I took some photographs of the new Merit Medical Systems building last year as it was being built, they can be found here and here.

I managed to get some photographs of him leaving the Merit Medical Systems building and entering his car. I only had a few seconds so shot in continuous drive. I didn’t get any proper portrait so decided to play around with what I had and came up with this collage.

Post title is taken from the song V.I.P, from the very enjoyable new album How About I Be Me (And You Be You).

On Tuesday I had a day off work and was wandering around Galway. I was strolling through Eyre Square, decided to visit the Occupy Galway camp and document it through photographs. Little did I know that the gardaí would raid/’dismantle’ the camp that very night. I was also lucky that I posted the photos here the same evening, if I had left it for a day or two the Occupy Galway camp would have been yesterdays news.

When I found out the next morning that the camp had been dismantled I tweeted my photographs & also tweeted several media organisations saying that I had possibly the last photographs of the camp. Several replied asking if they could use my photographs and many people retweeted my tweet of the photographs. My photographs were used by The Irish Examiner (online), Breakingnews.ie, Thejournal.ie, The Galway Advertiser.ie Facebook page and more. I was even trending on Twitter(!).

Below is some of the coverage my photographs in the media:

Post title are lyrics taken from the song ’15 minutes’ by the band Sheep On Drugs (great band name).

The Occupy Galway group are the last group still standing in Ireland, today (15th May) is day 215. Occupy Galway began in Eyre Square in October 2011 as part of the global Occupy Movement.

I chatted to a few of them today and had a wander around the camp taking some photos.

They have a good setup; solar power, a meeting room, kitchen, living area, flowers & plants growing, storage room and camping/sleeping area.

Post title is taken from the album 99 Songs For The 99%, a compilation of songs written supporting the protesters.

The second photograph shows how breathable the runners are; the photograph on the right shows a macro of one of the hexagons. You can see that it’s made up of some kind of overlapping material with miniature holes which allow my foot to keep cool. The third photograph shows how flexible they are. And the last one just mucking about with Picasa settings.

Post title is taken from the song “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People. For me it was the feelgood hit of last summer.

The first series of the photographs can be found here

Post title ‘Watch The Sunrise’ is a song title from American band Big Star. I know it from Belle and Sebastian’s Late Night Tales.

Modern running shoes are like a barge around your feet, disconnecting them from the ground in many ways. Runners like VIVOBAREFOOT are the opposite; you feel more and your feet are strengthened, stimulated more and you also exercise your
calves, thighs, gluts, the lower back and abdomen, increasing your core strength.

Flexible, breathable and light- 1 shoe weighs about 220grams, compared to 440grams for a Nike Zoom Zomero, which is half the weight!

Post title are lyrics from I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) by The Proclaimers

Camera Gear website is a nice site that it updated daily and gives ” the latest in photography and camera gear news”.

◦Pentax K7
◦Pentax D FA 100mm 1:1 macro
◦Sigma 70-200 f2.8
◦Sigma 30mm 1.4
◦Tamron 17-50 f2.8
◦Charger
◦ND filter
◦a bit of money
◦lens wipes
◦spare lens back cap in my bag.

I also have a smaller shoulder bag that I use if I’m only taking 1 or 2 lenses with me.
I’m planning on upgrading the K-7 to a K-5, buying a good flash (for 2 weddings this year) and down the line maybe a wide angle lens (10mm).

Post title is taken from the song ‘I Want It All’ by Queen.

This is how Conor (2 years young) smiles. There’s nothing wrong with him, it’s just his funny smile…

Post title is the song title of that happy, happy song Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin.

I thought there could be a nice photo in it somewhere to took a few photos, some with slow shutter speeds. This was taken at 1/20th of a second but the initial result was a bit plain/standard.

So I did some basic editing in Picasa 3. I know I should be using Lightroom or Photoshop but haven’t found the time to study either yet. And I find that Picasa 3 does a good job. I know there some features and presets in Lightroom that I’d like. Someday, I keep telling myself, I’ll buy and learn/study Lightroom. Someday. Another confession- I don’t shot in RAW. Ever.

Anyway all I did with this photo took less than 5 minutes and I ‘framed’ the finished result as I think it’d look nice on my wall. Steps were crop, apply 1960′s effect and add the frame.

Post title is taken from ‘She’s a Waterfall’ by THE Stone Roses.

Post title is taken from the song titled Bait and Switch by The Shins. I’ve used this title as the heron stands so still that people often think it’s not a real bird. (Thanks to Emily Gallagher for telling me it’s a heron).