Something wicked...

Have you ever had that feeling that you are not alone... It always happens in the half gloom when you are about to doze off in the armchair in front of the fire; peace and quiet at the end of the day. And then you get that niggling feeling that you aren't alone, but you daren't look around because you just don't know what is there. What could be there. What might be there trying to come through...

It is that shivering sensation that runs through your whole body... you have no control over it... and all the time you are thinking... should I look around?

Don't look. But you so want to.

Somethimes you can imagine a hand reaching out to touch you. Other times it might be a gentle brush against you. But with that touch comes more shivering and more of the unknown. And now you are convinced that something is trying to get through.

Don't look.

But still you cannot look around. You want to...

And of course, you are alone. There is no one else there to hold your hand.

You can't take it anymore; you just have to look around. And immediately you wish you hadn't.

But then, you can just make out a shape; it seems to be bathed in white light, but sort of dark towards the edges. It can't be, no it isn't...

  

You have heard the rumours, the stories of the hauntings. they always said this house had a ghost; the Ghost of the White Witch. But you never believed it, not until now that is. They were right! There is a witch, and she is white. Cold sweat starts to form on your brow as the shape takes final and you start to pray...

The a voice booms out,

'Noel, if I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times, I am not sweeping up your biscuit crumbs anymore!'

Happy hallowe'en!

Cathriona & Gareth

Cathriona and Gareth are a pair of wonderful newly weds! We had the great privilege of being at their wedding a few weeks ago. And what a great weekend it was; the whole family converged on an unsuspecting Hotel in the village of Ashbourne outside Dublin. It was an excellent and very special weekend.What made this extra special for Catherine and myself was that Cathriona was our Flower Girl when we got married all those years ago!

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Cathriona

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This is a photograph I took of Cathriona when she must have been about 7. She knew how to strike a pose even then! 

From one flower girl to the next... I managed to grab a shot of Cathriona and Gareth's Flower Girl...

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 Cathriona's Flower Girl

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I waited for as long as I could just behind the bustling crowd, but the little girl never looked around!

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The First Dance

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I was delighted to be able to get a shot of the Happy Couple as they took to the floor. It was a bit of a rush as I was in guest mode, not photographer mode! But I hurriedly set up a couple of wireless triggered flash guns on opposite side of Cathriona and Gareth on VAL's (voice activated lightstands - Katy and Catherine) and shot away... A bit of a tricky shot as the background was a bit cluttered and I was waiting for the right moment to shoot and ... you get the picture.

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I wanted to do something a bit different for the cutting of the cake. So I tried an unusual and something of a fun shot.

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Cutting The Cake

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I guess it the same the world over, but if you ever find yourself at an Irish wedding you will be amazed at the amount of people taking photographs and how long the party goes on for... but that's another story altogether! I have no idea who owns these hands or this Canon camera, but it was in the right place at the right time for me. A big thanks there!

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A Romantic Moment

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Mr. and Mrs.

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We all enjoyed ourselves immensely; but the weekend had to end. I had tried to grab the Mr and Mrs all through the weekend, finally within an hour of everyone leaving and saying their good bye's, I had my chance. Having stayed in the hotel, I had done a bit of a recce; the stairs and the balcony were the obvious choice. They may have been obvious, but that didn't bother me; I would rather get an obvious shot good, than a complicated one just okay.

I just want to say a huge congratulation to Cathriona and Gareth and a very big thank you for allowing us to be a part of it. The great thing about weekend weddings is that the party lasts all weekend. And because it does, it gets remembered differently; everyone has a different story to tell; a smile here, a laugh there, the odd tear or two. It is a wonderful thing witnessing the start of a marriage.

The photographer on the day was Jenny McCarthy, a Dublin based wedding and portrait photographer. I just had a quick chat with Jenny as she was working! She and her colleague Barbara were excellent at their job and got their shots without being intrusive. I am looking forward to seeing her shots (especially the one you took with Cathriona and myself...!). Her work can be seen here.

Now who is going to get married next...?

Once in a while...

a real bargain comes along...!
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Fuji S1 Pro

(photo by Fuji)

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I buy a lot of my books, especially fiction, in charity shops; you get a good read and your helping out in a little way too.

You can imagine my surprise, when recently I saw a Fuji S1 Pro in the window of such a shop. I immediately asked how much and was told that the body was a mere £19.99 and it came with a Tamrac bag, a Sigma 28 - 105 lens, three assorted flashguns, a handy little strobist style off camera hot shoe cable thing and a 1 gb Cf card. What a bargain. The camera is in mint condition, I only hads to buy a set of batteries.

The S1 pro cam into existence in 2000 as a pro spec model offering 6 mega pixels as opposed to Nikon's D1 which was barely 3Mp at the time. It did this by using Fuji's own special sensor. Its body was plastic to touch by today's standards; it was based around the Nikon F60. It was replaced in 2001 by the S2 then the S3 and finally the S5 which is based on the D200 body, one of the camera's I use. I have briefly played with it, but will test it out and post the results here.

The moral of the story is, check out those charity shops - you never know what you are going to get!