Portraits

Got the chance to take some portraits of my friends grandchildren yesterday. When I have processed the images I shall put a couple on here for you to see.

It was fun - but how do you engage an 18 month old whilst you are holding a very heavy 5D with heavy bounce flash in one hand and a reflector in the other hand. The light was not ideal and I need to think about how I do these candid portraits in someones home for the future.

I know I need an assistant and a lighting kit and/or a studio. I have room in the garden for a studio - this is something I can discuss with people that are going to help me put together a business plan.

Abbey

Sadness has reigned in 2010 and in particular over the last couple of weeks. A very dear friend in the village, who was giving me advice and guidance and help with my business plan for the photography business I wish to start, suddenly died. On Monday I went to his funeral (this is the fourth this year) which was held at Mount St Bernard Abbey. It was an odd affair, having never been inside the Abbey before, nor met the Monks. But it was a fine send off and some beautiful words from his family.

He was always supportive of my efforts; proud that I had swallowed my pride and gone back to college; and usually made me laugh.

His favourite image of mine was this one:

Goodnight and God Bless to you John.

Guest Speakers

Last week I attended to talks by two very talented and gifted photographers.

Denis Morris gave a talk at the QUAD and showed us some of his images - the most famous of which are those of Bob Marley and John Lydon.

Wonderful man and he gave lots of useful tips and inspiration to all those wishing to pursue a career in photography. His first hand tales of life on the road with Bob Marley were fantastic to hear.

Ed Clarke showed images from his works 'Baby Father', 'Still Life Killing Time', 'Guantanamo Bay', 'No place to go'. There were some very interesting images and some clear favourites sprang out. Ed had a lot of tips on how to approach the world of photography and making a living from it. He also described the equipment he used/uses and why he moved from one type of camera to the next. He emphasised the need to photograph what you love. Without this you are never going to achieve any success or get and keep clients.

These two talks have really helped me re-focus on what I want to do with this career and given me fresh ideas and inspiration.

Let's see if I can find copies of the images they showed from the web.... have foudn the images but the blogger wont let me upload them. Will come back to this when it has decided to play.

Here they are ...

Denis Morris:



Edmund Clarke: