A2Zoom Photographic

Hi.. my name is Mark and have been interested in photography since 6th form at school. I was fortunate to get a Saturday job at the Coventry Evening Telegraph as a runner (a fancy name for taking urgent documents and press releases to different departments in a hurry). I say fortunate as they interviewed several other people and it was at a time where jobs like this went to family relations of people who worked there.

I vividly remember saving 6 months wages to buy my first film SLR camera. It seemed like an age but was worth the wait. This was a totally manual camera with no fancy settings or anything "auto" on it like auto exposure or automatic focus! It was so exciting and yet it was not the path I was going to tread in the early years of my career.

On leaving school I went to college to do electronic engineering which was more practical than academic. My brothers and sister were very bright and intelligent and I had a lot to live up to. My eldest brother Charles had won a scholarship with EMI the record giant and went to Cambridge University. Stephen the second eldest went to Kent University and Judith, the one I call my "little sister" even though she was older than me went to Aston University. Between them they have more degrees and certificates than I could count on my fingers and toes!

I have not mentioned my mum and dad yet, but they were the biggest influence in my life. It was a loving up bringing where they would put us first. I am sad that my mum is no longer alive as she lost the fight against cancer some years ago, however, I know as my dad is she would have been proud of our families achievements. Anyway, I know that she is looking down and smiling down on us. She is in a richer place. My father now lives in St Vincent having previously lived in the UK for over 40 years. It was his dream to build a house in the sun and is living that dream now.. I encourage him to "SKI" and to enjoy all of his hard earned money.. You can not take it with you and now we are all grown up we are able to look after ourselves!

Last but not least I should mention my lovely fiancé, and soul mate Alison who I have been with for the last 8 years. She has been full of encouragement and enthusiasm. She is a qualified Chef having learned her trade at the reputed Thanet College where the celebrity chef Gary Rhodes learned his trade. After college she was fortunate to work for the Queen mother mainly at Clarence House, London, although often travelled to the Queens mother retreat at the Castle of Mey in the Northern most tip of Scotland. She talks fondly of that time, especially the times spent in Scotland travelling on the royal flight and when having time off sitting on the rocks by the sea in the remotest spots enjoying the sea lion's frolic in the chilly waters of the North Sea.

Yes she loves animals especially the furry kind currently having 6 rescue bunnies. She has the kindest heart. If when I am old and grey she looks after me anything like she does with the bunnies, then I will be well looked after:-)

I do not think she knows how clever and talented she really is and even now I think she has so much potential that is still waiting to break out. Anything she turns her hand to turns to gold and I guess that must have included me:-)

From college I joined Siemens as a telecommunications engineer and quickly went through the ranks, ultimately moving into management. The positions I filled were varied from heading the South East's engineering team, then onto manage our Corporate Service Management team. Maybe the one job that was the most challenging but equally most rewarding was that of heading up the 145 seat Customer Contact Centre where we also had an international desk covering 14 different languages. Working with Blue Chip Company's such as KPMG, Barclays Bank, Marks and Spencer, Comet, Glaxo-smithkline, just to name a few was an excellent time of learning and experience for me. These were fun times but something was missing and after all I was not getting any younger! I felt it was time to move on. The Company in recognition of my contribution over the years were very supportive of me and we agreed favourable terms on which I was to leave. That was a real wrench as whilst I did not feel I would miss the business, it was the people that I had got to know over the years.

So we took the plunge to start A2Zoom Photographic. It started with taking pictures of close friends then taking pictures of their friends and so it went on. Our small home studio was quickly becoming to small to work in. I joined the BIPP, British Institute of Profesional photography and was coached and mentored through their programme. The standards were extremly high and it was hard work. It all paid off and I gained my Licentiate certificate in 2005. What was also pleasing was that in that year I was also nominated for best Licentiate for that years intake, an honour only given to a very few people. I was on my way! Just a special thanks to Ray Lowe, one of my mentors who spent many hours critiquing and going through my work.

Looking back to February last year it seems a long time ago since we decided to go for a purpose built studio and started the search.

We spotted a property in Knebworth on the Brown and Lee estate agents website. It did not look like much but the lease was very attractively priced, and after all, anything was going to be better than our very small home studio. We were pleasantly surprised with its size once we were inside as it was 1500 square feet with a mezzanine floor. Whilst it was a repair shop covered in grease and grime we immediately appreciated the potential of the unit and before the evening was out we had put in an offer. It was to take another 8 months to finally agree terms and to move in. We did what could only be described as a TV makeover but in contrast rather than it taking a few hours, it took several months. There was so much to do and we pretty well did all the work ourselves with some gratefully received help from some close friends. I even put the spiral staircase in which came in kit form from Italy. Having watched the instruction video half a dozen times we finally installed the stairs. The studio now looks totally different and very inviting.

Of course there are some very feminine touches about the place which are to the credit of Alison which really finish it off and making it homely. Thanks Alison, I could not have done it without you.....x

So back to the here and now.

We are fast gaining a great reputation in the local community with the majority of jobs coming from referrals. The feedback has just been great and it is the best feeling when you see a clients face having seen their images for the first time. Now that is why we love our job. We can now cater for larger family groups and not have to worry about hiring a hall. Equally, dealing with business clients is now much easier as we are better able to portray a more professional image. It is heaven.

Finally, we would like to give a big thanks to all of those friends and clients that have given their support to us. Without clients we have no business and your loyalty has been so so appreciated.

Well this is my first blog and maybe a little long, however I promise the next will be shorter.

We are so excited and optimistic for the future and hope that you will stay with us on our journey.

Please do have a look at our work on our website and feel free to leave your comments......

***** P.S have you had a session with us? Recommend a friend and get a free £10.00 Marks and Spencer voucher or one free 10" x 8" print on your next session ******