Moving...

I've decided to move everything to my other blog, the one hosted at griffpics.com instead (which has been mirroring this one anyway).

So head on over there now!! :)

Space Station

I've never really tried to shoot something like this before, not even star trails. But the news that the penultimate launch of the Space Shuttle would send it over our skies as it chased the International Space Station got me thinking. Apparently both the Shuttle Endeavour and it's jettisoned fuel tank would be visible from Dublin as they passed overhead.

So to figure out how I was going to set it up I had a go at shooting the Space Station on one of its passes:



The long white-ish streak in the middle of the shot is the ISS, which travelled in an East-West direction. Just below it, the bright blob is the planet Saturn, a prominent sight in our night sky at the moment.

The setup was pretty simple - I put the camera on a tripod and used the cable release to trigger a number of test shots, but found that a 30 second exposure at f/8 and ISO 100 was best. Using information from the website Heavens Above I knew when the ISS would make it's appearance. In real time it looks like a very bright start or a fast moving aeroplane. the sky chart on Heavens Above indicated that the pass would make the ISS appear quite close to Saturn, so I composed and timed to capture it in this way.

I'm happy with the result - admittedly my home is not in a dark area so I'd give this another go in a more rural setting without street lights.

As for STS-134, sadly the launch was cancelled! It seems unlikely that I'll see it now, the next launch date is on Monday May 2nd, but earlier in they day when it will still be bright here...

Organ Donor

A couple of months ago Trixie Vixen joined me for a shoot we'd been talking about for a little while:



The tattoo reveals something that Trixie feels strongly about and she wanted to record it.

Blue

I hadn't shot with Ms. Blue Ruin for a while so it was nice to catch up and work on something new:



Previously we'd done some vintage/pinup style shoots but this time it was decided that we'd go for a slightly different look. Still with a vintage theme but a slight departure with a suitably urban location (Windmill lane, again).

Sorcha

Time to catch up on recent work, so I'll start here...



This was my first shoot with Sorcha, aka BlackSwanPersona. We arranged a shoot using the walls of Windmill Lane as a backdrop. The graffiti is colourful and ever changing (as I discovered a week later!).

MarieViktoria Makeup did the honours once again, in spectacular fashion! More to come from that lady :)

Belfast

A few bits from a recent trip to Belfast:







I've a few more that I might stick up some time. I also took some shots of the political murals that are found on the Falls & Shankill roads but to be honest, they've been done to death and I can't be arsed posting them.

Would you mind not using the flash...?

"Would you mind not using the flash...?" words that could invoke blind panic in a photographer, especially me. You see, ever since I started taking photos of people a couple of years back I've almost always relied on some kind of flash to light the scene or the model. Whether it's a studio or location shoot I've gotten used to having some kind of flash to help me.

So when Emily Aoibheann uttered those very words I did have a momentary weakness as I realised I was going to have to think differently.

The location was a small dark dressing room in Dublin venueThe good Bits where Emily had just finished a sting modelling as 'Tank Girl' for Dr. Sketchy's Dublin. So the only light I had was a table lamp off to the right of the camera. Luckily I had a 50mm f/1.8 lens on the camera!



I love this shot, it's one of my favourite portraits that I've shot so far. Its very simple, a natural, easy shot with a beautiful model. This 'no flash' thing? Well maybe it's not a bad idea after all!