2016

Posted on 31/01/2016 by admin

Ballyvodock p2p 2016 JCurtin-4

For the second year the p2p bandwagon rolled on to the course located at Ballyvodock, Carrigtwohill for the United Hunt p2p. This race meeting is considered to be one of premier meetings on the southern circuit and was the venue for the last of the January 2016 ECCG shoots.

The course is a left handed galloping track with 6 races being run on the day covering two and half circuits over 9 furlongs distance per race, with a slight up-hill finish. On the whole, the event was well supported and attracted a huge crowd from the local area.

Once again this event enjoyed favourable weather conditions - cloudy skies but no rain - and while it was cold, the exciting races warmed up punters and non punters alike. ECCG members were treated to some exciting photo opportunities not being deterred by the cold element and mucky conditions. Some exciting images were captured from the parade ring and track on the day from all angles, to say the least, with some members braving taking shots from the ground level!

Click here to see a gallery of images from the shoot. Enjoy!

- Noelle Lowney

Sunrise Shoot at Ballycotton – 30/01/2016

Posted on 30/01/2016 by admin

Ballycotton SR2 FOS-2

Pushing the club's 'Seascape' theme for January to the limit, we turned out for our fifth sunrise/seascape shoot of the month, on Saturday 30th, at Ballycotton in East Cork, a veritable treasure trove of photographic opportunities and a regular stomping ground for ECCG. With the sunrise due at 8.22am and high tide in just under an hour later we approached the fishing village with great hope as the clear skies appeared to be in keeping with the good forecast.

The beach at the pier faces in an easterly direction which, at dawn, renders the islands and lighthouse in silhouette as the sun rises beyond them. The good swell invited getting in close to and onto the rocks to capture the running streams and breaking waves as the tide filled around them.

With a low band of cloud obscuring the horizon, it took ten minutes or so for the sun to break into clear skies making shooting conditions difficult with the increasing brightness. Nevertheless, Ballycotton yielded yet another fruitful morning and, as the sleepy village began to stir awake, we made our way home happy with our morning's work.

See a full gallery of images from the shoot here. Enjoy!

If you have an interest in photography and would like to find out more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above and leave us a message.

Press Photographer of the Year 2016 – Mark Condren

Posted on 30/01/2016 by admin

For the fourth time in a few years, Mark Condren was, last night, named as the Press Photographer of the Year, 2016.

A native of Castletownroche, Co. Cork, Mark worked with 'The Corkman' before moving to the 'Sunday Tribune' and then to the 'Irish Independent' where he currently works. An award winning photographer and published author, Mark won his first P.P.A.I. Press Photographer of the Year award in 2009 and followed it up with another win in 2010, came second in 2011 and won it again in 2012. Considering that this competition is open to the top press photographers from the thirty-two counties makes this a staggering achievement and speaks volumes for the esteem in which his work is held. Well done Mark!

ECCG was delighted to host Mark in 2014 when he visited one of our meetings and gave a great presentation of his work - a highlight that is often recalled since.

The Press Photographers Association of Ireland (PPAI) exhibition will be going on tour around the country in the coming months so make sure you get to see it. Check the PPAI website for details.

Sunrise at Front Strand, Youghal – 23/01/2016

Posted on 24/01/2016 by admin

Sunrise YLFS FOS-4

With weather forecasts giving hope of a clear window in the midst of seemingly endless overcast and wet conditions, we struck for the front strand in Youghal on Saturday morning, 23/1/16, in search of the sunrise which was due at 8.25am.

With the tide running out fast, the sky in the east was indeed reasonably clear and yielded some great colour as sunrise approached. The groins played their part as usual providing the classic leading lines while the surf and rocks added to the scene.

The post mortem, over a welcome hot coffee, revealed a successful shoot with the hope that what appeared promising on the backs of the cameras would transfer intact to the bigger screens later in the morning.

You can see the results of the shoot here in the gallery. Enjoy!

If you have an interest in photography and would like to find out more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above and leave us a message.

How I took that Shot – Fidelma Read

Posted on 23/01/2016 by admin

11_Fidelma Read - Winter

Fidelma Read took first place in Grade A in our recent 'Winter' competition with the stunning portrait above. This is how she made the image:

Snow Fidelma Read-1129-2 I took this shot last Winter. My daughter was home from school with a tummy bug that day and then, just after lunch, it began to snow. Well I never saw a child's face to light up as much when she looked out the window.. ! I managed to capture that also as I had the camera ready before I told her.

The tummy ache was soon forgotten and out it was, with the wellies and hats, to throw snowballs. It was super fun. I love to capture these fun times, they are so so precious as they grow up so quickly. I took lots of photos of snowballs going around and the joy of the moment but this one stood out for me. It was a fleeting moment but there is direct eye contact which is what I was hoping for.

It's not always possible with child portraiture and candid shots but I do purposely try to keep an eye to the background and pick my moments as it has a huge bearing on the image. It had turned quite dark with the stormy sky, so to keep my speed up as we chased around I had to push my ISO up to 1000, aperture of f5.6 and speed 1/400. I just did a small bit of post processing then to make it pop a bit more, levels, sharpening etc.

I hope she will enjoy having these images in years to come as much as I have treasured capturing them..

- Fidelma Read