The Wonder Of Light

Rolo – A Year In The Life

Ciaran — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:38:22 +0000

Only on the very rare occasion, do I reflect on anything personal in this blog. Sadly the times that I have done in the past, are by and large times when I have lost family members – my mum in December 2011, my brother Brian in September 2010 and our best friend and family member Homer in February 2010. Each has had a very profound effect on my life and indeed my photography. But this blog entry, whilst personal and just tangently photography related, is on a much happier note

It took a long time to get over the passing of our dog Homer and truth be told, I wasn’t sure after that if I would ever want another dog. But after some arm twisting from my wife, last year we brought Rolo – a little ball of fur, a chocolate labrador into our home. An all together different character to Homer, but an adorable little personality none the less.

This post, is really just a celebration of his birthday; the first year of his life and the first year with his new family. Here’s to many more happy (but hopefully slightly less mischievous) years ahead.

The shots featured here are just a snippet of the images we have taken of Rolo over the year. Most are taken on an iPhone4 – inevitably butchered in Snapseed. Some of course are taken with the D3′s using a variety of different lenses, but more often the longer ones.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Rolo

The Same Medal, but Different Medal Winner

Ciaran — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:20:11 +0000

Iveta On The Stairwell
Gold Medal Of Excellence, Trierenberg, Austria 2012

I’ve been quietly chipping away at FIAP salons this year and purposely avoiding blogging too much about them, but every now and again I feel the urge to share the good news Regardless of past successes, it’s always very satisfying to do well in a salon, especially when you feature in the medals and awards. Whilst the quality of the salons can differ and indeed the quality of the medals/awards can differ, each one brings a certain feeling of achievement. But with that said, there are certain awards that are worth having that little bit more than others and some salons carry a little bit more prestige than others. The Trierenberg Super Circuit in Austria is one such salon.

The salon is well financed, hence well organised and produces one of the best, if not THE best catalog on the FIAP circuit. It offers prize money in excess of €5000 to the best author and attracts approximately 3000 authors from around the world, who submit over 20,000 images (yes… 20k – figures based on last years statistics). So to have a shot featured in the medals is probably just a little bit more satisfying than some other salons And thankfully, for the second year running, I was awarded a Gold Medal of Excellence for my shot of Iveta Niklova above, titled “Iveta On The Stairwell”

Voyeur
Gold Medal Of Excellence, Trierenberg, Austria 2011

Last year, in the same salon, I picked up the same medal/award, but for my shot “Voyeur” featuring model Madame Bink. What’s nice about this years award, apart from it being two in a row, is the fact that it’s for a newly awarded image and indeed an image which I have only started to submit to salons this year. So that brings my total now to 18 different awarded images – the 20 mark is in sight

Well Done The Irish

What’s also very pleasing is to see other Irish photographers feature in the awards list. Dave Martin from Dundalk Photographic Society picked up a FIAP Gold. Dave Hunt from Limerick Camera Club also picked up a Salon Gold and Gabriel O’Shuaghnessy, also from Dundalk Photographic Society was awarded a Salon Silver. That’s 4 Irish photographers, out of 3000 or so, that have their work acknowledged as being amongst the best submitted. Go Ireland

A White Wash – Acceptances

I was also lucky to have all 12 of my images (4 monochrome prints, 4 colour prints and 4 projected images) accepted into each of the 4 salons. So it was a whitewash.. 48 acceptances and 1 award. Not too shabby

The Imperfections Of Instax

Ciaran — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:43:52 +0000

Since picking up a Fuji Instax 210 instant film camera during my stay in New York in November last year, I’ve been wanting to give it a go in a real life shoot situation. It did get a bit of an airing when I shot New York based model, Anna Catherine and a VERY brief outing when I worked with Kira Distler during her short stay here in Ireland, but it wasn’t until I shot Jen Somerfield last month that I finally got the chance to use it in anger.

Coming from a digital photography background where everything is such high fidelity, shooting with the Instax is a strange yet fun experience. First of all, it’s a misnomer to consider or call the camera “instant” – because it’s anything but! Sure, in comparison to other film media, 5 minutes from capture to developed and printed output may seem instant, but if you reign from a digital world, it’s an eternity. To go from the immediate feedback (framing, exposure etc) to having to wait, really changes the dynamic of a shoot.

It’s a case of clicking and then waiting those agonising moments to see how badly you’ve got it wrong And of course if the shot doesn’t turn out exactly was you wanted it, you’re pretty much screwed anyway, because it’s almost impossible to try and re-create it exactly, but this time without the flaws. That’s because chances are your framing will be different as you’ve already taken the camera away from your eye.. you’ve probably shifted position whilst waiting on the image to develop and chances are the model has been nosey too, coming for a peek, moving away from the pose she was just holding

One option of course is to throw caution to the wind.. just frame, click and hope. Don’t wait for the feedback, don’t wait for the images to develop, don’t try and perfect the image. Just put up with the parallax error – accept it. Accept the fact that the flash will fire if and when it sees fit and not when you want it to. Accept that you’ll end up seeing the base of the ladder in most of the images that most certainly wasn’t in the view finder when you framed it. Accept the imperfections – the shots won’t be sharp, the colours won’t be true and the framing might be off. And once you accept these imperfections, you’ll actually start to love the camera and the images – or certainly I did.

I actually love the feel of the images it creates. Photographically or perhaps should I say technically, there’s virtually no input from the photographer. No real control of exposure – no real control of flash – no real control of focus. It’s a a simple point and shoot. And perhaps it’s the fact I have no control and the fact the output is so flawed, that I like it and the images so much? They’re entirely random and unique – impossible to recreate again.

For this actual set, the toning in the scene really seemed to compliment the characteristics of the film in the camera. The scans above (and below) are more or less the direct output of the scanner. As scanning is an area I am a complete novice at, I did make some mistakes during it and did need to make some adjustments afterwards (mostly straightening, cropping and recovering highlights in the film boundary).

The images themselves are never going to be of the quality that can be used for salons or camera club competitions. The prints are too small and too flawed – but again I think this is another reason I love them so much. Often I’m so focused on trying to take my next best image – one that I’ll enter into every competition possible in the hopes of it doing well, where as with these, the images are just for me. Apart from gracing my blog and some other portfolio sites, these images won’t really be given the audience my other work gets. They’re there simply because of the enjoyment in taking them and viewing/holding them afterwards – not for gain, merit or accolade. Just for me

Featuring My Kitchen

Ciaran — Sun, 06 May 2012 06:33:17 +0000

The last time my kitchen featured in my images, was when I photographed the tiles on the floor and used them as part of the texture for the background for my Fellowship panel. Well, now it’s featured again This time though, rather than just using the texture of the tiles, I used the whole floor as a backdrop for a set I shot with UK model Jen Somerfield. This set was actually shot as a Polaroid/instax set, but whilst I was going to the effort of taking them, I decided to take a few shots on my D3, which are the ones featured here.

It was the complimentary tones between Jen’s skin, hair and tiles that attracted me to the idea of shooting this and I think it’s these ingredients that help make the shots work. Plus the “unique” perspective gained from shooting above and looking down (I was standing on a step ladder).

From a models perspective, lying on a floor allows them pose very differently and indeed with a lot more freedom, than they would normally be able to do if standing. So this coupled with the toning made for very different images to what I normally shoot. To be fair, Jen was a real hero for this set, because tiled floors in Ireland certainly aren’t the warmest of surfaces. I have a few out takes where Jen’s face resembles that of a person being dipped in to an ice bath (I’ll save her blushes and refrain from posting them here).

Light wise, everything is simple… large clear glass French doors (out of shot at the top of the image) and a large window to image left. Photoshopping was minimal enough, with some basic healing and some creative burning/vignetting. I’m still very drawn to these images, but I can’t help but love the polaroids even more (strangely enough). I still haven’t had the opportunity to scan them in, but now doubt they will feature here over the coming weeks.

Snapseed For Windows

Ciaran — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:34:54 +0000

I’ve blogged about Snapseed before, when I talked about how I used it as an image editor on my iPad. One of the issues with this workflow, was getting the images on and off the iPad (I used Photosync), but now Nik have seen fit to release a windows version It’s not free, but at a price tag of just €16, it’s not a bank breaker, although it would have been nice of Nik to extend existing iOS users a free version or at the very least a discount on the sale price. Regardless, I opted to purchase a version and have had some fun with it, editing (butchering?) some previously un-edited images from the archives. From what I can tell, the feature set is identical between versions but obviously the Windows version lacks the tactile interface of the iPad.

What I do feel disappointed by though, especially given Nik’s experience with Photoshop plugins, is the total lack of support and integration into Photoshop. It would be really nice to be able to have masking and opacity control over the efffects. It would also be nice to be able to use the Snapseed functionality within PS, rather than crushing your image down to an 8-bit JPG just to edit the image in Snapseed Those limitations aside, it’s a fun piece of software that’s worth having in your arsenal, if only for novelty value.

What The F@ck Is FIAP??

Ciaran — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:59:08 +0000

Ok, I’m not an official aficionado when it comes to FIAP, FIAP salons and all things related to FIAP, but I do get a lot of questions directed to me relating to FIAP salons and such like. Unfortunately the FIAP webpage itself is pretty poor when it comes to finding out information, so I thought I’d create my own resource on the subject. So here are the answers to the most common questions I get asked.

What the f@ck is FIAP?
How do I become a member?
What is a FIAP liaison officer?
What is a FIAP salon?
What is an acceptance?
What is an award?
What is a catalog?
What is a star rating?
Best Author?
What is a circuit?
What is a FIAP distinction?
How do I apply for a distinction?
How long do I have to wait for a catalog?
Where can I find a list of salons?
You have to pay?????
How do you submit to digital salons?
How do you submit to print salons?
Is it all worth the hassle?
Do I have to hibernate after the EFIAP?
Do awards received prior to your EFIAP count towards your EFIAP levels?
Where are these mythical rules that you speak of?
Any other questions?

What the f@ck is FIAP?

A camera club is a group of photographers, local to a particular area (usually a village, town or sometimes a county). Often camera clubs are part of a National Federation, which organises competitions, distinctions etc. across it’s member clubs. Well FIAP is a federation of National Federations. So it’s a global/international photographic body. Like the local clubs and national federations, it hosts competitions and offers distinctions, but unlike the local clubs and national federations, you are now competing and being measured against photographers from across the planet. It stands for Federation Internationale de l’Arte Photographique.

How do I become a member?

It’s likely your countries National Federation is already a member, but if you want to partake individually in FIAP salons, then you need to register yourself as a member also. As a reflection of just how bad the FIAP website is, at time of writing, having spent 15 minutes trawling through their website, I can not find the membership application form. But it’s there somewhere. Failing that, contact your FIAP liaison officer. You need to be a member BEFORE applying for your distinctions.

What is a FIAP liaison officer?

(Otherwise known as a FIAP Rep) Given the fact that FIAP deals with a international base of photographers, it simply couldn’t cope with handling correspondences, distinction applications, queries etc. from each member. So each National Federation appoint a FIAP liaison officer to be a conduit for all information and communication to and from FIAP. They handle membership applications, distinction applications, FIAP patronages etc. They are your first point of call and if you have a good one, should be your last point of call.

What is a FIAP salon?

Put simply, a salon is an exhibition. A local club (that is affiliated to FIAP through their National Federation) decides to host an exhibition and they invite photographers from around the world to submit images to the exhibition. The images go through a selection process, where the selection is made by a panel of judges (3 or more, often including a judge or judges from outside of the host country) and the selected images are then exhibited. FIAP offers patronage to these exhibitions assuming they comply with their rules and regulations.

What is a print salon and a digital salon?

A print salon accepts the entry of physical prints and it is these prints that go through the selection process and these prints that end up being exhibited. A digital salon accepts digital images as the entry. Selection is usually done based on these images (although some salons will print the images themselves). Normally the exhibitions for digital salons comprise of having the images projected rather than prints being hung. A lot of salons offer a mix of both media.

What is an acceptance?

Only a certain portion of images submitted to a salon will be accepted for exhibition. This varies, but is rarely more than 1/3rd and can be as low as 10% depending on the salon and the number of entries they receive. If your image was accepted for exhibition, it means it fell in this percentile and it will be exhibited. Congrats

What is an award?

In addition to “just” selecting the entries that will be exhibited, the judges also award their top images with various prizes. FIAP itself awards Gold, Silver and Bronze medals as well as FIAP Ribbons and FIAP Honorable Mentions. The rules for awards can vary from salon to salon, but the long and short of it is, that if your images receive an award, they were chosen as being amongst the top few images from all those submitted. Salons often have patronages from other photographic bodies in addition to FIAP, so there’s generally an array of prizes there for the winning. Normally the top 1 to 2% of images in the salon will feature in the awards.

What is a catalog?

Each salon must produce a “catalog” featuring various selected works from their exhibition. It also must list (in text) every accepted image in the exhibition. Catalogs effectively provide proof that you have achieved acceptances in a salon. Catalogs can be print catalogs (yey )or CD catalogs (boo ) or sometimes both. The quality of the catalog in terms of image layout, print quality, size etc. can vary from the pretty amazing (see Exposed, Trierenberg, San Sebastien), to the terrible (usually any of the UK catalogs), so it’s a mixed bag. The catalog generally always feature the awarded images and a random selection of other accepted works. But the selection and layout is entirely at the discretion of the salon committee. Having your work selected for publication in a catalog is a bonus, not a guarantee.

What is a star rating?

Based on a particular salons past history and catalogs, FIAP will rate that salon from 1 through to 5 stars. The idea is to give you some idea as to what sort of quality catalog you will receive. But don’t let this deceive you. There are some 4 and 5 star salons which produce truly, truly awful catalogs. Likewise, there are some 3 star (or lower) salons, which produce amazing catalogs. The only true rating is your own. Having submitted religiously every month two salons over a 2 year period, I’ve started to recognise which salons produce the better catalogs (in my opinion) and I tend to show loyalty to them, by submitting again the following year.

Best Author?

In 2011, FIAP introduced a new award called the FIAP Blue Badge (a little pin), which is awarded to the “Best Author” in a salon. This is the author that had the most images accepted into the salon. If there’s a tie – well I’m not sure what happens, but in the end, one author is selected. FIAP then have a prize called the “Best Of The Best” which is awarded to the author who has picked up the most FIAP Blue Badges through out the year. The best FIAP author in the world for that year.

What is a circuit?

A circuit is a group of salons, where you submit to just one, but your images are shared amongst them all. They are judged, scored and awarded individually, usually with a different panel of judges for each salon in the circuit. Only one catalog for the circuit is produced. Circuits obviously provide you with the greatest chance to pick up acceptances and awards, for the least amount of effort. The Austrian Super Circuit, Trierenberg being the most notable (amazing organisation, images and catalog – the best on the FIAP circuit)

What is a FIAP distinction?

FIAP offer photographers the opportunity to work towards distinctions as they submit their work to salons. The distinctions are AFIAP (Artist FIAP), EFIAP (Excellence FIAP), EFIAP bronze, EFIAP Silver, EFIAP Gold and EFIAP Platinum. There is also an MFIAP (Master FIAP) and Honorary EFIAP. Each distinction follows on from the last and has a different requirement in terms of the number of acceptances required, the number of different images with acceptances, the number of different countries you had acceptances in, the number of different salons you have entered/success in and the number of different awards you have received.

How do I apply for a distinction?

First of all, it is your job to track your own acceptances and awards. Keep a spreadsheet of your acceptances/submissions and start doing it NOW!! The application form for the distinction you are applying for is available on the FIAP website. Each country is only able to make one submission annually and the date of this submission is dictated by your FIAP liaison office/National Federation. Once the form has been filled in it is submitted to your FIAP rep, who then checks the accuracy and validity of the submission, at which point it is ratified and sent on to FIAP for final approval. Timing is everything. Know when your deadline is and get the form in on time – don’t fill it out wrong and ensure you comply with the requirements. Getting it wrong can mean you end up waiting another year before the next deadline!

How long do I have to wait for a catalog?

Each salon must publish a schedule which details the closing date for entries, the judging date(s), the date of notification of results, the date(s) of the exhibition itself and the date when the catalogs will be mailed. So you should know in advance of submitting to the salon, when you are due to hear the results and receive the catalog/awards. This can range from 1~2 months and in some cases MUCH longer. Also, lets not forget, that salons are run on a voluntary basis and delays can happen. But by and large most salons are pretty good at sticking to their schedules.

Where can I find a list of salons?

On the FIAP website (obviously ) http://patronages.fiap.net/ This contains a list of all the salons currently registered to run. It shows their star ratings, their rules, their schedule, their entry fee etc. This is your bible

You have to pay?????

Of course you do! A salon incurs huge costs. The administration of it, judges fees, hosting the exhibition and last but most certainly not least, the production of the catalog and the postal charges to get that to you. Salons range in cost, but all in all, they’re not massively expensive. I look at it as an investment. Assuming you choose the right salons, you end up with wonderful catalogs, packed full of amazing images that would grace any coffee table – often at a much lower cost than photographic books purchased from book stores. Generally you pay a set minimum fee to enter and then a marginal fee above and beyond that for each section you enter. Payment now is moving very much towards PayPal.

How do you submit to digital salons?

Most digital salons now have their own online entry forms, allowing live uploading of images. Sadly, it seems no salon can agree on minimum or maximum size requirements, so you often have to change the resolution of your images to suit each salon ( a real pain in the ass). But digital salons are easy to enter.. 5 minutes resizing images, upload them, pay via PayPal.. sit back and wait for the results/catalog. It couldn’t be simpler. Those that don’t offer live upload, accept entries on CD (which is a bigger pain in the ass than resizing – I give these salons a wide berth)

How do you submit to print salons?

I much prefer print salons, but obviously there is the logistics of printing and posting that need to be addressed. Print size requirements can vary from salon to salon (make sure you pay attention to what these are). I print the images out, enclose them between two pieces of card, usually larger than the prints and sized perfectly for the padded envelopes that I have purchased specially for entry (A3+ size). I have pre-printed labels with my name, address etc that are stuck on to the back of each print, so all that’s left is for me to write the title. Similarly I have large labels for the envelopes that say “Prints for exhibition purpose only – to be returned to sender”, “No commercial value” and “Do not bend”. I always post via registered post and the most expensive this has ever been was to a salon in Australia (€9). Obviously I have no idea of the condition of the prints when they arrive, but so far I have won an award in pretty much every print salon I have entered, so I am assuming they made it there safe and sound.

Is it all worth the hassle?

Well considering I got my AFIAP in 2011, my EFIAP in 2012 and I am on track for my EFIAP bronze in 2013, I would have to say yes. But leaving the distinctions aside, I still think it’s a worth while process. It gives you a forum to have your work seen – particularly if it’s accepted into the salon. How many of us have the opportunity to have our work printed and hung on a wall? The catalogs (assuming you get a good one) are worth the effort alone, especially if you have your work selected for publication in them. And then there’s the awards, which are extremely rewarding to pick up. So yeah.. I think it’s worth it.

Do I have to hibernate after the EFIAP?

Ok, so we’ve already covered that you can only apply for a distinction annually. So if you meet the requirements for your EFIAP well in advance of the date you are allowed apply for it, then YES, YOU MUST HIBERNATE – i.e. you should stop submitting to salons. Rule 4.2b states that “After the date of being awarded the EFIAP distinction, have obtained at least: xxxxx”. Which means that any acceptances you gain prior to achieving your EFIAP award can not be used for your EFIAP bronze – so any acceptances after you meet the requirements, but prior to the award are effectively wasted.

Do awards received prior to your EFIAP count towards your EFIAP levels?

In short, yes There is nothing specified in the rules relating to the date of awards. There is stipulations over the awards never having been used for prior distinctions and being from different countries etc. But the date of award doesn’t matter.

Where are these mythical rules that you speak of?

What an excellent question! Certainly if you can find the rules on the FIAP website, you’re a better man than me. The IPF do have the rules on theirs, which is now an official copy, rather than a scanned in copy of a faxed version. But I’ve also included them here for anyone interested.

Any other questions?

That’s all I can think of for now, but certainly if you have any questions you’d like addressed or would like me to clarify any of the answers I have already provided, feel free to leave a comment.

Spring, with Jen Somerfield

Ciaran — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:32:40 +0000

We’ve had some pretty unseasonable weather here in Ireland over the last few weeks, with Spring actually strongly resembling what Spring should be like. Who’d have guessed So it seemed a pity not to avail of the weather and the light whilst we had it and with this in mind, when UK model Jen Somerfield came to shoot with me , we decided to head outside for the shoot.

Considering how badly I got my ass kicked the last time I shot outdoors, this time round I opted to find some open shade, to help both break up the light and give it some direction. So we went along to the Phoenix Park, a large urban park, not too far from my home.

We shot two sets there, one using flash (both as fill and as a main light source) and this one, which was shot entirely using ambient light. By far I prefer this set

But to be honest, we were lucky with the light. It broke like this for us, for no more than 5 minutes and it was just luck that we were in place and able to make the most of it when it appeared.

The trees provided shelter from the harsh light, but also allowed enough light through to give the dappled look. I had the camera in machine gun mode (as per usual), had it in spot metering and used Jen’s white dress as the reference point.

Ok, so some of the specular highlights are a bit blown, but who cares? Trying to retain all the details would either have meant under exposing the parts I really cared about (her face) or using flash to reduce contrast. So I threw caution to the wind and just clicked away.

Processing wise, this is toned the image using the techniques I outlined in my dreamy look blog. Jen (whom I worked with before) was the perfect model for this kind of shoot.. she just fell into the whispy feel that I was looking for and it was nice to be able work with her on a one to one basis, away from a workshop situation.

We also shot some more back in my house in the afternoon as well as shooting some polaroids, which no doubt will feature in the blog at a later date.

Mad Dogs & Englishmen with Kira Distler

Ciaran — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:40:25 +0000

There’s a saying that only mad dogs and Englishmen venture out into the mid day sun. Well it seems so do some pretty stupid Irish photographers because that’s exactly what I did on a recent shoot with US model Kira Distler during her short stop over here in Ireland.

Over the years, I have been lucky enough to give different presentations to various photographic groups and clubs around the country and one message that has been consistent through out, is the one of paying attention to the light. I would always advise to avoid direct sunlight, opting instead to find some open shade. Even on over cast days, where to light is very flat and diffused, I would also avoid shooting outdoors because the light has no direction. Yet on this shoot, I completely ignored my best instincts, I battled with the light and by and large, it kicked my ass.

Planning out door shoots, you can never plan for the weather or the light. You can check the forecasts in advance of the shoot, starting with long range forecasts right up until a forecast the evening before but the weather on the day is really just pot luck. But what you can do, is pay attention to the timing, location and height of the sun, so at the very least you’re in a position to avail of the light if it presents itself. Planning wise, I had envisaged an early shoot, close to dawn, hoping for soft light and of course and empty beach, but sadly I wasn’t able to make that happen, so we ended up at the location closer to 10am than 6am, with the sun already high in the cloudless sky. The light was HARSH!! and strong – both presenting a challenge.

Overpowering the sun using flash was the easy part:

I shot at ISO100 (a low boost on the D3 from it’s native base of ISO200), so was at the lowest possible ISO setting where the sensor is at it’s least sensitive to light.
As I was using flash, off camera and without the capability of high speed sync, I fixed my shutter at 1/200 – close to the 1/250 maximum sync speed.
This just left me aperture as the last remaining variable for the exposure control. As I knew it was BRIGHT, I knew I’d be stopping down the lens quite a bit, which would increase my depth of field. But I really wanted the ability to throw the background out, so I opted for a long lens (300mm f:2.8 prime) to give me as shallow a DOF as possible at the lower apertures.

So now that I had my ambient exposure sorted, I introduced flash using the Elinchrom Quadras:

I used a single quadra head/pack fired through a 46 inch Photek Softlighter configured as a shoot through and held by an assitant.
The quadra was triggered using it’s own Skyport system, which on the day performed well with no misfires. The ability of the skyport trigger to control the output power of the flash head was invaluable. I was able to control the mix of ambient to flash from the camera, without having to walk to the unit (which was a good bit away – I was shooting with a 300mm lens remember!

Anyway, controlling the exposure was easy. There was plenty of power in the unit to over power ambient. But that wasn’t the problem It’s not just about exposure (the amount of light), it’s also about the quality of light. And the quality of direct sun light is SHIT. I could use the flash to control the contrast in the shot, but the shadows cast by the sun were just so harsh and unpleasant. Also, if Kira was turned at all in the direction of the sun, she’d end up squinting – it sucked monkeys Couple that with trying to accurately preview shots on the back of the camera in that sort of light – well it was all a bit of a struggle.

Sadly the shoot had to be cut short and I never really got into the swing of things. Not having had shot for almost 6 months, I was pretty rusty as it was coming into the shoot and the conditions didn’t help things at all. So a very short shoot, in very harsh light = a pretty “tough” shoot all in all. But it was good to get the camera out of the bag regardless. I’ve actually learned an awful lot from this shoot, in respect to planning and preparation, but also in how to control the ebb and flow of a shoot – lessons I’ll take forward. So all is not lost

Instax

I also managed to take a few (just 4 ) Polaroids/Instax on the day. This was a case of really just throwing caution to the wind with no idea what so ever of what the results would be like. This is actually just an iPhone capture of one of the polaroids, so it’s pretty rough, but gives a good feel for the images. I would have loved the time to have played more with this camera on the day – maybe next time? Hopefully I’ll get the chance to scan the polaroids in properly over the coming days and weeks.

A Bit Of A Waste

Ciaran — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:23:48 +0000

The moral to this story, is that I should have hibernated. Or is it that I should have paid heed to the rules? You see, the rule(s) were clearly laid down and I can not claim ignorance to not having known them in advance. I guess I just chose to ignore them? The rules just didn’t and still don’t make sense to me, but the fact is, they’re unfortunately still the rules.

Rule 4.2.b

After the date of being awarded the EFIAP distinction, have obtained at least: xxxxx

The xxxx is actually irrelevant, it’s the wording before hand that I have problems with. You see, following on from the EFIAP distinction, the next award is the EFIAP bronze. My “understanding” for this award, was that any images you had used in the application for the EFIAP were no longer eligible to be used for any future applications. Which in itself was fine, but the wording is a little bit more specific than that and it refers to a date, or to be precise “after the date”.

This has huge ramifications – for me at least. You see, In February 2011 I was awarded the AFIAP distinction, which is the first step on the FIAP ladder. Following on from that, I continued to submit to FIAP salons in my effort towards attaining the EFIAP, the next distinction in line. You are only allowed apply for these applications once a year, so by the time came around for the AFIAP application, I was already well on the way to having enough acceptances for the EFIAP. In late March, just a month after being awarded the AFIAP, I reached the goals set down for the EFIAP.

What’s A Photographer To Do?

So, it is March 2011. Due to the limitation of one application date a year (February) and the exact wording of rule 4.2.b, it meant that I had to hibernate for 10 months, before I could even apply for my EFIAP in February of 2012. I shouldn’t enter any salons in that time, because the acceptances and awards gained, wouldn’t count? Surely that can’t be? Surely FIAP would not dissuade photographers from entering salons? Surely the purpose of rule 4.2.b was only to ensure that new and different works were used for the EFIAP Bronze than had been used previously? Surely it was something lost in translation? Surely?

Being the cautious sort, I queried this with the FIAP liaison officer (no reply), the secretary of the IPF and indeed a few other photographers that had actually achieved the EFIAP bronze or were actively working towards it. In all cases, they agreed that it was a wording issue and that it was safe to plough ahead.. which is what I did.

As It Turns Out

Unfortunately, it turns out FIAP actually strictly enforces rule 4.2.b Which means every single acceptance and award I achieved from March onwards and indeed on images that I did not list on my EFIAP application, are a complete waste Or certainly a waste when it comes to the actual distinction process. To put it in perspective, that’s over 200 acceptances that I can not list; That’s 26 salons that I can not list It’s 46 international awards across 15 images that I can not list – more or less every single award I have achieved to date is wasted There are 36 images, 15 of which I received awards with, which were never used for the AFIAP or EFIAP but the acceptances they have achieved to date, are wasted Of course the images themselves are not actually wasted as such, because they can be submitted again, but having “retired” some of them, it some how doesn’t feel right to dig them out again?

So Who’s To Blame?

By and large I have no one to blame but myself. I read the rule, I understood the rule but yet chose to ignore it, believing that it simply couldn’t be true. I’m quite annoyed that my official query through the IPF gave me one answer and FIAP are giving another. Perhaps I was only too willing to accept their answer because it suited my needs? Regardless, it is yet another example of how dreadfully poorly the FIAP process is administered in Ireland.

Truth be told, even if I was informed that rule 4.2.b was a hard fast rule, I’m not sure it would have stopped me completely from submitting to salons? Obviously chasing the distinctions themselves is the ultimate goal, but submitting to salons brings other rewards. Your work is seen by a wider audience and you gain exposure to other photographers work from around the world. I’ve been lucky enough to pick up some awards, which although they no longer count for the distinctions, is still pretty rewarding/satisfying.

What It Means For Me Now?

So the slate is well and truly wiped clean. Any acceptances and awards before this year are deleted.. gone… wiped clean. I’m starting from scratch. The EFIAP Bronze isn’t a terribly difficult distinction, with a requirement for just 75 acceptances from 25 images (with no restrictions on countries or salons). Of course there is also the requirement for 3 awards from 3 different images in 3 different countries, something I had achieved in the past and just hope I can achieve again (if not I’ll be REALLY pissed off )

A Solo Exhibit

Ciaran — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:45:10 +0000

For those of you interested in seeing my work (and indeed perhaps even me) in the flesh, some of my images will be on exhibit in the Eddie Chandler Gallery, in the Dublin Photographic Centre (Lower Camden Street, D2), hosted by Dublin Camera Club, from Saturday April 7th through to Saturday May 12th. The opening hours of the gallery are pretty restricted, opening only on Saturdays from 11am to 5pm and admission is free.

The exhibition comprises 30 images, featuring my work with 15 different models over a 2 year period (mostly). Although I have had some of my work exhibited in the past, both here in Ireland and abroad, this is my first solo exhibition and indeed the first chance even I will have had of seeing a body of my work printed, mounted, framed and hung on a wall in one space, so it’s something I’m really looking forward to and I’m delighted to have been invited to exhibit.

I’ll be around the gallery for most of the day on the day of the launch (Saturday April 7th), so if you do drop in, please do come over and say “hi”. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually bite, even though I have been known to make both photographers and models cry But if you do miss me on the day, I will be leaving a guest book with the gallery to hold over the duration of the exhibition, so if you drop in, it would be really nice to have you scribble your name and some comments.. be they good or bad Hopefully some of you will be able to drop by and I do hope you will enjoy looking at my work. Also, early on the evening of the 7th, I’ll be heading to the local pub for a few tipples to celebrate the opening and would love to see some of you there.

I have to give a big shout out and thank you to the models that have shot with me over the last 2 years. It is only through their grace that I’m afforded the ability to shoot what I do. So thank you to Anna Catherine, Iveta Niklova, Daniela Spinella, Raphaella McNamara, Madame Bink, Fredau Hoekstra, Mika Mieri, Joceline Brooke-Hamilton, Kamila Nowak, Chloe-Jasmine Whichello, Fiona Ryan, Ivory Flame, Noreen O’Connor, Katy Taylor and Kayt Webster-Brown, all of whom feature in this exhibition.

Update: 8th April

Well yesterday was the opening day of the exhibition and I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that came in to see it and an even bigger thanks to those of you who came across to say “Hi” It was a pretty strange feeling seeing so many of my own images hung in one space, but the reaction the images received, certainly made it all worth while. The exhibition itself runs for another 5 weeks, but unfortunately, it’s unlikely that I’ll be in attendance for the duration But please don’t let that stop you dropping in if you find yourself in the area.

Thanks again to DCC for extending the invite and to everyone for their support.