Mispelt Youth

Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, May 2008

JOHN O'DONOHUE 1954-2008

For those not aware of the work of the great man of the West of Ireland, maybe its time to catch up with some of his beautiful words.
The Belfast based group IKON (above) have dedicated this Sunday nights service to tribute his work.
For those who read of his sad passing this week, a sense of deep loss has been echoed across blogs and websites worldwide.
I can't pretend to be an expert, I've never got round to reading any of his books I just heard him speak 3 times over the last few years, the last as I departed for the plane at Greenbelt this summer, but I never left his presence without feeling deeply moved in thought and action.
His Poems, words and writings probed the spiritual mystical conscience that exists in us all, questioning our belief systems and planting new ways of thinking along the journey.
A body has left this world but a voice has not been silenced.

Other blog tributes
godisnotelsewhere.blogspot.com

Johns website
www.johnodonohue.com

ce n'est pas un appareil photo numerique!!

In the age of digital technology and obsession with instant imagery I have taken a step backwards into a less accessable but glorious past by buying a new 35mm film camera.

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I first discovered 'Lomo' Cameras in 2002 and bought the solid built LC-A which came with me everywhere untill on a holiday in Germany in 2004 the shutter jammed and wiped out 8 films.....aaaaaggggghhhhh!
Needless to say my trust was broken and the camera ended up in the 'bottomless abandoned objects box' never to return.

So recently while everyone around me seemed to be splashing out on digital cameras I decided to re-invest in a 2nd new Lomo.

The originally Russian designed and built Lomo L-CA camera has no adjustable lens, no optical zoom, no aperture or shutter speed and is highly unpredictable, but the results while hit and miss can be spectacular.
It has a unique depth of field which depends on 4 crude distance settings you can adjust. The lens is fixed at 28mm resulting in a nice wide angle. The colours if developed correctly are saturated and intense almost like the dreamlike quality of super 8 movie film.

It is hard to deny that in giving in to the shiny new technology of digital we have lost something of the element of surprise in photography.
I have been taking photos since I was 12 and never lost that anticipation of the film arriving home without knowing what I had captured or how well, or years later standing in my dads darkroom developing a negative laboriously and watching my 1st print appear in the developing liquid.
Instead we shoot photos self critiquing and editing as we shoot, sometimes without even using a viewfinder, the images loaded onto a laptop minutes later and pushed out onto the swarming sea of the web.

I'm not knocking the newfound oportunities digital cameras have created or the time saving devices that contribute to creativity in photography, but there is something refreshing about a crudely built device like the Lomo that creates a different kind of freedom digital cannot satisfy.
By throwing away all the distractions of brightly lit displays, custom menus and instant playback the Lomo cries out.
"Don't look, just shoot".
www.lomography.com

P.s the above photos were taken with a digital camera....see!!!!

Jellytopners

Definitely one of my favourite christmas presents of 2007, friend phoned me just before christmas to borrow a camera rig for an aerial video shoot in a chopper and said there was a free seat if I wanted to join them.
Having got the shakes riding belfasts shiny new big wheel 2 days before I hesitated, two hours later we arrived at Newtownards airfield for an hour long flight to the glamorous destination of Cokes new plant in lisburn.
The chopper was a 4 seater R4, kind of like sitting in a fiat 126 with..well rotar blades attached.
We had to take the doors off one side so mike could shoot directly at the plant, thankfully I had the door side and wrapped myself up in scarves and coats to stay warm.

I have to say it was an amazing experience floating above County Down in such a small craft, the cold air blasting through the cockpit. Got to see in detail landscapes that would blip by in a plane if you were lucky to get a clear day,
patterns of rivers, a field surrounded in a circular hedge, secluded manor houses and farms.

DESTINATION DUB / Dec / 2007

Oh Yeah So I Got Married....

...2 months this week since we set off in the 'green smartie' aka Micahs green Fiat 126 to the Church for the main event. Had good send off the night before in the back garden, whiskey and Bonfire with the lads, Weekster, Franco And Micah, yes did I mention I slept my last night as a singleton on the cold earth of County Down and darn near froze to death!

So what can you say about such a momentous day. After photographing countless other weddings over the last few years, being at the centre of attention was pretty strange. Aly only kept me waiting 30 min at the church, got a bit lost in the vows but it was blissful and surreal, walking out to Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, smack up dinner at AMPM round the corner, great speech from Micah, man of many words,good dancing tunes from Kwame, Brasilia & Liam..gets a bit hazy after that...

So yeah we hit the road/airways bright and early the next morning and by evening where hurtling through the dark mysterious red streets of Marrakech.
Morocco is tripped out, never seen so much busyness crammed into such confined spaces. The Medina we stayed in is the old part of town, the Riad a haven of quiet, cool and serenity walled away from the scream of scooters and bartering salesmen.

Armed with Wallpapers magnificant Marrakech Guide we explored the city over the next 4 days, eating lunch in mini palace like open air reaturaunts, shopping for vibrant fabrics hand made in the smoky medinas,



>p>

Le Staglio Weekendo

Ah tis been quite a while ago already, set off with the lads for the stag weekend to the infamous 'Jigs n Reels' festival on Rathlin island.
Pretty much a loada tents in a field, a bunch of stages & army tents hosting all musical types from Drum n Bass in the crusty top to turgid raawk in the wonky tent at the bottom of the field.
Onsite amenties consisted of a tap in one corner and 4 portaloos in the other, but rough and rootsy is how we like it.
Prob wasn't the best idea tae camp 4 metres in front of the main stage since mister technowotnot from Frankfurterland played a marathon set from 12 midnight to 9 the next morning. I can still hear the crazy beats echoing in my head some weeks later.
Highlight was def Kwames high energy 'Bounce' set for Homespun with Francos all night turf speranza keeping the troops warm.


Fat harry imitates the foreland of Rathlin with his big noose!

The crusty revellers migrate

Mojos beard gets out of control

No sleep till monday....let the dancin' begin

Francos work of art

Kwame lets rip in the Homespun tent with some latin beat classics

Buckfast master on the loose

fires still going at 2 in the morning and attracts peoples from the murkness of the night much like moths around a lamp

A wet, tired and bemused German
Aye a good fish supper can do wonders after all that sleepless-ness
L-R, Mr Magoo, Hambo, Franco, Mojo, Mad Max, Fat Harry & Neilio