Kevin Dwyer, A.I.P.P.A., photographer and author, was our guest speaker on Tuesday, 20th March last. He spoke to us about his life as lived through a lens beginning with his
family history and how his grandfather began a knitwear business in Cork which developed into the Sunbeam Textile Company. On leaving school, Kevin found himself in the banking world.
He always had a love of photography and, in keeping with the family business, he began his photographic career photographing textiles. This quickly developed into the design of brochures and in turn into printing. He explained to us the different types of print methods used at the time and how he introduced new print methods into the industry. Rather than boring us with too much technical information, he also related some hair-raising moments when photographing models for the Sunbeam brochures when health and safety restrictions were not as they are now!!
His photography expanded into tourism and subsequently the business sector for corporate profiles. His first aerial photographic commission was in 1989 and this took him into the high end of the property market and infrastructural developments which were just commencing in Ireland at that time. He explained to us the advancements that have been made in photography since he began using film to the digital age that we have now. It was very interesting to learn the actual process undertaken by him when he first started his career.
As Kevin always had an interest in sailing, it led him to indulge himself with aerial
photography of the coastline of Ireland and also of Ireland’s waterways and he has published three books on the subject.
We were treated to a beautiful display of his work from its very beginning to the last
photographs taken by him before he retired.
A very enjoyable and informative meeting was had by all and we came away truly
appreciating the beauty on our doorstep which we had just encountered from a completely different perspective.
– Eileen Upton
Beginning with some classroom work, James outlined the features of the drone and controller, discussed flying the drone including the regulations now in place governing their use and using the drone for photography and videography. Then with all questions suitably answered, we went outside to a nearby park for a practical demonstration.
The experience was mesmerising! This little package, weighing a little over 1Kg is packed with enough smarts to practically fly on its own with minimal input from the pilot. James demonstrated the start up procedure and flew the drone expertly around the park while a live video feed streamed back to the display on the controller, immediately revealing a view of the town rarely seen. The images were breathtaking and solid as a rock even in the blustery and overcast conditions that prevailed.
The return to home feature, implemented automatically when the drone is out of range or by pressing a command on the controller, landed the drone back automatically within two feet of where it had taken off from – simply amazing.