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Hello!

My name is Thomas David Kavanagh, a photographer that shoots wedding, lifestyle and commercial portraiture. I was born and bred in Dublin, Ireland but have been living in Birmingham, England for the past decade.

I have started a photography business called Saol Photography. Saol (pronounced 'Sail') is the Irish word for 'life'. I chose this as it represents how important photography is to me as well as the type of photographs I want to make.

In this blog I will share details of how my business progresses and also the projects that I am working on. Your views and comments are greatly appreciated. All of the writing and images seen in this blog are created by me and I retain the copyright. Should you wish to use any of my images, please contact me for permission.

Thank you for taking the time to visit,
Tom :-)

Sunday 19 June 2011

Under the Bridge (Newcastle upon Tyne)

Having to do a full-time job whilst trying to establish myself in the world of photography creates a lot of challenges. Not that one can afford to be negative at a time where people are finding it quite hard to get work. While I'd love to pontificate about the role our current Prime Minister "Darth Cameron" has to play, the truth of the matter is it's not his fault (entirely), he's just made it more difficult.

I only mention the challenge because with it has come opportunities (look at me being all positive!). My day job requires me to travel across the UK to deliver training. Sometimes more often than I would like and sometimes requiring me to spend nights away from my family. As I have suggested in my father's day post, it's not easy to let my little monster go.

But if it wasn't for my job I probably wouldn't have visited the cities I have, or at the very least not as frequently. I wouldn't have met the nice people that live there or seen the sights they have to offer. Most days now I tend to carry a camera with me, usually equipped with my cheap and cheerful 50mm f1.8. I love that lens,

Having found myself in Newcastle recently, I took the opportunity to take some pictures while the sun was still quite pronounced. On previous visits, I'd taken a tripod with me and captured some of the bridges at night. This time I found myself drawn to a series of streets just off the riverside. A massive bridge merges with/cuts through the buildings until you almost can't tell what was there first.

The deep shadows cast by the evening sun gave me the perfect opportunity to present the pictures in my favoured black and white. Given the presence towering overhead, I felt it only right to name the series Under the Bridge. I'm now inspired to go listen to some Red Hot Chili Peppers, hope you like the pictures.





Father's Day

Lately, when responding to the question "how is Cullan?", I've taken to talking of his habit of sleeping for three-hour intervals and waking up shouting "Bin Truck" or "Birdy ALL GONE!".

The truth is I wouldn't have it any other way. Yes a bit more sleep would be nice, but then I might miss something :-)

For the past few months he's gotten into the routine of snuggling up with me to go to sleep. It's something I really miss when I have to be away overnight for work and I know Cullan will outgrow it before I do.

On a day like today, I know how lucky I am and just want to see him smile :-) The picture is Cullan and my Dad, I think I'll ring him and shout Bin Truck!

Happy Father's Day!

Monday 13 June 2011

Congratulations Becky and George!



I'm back . . . . .  finally!!!! After a couple of busy months and a bit of poor health, I'm finally starting to catch up with everything (well just about). Thank you to all the well-wishers during my trips to the hospital and apologies to those I haven't yet gotten back to!

So much has happened I nearly didn't know where to start. But as one should, I decided the right thing was to go back to the start.

A little while ago I posted some engagement pictures of George and Becky, a lovely couple whose wedding would be my first outing as a solo photographer. I am delighted to say that the happy couple are now husband and wife, complete with pictures to prove it :-)

As nervous as I was in the morning, I soon forgot about worrying and had a really nice day with some fantastic people. A little bit of rain here and there certainly didn't dampen the mood (no pun intended) as you'll see from the smiles below.

I'm so honoured to have been part of their day and can see many happy days ahead for them :-)














Someone was a bit 'too' good at walking in heels!