After a relative easy week shooting in the marquee at the five-star Doonbeg golf resort (which I read this week in the Irish Times, has now been bought over by US property mogul Donald Trump), where it was basically all lit – this week wasn’t so easy.
So we were back down in County Clare again, this time to shoot a number of areas inside Dromoland Castle, with the Land Rover fully loaded…
.. as I knew this was going to be a lighting challenge for sure.
Anyway, first up was to create a meeting style image in the newly decorated Terrace Room – so after Marie had finished setting it up…
.. Carl blocked the sunlight, which I wasn’t actually expecting…
.. and we had our first image in the bag…
.. before heading to the Lounge area, where it was clear from the start that this is where we’d have to work for our money…
.. but thanks to everyone and especially to Carl here…
.. who worked hard on the lighting – and then posed as the waiter while Marie lit the fire…
.. it only took us 2 hours to create this image…
.. which I was very, very pleased with – as this one had really worried me.
Then it was back into the Terrace Room again…
.. this time to shoot it as it would be setup for a banquet during the day…
.. and /or at night…
.. so basically we shot it both ways – to be sure, to be sure, as they word say here in Ireland 
The following morning it was into the Cocktail bar…
.. which was formerly the Castle library – so while Carl set up the lights outside…
.. we moved the furniture so as to see the fireplace…
.. before adding the finishing touches to create this image…
.. which again I was personally very pleased with – as this one had worried me too, mainly due to how I would light it.
After that, it was over to The Inn at Dromoland to shoot the Presidential Suite, which required a bit of work as they wanted just one image to capture it all – so while Marie did her thing…
.. Carl & I did our thing – and for the fun of it, being close to Valentines day and all that, I decided to add a scene from the film Gone with the Wind – staring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara…
.. and Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes – who I was named after it seems
So that was it – after what I can only describe as a major lighting challenge – it was time to load-up the Land Rover once again…
.. and head home in the rain – very tired but very pleased with the end results.
Anyway, just like to say big thanks to everyone involved – especially to Mark & Fiona from Dromoland Castle for making us feel so welcome.
From Marie, Carl & me @ ampimage.com in County Clare.
Ashley Morrison's Blog 
Interesting read and fabulous photos, as always!
Comment by Amy Dolego — August 14, 2014 @ 5:29 pm |
terrific work and a fun read
Comment by Dale Charles — April 24, 2014 @ 3:04 pm |
Ashley, one thing that I was hoping you’d be able to answer, slightly off-topic. Have you ever needed to clean the inner white of the Bowens SunLite reflector dish? Does it get scratched or dirty from your extensive travel and constant use? Thanks!
Comment by Leo — February 16, 2014 @ 8:39 am |
Yes it does need to be re-painted from time to time, to keep the white nice and white, as it will start to discolour with age.
Comment by Ashley Morrison — February 16, 2014 @ 10:06 am |
Thank you very much for regularly updating, Ashley. The amount of work it takes to bring up the darker rooms is always much harder than it appears, and I love that you’re retaining the naturalness of the room. Keep up the good work!
Comment by Leo — February 16, 2014 @ 8:29 am |
Took just over 2 hours to produce the Fireplace image and well over 3 hours to produce the Bar image – so thank-you for taking the time-out here to comment on our work – as praise is indeed bread to an artist 🙂
Comment by Ashley Morrison — February 16, 2014 @ 9:55 am |
So much fun, lighting from the outside in. Great post Ashley
Comment by Rob Durston — February 15, 2014 @ 7:42 pm |
Great post!
Comment by juliecrombe — February 15, 2014 @ 6:58 pm |