We’d met ‘Nutter’ the Rottweiler two years ago on first meeting his owners, Mark and Claire at Barony Castle when they were making plans for their wedding. Following that meeting we were delighted when the couple got in touch with us to ask us to photograph their big day. Not to be left out of the celebrations, Nutter made his grand appearance for one of the family group shots and was immaculately behaved especially around the bride’s wedding dress!

It seems to have been such a busy time since the last post on the blog.  Kathryn and myself attended the British Master Photographers Association Annual Awards at Newcastle where I was honoured to be presented with my Fellowship distinction qualification.  I was also awarded the Best UK Associate photography Panel of 2009, and Awards of Excellence in two other categories.

September has certainly been a double celebration for us. Paul and I are delighted, and honoured, to have been nominated for a VOWS award this year.  These Scottish Industry Awards recognise companies that offer consistent, excellent service in the wedding industry.  We would like to say a massive thanks to all of our couples who voted for us - we feel very honoured to have got this far! We would also like to extend our congratulations to all of the other nominees who have worked so hard making Scottish weddings so special up and down the country!

We are also delighted to say that Paul has been shortlisted as a finalist in three categories in the MPA National Awards being presented on October 11th in Newcastle.  The event is also being filmed for television to be broadcast at a later date (I think I’ll be hiding from the camera all night! KW). 

Today, was certainly a day for the nerves as my “Associate” Panel with the Master Photographers Association was assessed by a panel of 7 judges down in Darlington.  The panel of 20 photographic prints was not only deemed to pass the associate distinction, it was judged to be deserving of the higher “Fellowship standard”.  To quote the MPA, “the Fellowship distinction is the highest qualification attainable and recognises distinguished individual ability and exceptional standards of excellence”.  The whole process wasn’t made any easier by the television cameras following you and I’m sure I spoke some gibberish. Anyway, I’m absolutely thrilled and shall certainly have a glass of wine or two tonight ! 

It’s official, I have just received the top prize at the Master Photographers Association (Scotland) Annual Awards along with another 7 Overall Winner’s Titles. I was thrilled to initially gain the “Most Promising Photographer of the Year” award for one of my classical wedding images, yet it was certainly a great honour to then surpass this top award by gaining the highly coveted “Overall Winner - Scottish Master Photographer of the Year” title for 2009 with an image from one of my portrait photography sessions.

The awards were judged by Bella West and Simon John, both accomplished photographers and Fellows of the MPA. Bella West commented: “Paul Walker’s achievements at the awards were outstanding, and as one of the judges, it is rare to see a photographer who is so consistently prolific in his field within a competition. All the categories were incredibly difficult to judge due to the high standard but Paul’s images from capture to print were in a league of their own.” Simon John said: “Paul is talented with a keen eye for quality and originality across so many disciplines of portraiture. I am certain Paul will go straight to the top, a very bright future ahead of him indeed.”
The Master Photographers Association is one of the country most high profile professional organisations for full time photographers. Their regional awards are entered by the finest in the area and it is always highly competitive.

Paul Walker’s achievements at these annual awards for photography are documented below:

Overall Scottish Master Photographer of the Year
Most Promising Scottish Photographer of the Year
Overall Winner – Most Promising Classic Wedding Photographer
Overall Winner - Under 5’s
Overall Winner – Monochrome
Overall Winner – Animals and Pets
Overall Winner – Open Award
Overall Winner – Gordon McGowan Award

Certificates of Merit were also obtained in the categories of “Family”, “Reportage Wedding” and “Complete and Contemporary Portrait” Categories. A selection of just some of those images making the headlines is shown below. Thanks to all of our customers past and present for making this journey so enjoyable