Day 89

Which tea to drink??

Day 88

Yesterday was such a great sunny day so Becca and I sat outside and did some work. We put some bread out for the birds with camera at the ready and this adorable Robin hopped down of the fence and was about a metre away from us saying hello. So cute!

Girly Night

Day 87. On Tuesday night Becca and I had girly night up at uni . The girls came round and we had a lovely bbq, good chat and great company, we also had a wee bonfire going too. We had lots of fun and this photo, I feel represents how chilled the night was, everyone sitting round the fire. 

I'm slightly obsessed with sun flares and anytime the sun comes out, out comes my camera and Becca stands while snap away! I love how summery this photo feels, its so bright!

We set the camera up on the tripod and used the remote shutter release and of course pulled silly faces like we normally do...

One for the fridge

Before we lost all the light we thought it would only be proper if we got a group shot which turned out lovely and of course with the gorgeous Gerald Butler

Around the campfire

We got some garden candles and stuck them in the grass to set the mood. A Lovely night had by all!

Day 85/86

Day 85 The beautiful day on Sunday got me into my car and away to the countryside where I had in mind to capture some cute baby spring lambs. I was not disappointed. I love that I got a shot where the lamb is looking straight on, they are sooo cute! :)

Day 86. My friend Emma is home from Uni for Easter so I called out to see her and we went a walk around her farm which is dairy. Of course I had my camera with me hoping to get a nice shot. She took me to see the calves, these ones would be the teenage ones and they were munching away at the hay. 

Day 84.

Day 84. My cat Smokey

Day 83.

Friday night treat! Caramel Sundae

Day 82. I have wanted to take a picture of Becca's shoes for ages! Converse love!

Day 81

Cocktail Hour. Just a wee night out on the town with some yummy cocktails

Day 80

Day 80. Spring has sprung. I thought I would keep this simple to show how beautiful these flowers are.

Day 76-79

Day 76. Beautiful tulips for my mum

Day 77. Strawberry Love

Day 78. Happy Mother's Day. My mum used to play badminton so for Mother's Day, I thought it would be a nice idea to get her a shuttlecock for her Pandora charm bracelet. 

Day 79. Back to Carrickfergus today to take some more photos. The iconic Carrickfergus Castle

Day 75

Day 75. Last night I met up with my friend Sophie for a lovely catch up dinner, afterwards we took a drive around Belfast city centre to see if I could get a nice photo for the day, we were driving around for 5 minutes and we came across the Beacon of Hope so of course that was the decision made. I love night photography. :)

China sorting

Day 74.Yesterday I was out sorting china for all the weddings there are coming up. 4 hours later...

Shield Final

Some photographs from the Shield final on Tuesday. 

Captain Rebecca beating a Rainey defender to the ball

Jenny is first to the ball

This is Zara scoring Ballymena's second goal, drawing the goalkeeper out to tuck the ball into the net behind her

Zara and Emma celebrate her goal

Emma working the ball into the circle

The girls celebrate as the final whistle is blown, with some disappointing faces

Well done girls!!

Day 73. Celebration

Day 73. On Tuesday Ballymena Academy 1st XI played in the final of their shield defeating Rainey 2-0. I thought this was a great photo for the day as it sums up exactly what the mood was like. The captain Rebecca lifts the shield as the rest of her team celebrate. Well done girls!!

Max

Day 71. I know I promised to keep my photos in order but I totally forgot about this beauty last night. My golden retriever Max likes to plunk himself down beside the Aga and fall asleep. This of course wasn't my first try at it as everytime I lay down to photograph him he got up and lay down beside me, eventually he got tired of the game he created for himself and went back to his original position where I got this lovely picture.

Our trip to Carrickfergus

Today was a very productive start to my week off Uni for Reading Week. I have been asked to take photographs in Carrickfergus to produce a calendar, postcards, keyrings etc for a newsagents situated in the centre of the town. The weather wasn't great day so I decided to take some closer up things such as the swans and ducks, boats and some of the pretty flowers around the place. Hopefully the weather will pick up so I can get out again and be able to show Carrick's beautiful spots. 

Day 72. I chose this inquisitive duck for my photo of the day today because I love it so much.  You don't expect to see the bottom of the end of a duck so I thought it was different but quite arty. 

I love this old boat and the old paint work that has started to peal off. I added a vintage type effect on it through Photoshop, I love this effect and I would use it quite a bit. How you do it, you open up curves and change the contrast to your desired on the RGB setting, then you pull down the menu and select Red and do the same sort of thing and then repeat this in the Green option, and then the vintage style comes from the Blue option. Instead of choosing points within the straight line to pull up and down, you pull the top point down along the side a bit and the bottom point up the other side a bit. I know this is quite a confusing explanation so I will do a post on this to show you a lot clearer...

I love how I managed to catch this, these geese were so close to us, they stood very still that you could have sworn they were life sized statues. When I turned around I managed to catch the bird flapping it's wings fully stretched, looking like king of the birds. I love the symmetry that has been produced through the fully extension

This was one of the last photos I took today, as Becca and I were sitting in the car finishing off our fish and chips for lunch, I noticed the contrast between the blue railing and the red life buoy. So I got out of the car with my camera and my 50mm lens and focused on the  lifebuoy with the railing blurred in the background. I love my 50 mm lens. My favourite buy by far!! I just love how blurry it makes the background and how in focus the main subject is, I looove the effect! 

Yesterday at work

Yesterday we working at the lovely Clandeboye Estate just outside Bangor. The Bride has classic cars which tied in with her vintage inspired day.

This is the main dining room with my personal favourite wooden beams.

The bride had chosen her centre pieces to be arranged in old china cups, it tied in so well to her theme. This was also my photo of the day as I thought her flower arrangement was great and the idea inside china cups was unique. It was lovely. 

Old Bicycle

All set for dinner with beautiful patterned napkins and china cup each

The dessert was displayed as a buffet where the guests could come up and chose from a great selection of hand-made goods including cheesecake, creme brulee, strawberry jelly, trifle or white choclate moose and many more...

I love this shot at the end, as we were standing at the dessert table getting ready to serve the guests , they had an open floor for speeches so I manages to get this lovely candid shot of the guests listening intently to the groom's good friend telling a very humorous story about him while they were travelling.

Working for an outside catering company, it gives you the opportunity to go lots of different lovely places and be a part of couple's special day. Last week we were in Donegal and this week we were in Clandeboye Estate just outside Bangor. A job well recomended to give you lots of beautiful wedding ideas. 

Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes

So as promised, here is the recipe for the delightful cupcakes I made... 

100g butter, softened

100g light, muscovado suagr

100g self-raising flour

2 large eggs

2tsp instant coffee, mixed with 100ml of boiling water, then cooled

25g walnut halves, chopped, plus 12 more for the tops

FOR TOPPING 

200ml tub mascarpone

2tbsp light muscavado sugar

1. Heat oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas 4 and make sure there's a shelf ready in the middle. Line a 12-hole bun tin with fairy cakes cases. Beat the butter, sugar, flour and eggs with 6 or 7 tsp of the coffee (personally put as many spoonfuls in as you like, if your a coffee fanatic like me, the more the better) and a pinch of salt until creamy. Stir in the chopped walnuts. 

2. Spoon the mix into cases, then bake for 18-20 minutes until light golden and springy. (The best way to test if your buns are cooked enough is to get a wooden skewer and pierce through the buns and if it comes out clean, then you know they are cooked perfectly) Cool for a few minutes in the tin, then lift the cakes out and cool completely on a rack. 

3. Put the mascarpone, 5tsp more of the coffee and the sugar into a large bowl, then beat together. Spread a dollop of the coffee cream onto the top of each cake, then finish with a walnut half. 

Happy baking :)