This idea has sparked a new project that will showcase the best young riders in the extreme sports division in Ireland. I have teamed up with Iskra Interactive, Scattered Images and Uberdog Magasine and we will be working together to give the riders some publicity and exposure in various mediums. Marty will be producing a video showreel, Tara Craig (Editor at Uberdog) will be running a feature on each individual in the magasine and the team at Iskra Interactive will be producing a very edgy and unique website for the riders.

The first on my list was 16 yr old Alex Heyes, a local Belfast skateboarder with a hunger for pain and heelflips! Alex brought us along to some of his favourite spots and I set about capturing him in his sporting environment – the streets! Alex has been skating the city from a young age and dreams of becoming a pro skater someday.

Have a look at some of his shots below for a small peak into his world.

It was a very hazy evening and visibility was poor but I managed to blend three exposures together to get the beautiful cloud detail against the rugged landscape.

I will be posting a full review on my experiences indoors and out but for now lets just say the sheer power of this light is ludicrous!  I was debating over quadras and rangers for a good 4 months and I’m so glad I took the plunge.  There’s a setup shot in here for all of you budding portrait photographers.

A word of Thanks:
At one stage I used my skateboard as a human dolly for the moving shots at the fashion show and without Chris McGeown at the helm pulling me to safety I’d be writing this with a cast on!  It was Chris’s first day on the job and his enthusiasm was appreciated late into the evening when things got tough.

Special thanks also to Michael Mulholland who stepped in as the role of photographer for the video and did a great job.  Ben and Sam from Hooptedoodle Films have been documenting the group’s movements for a year now and were very encouraging and at one stage, we used Ben’s on-camera light to help illuminate the final scene…HERO!  Ben had actually recommended us to the girls in the first place when they were looking for a music video.

ENJOY THE VIDEO BELOW:

Here are the final images I shot for the video.  Note Ben’s video light used as a strobe in the red light scene!

If you do decide to venture down I highly recommend Peter & Irene Finegan’s B&B Carlingford House for their hospitality and warmth.  They were extremely helpful and have lived in Carlingford all their lives so they knew a bit about the place!  It was Peter himself who directed me up onto the mountain and had a few tips for getting there fast.

Sadly, I didn’t catch a Leprechaun on my trip.  These fellas can run like the billy-Os!  I found an interesting signpost on my way up the mountain that gave me a chuckle as I tried to catch my breath.

The shot was produced by manually stitching together 12 separate portrait raw files to make the final Pano.

I wanted to bring a very clean look to the outdoor shots but when we arrived on location I spotted an opportunity to use the gritty surroundings as a different approach.  The crane in the backdrop of some of the shots was a nice addition.  I adopted various processing techniques for the finished images.  In particular, the sky blue shots worked very well with a new style I have incorporated into my fashion work.  It gives an edgy, film-like feel to the shot.

We also did a Superman theme in one of the studio shots.  I think Michael pulled off a pretty convincing modern day man of steel.

After a long telephone conversation I decided that we would shoot three separate personas for her website and promotional materials.  Corporate Events, Weddings and finally teaching.  I shot her profile at home and tied it in with a lesson she was giving in order to kill two birds with one stone.  I joked about having the opportunity to shoot her out in a field with a floral dress and a white piano for the wedding section. Funnily enough Sara-Jane knew the owner of AA Music on the Lecky Road and he just happened to have a white piano sitting in his field out back.  Some call it luck, I call it contacts!

The final shoot was at Ten Square.  It was between Ten Square and the Merchant Hotel but after chatting to Lucy Anderson (Ten Square’s sales and marketing manager) I made my mind up very quickly!  They had a function that evening but gave us full use of their rooms and even helped us move around furniture for the best shot. Thanks again to Lucy and her team for their support.

Sara-Jane’s new website is coming soon and is currently being built by Karen Murray at Akaihane.