Friday, July 13, 2012

Some of my favourite images

Sometimes, as a photographer, its very easy to find fault in another photographer's work.  "Oh, the composition is bad" ........... "he has blown the highlights there" ............. "she doesn't understand depth of field" etc etc.

However, the real challenge, for me, is finding the images that you like without being jealous of the other photographer.  The type of images that make you say "I wish I had taken that" are the ones I'm talking about.

I've gotten to know lots of very talented photographers over the last few years and what follows are a few of their images which I wish I had taken.

#1 Gerry Chaney - The Spire
The much photographed Spire on Dublin's O'Connell Street was photographed from a much more pleasing angle (than the usual head-on view) and composed to perfection by Gerry Chaney.  Gerry's very unique HDR (High Dynamic Range) style sets him apart from most others that have tried this type of photography.




#2 Bernie Delaney - Its the Little Things
Bernie always captures the moments the rest of us let go by.  She is a very creative photographer and her work usually depicts the simplest & most delicate of things.  This image was taken at the Trim Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and shows a young girl, quite tiny yet standing out, beside the huge hot air balloon.



Martin is an exceptionally talented & creative photographer. He loves to experiment with different light sources and has only recently bought a laser pen to play around with!!! This image was taken in Co Clare, at a very dedicated 1:30am. The interior was lit by several flashguns with red filters and really gives it a "super scary" feeling according to Martin.  Himself & Aidan Beatty run The Picture Rooms (a photographic/art gallery & photo studio) on Wellington Quay in Dublin.




Cathal works for the sports photography agency Inpho.  He was the first Agency Photographer to make me feel welcome at the Aviva Stadium.  It can be a daunting moment walking into the Media Room at the Aviva and knowing absolutely nobody.  Thankfully Cathal recognised me from a match in Tallaght and helped me settle in.  There are so many great shots that Cathal has taken but this shot of Graeme McDowell is epic!!!

Graeme McDowell celebrates 4/10/2010


#5 Michael O'Reilly - Eiffel Tower

Simply stunning shot of the Eiffel Tower lit up and surrounded by lightning.  Michael, more than likely, didn't get this by chance.  This looks like a well planned and executed image.  The addition of the purple to the sky helps to create the masterpiece.





#6 Peter Fitzpatrick - Women's Rugby

Its an easy decision to include Peter's work here. The tough decision was choosing the image.  This is a recent one from the Women's Rugby between Ireland and England. Peter always manages to capture the intensity of the game, be it League of Ireland, Women's Rugby or International Soccer. He also brings an incredible clarity to his images and won't ever post any sub-standard shots.



#7 Peter O'Doherty - Northside/Southside

Dotsy, the video guy from Extratime.ie, has been out and about with his camera recently and has captured some cracking images of Dublin City. This one has it all - a bit of Northside, a bit of Southside and all those colours lighting up night-time Dublin. Pity he shoots Canon!!!



#8 Ian Anderson - Women's Soccer

Ian is a great man for the Women's League of Ireland.  He is a pain in the ass to photograph with coz we normally spend most of the match chatting!!!  He somehow always manages to capture the women in all their glory, photos they would be proud of!!!




Saturday, May 19, 2012

Please Don't Steal My Images!!!

A while ago I was told how to search for my photos online, simply by dragging an image from a folder into Google Images and, of course, that "Googly Machine In the Sky" would trawl through billions of webpages in a nano-second and report back to me if it found my image. Amusingly, it also tells you if there are any "visually similar" images out there.  It seems to think that this photo of Alex Ferguson  is "visually similar" to.........


So, any photos that appear on my websiteflickr page, facebook page, blog and twitter would naturally show up in a search.  You can therefore imagine my shock when I searched for a photo I took the day before the Europa League Final in 2011 and found it on a webpage of a television company here in Ireland!!!  Now in fairness to them, they handled the whole thing perfectly and rightly paid me for the use of the photo. Heres the photo by the way!!!


Yes, thats right, its a football.  I'd hate to guess how many photos of footballs are on the internet and for some reason they chose my photo. I feel so honoured!!!

On the flip side of this, I was informed recently that a League of Ireland Club had also used a photo belonging to me.  Not only did they use the photo, but they edited it, removed my logo and created a advertisement with it.  The club in question is Sligo Rovers and when confronted about it, they could not have been more rude/ignorant. Maybe thats a bit harsh on the club, when in fact it was one of their Committee Members (Rory Houston) that was blatantly rude and ignorant.  He told me that he would remove the photo but under no circumstances would Sligo Rovers pay for the use of the photo.  He truly believes they've done nothing wrong.  "You stole my photo, edited it, removed my logo and used it in an advertisement for your season ticket, from which the club earned money."  So, if I ever have the good fortune to be up in Sligo on a Friday night, I must pop into their club shop and steal a few of their jerseys, quite sure they'd see things differently then!!!  Here is my photo and their advertisement:





Right, rant over!!! Needed to get that off my chest!!!

Next time ................. Something more positive, My Favourite Images Part 1




Wednesday, May 09, 2012

New Website & Facebook Page

So I finally bit the bullet and published my new website and facebook page.

Both contain content relating to wedding, fashion, sports and wildlife photography. I've also included galleries for Press & PR, Creative, Music, Living World, Street and Portraiture photography.

In recent months I have shot sporting events, model portfolios, press conferences, gigs and very soon have several weddings to photograph over the summer months.

Any queries or bookings can be made through the new website.

Next post coming soon ................... Please don't steal my images!!!




Andy




Andy McDonnell's Portfolios

Monday, June 27, 2011

Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby



Having never photographed Horse Racing, I was thrown in at the deep end last weekend at the Curragh.  The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby was to take place on Sunday afternoon, so out I went on Friday evening to get my first taste of horse racing.  It poured down all evening and despite having rain covers for the cameras, both I and them got soaked right through.  The switching between the "big" lens (Nikon 400mm f2.8) and the "not so big" lens (Sigma 70-200 f2.8), as the horses pasted the 100 yard mark, took some getting used to.  Thankfully Sunday's weather proved to be completely different with blinding sunshine and temperatures that would redden most Irish faces!!!








Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Slideshow








Monday, June 20, 2011

Street Performance World Championships 2011

The Street Performance World Championships took place in Dublin over the weekend of June 16th-19th.  Various performers from all over the world competed to be crowned Street Performance World Champion.  The largest ever recorded number of "Where's Wallys" was organised and achieved a Guinness World Record when 3872 Wallys turned up.




Street Performance World Championships Slideshow

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Europa League Final - FC Porto v SC Braga

What can only be described as the biggest match I have ever photographed, the Europa League Final between FC Porto and SC Braga (both from Portugal) was staged at the Dublin Arena (or Aviva Stadium) on Wednesday May 18th, 2011.

Some will say that the game wasn't great.  That aside, to be involved in one of the biggest sporting events in Europe this year is pretty darn cool.  Also, to capture the winning goal, the celebrations and the trophy presentation made it all the more special ........
















Europa League Final 2011 Slideshow