From a tea party in London to Venice in one week. The week began with an invitation from Claire, who runs The Great British Tea Party brand, to photograph and film her hosting the special Bridgerton Tea Party.
At the end of the week, I was taking off on a trip to Venice via Stansted in the UK for the carnival with my partner. The weather in England in the morning was torrential rain. Over 20mm had fallen in the Uk but flying above the clouds, the sun is still there🙂
Landed in Venice at Marco Polo Airport at 1 pm The flight was uneventful, and once landed, headed through customs. Always on the slow side now, as our passports need to be stamped (darstedly brexit). Once completed, then onto the boat station. When staying on Lido, there is a direct boat from the airport. It costs £18 but is more convenient than the slower boats. It takes about an hour to get there.
After a brief rest and a bit to eat, I headed to the main island of Venice for the first event on Friday. I was going to check out the Water Show at a place north of the island. I had hoped to get a press pass for the 6.30 pm show, but there weren’t any more spaces available, so I could photograph the 9 pm show. I waited around till the time, and the show exceeded my expectations. A theatre on water, with the spray used to project on. It was Olympic-themed, and the rain held off, even though it had been raining all day. After the show, I headed back to Lido to edit and upload some shots to the news agency.
On Saturday, the 7th, this was the official start of the Carnival and the Festa Delle Marie, a ritual that brings together history, beauty, and tradition on the unique stage of the lagoon city. I went to the start in a place north of St Marco Square called Santa Sofia. I took some photos of the 12 Maries posing before getting on to the gondolas, which were heading to St Marco Square for the unveiling to the crowd.
You can read more about my trip to Venice in a separate post, coming soon.
The Lanesborough Hotel partners with Netflix & Shondaland to launch London’s exclusive Bridgerton Season4-themed afternoon tea. Claire Myers (@greatbritishteaparty) is enjoying the tea and is wearing a hat from designer Matthew Eluwande. I collaborated on a shoot and also posted it to Alamy News. The new season of Bridgerton, season 4, is on Netflix and started on January 29th 2026. This is why there are so many Bridgerton events at the moment. It was a fun shoot, and I got to try out the tea and sandwiches.
Arrived in Venice in the early afternoon and, after some food and sleep, headed out to explore some of the events. The first was a water show, which was spectacular. Il Richiamo Di Olympia - Arsenale Watershow took place in Venice at the opening of the Carnival. An open-air stage which hosts the Call of Olympia, inspired by the Winter Olympics in Italy this year. The Venice Carnival runs until the 17th February 2026. Below you can see the photos.
More Photos - Flickr | Alamy | Facebook
The first official appearance of the Maries returns, a ritual that brings together history, beauty, and tradition on the unique stage of the lagoon city. Travelling from Santa Sofia gondola station to the Stage in Piazza San Marco. The 12 Maries are Claudia Berti, Camilla Bravin, Beatrice Guidi Buchi, Martine Diop Bullo, Giulia Caldart, Veronica Doria, Sofia Fassetta, Annacarla Favaretto, Azzurra Galvan, Ludovica Minto, Serena Moro and Matilde Stangherli. The Venice Carnival runs until the 17th February 2026.
More Photos - Flickr | Alamy | Facebook
That’s it for this week. The Substack membership is now open and includes a calendar of 2026 events; more guides will be added each month. These resources, coming soon, include a standard model release form for you to copy, a guide to my process for exporting and editing photos for News Agencies, and more. You can see a list of upcoming articles here.
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