BROMLEY LIFE: HELLO, BROMLEY!

We moved in mid-April from Camberwell SE5 to Bromley BR1. It wasn’t really what we wanted, but we are seeing some upsides already. Our new home is gradually coming together, and Bromley itself seems a great place to be. The problems have to do with missing people, a social world and (in my case) being moved away from a real presence as a local Camberwell photographer which has been leading to more and more enquiries for family, commercial and wedding photography.

However, it really is only 20 odd minuites on the train. In fact, the fast trains to Victoria (no stops!) take less than that, so work in either Camberwell or central London is pretty easy to get to.

Aside from my first year or two in Wiltshire and a decade in Brazil, my life has never wandered far from the A23. Brought up between Croydon and Sutton (Wallington), university between Brighton and Lewes (East Sussex), sixteen years living in Haywards Heath (West Sussex), fourteen years working at Charlwood near Horley/Crawley – you could plonk me in any suburb or town between the Kennington and Brighton and I would know my way around and probably know people already.

Bromley, though, is a foreign country. The basic road layout hasn’t become clear to me yet; I actually need Google Maps just to find the shops, still. But we are starting to learn our way around. Compared to an inner London borough, everything seems incredibly sane and kind of lacking in grit. But pleasant!

Market Square, Bromley

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

The Glades Shopping Centre

New View from my Editing Desk

New home in BR1

Photos in this section all taken with my dear old Nikon D700 and the new (to me) Nikkor 24mm PC lens – my first serious tilt/shift piece of glass.

Settling in has not been easy because of the mass of work that I have been plunged into! There is a certain irony in seeing my profile as a professional photographer in Camberwell start to generate a really good flow of enquiries just as we have to move away. I have a string of commissions in Southwark and, I am quite sure, more on the way.

Still, such is life. The journey isn’t arduous, and I have an advantage when it comes to work in Kent and Sussex – I can now get out of London so much more quickly!

My niece’s wedding took place the day before our move. Crazy April weather (gales and rain) but stunning interiors at Salomon’s Estate, Tunbridge Wells. A Kent wedding for this new Bromley-based photographer!

Back to Camberwell for Jean-Noël and Alan’s celebration at Southwark Register office, with reception at the amazing Brunswick House in Vauxhall. 

Banquetting table set in Brunswick House

It would be hard to imagine two more stunning venues for a wedding photographer than Salomon’s Estate, Tunbridge Wells and Brunswick House, Vauxhall. Both have a kind of faded grandeur which my cameras loved. 

My regular work for Affordable Granite has continued – this shot of four of our workshop and fitting staff was for a blog on forthcoming sponsored walks. The commute from Bromley to Charlwood isn’t a lot shorter on the ground than my old journey from Camberwell, but it is far less stressful. 

My regular, quarterly, shoots for the Salvation Army’s International College for Officers have continued too. Again, a great venue; Sunbury Court also has a certain palatial splendour.

As well as the group shot at the ICO, I have always taken individual pictures of each of the delegates with General Brian Peddle, international leader of the Salvation Army, and his wife, Commissioner Rosalie. This occasion was different; General Peddle is retiring in May and this is probably my last time at the ICO with them. So the General’s Private Secretary took one of me with the leaders.

On a wall in the Salvation Army’s International Headquarters near St Paul’s Cathedral hang portraits of all the Generals since William Booth. Here are the last seven – with a space for General Peddle. It has been my privilege in the last few weeks to take the official retirement portrait of the General; I can’t show it yet, but as of this August, it will hang in that empty space. 

As well as wedding and corporate work, I regularly photograph for political campaigns and charities. These two images of Bobby Dean, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Carshalton and Wallington are typical. I like working with Bobby and I think he feels pretty relaxed with me!

I must admit that these weeks have been pretty full on, with little time for rest and relaxation. On top of the move and the workload, my brother has also just moved – within Kent, from Tunbridge Wells to Southborough. Given the losses we have seen as a family over the last months, connecting with Pete seems all the more important – and easier now, as a Bromley-based photographer!

It was his birthday this week, and we had a family lunch at the Toad Rock Retreat to celebrate. I will close with this picture of Pete and my mum. I think he is trying hard not to look like he is having a good time!

So here is the beginning. Just as I did in Camberwell, I hope to have occasional blogs on different aspects of “Bromley Life”. I hope that I won’t lose the momentum my wedding photography has picked up further into south London, and that I will begin to build a name as a leading wedding photographer in Bromley and across Kent. Watch this space!