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.