Galway by Night

Galway by Night

I’m passing the bridge on Spanish Arch every morning rushing to the bus on Eyre Square since my car broke down. Every morning I’m thinking to myself “Why are you not bringing you camera? You should always have your camera with you, AT ALL TIMES”.

Well this morning I got up even earlier then usual and went with the camera to work .. to find the Cladagh and Long Walk sitting and a bench of clouds.

Disappointed I went to work knowing that it would be dark by the time I would leave the office. After work I was lucky to get a lift of my friend Kerstin. She had some shopping to do and parked in a multi storey carpark directly in the city.

“All the way to the top!” were my words hoping for a last good view before the city would dive into the total black after missing the blue hour. I took two or three 30 seconds exposures, having the camera resting on the wall.

The above is the result. I was glad I went home with one image taken that I’m happy with even though it was more a snap rather than a thoughtful composition.

I will go back there, give my doing more thought and take some more. I feel like this is going to be a great weekend with lots of creativity!! Happy Friday Everybody!

Iwona in the City – Reloaded

Iwona in the City

I’m just going through some old photographs and came across this one, that I took in the session “Iwona in the City” last Summer. Sometimes you find old pictures that you overlook during post production at the time. Sometimes you don’t see something in an image and it needs some time and personal development to get to like it better. Therefore it is so important to back up all the material taken so that in the future you can go back to the set and select again.

It’s not only the image that might inspire you at a later stage, it is also the post production techniques that are constantly changing and that you may or may not wish to apply just because you are introduced to them during your work flow and through media every day again.

Don’t get me wrong, layers and brushes and standard operations will never change (only become more advanced) but especially in Fashion Photography the way a photo is developed in the “light room” and how it is presented, from one issue of a fashion magazine to the next, is depending on the style and the way fashion is driving at the time. Today you push the blacks and fill the light back in, the next day you go low contrast and underexpose.

All compositions look great at the time but the taste and the style of today are changing.

This photo session was very special to me and thanks again to Iwona posing in Shop Street at 8am in the morning with so much patience and humor.

Imelda’s MakeUp Project – Casual Look

Imelda’s MakeUp Project – Casual Look

Some time ago I took this image on the beach in Salthill in Galway among others for Imelda’s Portfolio to show a casual, elegant look. It was so windy that we did not get much done outside and took the rest of the images in the home studio.

The one above is my favorite from this day even though useless to see the MakeUp properly

Model: Edyta – Theme: Elegant Casual Look

MakeUp: Imelda Dooley

Tina & Hanna

Tina & Hanna

Tina & Hanna

I’m currently on vacation in Germany and therefore I’m not writing as much as usual but wanted to share this photograph with you of my god child Hanna and mother Tina. I took the image during my dad’s birthday party after everybody ended up watching Hanna unwrapping her own presents.

I think the most important to produce great kid’s portraits is to not to interfere and just to capture them behaving in the most natural way. It was very dark in the room, the photo was taken with 1/50 of a second, ISO 200, F4 and Flash SB600 in manual mode 1/16.

I shopped it a bit in Lightroom 3 Beta and added one of the new features in the LR3, the Post-Crop Vignetting.

I will be back in Galway next week, so business will be as usual. Thanks for all the followers of my photo blog for stopping by this week! There were 48 hits on the 25th even though I had not posted anything. Great!

Charlene – Imelda’s Evening Look

Charlene – Imelda’s Evening Look

Three photographs posted with the same model Charlene demonstrating the make up performed by Imelda for an Evening Look. Imelda is currently studying the subject to become a Make Up Artist. I wish you all the best to fulfill your dream! The photos are showing the make up on the eyes and are simulating the eyes opening and closing.

Back to Work

Following my last entry just a quick note, the sunrise on a day that you have to go back to work looks alway better than on an off day. Passed over the same bridge as every morning and was just sunned again by the beauty of nature, that fantastic sunrise with less than -5 degrees.

Its the end of the holiday season for most of us. We  have to go back to work or school or university. Have a great new start in 2010 and drive savely.

Early Morning Walk – Galway City

Early Morning Walk – Galway City

On January 2nd I went for an early walk to capture the beauty of Irish Winter. The sun was not up yet and I had the great opportunity to witness runrise on the Cladagh in Galway City, only a few footsteps away from where I live. I shot everything handheld and went not higher than 640 ISO with my good piece, the Nikon D300. Enjoy the Gallery. Once again, Happy New Year!