A Slice of History

Is the title of our latest published work which can be seen in the November 2020 issue of Ireland’s Homes Interiors & Living magazine…

.. on pages 56 to 65 – featuring Sue and Alan Wilton’s renovated Georgian cottage near Lisburn in County Antrim.

“When experienced renovator Sue first stepped into this unique Georgian house that she would soon call home, the sense of history emanating from every room was almost tangible.”

So congratulations to Alan and Sue here…

.. for making it into this beautifully printed magazine – from Janet, Dianne, Ivan and me

Making a wish come true.

Back in the early 80’s, I took this picture of the men’s swimming & diving team in the changing rooms at the University of Houston…

.. which includes many of the guys that I have stayed in touch with over the years – thanks mainly to Mike Collins (who was on the Track & Field team) as he suggested a number of years ago that we all become “Friends” on Facebook.

Which in turn then naturally lead me to open ‘The Box’ which contains all the prints and negative I had taken back then – as well as newspaper cutting, scrapbooks and lots of other stuff from around that time in my life too… which I would refer to as “My swimming years”.

Anyway, after years of saying I would love to meet up with all of these guys again, this year I finally made a start at making that wish come true.

Tom Cook, who can be seen here on the pool deck at the Universtiy of Houston…

.. is definitely one of the guys on that list – and so when he contacted me to say that his wife, Lisa, and son, GreySun, were coming over to Ireland for a few days, the answer was “Yes, I would love to meet them” even before he had to ask

And so it was, as you can see at the Old Bushmills Distillery…

.. in County Antrim.

“Bushmills Irish Whiskey is made at Ireland’s oldest working distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland on the beautiful North Coast. Our original grant to distil was signed in 1608 by King James 1st and there has been distillation on this site since then, using the unique water from our own stream and Irish barley.”

Plus, at the Giant’s Causeway…

.. “Shaka Brah!” Tom.

“Flanked by the wild North Atlantic Ocean and a landscape of dramatic cliffs, for centuries the Giant’s Causeway has inspired artists, stirred scientific debate and captured the imagination of all who see it. Is it the handiwork of legendary giant Finn McCool or the result of volcanic fury millions of years ago?”

Ashley Morrison: It was an honor and a pleasure, Tom – just wish you could have been with them.
So time to work on Plan H… which I will keep you all posted on 🙂

Lisa Tanner Cook: … And maybe Plan C 😎🌊🏄‍♂️

Tom Cook: Plan C – California Cook’s

Time to make another wish come true

Back in action.

Well, it’s been a while – mainly due to me not being well, which is another story – but anyway, we were back in action this week…

.. shooting a room which Donna, a good friend of Marie & Stuart, had been working on above her garage.

So it was just like old times – ‘Deep in thought’ as Stuart said here when he sent this image through…

.. of the girls studying the image on the laptop screen, while I’m trying to figure out how to work the camera by the looks of things

Anyway, both Stuart & Marie worked their magic….

.. and so before long the first image of Donna, sitting so as not to disturb the cushions…

.. was in the bag.

Then it was detailed shots…

.. which Stuart once again titled ‘Many hands’…

.. which they did indeed make light work here…

.. and so before long we were almost done.

Still, there was the return angle to shoot – so Marie took a quick picture with her iPad here…

.. to show us all that she felt should be the shot.

So while I set-up the camera to see what it would look like…

.. Marie explained her vision of how she saw it:

“Bathroom door closed – grey sofas just cutting in each side – cushions on white day bed framing the shot 🙂
Graphic/Classy.”

Right – so how about this…

.. was my thinking – which by the look on Marie’s face here…

.. wasn’t quite what she was thinking

Anyway, it was good to be back – and finish with my personal favorite image…

.. which I’m hoping the editors will like too.

So this is just a wee note from me to say thank you to all of you guys – and especially to Donna for inviting us in – an amazing job, so thank you.

From Marie, Stuart & me @ ampimage.com

A Complete Transformation

Is the title of our latest published work in the May 2014 issue of Ireland’s Homes Interiors & Living magazine…

.. on pages 78 to 87 – featuring Breige and Stephen Conway’s Victorian townhouse in the County Antrim coastal town of Cushendall.

“Breige and Stephen from Cushendall in County Antrim explain why village life has made the chaos of their refurbishment project worth the upheaval.”

Which we talked about here: Labour of love – at the time when we shot it.

Stunningly reproduced as always – which is what I love so much about this magazine – so this is just a quick note to say a big thanks to everyone involved here in this feature and congratulations to Breige & Stephen once again, for making it into this beautifully printed Irish glossy magazine.

From Marie, Mandi & me @ ampimage.com

Lets talk cushions.

As the girls debated the merits of cushions…

.. and which ones worked best – so it was all about “keeping with the neutral scheme but adding interest and depth with unusual cushions with writing and numbers” or some such thing – as I set-up the camera and lights to produce a number of images…

.. of this beautifully converted old farmhouse…

.. near Portglenone in County Antrim – the home of Victoria & Neil Robertson.

The story-line:

Victoria is from Northern Ireland but studied and worked in London for several years where she met Neil who is from Cornwall.
Moving back to Northern Ireland was very much a lifestyle decision for the couple – slower pace of life, starting a family, being closer to Victoria’s parents, etc – and also the fact that their budget stretched so much further when it came to buying a house in Northern Ireland compared to the South of England.

And so as these first captures show…

.. the talk was all about how a tiny little splash of pale blue here…

.. could make all the difference – and so naturally Victoria had to sit on the edge of the sofa, so as not to disturb them

Even in the master bedroom…

.. the talk was all about cushions & throws…

.. and how adding a wee splash of colour…

.. could make a big difference – right through to the last image…

.. of the day.

So forget about what camera I used or what lights I used, etc – let’s talk about cushions instead

Seriously though, as I would often say to Marie – when we talk about all of this stuff – one is only as good as the weakest link – so what’s in front of the camera, is every bit as important as what’s behind it – which is where she as a Stylist comes into play – because those cushions did make a big difference here… which I know little about.

Not surprising then, that Marie recently set-up a new company called Natural Calico – which is all about cushions such as this Carte Postale Cushion…

.. and those finishing touches, that can greatly help turn your house into a beautiful home.

So a way to go girls – great teamwork – which at the end of the day, as far as I’m concerned, is what this type of photography is all about.

From Marie & me @ ampimage.com

Overlooking Sixmilewater Valley…

.. and Donegore Hill, just outside Templepatrick in County Antrim – is where we were shooting the other day, in Ruth & David’s Ulster farmhouse.

The sun has been shining most of this week – after a few weeks of snow – and even though most of our work is indoors, the difference a bit of sunshine can make is huge – as it pours through the windows and just makes everyone feel & everything look so good.

Which was very much the case here, as the place was almost naturally lit…

.. and everyone was in great form too.

Still, it is said that photographing interiors is “10% creativity and 90% moving furniture”, which as you can see here…

.. was very true – as we moved things around to suit the camera, which often sees things differently to the eye.

So it’s usually a case of taking a picture first, to see how it looks as is – which is what Marie is standing here waiting to see…

.. as she looks over to the laptop’s screen, across the room – and then we do what we feel is needed, to end up with something like this:

So it’s a bit of a slow process – but Ruth thoroughly enjoyed it all, as we turned her house upside down 🙂

And after seeing the final results yesterday, she wrote to say:

Marie and Ashley,
OOOOOOH MY WORD!!
What more can I say? The pictures are stunning and I don’t have any more words to express that.
And what about Davids response to the living room? I wish you had been here. These were his words- How did we never think of that? This is like a new room, I love it.
Thank you both for Thursday, it was a pleasure and I have every confidence you will both go from strength to strength in your work. I have looked at photos of other homes and locations on your website…….aaaaaah!
Marie I look forward to seeing Natural Calico, and the Bangor house is patiently waiting to be embellished……
With very best wishes to you both,
Ruth
xx

Which was a really lovely reaction.

So ‘thank you’ Ruth and David for inviting us along – and making us both feel so welcome.
We will keep you posted.

From Marie & me @ ampimage.com