Sleeping Beauty (Oh yes it is!)

It must be nearly Christmas. It's not long after midday and the sun is starting to set, my keyboard is covered in a lovely golden glow. In just over a month's time I'll have had my fill of the driest meat there is and will be sitting down to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Mary Poppins (guilty pleasure).

Christmas season wouldn't be the same without the wonderful German Market in Birmingham (which I hope to visit soon) and the tradition that is pantomime season. You can't beat a bit of interactive theatre!

A little while ago I had the pleasure of shooting some promotional shots for the Tamworth Pantomime Company, who have a production of Sleeping Beauty running this December. For the shoot we had use of some of the rooms in Tamworth Castle, this combined with the fantastic costumes made for some great photographs.

As with any good shoot we didn't have much time, in fact we were actually shooting while visitors were in the castle (the faces on those that came into the rooms were priceless!). We ran a little bit over but the staff were very gracious and waited a little longer for us to finish up, I am very grateful to them.

The cast made this shoot one of my most enjoyable, they are so much fun and I will most certainly be in the audience when the production begins. If you can get yourself to Tamworth December 19th - 23rd or January 3rd - 6th I suggest you do the same!

In the meantime, sweet dreams!

Tom :-)

A letter to my son

For the longest time I looked forward to being a dad. As the eldest of four boys I've grown up used to having noisy monsters in the house. These things said I don't think you can ever be prepared for the difference it makes to you and your life. Since my beautiful Cullan came along, things that have never bothered me before terrify me and keep me awake at night. How do I keep him safe? Support him so he grows up to be a good person?

I've never been bothered flying in an aeroplane, I figure if anything goes wrong there's little I can contribute and insufficient time to worry about it. But since I became a Dad I have a knot in my stomach each time I travel without him, each time I visit hospital or some gobsh*te almost runs me over while I cross the road. What contribution have I made for him and would he even remember me if I didn't make it home?

Not the nicest of thoughts but I did come up with a form of solution. While my little monster grows into a little man, I will write him letters and share what I can. Hopefully we can read them together and he can poke fun at his sentimental old man :-) I'll share the first one here:


Dear Cullan,

I've been proud of you since the day you were born. You'll make loads of mistakes in your life but that won't change how I feel and I'll be there for you as long as is possible.

Try to avoid regret - follow your instincts but even when bad things happen they make us better.

You can be attracted to and love a man, woman or both, from any race or background. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Never give up on love - it's the most important thing in life and the one thing you never really own. When someone gives you theirs make sure you earn it.

Be respectful to everyone but respect only those that deserve it.

Work and play should be the same thing. Find something you enjoy and make that your life. There are plenty of ways to pay the rent, but very few will make you happy at the same time. You don't have to be a footballer or a rockstar for this, working in an office might be the thing that gets you up in the morning. Whatever it is, find it and be happy.

Always ask questions - they're more important than the answers. I've been accused of having no faith, but I don't think that's true. I have faith in people, not in magic or in the gods we create. The world is a wonderful place full of mysteries and things we will never understand, but that's ok. To stop questioning is to stop thinking for yourself. You have one life and it is yours to live.

Don't trust politicians - they offer empty promises in return for power. Anyone that aims to rule is clearly incapable, at some point you'll discover what power does to people.

Try to make a difference - even if it's to one person.

Aspire to be better than those before you (especially me) - at what is for you to realise.

"Do as I say not as I do" - this is a stupid rule. If I say this to you ignore it and remind me I told you this.

Hopefully by the time you read this they will have the offending items, if not - Star Wars starts at number four and ends with six.

Love,
Dad x

A few from the darkroom (lightroom that is!)

As I haven't had much opportunity to get beyond the front door, I took the opportunity to process some photographs I hadn't got around to. These are a few shots I took at Dublin Zoo when I was home recently.

Tom :)

Outside? Yeah I remember that!

I've had some busy times recently and sadly it's not been with my photography. A recent visit to the hospital left me all Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window (that would be Shia Labeouf in Disturbia for the young film buffs). In short, I've been housebound and grumpy.

I'd love to say it inspired me to take the opportunity to do some still life shots or a bit of product stuff but no. A combination of a lot of pain and a lot of sleeping has resulted in me watching every film the television has to offer and seeing very little sunlight.

As always, there is of course a silver-lining. I did get to spend a lot more time with my little monster, who is growing so quickly I fear he'll soon overtake me. I'm also feeling much better as each day passes so I'll have little excuse not to hold my camera and get on with some projects. I've already managed to take a few shots in the house and out the back garden. All of these shots were with a 100mm macro which despite focusing slower than my gran (or son when he's distracted by cartoons), is a beautiful lens. 

Although the days are getting noticeably colder, the sun is still making an appearance. Despite my crippling fear of spiders (not an exaggeration in the slightest, they are my kryptonite!), I had to photograph the amazing webs that catch the sun in our back garden. I shot fast before the occupants showed up :-)

Tom :-)

The streets of Glasgow part two

A follow-up to my last post, these are the colour photographs from my brief time in Glasgow. Although my 'camera walk' only lasted about an hour, I was surprised at how little street art / graffiti there was. Once I got closer to the river Clyde there were a lot of disused buildings that had some amazing art on the boardings.

Sadly the traffic light below failed to persuade pedestrians to limbo across the road, that would have been a picture! :-)

Tom :)

The streets of Glasgow part one

I've probably been to Glasgow about a six or seven times in the last five years. At least half of those times I've brought my camera but the fates have conspired to prevent me using it. By fates I generally mean I was either too busy or rain, lots of rain. I'm not complaining of course, no Irishman can bemoan the rain, it's like being fed up the sky is blue.

Naturally, it was raining when I arrived, but once I'd checked into my hotel room and walked outside it had all but stopped. Perfect conditions for photography, a nice reflective ground and the sky like a big soft box.

I mentioned in my last post about Dublin that it's a clash of the old and new. When you walk around Glasgow and look at the buildings you can see the really ancient to the very modern. When I spotted the beautiful old building (below) that had been converted to apple store, I wasn't sure if I was horrified or impressed.

Like any city it's the people that make it and Glasgow is full of personality. Looking forward to my next visit.

They say you can't be right all of the time and for this clock that is definitely true. It was not 12 o'clock when I photographed it, but at least it's right twice a day. There are plenty of people I can think of that couldn't make that boast!

Tom :)