vanessa hall photography

New site and blog in One - Vanessa Hall Photography

2010-05-12T14:14:00.005-04:00

Hi All

It's been sometime since i posted. Our new site is live!! Check it out - www.vanessahallphotography.com

We will no longer be posting on this blog but it will certainly remain live and available for archive purposes.

Vanessa

Antigua Classic Regatta 2010

2010-04-20T15:09:00.006-04:00

Antigua Classic Regatta slideshow. Rain, wind and big seas for most of the event. Except yesterday, monday, was the perfect day for photography and i happened to be on Genesis, owned and skippered by Alexis Andrews. You might see a few of these photos at this evening's prize giving. Slideshow and dinner starts at 7pm. visit our gallery for better viewing. Prints also available for purchase.

My Images from THIS IS ART exhibition at the Antigua Yacht Marina Restaurant. Antigua

2010-04-15T12:53:00.007-04:00

Prints are available for purchase through our online gallery.

The exhibition will be showing at the Java JoJo's from Monday April 19th 2010

Stop by to see works of Art from - Ali Cook, Ron Howell aka Guava, Melanie Hall, Roddy Grimes-Graeme

This is ART........

2010-04-13T09:00:00.004-04:00

Join us this evening

Tuesday 13th April 2010
6pm-8pm
Antigua Yacht Marina - Panerai boardwalk next to the dingy dock
Fresh Sushi
Music by De Survivors
Wines by best Cellars

Artists

Vanessa Hall
Ali Cook
Ron Howell aka Guava
Melanie Hall
Roddy Grimes - Graeme

St.Barths Bucket Regatta 2010

2010-04-08T15:22:00.009-04:00

I've been off island most of March mainly work related, a nice break from the wedding scene. I love absorbing new places, it was my first time to St.Barths and what a beautiful island. Colourful caribbean store fronts, red roof tops, clean streets, cafe's, the smell of fresh pastries and good coffee.

Home during the bucket regatta - refreshing morning swim to start the day
Local kids about to race their handcrafted boats.The race starts at the other side of the marinaRedirecting to the finish
Home to many brown pelicansAdelaSojanaRugged St.Barths coastline - saw many dolphins and turtlesJK5 Ranger JK6 Hanuman and Highland BreezeJK6 Hanuman and Highland BreezeUnfurled Seumas racing on AdelaAdela and crewSuadadeSaluteSaluteLiaraTo the finish line

Contacting us in Antigua and Barbuda

2010-03-17T09:53:00.010-04:00

Contact form is down....

If your using the contact form on the main website to email us for info on packages and rates more than likely I haven't replied. That's because we haven't received any of your emails. Earlier this year we contacted the server provider in the states, network solutions, regarding the problem. The problem was solved or so i thought. This mornings email from Daniel kindly said "we've tried contacting you several times through your site"

Thank you Daniel for making the effort to contact us directly and i do apologize for this inconvenience.

For future inquiries please email us directly at : info@vanessahallphotography.com

Our new custom blog and site will be live in the coming months and we hope to solve this problem.

Thanks
Vanessa Hall

Image location - Jumby Bay

Caribbean Blues....beautiful hues of Antigua and Barbuda

2010-03-15T13:59:00.011-04:00

With the exception of the 1 st photo, these images were shot in Antigua and Barbuda. I feel so lucky to be surrounded with such vibrant colours all the time.

Naomi and Aidan. Wedding at Blue Waters Hotel and sunset cruise. Antigua

2010-03-11T15:44:00.014-04:00

Naomi and Aidan left the UK to the Blue Waters Hotel, Antigua for a warm and beautiful caribbean wedding. A few memories from their special day and sunset cruise.

Tisha and Criss - Sandals Antigua off property Trash the dress session

2010-03-09T20:31:00.007-04:00

I get many inquiries from "brides to be" staying at Sandals. Sandals All inclusive do not allow outside photographers on property. If you want to book my services then i recommend a Trash the dress session off property as Tisha and Criss did.

Jeanine and Paul's Wedding Highlights Antigua

2010-03-03T13:14:00.012-04:00

A few of my favourites from Jeanine and Paul's wedding last october. The 6pm ceremony at the Holy Family Catherdal followed by a reception on the north of the island.

Seanna and Skin wedding highlights Jolly Beach Resort, Antigua

2010-02-16T19:37:00.014-04:00

Seanna and Skins Wedding highlights Summer 2009, Jolly Beach Resort, Antigua

Photos of their Trash the dress session can be seen here
http://vanessahallphotography.blogspot.com/2010/02/seanna-and-skin-trash-dress-at-devils.html

Seanna and Skin Trash the Dress at Devils Bridge Antigua

2010-02-02T12:15:00.007-04:00

Hi all, we are still here, alive and well. The start of 2010 we switched from PC to Mac. YAY! It took some getting use to and had a few challenges, 1. converting outlook emails to entourage, 2. the new snow leopard doesn't like canon's raw software 3. Reformatting all external hard drives to MAC ( of course we backed up first ) Still not extremely happy with the camera raw situation but for now it works. Now you know why we haven't blogged much. Back to editing.

Here's one of my hot looking couples from 2009

Yacht trashing in antigua on Genesis

2009-12-23T12:42:00.007-04:00

Signing off with one of my favourite Trash the dress sessions for 2009. Just a quick peak. Off to Rex Halcyon to shoot the last wedding before crimbo. Merry Xmas and Season Greetings to All!!

Janelle and Justin's Wedding and Trash the dress highlights

2009-12-16T15:39:00.004-04:00

Photo of the Week - Week #7

2009-12-08T12:58:00.003-04:00

A preview of Morgan's Trash the dress session last week

It's a busy time of year in English Harbour

2009-12-06T11:31:00.008-04:00

Haven't had the time to blog this week. Weddings and Trash the dress sessions are keeping us busy. Just a quick post to keep you updated

As the season kicks off in English Harbour, 3 upcoming events I am looking forward to. The Antigua Charter Yacht show starts tomorrow. About 105 are attending, if you're on island take a drive to English Harbour it will be worth the visit to see a great display of yachts. In my opinion, the best time of day to walk the docks is late afternoon into the early evening. If you plan to stay for dinner I highly recommend making reservations.

Mid Dec to mid January Abras will display a photography collection by Alexis Andrews. Here's a link to future events at Abras.

The most important event of all, tracking Seumas's arrival. The blue icon below shows his current location at 18 degrees Lat sailing along to 16. Can't wait!!

Antigua Wedding - Photo of the Week - Week # 5

2009-11-24T23:47:00.002-04:00

The New York Times travel section features Sugar Ridge Resort photo by Vanessa Hall

2009-11-19T11:16:00.010-04:00

Today, I became a fan of Sugar Ridge on facebook and was enlightened to see my photo appearing at the top of the Travel page in the New York Times with photo credit. Many thanks.

Click here for the Article - Something New Under the Caribbean Sun

"

Destination Wedding couple Trashes the Dress at Galley Bay Antigua

2009-11-18T11:03:00.009-04:00

This is one of my favourite shoots for the year. Shot at Villa Nico Bar at Galley Bay, Antigua. Another May wedding.

Antigua Photo of the Week - #5

2009-11-17T14:54:00.006-04:00

I know, it's not a wedding photo. Sometimes, it's nice to change course and i do miss shooting more lifestyle/travel shots.

Another beauty arrived into port today and inspired me to post a yacht related photo. The yachting season in antigua is coming to life. YAY! I am counting down the days until i get to see my boyfriend, we met 2 years ago at the Antigua Yacht Charter Show.

This shot of the boys cleaning the mast was taken in St.Tropez as they prepare for the regatta.

Sea Turtle Watching at Jumby Bay, Antigua

2009-11-15T22:37:00.009-04:00

Thought I would share a little adventure with you...

Friday night a small group of us signed up for turtle watching through the EAG and jumped on the ferry to Jumby Bay. It was the last week to turtle watch for the season and in speaking to Kate who patrols, tags and collects research data says this year the turtles are nesting later compared to 2008. Patrols are on the hour from 5pm to 5am everyday for 6months. On average turtles will take 1hr and a half to nest, that includes digging to.

Lia's Artwork on Jumby Bay....beautiful night.

Stranded turtle hatchling found in a nest. Even with a damaged right fin Crash got his groove back. Off he went into the ocean.... On average they can survive up to 3 days in a covered nest. This little hatchling had a 2nd chance

No harsh lighting on patrols......

Our local land crab.....fiesty fella.

Excavating a nest to count number of hatchlings vs decomposed

Undeveloped embryo...little black dots are the eyes :(

Collecting data....both nests excavated were successful. Around 170-180 hatchlings.

Empty egg shells...a successful nest

2 little hatchlings found alive in the nest.

and this one didn't quite develop

I wanted to adopt him......oh my :(

Can't wait to do it again and this time, i will remember my tripod bracket.

Back to the mainland

Destination Wedding in Antigua at Nico Bar Galley Bay

2009-11-11T14:12:00.008-04:00

Antigua Wedding Photo Week #4

2009-11-10T08:13:00.003-04:00

It's all about LOVE...in Antigua at the St.James Club

2009-11-06T10:10:00.009-04:00

Shelly and Nathans wedding was shot in May, earlier this year.

Shelly and Nathan's St.James Club Wedding in Antigua

2009-11-04T12:08:00.007-04:00

Antigua Wedding Photo of the Week - Week #3

2009-11-03T08:21:00.004-04:00

Trash the dress at Betty's Hope Antigua

2009-10-28T22:02:00.008-04:00

I had soo much fun shooting this trash the dress shoot at Betty's Hope, Antigua. Too many favourites to choose from..here are a few of my top choices.

Antigua Wedding Photo of the week - Week #2

2009-10-27T09:47:00.005-04:00

May 23. 2009 wedding in antigua at a private villa. The couple booked me a year before the wedding, her reactions to the photos put a smile on my face. :)

What inspires me......at North Beach, Barbuda

2009-10-23T11:40:00.004-04:00

This was my first attempt capturing light trails. In all honesty not a very good one. Our trip in June to North Beach Cottages, Barbuda was the perfect location to experiment. Far away from any human pollution, lights, cars, buildings and noise.

I often subject my boyfriend on such missions and this was no different. While the camera did it's thing we star gazed looking for the obvious constellations. Since then i've started to capture a series of light trails and one day hope to share with you what inspires me other than wedding photography.

Vanessa Hall, Exploring Life Collections, article by Zahra

2009-10-22T12:38:00.005-04:00

Zahra from the Antigua Sun contacted me last year after my exhibition preview at Java Jo Jo's. Her review of my work can be found in the article below. Currently, i am working on pieces for my 2010 Exhibition. At this time, the location and date is undecided. Will keep you posted.

Vanessa Hall

Elijah at Long Bay Beach, Antigua

2009-10-21T14:25:00.005-04:00

Elijah and his parents meet me earlier this year, while on holiday, for a beach portrait session. Back home, on 2 different occasions his mum, Stephanie booked a studio session and Elijah refused to cooperate. Not that Stephanie didn't have any confidence in me but knew of Elijah's antics. He could very well end up in tears after a few minutes of making him "smile for the camera".

At 9am Elijah had long bay beach all to himself. We kept his mind busy with beach toys and his football. The result were great photos , lots of smiles and expressions. Here are a few highlights.

Photo of the week - Week 1

2009-10-20T11:03:00.005-04:00

Presently, i am editing janelle and justin's trash the dress shoot. We ventured off to her location of choice, the pillars of Hercules, located on the south side of the island. Just beneath Fort Charlotte. It's not an easy walk with camera gear and the wedding "get up" but the photos are worth the hike! Here is one of my fav's from this shoot. Look out for highlights of their wedding and trashing shoot in a future blogpost.

Frances Ann and Nabyl, Copper and Lumber, Antigua

2009-10-17T16:18:00.007-04:00

On my way to the Caribbean

2009-09-23T03:18:00.005-04:00

Summer is finished here in the Med and it's time to head home to the Caribbean. The St.tropez regatta is about to kick off in a few days. An amazing fleet of classic yachts will race off the coast of France for one week. Slowly the port is coming to life as the yachts make an entrance into the petite port of St.Tropez. In a months time many will set sail to Antigua and I can't wait to see everyone there.

Trash the dress session at South Coast Horizon's, Antigua

2009-09-15T04:06:00.006-04:00

One of my favourite places to visit on the island, South Coast Horizon's. Priya and David were up for a little sightseeing through the mangroves before we shot a trash the dress session on the wooden jetty.

New Images on Website

2009-09-06T07:07:00.004-04:00

As I travel this summer, internet connection has been limited. However, I've managed to update my website with new work. Once I've returned to Antigua hopefully i can keep this up. Take a look at the Wedding and Trash the Dress galleries.

Priya and David's Wedding at Hermitage Bay Antigua

2009-08-30T11:18:00.006-04:00

Sir Trevor McDonald - The Secret Caribbean ITV

2009-06-26T13:43:00.007-04:00

I had a amazing and rare opportunity to meet and photograph Sir Trevor McDonald on his short stop over in Antigua. The showtimes and re-runs of The Secret Caribbean.
Click the highlighted link.

Details of the show-
Quoted from ITV's website "In this epic series Trevor McDonald travels the 2000 miles across the Caribbean experiencing the incredible extremes that make this region so unique. From the private island of a billionaire to communist Cuba, rare sightings of Giant Turtles in Grenada to violent volcanic eruptions in Montserrat - this unmissable series is a rich and beautiful voyage of discovery."

Trash the Dress on a farm in Antigua

2009-06-26T09:47:00.009-04:00

Shots from Vicky and Adrian's trash the dress session on my families estate farm. A few days later i hitched a ride with Caribbean helicopters and spent a few minutes hovering over a private island where Vicky and Adrian were honeymooning. For a closer look click on the photo.

Destination wedding location in Antigua.

2009-06-25T10:42:00.005-04:00

At sunset. The Inn in English Harbour

Victoria and Adrian's Wedding in Antigua

2009-06-25T01:22:00.008-04:00

A few snap shots of Vicky and Adrian's wedding in Antigua, April 11th 2009. How time flies.

Trash the Dress Cave video

2009-05-28T22:41:00.004-04:00

Behind the scenes footage of a trash the dress cave scene created by Acquafilms. Here is one way to trash the dress in Antigua. Sorry the blog hasn't been updated but for the past 3months, it's been hectic around here. Lots of goodies to post after editing finishes up in June.

Trash the Dress Antigua from vanessahall on Vimeo.

Antigua Classic Regatta 2009

2009-04-21T14:21:00.007-04:00

Currently editing 4 days of fantastic sailing. Photos seen at the prize giving slideshow are on my website for sale. Pass by in a few days for updated galleries.

Trash the Dress - Cave session Antigua

2009-04-14T16:53:00.018-04:00

Harvey and Hazel's Wedding at Harmony Hall

2009-04-14T09:51:00.029-04:00

Photography Exhibition Tomorrow

2009-04-02T23:36:00.006-04:00

Exhibiting A collection of Travel, Nautical and Portrait prints at Java JoJo's, Jolly Harbour

Assisting Alexis on Megayacht Odessa

2009-03-26T21:52:00.019-04:00

On location

I was thrilled to bits when Alexis called and asked for my help on Odessa. We spent 2 days shooting the interior but watching the exterior set up unfold was very exciting! As I stepped out of the way on the tender I managed a few snap shots of Alexis at work during the jetski shoot.

Here is the odessa video link Alexis posted on his site.

http://www.alexisandrews.com/sources/frontsite/display_file.php?file=slideshow/5/OdessaAntigua.mov

Assignment for Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine

2009-03-26T09:00:00.010-04:00

Last week I was commissioned to capture the cultural experience of St. Patricks Day in Montserrat for Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine. I will share my experience after the release date of the article, roughly 6months from now. In the meantime, here's one of me taken by another journalist on assignment.

Book Preview

2009-03-24T08:49:00.000-04:00

Arianna and Cayla

Antigua Trip 2008

By v a n e s s a h a...

Book Preview

Small Sunsail Wedding

2009-03-16T09:10:00.012-04:00

" " "

Rocking the dress with Natasha and Chris at The Inn in English Harbour

2009-03-07T12:39:00.013-04:00

Natasha wanted to have a few fun photos with her new hubby Chris. In her beautiful lace couture dress, the hammock scene was a subtle adventure on the sandy beach at The Inn where their reception was held a few weeks back. I'd say they rocked it!

Highlights from Natasha and Chris wedding at the The Inn in English Harbour, Antigua

2009-02-17T17:44:00.005-04:00

Some of my favourite moments captured at Natasha and Chris's wedding. Enjoy!

Updating the Blog template

2009-02-03T00:39:00.003-04:00

Hi All

Have patience with me as the new layout comes to life. Not much colour/font choice with the new template. Pink labels aren't my thing :)

Portraits at Sunsail Antigua

2009-01-26T00:46:00.008-04:00

A few days a week, I can be found at Sunsail Kids Club as Chris's second shooter. Usually 2-3 hour sessions are coordinated with the staff for children between the ages of 1 to 3.

4 ways to follow my blog.

2009-01-19T18:22:00.013-04:00

1. Become a member of Blogger and become a Follower. This requires a gmail account. Following isn't just for bloggers, it's also designed to make it easier for readers to keep tabs on their favorite blogs. The Follower Gadget is the latest feature by goggle. Located on the upper right hand corner of this page. You can follow any blog, even if it isn't hosted on Blogger or doesn't have the Followers gadget. Just go to your Reading List in your Blogger Dashboard, click the “Add” button, and type in the blog’s URL. And you can even import existing subscriptions from Google Reader.

2. Subscribe to "posts" also found on this page as shown in the pic below.

3. Join my Facebook Group, Vanessa Hall Photography. Updates will be posted about blogs or events.

4. No# 4 applies to those of you that don't spend half the time I do on the internet :) A simple newsletter via email will be sent when a new blog has been posted. Simply, email me at info@vanessahallphotography.com you will be added to my blog list.

Back to editing and signing off with a photo

Latest blog tucked away

2009-01-18T15:17:00.004-04:00

To view the latest blog simply scroll down or visit the "previous post tab" on the right and click on Assistant To Alexis Andrews. The blog was saved since Dec 18th so I presume Blogger is filing according to dates created instead of published dates. Oh Well! always learning :)

Kids Portraits at Halycon Antigua

2009-01-09T06:45:00.006-04:00

"
I had so much fun on this shoot. Their mum contacted me a few months ago and said she wanted natural shots of her girls on the beach. Rain or sunshine they had fun! Kids can be difficult to control so shell collecting made things easier for me. Can wait to shoot them again next year. Enjoy the photos below.

Happy New Year 2009 from Palma

2009-01-07T07:21:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone, a quick note to say Happy New Year. At the moment, I am off island without my personal laptop. Blogging will resume next week. Despite the cold weather my holiday adventures, as always, are exciting! Seumas spends his weekends trekking across mallorca, canyoning, rock climbing or caving. The island is known for it's rugged limestone terrain. Hidden beneath he has discovered the natural wonders of caves and torrents. They are many levels of Canyoning and most gorges will have water this time of year, very cold water i might add! Geared up with my wet suit and harness the first descend is 10meters into the Torrent de Coanegra o del Freu. Typically, you may have one exit point throughout the entire canyon to walk out, otherwise the only exit is down! It took us 4hours of jumping, walking and ab-sailing to finish plus 1hr walkout back to the car. After this test run I felt confident for the next adventure, the Torrent de comafreda o del Guix. The 2nd canyon was far more vertical, our highest ab-sail was 15meters ( 50 ft ). I was only just keeping up, the boys were swinging like monkeys through each one. Good times! The pics do little justice in capturing the beauty of this place.

Assistant to Alexis Andrews

2008-12-18T16:14:00.021-04:00

A wealth of information comes from photographers discussing their daily experiences with each other in online forums and bulletin boards. For me, I like to see how it's done and my preferred way is through a practicing professional. Assisting Alexis Andrews has been one of the best routes into my photography career. Based in Antigua, his creative energy attracts the private clientel of the yachting industry and has done so since 1986. An avid sailor, Alexis partners his skill set, passion and exemplary vision to deliver exclusive imagery. The end result looks effortless even when the project may propose unforeseen challenges. Alexis's sharp and savvy sense of knowledge unfurls plan "B" to ensure the shoot runs smoothly. I think the hand gesture might be a "plan B" signal in the pic below. :)

On location I provide direct support to Alexis. Handling the equipment, setup, attention to detail, coordinating people and sometimes set design. Our first shoot together, at Jolly Beach Hotel, he challenged my creative senses by asking a simple question ( along the lines of ) " how would you frame the restaurant setting to meet my clients needs?" to my amazement, he was interested in teaching me! This opened my doors to photography. I've walked away from every shoot gleaming with inspiration and a wealth of knowledge. On or off location, I know, I can always ask Alexis for advice. No matter how busy he maybe, Alexis will find the time even if it's a few minutes to assist. How lucky am I to have a mentor enthusiastic to teach!

Below you can see before and after shots. Adjusting minor details, on a shoot for the The Inn, English Harbour.

The end result

Family Portrait at Jolly Beach, Antigua

2008-12-17T21:38:00.006-04:00

Coordinating people can be a tough job especially if kids are involved. This is where an assistant is handy, i need one. In the meantime, i quickly learnt how competitive the boys were with each other. Starting a race was the easiest way to take their minds off the camera.

Antigua's Wedding Expo

2008-12-16T23:21:00.006-04:00

The Ministry of Tourism invited 25 UK travel reps/media personnel to discover what Antigua has to offer regarding weddings and honeymoons. A wide selection of exhibitors including, myself, attended the Wedding Expo at Sandals Mediterranean Village. Areas covered were massage; photography, bridal gowns, florist, wedding cakes, music, gifts, catering, makeup, jewelery. My display was pretty simple but caught the eye of many, as different. ( seen in the pic below) The slideshow displayed a selection of wedding and trash the dress photos. It surprised me how many of the local exhibitors didn't even know Pillars of Hercules existed and thought the background was photoshopped. The 2 hours educating locals, government officials, and promoting my business to the Uk market was time well spent.

50mm 1.4 as a wedding guest at Admirals Inn, Antigua

2008-12-10T19:26:00.015-04:00

Last month, I was invited to my friends wedding and decided to experiment with my new 50mm. Firstly, always be considerate of the hired photographer so no flash was used for the evening shots. In doing that, this is what i learnt. Without a flash you are shooting at a very high ISO which elevates the noise levels. The result are grainy photos. Another issue i had was focusing. The autofocus wouldn't respond under low lighting which made manual focusing even harder with japanese lanterns shedding only a dim light. Quickly you learn that using prime lenses means YOU have to do the moving, the adjustment takes time and sense of distance will eventually come. At 1.4 the lens performs at it's best. Overall, great invest and sharp especially for portraits. Here are a few photos to follow from Sam and Nicks Wedding

Both Sam and Nick were happy to receive an album of experimental photos :)

Stock Photography available

2008-12-04T07:55:00.011-04:00

Slowly, my stock library is building and from time to time I do get purchases.
Nov 2007, Odyssey Couleur travel magazine selected 3 photos for there December issue. Being on the front cover is great coverage, it's the first and largest distribution of my work. The scanned copy of the Dec issue below

Recently, Sugar Ridge development purchased a selection of photos that represented the Antiguan lifestlye, a sunset, beach shot and a sailing shot. The images will be used on the web and brochures as thumbnails to promote Sugar Ridge properties.

For the 2nd year in a row, the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta will request a submission from each photographer that attended the regatta . Here is last years full page photo highlighting an article on Mariette.

The easiest way to review some stock photos is thru my flickr page until the main site is updated.

Going on holiday but where? you live in paradise!..they say

2008-11-29T16:16:00.016-04:00

Most visitors to the island assume living in paradise, everyday is a vacation. Antigua is beautiful and a great spot for Europeans or North Americans but for us, it's where we live. I love to travel! Last year I traveled to Miami ( my old stomping grounds) Montreal, London, Valencia for the Americas Cup Fleet 13 race, my friend Shannon Falcone raced on Luna Rossa.
The other half of 2007 I stayed within the Caribbean islands like Barbuda, Dominica, St.Maarten, Jamaica, Barbados. Barbuda was the half way point of 2007's travels and where I celebrated my 30th. If 50 is the new 30 then 30 must be the new 20. right? I certainly feel like 20! Anyways, this year i've settled myself a bit more in Antigua and focused on my business. But it wasn't too long before i got the travel itch and off I went, this time via the Atlantic Ocean, on a yacht. Ok so, it wasn't really a travel itch, it was more a love itch :) so to answer the initial question, going on holiday but where? I'm off to Palma via London ( for a few days) to see my boyfriend, seumas. Who then booked us a trip to Tuscany, Italy for 6 days. Enjoy the pics.

Since this little getaway, i've been back in Antigua for a month now. It won't be long before another trip to Palma for xmas and new years. Looking forward to my parents traditional xmas breakfast in antigua ( the only day of the year my dad cooks! ) and boxing day dinner in palma with seumas.

Sugar Ridge Antigua

2008-11-13T12:00:00.009-04:00

Sugar Ridge contacted me last month to shoot photos for there new brochure and website. It was my luck to have good weather, october has dumped so much rain on this mostly dry island. The view from the Villa has a stunning 360 view. Nestled into the hillside on the west coast of antigua overlooking Jolly harbour and Five islands Harbour. On clear days St.Kitts, Nevis, Redonda and Montserrat are perfectly visible, I certainly picked the right day to shoot!

Trash the Dress in Antigua and Barbuda

2008-11-07T12:40:00.005-04:00

When Kimberley and Richard contacted me about shooting their island wedding i had an interesting prerequisite that followed. Shooting A trash the dress session at Pillars of Hercules 2 days after their wedding was part of the package! Breaking away from the typical "posed" wedding photos was part of their criteria. The couple wanted fun and spontaneous memories of their island wedding in Antigua. This was easily accomplished with the breath taking pillars as the backdrop. For months' i've been proposing this idea to other wedding couples but no one would have it. Thank you Kim and Richard. You were so much fun and easy going to shoot.

Before trekking for 15mins along the coast to the pillars I decided to shoot the couple at Galleon Beach. An old rusty anchor and the wooden dock falling to pieces came in handy.

Kim and Richards Wedding

2008-11-06T09:56:00.025-04:00

I've been off island for the past 2 weeks and fell behind with my blog. Thats the nice thing about a blog though, it's on your time!

As you know. XL affected many visitors to the island one group in particular, a group of 24 visiting for Kimberley and Richard's wedding. Which was almost canceled 24hrs prior to the big day.

Here is the press release sent to many media houses in the UK by John Duffy

The collapse of the airline XL almost caused the cancellation of the wedding plans in Antigua of Kimberley Cuthbert and Richard Black. Kimberley and Richard hail from Norwich in eastern England and met ten years ago. They had been planning the wedding in Antigua for the past 18 months.

The bride, whose mother is Antiguan, wished to be married on her mother’s home island. Friends and family from the U.K. flew to Antigua, renowned as a wedding destination, for the ceremony.

Cost was a consideration for the wedding party and most were staying in the homes of local Antiguans. Flights were booked direct with XL and, on its collapse, were not protected by either ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or ATOL (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing). Many of the guests could not afford the £300 fare back to the U.K. and were not covered by their travel insurance unless the wedding was cancelled. The bride and groom gave serious consideration to canceling the wedding rather than burden their family and friends with debts they could not afford. The wedding was set to take place less than 24 hours after the collapse of the airline

Wedding organiser, Tracy Guerrero of Indigo Event Services brought the plight of the wedding guests to the attention of Antiguan residents, Colin and Alison Adams who head up a tourism information website, AntiguaNice.com. Colin and Alison enrolled the services of the Antigua & Barbuda Marine Association and, together, the two organisations set about raising funds to cover the cost of the return flights.

Despite the short notice, some funds were promised before the wedding was due to take place and Antigua’s Ministry of Tourism offered to underwrite any shortfall in the fund raising. A delighted bride and groom were able to walk up the aisle and complete their marriage vows at the Wesleyan Holiness Church in Ottos, Antigua. The reception was held at La Bussola, Runaway Bay, Antigua

Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Harold Lovell, expressed his best wishes to the happy couple stating “It was most unfortunate that the airline XL collapsed just 24 hours before the marriage of Kimberley and Richard. I was concerned that the wedding may have to be cancelled but relieved to hear that the people of Antigua were pulling together to ensure that this day would be ‘happy ever after’ for Kimberley and Richard. The people and Government of Antigua felt they had to assist in at least making Kimberley and Richard's dream of their perfect day come true."

International Money Orders were presented by the Antigua & Barbuda Ministry of Tourism and by AntiguaNice to Richard and Kimberley in a ceremony held at the Ministry of Tourism in St. John’s, Antigua on Thursday 16th September.

Despite the situation it was so much fun to shoot the wedding. Both Kim and Richard were so easy to work with. Trashing of the dress photos coming up soon.

Swalings

2008-10-02T10:25:00.007-04:00

Swalings is about to be franchised and needed a fresh look so they approached me to team up with their Uk Graphic Designer at Southbay Design. . A new logo, brochure's, website etc is underway. Obviously, my mission was photos. A few shots from the photoshoot

Jake Kelsick Kite Surfer

2008-09-20T13:09:00.006-04:00

I was asked to shoot profile shots of Local Kitesurfer Jake Kelsick. We started off behind Darkwood beach then trekked south to Johnson's Point and Old road. Don't be fooled by this serious looking 16yr old, he's camera shy but on the board he rips it up!! I've attached one of his video's

Vanessa Hall Photography website launch

2008-09-09T11:45:00.010-04:00

Hi Everyone and Welcome to the new website and blog for Vanessa Hall Photography. September has been a busy month and thought posting images from each project to a blog would be a great way for you to see work in progress.

The main site was launched early last week. Of course, in the beginning we all experience teething problems. Expecting nothing less it was inevitable especially since i have no experience with web design. Between the Interface company, the web hosting company, the online store company and my local internet provider it was 4 days of teething problems just to make the site "live" I have to say the customer service on everyone's part was up to scratch. A big thank you!

I hope you've found the site user friendly. Several people mentioned the loading time on some tabs are slow. The online store galleries will gradually be stocked so keep checking for new prints. The prints make great pressies for birthday's, xmas, weddings or wall Art in your home. Allow 2-3 weeks for international orders from time of purchase to delivery.

This is all very excting for me. Will keep you posted on the work in progress.

V