Shay Murphy Photography

Homeless Dublin #1

2012-02-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

How many people remember what the homeless person looked like you just passed?
Did you notice them?
Did you turn away and try not make eye contact?
Did you give them some change?

This guy had written on the pavement to try and get people to stop and hopefully leave a bit of money. He had either end blocked off so the writing wouldn't be walked on. He was doing alright, people were taking notice and leaving some change, but it takes a lot of 10cents to pay for some food.

Over the coming months I'm going to try and do a number of homeless shots similar to this, where the person is kept anonymous.

CameraBag 2

2012-02-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how I stumbled across CameraBag, but when I did they were offering it for $19 (€15/£12) with a free upgrade to CameraBag 2 which was following in a number of weeks.

What its not is Photoshop. What it is, is probably the best $19 I've ever spent!

Combing this with something like GIMP is the perfect and affordable alternative to Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture etc. I have been using it as my final pass for a number of images after I've prepared and cleaned the photo in Lightroom.

The interface is clean, simple and very intuitive:

OS menu across the top
Application menu down the right, with a sub menu for items inside it
Adjust menu along the bottom

Both side and bottom menus can be hidden when required

Menus

You get adjustment options such as:

crop
rotate
exposure
contrast
saturation
vibrance
brightness
shadows
various curves
grain
and a lot of other options

What the best thing about it to me is, the amount of presets it comes with by default, a great start to processing your image. You have full control over these presets to adjust them and make them your own. You can save your own and share them, and add other new ones, other people have made.

The controls are a nice size and really easy to understand and use, removing an effect is as easy as just closing the control for it, no need for Cntrl-Z'ing!

Adjustments

Other really easy to use options are things like:

batch processing; adjust one image, then point the software to the folder you want to run it on
quicklooks where you get a page of thumbnails with all presets worked on your photo, see one you like click on it and adjust as neccessary

Quicklook

Before & After

The only things I found lacking were controls such as clone/heal, dodge/burn, watermarking, but as I've already said above, I've been using this as a last pass and for the cost of takeaway & DVD it is well worth it. For what it has to offer at the price I wouldn't be expecting anything more...I would have thought it had a lot less.

Camerabag 2 is currently $24 and really worth getting.

http://nevercenter.com/camerabag/desktop

More samples:

Click here for CameraBag YouTube Videos

Book Depository

2012-01-31T04:20:00.000-08:00

The Book Depository is my favorite place for getting books online, they blow the likes of Amazon out of the water on selection, price and offer free worldwide delivery.

This Thursday (for 24 hours only) they are offering massive savings on top of the already great offers.

A drunk but very entertaining 45 mins of 20 Bulls Each!

2012-01-28T10:13:00.001-08:00

Magnum Contact Sheets

2012-01-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

This is the coffee table book of coffee table books, coming in at 508 pages, 13.9 x 11.6 x 1.9 inches and a hefty 9.7 pounds, 139 contact sheets from 69 photographers. It's beautifully put together, even the cover is like a package you would find in the darkroom.

I'm old enough to remember when there wasn't the choice for digital or analogue so remember well the negative and contact sheet process, and in some ways it was more satisfying than my current process in the digital age, but in others its not all that different at all, analogue & digital workflow processes have adapted rather than changed.

Most of the photos that people recognize were taken by a Magnum photographer, and I don't think the history of Magnum could have been put together any better than this.

Showing not just "the shot" but the shots that were discarded, and information behind the shot. There is varying sizes of the negatives (35mm, slide, large format, b&w, colour), and with a page at 13.9 x 11.6 inches, there is plenty of room for displaying the contact sheets, and full page shots look fantastic.

Photos included go from 1930 (actually before Magnum was set-up) right up to 2010, and include portraits of likes of Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, JFK, Thatcher, Mother Teresa, Muhammad Ali, documentation of wars, events, massacres, riots, uprisings, disasters and general life. Interesting extras such as comments, notes, press passes and of course details behind the shot from the photographers themselves.

If you are a photographer you will love this, if you are a photojournalist (professional or otherwise) you need this!

Edited by Kristen Lubben, Associate Curator at the International Center of Photography in New York.

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Magnum-Contact-Sheets-Kristen-Lubben/9780500543993

Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 508
Width: 295 mm
Height: 348 mm
Thickness: 48 mm
Weight: 4,550 g

How the mighty fall

2012-01-20T15:55:00.000-08:00

Kodak was founded by George Eastman in 1889.

On January 19, 2012, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and obtained a $950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to enable it to continue trading.

Half of the cameras in the photo (the flickr page shows what ones were Kodak) were made by Kodak, showing how much they dominated the world of photography.

Foggy Road

2012-01-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

Foggy Road, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Untitled

2012-01-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

Untitled, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Love/Hate Blog Relationship

2012-01-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

My photograph below in someones blog has 800+ notes, twice the views it has on my flickr page where it is pulled from! Its times like this I hate blogs!! Its some consolation that it still links back to my flickr page, as many of my images are uploaded directly to a persons blog with no link back.

First shot of 2012

2012-01-01T16:26:00.001-08:00

Skeleton Crew

2012-01-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

Dublins Skeleton Crew have their debut album out soon on Sailors Grave Records

Photography on public transport in Ireland...

2011-12-10T06:28:00.000-08:00

Photography on London Underground is allowed (once you dont use flash). Just carry a camera on Irish public trasport and you'll be hopped on by some idiotic security guard. I did a little googling and found the exact phrasing of the railway bye-laws in Ireland...

LIGHT RAILWAY (REGULATION OF TRAVEL AND USE) BYE-LAWS 2004STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS S.I. No. 100 of 2004

6 (1) A person shall not on a light rail vehicle or a light railway without permission given by or on behalf of an operator -
(f) use any camera or video recorder or any form of equipment for recording sound or images so as to interfere with any other person

"SO AS TO INTERFERE WITH ANY OTHER PERSON"

So is photography actually allowed on trans and darts in Ireland?

20 Bulls Each

2011-10-10T07:26:00.001-07:00

So Dublins 20 Bulls Each got themselves signed to one of hardcores finest labels, Thorp Records, so a photo session was in order with their new album "A Glorious And Bloody Revolution" recently released.

They also parted company with Ciaran, tours wont be the same without him, and we'll all have to lift stuff now! Adrian (from Reinkarnated Tattoo) came in on bass, and Ollie came in on second guitar to let Gar just scream.

For the shoot we used Dublins finest pub now under great new management - The Thoams House

You can buy their album here

H2O

2011-08-29T09:51:00.001-07:00

H2O finally reached Irish shores this August with shows in Belfast and Dublin. Crutches or not I was going, and even managed some back of the venue photos!

Shots from the car

2011-08-19T05:05:00.001-07:00

So the last few weeks, its mainly been shots from the car.

Cici

2011-08-06T10:33:00.001-07:00

Cici, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Lauren

2011-08-06T08:23:00.009-07:00

Lauren, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

NYC 1996

2011-08-06T08:23:00.005-07:00

NYC 1996, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Sarah & Cici

2011-08-06T08:23:00.003-07:00

Sarah & Cici, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Film Days (2001ish)

2011-08-06T08:23:00.001-07:00

Film Days (2001ish), a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Lydia

2011-08-06T08:22:00.005-07:00

Lydia, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Zombie

2011-08-06T08:22:00.003-07:00

Zombie, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

The Spire

2011-08-06T08:22:00.001-07:00

The Spire, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Lola

2011-08-06T08:15:00.003-07:00

Lola, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Lauren

2011-08-06T08:15:00.001-07:00

Lauren, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Dublin Zombie Walk 2011

2011-07-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Dublin Zombie Walk 2011 happned yesterday. I only made it for the start of it, but by the look of the numbers I think they may have achieved their aim of a new world record, as well as collecting a load of money for RNLI and Irish Cancer Society.

Lauren

2011-07-09T17:55:00.001-07:00

Lauren, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Light Test

2011-07-07T12:27:00.001-07:00

Untitled, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

One of my favourite shot of Leia is this one, the first shot I took of her, testing the lights.

Freedom Flotilla 2

2011-06-27T11:56:00.001-07:00

Freedom Flotilla 2, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

UPDATE July 1st: The Irish boat MV Saoirse has been sabotaged and will not be sailing. A number of people from the Saoirse will join the flotilla on other ships. The Swedish boat Juliano has also been sabotaged and is being repaired. The US boat The Audacity of Hope, has been escorted under armed guard back to a Greek customs port. The Canadian boat Tahrir, has been stopped in Greece.

UPDATE June 30th: Terrible news has reached us in the early hours of Thursday – the Irish Ship To Gaza, MV Saoirse, has been SABOTAGED, presumably by agents of Israel. The damage is extensive, and indeed, if it had gone undetected apparently may have been lıfe-threatenıng if the ship had been at sea.
This is an unacceptable act of aggression against an Irish vessel (which is sovereign Irish territory), against the Freedom Flotilla, and most importantly against the people of Palestine which this flotilla was intending to reach in an act of humanitarian solidarity.

“This was the type of sabotage that endangered human life,” Mr Lane said last night. “They put divers under the boat who cut a piece out of the propeller shaft. That means that the damage would have happened gradually and what would have happened eventually is that the propeller would have come up through the bottom of the boat, caused a flood in the engine room and would have caused the boat to sink.”
He said the attack was “unnerving” for the crew, classifying it as a “violent attack” on the lives of those aboard. He said pictures detailing the damage to the ship would be published by the campaign today during a press conference in Dublin.

Mr Lane said that, due to the extent of the damage, the MV Saoirse would not be in a position to sail, adding that just six of the 20-plus crew who had been due to set sail would be able to take part in the flotilla by joining an Italian-based vessel today.

===========================================================================================

The MV SAOIRSE, part of this years Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza will set sail tomorrow (June 28). It will rendezvous with 10 other ships (representing 20 countries, including Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA) in international waters.

Among others the people on board the MV Saoirse are; Fintan Lane (coordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza and a member of the Free Gaza Movement, and participated in last years Freedom Flotilla), Shane Dillon (skipper of the Saoirse and was first mate on Challenger 1, a vessel in last year’s Freedom Flotilla to Gaza), John Hearne (Sinn Fein member of Waterford City Council), Pat Fitzgerald (Sinn Fein member of Waterford County Council), Chris Andrews ( former Fianna Fail TD for Dublin South, denied to board last years Flotilla but was denied by Cypriot authorities), Paul Murphy (Socialist Party and United Left Alliance MEP for Dublin), Gerry MacLochlainn (Sinn Fein Councillor in Derry), Hugh Lewis (People Before Profit councillor on Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council), Felim Egan (Artist), Rik Walton (Photographer), Trevor Hogan (ex professional rugby player for Munster, Leinster & Ireland),

Journalists aboard the flotilla face a 10 year ban from Israel and having their equipment confiscated.

irishshiptogaza.org

Nino being Zombiefied

2011-06-23T14:22:00.001-07:00

Nino being Zombiefied, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Theres TTV (through the viewfinder), how about TTW (through the window)? :D Heres Nino being Zombiefied in THe Exchange in Templebar, before the promo shots were done in the Christchurch Crypts for the Dublin Zombie Walk in aid of RNLI and Irish Cancer Society, July 23rd.

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207230245969200

Rachel Wallace

2011-06-11T15:39:00.001-07:00

Rachel, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

The Dublin Zombie Walk 2011 is happeing July 23rd. All details here https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207230245969200

Listen, Text, Read, Dream...

2011-04-26T14:39:00.001-07:00

Listen, Text, Read, Dream..., a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Extremely Poor Taste

2011-04-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

So The Jebus Toilet in my previous post is causing a tiny little stir over on boards -
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056248624. I havent replied yet, not sure if I will even bother, dont much like getting in debates about religion, I don't see the point.

It was a very quick snapshot of a very tongue in cheek pose. If you get offended that easily then move on, theres far far worse out here on the internet and maybe you shouldn't be on it.

But what I found extremely poor taste is its a picture of a white man, if it portrayed what a man of the region actually looked/looks like and wasn't a lie then just maybe I would still be a Christian.

I find it extremely poor taste that we are to believe that Mary was a virgin.

I find it extremely poor taste that the Catholic Church has abused people for centuries.

I find it extremely poor taste that the Catholic Church is obscenely rich.

The Jebus Toilet. Syracuse, New York.

2011-04-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

The Jebus Toilet. Syracuse, New York., a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Untitled

2011-04-22T13:58:00.001-07:00

Untitled, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Who else is working today?

2011-04-22T11:13:00.001-07:00

Who else is working today?, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

11.23pm

2011-04-22T10:53:00.001-07:00

11.23pm, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Sunday Rant!

2011-04-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Its a bored Sunday evening after getting back from a few days away, so that means its time for another rant, but only a fairly quick one!

Stolen photographs!

Not ones stolen by other websites to use as random stock (thats for another day!) but people stealing photographs and passing them off as their own work - namely photographers and make up artists. I frequently come across it, but heres just a couple of samples from this evening!!

I logged onto to model mayhem as I got an email which ended up being spam-ish, but a photo caught me eye so I had a look at the rest of the portfolio. A photographer with photos of Anna Kournikova (from early in her modeling career), Victoria Silvstedt (taken in Dublin last week, labeled as been taken in the UK, with the photographer living on the other side of the world!), and another lifted straight from a "prom dress website" in his portfolio asking TFCD to get his work more varied! Come on, if you are going to steal photographs for your portfolio at least steal photographs that most people wont recognize and straight away put through www.tineye.com to see the original (or in most cases many!) sources.

Earlier in the week I found a fantastic new make up artist in Dublin so this evening I went back to have another look at her work. Well actually, maybe not a fantastic new make up artist in Dublin. One of 'her' photos was very familiar, again a quick tineye search confirmed, yes it was a promo shot from Mercedes Fashion Week. Another was lifted straight from a stock website, now thats where you can get yourself in trouble and a nice hefty invoice in the mail. A search of the others throws them up on numerous websites. How can you call yourself a make up artist, be looking for work, and not have a single sample of your own work, and try and pass someone else's (in some cases well publicised work) work as your own.

I can see some people asking, why do you care what photos people steal, it doesn't affect you. Well it does. I hire a make up artist based on their portfolio, for them to turn up and not be able to produce the results. Thats when it affects me. The make up one pissed me off more, she's local and based on her portfolio I would have used her.

So people, when you set up your model mayhem / Facebook / whatever don't steal photographs, you'll only end up looking a total fool and more than likely ruin the chances of ever being hired for anything. If you really want to be a photographer or MUA, then get of your lazy ass and do some work on your portfolio.

Some Make Up Artists I can recommend!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Anderson-Makeup/282228579318
https://www.facebook.com/oksana.makeup
https://www.facebook.com/ciaradalymua

Lydia (fake) TTV

2011-04-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

Lydia (fake) TTV, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Howth Light House

2011-04-10T14:02:00.001-07:00

Howth Light House, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Spooky Crows!

2011-04-10T04:01:00.001-07:00

Spooky Crows!, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Caught!

2011-04-09T15:59:00.001-07:00

Untitled, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Cici (Claire)

2011-04-04T13:28:00.001-07:00

Untitled, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Fairly old one, re-edited

Some witty title here

2011-04-04T07:09:00.001-07:00

Some witty title here, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Untitled

2011-04-03T03:37:00.001-07:00

Untitled, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Lola & Lauren

2011-03-30T16:18:00.001-07:00

Lola & Lauren, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Sarah & Claire

2011-03-25T18:02:00.001-07:00

Sarah & Claire, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Some shots done for a DJ night "Leather" they were running at the time.

New Yorker

2011-03-24T15:32:00.001-07:00

New Yorker, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Pigeon House

2011-03-24T04:56:00.001-07:00

Pigeon House, a photo by shaymurphy on Flickr.

Will these be demolished this year? Are they the most recognisable structure in Dublin? Ireland?

NYC 1996

2011-03-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

Went here with friend from college, his sister collected Quinnsworth tokens for us that gave us 2 tickets for price of one. This was pre proper internet days, so we arrived with guide book in hand. Picked up a Fuji disposable camera and off we went!

Got the subway to our hostel, only to find where our hostel is supposed to be is a torn down building!!

After our hostel not existing, we kind of lucked out, a "local" directs us 10 blocks north to the McBurney YMCA. The YMCA hostel was cheap and clean BUT we get served to what looks like bomb proof glass, its residents were made up of junkies, ex-cons, prostitutes and an occasional tourist on the cheap. The cops were in every day arresting people or removing bodies. When one of us would go to the toilet the other would wait at the room door looking out the spy hole. We'd have to jam a chair against the door at night as well as locking it.

Our first tourist outing was to the World Trade Centre. Photos of everything else have long been lost!

Another day we wandered around, walked into wrong neighbourhood, got called whiteboy and had a gun flashed at us, we departed the area swiftly!

It was still an awesome holiday and I've been back to NY a load of times since. At this time NYC was still being "cleaned up", its a very different place now, not sure which I prefer!

Rock of Cashel, Tipperary. June 1992

2011-03-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

Uneventful weekend led to searching really old hard drives, forgot about this one. Taken on Pentax P30T with expired slide film, from (slow) moving car!

Pauls Stag

2011-03-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

So these are the only photos from Pauls Stag that will be shown publicly!!!

More from Leia

2011-03-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

So no internet and no tv means trawling the hard drive for missed photos to process, dont know how I missed this, one of my favs from my first shoot with Leia

Its Raining Bullshit

2011-02-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

There was another Election debate on TV, didn't watch it, it was the "top 3", Fine Gael, Fine Fail, and Labour, none of them are getting my vote so didn't have a slightest interest in listening to their waffling.

Next Friday.

2011-02-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

RANT TIME!

2011-02-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

This isn't a piece aimed at people trying their hand at photography, learning photography or giving it a go. This is aimed at the current trend of people picking up a camera in Argos and calling themselves photographers a week later. Its become far too easy for someone to setup a facebook or blog page "Joe Blogs Photography". A quick search on facebook for photography brings back a depressingly large amount of shockingly bad "photographers" who wouldn't know their aperture from their ass and far too many people charging (weddings, christenings, etc.) stupid amounts to take no better than snapshots for the persons special day. Anyone with a compact in their pocket can do as good and better.

So, I had to vent and I will probably come off seeming like a total cock, but fuck it, its pissing me off and I have to say something!

I've been taking photos on and off for 28 years, 22 of them using film, something I keep meaning to go back to more, waiting days to see your photo was a very different thing. But I wouldn't dream of calling myself a photographer, I just takes photos, I love taking photos, people, gigs, street, long exposure, whatever, I just love taking photos. I don't know if they are good and don't care because I am not charging for it, I enjoy it, I experiment, I learn, I look at scores of other photographers work on flickr, deviant, facebook, everywhere! I wait with eager anticipation every year to see the results of competitions like World Press Photo - which this year has some cracking winners, including Seamus Murphy (who has been in the awards for a number of years), and a few other Irish photographers too.

I know how to use my gear, I know what button does what, I know the technicalities of the buttons, I know when to best use flash but more importantly, that in most situations its better avoided unless you can absolutely nail it. I know how to pick a selection of photos that represent a theme or event. I do photography, but I would not call myself a photographer. There's a difference between showing your shots as "Joe Blogs Photography" and passing yourself off as "Joe Blogs Photography" the photographer.

One example I came across recently was a young lad. He picked up a camera around the New Year, and is now charging fairly substantial amounts for a shoot. I thought fair play to you, doing something you love and earning a living from it in these hard times. How foolish I could have been, a quick look through his work showed no style, no knowledge of lighting, of framing a shot, of editing a shot, of lighting a shot, of presenting a shot, really of even taking a shot. Now theres nothing wrong that if you are learning and starting out, but don't start calling yourself a photographer and charging people for muck long before you are capable of taking a photo that is worthy to be hung somewhere. In fact there was not one single photo in his entire (albeit very small) portfolio that was anything more than a snapshot and a bad one at that. Now I may be being very critical, but this person is charging fairly large amounts for shoots.

Pop-up flash is not flash. On camera flash is not really flash. Get that flash off the fuckin camera, in fact if you can, get rid of the flash and use the ambient light, get that aperture wide open and bump up that ISO. But again there lies the problem, "whats aperture, whats ISO". What? Oh yes, AUTO is where its at. A quick look at EXIF confirms that. "Photographers" lack of knowledge of photography and their cameras is actually shocking. It doesn't take much more than a bit of effort to learn it, theres isn't actually that much to it.

Another example, I can see is focusing, some prime examples being well established photographers taking photos without a glimpse of sharpness and I'm not talking about sports or gig shots here, but well lit, flash shots, no excuse for substandard sharpness if you are handed the perfect environment. Over editing or lack of editing for that matter is so prevalent its depressing, do these people not take pride in what they photograph?

One of the areas I love is long exposure photography. LONG EXPOSURE. That means people give me advice saying things like "if you raised your ISO" (ok, some people do understand ISO, or the concept of it anyway), you could take that photo a lot quicker". ehhhhh, no. "The clouds look a bit blurry, and the sea looks funny, you should shoot a faster speed". ehhhhh, no.

Or the other one, "putting a photo through Photoshop isn't photography, photography is taking the raw file as is, because if you were any good you wouldn't need to put it through photoshop" (not that they shoot in RAW or know what it is) . Having an image ready for use straight off the camera is a great feeling, but not often achieved. But, how long have you being taking photos? "3 years" Film or digital? "Digital of course, film is archaic". OK, so you haven't spent hours in the darkroom getting your print the exact way you want it then. Get fucked and get yourself an education, Photoshop used right is not wrong.

Then when someone comes to you and asks for advice. You give them constructive criticism, tell them how the photo might have been better, and they turn around and tell you you're an idiot and don't have a clue. Then don't fucking ask me for advice, I've better things to be doing than helping out a sap that is looking for an ego boost rather than a little advice that has been asked for.

Of course theres the other side, theres some great photographers in Ireland, to name a few; Anouska, Becca Naen, the use these girls have of natural lighting would make the sun sick! Richie Buttle is one of the best strobist's around, and openly gives advice and shows setups on how he achieves his shots, invaluable information. Upcoming photographers like Ian Keegan bring great diversity to their portfolios, like Deirdre O'Sullivan who is constantly out there snapping and not just picking up their Argos special when some poor unsuspecting customer fronts some money. Janer for gigs and portraits, Al Higgins particularly for his film stuff, Humberklog for film and stitching, David O'Shea for adorable portraits of his daughter, Hugh Chandler for portraits, loads more I've forgot. A photographer should stick out in your mind for something. Look them up, get on photography forums, flickr, deviant art, pix, study their stuff, learn from them, be inspired.

OK, enough of a rant, my main point being, don't dare even think about charging someone for taking a photo or calling yourself a photographer until you know your equipment, know how to use it, and know how to take a photo.

Radomness

2011-02-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

20 Bulls Each, Wood, The Dirge - Dublin [05.02.11]

2011-02-06T04:54:00.000-08:00

20 Bulls Each first gig in a year? Wood over from the UK with their comedy punk! A new localish lads The Dirge

20 Bulls Each

Wood

The Dirge

Terror, First Blood, Lionheart, Backtrack - Dublin [21.01.11]

2011-01-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

Terror

First Blood

Lionheart

Backtrack

Snow!

2010-12-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

So in November and December Ireland was hit with some of the worst snow in decades, unfortunately I only managed to get a few snaps from the car or office!!

Budget Protest 07.12.10

2010-12-07T04:34:00.000-08:00

2010 was a year of protests against the bailout, budget, student fees, gardai handling of protests. I only managed to get to a couple, heres some shots from a very cold night in December, protesting the new budget.

Bailout Protest 27.11.10

2010-11-27T04:23:00.000-08:00

====================================
STOP STEALING THESE!!! I DONT MIND THEM BEING USED JUST CREDIT ME, I'LL EVEN EMAIL THEM TO YOU
====================================

Protest march against the introduction of spending cuts and tax increases by the Government, and the "bailout" by the IMF/ECB.

The Gardai put the numbers at 50,000, the organizers put it at about 100,000. Given the day it was, fairly short notice, and a covering of snow around the country, those numbers are impressive.

It started at a very packed Wood Quay (and surrounding streets!) and finished outside the GPO, for speeches from Jack O’Connor (President of the SIPTU), David Begg (ICTU) who were booed, Fintan O'Toole (Irish Times), with singing from Francis Black and Christy Moore.

Whatever the number was, the place was jammed. There was no trouble, and shops stayed open, and from the look of the bins on the streets coffee places did great business!

I have decided to go all black and white for these as I don't want parties/organisations colours sticking out, I want these to show the people protesting.

Slide show of them all

Dublin Tattoo Convention 2010

2010-10-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

Skeleton Crew in the Studio

2010-10-20T04:15:00.000-07:00

Some shots of Dublin rocka/psychobilly/hardcore/punk scumbags Skeleton Crew recording their upcoming album for Sailors Grave Records.

Lydia

2010-10-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

Great fun shoot with Lydia, her first time in front of the camera, a fashion design student, here wear some of her own creations

20 Bulls Each in the studio

2010-09-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

A few trips into the boys got some nice dark grainy! shots while they were recording their new album "A GLORIOUS AND BLOODY REVOLUTION" coming out on Thorp Records

Leia shoot 3

2010-09-04T07:29:00.000-07:00

Another weathered out of shoot, but some great ones got all the same

www.leiathomas.com

Leia shoot 2

2010-09-04T07:27:00.001-07:00

Just a quick few shots before getting rained out of it....

www.leiathomas.com

Leia shoot 1

2010-09-04T07:24:00.001-07:00

Unexpected shoot with Leia

www.leiathomas.com

Some Randomness!

2010-09-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

Magda Doll Shoot

2010-09-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Soldiers Take Half - Last Gig

2010-09-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

The Exchange, Templbar, Dublin. 07/08/10.

More Lauren & Lola

2010-07-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Dublin Zombie Walk 2010

2010-06-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

In aid of Irish Cancer Society and RNLI

Random!

2010-06-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

Street Performance World Championships

2010-06-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

Lauren & Lola

2010-06-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

Another quick spin

2010-06-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Magda #3

2010-06-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

Leather (Claire & Sarah)

2010-05-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

The photos say it all :)

Quick spin round Dublin

2010-05-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Nipped out tonight, only managed these 2...... :/

The new home to rugby, football or some such thing!

Another great shoot with Magda

2010-05-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

So we set off down around Wicklow, on what was probably the hottest day of the year! Magda did an awesome job, up trees, up rocks, in streams, down tunnels!

Heres the first few photos....

NAMA Protest 18.05.10

2010-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I've covered a protest, but I was out and about and my mate told me about it. Only had the 50mm so was limited but a few I was with. Masses of people, rain, and said 50mm didnt keep me out for much of it :)

Finally a new night shoot!

2010-05-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

Its been about 6 months since I've done a night shoot. Headed out with Ian and luckily we had some great light, although it was cold as......

Magda

2010-05-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not doing shoots nearly often enough but my shoot last Thursday more than made up for the recent lack of them! Magda is insane! hehe, not really, but shes the most fun model I've shot. She was the first one really up for the comic book thing, and didn't mind my light changes, and I finally got to use my lens baby, we even shot some 120 on an ancient camera! Well I'll let the photos speak for themselves, really hope to work with her again :)

Volcano Skies.......

2010-04-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

....or not! OK, so most of Europe is closed down because of all this ash in the sky from the volcano in Iceland. So I went to take some pics, but alas all there was no ash to be seen or found!

Steph

2010-04-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

So Jen brought her friend Steph along for her first shoot, got some great shots...

Jen

2010-04-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Had a great shoot with Jen earlier in the week. She was up for some of my (stupid?!) ideas and came really well prepared. Hope to shoot with her again some time...

Rucktions at the Taxi Regiulators office!

2010-03-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

From my office window...

Taxi drivers force way into regulator's office for sit-in

08/03/2010 - 17:44:35
Three members of the Irish Taxi Council are staging a sit-in protest at the office of the Taxi Regulator in Dublin.

Around 40 other taxi drivers are also involved in a demonstration outside the office on Fitzwilliam Square.

A spokesperson for the Taxi Regulator says a small group of drivers forced their way in the building this afternoon.

Gardaí are at the scene monitoring the situation.

breakingnews.ie/ireland/taxi-drivers-force-way-into-regul...

Some street stuff

2010-02-24T05:36:00.000-08:00

Some street photos from ages ago for a project I never finished, or really even started! Threw them in Ligthroom and am happy with the results...

Ashley

2010-02-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

Claire brought over her Swiss friend Ashley for her first shoot. Some help from Claire in posing, but Ashley is a natural and we ended up more usable shots than could be ever used :)

Full set here

Sarah

2010-01-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

Claire

2010-01-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

I had Claire in the other night for some photos. Sarah was on had for MU and some styling...

Leather

2009-12-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

Sarah and Claire have started a club night in Thomas House called Leather, not really my kind of music! but a great club anyway. I was helping doing the door but managed to grab a few snaps...

HiLite

2009-11-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

We had a free house again tonight so it was time to see if the HiLite would fit in the sitting room, well as the photos show it did. Just.

Model next door

2009-11-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

So I was in the UK during the week and picked up some studio lighting gear. Luckily Sarah is always up for a shoot and even better she's in the next room! So for this I was testing the Elinchrom D-Lite4 set I got. These are also going to be used for her MUA portfolio, oh yeah, she's also a MUA, so double win for me :)

Downloaded Lightroom today so a bit of experimenting on these

Halloween

2009-10-31T23:38:00.000-07:00

So its Halloween tonight, mad tired so wasnt really in a photo mood, and only got a couple shots, plus it was raining, so luckily a short hop up the road to Darndale found a nice bonfire blazzing...

Published in a book!

2009-10-24T01:43:00.000-07:00

So I got an email about 8 months ago asking could a photo of mine be used in a book on the history of the GAA. They were photos of the Ireland/England Rugby match in Croke Park protest. I sent of a few and thought nothing of it again. Then yesterday in the post I got an invitation to the book launch.

I was happy to see a full page version of this being used :)

Second with Sarah

2009-10-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last week me and Sarah hit Bull Island for some shots. Well we had a free house last night, so we setup in the sitting room for a few shots....

Blood for Blood, my fav band :)

FIrst Fashion Shoot

2009-10-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

So Sarah, my house mate asked me would I take some photos of her. I hadn't done a fashion type shoot before but thought I'd give it a shot, it was one of the few things left in the photo arena I haven't done. So heres the results, luckily it was a great afternoon, cold but plenty of nice light, I decided on Bull Island...

Sarah getting the shot :)