Mary Mcquillan Photography

Days in Porto be like; hazy and lazy, supping on beer by the river Douru, listening to music and dancing, watching incredibly beautiful and quirky individuals roll by on their unicycle :) xx

What were the skies like when you were young?’ ‘They went on forever... and the skies always had little fluffy clouds. The sunsets were purple + red... the clouds would catch the colours everywhere.’ 🎶 (Ricky Lee Jones/The Orb: Little Fluffy Clouds) (Pic: 'Flying Solo' Sunset by River Douro)
I got back late last night after 3 fabulous nights in Porto, flying solo. I had a mixed bag of responses from friends when I told them what I was doing - everything from, good on you, to..., I wish I could do that and a won’t you be lonely? There were a few things my dad really instilled in me from a very young age 1) Talk to people, connect with them, be warm and friendly, smile and have fun 2) Travel - see the world and experience life as much as you can for we’re only here a short time 3) Think positive, take a risk cause the reward can massively out weigh the loss and you’ll never know if you don’t try. I understand the mixed bag of responses and wouldn’t life be bloody boring if we all thought the same but honestly, I love people and connecting as much as I love my space. And I love travelling with my friends as much as I have rediscovered I love travelling alone. The flight started on a high where I met Myles and Mandy, a gorgeous couple who had lived in Hong Kong for 20 years, one of my favourite cities as I lived there a few years as well. I chatted to waiters, ate when I felt hungry in restaurants that took my fancy, I read books, took time to journal, I connected with Brazilian poker players, a graphic designer, film makers working for Nat Geo Wild, a fashion designer, a sculptor, a couple of very talented musicians. I danced by the river in the sun with my new friends and on my final night was kindly escorted around town taken to clubs where I met more new people and I danced my hiney off to the wee hours. It really was that good and if anyone is thinking of travelling solo my advice is to be open to it, be open to meeting and talking to people, go with the attitude that you’ll have a good time and just do it x
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Mother's Day!
Calling all partners who feel they are a bit rubbish at choosing a Mother's Day gift and want to buy her something that she'll absolutely love? No cheesy awkwardness, just lots of natural, fun and emotive images to look back on. Drop me a message if you're interested! £275 for 40+ high res images fully edited, including the session time and 2 x(10x8) prints :)
... xx
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This time 5 years ago, I was merrily choosing which colour of nail polish to wear... in between contractions. His sister's labour was 30 hours long, so I was in no rush. But I had joked with many people that he'd fly out of me like the water flume at Alton Towers. Be careful what you wish for as 2 hours, one traffic jam and ambulance later, he did just that. Not before I left my dignity in the hospital car park as I was wheeled past 4 fire engines parked up, wearing only my ...knickers and a vest, roaring like Mufasa awakening everything the light touched within a 5 mile radius of St Mary's hospital. You've been pushing your sister down and trumping on her since you were fit to walk, you want to change your name by deed poll to Chewbacca (and now I do too) and you have the most infectious belly laugh that reduces me to tears, sometimes with an emergency dash to the loo. Love the bones of this mischievous little man xx
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Beep beep for Minis! Beep beep for a vintage Mini that was a sorrowful bucket of rust which Danny and his dad thankfully salvaged, spending many hours of labour and love restoring it back to its former glory. Beep beep for having it as your wedding car! :) xx

'Nichola'

Celebrating International Woman's Day with our Sister Circle, Chorlton, Manchester.
On a personal level, I realised a couple of years ago with being a new mum, I was leaving myself with very little energy and many woman I speak to agree that we give give give, as is our nature, putting other people first. Nowadays I realise how important it is to keep my cup full, look after myself, so I can give fully to others. One of my most favourite self care things to do is go to our wo...nderful Sister Circle in Chorlton, ran by my gorgeous friend Kate Lambert. We sit (there’s a clue in the title) in a circle, we share, we laugh, we cry, we meditate, support and nurture, fill up our cups with cacao and recharge our batteries ready to take on whatever life has to offer.
“Is it a plot against men?” quizzed my good friend, Ian, tongue in cheek. “No, quite the opposite in fact.” “Is it a sort of hippie commune?” “Hmm, sort of but not really.”, and I can’t recommend it enough for women in Manchester and the North West.
Happy International Woman's Day x
Click on the link if you'd like to find out more details or see if there's a class near you :) https://www.facebook.com/groups/219753936 7181410/
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I love coming across images, being zipped back to the emotions and vividly remembering how fab it was being by this girl's side for most of the day. Nichola, so gorgeous and serene, catching a first glimpse in her dress xx

Obligatory bouquet shot :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuYehp9jUc_/
Click on the link to find out about my parenting fail and her new favourite thing, 'Hugs for no reason' xx

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs7pysNARrT/< br> 'Grandma Ireland' xx

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsNJ44WHamg/< br> If you'd like to see and hear about my weeklyshenanigans, you can head on over to my personal instagram account and hit follow :) Mary x
Latest post, living with a 4 year old boy named Archie.

https://www.instagram.com/marymcquillanph oto/?hl=en
One of my new thangs this year was to start a personal Instagram account; basically a peek inside my brain and daily randomness. Hit the follow button if you'd like to keep up with a bit of nonsense. Mary x

'Party hard or go home' I gave up the party hard on NYE a long time ago; tonight, bringing in the New Year is all about the cosy... soak in a bath, pjs, dressing gown and slippers, curled up on my sofa, toasting away under my blanket, feasting on the latest series of 'The Good Place', content in the knowledge that my 2 spuds are safely tucked up in bed, firing out the zzZZZzzs. I'm really excited about 2019. I've been working behind the scenes like a little chipmunk, with the... business going in a slightly different direction, video highlights now being offered alongside my photography packages, a new website to be revealed very soon, among other exciting projects... And I'm grateful, I'm grateful for this business of mine, the luck I seem to have in finding such bloody awesome clients to work with, and for all the people in my life - I really am blessed to have so many good people around me, near and far. So there you have it folks, party hard tonight or go home. I choose home but I'll leave you with one of my favourite images of last year, Charlotte and her mum, Cath, partying hard, as we all did that day. Happy New Year. Mary xx
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Vivian Maier...

Heard this on the radio just now 🙌🏻
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45 990247…

**LAST MINUTE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION!** Sat 20th Oct 2018, Northern Ireland. Creative, informal, light-hearted family photography session available, the prints make perfect for Christmas presents for those hard to buy for family and friends! £275 includes 60-90mins of photography, 50+ digital images plus, 2 x (10 x 8) professional prints. My sessions are a little different to the usual family portraits as well as being easy going and fun! ... If you'd like to enquire, send a message to my inbox :) Chat soon! Mary xx
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I stopped watching the news well over a year ago but I love it when stories like this seep into my newsfeed, it warms me cockles x