Last week I had the pleasure of joining Surrey’s very own domestic goddess, Fiona Humberstone, for a morning of culinary culture. A small group of friends gathered in Fiona’s kitchen in aid of a charity fundraising morning, for the Raleigh School Falcon Wing Appeal. Their aim is to raise a whopping £100,000 by July 2012, and the campaign has been launched to urgently raise new funds for new classrooms.

We made a whole host of scrummy delights, none of which were good for the waistline – but, hey, who cares?! I also took my trusty new camera to record the morning’s fun, so here is the story of the morning, from my point of view …

This is just very Fiona – cookery books, style and colours galore.

We made marshmallow, from scratch!

And chocolate bark thingy …

Nana’s crunchie oatcakes…

And, yes Fi, heavenly Chocolate Brownies !

A fantastic morning with friends, all for a good cause – more details of the appeal can be found at the Raleigh School Falcon Wing Appeal website.

When the weather is like it is now, with the sun shining, and the daffodils out, being a photographer feels like the best job in the world. Travelling around to meet new friends and families, is such an exhilarating feeling and I think we all feel a little happier with good weather.

But, for me, it’s not just the travelling around. I used to run my business from home, which has its advantages, but there are quite a few negatives to that, too. These days, however, working up at Dunley Hill Court is just splendid. A collection of converted farm buildings, nestled in the Surrey Hills, make for a fantastic working environment.

The farmland is still worked, and right now we have a full compliment of gorgeously adorable baby lambs – some just a few days old. It’s been a goal of mine for several years to photograph lambs, and so I was very grateful to have been granted access to the fields where the lambs are running around.

My first attempt was a complete failure, as the entire mob of sheep shot to the far end of the field as soon as they spotted me. So yesterday afternoon, I headed for the smaller field and after just 20 minutes the small flock realised I was not a threat and so got on with their grass munching. Unfortunately not a lot of pronking going on, so I will be trying that again soon – however what I did manage to get was just too cute. See for yourself :

Unlucky for some, but not for us !!

We are so very excited to tell you that after a mammoth 5 hour judging session at last night’s MPA Awards for the South Eastern Region, Matt Pereira Photography picked up no less than THIRTEEN awards.

The MPA (Master Photographers Association) was Established in 1952 and with over 2,000 members, it is the United Kingdom’s only organisation for full time, qualified and professional photographers.

The Master Photography Awards are the most prestigious awards for photography in the UK.

You may remember our marvellous success at last year’s SE Region Awards, where we won a whole host of accolades.

Well, this year we may not have managed overall photographer of the year but maintained a very good consistency in several areas. The categories are slightly different this year, but essentially the same really.

Here is a list of what we won …

WINNER – MPA Pictorial, Illustrative & Fine Art Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Award of Excellence (2nd Place) – MPA Pictorial, Illustrative & Fine Art Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
WINNER – MPA Press, PR & Stock Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Award of Excellence (2nd Place) – MPA Press, PR & Stock Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Award of Excellence (2nd Place) – MPA Fashion Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Award of Merit (3rd Place) – MPA Family Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region

Followed by …

One Award of Merit in Children’s Portraiture
One Award of Merit in Family Portraiture
Two Awards of Merit in Contemporary Weddings
Two Awards of Merit in Wedding Photojournalism
One Award of Merit in Contemporary Portraiture

Had the decision fallen to award the Overall Photographer of the Year Award on a points basis (5pt for 1st, 3pt for 2nd, 1pt for 3rd) we would have taken that win as well, for the second year in a row – but, alas, it was not to be on this occasion.

Nonetheless, we are thrilled again to have scooped so many wins and merits. Here are all of the winning images:

WINNER – MPA Pictorial, Illustrative & Fine Art Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Taken in a backlit alley in Brighton as a bit of an experiment!

Award of Excellence (2nd Place) – MPA Pictorial, Illustrative & Fine Art Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
My gorgeous girlfriend, Helen, in Lanzarote earlier this year. She endured this jump with a really sore and stiff neck, but knew that I was on to something …

WINNER – MPA Press, PR & Stock Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
This image was taken as part of a set for Helen Nathan, mother to four gorgeous daughters … you may think that there are only three in the image, but there is one more. Namely Flossie Crums, featured on the McDougalls flour packet !

Award of Excellence (2nd Place) – MPA Press, PR & Stock Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
This is one of my all-time favourite shots from the last 12 months – you have heard me talk before about the amazing singer/songwriter Rachel Golding. This is an “accidental” shot from her PR shoot, taken as I was just doing a lighting test !

Award of Excellence (2nd Place) – MPA Fashion Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Having won this category last year, it was a shame to only come second this time around, but I am pleased with another ‘podium finish’. This shot of the gorgeous Anna Quirk from Bookings Models, was taken for a Yarwood White bridal fashion shoot.

Award of Merit (3rd Place) – MPA Family Photographer of the Year 2011, SE Region
Another podium finish in the Family category, which we won last year – a beautiful and intimate family portrait taken for a Baby Surrey magazine Welcome to the World feature..

Award of Merit in Family Photography
Just outside the top three – a cracking family shot of Sian and her boys!

Two Awards of Merit in Contemporary Wedding Photography
Rachel and Simon, seemingly on a destination wedding, but very local indeed!

The lovely Sarah and Richard, partaking in their first dance.

Two Awards of Merit in Wedding Photojournalism
Two completely different days, weather-wise – the first was Katrina and Richard on a nasty day, down on the South Coast …

… followed by a gorgeously hot day for Emily & Rich, at Chiddingstone Castle.

Award of Merit in Children’s Portraiture
Just William, on the sand dunes in Northern France …

Award of Merit in Contemporary Portraiture
And the final award, once again with the very talented Rachel Golding …

All in all, a fantastic day in the company of some very, very good photographers. A massive thanks goes out to all of my models, parents, subjects, babies and everybody involved in helping make each and every one of these images. Without you, the people, none of it would ever be possible …

And of course, a big thank you to Ray Lowe, our judge for last night … what marvellous taste he has!

Well, already it seems like my two-week holiday happened months ago, when in fact I have only been home for about 10 days! But the memory remains. And it was amazing. Two weeks of sun, the rediscovery of a love for SCUBA Diving and, most importantly, no work whatsoever !

This was my first proper “sunny destination” holiday since I started my business, some five years ago, and whilst there it saddened me to think that such a long time had passed without a proper break. Such is the draw and the sense of responsibility for what had been a new business, it’s easy to allow your work-life balance to fall off kilter.

But, I came back with a renewed sense of balance, feeling emotionally refreshed and ready to greet the backlog. In honesty, I feel like I need another holiday to recharge the physical batteries – nitrogen build up from such a large number of dives after such a long break takes its toll !

One of the other things I took a break from was photography – oh, the irony ! That said, there were a few opportunities for some special stuff, and so here, for your viewing delight, is a taster. All of these were taken early on, at Papagayo, the Southern most point of Lanzarote, overlooking the neighbouring island of Fuertaventura.

Anybody who knows me well, knows that I love, love, love clouds and silhouettes … and if they can be mixed, well, all the better:

Me, jumping over Fuertaventura for a bit of fun …

On the next trip, hopefully later this year, I hope to be doing some underwater photography too !

Once again to the London Photo Walk, and looking up in the middle of a market, whose name I cannot remember ! Reminds me of the inside of a spaceship (not that I have ever seen inside one, but you know what I mean!)