House of Fun.

Is the title of our latest published work in the November 2018 issue of Ireland’s Homes Interiors & Living magazine…

.. on pages 82 to 93 – which features Deborah and Graham’s semi-detached house in the Belmont area of Belfast.

“Deborah and Graham took a classic base, added a dash of vintage blended with quirkiness and colour to create a uniquely happy home in Belfast.”

Which we talked about shooting here: No ordinary house will make it.

So congratulations to Deborah and Graham here…

.. for this time making it into Ireland’s largest selling monthly interiors and lifestyle magazine – from Marie and Stuart…

.. plus Mandi and me

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Classic design that stands the test of time.

Homes & Gardens is one of Britain’s oldest decorating magazines, which has been in circulation since 1919.

“Aspirational yet accessible, stylish, sophisticated and indulgent, Homes & Gardens showcases classic design that stands the test of time.”

Back in 2015 Jacqui and her husband, Peter, returned to Ireland and bought this large, derelict house…

.. as a renovation project.

Unoccupied for a while it seems, therefore in a terrible state of repair – so they totally stripped it back to brick…

.. and removed virtually all the woodwork apart from the staircase – as it seems they really did want a challenge

Anyway, after receiving a call from Janet McMeekin, a London based writer who also once lived here, we were recently invited to take a look – and the rest is now history, as they would say…

.. because before very long Ivan had the lights up and Dianne had everything, including Jacqui here…

.. looking like something you would see in a magazine.
But not just any old magazine, because yes I’m delighted to say, that 100 years after Homes & Gardens was first launched, you will now be able to see our work in that magazine too

So a big thanks to Ivan & Dianne here…

.. as well as to Janet, because it was “great teamwork” like you said – but most importantly I’d like to congratulate Jacqui and Peter, because if the icing on the cake was winning a heritage award, then this has got to be the cherry on top of that

One to look out for at the start of next year…

.. in Britain’s oldest decorating magazines which showcases classic design that stands the test of time

Favourite shot has to be the Michael Jordan one.

We were shooting a new build house in the County Down seaside village of Ballyhalbert this week – which belonged to John Wilson, who owns a gallery and framing business – and being like 6 foot 6 and then some, his passion is naturally basketball which he has played at a fairly senior level over the years.

The Storyline:

“As a little boy, John’s family rented a holiday home in Ballyhalbert where he had fond memories of family holidays – boats, fishing etc.
Initially, he loved the idea of a converted barn – but the opportunity to buy one within his budget didn’t arise.
So he decided to look for a site and build from scratch.
Style-wise, he likes a slightly eclectic mix of mid-century furniture (mostly from his grandparents’ former home) plus some very old rustic pieces he picked up cheaply – alongside some more contemporary items.”

Anyway, John had sent Marie a few pictures of his place a few weeks ago, which she then forwarded on to me with comments like so:
“Love the 2 sofas and footstool and stove…
Could see us getting a very strong shot here!!!”

Yes, looks good to me too – and so after re-arranging of the sofas to suit the camera angle and a quick bit of styling by Marie, the first picture was taken…

.. to let everyone see what the camera was seeing – as it’s not seeing the room from 6 foot 6 up in the air

Anyway, after a bit more ‘pushing and shoving’ by John & Marie, lights were in place and so it was time to shoot the man himself…

.. standing tall and very much at home.

The money shot or the lead shot as we would call it – which is like the all-important one – and so that was a ‘slam dunk’ as far as I was concerned

Anyway, as the rain poured down we pushed on and slowly worked our way throughout his house, shooting not only each of the overall​ rooms but also some details shots like so…

.. before moving upstairs to shoot the bedrooms etc.

The picture John had sent Marie of the master bedroom looked like so…

.. which Marie said: “I wouldn’t be long sorting this out…”

And neither she was – as it was already looking good by the time I had set the camera up to take this first shot…

.. which again after some work by John & Marie ended up looking like this…

.. where the most time was spent on debating where the basketball should be

Seriously though it was fun shoot – and the following day after John saw the final results, he replied by saying:

“You work fast Ashley, pictures look amazing!!!”

“Favourite shot has to be the Michael Jordan one but don’t be telling Marie that! haha”

Which refers to this image…

.. of the large framed picture of Michael Jordan titled ‘Wings’ on the landing – which really was stunning – and in itself told the story of who lived here. i.e. someone who is clearly into basketball and beautiful framing of artwork​ too.

A picture that is worth a 1000 words, especially to John – who we would both like to thank for inviting us in and making us feel so welcome, from Marie & me @ ampimage.com

Raising the bar.

Is the title of our latest published work in the May 2016 issue of 25 Beautiful Homes magazine…

.. on pages 116 to 119 – which features Amy & Gareth Scott’s semi-detached period house in the County Down town of Bangor.

“Amy and Gareth Scott decided to go big and bold when upsizing their family home.”

Which I talked about shooting here: Family living – a few years ago.

So just want to say Congratulations to them all here…

.. for raising the bar and making it into this beautiful top selling national magazine – from Marie, Mandi & me @ ampimage.com

Overlooking Belfast Lough.

This week we headed to Holywood in County Down (as opposed to Hollywood in American) were we produce some images of this magnificent house…

.. which belongs to Anna & Jamie McMinnis.

Pretty stunning – as were the view too, as it looked out over Belfast Lough – which on a day like this, was something else.

Anyway, inside was equally impressive – to the eye anyway – but as can be seen here…

.. what looks good to the eye, doesn’t always look good for the camera – or at least not as good as one would like it to be sometimes.

So the team when to work on this one – Claudio set-up the lights and Marie…

.. well she posed for another ‘a behind the scenes’ image by the looks of it

Anyway, after both Marie & Claudio had done their thing, the transform was from the camera’s point of view, was now more like what my eye was seeing, i.e. a beautiful room which would look amazing especially if the sun was pouring in.
So once we had achieved that, then it was time for a shot of Anna – and this was the result…

.. as she posed to perfection, to complete the story we were trying to tell here.

The kitchen was next…

.. which as you can see here…

.. required very little work, besides the placement of a few very nice cups and the controlling of the light.

And so it was throughout this contemporary style house – Claudio worked on the lighting, Marie posed for another behind​ the sense shot…

.. as well as added the final touches too – which, joking aside, I think she is brilliant at – and I took lots of pictures like this…

.. to complete the story that we were all trying to tell – which was simply to say, it looks amazing, as you can see

Anna’s reply, after I sent her a link to preview our work, as well as her own of course:

“Thank you very much, Ashley, ​for sending us the photographs, they look stunning!”

“Praise is bread to an artist” – so thank you and thank you for inviting us in too – because we felt that your house and what you had done here inside it, was pretty stunning too – so great teamwork​ is how I would see it

From Marie, Claudio & me overlooking Belfast Lough in Holywood.

Free-standing.

An easy one to end the month, as it was a Saturday after all – but nevertheless for me it was a tricky enough one to light – as you can see this kitchen was basically split in two…

.. the extended part, which was closer to the camera, is filled with natural light – while the part that I want the viewer’s eye to be drawn through to, is dark.

So it was my ass on the line here…

.. as other than that, there was very little else needed to be done here, in this lovely free-standing unit kitchen.

Anyway, a blast of ‘sunlight’ and a touch of fill – and we were pretty much here as you can see…

.. so other than a few mini teaks, we were ready for Nicola to strike the pose…

.. in her perfectly colour coordinated outfit – which without doubt, will be the image that an Editor will want to go big on.

So with the main shot in the bag and the lighting already set-up for this area…

.. it didn’t really take us to long to create this next image…

.. along with some nice detail shots – before swinging back around…

.. to capture this cooker area…

.. which meant moving the table and re-lighting – but other than that, it was ready to shoot…

.. and so this was a nice easy one to end the month – thanks mainly to Nicola & Ray who had done a great job here.

Thereby giving Marie plenty of time to take some great behind (the scenes) shots

As easy as 123.

They say ‘Amateurs talk about equipment, Pros talk about money and Masters talk about light’ – which is in some ways is true; however, I reckon most photographers will actually talk about all three, because each is important to them – as most know, one is only as good as the weakest link.

Anyway, today I’m going to talk a bit about lighting – which is something I’ve spend the last 30 years trying to master, as a photographer – who according to Wikipedia:

A photographer [the Greek φῶς (phos), meaning “light”, and γραφή (graphê), meaning “drawing, writing”, together meaning “drawing with light”] is a person who takes photographs.

Anyway, at this time of year, the days are short here in Ireland and it’s not always ideal weather neither, as it often dark & very grey outside – which therefore naturally effects how it looks indoors too. Which was very much the case last week, when we were shooting this 1920’s detached house in Belfast, as you can see here in the 1st frame…

.. which I took to see what the room looked like first, naturally lit.

Then in this 2nd frame…

.. you can see I added a directional light, while Marie starts to tweak a few things in front of the camera.

And in this 3rd frame…

.. you can see I added some fill light… and there you basically have it.

Well almost – as that was really only the start of it, as there were about another 30 minutes of the girls playing around before we finally asked Megan to strike the pose here…

.. by which stage, it had been ‘styled to within an inch of your life’ as Marie would say – but that’s another story for another day

So by no means ideal light; however, it was as simple as one…

.. two…

.. three…

.. and after 30 years of practicing – as well as the odd wee tweak here & thereby Marie who also makes it all look so simple to do – we had the next shot of the dining room here…

.. in the bag.

And so it was throughout this house – 123, 123, 123 next

It was just the 4, 5 & 6 parts that slow us down – but nevertheless, what a great house – so just like to say big thanks to Megan and Bryan here for inviting us in and we will keep you posted once we hear more.

From Marie & me @ ampimage.com near Stormont Park in Belfast.

Trading Up

Was the name of the TV programme Louise Lear was presenting at the time – who is probably best know for her role as a BBC Weather presenter – so we where invited along to capture this renovated bungalow in Hertfordshire…

.. which Louise and her husband Ian, plus their two boys, James & Miles, called their home.

Looking back now at the series of shots taken – like this one of Marie in the kitchen…

.. who was sitting in while I tweaked the lighting for this shot…

.. was in a way​, a bit like the programme – as each time I shot Marie…

.. I then traded her up…

.. for the Real McCoy

Seriously though, couldn’t do it without her, as she is always like one step in front of me, which often puts a new meaning behind the term ‘behind the senses’ – as it’s her behind I often end up capturing…

.. as she works her magic in front of the camera, to help create beautiful images like this…

.. of Louise with her two sons, James & Miles, in the living room beside the kitchen.

The real star of the show as seen here again…

.. being traded up…

.. for a series of images that have had more hits on our website than any other.

Was I thinking of Trading her Up, I hear you say… no way – but I did enjoy the TV show and so was delighted to meet Louise – a true professional in every way, especially as a young mother whose family were also a pleasure to meet.

Featured in the October issue of BBC Good Homes magazine…

.. back in 2006 and in Property Projects in the May 2007 issue…

.. which is hard to believe as it really doesn’t seem that long ago – but there you have it.

So for all of you who Google search her name and then end up on our website as a result, this Blog is for you, to help complete the story behind that picture of Louise

Labour of love…

.. in Cushendall – and so capturing that was our latest project.

When Briege & Stephen decided to buy this house, 9 years ago, on their wish list was: a small traditional town in which to raise a family, plus a period house with character. Despite having no connections with the town, they spotted this house and fell for it, even though it needed a massive amount of work. The fact that Cushendall is on the coast and is also close to beautiful glens and forestry nailed it! Basically, it was a complete gut job – which meant making one room habitable and living there throughout the renovation, while bringing up their young family.
So it was a true labour of love for all.

And I think that showed in our images, as it was all hands on board throughout the day, to capture this stylish…

.. urban home.

So we would just like to say big thanks to Briege, Stephen, John and especially to Clerys here…

.. who was the Star throughout the day – for making us feel so welcome and letting us capture your beautiful home.

From Marie & me @ampimage.com

We felt at home from the first visit !

Is the title of our latest published work in the May 2011 issue of GoodHomes magazine…

.. on pages 76 to 82 – featuring Mandi Millar and her husband Gary Grattan’s 1980s bungalow near the market town of Ballyclare in County Antrim.

“Mandi Millar and her husband Gary Grattan used a consistent colour palette to transform a tired bungalow into a bright and welcoming family home.”

So a big Congratulations to Mandi, Gary and their son Christy here…

.. your BB, as you call it, looks fantastic.