Monday 15 November 2010

Halloween @ Laserforce NI

I was invited along to LFNI to cover their Halloween event and it was a good laugh, calamities aside.

A couple of guys had some great outfits which was good to see as I was judging the fancy dress competition. It was a good night and I did some great networking.

Here are a few of the images...








Pro Show video to follow soon!

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Licentiate

So, I have finally gotten round to getting in my application and images and finally by big certificate and extras came through the post.

I am a happy bunny :)

Mike

Friday 15 October 2010

Belfast Fashion Week Opener


I applied for a Photo Pass for Belfast Fashion Week, to my surprise, I got one. I went to collect it from Victoria Square Underground Car Park, where, that night the opening show would be.

Upon arrival I noticed there were around 20 photographers waiting to get their pre-press shots. I couldn't be bothered with the scrum of it, so just watched amused. One lady photographer had her 9 month old son in a baby sling... Committed!

I went back that evening and took a lot of images. Here are the results... {Watch the video file}





Wednesday 15 September 2010

Laserforce NI

Recently I've been looking at ways to provide imaging services to local businesses. I approached a local laser combat company with a view to providing them with new imagery for advertising etc.
The initial talks went well and last week I finally had some spare time (which is not a
bundant for me these days) to make a start. I browsed the internet for sources of this kin
d of imagery and found that there is very little and what there is
amateurish and somewhat cheesy.

I began with photographing some simple interiors, however I soon realised that any flash
would certainly ruin the ambience of the place. Many rooms
/areas were covered with neon or reflective paint and would look quite harsh. In the end I opted for the use of gels to add to whatwas already there.






I went back in the evening to photograph the front of the building, lit up at night the place
looks great. I was then offered the opportunity of photographing a few games in process.

The combat arena itself is quite difficult to photograph in. It is very dark with minimal li
ghting, most of which is UV/black lighting for the neon and reflective strips. My initial plan was to rig flashes in the arena which would hopefully be fired by the SU800 however this failed to fire so I switched to the Pocket Wizards. This fired off one of the flashes. With more time I may have perfected the setup however th
e game was about to begin.


To start with I tried to get in on the action with the hope that the flash with blue gel would provide the extra ambient to my action images. I failed to get a single shot, it was just too dark. I needed a 'Plan B'.

So, with the guys on a debrief, I had about 5 minutes to rig a new setup.
This time I looked for 'action areas' for me to have a good ambush point. A few test shots and I was good
to go by the next game. Even so it was still quite difficult and I adjusted the positioning of the flash a few times to try and get a shot. As with all action you may take many shots just to get the one!

In the end my patience was rewarded with this image.

The job isn't finished though, I plan to practice some more with the flashes to obtain the killer Laser Combat Shot!

Thursday 29 July 2010

INCOMING: Hog N' Bog 2010


A side project Ive been gearing up for lately is just around the corner. I am looking forward to this one so watch this space.