Bottom's Up ! Photo © AH
Early on I was always quick to judge other photographers and their (editorial) work. I was something of a magazine junkie. Growing up in Ireland in the 80's one didn't really have access to all the mags that are round now but there were more than enough to wet the appetite. I was into the fashion and had visions of myself as a jet setter travelling the world shooting bikini clad babes on my 300mm ala
Lord Lichfield or being a little more conceptual with my boob n bum ala
Bob Carlos Clarke (an Irishman based in London who did some eye opening glamour, revolutionary @ the time, he was never out of the photo periodicals), the odd glimpse of the
Pirelli Calendar only fuelled the dream. After a while once I became familiar with photographers and their work I would be only too happy to chime in and offer my opinion, I certainly could be particularly scathing if I had felt we were being exposed to a lacklustre performance.
I went to
Art College in Dublin for a 1 year photography course straight out of school (it was the 1st year that the course was offered so it was a bit of a mish mash), then assisted and started to shoot (fashion mainly, the odd portrait) in relatively quick succession. Dublin was/has a small market and I did quite well in the beginning, winging it most of the time but managed to make do. Every Friday night alot of the photographers, stylists, models, hair/make up artists would get together for a pint or two. I didn't realise @ the time but would discover later, that to some of us photography was a job 9 to 5, we didn't see the bigger picture only taking the camera out when there was a payday involved.
After a few years of ups and downs I had the opportunity to come to New York. Things had become pretty stagnant for me in Dublin and it was time to make my mind up, decide what I wanted to do with my life, to continue in photography or do something comepletely different. I had a few friends come to the U.S. before me and they had started assisting, news came back that there were opportunities aplenty to work in the business and the money was good (certainly by Dublin standards, the rates were pretty low, particularly for assisting and a sandwich for lunch was living large). I touched down with a few names and started working pretty quickly. It was certainly daunting in the beginning, a whole new world personally and professionally, I had travelled on holidays a bit and did some summers in London during breaks from school/college but this was a little different. I gave myself a year !
It was whilst working in New York that I started to really learn about photography, not just the technicalities but I was working with people who were truly passionate about what they were doing. It was a life choice, there was more to it then taking a few snaps during the week, no one seemed to hang up the camera for the weekend, or ever ! They were all living and breathing their craft/art, their work was their life, this is what I had been missing, this is what I wanted. I had never been exposed to this before. It was a total experience, more than loading film , taking light readings and trying not to f**k up.
When it was good it was great but every now and then something would go wrong. There are so many factors involved in any one shoot. Weather, travel, malfunctions, breakdowns, uncooperative subjects, moody models, bad food, illness, hangovers, processing problems, scratched negs, etc.etc.etc. There is usually a good story behind the story.
I have had my fair share, both as an assistant (almost loosing my life on a Swiss mountain peak) and now as a shooter, each one an epic tale in itself (maybe I will expand on some of my experiences further down the line). Some of my high lights include, having all my camera's, lights and film confiscated by Jamaican Customs upon my arrival (I did have a carnet, that's what you get for going legit) and having to buy a 2nd hand Olympus Stylus point and shoot and some grey market Kodak Gold to do the job (got my gear back - very stressful, and was escorted to the plane), shooting the cast of the movie Syriana prior to its world premiere in a theatre lobby and blowing the power breaker 8 frames into my one and only roll, that was that no time to find the circuit board, I announced that I was done thank you very much (to be honest I probably would have only had another 15 seconds anyway, the publicists were hovering), Matt Damon et al seemed impressed with my speediness, I was sweating it as the roll was wound out, thankfully there was one in there. I have had assistants load the wrong film, drop film and watch it roll away and unravel in slow motion and have had my fair share of gear malfunctions which predictably happen when you are miles from back up, and the back up to the back up starts misbehaving.
I am still a magazine junkie ! but I no longer judge ! Remember kids you never know whats going on, the story behind the scenes behind the picture. Most of the time everything goes ok, kind of sort of and then you got to try and take a decent photo, no pressure. It's always a different experience when you are shooting for someone else and not just trying to please yourself.
And then of course there is the EDIT, the work that appears in the layout itself, its not always the best picture that makes the cut but that's another post for another day.
Many of you may have heard about the Nutopia Forum created by friend and inspirator Platon. It is and I quote a safe haven dedicated to nurturing photographic and graphic talent. They are a humble group of photo enthusiasts committed to artistic sharing, openness and exploration. It has no land, no boundaries and no passports, only people. 
