story rory personal

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Super hero disguises #1

Kids won't smile for a photo? Try this cheap and simple disguise!

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Portraits

I have been working on a portrait project with some artists and musicians that I am friendly with. I shot this last week in Gary Fitzpatrick's place last week.

I've known Gary for years, but hadn't seen him for a while, so we caught up, chatted, he played a bit, I photographed. It was easy and relaxed, a lovely portrait session. 

I like this shot. There's a lost in the moment intensity to it. It looks a lot more serious than it really was - we laughed a lot. There was a bit more madness going on than you can see here, but then that's part of the power of photography. 

The light was beautiful, coming in from a large east facing window, late in the afternoon. It was the magic light just before the sun came down. Nice way to spend an evening!

- Rory

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Ballyvolane Bath

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Calculated Attack

The following is a reproduction of a blog post I wrote back on July 4th, 2011 for Cork Analogue Photographers. At that time we (Cork Analogue Photographers) were collaborating with Guerilla Exhibition as part of Photo Ireland Festival in Dublin. 

The reason that I am reposting the blog is that the little bit of street art that we created for Photo Ireland, appeared later in a book, InSideOut. The book is available in most book shops, and some boutique outlets, or from the website here.

I loved being part of the original project, and was delighted to see it reproduced in book form, long after the original disappeared from Drury St. 

So here's the original post, first published on Cork Analogue Photographers blog, back in August 2011 - 

Calculated Attack

Cork Analogue Photographers collaborated with Guerilla Exhibition for a calculated attack on the streets of Dublin, on Friday morning, July 1st. The location was kept top secret until the morning, then the twitter machine kicked in and it went viral!

Part of Photo Ireland festival 2011, we “attacked” a disused shopfront on Drury St., brightening up a drab and grimy left over from the tiger bubble with some street art.

This was a bit of a departure from Guerilla Exhibitions usual style of putting a number of different prints up, pop-up gallery style. Instead, in tune with Photo Ireland festival’s theme of collaborative change, a negative was selected from Cork Analogue Photographers, and scanned and blown up by the Guerrilla’s, to create an enormous (6m wide) print to cover the whole shop front. The blow up was printed on 185 sheets of ordinary printing paper (special thanks to Exhibit A in Dublin for the scanning and printing). This was the first of it’s kind to be seen in Dublin, and it looks fantastic. There was a lot of measuring, planning, talking, measuring, sticky dots and fingers crossed in the hope that it would all come together. Here’s some photos of the work in progress.

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January light

Chilly this morning, but what beautiful east Cork light :)

- Rory

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Prints on a table

I went along to the Friday meetup at The Dark Room at Camden Palace Hotel yesterday. Wasn't sure what to expect, and I have to say it was great. About a dozen people around a table talking about photography. The theme was portraiture, but the conversation moved in and around the theme.

It was lovely and flowing, nothing formal. Just chatting with like minded people. An argument about a Joel Sternfeld photograph in a big book stirred seriously for quite a few minutes, and then dissipated as prints were thrown up on the table and everyone moved about to look at them and discuss them.

Lots of banter, some critical comments, some oo's and ahh's. Then the prints were gathered up, and somebody else threw out another pile on the table. At one stage we were gathered around an ipad looking at some great photographs there. It was all shiny and lovely, but then more prints were thrown out on the table and, really, nothing compares with physical prints.

Objects that you can pick up and examine up close. That can be moved around the table and placed in different spots. An ever changing jigsaw of images telling stories. No pages to be turned, no screen to be swiped. Just the table to frame and constrain them. Lovely!

Thanks to Naomi for putting so much work into the meetups and the dark room at the Camden. I'll be there again. All welcome!

- Rory

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On Portraiture

self portrait 2008 

por·trait  

/ˈpôrtrət/

Noun

A painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person.

A representation or impression of someone or something in language or on film.

Synonyms

picture - likeness - portraiture - portrayal - effigy

This definition comes top of the pile when you type "define portrait" into google. At least, it does today. Maybe tomorrow there will be different definition. 

Does a portrait need to be a sit down formal session between the subject and the artist? Or can a caught, fleeting moment also be called a portrait? Is it a portrait because I say it is? Or because somebody else says it is?

© Edward Steichen "Sunday Papers" c. 1922

I love this portrait by Steichen. It appears likely that the man was unaware that his photograph was being taken. At first you may not notice him, seeing only the brick wall, windows and metal balconies. Then you spot him, sitting near the window light, in the frame. His face mostly in the shade, indistinguishable, and the newspaper. Is it a portrait of this man? Or just a portrait of 'a man'?

Want to talk more about portraiture? Call into the Dark Room at Camden Palace Hotel in Cork at 5pm this evening, Jan 18th. Naomi will be leading the conversation - "What is it that a portrait can actually reveal?"

- Rory

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Art and the Heart

No matter what your profession, or where you are in life, there can never be enough training and learning. Whether it is related to your job, or perhaps a local night class, there is always value in going out and learning something new. If it's for your job, then you'll come away better qualified. If it's simply a class in something you'd like to learn more about, then all the better. You'll learn something lovely, and quite likely, you'll make some new friends too.

Happily, my job and my passion are the same thing, and I work doing something I love, as a photographer. Last July I attended a wonderful 3 day workshop led by Australian photographers, Dan O'Day and Samm Blake, called Art & The Heart.

It was a great workshop. I learnt a bit about photography, and a bit about business, and a bit about the dark art of tying the two together. What I really loved though, was the passion of everybody who attended, and the enduring friendships that I made. Just this morning I met with a few of the photographers that I met on the workshop. I didn't know them beforehand, but we have stayed in touch and gotten to know each other. We meet regularly, and this is a great little bit of support in a profession that can be quite solitary at times. 

The art of photographing people really comes down to photographing people for the love of it. Being able to do that for a living, and being friends with our competitors, is a wonderful privilege. 

The photo of me at the top of the post was taken by Dan during the workshop. I've no idea what I'm grinning at, but it was at the end of a fun 3 days, and I'm glad I was there.

- Rory

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Life's a gate

It's that give up time of year. Mid January. Give up on your New Years resolutions time. Give up on the plans, and dreams. Just settle back into another 11 months of humdrum until too many mince pies and mulled wines triggers the 'time for a change' mindset again. Right?

Or maybe not. Maybe this year actually do it. Stop thinking, dreaming, planning. Just do it. Take a chance. Risk it. There's never a right time. There's the past, there's now, and hopefully there's tomorrow. A fair few tomorrow's. But most important is now. 

I know these are cliches, and we all have good reason to be cautious. The economy, the recession, the endless debt. I know. 

But if there's something burning strongly on the 'list-of-things-to-do-before-I-die', now's as good a time as any to try it!

The kid on the gate is my little son, age 5. The photos were taken on New Years day at Power Head. We've walked up there the past few New Years days, it's starting to become a bit of a tradition. I think life's a bit like a gate. Safe on this side, maybe unknown and scary on that side. But while we're here, we might as well hop on and go for a swing.

- Rory

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William Klein + Daido Moriyama

Last week, as part of her birthday present, I brought E to London for a day. Bringing somebody to a cool city for a day, or a weekend, or 5 days or a week, is of course cheating on the whole birthday thing - it's something for both of you. And it's a bit non tangible, just an experience. But then, what's life worth living for, if it weren't for experiences? All the stuff in the world doesn't matter if you never go anywhere. 

I digress. In London we went to the Tate Modern, which is an experience in itself. E wanted to go to the Tate, and I kinda knew that there was a cool looking exhibition on - Klein + Moriyama. 

I must admit that I knew a bit about William Klein, particularly this image, but much less so about Daido Moriyama. I did know Moriyama's stray dog however. The exhibition  was like the Tate itself - a bit overwhelming. There's a tendency towards 'bigger is better' sometimes when making photographic prints for exhibition. In the case of Klein + Moriyama, the prints were enormous. Some in fact were printed on vinyl and stuck to the wall like wallpaper. I have to say that I enjoyed it immensely. I spent about an hour and a half there, which was as much as I could afford in a whirlwind tour of London-in-a-day, but if I was a local I'd be back more than once, just to spend some more time with the work.

I'd like to say more, but my knowledge of these two photographers is a little lacking. I liked what I saw, and will endeavour to learn more. 

There was a number of video of both photographers there too. Some of these can be found round the web. Well worth a look. See the Tate's own site for a start.

The photo above was taken on my phone. In my peripheral vision I could see someone approach me as I framed the people on the bench against the huge vinyl photographs on the wall. Turned out he was a guard, and informed me that I couldn't take photographs. But he approached slowly, and allowed me to take this one. I appreciated that - English courtesy :)

- Rory

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Terry O'Neill in Cork!

Terry O'Neill with his Brigitte Bardot photograph ©Reinier RVDA

Photographer Terry O'Neill will be exhibiting in two locations in Cork later this month, running Jan 24th to February 22nd. Mr. O'Neill will be opening his show on Jan 24th at CIT Wandesford Quay gallery on Jan 24th. He will be back in the gallery on Jan 25th for a book signing. The show will also run at The Atrium, Cork City Hall. 

"... O’Neill, who celebrates his 75th Birthday in 2013, began his career as a press photographer. He will forever be associated with London of the Swinging Sixties when he photographed the great and the good. Peter O’Toole and Richard Harris were counted in his circle of friends. The exhibition will feature a wide variety of his iconic portraits of the stars of that era, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull and Michael Caine..." (read more at the Facebook event page here)

There's also a lovely piece in the London Evening Standard, published last April, in which Mr. O'Neill recalls his life as a working photographer in the 1960's. Read it here. 

I'm looking forward to going to this opening on Jan 24th, and meeting one of the top photographers from that era (and still working too!). If you can't make the opening, but are in Cork sometime between Jan 24th and Feb 22nd, be sure to drop in and take a look!

- Rory

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What's the story, Rory?

So it's relaunch 2013 time. Hopefully this will be a lucky one! (How many time's has that been said all over the world?) 

Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, according to it-wot-knows-everything. Cars registrations in Ireland, which have been started with a two figure number representing the year since 1987 (eg 87 D ...), will now begin with a 3 digit number - specifically 131 for the first six months, and 132 for the following six months. Such is the fear of the affect that '13' will have on new car sales ...

Personally I'm not very superstitious, and have no fear of the number 13. Along with a billion-odd Chinese, who consider it lucky! So who knows. I'm optimistic, this year's going to be a good one. 

If you found this blog via my business webpage, then hello, welcome, this is my personal blog where I'll mostly be rambling on about photography, and assorted other rumblings. If you stumbled here via tumblr, then you know the story with people rumbling on about this and that and posting odd photos to back them up. Welcome!

I used to write the Cork Analogue Photographers blog. Feel free to browse through a couple of hundred of my posts there, and on eyesoup too. I might repost a few of them here too from time to time. Cork Analogue Photographers / Eyesoup has fizzled out a little in real life (ie real people  taking photos), but that's not to say it's gone. We may rekindle again in the future. 

Anyway, thanks for reading. Do get in touch - love to hear from you!

- Rory