Blog Posts

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Updates to Family Photo Galleries

It’s been a while coming but I have finally posted updates to the galleries on the main site.

http://www.roblambphoto.com/galleries.htm

So there is some more recent work included there as well as some old favourites.  There have been a lot of sessions since the last update and it was hard work choosing a handful of representitive images.  I know the Misses will sit and look at pictures all day but I decided to limit the number of images on the Galleries to make them more usable.

If you want to see more just call in to the Gallery and we can talk about how a session might work for you and I can show you how similar sessions have worked out.

Also there are still no Wedding Galleries on the web site – that would need almost a full web site to itself.  I’m not a fan of photography web sites in two halves (no more than I am of highly animated sites) and I feel that talking through a wedding portfolio is so much better done in person.  It is an important decision to choose a wedding photographer.

Anyway, enjoy the new on-line galleries.  Any feedback is very welcome. There are some more updates due (including the commercial work gallery).

Lastly a big thank you to everyone who came back to me with consent to use their images on-line.  I’m proud of your pictures and I’m glad you are too!

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A Move in the Bank

Wer’e ust back from moving the display in the bank to the Commerical Section of AIB, 66, South Mall.  We also took the opportunity to add a slideshow on their TV.

So there’s still a chance to see the display and pick up a print voucher if you’re in town.

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Updates

After a summer of good intentions I’m finally getting to work on updates to the web site.   I’ve nearly finished working on updating the Galleries with more recent images and they should be uploaded in the next week or so.

But I’ve started with an update to the Terms and Conditions of Business on the site.

http://www.roblambphoto.com/termsconditions.htm

I know these look a little scarey but I believe all professional services should clearly state the terms and conditions under which they normally do business. This about being open.

The other thing to note is that if anything in these conditions does not match the way in which you want to use my services then it is possible to vary these terms on a job by job basis.

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Taken to the Bank

We’re just back from setting up a stand at the Bank.  Earlier this year AIB invited us to put up a promotional stand at 66, South Mall.

We spent most of last week running around organising a few things and we’re pleased to say that it went up this morning.

AIB, 66 South Mall

On the table is a special promotional voucher for a free 8×12 print with every session booked between now and Christmas.  There are more details on the promotions page.

I’d like the chance to thank Print XPress on Tramore Road and DMOS for pulling out the stops to get things to me in time for the stand to go up this week.  I really meant to allow two weeks to get this thing organised between the jigs and the reels it all happened last week!

So if you’re in town, why not pop in and take a look!

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Allihies 2011

We returned to Allihies for the Festival again this year.  Although it wasn’t as big as last year’s centenary celebrations (no pig racing this year) there was still plenty going on.

With the kids a bit older we broke the family record on how far we got up the hill behind the Copper Mines and with Nana’s help we even got out for a late pint in the O’Brien’s this year!

Regular readers will know I like to ‘go analogue’ on my hols and so it’s taken longer than I’d like to get the pics up!

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Ballinlough Summer Festival 2011

This year’s Ballinlough Youth Clubs Summer Festival is on this coming Saturday, 27th August at the Ballinlough Community Centre.  The event starts at 3:30 and will run until around 10pm.

As usual lots of fun for all the family laid on by our local Community Groups.

Rob Lamb Photography is pleased to support the event this year and we’ll probably see you there at some stage!

Although I’m not planning on getting ‘roped’ into the tug-of-war this year – the opposition is too scarey!

Pulling Boys
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Essential Camera Gear

After a couple of years of missing out, we finally got to go back to Courtmacsherry this year for the horse riding on the Strand.

The View from the Stands

It’s a great event and there are loads of great photos waiting there for anyone who is bold enough to take on covering it: horses galloping at full speed through sand & water; riders covered in muck; the odd horse loosing the steering on the corners; even a serious looking spill and of course the spectators make it too!

But you either have to commit to covering it or not.  The view from the stands just doesn’t cut it (as you can see from my pic).  And I was there for a family day out, not to disappear off on to the beach on my own for the afternoon.

There were a few photographers who did commit to the sands: definately a few press-pros amongst them. I reckon they got some great pics.

But all of them lacked one essential bit of kit for an event like this: wellies.

In fairness one guy had a high-vis vest and good walking boots but all the horse-people (who had been here before) had wellies.  Another guy got inventive with plastic bags but that just didn’t work out and he got mucky in the end.

So what’s my point?  Good preparation, research and planning are an important part of a successful photography assignment.  You might get lucky and get something wonderfully spontaneous but your chances of good photographs improve on an regular basis if you do your homework and get in the right spot and have a good idea what might happen next (preferably with good light).

Of course you need the skills to capture it once you’re there too.

And some camera gear – but too often the attention is on the camera gear and not the things that let you get in the right spot – in this case it was simply a pair of wellies!

And how do I know?  I did a session by a stream in Glengarriff with a small fella who loved to throw stones.  The place to be was in the water just beyond where he was throwing so that he faced me.  But I brought my walking boots – great for mud (which is what I predicted) but not great for wading out into the stream.  That day I needed my wellies and I missed a couple of shots I would have liked to get because I didn’t have them.

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Shandon Bells

Fisheye from the top of St Anne's, Shandon

OK, foriegn hols are over but we’re busy enjoying our hometown – especially with visitors in town.  So this week we went to Shandon to ring the bells.  I did it when I first came to Cork (20 years ago) and apart from certain health and safety requirements (we’ve loads of pics of the kids wearing red ear muffs) the experience is as good as ever.

As is the view!

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Enjoy your Holidays

We’re just back from our annual holidays – so apologies to anyone who was looking for me in the last couple of weeks – I’m back now and rapidly catching up!

Holidays are a great time take pictures: more time, new locations, everyone relaxed and happy.

I’ve always been an avid watcher of people – I think that’s a big part of my photography – and holidays are always a great time for that too.  Combine that with the camera geek in me and you get someone who enjoys watching people using cameras and observing their behaviour.

This is normally passive enough – I’m not judging, I’m observing and sometimes learning. But more than once this holiday I got a little dumbfounded by people chimping.  Now I’ve nothing against chimping per se. The great thing about digitial is the ability to check your settings instantly.

My problem with it is that while you’re doing it you’re not doing anything else – and personally I didn’t come on holiday to chimp.  I came on holiday to take pictures, to spend time with the family and to experience somewhere new (although not necessarily in that order).

So if you’re going away this summer, think about what you might be missing going on around you before you spend too much time looking at the back of your camera.

Take a look when you’re back in the Hotel: not while standing in the middle of road; not while standing in the middle of something really interesting (if you think you missed the shot, take another rather than missing it again while you check).

OK, I’m glad that’s off my chest.  I should really post some more pictures.

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Holidays

It’s been pretty hectic here trying to get everything back to all the families who I was with for Communions ahead of our holidays next week.  I want to post more images but hopefully I’ll get time to put some up soon.

In the meantime, on the holiday theme, I came across this small slice of fun: what a couple of photographers / videographers do when they’re stuck in an airport overnight.

The full post has more info about these guys (including a Q&A).

I hope this doesn’t happen to too many people over the summer (especially our Aussie visitors – watch out for that Ash guys!)