My New Website
I am thrilled to announce my new photography website is finally up and running after many months of hard work.
I don’t like to do things by half so whilst getting ready for my first really big exhibition I also decided to teach myself how to build a website in my spare time. It has been great fun learning how to do things like this, it’s very much more challenging than a blog but it’s close to being finished now.
If you have some free time I would love you all to have a look and maybe let me know here on the blog what you think of it. I am very much open to constructive criticism, or any type of criticism, it doesn’t really matter.
Anyway the site can be viewed at www.davekphotography.com.
Thanks
Dave
Phoenix Park Exhibition
I am so delighted to say that two of my photographs have been selected in the “Phoenix Park Photographic Exhibition”. The competition was open to any amateur photographer so to say that I am over the moon is an understatement. The Exhibition runs from 8th of August to the 31st of August. All the winning photos are now part of a truly wonderful exhibition in the gallery at the Visitor Centre. There are about 40 different photos covering all genres of photography. It really is well worth a visit.
Here’s one of the photos that features in the exhibition.
Directions and opening times can be found by clicking this link
Infra Red Tree On A Frosty Morning.
I have to admit it’s photos like this one here that really got me totally hooked on the joys [and pains] of infra-red photography. I will warn you in advance for every one of these you will probably get another ten that don’t actually come out that well, such is the hit and miss nature of infra-red. Half the time the camera will have focused on something way off in the distance and the main interest in your photo will just be a hazy blur, you simply have to trust the auto focus on the camera as you can’t actually see anything through the lens once you place the infra-red filter on it.
I am about to start experimenting with infra-red film again soon, I have just bought a batch of it and I’m going to head out once I get a nice sunny day and my medium format camera fixed.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
A Frosty Morning In The Phoenix Park.
What is it about lonely single trees that attracts me to them so much, if I knew the answer to that believe me I would gladly tell you. There is definitely something very photogenic about these odd solo characters but there is more to it than that. I have found myself on occasion in the park just sitting and watching these trees, I know that sounds a bit odd as they don’t really do any fancy tricks or talk to me but I must confess I find something truly satisfying about just watching a beautiful tree.
I love the contrast between winter and summer months too, from lush green foliage to something sparse and barren. I’m sure if I visited the tree above during the summer months I would end up with a completely different photograph, and to be honest, something with a completely different feel too.
This shot was taken on a very cold winters morning, the tree itself seemed to be hanging on to the last of its leaves. The grass was almost frozen and the sun was desperately trying to shed some light on the situation through some very heavy cloud and early morning mist.
I kind of think if you closed your eyes and actually touched this photo it would be cold on your hand.
You can now purchase prints or postcards of this photo by clicking this link.
Tom Waits’ Big Top Tent
Ok, so the story behind this photo goes like this……….
Here I was wandering around my favourite place in Dublin and I stumble upon this very large big top style tent well hidden in the trees. The tent was just at the side of the visitor centre in the Phoenix Park and on the day I was wandering around there was lots of activity with trucks, forklifts and burly security men. At first I thought it must be some kind of kooky circus setting up in the park but I thought the fencing and security was a bit too tight for it to be just a circus, I also kind of wondered why it would be so well hidden in the trees.
Anyway I proceeded to set up my camera and started snapping some very long exposure infra-red shots of the tent as it was being assembled. On several occasions I noticed security men, all dressed in black, passing me by in a very casual just having a wander in the park style. One or two of them would stop and have a quick chat, it was pretty obvious they wanted to know exactly what I was up to. I’m happily clicking away thinking the lads are just a little bit too concerned about what I’m doing so I finished shooting and decided to hightail it away out of the area, just in case.
On the way out of the park I bumped into a friend of mine and he asked me if I was going to see the much advertised Tom Waits show in the big top tent………………….DOH !
You can now purchase prints or postcards of this photo on my Redbubble page here
I’m Back At Last
This particular broken down tree has already appeared in this post but I also really like the way it looks from this angle. It’s amazing sometimes the way two different angles of exactly the same thing can look so contrasting.
It’s been a while since I have been able to pay any attention to my blog, six weeks to be exact, due to a small fracture in my collarbone.
Along with not being able to type very well one other concession I had to make was giving up photography for the same period. I must say it’s kind of strange not being able to use my camera for such a long time. I don’t think I have ever gone this long without even taking the odd snap shot. Since I became obsessed with photography twenty years ago I very rarely go anywhere without a camera, there are times when I can’t even go to the supermarket without bringing at least a little compact camera in my pocket, you just never know what you might see on the way.
I am so obsessed with having a camera at all times that I have now noticed my [almost] three year old son now goes to the park and make clicking noises whilst holding his hands up to his eyes, he regularly tells me to stand still and then uses his imaginary camera to take a snapshot of me. I have also noticed, much to my delight I should add, that he also makes sure to wind on the film after every shot, now there’s a traditional photographer in the making.
Anyway, it’s great to be back again and I hope to have some lovely new shots in the next week or two. Firstly I have to find out where the young fella has hidden all my cameras though.
It Looks Windy
This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago in an area just off the main road through the Phoenix Park. If you are travelling up through the park from the main gates towards the Castleknock gates you simply look to your left just before you come to the big roundabout, the one with the large phoenix statue in the middle. There is a tiny pond in the centre of this cluster of trees, known locally as “The Dog Pond”. I wish I knew where it got its name from but I must admit I don’t know everything about this park, I like to let on that I do but in reality there is plenty still for me to learn about this vast expanse.
My little 2 ½ year old boy looked at this photo yesterday as I was preparing to get it ready for posting and immediately turned to me and said “Look Dad, it’s very windy” and in fairness to him I can see exactly what he means by that. Truth be told it was nowhere near being a windy day. It was just very slightly breezy but I think both the long exposure and the infra-red effect give the impression of movement in the trees on the left hand side of the photo.
The tree right in the centre of the photo has recently become one of my favourites in the park, I must admit I’m quite fickle when it comes to favourite trees and my opinion can change from week to week, it’s kind of similar to picking your favourite records of all time, this week it’s “Heavy Rocks” by Boris but next week that all could change.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
Reach For The Sky In The Phoenix Park
Another one for my “Tall trees that look like characters from Lord Of The Rings” series for you today. I find something very majestic looking about this particular cluster of trees, they seem so much more powerful than those in the background. It seems to me that some trees are perfectly happy to stretch up a certain distance and then spend the rest of their lives spreading outwards, that’s not a way of life for this particular bunch though. There seems to be some kind of fierce competition going on to find out which one can reach the highest first, I often wonder is the air more clear up there. There is a beautiful sparse look to the lower parts of the trees, barely a branch to be seen until you reach about half way up.
On a completely separate note I must say I am feeling very bad about the fact that it has been almost a month now since I have visited the park with my camera. I have been several times for family visits but as far as long strolls in the park with my trusty old Canon friend, well it’s just been too long. I should explain I was away in County Mayo for two weeks, in a most beautiful place called Carrowmore Lake. I will post some of my photos from the Mayo trip on my Flick page as soon as I get them all processed.
The Phoenix Park Polo Grounds.
Two photos today for you, simply because I just can’t decide which one I like the most. They are pretty much the same photograph, just taken from slightly different angles. It’s a fine example of what can happen to a photograph when you simply turn the camera around, I know a lot of landscape photographers would very rarely turn the camera sideways but I must admit there are times then it just works so well.
I love the way the fence in both of these shots tends to draw your eye up through the photo towards a point when it meets up with the little wooden fence in the long grass.
This photo was taken by the side of the polo grounds, the little black fencing in the grass is actually the outer boundary of the polo pitch. I can’t claim to understand any of the rules of polo but trust me it’s a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon, just lay down in the grass and enjoy the spectacle of what I like to call hurling on horses.
Both of these shots were taken using my trusty old infra-red filter, hence why the grass on the pitch looks a bit like snow.
The Phoenix Park’s Little Imperfections
I must admit I really like the desolate almost cold like feeling about this particular photograph. The photo was taken on a rather cold spring morning a few years ago, there was some beautiful early morning sunshine but the ground was still frosty underfoot and there was a general damp feeling about the air.
The photo displays the fact that whilst this park in probably one of the most beautiful in the world it still has its imperfections in places, the fence seems to be under the control of the trees as their roots have bent it out of shape over the course of many many years.
The photo was taken in an area between the visitor centre and the presidents house, two of the best kept regions in the park so it’s nice to suddenly turn a corner and stumble upon this scene.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
Relaxing In The Phoenix Park
These lads really do have the best life in the world. An entire park pretty much all to themselves, apart from people like me annoying them with zoom lenses and inept methods of creeping up on them in the long grass. I have had days in the past when I arrive home with wet knees from crawling slowly through the long grass just to get close enough to get a good shot. After many years of employing this method I decided to experiment with a new one, this involved walking slowly straight up to them. To be fair to the deer if you don’t go running up to them they are pretty relaxed about human beings getting close, I really didn’t need to worry about the camouflage and making sure not to look them straight in the eye. I think their theory is, if you don’t bother me I won’t bother you. The deer are so used to human contact at this stage they just seem to take it in their stride, or continue to sleep in this instance.
A Successful Mistake
Sometimes mistakes turn into my favourite photographs. This photo was not necessarily a bad mistake as such, I wasn’t to know what was going wrong somewhere deep within the lens or camera, but if you look very closely at the very centre of the photograph you will see a strange symmetrical shape slightly brighter than it’s surroundings. This is caused by reflected light within the lens, usually when you shoot directly into the sun. I am not sure if this happened within the lens itself or something very unusual happened between the sun and my infra-red filter. Anyway, I am not going to bore you with details of reflected light and the effects of shooting directly into the sun, the majority of times this happens to me I tend to immediately reject the photo. For some reason I kept going back to this one and started thinking about the rights and wrongs of the perfect photograph, by this I mean all those sticky rules of photography that so many people seem to feel the need to abide by.
Trust me, if I entered this photograph into any competition it would fail immediately because of that flare of light in the middle, but I’m beginning to grow very fond of it. It’s strange though, if I tried to replicate that effect exactly the same way it would be virtually impossible.
I’m now thinking of setting up my own photography awards and guess what………………..the winner is…………..ME.
Please feel free to leave your comments, they really are greatly appreciated.
The Phoenix Park Whitehouse
This here is a shot I took of the American Ambassadors residence in the Phoenix Park a few years ago, I always have the fear when I point zoom lenses at buildings like these in the park, someday I am expecting a gentle tap on the shoulder and then none of my friends or relations will ever see me again. All they will ever find of me is an empty camera with all the images erased, hopefully they will at least get the camera back, it’s worth a lot of money [more than I am].
It’s a rather striking building, maybe slightly out of place in the park compared to some of the other architecture but in fairness it’s kept well hidden. If you don’t know how to actually find it then you probably have never actually seen beyond the big gates.
It’s fair to say the sky gave me a giant helping hand with the photo, what is it about beautiful sunny days here in Ireland, there always seems to be these massive threatening clouds just hovering in the background.
Something’s Lurking In The Phoenix Park
In my ongoing series of imaginary personas given to items found in the park, here comes a scene that reminds me of some long lost B-movie monster film. You can imagine the scenario where some maniac out of control lawnmower device is wreaking havoc on all the residents in the park. The deer are too scared to come out of the trees, the trees themselves are using the long grass to desperately try to hide behind [rather badly it must be added]. Sadly for the long grass, it is the last line of defence and looks like it is going to be the next victim of this rusty old killer machine. The machine seems to be lying low in an attempt to surprise its prey, not something that’s very easily achieved when you are that big and cumbersome.
The day I found this lawnmower it immediately struck me as a rather sinister looking device, ok I know its only a simple lawnmower but there is also something very evil and death-like about it.
The Papal Cross in The Phoenix Park
Here’s another one from what I like to call my dark period, it’s extended from around the time I first started taking photographs to the present day, I suppose it would be fair to say I kinda like the darker side of black and white photography. Some day I will surprise you all with a lovely colourful shot of a butterfly or a baby deer frolicking around in a bed of daisies, until then you will have to make do with these.
I love the pure drama in this shot, I could possibly even say its full of movement. The clouds look like they are almost ready to fall down from the sky and capture everything in their path. Perhaps they are the clouds of the atheist gods [can there be such a thing] trying to knock down the Papal cross. You can just imagine them slowly ganging up in the background, I can’t say they are doing it discreetly, but maybe they think they can’t actually be seen. I’ve got some bad news for you lads, I can see you !
This is probably one of the most sinister skylines I have the pleasure to photograph and before you ask…….it’s completely real, no Photoshop tricks have been used in any way. You should know at this stage that I refuse to use Photoshop to alter my photographs, what you see is exactly what I saw.
If you look really closely around the base of the cross there are lots of tiny dots, some would call them human beings but to me, they are just dots. They are humans though.
The cross is still standing by the way, the clouds obviously didn’t launch their attack.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
Lonely Tree In The Phoenix Park
I find it amazing sometimes what you can achieve with a camera on a beautiful bright summers day.
I placed the low morning sun directly behind this tree to see if I could create some kind of weird night-time effect to the photograph. This is one of those occasions when experimenting with a camera makes photography such fun, yes I agree it can all go horribly wrong but really you have nothing to lose by trying something new.
I really had no idea how this one would turn out until I loaded the photos on the computer later on that day. This one really caught my attention for some reason.
There is a really desolate almost apocalyptic feel to the photo. It looks like the main tree in the picture is the only one left standing from his group whilst all the other more healthy looking trees have taken a step backwards in order to get away from him. The lone tree seems to be leaning towards the others in an act of aggressive defiance, as all the others huddle up together in the hope of repelling their attacker, safety in numbers kind of situation.
I wonder if I had never read Lord Of The Rings would I have these images of trees battling one another in my head, who knows.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
The Dog Pond in The Phoenix Park
Ok, todays post is my first attempt in ages to replicate the fine art form that is medium format photography. I have always loved the perfectly square shape of medium format, sometimes though it just doesn’t suit landscape photography. Having said that, it does lend itself to photographing tall trees, if you get the right ones then there is nothing more pleasing than a good square photograph.
The two trees on the left of the photo look like they are leaning over but in fact they are just blowing slightly in the wind, it was taken on a particularly blustery day in April [yes this is Ireland, we get blustery days in April].
The trees actually form a natural surround for a small pond that is known locally as The Dog Pond, still wonder why, is it owned by a pack of wild gangster dogs. You can almost imagine them going out at night to do battle with all the wild deer. Somebody could make a great film out of this, imagine a Warriors style film where the dogs have to make their way home through the park without getting attacked by the other wild creatures. I would love to see the battle between the dogs and those extremely cheeky squirrels, you might think the dogs would have to win because they are bigger but think again. The squirrels could take to the trees and bombast the dogs with all manner of flying objects, you see, it wouldn’t be that easy for the dogs now. What if the squirrels got all the local birds on board too, those poor dogs wouldn’t stand a chance.
Where am I going with this…………………… I don’t actually know.
Goodbye and have a good weekend !
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
Phoenix Park Does Exotic
Another recent photograph for you today.
This was taken on May 2nd, just a week ago to be exact on a truly beautiful day here in Dublin. The sunshine was truly amazing, strong but still slightly hazy, great for detailed close up shots but really bad for those wide angle landscapes. Whatever way the light was catching these trees just drew me towards them no matter how hard I tried to avoid it. I have taken pictures of this bunch of trees on several occasions from many different angles so I really tried to move on and see what else I could find. Every time I looked over my shoulder the light just got better and better, so you can guess the rest. Well I suppose I don’t have to finish telling you, otherwise how could I have taken the photo.
By the time I succumbed to the trees in question it was almost midday and the light appeared to be slowly overhead and was actually not quite so dramatic as before. I was almost disappointed until I walked all the way around and discovered that the trees almost seemed to be in totally darkness as there was no more sunlight able to reach down through the foliage. I love the darkness in the tree trunks, if you look further passed them its pretty obvious how sunny the day was from the brightness of the smaller trees in the distance.
There is something very exotic about the trees themselves, they seem to be from a distant land and not something we would be used to seeing in Ireland. I love the way we always use the word exotic for objects that we wouldn’t normally see here in Ireland, I wonder what word people from so-called exotic countries would use instead of exotic to describe something that is maybe a little bit out of the ordinary.
Anyway, you know exactly what I mean when I use the word exotic.
It’s almost hard to believe that this scene came from the likes of the Phoenix Park, I have to keep reminding myself that I am pretty much in the middle of a city centre, not quite in the heart of it but a good swing of a golf club would send a ball into the River Liffey.
Enjoy the photo.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
A Drunken Tree in The Phoenix Park
This here is one of my most recent photos, taken only a few days ago, on the 2nd of May to be totally exact.
A beautiful sunny day in the Phoenix Park, pity I forgot it was a bank holiday though, far too many people walking in front of the camera just as I was about to hit the shutter button. It’s amazing the amount of attention you draw to yourself with a camera set up on a tripod, I think most people assume you are either
- A professional photography
- Somebody important.
As you may or may not know already, I am neither.
I love the completely random questions you get from complete strangers but my favourite reaction from people has to be their attempt to figure out what on earth you are trying to photograph. I always get lots of people standing close by and trying to look off into the general area you are pointing the camera at. Sometimes I overhear conversations usually featuring this phrase –“I don’t know either love, just looks like a load of trees to me too”
I think my all time favourite [and most common] question has to be – “So you’re a photographer” or “You’re into the photography then are you”, it must be said these questions most commonly come from old men, that will most likely be me someday.
Anyway, on to the actual photograph.
On first glance I thought I should really get a few shots of this fallen tree before the park wardens removed it. Once I got a little bit closer I realised it was actually still alive and seemed to be growing in this formation. I think it may have blown over at some point in its life but managed to stay alive somehow, it’s definitely still alive as there is plenty of new growth on it. It’s amazing how robust trees actually are, at least half of the trunk has been severed but it’s decided to carry on regardless.
So, basically if you are one of those old men in the park then yes, I am actually into photography [and not in the “Say no more, nudge nudge” Monthy Python kind of way].
Enjoy the first of many shots to appear from this beautiful day.
You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
Candy Floss Trees In The Phoenix Park
This particular shot was taken back in 2007, August 21st to be totally exact. It’s amazing what you can find out about photos when you discover how to read all the hidden data in the files. I wonder did Ansel Adams [one of my all time favourite photographers of all time] ever think that the day would come when you didn’t need to carry around a notebook to record all the data about individual photographs. I remember back in the day when I still used film and I had to basically carry around a notebook to detail the settings on pretty much every single photograph I had taken. The reason behind that was simple, if you shoot ten rolls of film and end up with just one beauty then you really want to remember what settings you had on the camera so you could possible replicate that scenario. I still think the rules are pretty much the same except now digital cameras do all the dirty donkey work for me.
Back to the subject of Ansel Adams again, if I may rewind quite a bit.
I was in town today and to be honest I must admit every time I see one of his books I tend to be drawn towards it. At this stage I think must have every photograph he has published in one of my many books but I was attracted to a book featuring a collection of his colour photography. This man is one of the greatest black and white photographers of all time so I almost felt obliged to complain to the shop owners and ask them to remove the book from their shelves, I don’t disagree with colour photography, I simply don’t like it myself.
I have often thought how cool it would be if I could go and have an operation to stop my eyes actually seeing in colour anymore, imagine the world in black and white all the time, next thing I would be saving up for the infra-red operation.
An Explosion Of Trees.
Another blast from the past for you today.
This shot was taken in May 2008, again using my brand new toy, a Hoya infra-red filter.
I think this one works particularly well due to the one lonely white tree right in the centre of the shot. To be honest it didn’t look that much different to the rest of the trees with the naked eye but the infra-red filter really brought out the contrast between the two different type of trees.
The trees actually look like they are blowing in the wind, they all look like they are leaning from left to right but to be truthful it was a beautifully calm summers day and there wasn’t a breeze to be found.
I love the way the trees seem to be all clustered together, safety in numbers maybe.
There is a lovely soft almost cloud like feeling about the photograph.
After showing this photograph to a friend of mine recently they have commented that it almost looks like some kind of strange explosion of trees coming out of the ground. I never really noticed that before but if you step back a bit it does look like they are exploding out of the ground, like some kind of nuclear mushroom, except they are made from trees and thankfully completely harmless.
Tudor House From May 2008
This photo comes from back in May 2008 during an early excursion with my brand new toy, a lovely Hoya infra-red filter. It would be fair to say I spent the day taking long exposure shots with the filter and most of the photos really didn’t warrant being captured by a camera. It’s just one of those things when you get a new toy for your camera you just need to get out and play with it.
I have taken some regular shots on film of this derelict house over the years so I pretty much knew that it would look awesome in infra-red. I waited and waited for months so that the trees would come back into bloom just to add that extra dream-like fuzziness to the photograph. The house itself was just screaming out to be photographed in black and white, let’s be honest here, it’s the only two colours in the house.
There is something very ghostlike about the house, I have this lovely image of some long dead family haunting the place, you can almost imagine it being used in a film sometime.
As far as my research tells me this was originally a changing rooms for the GAA pitch that I stood on to take this shot, if you know better then please let me know, it’s pretty tough to find out any real solid information about it.
I am also quite fascinated by the small little outhouse to the left of the photo, yet again any information would be greatly appreciated.
The Wellington Monument Plays Hide And Seek
I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of the Wellington Monument in the park for quite some time now, I tend to give up for months and then head back down and start off all over again. I have never been a great lover of photographing such huge upright monuments [or buildings for that matter], there just tends to be so many problems with trying to achieve decent results. I tend to give in and head off to meet some familiar trees instead.
Speaking of familiar trees, I am truly gutted to discover that I missed an exhibition by Thomas Pakenham in The Molesworth Gallery, in whose wisdom was it to have such an amazing collection on for only two measly weeks. If you are not familiar with this man then I suggest you run out and get yourself a hold of a book called “Meetings With Remarkable Trees”, and that’s just for starters. I guarantee you that you will end up buying all of his photographic books, especially if you are tree fanatic like me.
Anyway, back to my main subject here today.
I was going through some old infra-red photos from about three years ago and found this here little beauty, obviously that’s my personal opinion, you can be the real judge of that. The photo doesn’t feature the entire monument but I really like the fact that it appears to be attempting to hide behind the trees, I wonder is it aware that we can all see it. Not the greatest game of hide and seek I have ever witnessed. I also get the impression that the trees on the left of the picture seem to be looking towards the monument with a “We can see you, stupid” look on their faces.
Ok, so the trees don’t have faces and the monument can’t actually play hide and seek, they do when you have the imagination of a two year old running around the house.
This one’s for wee Paddy who has opened up my imagination all over again.
Wild Goalposts Growing In The Phoenix Park
Another blast from the past here, I took this photo way back in 2008 and it has been one of those photos that I just couldn’t get right for years.
I have tried and tried to get a sky that I was happy with but as there was no cloud coverage it was just various shades of gray.
Finally I decided to increase the contrast so high that the sky just went completely black, this may seem like some photoshop cheat but trust me this is nothing that couldn’t be done in a darkroom on traditional paper. By increasing the contrast so high I have also ended with a patch of grass that actually looks more like snow.
I love the starkness of the goalposts against the pure fuzziness of the trees in the background. I also love the angle of the trees, it is almost like they are leaning in to make sure I capture them in the photo.
A few people have mentioned it’s typical of me to seek out the GAA goalposts and not the soccer ones, it’s just something I did without even thinking, maybe there is more of a symmetrical beauty to them or maybe it’s just because I love the GAA.
Enjoy the photo, and please don’t be afraid to leave your comments.
You can now purchase prints or postcards of this photo by clicking this link.
![Small river near the furry glen [2]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/7982194642_e744d86030_t.jpg "Small river near the furry glen [2]")
