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Architectural Photography in Stuttgart

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:43:00 +0100

Designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna, the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart is a ‘must see’ for visitors to the German auto-industry capital. Completed in 2009 with costs touching 100 million Euro it boasts over 80 exhibits in its 5,600 sq metre floor space. If you’re a devotee of the famous German marque this is where you can loose track of time; pour over the rare and historic models that are set side by side with industy's cutting-edge technological developments.

Architectural Photography in Ireland: Waterford’s Medieval Museum.

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:41:00 +0100

Situated between Cathedral Square and the Bishop's Palace in what’s known as the ‘Viking Triangle’, Waterford City’s cultural and historic quarter, you’ll find the beautiful Medieval Museum. The building was opened earlier this year; with Waterford City Council architects Rupert Maddock and Bartosz Rojowski responsible for the design. One of the building’s striking features, the beautiful creamy sandstone façade looks, as someone remarked: “as if it had been shaped by the wind”.

Gamla Stan, Stockholm

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:24:00 +0000

Many European cities have ardently preserved part of their medieval past, turning their ‘old town’ or ‘Altstadt’ districts into living, pedestrian-friendly museums bedecked with pavement cafes and places to shop. I can’t think of a better example than Gamla Stan in the heart of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. I discovered this gem when I spent a couple of days there last year shooting pictures for stock photo libraries. Winding narrow cobblestone streets, with their colourful buildings give Gamla Stan its unique character. Enchanting at any time, on a snowy winter's day it looks like something out of a storybook

The 'Blob' in the centre of Eindhoven

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:51:00 +0000

The centre of the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, called 18 Septemberplein had quite an ‘industrial’ feel about it. This was changed when Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas created the 'Blob', an organic glass and concrete building that serves as the entrance to The Admirant, a major commercial centre. The futuristic looking structure compliments the former Philips factory on the right of my picture.

Architectural Photography: BMWs Munich Headquarters, Munich

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:11:00 +0000

BMWs Munich Headquarters, Munich, The 101-metre (331 ft) building is located near the Olympic Village and is often cited as one of the most notable examples of architecture in Munich. The large cathedral exterior is supposed to mimic the shape of a tire in a race car, with the garage representing the cylinder head. Both buildings were designed by the Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer.

Architectural Photography: Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:40:00 +0000

Architectural Photography: photographing one of the world's most beautiful staircases in the Vatican, Rome.

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:32:00 +0000

I’m a sucker for staircases. How then could I resist photographing one of the world’s most beautiful (and photographed) examples from the Vatican, Rome. Designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, the broad steps are somewhere between a ramp and a staircase. The stairs are actually two separate helixes, one leading up and the other leading down, that twist together in a double helix formation.

Architectural Photography in Ireland - The Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:46:00 +0000

Architectural Photography, Wexford Library

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:22:00 +0000

I wanted to post a good example of blending old and new in our built environment. I photographed Wexford's beautiful new Library last week, notice how well the modern building fits in with the narrow street. Also, it sits so comfortably with the church spire while the site retains a portion of the old town wall. A lovely piece of modern architecture!

Architectural Photography in Berlin

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:12:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite parts of Europe, Potsdamer Platz in the heart of Berlin. The area was totally laid waste during World War II and then left desolate during the Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its former location. Since German reunification, Potsdamer Platz has been the site of major redevelopment projects like this one by architect, Renzo Piano

Weddings at Ballybeg House, Co. Wicklow

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:46:00 +0000

Ballybeg rocks! It’s simply one of my favorite wedding venues anywhere. What’s not to like? A colonial style house with a backdrop of the beautiful Croghan Valley, old stone ivy-covered farmhouse buildings or go inside to beautifully decorated rooms, all this adds up to a wedding photographer’s paradise. Guests arriving receive a warm country welcome from owner Paddy O’Toole’s handpicked team, while Dominique and Teresa never fail to make each wedding unique. So I want to share with you some of the images I shot there over the last year or so.

Wedding in Clara Vale Church and Tinakilly House

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 20:43:00 +0000

Wicklow's Clara Vale has all the elements of the quintessential 'picture postcard'setting: the whitewashed church, the narrow stone hump-backed bridge straddling the fast-flowing Avonmore river. When you're a wedding photographer this is about as good as it gets; so I was chuffed when Roisin and James asked me to photograph their wedding there. Neither one of them is from Wicklow but they wanted to get married in the county. Inside the church was great for photographs; bright with lots of room to move about inconspicuously, letting me capture all of the key moments without being noticed. Outside for 5 minutes of pictures after the ceremony and we were off to the wedding reception in Tinakilly House. The crisp autumn day saw the arriving guests gather around the large welcoming fire. Meanwhile I did a some more pictures with the couple outside taking advantage of the magnificent grounds of the hotel. Captain Robert Halpin, a Wicklow resident, constructed Tinakilly House in the 19th century. As commander of The Great Eastern he laid the telegraph cable connecting Europe to America. Tinakilly went through many incarnations before it was bought in 1982 by Bill Power who developed it as a hotel. Inside, the hotel is great for pictures; full of features from the magnificent sweeping staircase to the array of furnishings assembled with a tasteful eye and a 'zero tolerance' for kitsch.

Location location, location!

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Wonderful locations are to be found in my own Co Wicklow. I shot Anne and Colin with a backdrop of the Wicklow hills near Sugarloaf Mountain after their wedding in Kilquade Church. As Anne is a keen horse rider the setting couldn't have been more appropriate. With a location as good as this it took me just minutes to 'bag' some great images and we were off again to their wedding reception in the Summerhill House Hotel just round the corner.

Merrion Hotel Wedding

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Couples often ask “Can we go somewhere after the Church service to get some pictures?” Usually this means a trip to the likes of Powerscourt Waterfall, Glendalough or other beauty spots nearby. But when Cliona O’Flaherty and Chris Judge got married in the Merrion Hotel they opted to go to the Irish Museum of Natural History across the road in Merrion Street. After the ceremony we were just finishing a ‘walkabout’, grabbing pictures in Merrion Square (a great location, with Dublin’s iconic Georgian doorways as a backdrop), when the couple decided to check out the museum. Minutes later we passed bemused staff and visitors as Chris led us to his favourite exhibit, a huge Gorilla who acted as a backdrop to one or two of their wedding pictures.

I got a really great ‘buzz’ photographing this wedding. Apart from the pair being a joy to work with (OK you think…”you would say that anyway” but in this case I really mean it!), to be chosen by Cliona was a great honour as she herself is one of Ireland’s top Commercial and Advertising photographers with a string of clients to kill for.

We did not know each other before the wedding; she found me by googling photographers. ‘Why did you book me?” I asked her “I just wanted natural wedding pictures” she replied.

Black and White

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 19:28:00 +0100

The first photographs were black and white. Ironically if colour had been possible all those years ago when the medium was ‘born’, pioneer photographers would still have chosen to shoot some subjects in b&w. Why? Well, it’s an abstraction of reality; you could say it makes us visualise our world in a different way. Robbed of the distraction of colours we see the familiar with new eyes. This is why I chose black and white to record the powerful sky I saw over the South Beach in my hometown, Arklow.

'Old' Castlemacadam Church, Avoca, Co Wicklow

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 17:17:00 +0100

About 6 miles from Arklow you’ll find the ruins of 'Old' Castlemacadam Church, Avoca. An imposing sight, even in the overgrown state I found it when I last looked (if it has been ‘tidied up’ since, I apologise). It has a haunting quality; ‘elegant decay’ is the nearest term that springs to mind. I took this picture some years ago on Kodak Infra Red film – this material sees infrared energy rather than the visible light that our eyes see. Notice how the blue sky is rendered black and grass is turned white. I chose this technique to enhance the ‘ghostly’ aura from the place; ironically, I shot it on a bright sunny day; the ‘eerie’ quality is down to the film. The picture has been used many times, including in a programme of a London theatre as well as a couple of photographic magazines.

Billy O'Neill Shoemaker

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:15:00 +0100

When you come to think about it: they are fewer and fewer people today working with their hands. In the past, on most towns’ electoral register you could find plenty of: tailors, blacksmiths, thatches, joiners, dressmakers and the like. Skilled men and women, justifiably proud of their trades and the status it conferred on them. Yet today many of them find they and their skills are unwanted in our ‘knowledge economy’. I have personal experience of this; my father was a watchmaker.

So when I heard that Billy O’Neill, a local shoemaker was closing his shop on Arklow’s Wexford Road I knew it was too good a chance to pass up. So I’d like to share with you some of the pictures I took of Billy in his workshop a week before he colsed up for the final time.

Film or Digital?

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 13:29:00 +0100

“What do you miss most now that you are completely digital and no longer shoot with film?” I’ve been asked this more than once or twice – I suppose every photographer hears that question. I could say digital has some areas that fall short: some of the classic emulsions (that what us photographers called film) like Kodachrome and Fuji Velvia have yet to be equalled by any digital camera sensor for their outstanding tone range and colour reproduction. But for me it was a camera, I miss my Hasselblad SWC. Made in Sweden, it combined the precision of a Swiss watch and the strength hardened steel. The legendary Carl Zeiss optical company designed the lens in the 1950s. Nothing came near for its distortion-free images - lines were always parallel it never failed to deliver brilliant colour reproduction and contrast; oh I could go on and on! For interiors it had no equal, no wonder the camera was in every good architectural photographer’s camera bag. I used my Hasselblad to capture one of my favourite images: Trinity College Dublin’s iconic Old Library building. This magnificent building celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. Work started in May 1712 and it took another 20 years to complete the building. Many famous students of the college like writer Jonathan Swift, philosopher Edmund Burke and artist Mary Delany were amongst the ‘regulars’. More information on this wonderful building see: tcd.ie/library/tercentenary.

Irish Professional Photographers Association's Video

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:55:00 +0100

I have been a member of the IPPA for nearly 20 years. During that time I have learned so much from the many colleagues I met there. The association has over 300 members working in virtually every area of professional photography. The IPPA prides itself on running training programmes for its members; this keeps all of us 'up to speed' not just with the latest technological developments but importantly, gets our creative juices flowing. Each year sees a busy schedule of seminars, talks from leading experts and of course their 'IPPA Photographer of the Year' competition which receives literally thousands of entries. All members must be fully insured and adhere to a code of conduct. Recently the IPPA commissioned a short video for couples choosing a photographer for their wedding. It only lasts a minute or two, hope you like it. TO SEE THE VIDEO JUST CLICK ON THE TITLE 'Irish Professional Photographers Association's Video' ABOVE

Engagement shoot in Wicklow

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:33:00 +0100

Just a few weeks to go before their wedding Maria and Craig travelled to Wicklow where we met up for an engegement shoot. Here are just a couple images from that day.

Heather and Colin

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:33:00 +0100

Dodging the showers was all part of Heather Kinch and Colin Darby's wedding in St Saviour's Church, Arklow. Happily the weather improved later that afternoon allowing us to stop off at Ballymoney Beach for 10 minutes of pictures before going on to the reception at the nearby Seafield Hotel.

A nice review

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:02:00 +0100

I just couldn't wait to share this review with you that a couple posted online:

'Robert is a genius with photography!!!!!!!! Whenever my husband and I look at our wedding photos, a smile comes on my face as Robert has captured the very essence of the wedding, every single photo is a treasured memory. Living away from home, those photos are so precious to me. I am currently living in New Zealand and I contacted alot of Irish photographers be my wedding photographer, Robert is the only one with a personal touch as he contacted me and my husband by Skype. His professionalism is outstanding as he was constantly in touch with me about all my enquiries. On the wedding day, my family and friends loved him and his assistant Mark as they joked and laughed so the guests felt quite at ease to be photographed. He even went as far as contacting printing companies in New Zealand by phone for us so that we got the best prints. Robert is a truly superb and amazing photographer and we can never thank him or his assistant enough. Having him as our photographer was the best decision that we made for our wedding day. Love him and his work!!!!!

Mary and Leon'

Arklow wedding

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:58:00 +0100

Most of the weddings I cover seem to be in Co Dublin. But in the case Mary Anne Kenny and John Carrigan I was on my ‘home turf’ as they married in Arklow. No one could accuse the couple of being superstitious as they chose Fri 13th to tie the knot. These are just a handful from the hundreds of shots I got during the day. I finished off with some memorable candid images caught during the speeches that evening in the Riverside Park Hotel Enniscorthy.

Two of my recent book covers.

Fri, 20 May 2011 19:07:00 +0100

Just thought I’d share with you a couple of the book covers I have done recently. The first was the famous mural on the Flatiron Building, Mural Trompe l’Oeil, in Toronto. I was thrilled when my shot made the cover of one of the highly respected Ulysses Guides. Toronto proved such a great source of images for the stock libraries that I supply. The other cover is a picture of the soaring rocket sculpture on top of the museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow. This was built as a tribute to the Soviet cosmonauts and scientists who put the Sputnik into space in the 1950s. An impressive structure I noticed it from my bedroom window when Liz and I were staying in Hotel Cosmos just across the road. The publishers chose it for the cover of Karl Schlogel's "Moscow", a fascinating book that charts the fall of a world empire and the rebirth of a globally connected Russia. It shows how Moscow has been transformed from a monochrome capital city to a new Babylon iridescent with neon lights. An engaging portrait of this international metropolis in transformation! This was another sale through a stock agency. Oh if I could only do this sort of work and nothing else!

Winning Gold and Silver at the Irish Professional Photographers Association's awards.

Fri, 20 May 2011 18:38:00 +0100

"That's a nice picture" I'm sure every photographer on earth has heard this hundreds of times. However praise and recognition from one's peers is something that we all strive for and truly value. So I couldn't hide my delight when I scooped 4 Gold and 2 Silver awards at the IPPA's first quarterly judging of the year. I was successful in both the Architectural and Landscape categories. Pictures from this and the following three judgings will go forward to the annual IPPA 'Photographer of the Year' final to be held in early 2012. I have included one of the Gold award winners from the judging: a picture of the iconic beach huts at Brighton.

Michelle and Enda - Holy Cross Church, Killesin and Ballykealy Manor Hotel

Fri, 20 May 2011 18:25:00 +0100

A country wedding on a summer’s day – that’s exactly what Michelle and Enda had last August. Guests gathered at Holy Cross Church, outside Carlow town for the couple’s marriage in this historic church. The weather obliged and after the ceremony we walked 200 yards across the road to the Abbey ruins for a 10-minute photo session. Following this we headed for Ballykealy Manor Hotel. What a great backdrop for pictures! I'd been there twice before and on both occasions it poured out of the heavens. So, this was the first opportunity to go outside for pictures. From a photographer’s point of view it’s a dream location! Hard to go wrong here as the front and the back of the building are equally great for pictures. The rear however, just by the fountain, is my favourite. I'm certainly looking forward to shooting at Ballykealy again soon.

What do you see when you look at a picture?

Wed, 18 May 2011 16:37:00 +0100

Ask half a dozen people what they see when they look at a picture and...guess what...you'll get half a dozen different answers. I took this picture in Sally Gap, a couple of miles from Glendalough, Co Wicklow. What I see when I look at the image is the sense of 'openness' there is about the place; a lot of the year it's deserted apart from a few tourists and sheep. Yet another person looking at the picture might be reminded of rural depopulation or even see it as a metaphor for our love affair with bricks 'n mortar that famously ended in tears. I plan to make many more trips to the Wicklow Mountains that surely has to be rich pickings for the landscape photographer.

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys!

Wed, 18 May 2011 16:28:00 +0100

I'll put my hand up straight away: I'm a sucker for gadgets. The newer and shinier the better. Smart phones bulging with apps (actually I even know someone who has a metal detector app on his), Apple TV, iPod Touch and of course an iPhone are all part of my 'male jewellery box'; sad or what? This summer when the iPad launch was imminent I lied to myself saying 'nice but I don't need one of these' but yes, you guessed it, I'm typing this on one. What made me inflate Apple's multi-billon profit yet again? Well it's the screen actually, I have never seen a device on which pictures look so good, not only is it great for tiny details but it displays such lovely silvery black and white - while in colour the skin tones are so real, I could go on and on. So it looks like I might offer a 'package' of wedding images on a 16GB iPad along with or even instead of the beautiful, hand-made Jorgensen wedding albums so beloved by my clients. Prospect wedding clients who saw my portfolio on it in the form of a slide show really loved it and of course it saves me lugging loads of albums to meetings, now I only take two and the 'pad'!

Louisa and Lee

Wed, 18 May 2011 16:08:00 +0100

Despite 'bowing out' with a big freeze, I'll always remember 2010 for its beautiful summer! Louisa and Lee’s wedding was one of glorious days that made the year memorable. After their ceremony in Sutton Church we all headed for the beach behind Lee’s parents house. Situated a mile away on the coast at Portmarnock, we spent 15 minutes resulting in a great set of fun pictures. Next it was back to Louisa’s folk's house in Howth for the reception. The good weather was a great help in getting lots of natural pictures of the couple mingling with their guests.

blog

Wed, 18 May 2011 13:17:00 +0100