Live from Palermo, Sicily

I probably shouldn't be posting anything while I'm on holiday, but I'm just that dedicated....sometimes.

I was going to post up some of the pictures that I took at Mel and Andy's wedding, but it just hit me while I was mid-upload, they haven't even seen the pictures yet.  I think it's probably better to wait until they get the images from their day first, then I'll get some of the best ones up here.

As I said I'm on holiday here in Sicily for some R&R and for Linda to visit her family and her new niece.  It always takes me a while to get acclimatised, and I find that strange yellow orb in the sky (I think it's called 'the sun') makes the people in my pictures look washed out and have their eyes closed.  Being from Carrickfergus, I'm not used to this strange phenomenon, so I made do with shooting inside and finally using the reflector I bought in Jessops.

I was taking pictures of Linda's niece, Sveva, and some of the images turned out really well!  I was using my (now only working in manual focus) 50mm 1.8, and shooting between 1.8 and 2.8 and trying to keep the focus on the eye closest to the lens.  With manual focus and a hyperactive 8 month old baby, this was massively difficult, but out of about 200 photos I captured a few keepers.  I'm not going to upload any of the pictures, but I'm definitely going to use them for part of my portfolio.

Anyway, this was just a quick update because we've just had dinner and we're not going out until some time later.

Next time.....photos will be uploaded!

Ci sentiamo dopo!

Mel & Andy's Wedding

It's funny how you can make yourself nervous about something that you've never done before simply because of what you've read about it by 'professionals'

Yesterday, I shot my first wedding.  I was the second shooter for Billy McAuley at the Clarion Hotel in Carrickfergus.  First of all I owe Billy a massive thankyou because when I first started trying to contact wedding photographers about possibly assisting or even coming along to a shoot for the experience it was either no reply or a straight up 'unfortunatly, because of your lack of experience......." reply.  But when I got talking to him about what I wanted to do and how difficult it was to get that first shoot, he straight away offered me the chance to come along to his next wedding and bring my camera to get the guest shots and some candid shots too.

It was a bit of a late start for shooting so I met Billy at his house around 11am and we had a quick chat about what we would be doing during the day and more specifically what he wanted me to be doing while he was organising/shooting/generally trying to keep things on time.  It turned out that I had far more input than I expected as I was told just to work with the long lens and capture some candid images while Billy got the group shots.  I think this was probably the best scenario for me as I'm sort of used to taking street portraits and candid shots already and with the help of my good friend Sparky, I got my hands on a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 for the day.  I'm not going to wax lyrical about a lens, mainly because I don't have enough experience or the credibility to do so, but the difference it made to the shots I was getting compared to my 70-300 Tamron was unbelievable.  Needless to say, I'm already saving!

We arrived at Andy's house around midday and snapped a few of him and the grooms men ready to go, then we headed over to the Clarion to meet up with Mel and the bridesmaids.  Flowers, check.  Wedding dress, check.  Shoes, check.  Artsy picture of makeup being applied in reflection of mirror....check. 

The ceremony itself was short and sweet, getting underway in one of the event rooms upstairs and then it was a short wait before the meal was served.  The strangest thing for me was how relaxed and smoothly everything went the whole day.  Now, I've been told that this is unusual as normally there is some spanner that will inevitably find its way into the works.  But not on this occasion.  Everything just ticked over nicely.  Even when we were outside taking the last of the group shots, and it was quite obvious that most people would prefer to be sitting inside chatting with a drink in their hand, there were no complaints.

We shot the speeches and were even given a meal by David the hotel manager, who, because he was only working until 8, didn't get to show his party piece of singing 'Mack The Knife', or 'Smack The Wife' as he called it, when the DJ arrived.  Billy shot the throwing of the bouquet and that was it.  All done in ten hours.  I was exhausted, but I knew this was what I wanted to do.  For me photography is about telling stories with pictures, and a wedding is a pretty nice story to tell. 

I'm editing the photos today and I'll get a few of the best ones up, and then it's all about the next wedding!

I've only just started out, and I've got everything still to learn.  But I feel a little less embarrassed about telling people that I want to be a professional wedding photographer.....

Josh,

Back from a 2 month hiatus...

"Good things come to those who wait" probably isn't the best work ethos, but it seems to have paid off in this case.

So, it's not as if I completely stopped shooting for the last two months, it's more a case of I didn't feel that what I was doing was really worth talking about.  I was still out and about with the camera, including a trip to Rome which did result in some good images, but it wasn't really focused.  Then last week I ended up talking to a friend who is an established wedding photographer and midway through the conversation about lenses and new camera gear, he asked was I doing anything next Wednesday because he was shooting a wedding in Carrickfergus and if I wanted to I could come along for the experience.  I almost had to do an audio double-take.  I couldn't believe it that he was happy enough to let me come along.

Anyway, I waited a couple of days as he said he needed to call the bride to confirm the final details and he would let me know.  I wasn't really thinking too much about it but when I got the txt to say that we were meeting in the Clarion Hotel at midday and that if I brought my camera I could shoot the Groom and Groomsmen getting ready I was like a kid on Christmas day.

Needless to say I've been watching every video on YouTube about shooting weddings and preparing you gear even though I'm only shooting them getting ready.  The significance of this is huge, as everyone has to start somewhere, and I'm massively grateful to Billy for trusting me to have an input on what is one of the biggest days in any two peoples lives.

So before I get all philosophical I'm going to call it a night.  I'm also going to update the blog at least once a week on the blog, that is until I start to have something actually worth writing about.

Much love,

You Say Tiger Images from The Pavilion

More light doesn't necessarily mean better images.

So the gig went well in The Pavilion on Thursday, the only problem I had was that my new lens has almost completely stopped working on auto-focus.  It was constantly focusing about 3 feet behind the subject in every picture I took, then when I was reviewing them in the bar during the shoot I switched to manual focusing as it was the only option.

Apart from arriving at 7:30pm when the gig didn't start until 11 everything went fine.  This time round the light was fine in terms of brightness, mainly because no one in the bar knew how to turn the main stage lights off but it worked to my advantage for focusing.  The only thing I felt was that the images all looked a bit 'samey'.  I know working with a small stage and only using one lens because of the lighting conditions this is likely to be the case, but I couldn't seem to capture the shot that I really wanted.  Thinking about it now, I might make a bit of a list like I did with the street photography project I did back in February and write down all the shots that I want to capture.

I did a little bit of post processing in Lightroom on some of the shots, but again, that was mainly just to convert to black and white. 

Here are some of the shots.

You Say Tiger Gig [Take 2]

No pictures this time, just an update and a bit of a gripe!

All was well for about the first 15 minutes of shooting with my new 50mm lens when all of a sudden the auto-focus stopped working.  I though it might have been because I didn't fit it properly or maybe the battery was needing recharged.  But after a closer inspection it was fairly obvious that there was something seriously wrong with the lens itself.  If I sort of turned the focus ring while semi pressing the shutter release it would intermittently work so I knew it would have to go back. 

My first mistake was to give feedback on eBay soon as I received the lens and fitted it to the camera.  Everything was in working order so I confirmed this in the feedback then it all went pear-shaped.  I've contacted the seller five times since receiving the lens but nothing has come in return.  I think I'm going to have to contact eBay directly or write the company a letter.  Either way, I'm stuck with a 50mm with no auto-focus.....(I guess this is a good time to work on my manual focusing skills).

Anyway, the good news is that You Say You Say Tiger are playing another gig this Thursday in The Pavilion on the Ormeau Road and they've asked if I could go back and shoot the gig again.  I'm well up for it because it's going to give me the chance to make up for the mistakes and things I've learnt from the last time.  Also, they are wanting some promotional shots taken before the gig, which means I'll have a few more pictures to put towards a portfolio.

I suppose the only other thing coming up is our trip to Rome.  I've never been before so I'm well excited, and I'm sure I'll take some shots while I'm away, but I don't think it's going to be a 'photographic' holiday as such.  Just a bit of R&R I think.  Still, the obligatory 'self portrait at arms lenght' will definitely be captured!

Peace.

The Birthday

Over 2 weeks since my last blog...never again!

After shooting the You Say Tiger gig I was buzzing and looking for more of the same thing.  Gigs, people, street portraits and the like.  But, again, due to work and timing issues I really didn't get a chance to lift the camera until Sunday there when it was my uncled birthday.

Apart from the massive gap in shooting, the birthday was excellent and so was the weather.  We landed up in Templepatrick at around four-ish and everyone was in full swing.  My uncle plays in a Bluegrass band and there were about 8 or nine all there knocking out the tunes.  It's not my number one music choice, but with live music I find most genres enjoyable.  So I took the opportunity to get some portraits in hard sunlight as well as shooting into the sun and working on the image in Lightroom afterwards. 

The most annoying thing about the day was that my 50mm lens that I bought from eBay has completely packed it in.  The auto-focus is knackered and won't work no matter how much I try to 'persuade' it.  I've contacted the seller four times now, but I've still had no word back.  I think the next step is to contact paypal and get them to reverse the payment...if that can even be done!

Anyway, back to the party and I got some great shots with my 70-300mm going solely for the candid look.  Being outside on a farm made for some great backgrounds with either 'green fields' or 'old farmhouse' as a bokeh-tastic background.

Here are some of the shots I captured, and the rest are on my Facebook artist page.

You Say Tiger Shoot

 

Sitting in the bar waiting for the band to go on stage, I felt that hint of nervous anticipation I'd felt before when I used to play in a band myself.  I reckon life would be pretty boring if you didn't get nervous once in a while.

So gig night has been and gone, and I took around 300 images.  From those I have about 20 or thirty that I think are worthy of being seen, and I have ten that I'm happy enough to put up here.

The biggest problem I had was that when all the normal lights were turned off the place was plunged into (well for a camera anyway) darkness.  The 50mm lens was a lifesaver, because if I had have landed with my kit lens, the night would have been over before anyone even took to the stage.  For a bit of fun I tried the kit lens at its widest 18mm, but still there wasn't enough light to work with. 

Besides all that, here are some of the images I came away with that night.  I ended up converting most of them to black and white because of the image noise from shooting at 1600 ISO, but there were a few that just looked far better with a touch of colour.

So thanks to You Say Tiger for letting me shoot their first Auntie Annie's gig.

 

Showtime

Batteries charged, memory cards formatted, lenses clean...ready to shoot my first band tonight.

It's been a couple of weeks since I was asked to go to Auntie Annies tonight and shoot You Say Tiger playing their first gig there and I've been doing the research and testing out the camera in low light situations just to get a bit of practice in before I start snapping the band on stage.  The most apparent difficulty that I was having was getting a fast enough shutter speed with my kit lens so as to freeze the action.  Linda and I went out to RBG one night with a couple of friends and I brought along the camera and even sitting around a table I was getting motion blur and the fastest shutter speed I could work with so as not to massively underexpose the picture was around 1/20th of a second.  The best thing to combat this?  Buy a 50mm 1.8 prime lens. 

I think I've said this before, and I know it's true, that it's not the equipment that makes the photographer but under these circumstances and doing a bit of research on shooting gigs in low light, I knew it made sense.  Besides, £70 off eBay was nothing when you consider that without it I would have been walking away with blurry, underexposed pictures that couldn't be used.

I finish work tonight at 8pm and the gig is at nine, so it's a run home, change and straight out the door again.  I want to capture some images of the band setting up just to work out the light and where the best places are to stand.  I've read a lot of hints and tips and a lot of people say that they only bring their body with one lens because it's not that practical to be walking around with a camera bag over your shoulder in a crowded bar, but I'm choosing to ignore that one.  Because this is my first time and I'm not too sure exactly which lenses I'll want to use, I'll just do my best and hope I don't annoy too many people by smashing them with the bag.

I plan on shooting the gig tonight, editing the pictures tomorrow morning and uploading the best ones before I go to work.  I'm confident that I know enough about what I'm doing technically with the camera so all I have to worry about is being in the right place at the right time to get the best shot.

If all goes well, I'm going to ask if they need any promotional shots done.  It's good for the band and it will go towards my portfolio.

Pictures to follow!

Photos of the St Patricks Day Parade in Belfast

I got a bit of time to look through the images I took on St. Patricks Day and again, out of about 250 shots I have around ten good ones that I don't mind putting up here.

I started out at the corner of Chichester and Victoria (very Americanised reference to the corner of Victoria Square), taking pictures of the parade coming down the street.  I guess this is where I made my first error as a 'press photographer'.  I was standing on the footpath at the front of the crowd and soon as the police passed everyone took about 5 steps forward and all of a sudden the viewfinder was filled with the back of some guys head.  I was considering just walking out into the middle of the road to get a few shots as everything came closer, but the photographers already there were all sporting 2 high end DSLRs with expensive lenses, so I decided that I wasn't going to get anything different than them.  I worked my way around the hoards of onlookers and just captured some people waiting around and minding their own business.

As the parade passed there were some great characters.  Kids dressed up as old shipyard workers, people on stilts representing something to do with 2012 and not particularly St Patricks Day.  There was also a group of cheerleaders, one of who I managed to capture mid-air after she had been launched by part of her squad at the start of her routine.  Lucky shot as the moment before she was thrown into the air I had the camera down by my side, but I still got something acceptable I think.

Anyway, here they are.  None of them really need any explanation, they're just a wee look at the people of the day.

 

 

In preparation for my shoot in Auntie Annies on the 29th, I took some pictures in RBG over in Bedford Street with the 18-55 kit lens and even at 1600 ISO there was a good bit of blur and the fastest shutter speed I could really shoot with was about 1/30.  Now I know it's not the kit that makes the photographer (the phrase 'all the gear and no idea' comes to mind), but I honestly think I'm going to have to invest in a faster lens for this one.  I read a couple of reviews and I think I'm going to pick up a Canon 50mm 1.8 tomorrow.  Under £90 and it will give me a few more stops of light to work with in the bar so I can push the shutter speed up a bit and get the shots I want.

If I get it I'll be taking a few test shots before the gig and work out how to use it properly.

Just as a side note, I finished typing the blog there, and it started to sound a bit familiar so I looked at my previous post and I noticed that I basically repeated myself word for word about the parade.  To be honest I really couldn't be bothered deleting it so there it will stay!  I suppose I'm improving my blogging and my photography. 

So that's it for now, I've got some Friday Night Lights to watch.

St Paddys in Belfast

"Josteling for position just to see the parade never mind take any pictures confimred how little I want to be a press photographer." - Me

Walking up Victoria Street towards the shopping centre there weren't that many people, but ten minutes later and it was 3 deep to the front.  I'd positioned myself facing up Chichester Street so that I could get the parade head on, then take some close-up shots as they went past at the corner, but that plan was quickly changed when the group of people in front of me stood up and it turned out they were all 6 footers.  So I shifted around to the front of Victoria's pub and managed to squeeze in front of a couple of older folk who weren't really paying that much attention to the procession.  I managed to pick out a couple of good shots, although I had more opportunities shooting everything other than the parade.

I guess the big news this week has been that I was speaking to a guy in work who told me that his band are playing in Auntie Annies on the 29th and they need someone to take some photos of them at the gig.  They don't have any publicity shots either, so I offered my services and they gave me the nod to work away.  At this point I really just want to build up a portfolio of work that I can show to potential employers/clients.  I said that I wouldn't charge anything for my work, however, any of the photos that they use if they could just provide a link to my Facebook page so that anyone who looks at it can see my other work that's all that I want.  The general concensus is that at the start of any photographic career, you inevatibly have to give something away to gain recognition and publicity before you can start earning the big money.  So this is a sacrifice that I am actually quite happy to make.

Anyway, it's 3:30 and me and Linda have to meet up with some friends in The Errigle up the Ormeau Road for a few pints and to watch the rugby. 

I know I've said it a few times, but I will most definitely be uploading a few more photos this weekend.

Much love,

Josh

A Long Week

Another week and, sadly, not a lot done.

I finished the last workshop with Belfast Exposed and was really determined to extra creative this week, what with all my extra knowledge that I just picked up, but as it turned out, it didn't really go to plan.

Working the early shift so I was getting home at 6 and just wanted to eat then relax.  I know that's a very dangerous habit to get into so I made a point of tuning into the Chip Litherland webinar on how to grow a wedding photography business.  It was actually quite good even for an amateur like me, so I took notes and followed along where I could.

It actually got me thinking about the possibility of working as a photographer professionally.  I understand that it's not the most stable of jobs, and it's definitely not a 9 to 5 gig, but people do it successfully, and done the correct way you only have to look at some pro photographers websites to see that it can be quite lucrative.  Even for those just starting out.  I imagine at first I would have to have something part time to keep a roof over our heads, but I like the possibility of working in a profession that I really enjoy and can be creative.

Besides that, this week I mostly took pictures of my old guitar and drum kit to get them sold on eBay.  I've been looking at the Canon EOS 50D as a bit of an upgrade, and right now, I don't want to put my hand in my pocket for anything I'm buying.  

The Last Day

Looking at all the images today I realised how much talent there was at the beginner end of photography.

Over the last three Saturdays I have met some great photographers.  And I think the most impressive part of it is that none of them are professionals.  We are all at the same point of our careers, not knowing exactly what we're supposed to be doing, but know that the more we shoot the better we'll get.  The proof is in the photos that everyone brought to class today.  Everyone has taken something from these past few weeks and used it to make their images better.  From big things like learning how to use the metering system and the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and F-Stop.  To simple things, like making a list of the shots you want to capture before you leave the house so that you can tell a story with your images.

For me I've really enjoyed just having a goal every week.  The fact that I had to create my own goal and show my friends in class what I came up with was enough to make me try even harder to make my work better. 

If I had have walked away from the workshops with nothing other than the experience of shooting things that I wasn't used to, I would have been happy.  But the fact is that I got to work with some great people and I'm now looking at everything as if I'm looking through the viewfinder.  There's opportunity everywhere to take brilliant photographs.  From outside your own house, to people jogging in Loughshore Park, or even delinquent youths in Derry.  Really it's whatever you want to shoot.

Philosophy aside I really enjoyed the course and I can definitely see myself taking something else like Photoshop or Lightroom, or even a studio photography workshop.  I'm now going to try to get involved in as much as I can, and along the way, maybe get my foot in the door somewhere.

Here's to the next steps...

Ps.  I only started this blog for my own reflection but I did pick up the courage to give it out to the some of my friends in the course.  I like the idea of people reading this and relating to it, or laughing at it or even just looking at the photos.  So for those of you reading who were in the course, thank you for looking at my page, and thank you for sharing your images in class, and hopefully today won't be the last time we all see each other!  Also, if you do decide to follow the blog and pass it on to your like-minded friends....that wouldn't be too bad either. 

Street Portraits

As it turns out, it's not actually that difficult to ask someone if you can take their photograph.  

It was getting ominously close to the Saturday deadline and I had yet to press the shutter release on my 450D, so I made the most of the good weather on Thursday and got outside.

It was actually really productive and I just ended up shaking off my fear of talking to people and got to it.  There were some characters about that morning and everyone I spoke to was really friendly.  I took a picture of a homeless guy sitting just beside the High Street subway who was as well dressed as the best of them and a guy standing outside the tax office at Customer House.  The most interesting person I got talking to was a Scottish guy called Alex.  He was walking though Hill Street near the Duke of York when I spotted him and I just got chatting and asked if I could take his picture.  Turns out he's been living here for fifteen years and knows mountains more about Belfast than I do, and a really nice guy too.

Here are a few of the shots a picked up through the morning:

As it goes my favourite is the last one of Alex standing in front of the black doors.  The light is great as there was a big white van just off to the right of the frame bouncing the light back on to the side of his face.  Lucky I guess, but I'm not going to miss those opportunities.

I'll be going out this weekend to take some shots and we'll probably go out with Belfast Exposed tomorrow morning.  I'll stick to it and keep the blog updated as I go.  I think the next step is to get someone roped into modelling for me, just to get some good portfolio shots.  Who will the willing friend be then?

More to come!

The Pursuit of Happiness

To find something that you love to do in life, and then do it as your job...then you are really happy.

I had a couple of days at the start of the week there where the lack of motivation was so acute that I almost literally couldn't sit at my desk and work.  It's a strange feeling that I've never had before, but I was actually telling myself that there were only another few hours to go before I could clock off and go home.

The strange thing is that the longest job I've had was working for a tyre depot for 2 years, then I sacked that for a job in France when I was 22.  So I don't have that much experience of the same thing day in, day out.  I started my current job back in June last year, but already I'm feeling that all to familiar pressure of really not doing what I want to do.

Besides that, it's Wednesday already, and I have yet to go out and take some pictures for this weeks project for Belfast Exposed.  The assignment is to photograph six strangers in posed portrait conditions.  I was secretly happy about this because I know it will force me to get closer to my subjects and actually engage with them which will, in turn, build my confidence.  I convinced myself that this was good by likening it to the scene in Leon, where Jean Reno was telling a very young Natalie Portman that in the beginning the assassin would start with a sniper rifle and eventually get closer to their target until they had mastered the battle knife.  In my head the knife is the 35mm 1.8 while I'm running about the with sniper 70-300 Tamron.  Anyway, that's what gets me through.

Back to my excuses and it didn't help that our gas boiler packed it in a bit at the start of the week and I had things to do on Tuesday morning, but a mix of preoccupied mornings and late finishes at work has put me well behind schedule. 

I was due to call up to Clennaghans bar to meet my uncle and take some photos tonight, but a mix of morning duties and lack of ISO meant that I took a rain check.  Still, I'll get a run up to see them play maybe Saturday week and get some pictures.

Short post I know, but I've got things to do and some photos to edit.  On a bit of a random note, I submitted my details to an assisting website in the UK aimed at photographers looking for assistants, in the hope that someone will appreciate my honesty and give me the break that everyone keeps on talking about in their blogs/magazines/books.

We can all live in hope!

Ciao for now.

The First Image Cull

I finally made it from 350 down to eight photos for our first project, and even though my images weren't groundbreaking, I still found it very difficult.

I've kind of skipped a few days here and I'm going back to last Thursday when I took all my pictures for the project, but I'm just doing this as a way to lead into showing some of them.  Like I said it was hard to narrow down what I actually wanted to present, and in the end, Linda was more ruthless than I was and she helped get the number down.

Out of everything that I came home with I think these are probably my favourites.

Leaving the High Street subway

I really love the colour in this photograph.  The green on the sides of the steps and the maroon/purple trousers of the guy leaving the frame.  It's probably the most 'artsy' picture I've taken.

Friendly Banter

 The biker in this shot looks like he's really thinking about something while he's talking and I love his expression. 

Footpaths.....not for the elderly.

 I was just up on the little terrace above Sawyers when I saw in the distance this lady walking right up the middle of the street.  It just struck me how she's probably walked down that street a thousand times over the years and how the traffic has changed over the time.

I like the symmetry of the escalator juxtaposed with the person pushing the pram through top of the frame.

I wanted to get the guy playing the accordion completely silhouetted while keeping the background well exposed and still being able to see the Pottinger's Entry sign.

I think overall I managed to capture a couple of great shots, but I always have in the back of my mind something that I heard Chase Jarvis say in an interview on his website.  Being creative with photography is great, and if you want to make your shots unique and striking it will help build your brand and differentiate yourself from the competition.  However, there is an element of basic knowledge that you must have to do this.  Your camera skills need to be second nature so that you don't need to think how to change settings on the fly.  All of your shots need to be focused, sharp, well composed and well exposed.  And you need to do this every time.  You have to be able to land the ball on the fairway, every time.

OK, so at this point I'm not hitting the mark because I have quite a few photos that are just out of focus with either the subject moving towards the camera or just not being spot on with manual focus.  But the percentage of error is definitely coming down.

Finally, we have a new project for next week.  It's a portrait project where we need to take 6 shots of complete strangers (no friends of friends), and have them pose for the shot.  I'm not as nervous as I was previously, because with a bit of Dutch courage I managed to take a few shots of some people in Whites Tavern the other day.  But it's still going to be a challenge.

I'll be working on the project this week and get some photos up when I can as well as adding the photos that I took in Whites.

Until next time....