Welcome to the Catmon Photography blog. Here is a place where we can get to know each other and where I will share with you my passion for photography.

I am Catherine Monfils, originally from Belgium and living in London for the last 10 years.

As you will discover I enjoy many genres of photography as long as it is creative and it embodies a feeling, a mood or an idea. I am drawn to portraiture, lifestyle, fashion & events photography to name a few as I love to photograph people in all situations and circumstances. When I take a picture I aim to capture an essence; be it of a moment, a person or an emotion.

Through my photography I am looking forward to get you inspired. This is a place for dialogue. Feel free to comment and ask questions. Be my guest.

Pregnancy is an amazing experience & one you will cherish for ever. Those first nine months represent one of the most intense and exciting times in your life. The bump is the first visible sign of the incredible journey that motherhood is and the first appearance of your little one. Once your baby is born, life takes on a completely new rhythm and the memory of that initial stage soon fades away.

I love to photograph people because everyone is so different and unique. Although a pregnancy is something many women experience I believe that a  bump session is only meaningful if it focuses on the traits that make it special. My work is always very personal and not two sessions are the same. I want to capture my subjects in the most wholesome way and bring to life their personality. Here we have Clare who has a passion for swimming. She will go for a swim every morning before work & although she was 8th months pregnant when we took these shots she still swam every day at the London Fields Lido. We took our chance & plunged in this fantastic heated Olympic pool. Although it was quite busy we managed to get beautiful shots without disturbing the flow of dedicated swimmers. Clare’s bump now turned into a beautiful baby girl.

Not sure what to do on your 40th birthday? Here is a fabulous example of how to throw a party: hire a suite at one of your favourite hotels, invite a small but close group of friends and find a groovy DJ. Like a wedding or a pregnancy, a 40th birthday is an important milestone and well worth the celebration. It’s often seen as a rite of passage: time to reflect on one’s own life and get perhaps a little wiser. But being wiser does not mean giving up the fun. By the time we hit 40 a lot of us have less and less time to party and spend time with our friends, that’s why a good 40th bash gives us a chance to reconnect with all our friends and  perhaps get a bit wilder than our everyday life normally allows.

Here is a few images from this amazing party at the Penthouse of the May Fair hotel where the guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves dancing the night away.

Here Sarah & Dino, with their son Elyah, are having fun in Cambridge, weeks before their big day. Their wedding took place last Monday and Tuesday at Podere Finerri on the amazing hills near Siena in Tuscany. We all had a lovely time and were lucky to get beautiful and hot Italian weather. I will post their wedding pictures in a couple of weeks.

I have started a new venture last October 2009. I am writing reviews for the acclaimed Register Hardware, the sister site of the Register, the UK’s biggest and best known IT website. For people that don’t know it yet the site has been called the Private Eye of IT. My role is to test some of the latest camera models for amateur, semi professional & professional photographers & give my impression. It gives me a good excuse to wonder the streets of London by day & by night while testing  the latest technology & while abroad on my many travels  to capture what catches my eye. It keeps me up to date with what’s hot & new & gives me the chance to go back to my roots & just have fun. Doing this is bringing me back some 15 years ago when I started photography. I used to wander the streets to capture life as I felt it. That was also why I went on to study Documentary Photography in Wales, Newport. Although I didn’t pursue a typical photojournalism route, my photographic style still reflects that background. It is creative story telling inspired by beautiful emotions & a quest to celebrate life. In my experience, my camera opened up a hidden world that had been invisible to me up to that point. I would love to inspire you to do the same: take pictures of what touches your heart and see the story unfold.

Here are the few models I have reviewed: Nikon D3000, Canon Powershot S90, Samsung ST550, Pentax K-x, Canon G11, Nikon D3s, Samsung WB5000, more to follow. Click here to access my page on the Register Hardware website with all the reviews I have written & photographed so far.

Here are a few of my test images. Double click on the image to see the full image & feel free to leave a comment to let me know which one is your favourite.

With this work I have been fortunate enough to combine 2 big passions of mine: photography & music. I was entrusted with creating images for the production of a CD of classical music in support of Hope & Homes for Children, a charity that helps orphaned, abandoned or vulnerable children to re-establish a sense of family in their life . The CD will be raising money for children in Eastern Europe.

There are some brilliant musicians involved, including Chinese violin virtuoso Xia Xia Zhang. Xia Xia Zhang is recognised in China as the most gifted violin player of her generation. She has played as concert soloist with all the major Chinese orchestras, regularly performing to thousands in the most prestigious venues. Media and music critics in China have continually recognised her as the foremost violin virtuoso to emerge in recent years. Her recent televised performances at the Chinese New Year concerts were described by the press as “unforgettable!”. This new classical music charity CD is set to be released in April. The CD’s will be available to buy from Amazon. It will be advertised in major UK music magazines as well as expected features on many classical music radio stations worldwide.

My role in this important project was to photograph the main artist Xia Xia for the CD cover, press-release and promotion of the album. Both our 2 sessions took place at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In our second session I had the privilege to meet her talented teacher, professor Hu Kun, during their rehearsal. Xia Xia was a real pleasure to photograph and her music is simply divine.

Having been in a relationship for more than 10 years and married for two, I love to think about simple ways to celebrate the first love that brought my partner and I together. It’s very easy in our busy life’s to let life pass by and forget to celebrate the spark that brought us together in the first place. Perhaps that’s why Valentine’s day is so popular amongst couples. But I find spontaneous initiative and personal touch more rewarding. I will always remember what a bride once said in her wedding speech: one thing that made her feel very special is that her now husband was taking her out every Wednesday since they first met. I truly believe that spending time acknowledging love strengthen the bond between lovers. Revisiting places that have meaning for you as a couple has the power to bring intimacy back into your relationship. It is a great gift for your partner and yourself.

Our love birds, Lana and Jonathan, celebrated their love by bringing the memory of their first meeting in London back to life. They allowed themselves to forget about the hustle and bustle of their busy life in order to live a few hours just in the playful embrace of their union. They wanted to capture on film this moment and chose as a backdrop the old City of London, which is where they first met and worked.

We are very proud to welcome in our house the little Dylan who was born on the 1st of November. Here is a few photos to unveil his playful character. He’s already full of a gentle and tonic personality.

I have photographed a fabulous event in mid November that took place at the British Library titled “Extraordinary Entrepreneurs Evening”. This event was celebrating and promoting women in business but was designed to initiate and engage dialogue between 9 great Entrepreneurs: Rachel Elnaugh, founder of Red Letter Days, Karen Hanton, founder of toptable, Kanya King, founder and CEO of the MOBO Awards, Saira Khan, founder of Miamoo, Gita Patel, founder of Stargate Capital, Laura Tenison, founder of JoJo Maman Bébé, Polly Gowers, founder of Everyclick, Natalie Ellis, inventor of Road Refresher, and Karen Darby, founder of SimplySwitch and Call Britannia; and guests that were dining at their table. You can read here, following this link, the event in a little more details: http://www.women-unlimited.co.uk/extraordinary-entrepreneurs-evening-oh-what-a-night/

The Event was organised by a wonderful women Julie Hall that created 2 years ago ‘Women Unlimited’. Read what the press had to say  click HERE.

Here are a few images of the inspiring event. If you wish to see more, the full event gallery is available following this link: http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/catmonphotography/albums/events/56750

Every time I photograph a wedding at Podere Finerri in Asciano, near Siena in Tuscany, I am overwhelmed by the charm, the beauty and the ever changing look of the landscape. I have been there many times and it never looks the same. It offers everything a bride could wish for and is a haven of beauty for the guests, not to mention a real paradise for photography. This venue is my best kept secret.

This time we have an Irish contingent, a fantastic bunch of very creative people that love enjoying life to its limits with dressing up parties & live music on end. Our couple, Tony & Grace, were a dream to be with. We seemed to be on the same wave length: wild at heart.

When I asked the groom what type of pictures he would like to have for his wedding pictures, he told me he would love to have some couple picture on a tree. When they first met at a friend’s party he took her on his back and climbed a tree where they spent most of the night. How romantic is that? I was very interested by the idea. I did not dare take the picture during the day as it would have been just to easy to damage her gorgeous and delicate dress, but by the end of the night I took my chance and asked him if he was still up for it. They were both very thrilled to climb the tree and capture on photo this meaningful symbol of their relationship. Take a look at the last picture in this post.

A lifestyle session is a great opportunity and a good excuse to spend time having some fun with your loved ones. A time completely dedicated to you and your core values. Throughout a session you have, indeed, the right and the freedom to relax and enjoy yourself. As a photographer I am with you to participate and bring into focus the intimate and delicious moments of life. I will blend in your motions and emotions to absorb and capture delicate moments that encapsulate genuine feelings of intimacy and deepest love.

A lifestyle session is nothing less than spending a great day out having fun, getting close to the dear ones and be free for a day. A memorable time that will be captured and treasured. To be be kept in a keepsake, an album or to be put on display; these memories will be forever alive. Memory lane is one of my favourite Avenue as it holds very personal sweet fragrances that I share with my loved ones.

Here we have a great little star, Nicolas, a very vibrant little boy full of peps and joy with their family, a great bunch of females with colourful personalities.

These sessions are best presented in a digital album, coffe table book or multiframe.