Times Gone by of a Norfolk Wedding Hotspot | Lynford Hall Hotel | James Neale Photogaphy

Lynford Hall Country House Hotel is a historic mansion house set in the heart of Thetford Forest. Surrounded by beautiful woodland and lakes, it undoubtedly is a very impressive venue. But what makes it so fascinating is that, as well as acres of magnificent grounds, Lynford Hall is also stooped with history and character and certainly has a story to tell.

The current Lynford Hall was built by Mr Lyne-Stephens between 1857 and 1862 to replace the former hall. Mr Lyne-Stephens Became a merchant banker after he made his fortune by inventing dolls eyes that opened and closed. Madame Lyne-Stephens took possession of it as a widow when Mr Lyne-Stephens passed away in 1860, at the age of sixty. At the time of his death he was considered to be the richest commoner in the reign of Queen Victoria and left one million pounds.

It was at Lynford Hall where Madame Lyne-Stephens spent the greatest part of her widowhood life devoting herself to the duties of a great landowner. She owned approximately eight thousand acres of land which was widely regarded as one of the finest sporting estates in East Anglia. This caught the eye of Queen Victoria’s advisers, who in 1861, had been instructed to acquire a suitable property for her son, Edward Prince of Wales. At that time, the ownership of Lynford Hall was being contested by many claimants and this is said to have put off the royals from purchasing the Hall. They subsequently decided to buy Sandringham Estate as their Norfolk retreat.

Lynford and its grounds changed hands a number of times around the turn of the century and in September 1924 under the ownership of Captain Fredrick James Osbaldeston Montague, 6,200 acres of grounds were sold to the Forestry Commission, which consequently became Thetford Forest Park.

In 1928 a fire in the east wing broke out and destroyed part of the Hall.  This was never replaced and only the basement still remains.

Lynford Hall became home to Sir James Calder in 1930. Sir James Calder, who was the United Kingdom ambassador to the United States, frequently entertained his great American friend Joseph Kennedy and his son John F Kennedy at Lynford Hall. They would regularly attend the chapel and hunt in the grounds. Ernest Hemingway is also said to have also propped up Lynford's Royal Wellingtonia bar in his day.

The government requisitioned the Hall during World War Two and used it as a Hospital for injured soldiers. Some carved names can still be found in trees on the grounds from this period. After the war Lynford Hall was bought by the forestry commission who used it as a training school until 1960. This saved Lynford Hall as after the war many stately homes were being pulled down.

Between 1960 and 1970 Lynford Hall was run as an apartment building, hotel, and a public house. In 1970 it was bought by Gerald F. Rand who converted the hall back into a private residence with some hotel and function facilities.

He also developed a mobile home park to the east of the house with around 40 plots.

It was during his ownership that the hall was used for several BBC programs including Dad’s Army, You Rang M’Lord and what many people do not realise is, it was the home for the great Rene’s Café in the BBC’s hit comedy Allo Allo. The café and market square now houses the hotels court yard rooms.

Today Lynford Hall is owned by Premier Wedding Venues, and is run as a hotel, wedding venue and conference centre. Its stunning location is perfect for wedding couples who want to astound their guests with the wow factor the hall has to offer. Whether it’s an intimate wedding with a select few, or a lavish celebration with many friends and family, Lynford is the ideal place for you, with three licenced ceremony rooms, each of which has its own character, whilst staying true to the heritage of the building.

With 2013 wedding packages starting from just £3500 why not contact Lynford today on 01842 878351 to arrange an appointment with their Wedding Co-ordinator and start planning your unique wedding day.

http://www.lynfordhallhotel.co.uk/

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Business Networking in Norfolk - Whats it all about.

 People often ask me how I get most of my business, and the simple answer is, Networking.

In my first year of business I wasted lots of money on silly marketing, expensive brochures, and lots of advertising. This led to small returns and an empty bank account. It was then I realised that that the saying 'its not what you know, its who you know" is completely true.

My first networking experience was back in December 2010 when my accountant invited me along to a BNI Breakfast meeting. I was a bit shocked when I found out that the meeting started at 6:30am, but went along anyway to see what it was all about. People obviously don't get up at that time of the morning if they are not serious about making money and building relationships.

BNI is a referral based business networking event, it has a structured agenda and procedures in place to maximise the business passed. Its all based on the 'Givers Gain' logic, if you give me business, I will want to give you business.

Becoming a member was a pretty easy decision to make. I could see that the amount of business being passed in the room between the members and also the great business relationships that were being made. I understand BNI doesnt work for everyone. Its a big commitment to make as its every week, its also nearly £1000 per year to be a member, but look at how much you would spend on a year long marketing campaign and it soon becomes clear that it really isn't that expensive and in effect you have around 30 people all looking for business for you. Just like having your own sales force. Also, its not just about the 30 or so people in the room, its also their clients and connections that you may be able to get an introduction to. 

I have been a member now for 2 years at BNI Kett Chapter, We meet every Thursday at Bawburgh Golf Club, Just outside of Norwich in Norfolk. 

You can find out more about BNI by visiting our chapters website, Feel free to get in touch if you would like to visit and find out more about what we do.

http://www.business-networking-norwich.co.uk/

More recently I have joined another Business Networking group called Norwich Kitty. Kitty is much more laid back and informal. I like it because it is the complete opposite of BNI. Members meet up in Pubs around the city, have a beer, and informally network. But whilst its informal, these people are still serious about business, they still want to make new connections, they still want to grow their business, but they do so in a laid back environment. Norwich Kitty has been running for just over a year now, and has 90+ members. Membership is a mere £89, and for that you also get access to the members website, forum and business directory. Meetings are held every week in Pubs around the City. but you don't have to attend every meeting, its entirely up to you which ones you attend.

To find out more about the Norwich Kitty, you can do so by visiting their website 

http://www.norwichkitty.com/

Now there is obviously many other networking groups around, and its all about finding out which one suits you, and your business. All I can say is, if you are serious about what you do, want to grow your business in 2013, Networking is certainly one of the most cost effective way of doing it.

James Neale

www.jamesnealephotography.com

New York Couple Shoot - Central Park Photo Shoot - Norfolk Photographer James Neale

A couple of weeks ago I was flown over to New York for a photo shoot.

Richard and Victoria had booked me as they wanted a shoot to celebrate their 5th Year Wedding anniversary by capturing some beautiful images at various spots around the city. They wanted some natural shots rather than anything too posed.

We headed to various locations around New York City including Madison Square Park, Soho, and Central Park. The colours in Cental park were amazing!

Here are some of the images taken over the 2 day shoot.

If you are thinking about creating some beautiful memories, why not get in touch to arrange your shoot.

www.jamesnealephotography.com

Beginners Guide to Photographing Fireworks

Now its getting that time of year again when you will all be attending firework displays. These events can make for some stunning photos, as long as you follow these tips.

Firstly you are going to need a tripod. The camera is going to need to be kept steady.

How you fire the camera will also make a difference. A remote is best so you don't physically have to touch the camera. Don't worry though if you don't have one of these, Just make sure that you press the shutter button as carefully as possible, or use the 10 second timer feature on the camera.

So you arrive at the display and get the camera on the tripod. Next you are going to have to change some settings.

Put the camera into Manual Mode (M)

Set the aperture to f8 to begin with. If the pictures are too bright narrow the aperture down by raising the f number.

ISO - Keep this low 100/200

Focusing - The camera will struggle to focus in the dark and so you are going to need to manually focus.
To do this, wait for the first firework to go up and manually focus on it. Now as long as you don't move the camera you should be fine for the rest of the display.

Now the shutter speed is going to be a little trial and error to start with, What you need to do is guess how long it takes for the firework to go up, explode and then come down so that you capture the whole thing. I would suggest starting somewhere around 5 seconds and see what you get. Press the shutter button just as the firework is launched.

You should then be on your way to getting some great firework photos.

To learn more about your camera why not book yourself on to on of my Beginners Guide to Digital Photography Workshops in Norwich.

You can book your place or buy a voucher by following the link below.

http://www.jamesnealephotography.com/29poundoffer.html

Beginners Guide to Photographing the Moon

This Month I am going to tell you how to get some stunning shots of the moon.

This is something that a lot of us will try, but many will get it wrong and end up with over exposed blurry shots.

The main thing people get wrong when trying to photograph the moon is they think that because it is night, they must have to use long exposures to get it, this isn't the case. The Moon is an extremely bright subject to photograph due to it reflecting light from the sun. The other reason we cant use a slow shutter speed is the fact that the earth is rotating. a slow shutter speed will cause the image to blur.

What are you going to need?

Camera with Manual Features
Tripod
Zoom lens of at least 300mm

Camera Settings

Depending how much of the moon is visible (half moon / full moon) settings will vary slightly. A full moon will reflect lots more light that a half moon.

To begin with we need to put our cameras in Manual (M)
Key in an Aperture of f6.3
Select a Shutter speed of 350/1
ISO set to 400

Place the camera on the tripod and zoom in on the moon. You don't have much time between shots before the moon has moved out of the frame and you will need to keep readjusting the tripod.

Now take your first shot. zoom in on the moon in camera and see what it is like.
If it is overexposed (to bright) you need to increase the shutter speed. If its underexposed (to dark) you will need to decrease the shutter speed.

Do this until you get the shot you like and then just crop the photo to make the moon larger in the frame.

www.jamesnealephotography.com