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Plans change

Aerial view of Ponta da Piedade near Lagos, Portugal ©2023 Neil Lamont Photography

Armação de Pêra beach view ©2023 Neil Lamont Photography

Ferragudo in the evening ©2023 Neil Lamont Photography

The amazing beach at Albufeira ©2023 Neil Lamont Photography

Loulé market ©2023 Neil Lamont Photography

Well, we were all set to emigrate to Italy, a country we love and know well, but post-Brexit it became clear that the moving process was going to be a nightmare especially with things like transferring a UK driving license to an Italian one. So Portugal became the new destination of choice.

In spite of being part of the EU, Portugal is far more welcoming to British people wishing to relocate to this beautiful country. So, this has now become our new home. And let’s face it, who can complain about 300 days of sunshine!

After two viewing trips we found a brilliant 4-bedroom villa on the outskirts of Loulé in the Algarve. Loulé is a lovely town with an interesting history and it’s close to both Faro airport and the beaches.

So this is the start of a new adventure and an amazing place for photography.

Stylish house in Lincoln

Photograph of the living room of Chorister's Mews Lincoln

Main bedroom of Chorister's Mews Lincoln

Photographed a very stylish house in Lincoln – No. 1A Chorister’s Mews – for Pass the Keys to assist in marketing the property. It’s always a delight to photograph beautiful interiors and this period house has been tastefully decorated and furnished with great attention to detail. It also benefits from an excellent location close to Lincoln Cathedral. This is the fourth property I’ve photographed for this rapidly expanding operation run by Simon and Amy Law.

Pass the Keys is a fast-growing property tech start-up which became a professional Airbnb co-host in 2018. Pass the Keys provides UK property owners with a hassle-free short let management solution that optimises their rental income and occupancy rates.

The value of good quality photography has been proven by the high occupancy rates for all the properties represented and managed by Simon and Amy.

Magnificent Grimsthorpe Castle, one of Lincolnshire's finest houses

Took some drone photographs of Grimsthorpe Castle today to capture the impressive country house surrounded by its beautiful parkland. The majestic structure was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, and is his last masterpiece. It’s only when photographed from the air that the house’s arrangement around a central courtyard is clearly seen. The rolling pastures, lakes, and woodland of the park surrounding Grimsthorpe Castle were landscaped by Capability Brown.

It was clear from the activity in the grounds that the house was being prepared to re-open after lockdown. Grimsthorpe Castle park and gardens is definitely one of the most impressive country estates in Lincolnshire.

Grand house on the hill near Rutland Water

Burley on the Hill house, Burley near Oakham, Rutland. ©2021 Neil Lamont Photography

On my visits to Rutland Water I was always intrigued by the grand house on the hill overlooking the lake. After research I identified the building as Burley on the Hill house, built by Sir John (later Lord) Harrington around 1690.

The Palladian mansion – with its parkland styled by the famous landscape gardener Humphry Repton – was the residence of Asil Nadir in the 1980s. After the fall of his Polly Peck empire and the demise of its owner, builders directed by new owner Kit Martin moved in and transformed the mansion into six very grand apartments, with an additional 20 dwellings on the estate. With commanding views over Rutland Water, it’s one of the most elegant places to live in the country.

The drone images I took show off the house, its unique horseshoe-shaped entrance and manicured grounds at their best. The picture below shows Rutland Water in the background. Burley on the Hill house is surely one of the grandest places to live in the East Midlands.

Splendid Belvoir Castle

Drone photograph of Belvoir Castle ©2021 Neil Lamont Photography

This magnificent building, which was rebuilt in the 19th Century after it was destroyed by Parliamentarians, resembles a medieval castle and its central tower is reminiscent of Windsor Castle. In fact, Belvoir Castle was used used as a stand-in for Windsor Castle in the second series of “The Crown”. To my eyes, this is exactly what a castle should look like including its commanding position overlooking the Vale of Belvoir.

Once again, taking a photograph of it using my drone was the best way of capturing the castle in its environment. I plan to visit it in the future and take a look at the state rooms.

Magnificent Deene Park House seen from the air

Deene Park House ©2021 Neil Lamont Photography

Flew my drone over Deene Park house today to get a good view of this magnificent country house.

Deene Park house was built over six centuries and grew from a substantial quadrangular-plan medieval manor into a Tudor and Georgian mansion, whose main front now faces south across the park and lake. Its setting is very beautiful and you can only really capture it from the air.

The gardens have been restored to their former glory and work has expanded to include improving the parkland. The work has definitely been worth it – so assuming the man taking a rest is one of the gardeners, hats off to you!

Wimpole Hall exceeds expectations

Drove to Wimpole Hall today to take advantage of the beautiful weather and perfect conditions to fly my drone. Reading about the estate before the visit, it was clear that the grounds were going to be something special because they’d been landscaped by many great landscape designers including Capability Brown and his successor, Humphrey Repton.

Wimpole Hall is truly impressive and a drone shot is the only way you can really place such a wonderful building in its context. This is true also of country house hotels where the grounds and location are a key selling point. I don’t usually shoot buildings straight on but, in this instance, it was the best way to show off the perfect symmetry of the grand country house.

Stunning railway viaduct in Welland, Northamptonshire

One of the only upsides of the lockdown is discovering beautiful areas of the country and seeing some great architecture. The Welland Viaduct (or as it’s sometimes known as the Harringworth Viaduct or Seaton Viaduct), is one such highlight near where I live. It carries the railway across the valley of the River Welland between Harringworth in Northamptonshire and Seaton in Rutland.

I decided the best way of photographing this incredible construction was from the air and hence I launched my drone. Taking the photograph in the late afternoon when the shadows were extended added drama to the image. I think the result speaks for itself.

Photographs of Europe goes live

Delighted to get this new website live at last. I’ve built it using Slickpic which is a brilliant website builder for this type of site. I’d been debating whether to use Squarespace for sometime but somehow it didn’t provide the right tools for what I needed at the moment. That’s not to say this might not change in the future.

Now I’ve got the foundations in place it’s the start of the hard work of adding more photographs and writing descriptions. And taking more images once the airlines take to the air again.

photographsofeurope.com

Excited about developing new website

After travelling around Europe over the past few years and taking photographs in some of the iconic tourist destinations such as Berlin, Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Barcelona, Vienna and Lake Como, I have decided to develop a website to showcase and sell these images. I plan to relocate to Italy in two years time which will enable me to extensively build this library of photographs.

An exciting new partnership

NLP is delighted to announce its partnership with leading video experts Broadcast Productions to enable the company to provide comprehensive coverage: stills, video and drone footage. Broadcast Productions, led by the talented Dominic Hartley, has over 10 years experience of capturing luxury hotels with stunning cinematography. Great looking video is a given plus stunning 4k CAA-approved aerial video, but Broadcast Productions' real differentiator is its creativity.

See an example of Broadcast Productions award-winning work

Ischia, Italy

Off to the Italian island Ischia just off the coast from Naples. Went to Sorrento last year and explored the Amalfi Coast, and can't wait to see more of this amazingly beautiful area. Should be photography heaven and the weather forecast is looking good.

Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa

Commissioned to photograph Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa, a fantastic Grade I listed, four-star hotel in a magnificent 16th-century building surrounded by 25 acres of beautiful grounds. With its large lake, croquet lawn and tennis court, and grand rooms, this palatial property will provide the perfect opportunity to get some great pictures.

Looking forward to working with Head Chef Adrian Coulthard and his team, who are dedicated to serving fine food that is both inspirational and worthy of the 3 Rosettes the hotel has been awarded, the only restaurant in Northamptonshire to hold this accolade.

Soho flat renovation

Photographed Artia Design & Build's current building project in the heart of Soho for the company's website, Facebook page and blog. The top floor flat is being remodelled and fitted out with high quality fixtures.

Really looking forward to shooting this project when it's finished.

Krakow and Auschwitz

Just back from a long weekend break in Krakow and Auschwitz. Krakow's a beautiful historic city – easy to get around and the centre's small enough to see all the main sights in three days. The trip out to Auschwitz was interesting and the museum really brought back the horror of the place.

Bought a Manfrotto Befree carbon fibre tripod specifically for these city breaks and it's a brilliant piece of kit – so incredibly compact and light! Used it to take photographs of the Market Square and Wawel Royal Castle at night plus a few panoramas.

Muswell House Renovation

Commissioned by Artia Design & Build to photograph a recently completed renovation of a house in Muswell Hill, London.

Downstairs I'm capturing the contemporary design of the large extension that has been added to the ground floor with attention to the clean lines, high quality fixtures and fittings, and clever use of glass. The impressive central living area is the focal point of the house and can be fully connected to the patio and landscaped garden when the bi-fold doors are pulled open. I plan to take an evening shot to show a dramatic view of the complete extension.

The white Poggenpohl units and white resin floors in the kitchen complement the light, airy and modern feel of the re-modelled house.

Upstairs Artia has added a large loft extension with an additional bedroom, bespoke walk in wardrobe and ensuite, which their clients love.