If a blogger doesn't do a year-end wrap up of their favorite posts from the past year, did that year even happen??? All joking aside I actually did intend to do some wrap-ups but I got sidetracked by the holidays and head colds and posts fell by the wayside. Thomas in an effort to help me stay off the computer decided to contribute to the blog by penning his first-ever (and possibly last? he's very hard to convince to blog!) blog post featuring a few of his favorite shots taken in 2017. Now, without further ado here are Thomas's Top Ten from the past year and his reason for picking them.
10. Nearly a full year old, I can remember this one quite clearly still. Vivid colours and a charming wardrobe made for a great moment at a wee train station. I don’t know much at all about fashion photography or even the magazines associated but at some point you see the odd cover lying about and the odd title which can give some bearing, I kind of feel like this has a classic vintage feel that wouldn’t look out of place in one.
9. A night at The Strand cinema and what a cool place it is, if only it was a little closer to us, I’d be heading there all the time. Personally my favourite overall shoot of 2017 quite simply because the location was fun, new and quirky and easy to tell a visual story with Rebecca’s styling being just right. When you have all these factors firing at once it can be a goldmine. This picture in particular summed up our day well.
8. Full immersion in a scene. That is what we often try to create. This Spring was one of the best I’ve seen. Blossom was appearing in places I never knew could blossom. We often shoot a lot in a nearby park so we keep a close eye on the calendar to help us figure out where we should be looking for the next treasure.
7. I absolutely love shooting indoor when working with rustic wooden surfaces and falling natural window light creating endless shadows and dark corners. It feels so cinematic and atmospheric. You can end up with a shot that in its natural state is quite beautiful.
6. This picture comes from Drum Manor, a particular area of colourful tall weeds you wouldn’t even normally acknowledge as a passer-by and a classic example of a diamond in the rough location. In a lot of our shots we like to have the foreground playing a pivotal part, giving that much needed depth. Composition has always been my favourite part of taking pictures, searching for that balance in the foreground, subject and background.
5. Some of my favourite poses of Rebecca is when she acts more natural in a scene, maybe a bit silly and possibly forgets herself a little. This is a good example of that, huddled down in a thick bed of pretty weeds, she still manages to have some fun with it. This location was one we had driven by for quite some time with an intriguing spread of pink dancing over the hedgerow. I’m glad we shot it when we did because a couple of weeks later it was turned to soil. Always a good lesson to learn, when nature explodes, don’t wait too long.
4. Ireland in general has many beautiful quiet sandy beaches. The wide angle lens helps grasp a sense of openness and captures that moment the sea reveals itself. One of the many things I enjoy is searching for secluded beaches across the west coast, the trek through dunes and grasslands creates a great sense of anticipation to what comes next.
3. When the bluebells show their heads for the first time, it reminds me of the old oil paintings I used to stare at as a boy in the old farm house I grew up in. Scenes of quiet in the wild, the moments when we sense a harmony with nature. Rebecca’s gaze afar always makes me wonder what catches her eye.
2. A small fire in the hollow, a gust of wind to lift her hair, and two giants by her side. This was at the very end of a shoot, a surprise shot really. The symmetry of the two trees created a portal like feel, one such doorway we are continually looking for in our pictures.
1.This local crab apple tree was a photographer’s dream. Never have I seen such an explosion of a crop before. The sheer quantity of apples on such tiny branches is quite unusual and really is a treat to the eye. We stumbled across it one evening whilst we were on a walk nestled amongst a sea of the famous bramley apple, only this time we had a new star.
CONVERSATION