A good few years ago, the super duper guys from Cafe En Seine allowed me to shoot on their 1st floor (magnificently decorated in art deco) for 2 exciting 1920s looking shoot for jeweler Celine C.
I am really really happy and grateful that they allowed us in again so close to Christmas for Style Skin's last shoot of the year.
We'd be lying our teeth if we said that it was boring and we enjoyed no minute of it. It was actually very interesting to find ways to blend Justyna's ultra modern style with the art deco. And have fun with it.
I'm always up for a challenge and a bit of stress sweat, so when I heard my friend and actor Sharon Sutton was playing in Hamlet, I asked if I could come and video the play, only half aware of what was going to happen that night !
They were playing at Pearse Centre on Pearse St, near the Trinity Hotel. It's running until the 9th actually, from 7.30pm.
It was all at 200%, all the excitement and energy from the cast like palpable euphoric bubbles in the air, simply a magic moment !
Shooting a long, rather continuous and moving scene(s) with the 5DmkII is a tough one, and I think I handled the challenge well but there were so many factors to think about, it certainly takes a good bit of experience until I absolutely nail it.
I still had vivid memories of a crazy 2 hour long talk where the speaker (an IT super duper expert in his field AND the most focused and continuous talker I've seen in a long time !) which made me hang on to every words and intonations, waiting for the right time to cut the video before it would be too late (from my experience, the max clip length on the 5D is anywhere between 12 and 13minutes...). Since then, I bought a 32GB card it ahah in your face long scenes! well, that resolves the problem of having to change cards when really you dont want to but not the length of clips.
I had my usual camera...I could have taken a second 5D mkII but realised it wouldn't be manageable with the amount of memory it consumes. So instead I had a Q3 HD next to it and a H1 on the edge of the stage to get a nearer sound as I was set up at the back of the room. I have to say running through the different light set up with the light designer was so helpful especially when I didn't see most of the material before so there was already a lot of factors to adjust from on the spot, it was good to know what kind of range of exposures I'd have to go through and what were the best combinations.
Now I have 3 hours of footage from 2 cameras and one recorder to go through :-D I ll let you know how I get on !
Portrait photographer,Dublin, videography, event video, boudoir photography, portraiture, studio photographer,baby photoshoot, corporate headshots, Ireland,advanced photoshop retouching,baby pictures, female photographer, family portraits, HD DSLR video, play recording, creative photography, romantic photoshoot, irish portrait photographer,
Black and white is really used for specific purposes, often to give the landscape or portrait a timeless feel, or to really stylise a picture that otherwise can lack dimension.
I don't use black and white frequently. I normally desaturate and add more contrast to my pictures or just leave the true colours in.
But as I was working on a selection of shots that I took during a recording session, i realised that I do use black and white when colours and their variety are too distracting and take away the actual content of the picture. For instance I shot with no flash since I had a video light on my hotshoe and I just took a few snapshots every now and again, I didn't want to switch from the video light to the flash. So the colour balance is less than perfect and I tend to look at that flaw more than I look at the actual picture. Turned into black and white and your eyes aren't distracted by the colours, their richness and clashes. You can only see the shapes, the range between light and shadow, and in this picture, the face and the scene.
Also when talking about a series of pictures, if the colour balance is very varied from shots to shots because they were taken at different times / conditions, then black and white would be a quick fix option too, though it is sometimes worth spending an extra time neutralising all the pictures.
Here's another example of a picture that I'm not crazy about in colour, but when turned into black and white, the colour imbalance is removed and in a way it is about revealing the true nature of the picture, what it is about, just like when you shoot you remove so many elements of the reality in front of you to reveal just what matters to you at the moment.
Sometimes I am torn between the love for colours and the flawlessness that black and white bring to a picture. A while back I took a series of portraits of a Russian poet, Mary D. A brave woman who fought strong all her life and she asked me to take a flattering portrait for a funding application of some sorts .
One of the pictures that she chose was this one because we both loved her eyes, very innocently blue and lighting her whole face, and the touch of red from her top.
As you can see on the unworked picture on the top, there's also an awful lot of red cast and red on her cheeks that compete with the beauty of her eyes.
I had worked on that (quite brutally I think now that I have a second look) but despite the fact that I love the colours on the picture, I still think a contrasty black and white does her more justice and the colour one because suddently we just see the intensity of the eyes first.
About a year ago I shot my first video, a documentary on a Mayo born guy called John Monahan, who I had met while doing a photo project with the Rehabilitation Centre at the National Council for the Blinds.
John was a legend in there, and filled faces with smiles with his jokes and stories. I shot this piece in one day, with little equipment, just my Canon 5d MkII on a camera tripod, and a Zoom as well. It's only now that I can tell how I could have benefited from having more gear with me (starting with a video tripod and a viewfinder !).
I'm still happy with what I've shot and since my first edit was very poor, and I've learnt a lot since, I think John deserves a more appropriate work to compliment his words and his story. It's tricky, though, to do a reedit on your own video... I loved re looking at the clips I shot and rethinking about the framework of the video but as well as trying to pretend I never storyboarded the shoot and take it from scratch, the footage has to allow a new structure to appear. And it seems like mine allowed me a bit of tweaking but not that much.
It reminded me of what Walter Murch said about the major drawback of digital (non linear ) editing. Because the access to the media isn't random, you don't have to go through footage you're not looking for, which you had to in the moviola days and made you constantly look at material you could have discarded by mistake.
So I had a thorough look at all I shot and recorded (the sound is crucial, throughout the video, especially at 2:01) to make some changes.
I realised that the first edit I made was most importantly the final part of a project,my first video project. Yes, there was room for improvement on my editing ( I used Premiere on a 3 year old Dell PC by the way...had to replace the hard drive 3 months later !!) but what I've learnt by doing this reedit on Final Cut Pro isn't all the tricks I know now and didn't at the time, it is the fact that my whole approach of the project wasn't the best.
Excessively organised as I am, I planned my shooting with John, I was so conscious of not wasting his time (in fact I only spent 2-3 hours with him, including a good part of walking from one end of the park to another, and the rest of the day on my own) that I had planned all he was going to say.
We had talked so much during the photo project and all the time I spent at the NCBI, I knew him very well, and I had made up my mind on what I wanted to say about him, what questions to ask him for my story but most importantly what he was going to answer me. I restrained him in what I wanted the documentary to be about and I didn't let this fantastic character show all his colours. I don't mean that I tweaked reality but I feel I put some "blinders" to the story, I limited it at the shooting time when actually the decision should be made post shoot.
So a year afterwards, I'm quite happy with having done this, as my first video work, but I also see how inexperience and stress limited the potential of this little vid, or at least rejected the power of spontaneity, how rewarding it can be to let people open up to you and be what they want to be. Actually I did know, as a photographer, that the best shots are the ones in between the planned and structured shots...strangely I didn't let the Videographer Me know about that !
It's happening in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Hope you like it ! As usual comments, advice, suggestions are very welcome. (for full HD, go to Youtube)
For a long time now I've been wanting to do a video of some of my cycling journeys. The road is full of unexpected encounters, happenings and intriguing behaviours !
Despite having spent lots of time capturing Talbot street's best and worst of Dublin inhabitants (in a black and white 35mm series) and Grafton street (in medium format and with fully aware and consenting victims), I've never considered to have the spirit of a true street photographer like these guys or this one. I guess I care too much about people's feelings...
There's something about a street video - though - that makes the exercise more appealing to me, as the maker. We get to see the lines of motions, how they cross each other, how the city is living.
Anyway, I naively thought my first post on my experience of bike video would go beyond the technicality of the recording to observe the street life ... and it's time for me to go back to earth and just document the experimentation phase first.
So here we go, in a nutshell, a review of Hama bikepod, video recording with Canon G11,and the state of Dublin Roads (especially after the heavy snows) ...
When I found out that Hama had released a bike mount for cameras for less than 20€, I jumped on the opportunity without thinking twice. Reviews were good, though not extensively demonstrated... Well, I had acquired a G11 that is pretty small, my Giant mountain bike is quite a standard one so it was all planned to fit in fine !
Needless to say I was already looking forward to the fun videos I could start making while cycling and the great shots I'll get too but my naive expectations were quickly forced to land back to earth when I did some quick fitting tests. Turns out the combination of the G11, the Hama mount, my handlebar (same sleek metal as on the picture above...) AND the war-like state of the roads make it all just the wrong mixture : The G11 seems to be too heavy for the mount, should I ride my bike on any surface that anything but smooth, whether I put a damp sponge between the mount and the handlebar for extra grip or not.
I started recording a vid from Charlestown to Dublin (my 2GB card only lasted until Glasnevin !) on one typical overcast morning, that was quite an ordeal...
Vibrations from the rough road surface on the handlebar made the camera point down slowly but steady... worst but less sneaky, the many unavoidable potholes and manholes made the camera behave like a gentle flower under an extreme sun ... Poooff ! Pointing down at the wheel...
Have a look at the first few minutes...that's my treat !
So there's no way I can use Hama Bikepod safely without turning it into a real custom made or DIY project ! By the way...the video quality of Canon G11...not that impressive either, especially the auto exposure.
Coming soon...a plan to make this work and a test with the Zoom Q3 (HD yeay!) ... and in the meantime all suggestions are open, especially regarding what type of fabric or "thing" to use between the handlebar and the mount. Right now I'm thinking velcro on handlebar &mount, poor bike ! Tks for reading.
I use the word "dare" with humour because, once you've seen how relaxed and informal the shoot is, you realise that it's really fun and silly before anything. I mean it can be very dramatic and seductive if you want it to but most of my boudoir sessions were just a good time, lots of laughs, bouncing ideas of poses and clothe combinations and then the surprise of seeing the jaw dropping result at the back of the camera !
Boudoir is all about seduction in an elegant and subtle way. It's saying something without really showing it.
We, women, know how to do that A LOT. And experiencing how seductive you can be without actually showing much flesh, that's pretty empowering ! And I'm not even talking about your partner's captivated eyes as he discovers the shots !
Every session is quite different, it's really about each model/ sitter's personality and how I react to it, which means every session is really unique in their nature, style, mood.
I'm always up for a challenge and a bit of stress sweat, so when I heard my friend and actor Sharon Sutton was playing in Hamlet, I asked if I could come and video the play, only half aware of what was going to happen that night ! 
Shooting a long, rather continuous and moving scene(s) with the 5DmkII is a tough one, and I think I handled the challenge well but there were so many factors to think about, it certainly takes a good bit of experience until I absolutely nail it. 
I had my usual camera...I could have taken a second 5D mkII but realised it wouldn't be manageable with the amount of memory it consumes. So instead I had a Q3 HD next to it and a H1 on the edge of the stage to get a nearer sound as I was set up at the back of the room. I have to say running through the different light set up with the light designer was so helpful especially when I didn't see most of the material before so there was already a lot of factors to adjust from on the spot, it was good to know what kind of range of exposures I'd have to go through and what were the best combinations. 
But as I was working on a selection of shots that I took during a recording session, i realised that I do use black and white when colours and their variety are too distracting and take away the actual content of the picture. For instance I shot with no flash since I had a video light on my hotshoe and I just took a few snapshots every now and again, I didn't want to switch from the video light to the flash. So the colour balance is less than perfect and I tend to look at that flaw more than I look at the actual picture. Turned into black and white and your eyes aren't distracted by the colours, their richness and clashes. You can only see the shapes, the range between light and shadow, and in this picture, the face and the scene. 
I use the word "dare" with humour because, once you've seen how relaxed and informal the shoot is, you realise that it's really fun and silly before anything. I mean it can be very dramatic and seductive if you want it to but most of my boudoir sessions were just a good time, lots of laughs, bouncing ideas of poses and clothe combinations and then the surprise of seeing the jaw dropping result at the back of the camera !
