Recent Editorial Work – Ford Escort Cosworth V6
Client: Speedhunters Intent: Editorial Date: April 2015 Location: Tipperary, Ireland. Original Feature: http://www.speedhunters.com
Sunshine in October – The 2014 Volkswagen Golf SV
Ireland is a funny place to live and work. Especially, if you work outside and depend on the weather. Generally, no weather forecast is ever accurate. I generally try to take a car for as long as possible for this very reason. I can usually get the shots I need inside a day, but with unpredictable weather, I’ve often had to wait a few days before I can even get outside to shoot. Luckily my time with the new Volkswagen Golf SV, although brief, was constant sunshine. Born lucky? The Golf SV is obviously aimed at a market where practicality is at the top of the list of requirements for potential buyers. In typical Volkswagen style, the SV does everything it needs to do and does it very well. It’s comfortable, frugal and well equipped. The 1.6 TDI engine provides more kick than you would expect whilst easily returning impressive fuel economy figures. There’s also storage for days, and even as I was returning the car, I continued to find new storage areas which have been cleverly integrated into the cabin. From a photography viewpoint, I wanted to continue to develop my in-camera skills on this shoot. That is, I don’t want to depend on Photoshop or Lightroom afterwards. I want to try to get as close as possible to the final image in-camera as I can. This generally requires a lot of patience and improvisation when out and about, paying a lot more attention to small things like reflections, debris etc. Although it means more time shooting, it means less time in post production. I’ll take shooting in the sun any day over sitting in a dark room… Photographed for Volkswagen Ireland www.volkswagen.ie
A New Direction & Meeting the 2014 Mercedes GLA
I’m sure some of you are aware, but I recently parted ways with Speedhunters. This isn’t a bad thing or indeed due to any sort of falling out, rather I believe it to be necessary to further my career. My time with Speedhunters was both happy and of huge benefit to myself but it has come to a stage where I wanted to take my career to the next level and to progress as both a person and photographer. I’m proud to have worked with an amazing bunch of people and will be forever indebted to them. Who knows, I might make a guest appearance or two in the future… Since the beginning of April, I’ve begun work on pursuing a new career path within the automotive industry. Where previously my work was 99.9% editorial with a focus on the aftermarket scene, I’m now aiming to work closer with manufacturers and agencies to document new cars either for PR or commercial purposes. Although on the surface it might not seem that much different – I am still taking pictures of cars – it is a completely different ball game. I have a lot to learn but can’t wait to really immerse myself in the work. My first shoot was courtesy of the great people at CompleteCar.ie. Over the years, the Irish motoring media industry has always disappointed me to a certain extent. An over reliance on stock manufacturer photographer or worse, Irish road tests with cars on UK registration plates. Having met Shane O’Donoghue, editor at CompleteCar, earlier this year, I immediately knew that these guys carried the same passion towards improving the standard within Ireland. As journalists, photographers, marketeers etc. I believe we have an obligation to do the best job possible and to show that the Irish industry is […]
