Latest Photo Shoots

I can't believe it's been a whole month since my last blog! I've been super busy with work.

Wedding season is slowly creeping into gear, I've had two in the past two weeks - check out www.gillthomas.co.uk for all my wedding work.

I've had heaps of studio, park and birthday party shoots too. I'll be posting lots of blogs this week with all my latest photos, starting with this shoot from early April - expect baby Parker has arrived by now!

Watch this space, I'm currently working through another 7 photo shoots and a wedding...phew!

Cheltenham Animal Shelter - Kennel 5 gets a new resident!

Mouse About Town is a keen supporter of the Cheltenham Animal Shelter. I sponsor one of the dog kennels there. I got word Kennel 5 had a new resident so I went down and took a quick pic. 

If anyone is interested in rehoming this adorable Labrador called Map , please get in touch with the Cheltenham Animal Shelter on 01242 523521 or visit their website at http://gawa.org.uk/

Mouse About Town's 1st Birthday Party

Mouse About Town celebrated her 1st birthday last week...and what a year it's been! 

I've an established wedding photography business that I run through www.gillthomas.co.uk, but Mouse About Town began, (like all good ideas) over a glass of wine, (or two!) towards the end of 2013. My son's wooden ride on mouse was parked up in the corner of our snug lounge and it got me thinking about names. Seeing him on it whizzing along the pavements of Cheltenham town inspired the name Mouse About Town. 

In January 2014, coincidently at about the same time as I finished breast feeding our daughter, work hormones must have kicked in. I burned the midnight oil designing and building the website and then in March I launched Mouse About Town on Facebook. In a year I've hit over 1,150 likes and had so much support from everyone, it's been incredible. 

One of the real highlights of last year was opening The Mousehole, my new photography studio, which is located in The Suffolks in Cheltenham. It's small but perfectly formed and ever so cosy and quirky. It's bursting at the seams with vintage props and brilliant car boot finds. My children often find toys of theirs that I've quietly snuck out of the house while they were watching Peppa Pig!  

The studio has opened up a whole new avenue of creativity for me and was the perfect venue to host my birthday party! We celebrated in style with two FREE cake smash marathon events. It was brilliant to share my birthday with all the little ones, who all had enormous fun smashing their cakes, bashing balloons and generally making a complete mess! I even had a cake waiting for me when I got home, made by my fabulous Mr Mouse!

Looking ahead, one of the highlights of this year is the new collaboration that's in the pipeline with Winston's Wish. It's a charity very close to my heart and I'm excited to see how things develop. 

Here is a selection of my favourite photos from the cake smash marathon events. For the full collections please use the following links:

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/new-blog-2/2015/7/1/mouse-about-towns-1st-birthday

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/new-blog-2/2015/7/1/mouse-about-towns-1st-birthday-nct-group

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/new-blog-2/2015/7/1/mouse-about-towns-1st-birthday-thursdays-photos

Happy Birthday to me x

Britain's Got Talent

A few weeks ago I headed over to Chipping Campden to photograph Lexi's fairy themed 9th birthday party. It was my first collaboration with The Cotswold Children's Party Company as their official party photographer.

Lexi and her friends were the supper cutest little fairies; they were a delight to photograph, and what a surprise I got when Lexi's Mum turned out to be Britain's Got Talent judge, Amanda Holden.

For the full story and complete collection of photos just click on this link:

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/parties/2015/2/9/collaboration-with-the-cotswold-childrens-party-co


Baby Kyle's Newborn Photo Shoot

The Mousehole has been open for three months now and last weekend enjoyed its first newborn photography shoot. The booking only came in with a few days notice so I spent a manic few days busily sourcing new and interesting props, bunting and support pillows and making a bespoke wallpaper strip feature. 

Baby Kyle was 7 weeks old when he came in to the studio, and despite his low birth weight was up to a healthy 8lb. 

Shelly, Kyle's Mummy, had booked a half hour shoot but I gave her almost an hour; with a newborn there is a lot of stopping, moving of props, adjusting, re-positing, gently manoeuvring baby etc so actual photo time can be quite minimal. Giving her the extra half hour meant there was also time for some family pictures too, which was also important for Shelly to have.

Here's a quick peek at some of the pics. The full collection can be found at http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/studio-photographer-cheltenham/

A Spring In Your Step

Last Saturday I met Tara and her family in Pittville Park, Cheltenham, for one of my popular half hour park photo shoots. Despite one of her little boys being very poorly, a chocolate ice cream soon had him smiling.

The playground was heaving, so I suggested we take a stroll down towards the ice cream shop where beautiful crocuses were dazzling a spectacular display. 

The full collection of photos can be found at http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/park/2015/2/15/pittville-park-shoots-cheltenham


Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick, Chicken!

A few weeks ago I held a name the chicken competition for our three new chickens that arrived on Valentines Day. The only rule was that all the names had to be Valentines themed. The prize was a half hour photo shoot. The winning names were Aphrodite (abbreviated to Afro), Cupid and Rose. 

On Saturday I met the winner, Laney Martyn, and her adorable 5 year old daughter, Atlanta. And how apt that she should bring with her a basket full of Easter eggs!  

Here's a snapshot, but for the full collection go to http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/park/2015/2/15/montpellier-park-shoots-cheltenham

A Peep Inside The Mousehol

It's been a busy few months since launching The Mousehole, Mouse About Town's photography studio set in the heart of Cheltenham, but I've finally found time to take some photos of it's splendid interior.

The Mousehole really is a photography studio with a difference. Set in a very sweet little courtyard in The Suffolks quarter, you are greeted by two cheerful mice who peep out at you from behind the window.  Through the blackboard door you go and enter into a cavern of vintage props and brilliant car boot finds.

The layout of The Mousehole was designed by a local architect. The lighting and detailing has been carefully considered to create a quirky yet cosy space where children and adults instantly feel at ease. 

The low slung OSB shelving wraps around two walls and is piled high and deep with unusual toys and funny objects. Everything you see is to be played with, children can help themselves to anything. I've even spotted one or two adults having a good rummage and a chuckle as they unearth another surprise. 

A half hour studio shoot costs £70 and includes the full CD of all the digital images with no copyright restrictions. All editing and post production is also included. There are no hidden costs. Prints are also available. 

Why not take a look at some of the studio shoots that Mouse About Town has done by clicking on this link. http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/studio-photographer-cheltenham/

To book a session please call Gill on 07983 465414 or send her an email to info@mouseabouttown.co.uk.

Mouse About Town - Kennel Sponsor

Since last weeks photo shoot with the Cheltenham Animal Shelter, Mouse About Town has sponsored one of the dog kennels there; kennel number 5. It's my way of saying thank you for letting me work with these beautiful animals.

I went along today to have a look at the plaque that has been put up. Here it is!  It looks great and I can't wait to head back to the shelter to take pictures of a few the dogs that stay in it.

If you would like to sponsor a kennel go to http://gawa.org.uk/sponsor-a-kennel/ for more information.

Cheltenham Animal S

The Cheltenham Animal Shelter recently popped into The Mousehole with a variety of rescued animals for me to photograph.

Behind these beautiful faces lie stories of neglect and abandonment, and yet, despite how they have been treated by us, these animals welcomed me into their hearts with a massive amount of love and affection.  Since the photo shoot some of them have found new and loving homes, some have not. To view read about their individual stories, just use the following links:

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/pets/2015/2/9/honey-bunny

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/pets/2015/2/9/a-chilled-out-chinchilla

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/pets/2015/2/9/cookie

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/pets/2015/2/9/matty

http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/pets/2015/2/9/fi-fi-fiona

The Cheltenham Animal Shelter rescue and re-home unwanted and abandoned stray cats, dogs and small animals from across Gloucestershire. Each year they care for around 1000 animals at a cost of £500,000 without the help of any Government funding.

They rely on the generosity of animal lovers like us to ensure that their doors remain firmly open, so please show your support for the fantastic job they do. Go to  http://gawa.org.uk/ for more information and to find out how you can help raise money and get involved. 

Mrs Tiggy Winkle

On Tuesday evening, The Mousehole was thrilled to open it's doors to Mrs Tiggy Winkle, a hedgehog who was small in size but big in character! 

To prepare for the shoot, I spent careful time picking out props that I thought might suit a tiny mammal. Having never worked with a hedgehog before, I was unsure what to expect. Would she freeze at the sight of me? Curl up into a ball for the entire shoot? Shy away from the flash of the strobe? Hah. She was a natural in front of the camera!

She arrived in a very unassuming small, cardboard box.  After being carefully unwrapped from her cosy nest, she was placed in my studio setting. She was very active and extremely inquisitive, nosing in suitcases stuffed with toys and old vintage buckets bursting with colourful balls. She was completely unfazed by it all.

She was extremely patient with me and her handler, as she was carefully wedged into old boots, a child's wooden truck, asked to roll into a ball on que.  She was a star.

An hour quickly flew by but it was the best hour I have enjoyed in The Mousehole so far.

For more photos from this shoot please go to http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/pets/2015/1/30/mrs-tiggy-winkle


Mother's Day Special Offer

Mother's Day is only a few months away and to celebrate all the hard work us Mum's do I'm offering half price studio shoots. Either pop down before the big day, have the shoot and receive the pictures back in time to print them out and give them to Mum as a surprise, or buy a gift voucher and come along with Mum afterwards! 

Studio shoots are normally £70, but if you quote 'MUM15' you'll receive yours for just £35. Each shoot includes half an hour in the studio, all editing and post production and unlimited high resolution jpeg images, digitally issued. Turn around time is super speedy.

Alternatively, why not check out what other packages I do. My £50 park shoots are really popular and with Spring just around the corner it's a great time to snap some sunny daffs and cutsie lambs! Go to http://www.mouseabouttown.co.uk/prices/ for more info.

Please call me, Gill, on 07983 465414 or send me an email to info@mouseabouttown.co.uk.


Like Father, Like Son

Here's the first studio shoot of 2015. Little Dennis had great fun pulling out all the quirky props and throwing the coloured balls around The Mousehole! He was a great character, which I hope comes across in these photos. Throughout January all studio shoots are just £35, that's half price, and include digital images with no copyright restrictions too. Give me a call on 07983 465414 to book your session!