Author: harrykerr

On Photography, Weddings

Background Noise

August 23, 2017By harrykerr

Sometimes we have to take a step back, turn off the background noise and remember why we’re photographers in the first place. To remind ourselves to shoot for ourselves, and create images which truly reflect the lives and events we’ve been asked to document.We’re not that interested in what someone on a wedding publication tells us is popular, or cool this year, or shareable, or blog worthy. If we concern ourselves too much with all that stuff we’ll miss great, meaningful photographs like these, because we’ll be too busy setting up novelty shots of the bridal party eating ice cream while balancing on one leg on top of the walls at Grianan Fort or the bride and groom standing in the middle of a corn field holding a bunch of balloons.Christine and Eamonn’s wedding was both a wonderful celebration of their decision to tie the knot and a reunion with family and friends gathering in Donegal from far and near.They knew what was important to them and why they’d asked us to photograph their wedding. They wanted us to capture a sense of place, to create a reminder of Donegal to cherish when they return to Australia, and to focus on their nearest and dearest, rather than making it all about the bride and groom. Shooting details and decor has its place. We love to shoot the details, the brides in their vintage gowns of antique lace, the fancy plates and chalkboard signs. But if those things become more of the focus than the actual people and love stories, we’ve completely missed the point. We know that it’s important to remember that 10 years from now no one’s going to give a monkey’s if we got published or won an award if we missed shots like the one above while trying to get popular or be trendy.

So to those couples planning their wedding photography we say: ask yourself what’s important to you in having your wedding photographed. Don’t let convention or fashion dictate. Think about what matters to you.

Weddings

Show up, shut up and shoot

August 5, 2017By harrykerr

When Donna and Stephen asked us to photograph their wedding on Inch Island recently, they were clear that what they wanted was for us to capture the occasion with the minimum of fuss and formality.Basically, that’s how we prefer to approach this kind of work anyway, so we had a great time watching the day unfold.In most weddings, the more formal “Wedding Photographs” are really just a short pause in the midst of all the activity, not the centrepiece of the day. Short, sweet and move on.So, a quick stop in Fahan, away from their guests for just a short while, then on to the Inishowen Gateway Hotel for the rest of the celebration.We think it all worked out pretty well. Show up, shut up, and shoot.

Weddings

Over The Gap

March 28, 2017March 28, 2017By harrykerr

The clocks have changed and apparently it’s officially Springtime here. The days are beginning to stretch and the light lingers little longer in the evenings. We closed out last years weddings in the company of Michelle and Stephen whose celebrations carried them through midnight and into a New Year and a new phase in their life together. Hair and Makeup expertly managed by “Powder ‘n’ Pout” from Carndonagh, in a Maggie Sottero gown from “Beautiful Day Bridal Cottage” in Greysteel, County Derry, Michelle set off to St Michael’s in Urris as the grey skies filled with rain over Mamore Gap. Over the years, we’ve photographed a lot of weddings here, in fair weather and foul. Urris, as anyone who knows the area will tell you, sees some fairly severe conditions at times and this day was no exception. Still the guests laughed and joked with us as they rushed from their cars through the downpour to the shelter of this remote church, dismissive of the wild and windy day. Roof beams creaking in the wind did nothing to distract from the musical accompaniment to the ceremony by Maeve Ward with the service conducted with his usual warmth and humour by Fr. Brady. The service over, we set off to visit the home of Stephen’s Grandmother which lies at the foot of the road leading thought the Gap of Mamore.Later, despite the weather and, specifically at the request of Michelle, we headed up to The Gap. The strip fields below are a well known landmark in this area but more importantly this is where Stephen and his family are from, this is their place and part of who they are. It’s an appropriate background, but not just photographically. As dusk fell we moved on to The Ballyliffin Hotel, the wedding formalities all but over aside from the speeches, the wedding celebrations continued as the New Year rolled around.

On Photography, Weddings

In The Deep Midwinter

March 19, 2017March 19, 2017By harrykerr

The basic requirements for making a photograph are light and time. Those two elements, coupled with some sort sensitive surface be it digital or film based and you’re pretty much sorted. If however, as Shane & Kerry did, you set the date for December 30th, you can be pretty certain that light and time are going to be in fairly short supply here in Donegal. It has often been said, in the world of wedding planning, that the one element you can’t book in advance is the weather. Nonetheless, while the weather could have been kinder, it could certainly have been much worse, and Shane & Kerry seemed pretty unconcerned. The low, cool, blue winter light contrasted sharply with the warmth of St. Mary’s Church. Venturing into the cold once more even as dusk fell, Shane and Kerry were still determined to see through their plans to have their wedding photographs include at least some outdoor settings. So with the last faint rays after the sun had set, with a little help from a video light, the floodlights on the Castle Bridge and maybe just a hint of the wedding car headlights we made one last quick stop before the reception.

Special Occasions, Weddings

Are You Dancing? Are You Asking?

October 29, 2016October 29, 2016By harrykerr

Gary & Claire’s wedding, the first wedding in the newly refurbished Plaza Ballroom in the heart of the Main Street in Buncrana.Over the years The Plaza Ballroom witnessed its share of romance. Saturday night dances probably saw the beginning of many relationships with young couples who would go on to marry after a first meeting under the ballroom lights. The small hall opened in 1944, the Main Ballroom on July 12th 1958 and throughout the 60’s and 70’s The Plaza was at its peak. Later years saw the Dance Halls up and down the country wane in their popularity, and lights of The Plaza grew dim. Saturday night dancing was replaced by Sunday night Bingo until that too came to and end in the 90’s. Over the years the building had fallen into disrepair, and the black & white pictures of the dance goers in their Saturday night outfits which lined the walls faded into memory. The Sunday morning display of pictures in the little shop across the street, where couples or friends could buy a copy of their photographs from the night before, ended too. A community led effort in recent years has seen The Plaza come to life again and once more the crowds are drawn in on the weekend for bands, plays and dancing. The celebration of Gary & Claire’s marriage, with catering by The Lily Rose, was the first wedding reception to be held here in maybe 40 years. The couple themselves painstakingly crafted the table favours and the decorations.A new era of Saturday night dancers, as we pay our little homage to the tradition of ‘having your picture taken’ at The Plaza. Gary & Claire with Ursula, who helps manage The Plaza today as it comes back to life.So, the lights have come back on and once again the dance floor in the Plaza fills with people.

Weddings

Far From Any Road

October 6, 2016By harrykerr

Mary & Leo recently made the long trip back home from Australia to Donegal for their wedding in the spectacular setting of Letterkenny CathedralUsually separated from their families by twelve thousand miles or more, their day started from the place they still think of as homeSet on a hill, high above the hustle and bustle of the town, The Cathedral offers a calm, quiet haven from the world outside While weddings are undeniably serious ceremonies, there should always be a place for a little levity and humour to calm any frayed nerves Photographers seem to get younger every day Ceremony and formalities almost all done the wedding moved on to Castlegrove House, just a few miles from the town Winding down the laneway, far from any road, family and friends take their ease in the tranquility and privacy that Castlegrove offers Weddings like this one are not easily organised from the other side of the world, the logistics are challenging to say the least. They are too, for us, a reminder of how happy we are when we are given the opportunity to share in them and contribute what we can to making them memorable

Weddings

Unplugged

April 24, 2016By harrykerr

We recently had the privilege of photographing a particularly lovely wedding day. One with only a select number of guests, held in one of Ireland’s finest hotels. It rained a bit, but not too much, the sun came out, but not for long, it was a little bit special.

But we won’t be sharing photographs of the bride getting her hair styled, or her father getting a first glimpse of the bride in her finery, or the groom nervously checking his speech, or their first kiss as husband and wife…….Because we understand that sometimes our clients want to keep these intimate moments within their intimate sphere.

This couple were very particular about every detail of their wedding day (not picky, not control freaky just particular), and in particular they knew that they wanted to share this day only with their nearest and dearest.

So their request that their photographs remain private was entirely in keeping with the tone of the day

Portrait Photography, Special Occasions

Coming Home

March 3, 2016By harrykerr

Perhaps more than most countries, Ireland has a history of emigration. Stretching back over the centuries, whether out of economic necessity or a sense of adventure, Ireland’s people have found themselves in the furthest corners of the globe. Still, it seems however far they travel, or for however long, this place remains “home” in the minds of the diaspora.

That feeling of home, of being at home in a place, of being of that place, recently brought baby Oliver back ‘home’ from Australia to be christened at St Columb’s Cathedral in Derry. In the midst of his family and in a place they felt to be a part of them. Occasions such as this can be tinged with a little sadness too, families being only briefly reunited before once again going their separate ways. We were delighted to be able to photograph the event and make these pictures which he and his family will always have to remember this day and this place.

Portrait Photography, Weddings

Double Vision

February 28, 2016March 2, 2016By harrykerr

Over the years we’ve photographed a lot of weddings and, every so often we’ll meet the couples we’ve worked with in the past again, as their families grow. It doesn’t seem so long ago that photographed Jo & Michael’s wedding in London, but here they are again. This time their family has grown more quickly than is usually the case, and they came in to the studio the other day with Sarah, Sylvia and a very happy Granny.

On Photography

Past, Present, Future and Forgotten Passwords

January 5, 2016March 2, 2016By harrykerr

Time will never stand still and those moments that bring us such joy become memories in an instant. To capture such a moment and record it forever is truly monumental.

Joshua Atticks

We’re all familiar with the idea that to have a photograph of something helps us maintain a feeling of connection with the person or thing pictured. Since the earliest days of photography, this idea that we can ‘hold on’ to people or a thing now passed has been one of the primary motivations behind the taking or making of photographs. Photography though, from a technical point at least is in a constant state of change. From the earliest Daguerrotypes to Wet Plate Collodion to Silver-based Film and now to digital capture, the machinery has evolved over time. At the heart of the matter though, the wish to preserve images remains. In some minds perhaps, the photographic print or the wedding album seems out-dated, even unnecessary. Today we can store our images “In the Cloud”, we can carry them with us on our ‘phones or tablet, send them by email, post them on Facebook or distribute and share them in a dozen ways or more. The thing is though, that all these things will change. The value in a properly made photographic print you can hold in your hand or put on your wall however, remains constant. We all know we can trust these things to stand the test of time quite simply because we have seen the evidence, in our parents and grandparents photographs which hang in our homes without any device being needed to access them, no password required.

The Wedding Portrait of Doris & Michael Bradley : 1926

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MEMORYFACTORY

Professional Photography Donegal : Tel +353 (0)86 3080 313

Author: harrykerr

Background Noise

Show up, shut up and shoot

Over The Gap

In The Deep Midwinter

Are You Dancing? Are You Asking?

Far From Any Road

Unplugged

Coming Home

Double Vision

Past, Present, Future and Forgotten Passwords

Professional Photography Donegal : Tel +353 (0)86 3080 313

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