IoD Ginetta Factory Tour

This was a last minute job that I wasn’t expecting. After going to the Ginetta factory tour previously, I knew how fantastic it was, and what a range of companies were being run from the LNT Group offices in Garforth, so when I was given the opportunity to repeat the experience, but in a professional capacity, I jumped at the chance!

The Institute of Directors Young Directors’ Forum had organised a visit to the facility after a very successful trip last year. The visit started with a series of short but very informative presentations from the LNT Group Chairman, Lawrence Tomlinson, covering each of the companies within the group. This lead into his explanation of how the companies worked in line with his vertically integrated philosophy, with each company providing products and services to compliment the others. Numerous questions were fielded by the delegates, and the answers were extremely thorough, giving a deeper insight into his thought processes relating to the businesses.

Next was the part of the day that most people had been waiting for. A guided tour of the Ginetta factory.

Everyone was split into a number of smaller groups, and guided by various members of the LNT team. They were shown everything from the design room, where computer aided design (CAD) is used to develop the designs, to the preparation of wiring looms and gearboxes, through to the spit used for rotating complete chassis structures while they are being welded. This gave people a much more detailed understanding of the work involved in building these high-performance cars than most people will ever know. Having completed the tour, everyone was then taken back to the board room for food and drink. If only I hadn’t had my hands full of camera equipment, I could have single-handedly cleared the table!

So that was the end to another day, and one that I’ll look forward to repeating before too long. Thanks to everyone involved at both LNT Group and the IoD, for hosting such a fantastic and unique event, and allowing me to be part of it.

A few of the photos are below, but the full set can be found at www.lmx-creative.co.uk

Pure Detail Open Day

Today was a pretty local one. Only over to Chorley in Lancashire to cover the Pure Detail open day.

The cars on site for the day were as varied as you could imagine, with everything from MINIs an VW Polos, a rare Renault Alpine A610, all the way through Ferraris and Lamborghinis to the Ford GT. The only other place I’ve seen such a wide variety of cars is in the AutoTrader!

Jonny, the owner of Pure Detail, not only gave demonstrations of his work, which involves restoring paintwork to better-than-showroom condition, but also extended his demonstration to show how everyone not to light a barbeque. The level of care and attention to detail that Jonny has for his work is second to none, and that can easily be seen in the results. Minute swirls in the paint, that are just enough to make the paint dull and lifeless, are completely removed, leaving a glass-like finish that has to be seen to be believed.

See some examples below, or the full set at www.lmx-creative.co.uk

Dying Matters Leeds Event

Today I was lucky enough to be attending as the photographer for one of the first events of its kind in the region, the Dying Matters Leeds Event at Shine in Harehills. The whole event was put together (and hosted) by One Life Ceremonies and The Fantastic Funeral Company and if you ask me, they did a great job!

Having no previous involvement in the funeral industry, I had no idea what Dying Matters was all about, or that it was Dying Matters Awareness Week May 16^th – 22^nd. Apparently it’s a national campaign and coalition, with over 14,000 members, all trying to change public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards death, dying and bereavement in the UK. So this event was to try and encourage people to talk more openly about death and dying.

There were a number of organisations with display stands, including Access to Health and Healing, Alzheimer’s Society, Carers Leeds, Change and the Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, and guest speakers from Leeds Palliative Care Team, Macmillan Cancer Support and Leeds Bereavement Forum, all talking on the theme “Why dying matters to me…” from a personal or professional perspective.

Taking the event in a slightly different direction, the author of the Good Funeral Guide, Charles Cowling was there, speaking about his book and answering questions from the audience. While this didn’t always give the answers people were expecting, I found him to be extremely informative and thought that he gave a much more light-hearted perspective to what could be considered a very solemn subject. I was also impressed to see a showing of a DVD produced by Change, giving their thoughts on planning your funeral. It was something that I hadn’t been expecting to see and not only was the content impressive, but the whole production seemed very professional too. This was later followed with another video, featuring Emmerdale’s Billy Hartman, who gave us an insight into his perspective of why dying matters.

Given the quality of the event (and the food!), I found it hard to believe that it was FREE for all the attendees. Overall I thought the day went extremely well, and it was a pleasure to be involved!

Below are a few photos from the event, with more available to view in the gallery on my website. Feel free to have a look around and I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as we all enjoyed the event!

1940s Hollywood Inspired Shoot – The Day

Well today was the day. The day that all the plans came together, and I actually got to spend some time with other suppliers in the wedding business!

As strange as that might sound to anyone that’s planning a wedding, although we’re all involved in your big day and all have very important parts to play, it’s rare that we actually get chance to speak to each other for more than a passing “Hello”.

So. Back to the day. It was a pretty early start for me, as I was meeting Victoria (the “Bride”) at Essentials Beauty Studio in Garforth for an appointment to have some new eyelashes especially for the day (by that I mean Victoria was having the eyelashes, not me ). Now maybe it’s just because I’m a bloke and have never had this done myself, but I was AMAZED at the work involved in doing something which I thought would be so simple. The care and precision that Catherine had while she was placing each lash, one-by-one, was remarkable. All the time Victoria was laid there relaxing, while being made to look even more beautiful, Catherine was making sure each lash was placed in just the right way to look fuller, but still very natural. Again, with me being hardly an expert on these things, apparently it’s common for people’s eyelids to get stuck together while they’re having this kind of treatment (is treatment the right word?) but Catherine prides herself in making sure this doesn’t happen, and with the level of care that she takes, it’s hardly surprising that the results look absolutely fantastic.

Next on the agenda for the day, was a trip to the shop right next door to Essentials, to pick up the veil from Alison at Precious Bridal. It was only a flying visit as Alison would be meeting us later at 3 Albion Place with the dress, but we needed the veil earlier so that it could be used by Alison Clegg (yes another Alison) from Beauty Call, so that she would be able to sort Victoria‘s hair, knowing how the small Linzi Jay veil would fit.

Finally, it was time to pick up Chris (the “Groom”), get all my kit together and get down to 3 Albion Place in Leeds. Luckily, although it’s right in the centre of Leeds, there’s a car park less than 100 yards away, so it wasn’t too far for us to lug all my bags! We got there, had a quick lunch, and started to get ready. Alison got to work on Victoria‘s hair and make-up while Chris made the most of the internet access, and kept us all amused with Britain’s Got Talent clips on YouTube. This was another point where I was seriously impressed with the work someone was doing. Not only was Chris a whizz on YouTube but the amount of skill it needs to apply makeup properly, not only to look good in person, but also on camera, is unbelievable. I can understand why they’re called make-up artists, there really is an art to it and Alison‘s a natural.

While Victoria was getting ready, Alison arrived with the Ellis Bridals dress, and I helped Niki (Florescence) carry the flowers into the venue. The furniture was laid out for a reception and while Charlotte carried the (ShakeBake)cake in and set it up on the stand, Lindsay Chalfont from Ambience Leeds sorted all the chair covers. Once Alison had helped Victoria into her dress and Chris had had his make-up done, it was time for the photos.

This is where the real work started Wanting to give it a ’40s Hollywood feel, the dress, hair, make-up, veil (and Victoria) all combined to make the perfect bride. With Chris in his black tie they seemed an ideal couple, even if they did struggle to keep a straight face in each other’s company. After getting all the photos we wanted, we had a sneaky slice of cake and called it a day.

Thanks to everyone involved in making it such a great day!

See the full set at http://www.lmx-creative.co.uk

Like my page at facebook.com/lmxcreative

1940s Hollywood Inspired Shoot

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the photos from today’s shoot at 3 Albion Place, Leeds.

More details and the full set of photos will be here later in the week!

Thanks to Essentials Beauty Studio, Precious (Garforth), Florescence Floral Boutique, Shake Bake Cake,Beauty Call, Ambience Venue Styling, and most importantly Victoria and Christopher. (Not forgetting me here at LMX Creative!)

The Bride and Groom

Sunshine at last!

I hope this weather lasts! I’m meeting with a bride at Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel tomorrow evening and it’d be great to be out in this!

Laura and Mark’s Engagement Party

Well for a change on Saturday morning, I managed to catch up on a bit of sleep. It was definitely needed though, as Saturday night was time to pack all my kit up and head down to Henry’s Cafe Bar in Leeds, for Laura and Mark’s engagement party. It was already dark by the time I arrived and the DJ had the tunes pumping out, so it seemed to be off to a good start.

When the guests started arriving, we moved to the area that had been reserved for the party and waited for the food. It didn’t take long for it to arrive, and while it was still being laid on the tables, a certain person thought they’d be able to get away with helping themselves without being noticed. He must have forgotten that I was there.

Like most good parties, people soon finished with the food and stuck to the drinks for the rest of the night. To say so much alcohol was drunk, they all did a good job of hiding it! Overall the party seemed like a great success, with everyone having a brilliant night and celebrating until the early hours of the morning.

So to Laura and Mark, congratulations on your engagement and thanks for letting me be a part of your celebrations.

A few photos from the night are attached below, with the rest available at www.lmx-creative.co.uk