Check out the new gallery that I have put up. Its called Latest Work, and will be samples of whatever I happen to be doing at the moment! You can find it using the GALLERIES link above - it’s the last one!

Every now and again an opportunity rises and the right look, time, place and pose are all there. Eileen visited the house recently and a quick shoot took place resulting in a couple of my personal favourite images.  I hope to post a few more later but for now ….

Eileen

Had a great day on the 7th of March at the IPF Nature Competition 2010! The competition was held in the new pavilion at Dublin Zoo - what better place to hold a nature competition - and was judged by Claudio Carlosi EFIAP, an eminent natural history photographer from Sienna, Italy (a past winner of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The end result was an IPF Silver Medal for my shot “Common Darters Mating”, one of my own personal favourite images!

We were out visiting in Howth when we noticed the weather was a bit wild! I drove up to the car park overlooking the harbour and braved the elements for a few minutes - this won’t win competitions but the sense of nature’s power was fantastic!

What makes the shot for me was the red navigation light that just added a splash of colour to a very dark, gray overcast sky! I’ve added another gallery of some of the landscapes that I’ve taken over the last while! Check it out above!

It used to be so easy to get my lads to sit in front of the camera, but time has passed and these young men have lives of their own and getting them to stand still long enough for me to pop off a couple of frames is not an easy affair. Still, every now and again one of them takes a deep breath and a shot happens. This was actually taken between planned captures just as he was getting bored, hands through his hair and the command “DONT MOVE!” and I was away!

Just heard that Ireland won the Celtic Challenge, hosted by the Welsh Photographic Federation in Llandudno, North Wales. This is a great result as we had done poorly in recent years. The IPF changed the way it selects images from targeting individuals to selecting images from accepted works in the National Print and Projected Images and from the National Club Finals winning panels and so this really vindicates that decision - well done all! To add to the process, this years selection was done in front of a large audience at the Dublin Camera Club premises in Camden St -  a great way for the IPF to involve its members. The night was enjoyed so much by DCC that they have asked to hold the selections there again next year - must be doing something right!!

For anyone interested Celbridge Camera Club restarts this today for the 2009 - 2010 season - it’s 25th! If you are in the area and want to see what we’re about just come down to the Slip Hall, Celbridge any Monday night at 8.00pm!

Had a great time trying to capture some of the action in Howth Harbour as the gulls tried to grab fish being thrown in to feed seals among the fishing boats. At 8fps I ended up having to sift through a lot of images hoping I’d got the one I wanted! I just loved the sense of aerial agility portrayed here by this immature Great Black Back - even if it didn’t get the fish! The immatures are particularly photogenic with all the detail in the wings etc.