Connemara, I love you

I'm just back from a weekend in Connemara, we stayed in Cleggan where a fabulous team of voodoo food fanatics had prepared the most amazing dinner experience I've ever had. They are http://www.dillisk.com/ and it's a super inspirational and creative project where they converted a boat shed into a gorgeous venue for the summer, to enjoy fresh local produces along with all the guests on a big long table. And then sing along if you fancy.

I've made some footage of the evening which I hope will give a sense of the atmosphere...haven't dared looking at it yet but I'll get started soon and share it, hopefully !

So Connemara was awesome, as always. But this time I had time to stop and click. 

Back in April we were shooting down in Moyard for Avoca Handweavers, for 2 intense days. It's like no matter what kind of day I spend here, there's beauty everywhere to enjoy. Here's the behind the scenes of that shoot :

Now, this is the kind of project that gets me excited ! Bicyclism

I came across this article in the British Journal of Photography on the lovely named Bicyclim festival starting next week, starring some fabulous pictures from Casey Orr (lovely lil blog, have a look)...portraits of cyclists.
I cant explain what fuels my love for bikes, perhaps it is that bikes and me had been so rivals for so many years, riding was one of my most shameful deep fears after a fall too many when I was still little, and I got reunited with it about 5 years ago from necessity and common sense rather than desire to break through this fear...but whatever it is about my love relationship with bikes, I am just as much in love with the designs of this freedom enabler, as I enjoy the variety of styles in people, tens of people can own a same model but they would make the bike their ride, their way. As well as that I truly feel that cycling is, when not used to defy any rules of the road ruthlessly and irresponsibly as we sadly have to witness in town every now and then, cycling is to me one mighty seed for a more caring and connected community, a happy pill. I havent seen a sad cyclist ever, even under pouring rain ( the rain just makes people do jokes between themselves) and theres so much more connection between cyclists and other people surrounding them, than there are with motorists.
So Im thrilled to see 2 of my very very dear passions blending into one for this festival.

Particularly amazing work on the post on this shot, the colours are amazing !

This is it : a bike is a part of your life, a friend nearly, its giving and only asks a bit of maintenance as a thank you. These images are so engaging, so much character and radiance, it really makes me want to go out and take portraits in my local area too :-D Dublin is full of fun cyclist (did you hear about the first Irish female cycle ? It was good fun)

And so, on a rainy end of the day, right next to the garage were my car was being serviced, I found this little gem of a spot !

Satisfying your curious appetite : 2 behind the scenes for 2 fantastic shoots

I've been a lucky devil in the last few months to be part of the team involved in so many amazing projects. Here are to outstanding ones : An Image Magazine / Johny Dar partnership artist project and the magnificent Derby campaign shoot which Trevor Hart put together.

The random review : Zoom Q4, Sony Action Cam & Sony NX30E comparison test

Here it comes again, the random comparison between different equipment I own.
I just got a Zoom Q4 this week so that's what triggered it. What an improvement from its predecessors in terms of design. I still feel the overall built quality has room for improvement (ie I wouldn't give that to a kid, feels too fragile !)

So, Zoom Q4 recorder, Sony Action Cam HDR AS30V and Sony Palmcam NX30E... I know, I know, different budgets, different uses, but wouldn't you want to know how they compare anyway ? They are all pretty portable and pretty good in their respective categories, that's 2 good common points !
I'm not going to give any opinion here, other than I was surprised by the image quality of the Zoom considering it's not its primary strength but hey, outdoor and indoor, it did deliver not bad quality, its tiny LCD though makes it hard to frame the scene (Im not going to complain too loud considering how much better it is compared to the previous models, now you can move it around)
And again, the sound quality of the Sony Action Cam isn't bad at all either, considering its not its strength.
Im used to work with the NX30E, with its detachable gun mic or with its built in stereo mic and I love how the image quality is good (see how little moire there is on the metallic structure on the top right on the first test? see how ugly the other 2 perform) while still delivering a neutral image (not too contrasty, not too saturated etc) so I can work the image easier in post, but that's just my personal taste. Its sound quality, as far as my uneducated ears go, are just as good as the Zoom.

Now, if you havent noticed the American Dad slippers, you havent paid attention, watch more carefully :-D

A personal project which slowly helps

Inspiring photo/videographer Hailey Bartholomew did this lovely photo project of taking 1 picture a day which would express her gratitude in her life...I saw this project a good while back, thought it was a superb idea -http://365grateful.com/original-365-project - but didn't think more of this until Jan 2nd, when an article reminded me of it...so I've started it Jan 2nd and captured parts of my life I was grateful of. It's not as regular as one picture a day, sometimes it's up to 3 pictures a day, sometimes nothing because it just has to come from the heart, rather than from a disciplined obligation to shoot.
Slowly but steadily I just became more alert about all my surroundings, all the lovely details and comical elements that are around that I probably didn't pay attention before, I became more intuitive, more in tune with my emotions and everybody else's. And obviously more aware of how damn lucky I am (and we all are) to be in this world and to be here right now. More here on my facebook page 

Kube Kitchens videos

Back in December I was commissioned by Matt Whitby to shoot the essence of all Kube Showrooms across the country for their website, along with taking stills for their 2014 brochure.

Here's a the result of a lot of love and sweat !
Though very very tempting, I haven't bought a new kitchen yet but you should check their collection out, lots of styles for everyone's taste !

Supervalu Quality Campaign

Here's a behind the scenes and an edit I made on the food

Promo video for winemaker Laurent Miquel

Shot in late August, it was a late harvest for me with 2 languages and a lot of footage and creative choices to make but I'm glad the final edit has finally been signed off in both English and French...A Chinese subtitled version is on its way too, that should be good craic to look at !

Enjoying the festive season...

I hope you had a lovely and peaceful time off with your family, loved one, friends...
Just like I struggle with the idea of packing my Xmas decoration away, I need to enjoy a bit of festiveness around for a little while more...
SO here's what I recently did, a short NY video of the first things my eyes saw of 2014...and some cute Christmas teasers I did for winemaker Laurent Miquel (final edit of the promo video coming soon)

And 2 fun cards...be here & now, be grateful & whole, be only the best you deserve in 2014 :-D