40th party at The castelnau

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

This was such a special party - for one it was the 40th birthday of my friend, for two it was at my favourite venue and for three it was the first proper fun time my friends and I have enjoyed since March 2020.

My birthday gift was to photograph and film. This was going well until I decided to join in with the festivities and knock back a couple of rosés after which doing things professionally went out the window and just photographing…….or, as it turned out, not photographing but filming in dark spaces without noticing banding from various lights so not adjusting my shutter speed, not using my audio equipment and not using my two powerful video lights which sat enjoying the silence and dark of my car…

It was a smallish event and the rosés prevented me from remembering to photograph every single person there. I NEVER drink alcohol when I’m working for good reason!