Archive for the ‘Photographs’ Category
The Longest Day
Three in the morning is sleeping time if you ask me. For some, it’s the start of the working day. And if they are your client, you have to fall into step as a documentary photographer.
The same goes if your client runs their operations deep into the night. It’s not like you can ask them to bring everything forward so you can get home in time for your tea.
I’ve worked both sides of spectrum before, but last Friday I did so in one day for three separate clients. It was my longest day.
Delivery vans being loaded at O'Keeffe's Bakery, Ballincollig, Co Cork, Ireland. The bread is baked during the night by a shift that starts at around 6pm and works through to about 3am. (c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
The bakery shoot finished just after 6am; in time for me to get to my regular Friday morning BNI meeting, where I was going to photograph my SmarterEgg friend Aodan Enright giving a presentation for his promotional material.
Aodan had a six-minute speaking slot, barely enough time to get a half-dozen photographs of him in action. (c) Roger Overall 2010
By 8.15am I’d already done two commercial assignments. Normally, by 8.15am I’ve had a cup of coffee and that’s about it.
My next shoot wasn’t until the afternoon. I had hoped to have a quick nap, but there is some sort of construction work going on over the road from us – NOISY construction work. Instead, I did the post-production on the morning’s work.
After lunch, I headed off to Fota Island Resort, where I’m shooting a six-month documentary project. The plan was to photograph the staff working a wedding – a quirky twist for me.
I'm really impressed with the staff at Fota. I've photographed three weddings behind the scenes there now. They really care for their wedding guests and are never phased by any last minute or left-field requests. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Two staff helping to set up the wedding cake the mother-of-the-groom baked and iced for the couple. Again great smiles.
I’d initially thought to finish once the couple had made their entrance to dinner. However, it struck me that the hotel would benefit from a photograph of the first dance. In fact, I had in mind it would be the signature image of the night, and we didn’t have one from the previous weddings. I went home for dinner, with a view to returning in time for the start of the dancing. At this point it was past 7pm. I’d been working for 15 hours. I wasn’t sure how I’d be at 9pm, when the dancing began.
Turns out, I felt fine.
The meal was only just drawing to a close when I got back, so I took some some additional shots of staff at work. I also spotted this:
In case you're wondering: he didn't. (c) Roger Overall 2010
And then the main event.
I pre-visualized this shot. The spot of light on the floor meant that as the couple moved around the floor, they would occasionally be caught in it. Then it was a matter of hoping for a nice expression. Bingo! (c) Roger Overall 2010
Anatomy Of A Wedding #6
This is an interesting set of images for me personally for several reason. These will become clear as you read the commentary with each photograph.
I've said before that parents are often the forgotten people on their childrens' wedding days. Despite the unfortunate positioning of the clothes line, I love this picture. (c) Roger Overall 2010
There was a strong smell of onions in the air. Hardly surprising when the groom had reversed a car over his father's freshly harvested onion crop. Here they survey the damage. A moment they'll both look back on with great humour in years to come. (c) Roger Overall 2010
A special photograph for so many reasons. It shows a small crisis involving some lost paperwork. It turned up in time, but this captures a little of the anxious moments. This is also a special photograph for a very personal reason. The priest you see here was at my father-in-law's side when he passed away and was of infinite comfort to my wife's family. He is also the man who christened my daughter. (c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
So you already know I'm the emotional sort and that I love my daughter (see previous post), so you imagine that I'm going to struggle a smidge on her wedding day. There is so much story here in the father of the bride's face as he watches the final preparations before he walks his daughter own the aisle. I see pride and I see love. (c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
First Day Of School
I’m a big soppy softy. Seriously. And today was a big soppy softy day. Our little girl’s first day of school.
Quite how this has happened is something of a mystery.
Only a couple of months ago, I was holding her in the delivery room at St Finbarr’s Hospital. She had silver metallic eyes.
Now, mere weeks later, she’s off to school – proper school, uniforms and everything.
At this rate, I shall be walking her down the aisle by Christmas.
In the past I have been guilty of not photographing my own family life. That is a terrible admission for a documentary photographer to make. So, today, I brought my camera.
This is what I call her "You're An Idiot" look. I get it a lot. There is a chance I'll get it even more when she is a teenager. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Mummy knows how to get round it, mind. (c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
Helping mummy keep it together. (c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
She just knows how to find the right light. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Tag - You're It. Best friends Lucy (left) and Emily playing after their first day at school. (c) Roger Overall 2010
A Week In Pictures
It’s good to be busy, so I’m not complaining. Here is a selection of photographs from five shoots in the past five days.
Corporate Assignment 1. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Corporate Assignment 2. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Corporate Assignment 3. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Wedding Assignment 1. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Wedding Assignment 2. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Anatomy Of A Wedding #5
Another selection of favourites from a recent wedding with commentary.
I have two photographs of this exchange between the bride and the flower girl. This is my favourite. Just. The other was taken side on with a wide angle and shows more of the room. The light on the bride's face is more pleasing to me in this one, taken with a standard lens. There is great story here and you can almost write the dialogue yourself. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Men do love their flowers. I'll be honest, I was concentrating on the page boy. That was where the story was. I was aware that the groom's father had a bunch of flowers as well, but only noticed afterwards that he was examining them - mirroring the little boy's movement. (c) Roger Overall 2010
And he was the well-behaved one. (c) Roger Overall 2010
On an average wedding day, a couple gets to spend surprisingly little time together - or at least time when they can have a private exchange. Holy communion is usually the first chance they get, and often they take it. I always set myself so that I have a clear view of the couple, just in case. I love the echo of the couple's intimacy and the exchange between lads on the front bench. The bride's gesture is also wonderful to me. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Weddings are happy occasions. This says everything. (c) Roger Overall 2010
What caught my eye here initially was the light in the entrance, which lit up the bride. The guest, a very dapper man dressed in black tie, was also waiting for them to come in. He makes this picture. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Something different. I like the almost total blur of the first two people compared with the relative lack of it for the second pair. (c) Roger Overall 2010
A missed opportunity - sort of. I have a series of shots of the couple as they walked down this corridor. This is the best one in terms of the bride's reflection in the glass frames. I've chosen it because the reflection was what I was after. However, there is a picture a few paces earlier where the couple are smiling at each other. Unfortunately, they are too far back to be reflected. You win some, you lose some. This is still pleasing to me because the bride looks so contented. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Lost in Translation
Being a documentary photographer is all about capturing the truth.
Kinda.
Sometimes the truth can be a bit slippery.
Take this photograph from a recent wedding for instance.
(c) Roger Overall 2010
What is going on here? Is this a slap or a caress? A gesture of anger or one of affection?
You can’t really tell.
As a documentary photograph, it’s a bit of a dud. Had I been less trigger happy and had I pressed the shutter a fraction of a second later, the story would have been clear. It is, in fact, a gesture of affection between the bride’s parents.
I thought I had something special, caught in the light of a summer’s day. When the shutter clicked, my heart lifted. I felt a real sizzle of excitement. When I saw the image on screen, my heart sank at the missed opportunity.
It happens. It’s part of being a documentary photographer. Problem is, what I do is important. Not heart-surgery important for sure, but I am given the privilege to photograph important moments in people’s lives and record them for posterity. So it really, really bugs me when I miss one – even by the slimmest sliver of a second.
Anatomy of a Wedding #3
Wednesdays are normally reserved for PictureBoos. But sometimes your blogging schedule and your life run off in different directions.
The Boo will follow shortly. In the meantime, here is a selection of photographs with commentary from the recent wedding in Co. Kerry.
A quick nod to the bride, Caroline, who helped with the logo for The Circle of Confusion with Peter and Roger by making some wonderful suggestions as we discussed her wedding at Cork Airport back in April.
They tell you never put your subject in the centre of the frame. It's boring. Possibly. Here the dullness of the composition is helped by the leading lines of the wine glasses and the gesture by the groom. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Another photograph with the subject in the centre. However, it works because the leading lines in the photograph all lead to the groom - more or less. The railing, the bench and the tiles are the obvious ones. The groups of people either side also help direct your eye to the groom. Lastly the two trees draw your eye in as well because the innermost one is smaller, so you have the sense of a slope from right to left into the centre of the frame. Lastly, I think this photograph works because of the story and the mild humor it contains. (c) Roger Overall 2010
You can't beat emotion in a photograph, especially if it is joy and friendship. The left of the frame is balanced by the reflection of the smiling lady in the window. (c) Roger Overall 2010
There is more going on here than meets the eye. Children are often strangers at weddings. They can't really join in, so there is a separation between them and the adults. This is emphasized here by a whole range of things. Firstly, the crouching under the table, hidden from view. Secondly, by the height difference between the small boy and the adults, which is exaggerated by the low camera angle. Lastly, the boy is boxed in by the table structure and the umbrella pole. He is in his own separate frame.(c) Roger Overall 2010
I just love the expression in this picture. (c) Roger Overall 2010
This is a real favourite of mine. Importantly, it shows the couple and the tenderness between them. It is also a photograph of twos. Two people. Two chairs on the left. Two windows on the left, and two on the right. Two paintings on the wall. There are even two candles on stands in the background (c) Roger Overall 2010
This photograph is all about expressions. They range from joy to gentle smiles, to introspection and, if you look for it, what appears to be shock. (c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
The ability of the artist who made this sculpture is astonishing. It lives. It is listening to the conversation. (c) Roger Overall 2010
I don't remember taking this. That's not uncommon for me. I experience a wedding so intensely sometimes that my mind discards photographs as soon as they are taken to allow it to concentrate fully on the next one. (c) Roger Overall 2010
A lovely interaction between the bride and a guest, made more interesting by the curve of the reflection. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Another favourite. I don't need to tell you why. A superb couple. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Dominick Cullinane
Now for a change of pace. People-free documentary photography. And all in colour too.
Dominick Cullinane is a terrific garden designer who lives here in Co. Cork. He is a man with a true passion and drive. His dream is to design a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show. My dream is to have him design one for me.
One of Dominick’s regular jobs is curating the annual Mallow Garden Festival, half an hour up the road from me. This year he asked me to shoot some stills of the gardens. The weather could have been kinder to us, but we still managed to fit in few hours spread over two days.
He also asked me to shoot some video, something I’ve been meaning to look into, but hadn’t really found the time for. Now my hand has been forced and I’ll be working on a short film in the days ahead. More to come on that.
Meanwhile, here is a quick selection of stills from the Mallow gardens.
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
(c) Roger Overall 2010
Anatomy Of A Wedding Day #2
After the 2010 National Photographic Awards, I made a bold statement. I wouldn’t be entering any more photographs of children. It is too easy to score well that way.
I’m now somewhat regretting that pronouncement. Well, part of me is. The lazy part. This is by far the bigger part of me, so it gets a lot of airtime in my head.
There is a panel of four photographs from this wedding alone that would make a very decent stand at the national awards. Each photograph shows the same little girl.
My lazy voice notwithstanding, none of her photographs will go to the awards. This year, I want to concentrate on the bride and groom. It is their day after all, and I want to show that in my awards entries.
At least, here in Ireland… 
These photographs are from a wedding I covered in May. Superb, warm, loving couple.
The bride's family are big greyhound enthusiasts and this scene-setter at the house in the morning helps tell that bit of the story. I was helped by some people coming out of the house to greet me over on my right, which distracted the dog for a second. It's the mimic of the head direction that makes this work. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Flower girls are an endless source of great photographs. Rarely do they do as they are told. Boredom prevents them from doing so. And they often escape into their own world of play when they can. This was captured just before the ceremony, after the girls had marched dutifully for the third time down the aisle to prove they knew what would be required of them. (c) Roger Overall 2010
What can I say? Pure genius by the little girl. Talk about scene stealing. This was taken with a 135mm lens - a rarity. (c) Roger Overall 2010
When you're bored, you're bored - so you make your own entertainment. Everyone else was busy with the signing of the register. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Veils, wind. It's a familiar story. The bride's wonderful warmth here adds dynamism to the photograph as well. In terms of photography, it was a case of looking for the expression. The veil is an added bonus. Documentary photography for me is about emotion first. Any additional occurrences are extras I take gladly, but you need to lay the foundation first by looking for the emotion. (c) Roger Overall 2010
I love the tenderness here. (c) Roger Overall 2010
The older guests at weddings are often overlooked by photographers. In a way it's understandable. They are often there at the parents' request. While I do try to concentrate on the younger guests, I like to keep an eye out for older guest interaction. They could be a favourite great uncle, after all. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Two worlds exist beside each other - one of my favourite themes. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Children and sugar. 'Nuff said. From a photographic perspective, this was something of a grab shot, as the boy announced what he was going to do and then did it before the words had fully left his mouth. (c) Roger Overall 2010
And here she is again. This time in discussion with the groom. I like the way that her hand gesture is mirrored to some extent by that of the groom's mother in blue. I've tried this picture cropped tighter to exclude the window highlights at the top and the two men at the far end. The crop makes the picture claustrophobic; leaving it uncropped keeps the context and depth. (c) Roger Overall 2010
The parents are often the forgotten players on the wedding day of their children, so I try hard not to. I love this interaction between the bride's mum and the groom's dad. (c) Roger Overall 2010
This is all about the ring. I was able to get quite close with a 50mm lens without the couple noticing me. Until the shutter clicked. Taken on a Canon 1DS Mrk II - a camera whose shutter lives up to the brand name. I sometimes wonder whether I should wear earplugs. (c) Roger Overall 2010
Getting an interesting shot of the cutting of the cake can be hard. So I leave it to someone else - as shown here. (c) Roger Overall 2010
I love the look on the bride's face. It conveys so much. Photography of the speeches is all about reactions to what is being said. Usually, you get a couple of outstanding speakers at Irish weddings, and there are lots of great expressions. Rich pickings for a documentary photographer. (c) Roger Overall 2010
PictureBoo – 24th June 2010
I’m compiling a panel for the next associateship judging at the IPPA and came across this photograph from several years ago. It still makes me laugh. So much so, that in the audio I sound as if I’ve been on the happy sauce.
Hit the link below or the play button to hear the story.
(c) Roger Overall 2007