Locations or "Hang On, I Recognise That Place!"

One of the most interesting elements of my job is the rich variety of locations it takes me to. People get married in an incredible variety of places and, thanks to my work, I’ve seen locations that I’d otherwise probably never have visited or that, in some case, I’d not even have had access to. This sometimes manifests itself in me getting very excited and squawking outrageously at the TV/Cinema/YouTube etc (delete as appropriate) when I spot a venue that I’ve been lucky enough to work at.

I find that shooting in a location has an interesting side effect on how I remember a scene. I find that the act of photography commits a location to memory with a permanence and indelibility far beyond that which would otherwise occur. I can see the briefest snippets of a venue I’ve shot at and instantly recognise it. Sometimes I will spot friends’ photographs on Facebook, for example from when they are guests at a wedding, and from the simplest things – the moulding of a window in the background, the silhouette of a sofa – I am immediately transported back to the place and time. It’s become something of an unofficial game for me!

Film is a particular passion for me, and a regular source of photographic inspiration, and a frequent ritual of mine is catching up on all the latest trailer releases and adding the ones that pique my interest to the IMDB Watchlist. Recently I had one of these fleeting “Hang On, I Recognise That Place!” moments while watching the trailer for the forthcoming Mr Holmes film starring Ian McKellen.

In the 11th and 12th second of the trailer, a lady is seen walking, at a bit of a lick, through a vaulted area. This had me squawking away as I recognised it as the undercroft beneath the chapel at Lincoln’s Inn. I shot Amelia & Leon’s Wedding at Lincoln’s Inn back in 2013 and we did some of their creative portraits in the exact same area.

This was the most recent sighting of a location from my wedding travels, but there have been quite a few over the years. Here are some that standout.

Hedsor House – featured in Quartet

I’ve shot quite a few weddings at Hedsor over the last few years including Shari & Neil’s which features below.

Wilton’s Music Hall – featured in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Dave & Beth’s Wedding at Wilton’s Music Hall wayback in 2010 was a real landmark in my early career and their amazing venue – the world’s oldest surviving music hall – has featured in all sorts of things, most prominently the second Sherlock Holmes movie feat Robert Downey Jr.

Dunsfold Park – The Home of the BBC’s Top Gear

Nancy & Rich had their amazing wedding reception at Dunsfold Park which is most well known for its association with the BBC’s Top Gear. This one wasn’t so much an unexpected spot – I knew going in exactly what goes on at Dunsfold – but it was fun nonetheless seeing the things I’m familiar with from the television and shooting portraits on the Top Gear track finish line!

St Matthias Vicarage – Immortalised in the BBC comedy Rev

Which leaves perhaps my favourite location spot of all time. Hannah & Ollie were married at St Matthias in Stoke Newington. However this time, it is not the Church, pictured below, but the next-door vicarage that holds the claim to fame.

The Vicarage which, woefully, I didn’t photograph (at that time I was unaware of it’s significance!) is Rev Adam Smallbone’s abode (played by the wonderful Tom Hollander) in the hilarious BBC Comedy Rev. As an ardent fan of Rev I will tell any that mentions it the significance of the St Saviour’s Vicarage!

Hannah & Ollie live close by and Hannah walked from her house to St Matthias on the wedding day. I shot the below image as she made her way to the wedding ceremony.

Enter Google Streetview, to bridge the divide between the photograph above and the Rev Vicarage from the clip above. It is essentially directly behind where I’m standing to take the above image, so simply spin the viewpoint around to see the house of the esteemed Rev Adam Smallbone!

So yes, this is a pretty nerdy blog post, but it seemed like fun on a Saturday morning in the off season! Let me know in the comments if you’ve seen obscure or unusual locations from your own travels pop up in films/tv etc!