So I’m pretty excited about getting these Sanyo 2000mAh Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries through the post this morning.

According to the vast majority of the reviews found through Google Search, these batteries are meant to be amongst the very best in powering your high drain electronic devices, especially for photographic equipment such as digital camera’s and flash guns. When I read all the hype, I thought to myself “hey, that’s gotta be worth a try”.

At £7-£10 for 4, they’re not the cheapest of rechargeable batteries, but when you consider the long term potential saving, it’s worth giving it a chance.

A few years ago I purchased a large quantity of rechargeable AA batteries through ebay, supposedly rated at 2500mAh+.
They were fantastic on the first use. Infact they were pretty good even after the second and third times too. I would use the batteries till they were flat, charge them up and leave them ready for next time. However, there once came a time, when I put 4 of them in my flash gun, and the ready light wouldn’t trigger. It took around 30-40 seconds till it even gave a hint of power. I fired one shot, and that was it, they were dead. I guess what had happened, the rechargeable batteries had lost there charge while they were sitting around in the bottom of my bag.

Since then, I decided I would purchase a fresh set of batteries, for every shoot. Costco, do fantastic deals on batteries. They have their own brand Kirkland batteries which come in at around £13 for 40, or you can get 36 Duracell Plus for around £12. I prefer the Duracell batteries, they had a faster recycle time between shots.

On a typical indian, hindu/asian wedding, I can expect to drain 28-36 batteries. If the venue has higher than normal ceiling, or is very dim lit, I can easily flatten between 32-40 batteries in the space of 8 hours.

So for this year, I’ve decided to invest in these rechargeable Sanyo Eneloop batteries. They supposedly retain their charge for longer when not in use, and at the same time sustain their power when in use. Perfect for chucking into my flash guns.

I’ve bought a set of 12 of these, so I’m expecting some great things from them. I’ll come back and post a review when I’ve had some time and experience with them.

If you happen to have come across this site while on the hunt for the cheapest place to get these, checkout 7dayshop.com I got mine from here and I’ve been pretty happy with their service so far, so I can recommend them.

If you have high drain electrical devices, then perhaps these batteries might be a good place to start.

The conclusion to the wonderful wedding celebrations Nilima & Amit so generously hosted, was based on a 1930’s Hollywood themed Reception Party , full of food, drink, speeches, entertainment and plenty of dancing.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the links to the previous events :

[The Engagement | Gor Dhana | Doodh Pivanu]
[The Engagement | Gor Dhana | Doodh Pivanu] *continued
[The Registry]
[The Mehndi]
[Teaser]
[The Wedding]

(WARNING – image heavy post, load time extended on slow connections)

Here we have it… The Wedding of Nilima & Amit.

I’ve added short captions to this set of images.
Please leave a comment at the end.

Premier House Banqueting creates a lovely atmosphere for the wedding.

I head over to Amit’s house to check out what he’ll be wearing.

Nilima’s been up since before the crack of dawn preparing for the day ahead.

The bride’s family get ready to bless and invite the groom and his family to the wedding.

A short break and a bite to eat at breakfast before the ceremonies commence.

The groom’s family sing and dance to music, as they make their way to the mandap.

Under the mandap, Amit can finally relax, as his sisters massage his back and his brothers remove his shoes.

No sooner have the shoes come off, the bride’s brother steals it away.
(It’s part of the fun and games within a hindu wedding ceremony)

Ceremonies begin…

The bride’s brothers carry Nilima towards the mandap where she will soon be married to Amit.

Hiding behind the veil of her outfit, to hide her emotions.

Fresh garland necklace placed around both the bride and groom, the first of many ceremonies.

Tying the knot.

Hindu wedding ceremonies continue…

Married!!!

Their first meal with the family, together for the first time as a married couple.

Prayers to Lord Ganesha before leaving the blessed confines of the mandap.

Emotional times…

Finally… alone at last

But the sisters won’t let Amit take Nilima away…

Amit smiles as he offers the sisters a little something to allow them a safe and blessed passage onward.

Their future begins here….

It’s so nice to hear someone say “thank you”, for a job well done. But so much more nicer when you receive a card and with a hand-written message.

You may remember The Engagement of Nisha & Harshil, that took place in November last year.
I was so happy when I received this  Thank You card from them, after they received their digital images on disc.
I just had to share it with you

The message in the card reads:

Dear Niraj,
We would really like to thank you so
much for your kind offer to take our
photos on our engagement, they are truly
amazing and we really appreciate it.
Thank you so much for joining us on our
special day, we hope that you had
a good time and look forward to
seeing you soon.
Lots of love,
Harshil & Nisha
- x -

To which I reply : “It was an absolute pleasure, I had a fantastic time, look forward to seeing you soon too – “

*All comments welcomed.

Here’s a teaser image of Disha & Vijay, who were Engaged at the beginning of this year. It was a great way to start the year, and they can now look forward to the excitement of their wedding this summer.

Congratulations to the both of you. I’ll have your images ready real soon, and I just wanted to wet your appetite before you see the rest of your photos.

Disha rests her palm on Vijay’s shoulder  as they gaze into the distance, full of family and friends.

It’s quite late right now, but as I’m awake and I thought it would be nice to share with you, what I’m actually working on.

Here’s a teaser, from a soon to follow Wedding post for Nilima & Amit. Click here to see The Mehndi pictures I posted earlier this week.

Nilima hides her face behind the veil of her outfit to disguise her emotions from her soon to be husband, Amit

Continuing on the wedding celebrations of Nilima & Amit towards the end of last year, approaching ever so close to their big wedding day, was a joint Mehndi Party, held at Premier House Banqueting.

The Arabian themed night and décor certainly added to the fun and excitement of the whole evening. Not to mention the Mehfil, live musicians who conjured up memories of songs from our hearts.

To a surprise for all, Nilima also took upon the microphone to sing a beautiful solo for Amit, a song i’m sure they will both treasure and share memories of in their future. I hope I have done justice in capturing the beautiful colour and excitement of the evening, and presented here my version of the beauty I heard, through the visual presentation of my images.

All comments are welcomed.

Well that’s that then! That’s the two weeks of holiday over. It was a memorable and enjoyable one that’s for certain.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time with family and friends. With lots of food, drink and merriment. It was the perfect way to close out 2009 with lots of socialising, fun and smiles.

In 2009, I made a very bold and difficult choice to leave my day job, to pursue photography full time. I love photography, it’s been my passion for many years, and I think I’m quite good at it. The business side of doing photography, is proving to be a lot more complicated and involved than I could have ever imagined. I’ve had to dedicate a lot of time to making sure I have everything in place to do it all efficiently. As a hobby, I was able to do things as and when, no rush no hurry. Now I have the time and motivation to do things promptly.

That being said, I have to be honest here, and explain that towards the last few months of 2009 things were becoming more and more difficult. Lots of jobs and sessions, that I had not completed, some that I had not even started. Yet I was still taking on more jobs, and overloading my schedule with yet more unfinished projects.

I hope that current clients who may still be waiting can understand this, and appreciate my honesty.
To future clients, I make this promise to ensure the work-flow from booking to delivery is as seamless, fluid and efficient as I can ever dream it to be. That would be my aim for this year, 2010.

I am finally regaining control of the backlog, but still have 6 projects awaiting completion. Over the course of the next few weeks, you will see these posted, and see that I am doing all I can to get on track, before this years work really kicks in.

I don’t really have a “New Years Resolution” (as such) other than to be a better person. More open, honest, and appreciative of others.
I think this blog will really help me with that. My own little outlet portal to be able to make these things reality.

Finally I’d like to thank all those close to me, who have supported me and continue to give me their support through the future.

I hope you are looking forward to 2010 as much as I am.

Wishing you, your family and your friends, a very Happy New Year.

Niraj Popat.

Before I forget: What would a blog post be without a picture??
So here is my view of the London Eye, from the Embankment, in London, as the seconds edged ever closer to midnight on the last day in 2009.

Following on from Sameer’s Mehndi Party, Mandvo & Pithi, is the registry.

The Guoman Tower Hotel was the venue and it looked great, while Sapna & Sameer looked even more amazing.

Sameer then rushed back to his hotel room, to get changed into his indian outfit, for the wedding. I caught him in his room, as he was preparing.