Local Press Life

Poor old Pops..

Things havent been so good at the paper. Production has been really poor, and ive been a bit depressed about it all. Its so hard to be enthusiastic about your job, when some one else ballses up your hard work, and theres nowt you can do about it!  sigh.

Anyhoo, things are looking up, i've a week off next week, and it will be time to catch up and reflect and shoot some fun pics for myself. Had a great job tonight, getting pics of a couple of cool guys, Nick Hardin and Joe Esteves. (Martin Sheens bro)

Theyve been touring N. Ireland with 'The Short Wake' and tonight was the last night of the play's tour. What nice blokes they were to, very patient and friendly. Cheers guys.  The light in this is a mix of stage spots and flash from a brolly to my left. Just above the lid of the coffin. The stage spots are the light on poor old pops in the box, and theyre also giving me a bit of seperation from the dark background, on the dark clothes. Flash on ettl, with ste2. no compenstaion or anything... easy peasy lemon squeezy :o)

What a happy bunch..

Ive had a bit of a hectic week, so ive badly neglected my Blog, and have to say, i've missed it. I promise ill get back into the swing of it.... when i get some sleeeepppp.....

Sometimes you turn up for a job, and you just have to smile. An ad pic for a hairdressers in the town. The usual thing, just a pic of the staff.  But these guys were so up for a fun shot, and were hapy to strike a pose. This isnt the one for the paper, but theres something about it i really like. Usual flash off camera, one in front to the left, and one behind. :o)

Telling a story...

...or, 'a picture of nothing, that looks like something'

I get sent on jobs all the time, where i have no idea

A: What i'm supposed to photograph, and

B: The people who send me, have no idea that their idea for a picture is crap unsuitable.

Had to go get pics of a trail of vandalism, that ran along one of the Towns main streets, where nearly every window had been broken the night before. Now... i know from experience that if i send in a photo with lots of detail, that would tell the story perfectly, (if it was printed at a size that would do it justice), will be squeezed into 2 columns, and cropped badly in order for it to fit...

So to tell the story in my photo, i have to include what needs to be included, and make it work no matter how they crop it. man, that really annoys me, but it really makes you work harder for a pic. So heres the shot. The street reflected behind a smashed window. I think I managed to include the damage, the street, and not single out a particular Business as a target, but i'll wait and see it on the page.... sigh

 

My Mother in Law...

...is so fat, if she jumped up in the air, she'd get stuck. boom boom. Although id heard it before, and i was cringeing in horror at the '70's ness' of his comedy routine, i did laugh, and really loudly too.  I really thought the days of stand up routines like this were over, but they are alive and well, and compereing charity fashion shows as I type. Every year, the jobs I get go around and around, each season brings its own brand of bookings, and this is the fundraising fashion show season.

the 'smiling' pickets....

He he. It always worries me, that photographers turning up at events, changes how people behave, and that the news we are there to shoot, is now just a pose.. Its a weird ethical position to be in, because on one hand, its hardly very important in the grand scheme of things, and on the other, the integrity of the press is an extremely important consideration.

I tried to sneak a shot without them spotting me, and on the 2nd shot theyd all started laughing. Could i put this photo in the paper, as a representation of the days news??

Website woes...

well, after a rather long time, ive actually managed to get a website online. Its not a hard thing to do, but was one of those things, that I always meant to do tommorrow...

It still needs a bit of design, and content, and everything, lol, but hey, its better than the single holding page thats been gracing the URL for the last forever.  anyhoo, www.crobertsphoto.com  go on, you know you want to... no, oh. aww well.