Celtic Tigers Roar.........

"I can jump further than you...."

Last week I had the honour of being invited over to Ireland to photograph an entire extended family and some of their friends and family. I was invited into the family and waited on hand and foot for the three days I was in the Emerald Isle.

"Seaweed is great..."

I had been asked to photograph several families and all their respective children, all aged between 4 weeks and four and a half years. It was great, I got to behave like a child again, crawling on the floor, rolling about in wet grass and digging holes in a muddy beach. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even when I found myself changing nappies and watching Thomas the Tank Engine.

"Catching some rays man..."

Best af all I was given as much creative freedom as I wanted, so I took the bull by the horns and began using off-camera flash. As soon as I arrived in Ireland I instructed 'Uncle Russ' in how the VALS(Voice Activated Light Stand) system worked, gave him a Canon 580EZ, a Quantum Turbo Battery pack and a Pocket Wizard Plus II Transceiver, and we got to work. Russ even found himself in one or two of the images as he tried to dodge back and forth between children on the beach. I deliberately included him in the shot below to demonstrate how I lit the group shots.

Is that Russ or VAL in the corner of the picture?


"its not really gonna fall over....is it?"

I was really surprised how quickly the children got used to me being there, even though it was the first time I had met most of them, within a few minutes, the children strated to behave like children and ignored me. I let them get on with playing with their toys, racing around the garden on a peddle powered go-kart, playing on the swings and digging in the mud.

"Did someone say there were Ladybirds in here?"


Even Uncle Peter gets in on the act...What a poser..."

I am really happy with the results, I hope everyone enjoys the images as much as I do.

Many thanks to Carina, Russ and family for inviting me over, and a special thank you to Suzanne, Brian, Paddy and Collette for putting me up, and treating me as a member of their family.

Its all go...




The last few days has been a total blur, I have projects coming out of my ears, so I guess there are going to be a few late nights on the cards. More on the main job coming up in a few days, but in the mean time I have to mention a job in conjunction with Ursula from FLUK Studios in Nottingham.

Ursula had asked me to come in with her to help out on a large commercial project photographing a collection of designer jewellery. I have to say that most of the items were fairly ordinary but a couple of the items were incredibly striking, including the diamond pendant featured above.

I found this job extremely interesting as I was using techniques that I hadn't used in years, normally used to photograph broken pieces of aircraft engine or in forensic investigations, the use of macro technology enabled me to get up close and personal with some stunning designer trinkets, some worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Anyway, the rest of the week I was working away from home, but I will talk about that when I have had a chance to sort my life out.

Autumn is well on its way....

A few days ago, Alison, Lucy and myself managed to get a few hours out in the fresh air together. It seems like ages since we had all been out together, and since the weather was so good we decided we had to make the most of it.

We decided to load up and go for a gentle stroll at Sherwood Pines, which is the largest public area of Sherwood Forest. Its only about 25 minutes from where we live, so it really convenient as well.

Lucy absolutely loved it, she went completely bonkers ferreting in the undergrowth, she didn't even notice the two stags that appeared momentarily in front of us. They were an awesome sight, its a pity I only had my 50mm on my 30D, as they were just to far away to get a decent shot, but it was worth it just to watch them as they wandered past us.

Lucy swimming across the pond, with Alison in the background

Anyway, the most stricking part of the day was the stunning colours of the leaves that are turning. The 50mm was perfect for selecting the individual leaves on the ground, as well as the Chestnuts that were all over the forest floor.

If anyone is stuck for something to do in a quiet Sunday afternoon, I would recommend a trip to Sherwood Forest.

Christmas Promotion

Just thought I would let everyone know that I am now running a special Christmas Portrait promotion for families with young children starting this weekend.

If you have a child aged 5 or under I will photograph you and your family for the princly sum of £15( thats a saving of £50). This is a perfect oppurtunity for you to get some Christmas Gifts ready for friends and family.

I am happy to travel to your home, or we can meet up at a favourite location of your choice(a small charge will be made for a location more than 20 miles from Newark), and we can spend an hour or so creating some beautiful images of your child for Christmas.

With the nights drawing in, please note that evening bookings are becoming scarce, but weekday and weekend shoots are still available. The offer is valid until the end of November.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss your requirements on 01636 650954, or email me at paul@paulsaxby.co.uk.

A manic few days.....

Its been incredibly busy over the last few days, along with the normal portraits and stuff, I have been awfully busy with commercial and PR work.

Yesterday was very busy, I had the great oppurtunity of working with the girls at Willoughby PR, for the official opening of the new Westfield Shopping Centre in Derby. It was an early start, getting in to the centre at just gone 6am and working almost none stop until 6 pm photographing VIP's, special guests and shoppers visiting one of Europes biggest shopping centres.

The centre was officially opened by Tess Daley, one of the presenters of Strictly Come Dancing, and the owner of Westfield, Mr Frank Lowy, flew over from Australia to be there at the opening.

The day was spent running from one event to the next, and then transmitting images to the Australian Press for use in their papers.

I ached like mad this morning, but I must admit I totally enjoyed the day. Many thanks to Diana and Laura from Willoughby for looking after me, and also to Spike and Neil for getting me the gig in the first place.