It was Alison’s birthday this weekend and she was very excited about the 5″ pink satin heels she had been unable to wear for a wedding previously.

So P is for Pink Shoes in the Pub. Alison was also quite Pissed, so I think that’s three for the price of one right there.

A beautiful day in Cirencester’s Abbey gardens. The boys were throwing a ball around, and the girls were having a gossip.

I’ve got well behind schedule over the last few weeks (I should have done P by last week, and Q is due next week), so I needed to get this one done in order to get my momentum up again. Hopefully will get back on track with a few quick ones over the next few weeks.

I was at a wedding down in Hampshire at the weekend and, as I tend to, took my camera and took far too may pictures. I got talking to the photographer (who also happened to be the Bride’s brother-in-law) and, for reasons best known to his alcohol-addled mind, he insisted on lending me some kit – specifically a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 prime lens, which is somewhere in the region of one and a half grand’s worth of glass.

The wisdom of lending something like this to a man who has been drinking for the best part of 7 hours aside, it was a lot of fun. The DoF is so shallow at f/1.2 that I have a lot of near misses that would have been lovely if I’d actually got the right part of the subject in focus, but I did get a couple that I was really pleased with. The slightly arty shot above, of the band’s drumkit mid-disassembly, is one that I’m not sure I’d have been able to frame with my 50mm.

I’d have liked to have had a play with it sober. Mind you, I’m not entirely sure that a sober man would have let me anywhere near it…

I took my camera out on a work dinner last night, with the intention of maybe getting someone to messily eat a rib or something so I could do ‘N is for Nom Nom Nom’.

I failed to get that shot, but when Sarah objected to having her picture taken, I got this one instead.

(Yes, yes, this is yet another one taken with the 50m f1.4 lens wide open. I really am trying not to overuse the whole DoF thing, but until I get a proper flash, it’s really my nly option for shooting inside)

A decent size cast-iron pan or skillet would be ideal for this. If you’ve not got a suitable one, you can do the first part in a normal pan, then transfer to an oven-proof dish.

Serves 2:

Heat an oven to 180C

Season 2 pork shoulder steaks with salt and black pepper, then give them a good dusting of smoked paprika. Heat a little olive oil in your pan and sear the steaks on both sides. Set aside.
Turn the heat down, then to the same pan, add a chopped onion, a crushed garlic clove and a chopped chili. Sweat these down for a minute or two then add 4 beetroot, peeled and cut into half inch chunks and, if you fancy it some mushrooms (I used closed cup ones cut into quarters, but button ones would work as well).

If you’re using a separate oven dish, now is the time to transfer from the pan. Add shelled broad beans, and enough water or white wine to cover. Return the steaks to the pan, nestling them in amongst everything else so they get mostly covered in liquid, cover with foil and put in the oven.

After 25 minutes or so, uncover and cook for another 20 minutes.

Take out the meat and put in a warm place to rest. Spoon the veg mixture into warmed bowls. Reduce the liquid by half, then take off the heat and stir in a knob of butter. Put the rested meat on the veg, add any juices to the sauce and pour over.

Nom nom nom.

Malcs in the Moeder Lambic bar during a recent trip to Brussels. That faraway look in his eyes is a combination of very strong beer, and a blonde barmaid.

UPDATE: Turns out that my original choice of photo wasn’t actually one I took. Which is sort of against the rules.

A word to the wise – don’t try taking photos on a roundabout in a kids playground after drinking several bottles of wine the previous evening. It doesn’t help. In fact, looking back at these shots make me feel a little queasy all over again. Anyway, a lovely moment between L and Isla , and I liked the blue and red of the climbing frame throwing a splash of colour into the mix.

Inspiration came from this shot I came across while browsing the Garry Winogrand pool.

I believe this puts me ahead of schedule!

I knew I wanted to get K is for Karen again this year, but maybe not another straight-up portrait, When she started playing in the wet sand (to "exfoliate"), I got a few of her at her childlike best…

Mandy and Jon, during their first dance (to Nick Cave’s "Into My Arms") at their wedding at Scorrier’s House in Cornwall.

I had the ‘heart shape’ idea in my head from the beginning of the day, and was just hoping that the opportunity would crop up to capture it. I was so, so pleased when they gave me this moment. Thanks Both, and Congratulations!

The iPhone Developer is a timid creature, and notoriously difficult to catch on camera. However, needs must and in this world of self-promotion even the most camera-shy species needs a mugshot.

I’ve been kicking around ‘I for iPhone’ since the iPhone Developer suggested it back in January, and really liked the idea of incorporating the device itself into the shot somehow. When the iPad was launched, it was obvious we’d have to work that in somewhere.

We took a number of close-up shots with various expressions, which we loaded onto an iPad, an iPod Touch, and an iPhone 3G and 3GS. We then mucked about with different combinations to create different effects. This one was my favourite. Also, this gets me back on my one-photo-every-two-weeks schedule.