And the winner of our Picture of the Year 2010 competition with the most votes is…. number 3!

This image was taken in Alella, outside Barcelona and I think it is a great example of how as a photographer you should never give up searching for moments. Like all of my favourite pictures, there’s undoubtedly a bit of cunning and luck involved. For me, some photographs just fall out of the sky and this was one of my favourites from one of my destination weddings last year.

All of the guests had departed for the reception and this was just a lovely quiet moment shared between the bride and groom before myself and the driver returned to the car for our departure. The bride and groom had no idea I’d taken the image at the time.

So congratulations to the winning couple, there is a bottle of champagne and an 18×12″ print on its way to you. I have also drawn a winner from all the people that voted on our blog and the winner is Adria G who will be receiving a bottle of Champagne.

Thank you to all who took the time to vote and send comments!

It’s competition time!

In my photographs I always look for composition and lighting first. I then wait for just the right moment that tells the story within the frame. With that in mind, I have selected some of my favourite images from 2010 and would like my blog readers to choose their favourite.

So here’s how it works – the image with either the most votes or the most insightful comment (as to why you love the image) will win and the couple will receive an 18×12″ print and a bottle of champagne.

As a way of thanking you for your time, everyone who votes will have their name placed into a hat and one person will win either a bottle of champagne or a one hour phonecall for a chat about our business, photography or life in general!!

*Only one vote per person and please make sure you leave your email address so we can get in touch with you if your name is pulled out of the hat.

*Update* Thanks to everyone who voted and sent comments. We’ve published just a few of our favourite comments below. Closing date 14th Feb – Winners announced 15th Feb.

Mark A: Fabulous moment – the little boy on the left with his hand up to his eye! Wonderful! [Feb 8, 2011 10:33 am]

Sarah McC: The joy in this photograph – a keen sense of awareness, observation and timing shown by the photographer! [Feb 9, 2011 4:19 pm]

Bronagh C: What a moment! I love how no-one is looking at the camera – you can’t see the bride but you can just imagine her coming up the path! Fantastic! [Feb 6, 2011 10:14 pm]

David C: It portrays the ending of one era and the beginning of the next [Feb 1, 2011 11:16 pm]

Geraldine: Amanda walking on her way to happiness..I expected her to run she was so excited!! [Jan 30, 2011 10:53 am]

Louise D: It\’s my beautiful sister walking down the aisle on one of the best days of 2010!! [Jan 29, 2011 4:39 pm]

Bronagh C: It is a very artistic angle and I can only imagine what she was feeling as she completed that walk! [Feb 1, 2011 11:14 pm]

Amanda B: It captures my favourite memory of our amazing wedding day so beautifully. I close my eyes and can remember ever nano second about that moment! [Jan 29, 2011 4:26 pm]

Richard B: It’s the moment I first saw my Bride.
Beat that….. [Jan 28, 2011 11:51 am]

Jane H: Once in a while no words can describe what you see, especially when its perfection personified. [Feb 8, 2011 8:16 pm]

Conrad: It captures a private moment between the couple when they manage to get away on their own for the first time as ‘Mr & Mrs’. It also reminds me of a beautiful old ‘hollywood golden era’ picture taken in the 50s or 60′s. [Jan 31, 2011 10:06 am]

John F: I like it because they don’t know they’re being photographed and it’s very natural and captures a truly genuine moment from the day. [Feb 2, 2011 3:15 pm]

James McI: This photo shows the first moment of seclusion for the couple in their marriage. After all the stress of organising in the days, weeks & months beforehand and the sleepless night before the wedding – this photo represents the first moment of bliss when they had only each other. [Jan 28, 2011 4:32 pm]

Pat C: Its just magic. Two best friends Two lovers Now Husband and Wife Made for each other. [Jan 28, 2011 8:25 pm]

Ciara N: I really love the grainy effect in the picture. It gives the image texture. [Jan 28, 2011 2:30 pm]

John F: I like it because they don’t know they’re being photographed and it’s very natural and captures a truly genuine moment from the day. [Jan 28, 2011 8:25 pm]

Martin K: There’s a wonderful feeling to this photograph – the bride and groom must have been thrilled to see this moment shown back to them – fantastic picture! [Feb 12, 2011 2:09 pm]

Steven K: Has that feel of a classic photograph yet it’s not been setup which I think makes it even better – to know that the moment is real. [Feb 13, 2011 4:42 pm]

Marionette: love this one – it’s very like an Elliott Erwitt image! [Feb 13, 2011 8:12 pm]

Fiona C: what a special photograph [Feb 13, 2011 10:25 pm]

Mary M: Fantastic image you must have sneaked up on them – brilliant! [Feb 13, 2011 10:55 pm]

Sarah C: like all of your photographs Dylan, the fact that they’re not ‘camera aware’ makes it! [Feb 13, 2011 10:42 pm]

Anna B: I love the way the little girl is on her tippy toes to get a look – a wonderfully observed moment. [Feb 5, 2011 8:06 pm]

Laura H: Such a natural moment that conveys the joy and excitement of getting ready.  Can sense the pride and love of a mother. [Feb 1, 2011 12:32 pm]

Fiona McC: this is such a gorgeous, happy photo.  It makes you wonder what all the girls are laughing at!!! [Jan 28, 2011 8:45 pm]

Sandrine R: Very natural. Dylan caught a funny moment of true complicity.   [Jan 31, 2011 9:26 am]

Kathryn L: Dylan, I love this picture, it is just one of many moments of joy you caught that day…I think we were laughing at Hannahs “assets” being revealed as the dress was laced tight!   [Feb 3, 2011 7:31 pm]

Gareth M: The composition, the framing and the timing of it is fantastic! [Feb 3, 2011 10:12 pm]

Emma T: It’s just the two of them in their own little world – wonderful! [Feb 4, 2011 6:25 pm]

Emma M: Amazing landscape and very special memories. Granted it was a bit of a surprise when the veil went flying and luckily I didn’t go with it but I think it’s a fantastic photo that we love to look at. [Jan 26, 2011 5:10 pm]

Lynn B: Reminds me of what a great day we all had! [Jan 26, 2011 9:58 pm]

Hazel W: It was an unusual photo showing an artistic balance of light & shade & lovely scenery & highlighting the romantic drift of the bride’s veil. I especially liked the fact that it was not posed giving the moment a special magic. [Jan 26, 2011 6:01 pm]

Andrea L: Love the expression on the girl on the left – great picture [Feb 10, 2011 10:53 am]

Rebecca S: I love the light in this image and the timing and the feeling of happiness [Feb 10, 2011 1:18 pm]

Colin P: I love how the photograph has been taken right at the point where the groom is twirling his bride around – their expressions are fabulous also – stunning capture! [Feb 11, 2011 8:25 pm]

Suzanne McC: A little biased as this is my sister. This image just shows the excitement in her eyes and you can tell she is very happy, even though she was nervous, I just see happiness. Despite not being able to see Neil’s face, I know he is smiling back at her. Thanks for the special memories. [Jan 29, 2011 10:37 am]

Sophie B: I love this image because it captures the most important moment of the entire ceremony ie- the beautiful glint in the brides eye! [Jan 28, 2011 2:44 pm]

Debbie H: This is absolutely stunning as it captures a very unique image of an unforgettable moment! [Feb 7, 2011 12:03 pm]

Lisa McC: love the way she is holding onto him as they dance – very romantic image [Feb 10, 2011 4:58 pm]

Helen C: i love how the light shows the detail on the back of the dress and it’s a real moment where the bride’s Mum is fixing the veil – the light really makes this picture [Feb 11, 2011 8:28 am]

Stephen S: I love how the photograph is a wide scene to capture this moment showing all the faces in the crowd – great composition and timing! [Feb 11, 2011 10:07 am]

Tracy M: I think you always photograph children so beautifully, but this is my favourite of all your photos I’ve seen. She looks so innocent and delicate in her little flowergirl’s dress, and there she is trying to lift a big heavy stone, like a mini Atlas trying to hold up the world – inspiringly ambitious for one so young! [Feb 9, 2011 12:20 pm]

Maeve K: The innocence of a child’s mind. All she wanted to do was to pick up the ‘ball’! How do I know this?, because it’s my wee Goddaughter! Fabulous photo! [Feb 12, 2011 6:00 pm]

Nicola:She looks so oblivious to the camera and it genuinely seems as though she is going to lift this big stone. She is so cute ! [Feb 12, 2011 8:57 pm]

Maggie P: I love the way there is so much going on in this picture. Music playing, register bring signed and bride and groom sneaking a quite moment for themselves. Gorgeous picture. [Feb 12, 2011 6:08 pm]

Catherine B: Such a tender look about Cathy…she is truly a beautiful bride [Feb 12, 2011 9:49 pm]

Claire C: you catch the most beautiful looks between your couples – i just love the way the bride in this picture is looking at her groom – it’s fantastic! [Feb 10, 2011 8:02 pm]

Mary M: You captured Rachel’s sparkle and calmness which she carried throughout the special day!! [Feb 2, 2011 10:24 am]

Steve M: Love the fact it’s in black and white and it’s such a natural look. [Feb 1, 2011 7:49 pm]

Maurice C: Simple, honest and capturing a girl in love and a nice feeling of depth. [Feb 5, 2011 6:38 pm]

Wilma T:A quiet moment for Rachel on a wonderful day. A glance back at her old life on the way to the new! [Feb 2, 2011 3:09 pm]

Kevin M: my daughter! what a moment, what a day! i love that wee look of happiness and anticipation! almost like a gaze to the future through a mirror. brilliant! [Feb 2, 2011 11:00 pm]

Su Lewis: The bride looks calm but there’s a nervous edge to her! A fab picture in black and white to make it a timeless classic! [Feb 3, 2011 3:07 pm]

Colette McL: I love this picture as it is so glamourous and elegant,it captures all the feelings that a bride has on her special day and shows off Rachels true beauty [Feb 3, 2011 1:12 pm]

Alma W: love this picture of Rachel its just so …moving with the little backward glance leaving home to move towards the next wonderful chapter of her life. [Feb 6, 2011 6:30 pm]

Adeline McB:I love this picture and the image portrays calmness and serenity – quite enchanting. [Feb 11, 2011 4:46 pm]

Liz: It captures the essence of a new beginning [Feb 11, 2011 11:22 pm]

Ruth C: A classic photograph of Rachel. You captured the brides beauty and thoughtfulness. [Feb 12, 2011 1:31 pm]

Ben S: Just one moment of a million moments that day; captured, and frozen in time. Framed perfectly by the structure of the car, Rachel looks beautifully pensive, with a hint of joyous expectation… [Feb 13, 2011 9:17 am]

Colleen C: I loved this pic of Aoibheann and Neil because of the difference in height between them and Neil’s protective hold of his new wife. It just looks truly beautiful. :) [Jan 28, 2011 12:39 pm]

Catriona: It captured a beautiful realistic moment between the happy couple in a very scenic location [Feb 4, 2011 10:22 pm]

Cian McC: Dylan, this is my favourite photo from our wedding. I love that it captures the majesty of the building, as well as us and all out guests. Stunning shot! [Feb 9, 2011 12:53 pm]

Danielle: You can feel the happiness and relaxation of the bride and groom. [Jan 28, 2011 2:40 pm]

Angela C: Has the look of a real life moment. [Jan 31, 2011 9:36 pm]

Catriona W: The image portrays a thoughtful act of love by the groom assisting his bride. the bride is radiant and looks forward to her reception. the groom is starting off as he means to go on in assisting his bride :) [Feb 4, 2011 10:35 pm]

Paula G: I love the fact that I am now Mrs Graham; I feel so happy & proud to be Gerard’s wife. This is the start of our wonderful journey together forever! [Jan 31, 2011 9:36 pm]

Lucy C: It’s simply beautiful – just a breathtaking image of a perfect couple, in the perfect location and the perfect image! [Feb 13, 2011 7:18 pm]

Elizabeth N: Everyone is so relaxed and happy I remember seeing the photographer at the wedding just standing back and waiting for the right moment to snap beautiful, beautiful job! such good memories picture tells it all. [Jan 31, 2011 11:57 pm]

Betty H: To me this image tells a story of such a fun and happy time. Everyone looks so natural and comfortable, the bride is radiant and the photo itself is so alive. it’s almost as if you could walk right into it and join the wedding celebrations. I love it! [Jan 29, 2011 8:26 pm]

Bridget R: I love this photo, it says it all. If any picture is worth a thousand words, it is this one. All you have to do is look at the photo to know that you captured the love and happiness that Angie was feeling that day. No words were needed, the photo says it all! [Jan 29, 2011 7:50 pm]

Elaine D: You’ve captured the bride with a look of joy in her smile…joy in her new husbands speech, joy in the look of contentment and joy in the look of love she gives him. [Jan 28, 2011 8:25 pm]

Eileen D: I love the movement, the animation of the people in the photograph. You’ve captured a living moment that will resonate through time. [Jan 29, 2011 9:13 pm]

Ann K: I love how you captured Angie’s beautiful smile.  She is absolutly glowing.  Both she and Darren look so happy. [Jan 30, 2011 1:45 am]

Allie R: An insightful comment need not be posted as the picture says it all… you can simply look at the expression on my sister’s face and be filled with emotion…I’ve known Angela for 28 years and never have I seen her so happy! An age old question, “how do you know when you have found your soul mate?”…from this day forward if someone asks me, I will simply show them this photograph and reply, “when you look at him like this”. [Jan 30, 2011 6:23 pm]

Angela M: I love this picture. It tells the story of one of the reasons I fell in love with Darren in the first place, he always makes me laugh. This is a typical \”Darren & Angie\” moment. Here’s to years and years of those! [Feb 3, 2011 4:05 pm]

Yvonne F: This photo truely shows the bride Angie with an expression of love and admiration on her face for her groom in such a natural pose. Everyone is looking to Darren and clapping as he speaks and he has his hand up like he’s saying “Hold on there’s more.” Love it! [Feb 13, 2011 4:29 pm]

Amanda M: I love how in the moment everyone is. [Feb 13, 2011 11:00 pm]

Stuart C: 3 happy couples lined up from background, main and foreground with the happy couple in the main. [Feb 10, 2011 9:10 am]

Lesley P: Bride and Groom are obviously in love! What a beautiful picture. [Feb 8, 2011 2:21 pm]

Adria G: When you look at this photograph you are there, on the dance floor with the couple.The kiss doesn’t look posed so it’s almost like you’re seeing something private. I also love the way photographers in the background have their faces hidden making Laura’s Mum’s face stand out more. [Feb 8, 2011 8:14 pm]

Heather I: A loving kiss between Husband and Wife – oblivious to everyone around them-a wonderful moment to capture and treasure. [Feb 10, 2011 4:06 pm]

Alicia H: I love that it is not a posed picture and you can see how relaxed and truly in love they are! Magical! [Feb 8, 2011 10:05 am]

Heather I: A loving kiss between Husband and Wife-oblivious to everyone around them-a wonderful moment to capture and treasure [Feb 10, 2011 4:06 pm]

Claire S: The way you’ve framed this picture at the precise moment they kiss is incredible [Feb 11, 2011 9:06 am]

Katie K: Laura and Colin – the stars of the photograph and the focus of all yet lost in their own private moment! Beautiful! [Feb 13, 2011 7:14 pm]

Lesley R: Very natural. Obviously not staged which makes the moment more special. [Feb 13, 2011 9:02 pm]

Nina H: A truly stunning picture which captures the magic and love seen in the first dance. This picture was taken at the perfect time and gives a real feel for the wedding. Great photo! [Feb 11, 2011 7:35 pm]

Mrs Audrey C: the kiss is soo magical as if they are the only couple on the dance floor. [Feb 13, 2011 10:03 pm]

Katy and Marc were married at the beautiful Holy Cross church in Belfast with a reception at the Merchant Hotel in the centre of the city. With no evening celebrations to cover this was a slightly shorter coverage than usual for me :)

Again, the people were just so friendly and accommodating and for me, this is what a wedding is all about. The snow had gone, thankfully, making it safe underfoot for the first time in weeks.

These are my personal favourites. For the photographers out there, these were all taken on a Nikon D3S with either a 14-24mm f2.8 or a 24-70mm f2.8 lens with the processing done using my presets in Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS4:

And so it was that the last of my Christmas weddings saw me travelling up a snowy road in Doagh for some old friends in what was a very special day behind the camera for me.

Lynda, Mike and myself all went to the same grammar school years ago. Lynda was the quiet one and Mike was the life and soul of the class (I was the quiet one in the back…;) Lynda and I in fact, used to sit beside each other in primary school.

My parents moved away from Carrickfergus to be closer to my Grandmother in Belfast when I was 10 years old and it would be another six years before I’d see Lynda again.

During the speeches Mike recounted a beautiful story of how they first met. Lynda had transferred to our school for sixth form and on hearing my name on the class register she had looked around to see if she could see (and recognise) me. And it was at that point when she first saw Mike and the spark was set!

All of these years later they tied the knot in the beautiful Saint Brides Parish church just outside Doagh in County Antrim before heading up to the Galgorm Resort for the wedding reception. Personally and professionally, this wedding was just wonderful (even if it is always a little more challenging when you personally know the clients).

Out the front of the church after the ceremony someone said to me in passing, “Dylan – doesn’t it seem like a dream?” And I have to say, it absolutely did – the light was just fantastic and with the sun shining and snow on the ground, the scene was set for some lovely moments.

These are my personal favourite photographs from the day: – my thanks to Rev Paul Redfern for graciously allowing me access at the front of the church. As a documentary wedding photographer, without access, many of these lovely ceremony moments would have been lost to memory.

And as Bob Dylan once wrote, “Take care of all of your memories – for you cannot relive them”.

Ceremony: St Mary’s, Knockbridge, County Louth

Reception: Castle Leslie, Co Monaghan

To me, venues like Castle Leslie act like fabulous film backdrops, which, when filled with the characters of the wedding day, allow me lots of opportunities to document the story of the day by freezing little moments in time with my camera. And this wedding certainly felt like a film to me.

Many of Angela and Darren’s friends and family had flown in from Bermuda and Newfoundland for the day and even though it was cold and damp outside I have to say I enjoyed every minute of covering this wedding.

Ang and Darren sent me these lovely words after seeing their pictures:
“Hi Dylan, Love the pics! Thanks a million for sharing in our special day. I really felt like you were a guest and love what you captured on film…truly amazing and we will cherish them for years to come. We’ll raise a glass to you and your talent in Barcelona!
Angela and Darren”

Here’s a few of my personal favourite photographs from their day:

The first of my Christmas weddings was in County Down with Paula and Gerard’s wedding in Ballykinler and reception at the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle.

The week before the wedding it had snowed a fair bit down in the Mournes and the whole of Northern Ireland was covered in a blanket of ice. Thankfully on the wedding day the sun shone and the church and Mournes provided a fabulous wintry backdrop to the occasion.

Paula sent me a lovely email after seeing their pictures online:
“Hi Dylan; the wedding pictures are gorgeous; I can’t remember you taking half of them! They are so beautiful and everyone looks really happy happy!! I loved my wedding day, wanted to do it all over again; it goes by so quickly!”

I have to say that Paula, Gerard and the whole of their family and friends were a delight to photograph. There’s a real warmth to the people and weddings here in Northern Ireland and especially at this time of year. Here are just some of my favourite moments from the day.

“Time is a jetplane – it moves too fast.” Bob Dylan sang that and it always makes me think of how the year goes by so quickly. This will be my last post of the year as I concentrate on my December weddings and on tying up a few loose ends before the year end. I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year!!

In the meantime, please enjoy a little slideshow of my favourite moments from my 2010 weddings. Some of these will stay with me for the rest of my days – particularly Johanne and Davy’s wedding in Cyprus and Colleen and Karl’s wedding in Barcelona back in April. Enjoy!