A little time out in Oxford

A few weeks ago I realised that I had not had a holiday for sometime, so I booked a few days off and we all headed for the lofty spires of Oxford; Morse and Lewis country. Oxford is a little crowded; not least of all with the thousands of tourists that come to see the magnificent city, so driving in the city is difficult at best. We stayed in a hotel on the outskirts and got a bus to wherever we were going.

Katy

'Katie' Boat

.
No trip to the city would be complete without gazing at some of the wonderful architecture, for me God is in the details...
.

Oxford Sculpture #1

.

There are also a huge number of bikes around town...

.

Oxford Bikes #1

.

Oxford Bikes #2 (+ Angel)

.

One of the things I always enjoy when exploring a city is to really look at the details. Sometimes what you see is surprising; there are Angels everywhere...

.

Oxford Angel #2

.

Oxford Butterfly #1

.

Oxford has been photographed to death; so if you have the chance to go there, try to show a different view of the city. I must admit to have taken all the other shots over the years, but you will have seen them already.

Tom

This is Tom. Tom is one of my oldest friends. We have known each other since we were about 13 in secondary school in Cabinteely in Dublin.
.

Tom #1

.

Tom is taking the plunge and moving over here to England to get his new business off the ground. he came down to see us one Sunday evening a few weeks ago and I couldn't let the opportunity of taking his portrait go by.

.

Tom #2

.

So I set up my gear and told him to do serious, well he couldn't. Which wasn't helped by another onlooker, whom shall remain nameless... giggling and taking the proverbial. Sometime later we reached a happy medium.

.

Tom #3

.

And I got the shots I was looking for.

.

Tom #4

.

Tom was instrumental in sparking my interest in photography; he was one of the founder members of our camera club in school. I shall never remember the day when I brought in my Dad's Agfa Silette and Tom asked for a look. he took it; noticed there was some dust on the lens and went to blow on it to clean it and something else came out of his mouthand covered the lens. Quite. That being said - and I shall never let him forget it - Tom is a great friend and one that no doubt I shall have when I am seventy. Thanks Tom, for your patience, and your friendship over the years.

Noel

Heian Shodan, the first five moves

The summer is here and that means that there has been a grading at Winkfield Shotokai Karate Club. Needlesss to say all the children did exceptionally well; it makes our lives as teachers very much easier, so I would Like to say a very big well done to all!

Heian Shodan; the first five moves...

This is Katy performing the first five moves of the kata Heian Shodan.

Enjoy the summer and come back in September ready to practice even harder!

Project 52 ... 51

Meet Joe.
.

Joe #1

.

Joe is an all round great guy and a wonderful partner to Maria, lucky man...(I photographed Maria way back here...) I only know Joe through Catherine's friendship with Maria, and only for a short time, but a nicer man you couldn't meet. When I asked him if I could take his portrait, he immediately responded yes, which is always a relief! And make no mistake this is a big deal; I have been reading and commenting on many blogs about how photography opens doors to meeting different people. These people give you a glimpse into their lives; they open a part of themselves up to you, put their trust in you to deliver a photograph that will last forever and become part of their lives. No pressure.

.

Joe #2

.

Both Joe and Maria hail from Sicilian families that immigrated over here in the 1960's I am told. British born, they speak fluent Italian and Sicilian. They have known each other since they were teenagers. Joe is a builder so we got on really well from the start, he showed me some of his completed projects on his iphone at which point I started to get jealous...

We made these shots on a very balmy Friday night during World Cup season; Maria and joe treated us to a fantastic barbecue, Sicilian style and then at about 8:00 I set up the shots.

The first was a simple set up in the front garden with the evening sky begining to fade behind. I threw in a bit of flash with an SB800 and a shoot through umbrella to camera left. I took a low vantage point which always works great on a man; makes you look tougher- Joe looks tough anyway.

I then changed tack and shot the SB800 into a reflecting umbrella closed down to only throw light on Joe's face. At this point the ladies were chatting over a glass of wine, time to break that up! It would have been rude not to have taken a shot of Maria and Joe together, so I did.

.

Joe and Maria

.

We had a wonderful night chatting and taking photographs in a really relaxed way; so a BIG thank you to Joe and Maria for being great hosts and great models too! I can't wait until the next barbecue!

Follow the red shoe... part two

Follow the red shoe, just follow the red shoe...
.

Red Shoes #1

.

The red shoes have become a sort of way marker for my creativity. Part of my branding as it were. If I keep following them, the path will be good.

.

Katy and strobes

.

What is photographic style? There has been quite a bit of talk about this on lost of blogs recently; it got me thinking about what my style is. The first thin I asked mysefl was where it came from.

My picture taking style is influenced by everything that has gone before. Sweeping statement, but what does it mean? Ity means my Dad, and how he influenced me by lending me his old Agfa camera when I was a kid, it means looking at the hundreds of photos he took of the family and how he took them. They were all black and white and full of emotion. It means all the movies I saw as a teenager. It means all the books and comics I read when I was young. The list goes on, but this is how I was influenced and this is where my 'style' comes from.

.

Hallowe'en 2007

.

Catherine, Silver Dress

.

Back then I wanted to try every technique under the sun; I had the sun-burst filter and read all the magazines and so on. Then I was still searching and learning. My style was only developing. The books I read told tales of far off worlds and exotic heroes and beautiful women. Some told tales of the past through the words of our Gothic story tellers; I was mesmerized by the dark tales of mystery and imagination. All this and more, is reflected in the photographs I take. I try to stick to a simple technique; I use one or two flash guns and usually set them up in a linear cross lighting fashion. It works for me. But that is only a technique, style is about what the content and emotion that comes out of the photograph is. When starting out it is important to learn as many techniques as possible, use them and master them so they become second nature. Then forget about them and just shoot.

.

Paul and Katana

.

I want them to be edgy, I want them to tell a story and sometime I want you to be uncomfortable, just a little, when you see them. My 'style' is my interpretation of the world; its how I see it, full of possibilities and emotion. Its what I try to capture in my photographs. My photographs have become my own comic book, but still when I turn the pages, its always something new, even for me. I don't know the end of the story either, but it sure is fun watching it unfold and wondering where the red shoe will take me next.

What do you think your style is?

Think about where it came from and where it is going.

Thanks for reading!

Inspiration...

What books do you read for inspiration?

.

Book Keeping...

.

There is a great series of books about Vogue...

Vogue Covers, published by Little, Brown, isbn 978-1-4087-0213-0. This book shows a selection of the best of the Vogue covers from 1916 to 2006. A great read and some insight into each cover is given.

People in Vogue, again published by Little, Brown, isbn 978-0-316-73114-0. Buy this book immediately, it is an amazing insight into the portraits from the many and vaired people that made it into the magazine.

Unseen Vogue, once again by Little, Brown, isbn 0-316-72766-0. Actually, buy this book immediately; it is the story of the shots that didn't make it into the pages of Vogue. A facinating insight into the world of fashion photography and the photographers.

.

And then some from Taschen...

   

Fashion Now by Taschen, isbn 3-8228-4075-0. A great book to flick through for inspiration. There are many versions available, I believe they update this book fairly often.

.

And probably my favourite and one that I constantly pick up...

Camera Work, another Taschen, they do publish great photobooks! isbn 978-3-8228-3784-9. this book is about the camera journal 'Camera Work', by a group of photographers that called themselves Photo-Secession. Curated by Alfred Stieglitz, this is an amazing body of works that spans from 1903 to 1917. From what must seem to us as a primitive age in photographic technology, these wonderful photographs have come. Buy this.

So, what do you pick up for inspiration?

Scott Kelby's Old School Photo Challenge

And what a challenge it turned out to be!

Agfa Isolette

I take portraits and the occassional building, except when I am in Ireland, then I take lots of building and the occasional portrait, thats just the way it is.

I don't do macro, haven't got the patience for it, can't be bothered with tripods most of the time. But as was part of the 'challenge' I thought I would stretch myself and get the macro lense out. I didn't use a tripod though.

The rules were clear; one ISO, one 'rool' of 24 or 36 shots, one day, wait 24 hours for 'processing' and no photoshopping! Just like back when we used 'film' remember that? And one more thing - no looking at the preview screen.

Setting one ISO wasn't a problem, I set ISO 100, which I then realised I should have set 200, but it was too late. There was a film once that claimed you could do different ISO's on it but I never got to grips with that and it would have been cheating! I fitted this around family stuff over this bank holiday weekend. It was great fun and would recommend it to any and all as a way of connecting with their photography. It makes you think and brought me right back to the film days. I used transparencies mostly back then, so cropping / post develope manipulation never happened. I am used to composing in the camera, at least I thought I was, this gave me a kick in the rear, which is only a good thing! I was tempted to peek, but I am happy to say i didn't.

A great challeng and all for a good cause; the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya. the idea is to donat all or part of what the 'processing cost' would have been if we used film. If you would like to donate, here is their webpage; Springs of Hope.