The Saltee Islands

I never really had much interest in birds (of the feathered variety) until I went to an enormous Aviary outside Cape Town, South Africa in 2006. There was such a variety of bird life in a huge netted area and our planned 1 hour visit turned into a 3 hour visit and we were still reluctant to leave.

On returning home and eventually purchasing a DSLR camera I made a list of places to go and things to photograph. On this extensive list, towards the bottom was a visit to the Saltee Islands off the coast of Kilmore Quay, Wexford. I had heard on a flickr t forum that it was a beautiful place to capture images of bird life and an even better place to hone your skills as a photographer. Wildlife such as this can be difficult to capture and the sheer speed of these birds alone was extraordinary.

In May 2011 I made my way to Kilmore Quay where I met with a boat owner who brought me to the islands, a 30 minute trip from the Quay. I spent several hours there and did not want to leave, it was simply stunning and in the end i did not have enough memory cards with me to capture all the pictures i wished.

I have not shared these images before but as I now have a forum here are a few of the day on the Saltees. I would recommend any person into photography or wildlife to visit there if they get a chance, it is an unusual place and very rewarding.

Time Lapse (The Master at Work)

I have always been interested in Time Lapse Photography and have found one person to be head and shoulders above the rest in the way they approach the production and with the sheer quality of their films. Tom Lowe has for many years pioneered the digital time lapse and here is one of his stunning movies.

http://timescapes.org/

Click the above link, you won't be sorry!

Amateur Boxing Event

Croke Park - 25th November 2011 - Amateur Boxing Event

I recently attended an Amateur Boxing Event held in aid of some charities at Croke Park, Dublin. This was the first indoor sporting event I had covered and it posed many issues and problems I had initially envisaged. I had to be careful not to get in the spectators way (difficult), to use a fast shutter speed in a room which varied from dark to bright to very dark thanks to all the 'effect' lighting there. I had to shoot under the ropes when possible and remember that objects in the your wide angle lens are much closer than you actually think (one boxer stood full force on my hand, which was nice).

I learned more in the few hours shooting here than at any other event I have done (excluding Weddings) and really enjoyed the experience. While I am relatively happy with some images from the fight I believe with what I learnt that the next time i shoot this tyoe of event I will be better prepared and will shoot more impressive photographs.

Shooting into the sun, Achill, Co Mayo...

During the 'summer' just gone (2011) I spent two days in Achill, Co Mayo. In actual fact i spent two days in a tent as it hardly ever stopped raining!! On the last evening just before sunset the weather cleared and the glorious sun appeared for just over an hour before disappearing again. I jumped into my car and headed for Keem Strand where i hoped to capture anything at all, any sort of decent picture I could then edit and store on my hard drive for evermore. I managed to get a few shots taken but the sun was very strong so I decided to try bracketing 3 shots of the same scene taken at 2 stop differences.

One was exposed correctly, the others were two stops over and two stops under. I aimed to then process this image using a HDR (High Dynamic Range) editor which then combines each of the images resulting in no detail being lost in the shadow and highlight areas. This was the result of my efforts, it's not a great picture but the bracketing technique (which we are learning about in the Griffith College Photography Course) really took me out of a hole here as I had forgot my filters.

This method let me shoot directly towards the sun and although there is very obvious lens-flare I do not believe it affects the image negatively!

Tallinn, Estonia

I was lucky enough to visit Tallinn, the capital of Estonia this week on a business trip for two nights. If I had known before the trip was booked by our administration department that we would miss the Ireland - Vs - Estonia play-off game by 1 day I might have changed the arrival date (ah well)!!! I did manage to finish work earlier on one particular day and see some of the Old Town. I found this part of the city to be  simply stunning and the finest example of a walled city which I have ever seen. The town oozes charm and I have never laid eyes on cleaner streets with no litter or disregard evident. I managed to take a few photographs but would recommend that any photographer going there should bring a tripod to assist in those night time shots you will want to take. The Estonians can see the value and beauty of their town and light up all City Wall Towers and Churches at night time. They are a friendly people with an outgoing attitude and a visit to the city is highly recommended. Anyway that's my travel blog written...

Horst Faas - Chosen Subject

Image copyright of National Press Photographers Association

Photo copyright of National Press Photographers Association

As part of the Research and Writing skills module in our course we have been tasked with choosing a photographer and writing an essay on them. Some time ago I heard about a book named 'Requiem' which carried the photographs of photographers who had not only photographed the Vietnam war but had also been killed in it. This book was compiled by Horst Faas a German photographer and two time pulitzer prize winner. Following just a few minutes of online reading I knew this was the photographer I wished to research. He has contributed in so many ways to his art and I cannot think of another photographer I would prefer to research. I have chosen to write my essay on Mr. Faas with a view to not only completing the assignment for this module but acquiring more on how these people operate in such difficult conditions, both physically and mentally. I have always wondered how people like Faas who didn't 'have' to be there still went there.

Ghosts of the Faithful Departed

I came across a book titled 'Ghosts of the Faithful Departed' in Waterstones recently and was really taken by the photographs it contained. The author, David Creedon has attempted to document the houses which were left abandoned when Irish men and women emigrated to places like the USA and Australia. There may be an element of staging in some of the images however they are a poignant reminder of old Ireland. From Child of Prague statues without their heads to old biscuit tins this serves as a reminder to many people living either here or abroad. The colour in some of the images is vibrant and its hard to believe that such houses, once the home and castle to many Irish families were left deserted and abandoned like this.

Skill and Composition, not equipment!

Copyright of Kdee64 (Keith Williams) via Flickr.com

At the outset of the Griffith College BA in Photographic Media course a few weeks ago (Sept' 11) we learned we would be going back to basics and shooting with a plain, boring, almost prehistoric film SLR camera. In fairness no one seemed to have a problem with this and I feel people accepted that we all need to know the very basics before we improve. I used to be of the opinion that you need the best camera body, the best lenses, the best flash gun and metering system, ultra fast memory cards, only LowePro bags etc etc... That was until I realised that patience, composition, having a distinct style and skill were the most important factors in photography.

The picture above was taken by a Mr. Keith Williams who is an 'amatuer' wildlife photographer living close to the Yukon River in Canada. I was sent a link to this image by my father who had located it on flickr (the photo sharing website). At first glance I knew this was a gem, a beautiful image which told a story. I keep coming back to it every so often as i find it is one of my favourite images and I have never seen anything like it ever before.

As I looked through other pictures Keith Williams had taken I noticed his profile beside the images, in this profile he mentions that he shoots with a Nikon D60 DSLR. To put this in perspective, the Nikon D60 is classed as an entry level DSLR, it would never be used by professional photographers and is quite limited in both resolution and ISO capabilities. It would be fair to say that Keith Williams knows how to manipulate the equipment he has to hand. He is achieving high quality images with an average camera and maintains his high standards week after week as can be seen on his flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithmwilliams/

I have already learned from this course that having the best camera and lens is not going to ensure you take better shots, being technically proficient with a keen eye and interest will however ensure you are achieving the levels you are capable of regardless of equipment.

The image used here is the sole property of Keith Williams or Kdee64 as he appears on www.flickr.com. If you get a few minutes it would be worth while checking out his images, follow this link;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithmwilliams/

An hour to spare...

As I had an hour to spare today (Sunday 16th October 2011) I decided to drive to Slane, Co Meath and walk along the banks of the River Boyne. There are a number of reasons to visit this area if you have never been. It is full of photo opportunities among them wildlife, landscape, macro photography and whatever else floats your boat. Here are two images I took today, one was an experiment with Depth of Field (Mushrooms) and the other an attempt to acquire a balanced exposure.

Protecting our past...

Approximately 2 years ago I decided to take on a project I thought I could handle. Two years later and I am not even half way through it. 

I borrowed my parents old photograph boxes from their home and decided to scan each individual image in high resolution and then back them up online (privately) and on specially purchased hard drives. While the idea was good my execution initially was not. I did not label and tag images in an appropriate manner and find myself in a position whereby I have to go back and finish work I should really have finished some time ago. At the end of the day though I have a digital copy of almost all old photographs my parents owned and I can hand them back their photos in the same condition they were loaned. Pictures of them growing up, christmas day, my cousin who died in Gallipoli, my grandparents in their youth and not as I remember them and my own parents when they were young and different to what I remember. 

Here is a picture of my Grandfather (right) walking to a match with his brother in-law. I love the swagger he has, the smoke hanging from his mouth as if he were in a film set in the 1940's and the vintage car in the background. I don't ever remember my Grandfather like this. I remember him as a man always dressed in dark clothing, with black hands from the foundry he worked in Limerick and always packing a pipe, the smell of which I have never forgotten. Without these images I believe we would forget the small things, the youthful appearance and the attire of the day. I also find this image to be different given that it was taken in the mid 1940's. It is almost documentary in style and there are no posed elements to it as there generally was in those days.

 

Murphy's Law...

While photographing children is important and quite rewarding I find it difficult as their attention span and interest tends to diminish after several seconds. I was once told by a photographer proper that for every year of their life, children will grant a photographer 10 seconds of their attention!!! This is a picture of my daughter aged 10 months taken at home. There was no way she would look at the camera for me despite repeated bribes and promises. It was almost a deliberate avoidance of her beleagured fathers attempts to capture her image. However once I placed the camera on a nearby table she looked straight at me and engaged for several seconds, once I picked the camera back up it was stone walls again....Conclusion; Shoot candidly rather than waiting for that portrait!

More London...

The only time i have ever expressed an interest in photographing architecture was usually reserved for old buildings such as castles, abbey's and such. On the way to see Tower Bridge, London I stumbled across an area called Borough. This area is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation (probably for the olympics) and has gone from being an area to avoid to being an area to visit. It's easy when walking between tall office blocks not to look up, this time with the use of the Dutch angle and some nice sky I feel it was worth it.

London Baby...

Just a shot of that iconic City Hall Building opposite Tower Bridge in London. You can take pictures anywhere but London has so much to offer any photographer whether its people, architecture, street, performance etc... They really have it all over there! This image is a Black and White conversion of a bracketed handheld HDR I tried out. I tried to capture the old and the new here with people in the picture for scale purposes. In hindsight I might have captured slightly more of the left hand side of the area with just slightly less 'dead-space' on the right. 

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Time Lapse of the Tall Ships, Waterford 2011

The Tall Ships is an annual race of large sail driven training ships through various waters. It welcomes participants from all over the world and has become a significant event throughout many ports in Europe.
I have always had an interest in Time Lapse photography and find that when it is used correctly it can be simply stunning. This is a time lapse movie created by prominent Wedding Photographer, Shane O'Neill of Aspect Photography, Waterford. Beautifully captured over a period of 72 hours it shows the arrival of the ships, the throngs of people arriving to enjoy the festivities and the change in light and weather throughout. This is well worth a look...

Introduction to my blog...

I am currently working full time in Dublin City and have recently undertaken a part-time course (Degree in Photographic Media) with Griffith College. I have decided to document some of my experiences as I undertake this course. Photography is the most popular hobby in the world and to date I have enjoyed this hobby, however I am looking to bring my hobby further along and develop skill in the area through learning and practice. The aim of this blog is to offer the reader a chance to view some of my work and if preferable to critique my images. I will also be posting links to photographer's whom I admire and will aim to discuss their style and appraoch. While I am new to 'blogging' myself, I am quite familiar with certain blogs by leading photographers and enjoy reading others experiences. I have posted a few of my pictures below for anyone that cares to look or preferably critique.. Feel free to post any feelings you may have on these images if you like. All constructive criticism is appreciated!