It almost feels like it was taken yesterday, but I shot this image of Gillian and Linda many years ago at a family party. I was still at collage and we all were just a little younger!
I find it a bit scary then, that the next time I photographed these two cousins in the same frame, was 20 years later, in a family group at Linda's wedding.
Where does the time go?
Food plays a BIG part in my life!
Ask any of my friends - if I am not eating it, I'm usually talking about it or even photographing it. While other Irish people will give you directions via the pubs, for me it's by the restaurants! Let me give you an example.
Last week I had a little job to do in London and rounded off the trip with a lovely walk along the Regents canal, from Little Venice to Broadway, just beyond Regents Park.
We began at the Boathouse Restaurant in Little Venice, where one of the chefs was testing out that days produce on the local swan and her signets. We managed to resist the tempting menu and set out on our three mile journey. With all the greenery and wildlife, it really didn't feel like we were in the middle of a huge city.
I've always thought it would be a romantic idea to live on a houseboat and the number of these boats in Little Venice seems to have grown since my last visit. They may look a little cramped but are such a colourful contrast to the beautiful regency houses in Maida Vale and the mansions that line the canal as it enters Regents Park.
As the weather was getting warmer, we stopped off for refreshments at the wonderfully situated Cafe LaVille, where the canal heads underground for about a quarter of a mile and vowed to return to sample the appetising Italian fare another day.
Suitably energised, we continued along the towpath and under the bridges, where the beautiful light reflecting of the water was just so good, that it demanded to be used for some portraits.
This really is photographer land! After passing Snowdon's Aviary at London Zoo and Primrose Hill (made famous by David Bailey), we turned off the towpath just opposite the Feng Shang Princess floating restaurant. This and the humid weather, brought back memories of the huge floating restaurants in Hong Kong's Aberdeen harbour. After a further ten minutes, we finally finished our adventure at Angela Hartnett's York & Albany gastro pub, for an amazing lunch.
The walk takes about an hour and a half and can be begun from the Warwick Avenue tube station on the Bakerloo line. Should you feel less energetic, the waterbus from Little Venice to Camden Lock covers similar ground. If you find yourself in London with time to spare, then this walk is well worth doing - if you can resist the food stops!
It is now my busy season for family portraits, but to keep my mind fresh, I'm working on a number of personal projects. These challenge me in different directions and the more I learn to be creative, the more I find I can bring to my professional work.
One of these projects deals with the changing aspects of life in Dublin as a result of global warming. As an example, here are some recent views of Bullock Harbour in Dalkey.
This image shot at low tide, feels more Mediterranean than Irish. A sign of things to come with our warmer and more humid summers. It was taken 9.00pm at the end of June, just before sunset.
While most of my professional images are produced during the working day, the image above was taken just after 10.30pm at the harbour, on a beautiful still and warm, mid summers night a few weeks back. Sitting outside in short sleeves is a new experience for me in Ireland, at that time of night. The green patch in the water is actually seaweed on the outer harbour wall and can be seen again at low tide in the next image.
Ever present in the waters around the harbour are members of the expanding grey seal colony from Dalkey island.
Seals can be quite large, as you can see and make their presence felt climbing up onto the harbour wall when they smell fish in the air! For anyone visiting Bullock harbour, it should be remembered that these are wild animals and best enjoyed from a distance. They shouldn't be approached or fed as they can give a nasty nip.
This project is on going and has proved to be really satisfying. It was a nice surprise however when I heard that the first two images picked up silver awards in the landscape and pictoral categories, from the SWPP in June.
I seem to have been photographing a lot of pets recently. It really is an extension of my location family photography. Most cats, and dogs are imporatant family members as well as being their owners best friend. Animals have their own quirky personalities and it can be as difficult to capture the essence of a pet as it is to capture the the personality of a 5 year old. Each one is just so different.
For instance, take Supertack above. She really displays a lot of curiosity and began our photo session investigating and searching until she was happy with my presence and when she was fully relaxed, played then slept! (Thank you SWPP for awarding this image a silver medal!)
A pets photo session really aims to capture the lifestyle of your nearest and dearest 4 legged friend! For dogs, my aim is to capture casual portraits of your pet on their own as well as with their best friend. I also try to produce some action images and some photos that just show the fun that animals have at play! Of course, if you have a show dog then, I would also aim to capture portraits showing breed characteristics as well.
If you have a cat, well I know who's the boss! I am usually happy to let these noble creatures dictate the session - patience is the most important photographic skill here!
My favourite pet shot this year was photographed last february in Ringsend park and for me, portrays the essence of man and his best friend.
If you would like to learn more about a full location photo shoot for your pet then please let me know.
"The Gods have descended among us!" was how one delegate described the speaker line up at the Wiring the Brain conference that I recently photographed at Adare Manor, in County Limerick.
One of the most important aspects of this conference, was to bring together specialists from differing disciplines, who would never normally have the opportunity to meet in a social setting, to discuss different approaches to solving similar problems.
Another great success of the conference was the location at Adare Manor, which proved to be a very special backdrop in the glorious late spring sunshine.
The rare Irish sun even allowed the delegates to study their programmes on the banks of the Maguire River between sessions.
The Minstrel's Gallery in the manor house proved an ideal setting for the conference sessions and when transformed back to its stunning 19th century self, provided an ideal backdrop for the gala dinner on the final night. The staff at Adare Manor were superb and conference organisers, Keynote PCO ensured that the conference was a success.
