We all had a great time at the Street Performance World Championships at the weekend. The park was heaving but we still managed to bump into a few friends in the crowd.
The big danger in watching a street performance of course if being pulled out of the crowd. I watched a few early shows thanking my lucky stars that your man pick on me.
Then we sat down early to get a good look at ‘Bendy EM’.
She sets up, she warms up, she tries to warm the crowd up a bit, she neatly tucks both legs behind her head. Oh My God. Applause. She says, ‘I need help getting out of this position, can the guy in the striped T-Shirt, yes you sir, can you give me a hand’. OMG, that’s me.
So I get my 15 minutes of fame helping Bendy EM go through the routine including having my T-shirt removed and sweat bands applied and 20 push ups but thankfully not too much public humiliation (apart from getting my less-than-six-pack-like abs out).
Good show Em, like the act and it was a pleasure to be part of it.
I’m still laughing to myself about the whole thing and my kids are very proud. She even let me keep the sweat band!
And this is the point where the world feels grateful that my wife never learnt how to use the camera. Moreover, so far there are no photos on pix.ie of me holding in my belly in front a large crowd in Fitzgerald’s Park. Not yet anyway…
Election material has come through our door practically every day this week. No surprises there. It normally gets discussed in some way at the table. My 8-year-old has a natural curiosity for the whole thing. I think Deidre Clune visiting Kindie while she was Mayor had a long-lasting affect on her. We encourage this: I’m a big fan of democracy. As my mother put it (although in a very different context): ‘people died to get you the vote’.
At one point she declared that we should simply ‘vote for the best looking one’.
Naturally this sparks a discussion on what makes someone good at running the place and what she’d want them to do (free sweets, no school, look after the planet etc).
But she had a point. Putting your face on a poster or a flyer is an incredibly strong visual message. In doing so, each candidate is projecting an image which is going to influence your impression of them and therefore possibly your actions when you scroll down the ballot paper scanning those same images. Even if your vote aligned to a particular party, they hope to influence your transfers.
It is a strongly subliminal message and I’m not sure how deliberately any of them are using it. Certainly the larger parties have a consistent look and I’m sure there has been some strategy behind selecting the presentation of the image if not the image themselves. The smaller parties and the independents seem to just ‘have a good photograph’ (and some not) and have paid little attention to how the style of the photograph projects them.
It works too. I can name many candidates but I know very little about their manifestos.
In actual fact though, those leaflets I have taken the time to read have contained very little policy information – a big photograph and a lot of bio. Its all about personalities and not policies. If you’re in government it is about youth or experience, if you’re not in government it is about change. But no actual policy statements. A picture tells a thousand words.
The style of a photograph does project an distinct image of them. We learn to interpret a face from a very early age.
I take a good few business portraits for people (mainly web site bio pages). I always ask a client what kind of image they’re looking for and many don’t have a strong preference. So I talk to them about their business and we go from there.
Most people I guess don’t really appreciate what a strong and effective visual communicator a facial image is, especially if they’re offering a service. They know it is important to get their logo and their branding right, but few spend the same amount of time discussing their portrait with their photographer.
Now you’ll now notice that there is no image of me on my web site. That’s a photographers curse I’m afraid: we’re too often behind the lens that no one ever takes our pictures. It is not an easy thing to do either: a portrait of a photographer needs to project the quality of their own work but the photo isn’t actually taken by them.
So thanks so David A Williams for this one: David realises the predicament that a photographer is in and ensures that everyone on his seminars leaves with a portrait. Thanks David (again).
There are lots of lovely images coming from family shoots arranged around First Communions. Its a wonderful moment in the cycle of family life, my best wishes to anyone who is making their First Communion this year.
I just posted a new gallery of Sydney Opera House photos to the Australian Galleries page. Lots of abstracts and odd views of this very familiar landmark taken over the months we tripped in and out of Syndey, mainly on the Manly Ferry (in fact one of these is taken from the Ferry at night).
I was very taken with the Opera House. I think I really liked the way you interact with the structure as you move around it. Although you think you know what to expect before you get there, the building has many details that surprise and delight you. I never expected, for example, the surface of the domes to be made of square mosiac!
Again, I have a particular composite image in mind for these images so they’ve all been deliberately cropped square.
Sydney Opera House
I also posted some minor updates to the Kids/Babies/Families Galleries – mainly to stop MM (you know who you are) complaining that her kids weren’t cute enough to make the Galleries! Hopefully there will be more updates to these once the communion season is over. There are some lovely portraits coming from the communions but I want to make sure everyone is happy to be in the Gallery before I post them.
I’m still planning the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Blue Mountains Galleries. Also some Infrared from around Ireland – one of older film based IR and some from my new IR-modified Digital camera.
Saturday saw the end of an era. With the presentation of the Kevin Ryan Memorial Trophy the last act of the Togher International Festival of Amateur Photography was complete.
Chrissie and Mary have been running a photographic competition for 23 year in the Togher community and photographers from all over Cork and the World have entered and been judged. But as well as the Open, Novice and Specialist categories there was always the Snapshots. And that summed up the event: something for everyone at every level of photography; a chance for experienced professionals and ameteurs to show their craft; opportunities for anyone with a camera to show off a good image; lots to smile about; an appreciation of photography at all levels; all the encouragement anyone could want.
It was testament to how this festival has touched so many in Cork that not only did the City Lord Mayor and Deputy County Mayor arrive at Togher Community Hall on Saturday but also two TDs and at least three former Mayors. As well as many members of the community who have been involved over the last 23 years.
But after many ‘last years’ this could finally be it for Chrissie and Mary. I think they might finally have had enough. The local businesses will be one spot prize over this year.
My thanks to them from me and on behalf of many photographers who have taken part in TIPAF over the years.
There is still a hope someone might take up the gauntlet next year and the competition will continue and perhaps reach new heights.
But we will remain endebitted to Chrissie and Mary for the last 23 years.
Third Prize, Kevin Ryan Memorial Trophy, April 2009
I had the pleasure of attending a three day seminar ‘almost alone’ with David Williams up in Omagh before Easter. David’s work is incredible and it was amazing to see him at work and how he achieves such natural, intimate images. He is truly inspirational. Lots to take away from this and use in my own work but also great to step out of daily business every now and then and spend time improving my craft.
Thanks also to Sarah Fyffe, who hosted the event up in Omagh.
I haven’t seen any of the press photos from the Cork St Patrick’s Day Parade yet but I can’t see how you can’t just have great fun with it. I’ve never actually worked it but this year we were organised enough to get there early and even found a spot in the glorious sunshine on the South Mall.
But alas all that waiting was too much for the small fella who dozed off in my arms just before everything kicked off! After a short nap that giant robot thing woke him up but he remained in my arms for the duration.
So I didn’t even get any snaps. Just this one caught on the way in next to City Hall.
St Patrick's Day Parade, Cork
Now this guy almost came a cropper on a tree trying to turn into the South Mall but nevertheless impressed everyone (it certainly made an impression on some smaller kids on the crowd!)
Well done to all involved. I think it was the best parade in Cork for a long time and, combined with warm sunshine, it was just what everyone needed.
The pools are characteristic of the beaches on Sydney’s northern coastline and each had a character of its own. Many had lane markings and were used frequently by organised groups and indivduals in regular training. Others were more like lidos.
As we spent our time around the local beaches I tried to capture the variety and characters of the pools and I have a comprehensive series of images as a result. I plan to bring them together in a series of large composites. The gallery has a selection of the images which give you the overall impression of the work.
