Graffiti in Dublin

I think it's fair to say that after 10 years of living in the UK, I know more of Birmingham than I do of my birthplace Dublin.

It seems like every time I go back something new has opened, something old has closed and someone has put a random 'spike' in the middle of a busy street.

Even during my most recent visit I was surprised at the amount of building work that was taking place. Especially given the problems with the economy (not that Ireland is the only place experience that particular issue).

Birmingham has some incredible street art, a stroll around Digbeth is visiting an art exhibition. But beyond tags on a wall I don't remember seeing anything like it growing up in Ireland.

When I mentioned to my brother Paul that I wanted to photograph some street art in the city centre (which most Dubliners will refer to as "town"), he knew exactly where to go to find some amazing work. I'm beginning to think that next time I'm home I should jump on the tourist bus and 're-acquaint' myself with Dublin.

The genius of 'Zombie Monopoly'.

Beware the dog! :-)

Dublin Soul

Across the water in my hometown (city) of Dublin, my brother Paul has caught the camera bug. I seldom get time to catch up with my brothers by phone or skype let alone spend time with them.

So when I was in Ireland last week for some photography, Paul and I hit the streets with our cameras and tried to catch a bit of Dublin's soul.

And the best way to end an afternoon of photography. A burrito from Paul's latest discovery, Pablo Picanté Californian Burrito Bar. Very yum!

Tom :)

Sunshine, Ladybirds and Cheeky Smiles

In special recognition of our brief pre-summer summer here in the UK, some pictures from a family shoot I did in March. Along with the beautiful sunshine we also had a visit from a ladybird much to the delight of two very well behaved daughters.

Yes I couldn't help but note how well behaved and polite Charlotte and Matilda were, because my little monkey's new trick is making a noise that resembles a kettle that has boiled (five minutes ago).

A nice day for photography, especially when I get cute smiles and cheeky ones!

Tom :-)

Radio Ga Ga (Part Two) - Tapping like Fred Astaire

These pictures were an absolute must for me to blog, if anything for the story behind the images. At the TCR FM studio in Tamworth I got to meet a singer/songwriter turned music manager Rebekah Ryan when she came in for an interview with DJ Alex Farrell.

Rebekah gave a refreshingly honest interview about the current music, the bad and good of the industry and her hopes for the artists she manages. As if that wasn't enough she sang KT Tunstall's 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" live in the studio, a song I love performed a-mazingly. So amazing in fact that some video footage I managed to make during the performance is completely and utterly useless!?!

Lately, where an opportunity arises I have been experimenting a bit with video. In this case, video was not something I have been commissioned to do, but would be something I'm sure my client would be grateful to receive and a nice bit of experience for me. Many modern DSLRs offer video capture to HD standard and it's amazing how many people (myself included until recently) never make use of it. One of the limitations is that a DSLR camera being so light, there is a lot of movement unless you make or invest in some equipment to stabilise it. But my Spielberg days have not yet arrived so that little expense can wait.

Generally a careful grip brings the movement to an acceptable level. What I hadn't taken into account was how Rebekah's singing would make my right foot tap uncontrollably and the result is some video that looks like it's being shot by someone mid-seizure. End result - epic fail on the video front but at least I got the aforementioned "nice bit of experience". Live and learn :-)

Interestingly, the way the recording worked in the studio I could not hear the music Rebekah was singing along to, so my Fred Astaire foot was purely responding to the vocals. Rebekah has a facebook page you can get to here, which has performance dates etc. for Rebekah and her acts. A very beautiful and talented lady, my foot and I recommend you have a listen.

Tom :-)

If it's wrong I don't wanna be right! (Part One)

I like to read photography blogs and forums to get inspiration and hear what's going on in the world of photography. It isn't long before I'm skimming past one of the great debates like Canon vs. Nikon (or Nikon vs. Canon if you prefer), or the ever popular Is HDR Photography Evil?

I generally don't get drawn into these discussions.It's not that I'm above fanboy debates, in my youth I had a favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (he had swords it was obvious to me he was the best). I also had a Nintendo and was practically trained to laugh at Sega Megadrive owners with their shitty blue hedgehog as I professed the wonders of a fat Italian plumber.

But there is one discussion that I do find myself getting pulled into and that the moralistic 'Digital processing is cheating' and 'film is better than digital' rhetoric.

Now I don't have the years or the inclination to argue film or digital, suffice to say I see them as two different journeys to the same place (where one is unfortunately more cost prohibitive than the other). But I can't abide some of the snobbery I read towards digital photography and how the processing is "not pure photography". Aside from the fact that many of the techniques employed in a digital program like Photoshop are actually based on techniques employed in the darkroom (google 'Ansel Adams post processing' for many an interesting read), but digital processing is almost a necessity for digital photographers.

For instance, if you have read my blog before you'll notice that I border on the obsessive when it comes to black and white photography. Digital cameras capture in colour so the only option for me to create a black and white image is to digitally convert it (below shows a 'before and after' of the main image at the start of this post).

Colour is in many ways, the cause of this rift. Going back to our 'film advocates' (to put it nicely), they often recommend which type of film is the best and why. Different types of film offer different quality, sharpness and colour representation. Whereas apart from a few adjustments that can be made in a digital camera, the images produced are visually similar if not identical.

So perhaps using a different type of film is cheating? Of course it's not, there is no such thing. But here's some food for thought, would Steve McCurry's photograph of 'The Afghan Girl' have been so historic if it had not been captured with Kodachrome film (renowned for its vibrant colours)? Would those amazing eyes have jumped from the pages of National Geographic or any subsequent publication or exhibition if the picture had been taken with some cheap lousy film that bleached all of the colours?

There's been a lot of noise in the industry in the last year or so about digital manipulation and many agencies are banning post-processing altogether. I don't agree with this as I do not see colour correction, adding contrast or increasing sharpness of an image to be an inappropriate process. But then I do understand the ethical reasons for being strict about manipulation, especially when it comes to photojournalism.

Below are some shots I took in London recently . . . and yes they've all been digitally converted to lovely black and white :-)

Radio Ga Ga (Part One)

I've been thinking a bit about how people say "do the thing you love as a job" and yet the same people would say "work takes the enjoyment out of everything".

I suppose I see both sides of it. When I was in secondary school, I loved to draw portraits. I used to buy magazines that had an interesting photograph of someone and sketch it (rather than face the embarrassment of asking someone to model for me). I really enjoyed sketching as it gave me a lot of focus and quiet, but when asked to produce something for Art class, I could think of 100 reasons not to do what I clearly enjoyed.

I honestly have to ask myself why, because it was something I just instinctively did. I wasn't too worried about criticism of my work (not that I think my drawings were fantastic, but they at least looked human). I think it was because drawing was my bit of peace and as I never gave myself a deadline, I resented any that was imposed.

When someone commented that my art was good and I should continue with it as a career I would immediately respond with "but then I wouldn't enjoy it". And I think I was right about that statement, Art class was proof enough. Even now it's a rarity for me to pick up a pencil and draw, but there are some moments of calm :-)

Photography has never been like that for me. Yes it's true that taking a pictures when I'm on holiday or of my family is a very different feeling than when I make a photograph for a client. But it's still, for me at least, an enjoyable experience. There are challenges that have to be overcome for it still to be fun, but these are necessary challenges. For me the main challenges are subject, objectivity and pressure. There are undoubtedly more, but when I deal with these I feel like my photography gets better (yes the challenge/opportunity cliché).

Subject - When it comes to paid work, I'm not always going to be photographing someone or something I know about or perhaps have much interest. But what I can do is find a way to present it in an interesting way and I like how that keeps me thinking. As much as I want to create a unique style for myself, I don't want to be the "photographer that does...", I'd prefer that kind of statement to be a list.

Objectivity - When I photograph my son it's easy to think the photograph is amazing simply because he is in it. This is the very thing that made me hesitate so long about working as a photographer, yes I like a photograph but would a client? I do a lot of homework now where I look at other peoples work and my own with a very critical eye (probably too critical of my own work but I think it's necessary).

Pressure - The absolute difference I think, between shooting personal work and shooting commissioned is pressure. When I do some street photography I can take dozens of pictures and be happy that I've got just one single perfect shot and discard the rest, not the type of service I would be offering to a customer. Self-doubt can easily take over and the only way I have found to deal with it is to be that little bit more prepared each time, confidence is king.

I'm about a million times happier when I've overcome these challenges and made a photograph I'm happy with.

Recently I've been doing some commercial work for TCR FM, a community radio station based in Tamworth (you can find out more about the station and even listen live here). All of the DJs working at the station are volunteers and their dedication to the craft is an inspiration. They are definitely doing something they love and should be proud.

Below are some photographs taken in the TCR FM studio when DJ Hanna Smart interviewed boy band FTW.

One last bit of news, I've set up a facebook page for Saol Photography so I can post up a lot more photographs that don't make it on the blog. You can find it at www.facebook.com/SaolPhotography or by clicking here, please feel free to give it a 'like' and add any comments.

Tom