for UK Sport because I got to take photos of (and with - YAY!) Katherine Grainger, the most successful British female rower of all time. She's proof of what you can achieve - a 3x silver winner, she pulled off gold at 2012 at the "grand old age" of 37. Roll on 2016 in Rio - fingers crossed Grainger decides to go for it!

I was in awe to meet and photograph Kate Cross for the Sunday Times Style magazine. Kate is a consultant paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital who performs keyhole surgery on babies as small as the one in the photo. To read Olivia Gordon's article, please click HERE

Fatima and Adrian's Central London Wedding

Fatima and the girls got ready at the Manderville Hotel in Mayfair, where Katy Richards was in charge of hair and make-up. Fatima wore such a jaw-dropping Pronovia gown, we had to find a suitably regal backdrop. Hey presto - Tower Bridge just happened to be on route to the reception :-)

I was really pleased to shoot for the Sunday Times Style Magazine, especially as it meant meeting this fascinating young rabbi - Miriam Berger - who is still very much in a minority of female rabbis in Britain.  To read the full feature by Olivia Gordon, please click here.

East London DIY Wedding

So, I recently moved home and news got out that I shoot weddings - to say that I was a little bit nervous when my neighbours booked me for their big day is an understatement! But Lisel and Phil were definitely one of the most chilled couples I've ever photographed and their wedding was brilliant - family and friends were roped in to decorate the local school (an Edwardian Hall with gorgeous art deco features) and Phil even polished his baking skills for their own three-tiered wedding cake. Click on the photo to see more.

Cooling Castle Barn Wedding

Hannah and Enrico exchanged their vows at this hidden gem in Kent, Cooling Castle Barn. We were so lucky as we had the perfect spring weather which lasted just until the group shots, then the heavens opened and everyone ran for shelter. As so often before a downpour, we had really beautiful light, so the feel of the photos is soft and summery. Hope you enjoy the browse!

Little Shop of Horrors

It was a real pleasure shooting Westminster Kingsway's thespians and stars-in-the-making. The man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors (three girls in the middle) was the meanest and most ingenious re-invention of the original. Click to see more pics.

Silk's Day at Lincoln's Inn

It was a real honour to photograph Anneliese Lindsay and Rebecca Stubbs on the day they were taking silk. Anneliese was in her final month of pregnancy with her second child and Rebecca had both her sons with her on the day. To have achieved so much, especially with the distractions that a young family brings, is incredible - hats off to both! Click to see more photos.

Helen and Matt's Big Day

Here's a sneak preview of Helen and Matt's Big Day - a fab-u-lous(!) spring wedding at Stoke Place in Buckinghamshire; nicely chilled with a dash of party fever ;-)

Photography: Nina Hollington Photography
Venue: Stoke Place
Dress: Alfred Sung
Bridesmaids: After Six (from Dessy Group)
Flower Girls: Nicki Macfarlane
Blue Knickers: Topshop(!)
Flowers: Chantal Flores
Catering & pavlova cake: all Stoke Place
DJ: John from Mighty Fine
Hair: Karen Bruce from Organic Hair
Make-up and nail: Flutterby Pro Beauty

Fun Family Shoot

What do you give to grandad on his big 7-0. Lucky for this one, his grandchildren had a plan - a fun photoshoot and some beautifully framed and mounted prints. If you click below you can see the other pictures that made it into the final selection!

Happy New Year!

This time of the year feels good because after total moral decay and gluttony (well, in my case that is), it feels as if you can start afresh with a shiny new diary, crisp new wall calendar and a sheet dotted with bullet points about how to become a better person. The New Year resolutions list that is - and this year I've broken mine down into the major life-changing ones (not telling until they happen) and the other resolves. Some of my 2012 aims are:
*Get our home furnished by end of February - ok, so it feels wonderful being in our new home but, after years of renting, it's the first time we've had to find our own furniture...*gulp*. We're planning to hire a lorry and hit the markets for unique one-off pieces.
*I want to fit back into my wedding dress...seriously, I've been tempted to see if it still fits three years on and I have a horrible feeling it won't - so I'm going to hit the gym, starting with a 1-2-1 tomorrow. Oh yeah!
*Get a photo shoot with my man - three years of being married (and ten of being engaged) and I have a pathetic amount of photos together. It's the curse of being a photographer and preferring to hide behind the lens. Here's planning to add to my own memory box!