It was great to see one of my photos posted all over West Cork over the weekend.
The guys from Aesop’s Fables and Foibles are in Gougane Barra this week and posters featuring a photo from a session I did with them are on posters posted all around the place.
One of the kids spotted them first as we passed through a town on the way out to Allihies. It then became one of those great kids games to find another poster as we travelled around.
I must admit I had great fun shooting a bunch of actors doing mad stuff in cardboard outfits!
Our busy ‘summer’ continues with a weekend away in Allihies. After a foggy start, Saturday broke into the most wonderful afternoon just in time for the start of the 99th Allihies Festival.
Running back down to the start
OMG, great craic. International running races for all ages (and all-comers) interspersed with horse racing (not for the feint-hearted), ICA Cake stand, Bouncy Castles, Candy Floss, the Works. The going was a little ‘heavy’ which bothered some of the inexperienced horses more than the foot runners – although everyone who raced got pretty evenly covered in mud.
Allihies is a lovely spot on an amazing part of Ireland and the festival (and that bit of afternoon sun) topped it off for the weekend. I think we’ll be back in for the Centenary Festival next year!
I just finished catching up with RTÉ’s ‘the Look of the Irish’ season on the on-line player. Some really good stuff in there: some arty-farty stuff, artists who take photographs; some very interesting profiles of ‘real’ photographers; lots of interesting archive material as well.
If I had to pick one it would be John Minihan. I came across an small exhibition of his work from Cuba at the Kinsale Arts Week (last year?) and subsequently realised that not only did I have one of his books already, but his work is also hanging in the English Market. Very interesting for me to see the man talk about his work and to get his full bio.
But they’re all worth a look if you have the time. I think RTÉ keep them up for a couple of weeks. Start here and explore: http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1053611
I noticed that there has been a distinct lack of photographs in the last few posts! Hey, this is supposed to be a photo blog!
Well part of it may be that a week or so off has obvioulsy made me deeply philosphical but another thing may be that I took the chance while on holiday to shoot some film.
Film!
“Holy 20th Century Batman, you can get cameras that shoot film? What dastardly plot to undermine digital cameras is this?”
“Well not any more Robin but it used to be all the thing”
“What? No endless chimping? No instant gratification? You have to wait hours, no sometimes days to see your photographs? What kind of Victorian Water Torture is this?”
No really, digital is great, especially for my work. Between blinky adults, fidgey kids and weird mixed lighting its great to be able validate your set-up instantly and be able to take enough versions of a large group to reasonably expect that everyone will be looking at you with their eyes open in at least one. Moreover, the recent crop of pro DSLRs has made shooting with available light just an amazing experience.
Film still has a lot going for it. For scenic work where you have the time to set things up the advanages of digital are less obvious.
But I not only went film, I also went full manual. The discipline of having to go back to basics on your photography was really interesting.
“You have to remember to set the shutter and the aperature? AND focus? If it is a little dark you can’t just pump up the ISO? So what do you do? Hold your breath and try not to shake too much?”
It is great to slow things down when you can. Take your time. Remember the basics of your craft.
Then there’s the pure pleasure in operating a purely mechanical camera: the clunk of the shutter. There’s still a bit of the Engineer in me that appreciates a well crafted machine.
There is one application that film still holds a significant advantage over digital: star trails. Sure it is do-able with digital but worrying about batteries, long exposure noise, condensation issues and various other things doesn’t compare to just opening the shutter on a film camera and setting your alarm.
We didn’t get that many clear nights this trip (we didn’t even get many dry ones) and the one time we did get stars there was only time for two exposures (10 mins and 20 mins) before high cloud came over. But this is an on-going project and the FM2n will be in the bag any time I’m expecting to be out under a big sky.
It is something (else) that will take some time to perfect.
Star Trails, Ballylicky (20 minute exposure around midnight)
Oh, and on the subject of chimping, check out this video.
I got an e-mail this week from David A Williams announcing more seminars (none in Ireland yet unfortunately) and also his new web site. It is well worth a look, lots of lovely images but also some thought provoking messages.
David is inspirational. Not only in terms of his photography but also the way he encourages photographers to look at the value of their work: ‘You do not make portraits of children for their parents, you make them for when the child is a parent’. He emphasises the work of a photographer as a creator of unique memories which will prove to be priceless.
The thing is, the true value of these memories only truly comes home to you sometime later when your family experiences a dramatic change and it is apparent that the moment captured by the photograph has gone forever.
Getting your family together for a photograph is an easy thing to put off or just never get around to doing.
It doesn’t matter who is missing or what shoes you have on, take the photograph, make the memory. You will never regret taking a photograph, you may regret not having a memento of your family at a unique point their history.
It took a lot for me to ask my mother to pose for a portrait for me way back when I was about 20. It probably took more for her to agree. But in the passing years those photographs have become more precious than I could have possibly realised at the time.
Unfortunately parents age. Inevitably children grow up. Sometimes family leave for foreign shores. Take pictures of your family whenever you can. Get them taken with you in them as well.
Whether you hire a professional photographer or not, make a memory, not an excuse.
There’s something about being there that makes me think that one day I might do it. The mass start. All that camaraderie.
Then I watch them swim down the Lee and notice how as their legs look a lot browner than the rest of their body. In fact, there are times when you can’t see their bodies under the water at all.
No, I took my chance at an open water swim in Manly when the water was clear blue and 22 degrees. And don’t give me all that about wet suits either. I’m soft when it comes to cold water and I’m quite prepared to admit to it.
I’m not a totally lost cause. There may be a time you see me down at Sandy Cove. There are a couple of people trying to wear me down into getting in down there. Roll on Global Warming.
Fair play to all the swimmers today (and to the spectators who braved the rain).
Well ladies and gentlemen, I managed to see John Spillane three times in the last five days. Fair play to me.
At the last minute we wangled a babysitter last Thursday night and made it down to the Marquee for John and Mick Flannnery. John literally rocked the house, great concert, nice to bring Mick into it too. Cheer the young fella up a bit.
Then I was putting the kids to bed (late) on Saturday night and the call came up the stairs, ‘John Spillane’s on Miriam’. And there he was in a Blaze of Glory, Another Ball Safely in the Back of the Net, doing his stuff for Miriam.
Sunday we headed West through the storms to Dzogchen Beara. The Misses as been interested in seeing the place for ages (I feel a retreat coming on soon) and they have had a ‘Free Spirit’ weekend with events, meditations and free concerts. It was a bit further out along Beara than either of us remembered but we made it without too many ‘are we there yet’s.
Wow, what a wonderful haven of a place. At perfect spot. And there in the evening was John. Fresh from Dublin and RTÉ.
Now believe it or not the kids are big fans. The girls have been since the Live at the Speigeltent DVD came with Hey Dreamer. The small fella gets off his chair to dance and sing to most of Irish Songs we learnt at School.
Another great show. So not-the-marquee. A tent on Beara with 200-odd people. Same great performance (no one getting up for more beer throughout). He even didn’t run a mile when the Mad Woman from Cork (aka my wife) came up and told him our 2 year old was a fan. Oh no, he sang a few lines of An Poc ar Buile specially for him.
So the kids got their dream to see him live, in the perfect circumstances. We got our John Spillane hit (until Christmas anyway). We drove home late (again, thank goodness for school holiday), four in the car asleep but all happy.
Thanks John. Thanks for the Songs From Your Own Imagination. Thanks Dzogchen Beara, you have our support and best wishes.
Its hard to remember just over a week ago when the schools were still in and summer seemed like it was here at last (after two years of waiting!).
I took advantage and headed out West to shoot some landscape banners for a web site launch (watch this space) and it was truly glorious. There really is no where like West Cork when you get the weather. We ended up in Rosscarbery sitting in the square at 8pm in the warm sun with chips and a pint. How bad!
James is a local musician who seems to have worked with just about everyone in the area as well as touring Europe and the US with various bands. He is extremely talented (and a very nice guy too) and I had the pleasure of shooting some portraits and other images for his new web site.
So you no longer have to take my word for it, check out the site at http://www.shambobala.com/james and keep your eyes open for James gigging in the city and county. He can also be booked for events, weddings and all that (check out the details on his site)
