Dunluce Castle at Sunset

Every now and again I like to post an image that's completely unrelated to my wedding and portrait work. A few weeks ago I was up on the stunning north Antrim coastline and found myself near Dunluce Castle as the sun was going down. Anyone who's been there will know it's an incredible place to watch the sun set and this particular evening was no exception:




Hope you like it,
David

A New Life In Ireland

We've now settled into our new home in Ireland, just outside Glaslough in County Monaghan. It's a truly beautiful place and the people who live there have all been incredibly welcoming. We feel like we belong and can't thank our new friends and neighbours enough for their warmth and kindness.

There has been plenty of snow recently and I took the opportunity one snowy day to capture some images in the Castle Leslie estate which dominates the village. As you can see, it was a little like taking a stroll through C.S. Lewis' Narnia:

This was the view of the Castle itself, seen from across Glaslough lake. The lake was completely frozen over, though I hasten to add that I didn't dare to test just how thick the ice was!

And here, for comparison, is a similar view captured on a typically grey and overcast day last summer:

The new studio in Lisburn, Co. Antrim, will be up and running soon and I hope to be busy enough to post plenty of new images throughout what promises to be an exciting year.

David

Our Fun-Packed Disney Weekend

With a considerable amount of barely containable excitement in the air, Fionnuala and I took the boys to Disneyland, Paris at the weekend. It was our first experience on Eurostar, which was full of children humming their favourite Disney tunes. I fully expected to spend two or three hours enduring the "are we there yet?" phenomenon - but no, the trip was very smooth and the boys seemed perfectly happy to wait for their appointment with Mickey and friends without driving their mummy and daddy up the train walls.

If you've never been to Disneyland before, there's two things you need to know before setting out. The first is that you will have very tired feet at the end of each day. And the second is that your wallet will feel drained, too. Having said that, we had so much fun and enjoyment that I couldn't possibly claim we didn't get value for money.

Slightly concerned about keeping an eye on my camera equipment, I decided to take my old Canon 350D and the standard lens that comes with the kit. And I'm pleased to say they did a very good job. Here's a few images from our trip:

We brought two very tired boys home with us - along with two bagfuls of Disney goodies - and both agreed it had been the best weekend of their lives. Already they're talking about their next trip to Disneyland - time, I think, to remind them about their savings account!

David

Time to Book Your Portrait Session in the Bluebells

This afternoon I took a quick stroll round nearby Docky Wood, famous for its mid-Spring carpet of bluebells. It's a photographer's paradise, though we'll have to wait another week or so before this year's bloom is at its best - in fact, there are only a handful of early petals to be seen at the moment.

Bluebells don't last long, so if you fancy a memorable portrait session in this special setting, now is the time to book your shoot. As a tempter, here's a few shots from a previous session in the bluebell woods, starting with a scenic:



And here's a few examples of classic bluebell portraits:









Bluebell portraits make great images, so give me a call and book your session now.

David

A Few From The Family Album

At Christmas, we had a great family break in the Stable Mews on the Castle Leslie estate in County Monaghan, Ireland. Fionnuala and I needed a big rest as the last few weeks of 2008 had been hectic, to put it mildly. Castle Leslie provided exactly what we needed - a tranquil break away from it all so we could re-charge our batteries and head into 2009 refreshed and raring to go.

Here's the mews cottage we stayed in, seen at twilight:



A crisp early morning walk led me to this view of the castle across Glaslough:



Another walk, this time in the late afternoon, led us to nearby Kilvey Lake. Despite it being December, the lake had taken on a positively autumnal appearance:



The boys loved their holiday:

And finally, a whole family portrait. This was taken using the self-timer, with the camera mounted on a tripod:

David

How To Freeze Your Fingertips

It's been absolutely freezing recently and that meant the ingredients for some cool winter landscapes were all in place. I shot this selection while my eldest son, Tadhg, was having his riding lesson. The sun had just dipped below the horizon once he was in the saddle, so I missed the beautiful sunset much to my dismay - still, Tadhg's gallop-and-trot is coming along nicely and the pictures I got weren't a complete disaster!

David

The US Presidential Elections

It's a big day today - so I thought I'd post a shot I took in Cape May, New Jersey last summer:

And if you're fed up of hearing about the US elections, console yourself with the thought that whoever wins, it can't be as disastrous for the rest of us as it was the last two times!

David

Bantry Bay By Night

Taking landscape and travel shots at night is a fun way of remembering the places we've visited but the best shots require careful thought and planning. While in Ireland, I took the following series of shots which illustrates just how important this timing is. These three images were all taken within 15 minutes of one another but only the first of them is truly satisfactory:







The difference, of course, is in the light in the sky. The wonderful blues and violets make the first image stand out. There's a mere hint of blue in the second shot and none at all in the final image. Arguably, this doesn't matter too much in the second image which is as much about night life in bantry as anything else. But the final image would have been so much stronger had the sky glowed with the deep colours of the first image.

This just shows the importance of planning. Once the sun has set, there are often rich and atmospheric colours in the sky but they give way to pitch black within 20 minutes. So the key is to anticipate - get yourself in the right place for the image you want most, then move very quickly to capture any others you might want before the light disappears. Not that simple, though, when you've just left a restaurant with the children in tow!

There, a free photography lesson for you! Back to wedding and portrait images for my next post, I think. Until then, take care.

David

The Changing Face of Belfast

During our Ireland trip we had to spend a few hours on one of my wife's current work projects in Belfast. So on the way back, I took the opportunity to take a couple of images that record the changing face of the city. The "Troubles" have had a major impact on many parts of Belfast, in particular in some residential areas of the city. Murals paying tribute to the paramilitaries have been evident in these places for many years but as part of the peace process there is a move to replace the paramilitary-style mural with art work that celebrates other aspects of life in the north. I found these two examples of the old and the new in the east of the city. The first portrays a typical display of strength in honour of the Ulster Freedom Fighters, or UFF:




This, however, is more typical of the new brand of mural. As an Englishman, it's not necessarily going to go down as my favourite example for it shows David Healy's (in)famous goal that defeated England in 2005. In my defence, it was pouring down when I took these two shots and I just didn't fancy roaming the streets to find a less embarrassing design!




Next time I'm in Belfast I plan to photograph a couple of examples of murals from a republican area of Belfast - just for balance, you understand.

More from the trip soon,
David

My Gold Award Landscape Image

Back from our holidays now and into the swing of work again - seems like we were away for no time at all! One of the most pleasing parts of getting home was discovering that I'd received a Gold Award from the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers for this image:

The photo was taken in February near Enniskillen in Northern Ireland and received the award in the landscape category of the SWPP's monthly print competition for August. I also received seven Silver Awards, including for the portrait and wedding images I submitted. Isn't that cool - I feel really lucky to have my work recognised by the judges.

I'll be posting some images from our trip soon, starting with something special as a thank you to my wonderful wife.

David

Fermanagh Landscapes

So the last leg of our trip to Ireland took us to Co Fermanagh. We stayed at the Lough Erne Resort and Spa, just outside Enniskillen. This series of images was taken early in the morning while the rest of the family were having a much-needed lie-in! The first shot shows a handful of the lodges you can stay in - the views over the lough are stunning:


This little stream winds round part of the golf course at the hotel:


The light at this time of day is, of course, wonderful for atmospheric shots like this image of the hotel from the jetty:


This is the same jetty, covered in hoare frost, with the mist-draped lough in the background:


As the sun rose over the hotel, the lough shore was bathed in a gorgeous warm glow of morning light:


That's all from the Ireland trip. Hope you enjoyed these images. I'll post some more portrait work in the next few days.

David