Apart from building my new website, 2023 was filled with exploring new locations and revisiting some old favourites. I was delighted to be able to expand my fine art portfolio with visits to some of my favourite places in Ireland including Donegal, Connemara in Co. Galway, and Kerry. Below is a photograph of the very picturesque village of Glencolmcille in Co. Donegal.
I look forward to sharing my new selections with you in the very near future.
There was also a lot of commercial work to shoot too and I’ve posted a few photographs.
The photograph below is a "Celebration on the Green". In my mind photography is about capturing moments and telling a story, then this is a moment of joy during the golf competition at the Unison Steadfast Annual Conference in Carton House, Co. Kildare. Part of my brief was to follow the golfers around the course, so I set myself a goal of capturing as many golfers at the start, during, and at the end of their round. This particular golfer didn’t have his best day on the course and really enjoyed a much deserved celebration with his team mates after sinking a great putt on the final hole. I was very happy to have captured the moment.
Another event I covered was the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) conference in the INEC in Killarney. During one of the sessions there was a live simulation of a terrorist attack on the conference. I've covered many events over the years but this was a new one for me. The reality of the training exercise was breathtaking and certainly provided me the opportunity to capture some extraordinary shots of the conference.
In the below photograph a member of the Garda Armed Response Unit stands guard over terrorists and injured delegates.
The reality that all the participants brought to the exercise was eye opening, as highlighted in the below photograph as an emergency medic attends to the injured actor during the exercise.
For most events that I cover, group shots are on a client's wish list. Generally, they are reasonably small groups and are straightforward to organise and shoot. However the Unison Steadfast conference is a little different. Their tradition is a group shot with all attendees just before the gala dinner. It is their must have photograph. No pressure then!
First off it was deciding the location for the group shot. An outdoor location had to be selected as well as an indoor one in case of poor weather. With over 200 attendees I needed somewhere big enough and nice enough for the shot. The conference was being held in Carton House, Co. Kildare, and thankfully there are plenty of great locations on the property for a group shot.
Once the location had been chosen, it was a matter of deciding on the composition of the shot and then before I knew it, it was showtime. 200 plus hungry delegates wouldn't appreciate hanging around too long, so with help from the organising team, a microphone and a ladder we managed to get everyone lined up and eyes open for the photograph in no time at all. I’m delighted with how it turned out, and it also serves to re-enforce in my mind the importance of pre-planning. To try and shoot this type of shot ad-hoc would probably have been a disaster!
Finally, now that my new website and fine art store are up and running, my focus can now move to providing you with more news, updates, and new prints added to my online store.
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Cheers
John