Category Archives: Podcast

01/12/12

A Good Start

I promised only one blog post a week about what I’m up to myself. It will appear on Thursdays, in line with the release of the new episodes of The Circle of Confusion podcast, which I host together with Neil McShane and Peter Cox. (By the way, the podcast is available via iTunes as well).

If you have time, the latest episode, recorded late last night is available now. Just click on the player below.

The Circle of Confusion Podcast #14 by The Circle Of Confusion
 

Advertising shoot

If you listen to the podcast, you’ll hear me speaking about a small national advertising shoot I was involved with over the past couple of days. It was a whirlwind experience, hugely enjoyable and incredibly intense. The end client was a well-known international company. You’ve heard of them.

That raises an interesting point. I’ve worked with respectable and well-respected clients before. In most cases, though, you’d shrug your shoulders at their names. They aren’t on the public radar.

This time, it is different. This time, even your friends in other countries know this company.

So, I’m wondering. What doors will such a client on my CV open?

Time will tell.

Continue reading →

12/22/11

Looking For Something For The Photographer In Your Life?

I think this is terrific value:

Dynamic Range Episode 1

I have to admit, though, that I directed it. I also have an equal share in the production company that made it. So, you know, you might want to take any comment I provide about it with a pinch of salt the size of a sand dune.

That said, where else are you going to get first-rate instruction from two top landscape photographers and watch them duel it out at dawn using tripods? Dynamic Range Episode 1, the first installment of an irreverent educational series under the Circle of Confusion umbrella, is that kind of video.

The underlying philosophy is that the best learning comes from a combination of education and humour. Surely that’s worth the price of admission alone? (If you agree, you can purchase a download by clicking here: Dynamic Range Episode 1).

The return of the podcast

Meanwhile, there is news about The Circle of Confusion podcast that Peter Cox and I produced for much of last year. It is back. And we have Neil McShane, the third partner in our video production company, on board.

Another change is that it is going to be a weekly podcast of around 20 minutes, released every Thursday.

You can listen to our relaunch episode by clicking here: The Circle of Confusion Episode 11.

It’s a rough-and-ready affair recorded yesterday to celebrate the release of Dynamic Range Episode 1. We’re looking to refine it in the weeks ahead.

02/23/11

The End Of Confusion

Yesterday was a little sad. Peter Cox and I recorded the last episode of The Circle of Confusion, the professional photography podcast that we launched just under a year ago.

A lot has changed for us since the first episode went live. So much so that sustaining the effort the podcast required was becoming very hard. Moreover, our listening figures were slack and getting slacker. We had to be honest and ask ourselves whether the juice was worth the squeeze. Ultimately, with our careers accelerating and additional demands being made on our time (a newborn for Peter, increased involvement with the IPPA for me), we had to make a tough decision.

From my point of view, I am not finished with podcasting. Nor, I suspect, is Peter. We may even come together again for an audio project. Who knows? It was great working with him on the shows, and I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to do something again.

Nor is it the last time Peter and I will collaborate. In fact, we got talking about a possible non-audio project as we were packing up the mikes yesterday. Early days, though.

In the meantime we can look back on ten episodes of The Circle of Confusion. We learned a lot while doing them, including a set of transferable skills we can apply to future undertakings.

01/31/11

Circle of Confusion

This month’s episode of The Circle of Confusion went live this morning.

There’s loads in it. Some of it is even sensible.

You can listen to the podcast and view the photographs and video that go with it here: The Circle of Confusion with Peter and Roger, Episode 9.

And, yes, I really did call another photographer an idiot.

Seriously, though, I was provoked.

12/29/10

Holiday Confusion

Peter setting up his latest gear acquisition. He has a baby boy now, so it'll be the last one for quite a while - nappies costing what they do. (c) Roger Overall 2010

Even though our diaries seemed to be working against us, Peter Cox and I managed to find time to record episode 8 of The Circle of Confusion.

It was a symbolic moment when he pulled up outside my house in his red Defender on the day of the recording last week. The last time I had seen him was for the recording session of episode 7. A lot happened between the two sessions, not least of which was the birth of Peter’s son. Standing before me was a new Peter. Peter the father. That transition only happens once to a man, so it was special to see him again.

He also had a new bit of kit to show off, which is always fun.

You can listen to us talk rubbish for over an hour here: The Circle Of Confusion With Peter And Roger – Episode 8.

11/24/10

Barking

Peter Cox has two of the biggest dogs you have ever met. The kind of big that would give a charging rhinoceros pause for thought. Big enough, at any rate, to force an abandonment of the recording of episode 7 of The Circle of Confusion.

Two huge dogs sitting on a sofa behind microphones

Well, I wasn't going to tell them to get off the sofa.

See what I mean?

Fortunately, Peter has two houses to choose from until the end of the month, so we were able to find an alternative venue for the recording. You can hear the result over on The Circle of Confusion blog.

10/27/10

The Half Dozen And The One Thousand

Driving past the local petrol station yesterday evening, I noticed the counter just below the mileometer on my dashboard roll over to “000″.

Normally, I reset it to “000″ every time I fill the tank. I know that I can drive around 350 miles on a full tank – likely more, but I’ve never had the nerve to run the petrol tank down to empty. However, on this occasion, I’d left the counter untouched to see how many miles I’d be driving over a busy four-day period covering this route: Cork-Dublin-Cork-Waterford-Dublin-Cork-Dublin-Cork.

Two miles from my house yesterday, I got my answer: 1,000.

During those miles, I drove the Cork-Dublin motorway five times, photographed a wedding, caught a ferry twice, rode in my car under Croke Park, discovered the joys of the iPhone as a navigational tool, met other photographers, photographed a corporate assignment, spoke to brides, discussed two exciting documentary projects with companies, and watched the mileometer tick over 88,888 miles.

Now, I appreciate that for some 1,000 miles over four days is nothing more than standard operating procedure. For me, it’s a lot, especially as the miles book-ended very long and busy hours in meetings or shooting.

It got me to thinking: “Is this what we need to do as professional photographers to keep ahead of the game – a sign of the times?”

I don’t know the answer, but I do know that it will only take one wedding or corporate commission to come from the miles to make it worthwhile for me. It’s made me realize that I’m prepared to go a long way to get the clients I want to work with and the projects I want.

It’s also made me realize that I’m starting to take my health for granted. I think many professional photographers are guilty of the same thing. I sense a blog post coming on over at The Circle of Confusion.

Talking of the podcast, episode 6 went live earlier today. Please have a listen and let us know what you think.