2013 365-21

Aaaaaaaaaaaand here we go with week 21. It's an all-singing, all dancing photography whirlwind this week so buckle yourself in and get ready for...........no, wait. It's just another week of trying to crank out shots and be a wee bit original. Sorry for building your hopes up there.

20/05/13

The marvellous Hellcat McCloud on the Jam Line during Saturday Night's all-Ireland rookie bout at Belfast Roller Derby. I got into the centre of the track and waited for this, as I had noticed how this particular skater tended to get into the zone before each jam. The facial expression is hard to read and ambiguous - that's a big part of why I like it.

21/05/13

This was shot in a mirrored table in a furniture shop using my iphone 4s and processed in high-key style using PhotoToaster.

22/05/13

Fresh bunches of flowers on the Larne-Belfast road this week. I had passed them several times but today actually had my camera with me and got the chance to pull over and get a shot of them.

23/05/13

My son Conor had shown me a picture of this taken on his phone. Its just outside the back gates into Belfast Met. There had also apparently been a Peppa Pig up there too, but she had departed by the time I got there.

24/05/13

And speaking of my son Conor, this was my favourite piece in his end of year show at the college where he is studying art. Its quite small but just looks amazing. He describes it as a self portrait in the style of the Easter Island statues. I've purchased it from him for my mantlepiece.

25/05/13

Last two pics see me going postal. Above is Royal Mail HQ in Belfast's Tomb Street and below are two leaning post boxes in the Titanic Quarter. I was out and about on my bike and decided to travel light, taking only my little D60 and a Lensbaby and did get some good shots.

26/05/13

2013 365-19

I'm kinda pleased with this week's shots and there's not even a roller derby picture in sight. A nice mix of stuff and plenty to go to and see this week courtesy of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.

6/05/13

Here's my eldest daughter and my youngest daughter doing some crafty stuff. I like this shot. My eldest girl is very talented and had been asked to put on a workshop in the R-Space Gallery Lisburn. Sadly very few people turned up, but I did get to see pictures of chickens and penguins wearing hand-knitted jumpers

7/05/13

Second photoshoot for our long-term bump shoot and a visit to Belfast's Titanic Quarter this evening just as the sun was setting. I'm pretty sure this won't make the final cut, but I do like it. A real grab shot, with the sun directly behind my unsuspecting model.

8/05/13

I was both surprised and excited to be taken along to take part in the Fawlty Towers Dinner Experience at the Northern Whig. A great interactive show with a fair amount of improvisation all done by three very talented performers, and cunningly stealing loads of good bits from the TV series. Sadly the dinner was pretty poor, but the craic was 90.

9/05/13

Went along to see Amadou and Mariam in the big marquee in Custom House Square. No takers for my extra ticket, so I was bill no mates this evening. The music was awesome, although there was a real lack of stage presence, but that's not surprising given that both Amadou and Mariam are blind. Very talented singers and musicians and they were kind enough to bring along two of the loveliest backing singers I've ever had the pleasure of photographing. Here's one of them.

10/05/13

I went to see Mary Gauthier (supported by Ben Glover) in the marvellous surroundings of St George's Church this evening. This lady is one of the best songwriters currently working and I was delighted to have this chance to see her in Belfast for the second time. Ben Glover was, as always, great to listen to but I noted that the fiddle player had changed sex and grown a beard since she was last in Belfast.

11/05/13

I joking posted about this image on Facebook, saying it was a great example of how not to take a night-time landscape shot. No tripod, no wide-angle lens, no long shutter speed. I shot it handheld with a 70-200mm lens at f2.8, 1/200 shutter speed and ISO 6400. I did however smack out around 40 shots in quick succession to stitch together to make this panorama. It's Ok, but has to be filed under "could do better."

12/05/13

Faded bunch of flowers tied to bridge over Holywood bypass at Holywood Exchange. The number of plastic ties would suggest that other bunches of flowers have been placed here. The memorial is in memory of Karen Cromie aged 31. Karen jumped to her death on the 28/01/11, one week after she had threatened to jump from the same bridge. Karen was a talented Paralympic athlete who had been selected to complete in the 2012 London Paralympics and died near the Decathlon store at Holywood Exchange which had sponsored her.

2013 365-16

Another "low week" in terms of shooting opportunities but still kept going. The result is a set of shots are that really "bitty" but at least they're up here.

15/04/13

This was an attempt to take another roadside shot of a memorial which failed dismally. There's nowhere to stand to get this shot, just two lanes of dual carriageway. I tried to take this while driving and using continuous shooting mode on the camera. It's Ok from this distance, but the plaque is way too blurred to make anything out. Back to the drawing board.

16/04/13

Slightly more successful attempt, not too far away from where I live in East Belfast. This sits beside a road, taped to the gate which leads to a small concrete culvert and river. I'm wondering if this may mark another suicide, given the proximity to the little river or whether it is another traffic fatality.

17/04/13

Sarah returned home from Guides with her first badges. Apparently these are to be sewn onto something, something which I haven't got for her yet.

18/04/13

I'm easily confused at best. Inside was a second hand book shop with no-one there, even though the door was wide open. I browsed for a while and then gave up.

19/04/13

Path leading down to the courtyard ar Rowallane Gardens just outside Saintfield County Down. First time I'd ever visited here and the gardens appear to have suffered very badly after the severe snow and cold weather. I'd like to go back in the summer.

20/04/13

This was an attempt to try out the Brenizer method - using a shallow depth of field and then stitching a series of photos together. I used my 24-70 lens at f2.8 and frankly, this technique needs a wider aperture. Next time, I'll give the 50mm or 60mm f1.8 lens a rattle. It has possibilities.

21/04/13

Up to the Valley Leisure Centre to get a big group shot for Belfast Roller Derby. Sadly this shot is embargoed until the BRD 3rd birthday bash on Friday night, but naturally I took my gear and shot some scrimmage while I was there. It was great to see Pucifer back on skates and taking part. I don't have a favourite roller derby skater to photograph, but if I did...........
Loving the light set up I have now, and it's amazing how varied the shots are. Some come out crisp and clean (like this) while others are darker and moodier. I'm liking that.

2013 365-14

 Week 14 and things are picking up. An offer of a new long term project starting this week, a spot of good old roller derby and a lot of getting out and about - for that, read more landscapes. I also ended up getting my eyes re-tested this week and now need reading glasses. I apologise for any photos that have not met acceptable levels of sharpness over the last couple of years.

1/04/13

Sunday night brought a visit to Belfast Roller Derby training to get some shots of two visiting coaches from London Roller Girls. This is one of my favourite shots of the night, Jack Attack, who was leading training for the squad.

2/04/13

It might be snowy and bloody cold, but I experienced a real "golden hour" this evening while driving near Greyabbey, Co Down. The sun was just setting and I saw (as I drove past) the light hitting the trees on the far side of this little lake. A quick u-turn later and a dozen shots yielded this; the colour of the trees is really nice, but the reflection of a really well-defined sky in the water of the lake really made this stand out.

3/04/13

This was a very interesting evening for me. I had been approached a couple of weeks back by a couple who I had met through concert photography to document their pregnancy with their first child. This was (as most of my favourite photo projects tend to be) simultaneously fascinating and intimidating. Could I actually do this? What if I messed it up? This was something very important to these genuinely lovely people and they were asking me to photograph it? I did some research, shared some ideas and began the process with an "at home" photoshoot this evening. One of the long term plans is a montage of the bump across the next 5-6 months an we made a really good start with that end of things. We also got a few nice couple shots and planned out a few more ideas for the coming months. The end results of the shoot were 7-8 really nice images. The one above is a simple detail shot; I'm not planning on posting anything identifiable during the project as that feels like some sort of invasion of the couple's privacy. Next shoot will hopefully be in one month's time.

4/04/13

Working in Newcastle this morning and although a bit of thaw has set in, the Mournes looked beautiful still covered in snow. This was taken from a bridge in Dundrum on the Keel Road with the wrong lens and probably the wrong camera settings and no tripod. Turned out pretty well, all things considered.

5/04/13

I'm still working away very slowly on another longer term project on road side memorials to people who have been killed in road accidents. Today was a productive day on that front, and I was able to bag three different shots, although I also missed another two because I wasn't able to get turned or stopped in time to get ut of the car with the camera. I've logged them for future reference, and also have another two logged from different locations over the past week.

6/04/13

Saturday brought the last-minute opportunity to go and take some shots of small boys playing football. I packed my photographer's rights guide in my bag just to be on the safe side. I suffer from mild paranoia about taking photos of children. It certainly was a lovely morning, great light and a rare chance to photograph sports that happen outdoors.

7/04/13

Here's a funny thing. I sometimes take pictures of flowers. Sometimes I take pictures of landscapes. Niether of which I particularly have an interest in. This shot took me an hour of fiddling about to get right and when I posted it to my Facebook page it got exactly zero likes. However, earlier in the week (see above) I posted a landscape shot of the Mournes covered in snow taken hurriedly as I drove back from Newcastle to Belfast. By hurriedly I mean I jumped out the car with the wrong lens and snapped two shots from a bridge in Dundrum. Post that to Facebook and what happens? Loads of likes and comments. There's no pleasing the punters I tell you, no pleasing them.