Maria Murray Photography

Off again...

Ok, so I'm now not around a for a few days , going to spend some quality time with Izzy before she goes back to school, and my husband before he loses his mind! I have been hard at it since getting back and trying to clear my backlog but things are still going slow as it's so busy. So please remember it's about 3 weeks ( give or take a few days) for your proofs at the moment.
In fact it's likely to be that way pretty much until Christmas. Just a note - if you are looking to have anything guaranteed for a Christmas delivery your session needs to happen NO LATER than November 15th. This is to allow for proofing time, your viewing and then working on, placing and receiving your order. September is now pretty much booked up, with a few slots remaining. October is looking ok, but weekends are getting booked out fast. I have some existing things in the pipeline, like James & Steph wedding on the 6th and then Jenny & Alan's wedding in the Maldives in November, plus lots of newborn sessions coming up. I can't wait!

Although I am taking my laptop with me I am not likely to have access to email. I have some albums to design so will be working on those. I am back in the studio on the 3rd.

A blog entry about not blogging

Yes that's how bad it's getting ! I have sooo much I need to blog, from the wonderful Nappy Cakes, Paula's pregnancy session to the wedding I assisted on Saturday . I just need to find the time! I am currently a speaker at the Ten2One events organised by the MPA, the diary is packed for July and I am working about a week behind on my proofs - as well as getting about 3 hours sleep a night.

So if you are waiting for your proofs - please bear with me, I should be up to date by the end of this week and apologize for keeping you waiting! Proofs are taking about 3 weeks at the moment.

And as soon as I get a chance to blog, I will - promise!

In the meantime here is a quick teaser - Chinyin's gorgeous shoes that she wore for her wedding on Saturday. I just love detail shots!

and the result...

Well I finished it....not near as quickly as I'd hoped in 31 minutes. It was hot ( midday), over uneven bumpy grass and I had bad hay fever, so that's my excuse! Kerry, whom some of you have met completed whooped my backside and came in at a very respectable 28m26s I believe...so well done Kezza!

As for me, I am definitely going to try and find the time to get myself down the gym more often! Thank you to those that sponsored me, especially to the very generous Bob & Dawn Davis! The sponsor link will work until
the 6/7 so if you want to support a good cause please click the button on the previous post and make a donation.

Race for Life...

Ok so as you all know I don't get much sleep at all. Which means that my running and exercise regime has been rubbish this year! I can't believe that this time last year I actually run a half marathon.
Anyway, just to get me back into the swing of things and do a little bit for charity I entered Race for Life. It's only a little 5K but better than doing nothing at all I guess, and it is for a good cause (Cancer Research). Trouble is because I have been so busy, I totally forgot to get sponsored so my fundraising page is looking rather sorry for itself.

So if you are reading this and fancy supporting a good cause please click on this link to donate via my fundraising page!

I finished it it 25.02 last year but I was a lot fitter and about 10lb lighter...so hoping for under 30 tomorrow. Wish me luck! Will keep you posted...

Poppy fields & my little girl...gorgeous combination

I really wanted to share this with you. I took these yesterday afternoon, and am sooo pleased at how they turned out. Yes this is Izzy again, bless her! As much as she loves having her picture taken i don't think she was really in the mood yesterday. BUT, I knew that the poppies are dying and I know of only one field in the area and just HAD to go there - I missed them completely last year! Wayne finally gave in and we drove there yesterday afternoon after walking the dog so I could take a few shots.
It all must have looked a bit suspicious and we got a few strange looks , I am sure we were trespassing! To cut a long story short I only had one position to photograph Iz from and she is sitting on a blanket balanced on the edge of a field. There was a bit of dip so there wasn't really away to go onto the field. I really wanted some pictures where she was very little in a big field of poppies, but didn't quite get that...but hey I was happy with those! Feel free to comment!

Bluebells galore!

I had one of my first bluebell shoots this weekend - finally the weather has turned! To check out the pictures please go to the SNEAK PREVIEW section of my BABY WEBSITE, where you will see a couple of Macie Rae's images. I also shot some pictures of my daughter & niece afterwards, so here are a few I wanted to share! It feels like I haven't photographed Izzy for ages and suddenly I am doing lots - which is fantastic! I keep promising myself that as soon as I have a spare moment ( what's that then?) , I will sit down and put together an album that will show her "first 5 years". We'll see...

Anyway back to the shots - whilst I do love the last two, number 1 for me sums up just what I love about children. The innocence, the pure joy and the warm laughter, untouched by the crazy pace of life & stress that many of us seem to live in. The first two images are completely spontaneous and the one where Izzy plants a big smacker on her cousin just cracks me up. And I just love those toothy grins, that show off their missing teeth!

mwah!

and this is Izzy's serious 'posed' look!

In the studio with Izzy...

Ok so yesterday was polling day, which means a day off school. Anyone with a school age child will think "so what do we do today???" , and so did I. Normally we would have a day out somewhere but since it hasn't stopped raining that wasn't an option. So I gave in to Izzy's request for a little makeover and some time time in the studio....she is such a little poser! Anyway we had some fun and she loved having her hair curled. Just wanted to share a few pictures !

I just love this first one, it's just her all over.

A bit more serious, and she looks a lot older than 5, but I still love it.

Back to my cheeky monkey, I have been seeing a lot more of that face lately!

And lastly, check out my painted background -I did that! A blank canvas from Hobbycraft, a few tester paint pots from B&Q et voila- one dramatic background.
I guess it is a little old fashioned, but it it doesn't hurt experiment, I love trying out different looks.