Telling Tales...

When I was growing up in Dublin, it was a big treat to go to the movies. Back then, in the Seventies it was movies like Jaws, Star Wars, Enter The Dragon, the list could go on and on... that captured my attention. I was able to lose myself in the story, I would identify with the main character and always save the girl! I was always hooked by the fantastic posters! The colours, the way images blended into one another, amazing.





 
I have always been into stories, either watching movies or reading books. As I have said before, one photograph is not enough for me; I have to take 3 or 4 and I always want it to tell a story. Often this means literally 2 or 3 photographs. A great example of this is the amazinphotographer Duane Michels, he manages to tel quirky and interesting stories with his pictures. He often presents them in the wrong order and the story is totally different!




 
Getting back to what I like to do; it has become easier since I joined NAPP, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. The learning I have had in the last six months has been phenominal, and coupled with the great books produced by Kelby Media, I now have the skills to produce my own 'movie' posters. The tell little stories that I have in my head... Enjoy

Axminster... where they make the carpets...

We recently had a fantastic family holiday in Devon at Spiller's farm in Musbury, near Axminster. We stayed in a cottage attached to a small farm. What a great time we all had! It rained quite a bit, but that didn't dampen the holiday spirit. We really enjoyed the country living for the week and Keith and Bridget, the cottage owners were brilliant. A big thank you there!

On one of the afternoons, I think it was Bank Holiday Monday, we had had a busy morning and Mrs H and I managed to escape for a few hours, so we headed into Axminster. I had always wanted to see the River Cottage Canteen, this is the town its in.

Anyway, after a 15 minute drive we got there. And the place was deserted. I was so surprised. This was 4 o'clock in the afternoon! So I took some photographs. the way I have always wanted to take them; townscapes with little or no one in the shots. I must be honest, I hear you shout, just get up early and you will get these shots! I don't do that early! Anyway, here are the shots.... enjoy

 

Information on Spiller's Farm can be found here....a truly wonderful place to stay for a holiday!

Nights At The Movies...

If you are like me, you love the thrill of going to the cinema. I look forward to losing myself in a film; its a great way of stepping out of everything for a few hours and cheap therapy too!

I have always wanted to tell stories with my photography; one shot is never enough for me I have to take enough to get over the meaning. So I decided to try something a little different; Movie Posters.

This is the first one, is based on the movie Murder.com. I haven't seen the film, but I was bowled over by the poster, I just had to have a go at recreating it for a fictional film called 'A Different Kind Of Tension'.

A different Kind Of Tension,

the finished poster

There are four shots in this poster, of the models, Annie and Elan.

Annie

I originally shot this photograph of Annie with a burlesque theme in mind. I had previously played around with the shot using a technique that Corey Barker set out in his book Photoshop Down and Dirty tricks for Designers. This is a great book, do not hesitate to buy it!

 

Annie and Elan

The next shot was again a burlesque type shot in a sort of Jack Vettriano style. (Vettriano is a fantastic artist, his paintings are full of drama and often a bit risque!) This formed the main shot.

Elan and Annie

We then have the two head shots at the side. All the shots were done in studio against a white background that has come out grey because of the way the lighting was arranged. This made it easier to remove the background later. This was part of the #curryclub shoot in December last year, and while I didn't shoot it with this poster idea particularly in mind, I knew I was going to use the shots together somehow or other.

None of this would have been possible had I not been badgered, cajoled and all but threatened with grievous bodily harm by my good friends Dave Clayton, and Glyn Dewis who finally coerced into joining NAPP, the national Association of Photoshop Professionals. For $99, about £65 you get a years membership, an amazing magazine (I think its 10 a year) and access to amazing learning in the members section of the NAPP website. Click on the link below for more information. There are also lots of deals on, I chose the bonus of all the back issues of the magazine for 2010. Bargain. I haven't regretted it for a minute.

It's 24 years and counting...

Today, twenty four years ago today, I was lucky enough for Catherine, my fabulous wife, to say 'I do', in front of all our family and friends, way down in the south of Ireland.

I can honestly say that she has made me the happiest man in the world. I could not imagine being without her!

Catherine, thank you for being you, and here's to the next 24 years!

All my love,
Noel

The Trees of Windsor Great Park

What a wonderful place to drive through to work every morning! I do realise I am a bit spoiled there! But I stopped the other morning a took a few shots. These are e wonderful trees of Windsor Great Park...

Variations on a Theme...

This is Annie, a fantastic burlesque model from our last #CurryClub shoot just before Christmas... is it that long ago already?! Time flies! Anyway, we had a great time and Annie was a great sport, and a very experienced model.

So, while January is the time for new year resolutions, I needed to come up with a new project; Variations on a theme was born! The goal is simple; I am going to take one shot a month and apply as much creativity to it as possible and see what variations I come up with. I am hoping to stretch my new NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) membership as far as it will go and be on the look out for inspiration where ever I can find it.

Part of the inspiration for this idea came from my good friend Glyn Dewis, you can check out his blog here. In a recent post he talked about reading book, practising techniques and setting shooting goals. Well, that's what I am going to do, I am going to take a shoot or series of shots and work on variations on a theme. Well see how it goes, stay tuned!

What are your photographic goals for the new year? Do you set yourself any challenges? Drop me a line, I'd love to hear what sort of ambitions you have this year. For me I am hoping, and shall be working towards making the #CurryClub an even bigger success this year, both the social and photographic side of it.

#Curryclub goes Burlesque...

well, almost! The latest meet of the #curryclub was back in December, the 19th, in Gareth Davies Studios, in Wokingham, UK. We had three great models, Bethany, Annie and Elan. The photographers were Brian, Gareth, Dave, John and myself. A few of our members could not make it so close to Christmas and were missed during the day! 

Caught!

What I love about these days is that you can experiment; let your imagination run wild. So I tried to let it do just that. My quote of the day would have to have been when setting up the Caught shot above, when I had to ask Annie if she could open her legs a bit more... The whole studio erupted in laughter and we had to set the shot up again. I didn't do it on purpose, honest.

Bethany

Annie

Tension

Annie + Elan

 A great day was had by all, and I enjoyed a curry with Gareth and Dave afterwards. A big thanks to John and Brian for inviting Annie and Bethany, to Elan, always a pleasure to shoot, to Gareth for the provision of the best studio in this spiral arm of the galaxy and to fellow #curryclub members! Here's to the next shoot!

And finally... photography may be always about pushing the boundaries and looking for the next great shot... but its important to always have a good laugh...