Bubblegum

I've not been shooting at all so far this year, well not much anyway. So here's another shot from the recent session with Melissa & Marie:



I wanted to get a shot wiht no makep, just to see how it would work. And I was pleased with the result (in fairness Melissa has very clear skin and is naturally beautiful).

I added a little bit of cross processing, but only minimal retouching.

First of the new year...

I had my first shoot of 2011 at the weekend. This was organised by makeup artist Marie Murphy with help from Sherisan Wharmby and model Bubblegum Harley.



A fairly simple setup in terms of light (a single 580ex into a reflector brolly to the right of the camera). The makeup is impressive, the concept being Marie's idea. It was good to be part of it :)

Bowie

Bowie
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Bowie is not my dog, but I just loved the colours in this shot from last summer...

Apple

Back in 2009 I picked up a cheap 'mini studio' from a store in Dublin. It folds out into a space about 18 inches high & wide, and has white translucent sides with a small backdrop which is blue on one side and grey on the other. So it's useful for shooting small inanimate objects:



In this example I had one flash outside of the box to the right, with another left of the camera but pointing at the apple itself. The lens was not quite wide open, at f/2.8, although I think f/8 may be better as it would allow greater depth of field and in theory greater sharpness on the apple itself.

This is all part of a 2011 plan to use many of the things I have (props, accessories, even magazine articles & examples) to the fullest in my photography!

Bray

So time to start shooting 2011. For the last day of the holidays (bank holiday monday) I took a trip to the seaside. It's not that far really! ;)

And the cold snap continues...

For the first time in my life I have experienced a 'White Christmas'. Sub-zero temperatures, heavy snowfalls and icy conditions persisting over the holiday period. It's so bad that I couldn't get my car out from where I live and had to get home to my parent's house by public transport.

Apparently a that is coming later today. Anyway here are a few shots...



An icicle hanging from the garden shed.



Snow down to the high water mark on Portmarnock beach.



Ice formations on the beach. I've never seen this before!

Boat

A fishing boat in dry dock at Howth harbour in Dublin. I used a 2-stop ND grad filter over the top part of the image (and a circular polariser). Dec 12 2010.