How I Took That Shot – Noelle Lowney

Posted on 13/06/2015 by admin

Noelle Lowney took first place in Grade C in our fourth internal competition of the year recently. The theme was 'Vintage' and this is how she made the image:

19_Noelle Lowneey

My initial thoughts for a vintage themed image for the competition ranged from shooting a classic car, an antique camera, 1915 binoculars and even a 1902 spinning wheel! I wanted to shoot an image that would denote the past and be representative of the years gone by.

Between the jigs and the reels taking several shots of vintage cars, steam trains and other antiquities I finally decided on an image of a lady dressed in clothing which provided a glimpse of what the fashion was like from the early part of the 1900’s. This image was taken in Cobh last month during a poignant re-enactment of the Lusitania funeral procession of those victims who perished in the 1915 tragedy. The subject of this image was part of the funeral cortege and I took the shot of this lady while her eyes were not focussed on or looking directly at the camera.

I initially shot the image in Monochrome (Black and White) and then imported to Lightroom where I adjusted the saturation, contrast and sharpness of the image. I then wanted to give the image a historic ‘oldie worldly’ feel and chose Sepia/Antique toning to give the photo this effect.

Shot in RAW with a Canon EOS 1200d camera with a 55mm to 250mm lens, F/6.3, 1/260sec, ISO 400, Focal Length 215mm.

Well done Noelle

Gregory Heisler ILFORD Lecture

Posted on 01/01/2014 by admin

'Start as you mean to go on' is a piece of advice often offered to people entering new relationships. With the same intention for the activities of ECCG in 2014, the first blog post of 2014 features the Ilford Lecture by renowned American portrait photographer, Gregory Heisler, whose book, "50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographer’s Photographer", was published in 2013 to critical acclaim.

The blurb on the book on Amazon says:

"In this first-ever showcase of his work, Gregory Heisler, one of professional photography's most respected practitioners, shares 50 iconic portraits of celebrities, athletes, and world leaders, along with fascinating, thoughtful, often humorous stories about how the images were made. From his famously controversial portrait of President George H.W. Bush (which led to the revocation of Heisler’s White House clearance) to his evocative post-9/11 Time magazine cover of Rudolph Giuliani, to stunning portraits of Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Hillary Clinton, Michael Phelps, Muhammad Ali, and many more, Heisler reveals the creative and technical processes that led to each frame. For Heisler’s fans and all lovers of photography,Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits offers not only a gorgeous collection of both black-and-white and color portraits, but an engrossing look at the rarely seen art of a master photographer at work. With a foreword by New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg".

The following is a full-length video from the Ilford Blog of a lecture held in February, 2013 in New York in which Greg appeared and spoke at a special one-day exhibition of forty-three large prints from his new book. Enjoy..

See Greg's website here.

Club Exchange with Ballincollig Camera Club 7/5/13

Posted on 13/05/2013 by admin

Photo 07-05-2013 20 21 51 On Tuesday 7th May 2013, Ballincollig Camera Club came to The Midleton Park Hotel on the first in our calendar of club exchange nights for 2013. A strong contingent arrived lead by newly elected secretary, Graham Daly who was accompanied by Pierce Coady, Cian O'Mahony, Denis O'Driscoll, Ron Giesbers, Ilinka Drieu and Margaret Beaty.

Graham began by apologising on behalf of their Chairperson, Pascal Lee, who was unable to attend. He outlined the history of the Ballincollig club and how they filled their year with various activities and competitions. He spoke about their involvement in SACC events and how they were extremely happy with their recent placings in the inter club competition.

Graham then introduced the first of their group to display his images, newly crowned Photographer of the Year, Pierce Coady.

Pierce began by thanking ECCG for the invitation to come along and said he was a relative new-comer to photography but had developed a passion for portrait and street photography. He displayed a panel of 10 images that drew gasps from the audience, each of which was accompanied by a story as to how the images came about.

This lighthearted banter relaxed the group and questions soon began to flow. As the images were passed around, members remarked on the shallow depth of field with eyes pin sharp. We learned that Pierce's favoured weapon is his Nikon D700 with a 50mm 1.4f prime lens attached. The high quality of the prints really enhanced the images, bringing out the detail in the shots. Pierce prints all his images on an Epson printer using Permajet Portrait White paper. He wrapped up by again, thanking the group for the chance to display his work and reiterated his love for photography.

Next up was Cian O'Mahony to show his successful L panel. Cian explained the concept of his panel and how he favoured the coast and landscapes of West Cork and Kerry to create his images, and how he was influenced by the style of John Hooton.

His images showed a range of pastel coloured seascapes dotted with close up detail, and wildlife images. He finished with a few shots taken on a recent trip to Iceland.

Graham finished their presentation with a wish that the two groups might again meet up before the end of the year. Tom Tattan, in reply, thanked the Ballincollig group for coming along especially on such a bad night, weather wise.

All adjourned for refreshments and a chat with some of the die-hards having to be evicted out of the bar to continue discussions!

Photos: Dave Edmunds

Members see the Light!

Posted on 10/04/2013 by admin

At a well attended meeting of the ECCG on Tuesday 10/4/13, Tom Tattan, Dave Edmunds and John Horgan delivered a workshop on portrait flash photography using speedlights. As flash photography can be a mysterious practice for the uninitiated, this was a very much sought after event and went down well with all in attendance.

Our secretary, Karen Fleming, introduced some glamour to the occasion by (foolishly?) agreeing to model for the battery of paparazzi who all wanted to test their newly learned skills. Scenes reminiscent of the outside of a celebrity nightclub at 4am ensued as strobes popped continuously. In hindsight a pair of dark glasses would have been in order for our patient model, whose retinas must have been screaming STOPPPP as the barrage showed no sign of abating! Well done to all concerned.
Photos by Denis O'Flynn.

PRO, Denis Barry revealed the ECCG's new online magazine, 'Snapshot' which is available on iOS and Android devices to members and non-members alike here.

Unfortunately these are the only ways in which the magazine can be accessed, a matter which is completely out of our hands but, that said, it is a wonderful experience on a tablet device especially as there are beautiful photos and videos within the pages that really exploit the tablets' size and capabilities. The display on other devices, such as mobile phones and iPods, etc, while smaller, is also a very rewarding experience.

The magazine will feature articles of photographic interest from varying online sources and will be updated frequently so be sure to check it out often and let us know what you think.