Ocean View Restaurant

Back in 2020 we also looked at shooting this area at Trump Doonbeg…

.. which is known as the Ocean View Restaurant – but once again, because of COVID-19, that didn’t happen 😦

So when Niamh sent us through this image at the end of last year…

.. we could see that little had changed – and so that’s were we started the following morning after arriving, as the weather forecast suggested it would be sunny for a few hours at least. Which is what I was counting on, as we obviously wanted to see the ocean here, as well as the room itself.  

Anyway, since there was a huge difference in exposure between outside and in, as this first image clearly shows… 

.. more lights were required than expected – as well as sand bags for the lights outside, to create this image…

.. before we decided to take this second shot showing more of the ocean view… 

.. to help tie in with what they say on their website:

A BEAUTIFUL SETTING OVERLOOKING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

“The award-winning Ocean View Restaurant in Co Clare, overlooking Doughmore Bay, is unrivaled in its setting which provides a marked contrast to the subtle sophistication of the kitchen. You have the choice of an A la Carte menu or an intriguing tasting menu where you will find local seasonal produce complimented by our expansive wine list with warm and inviting service.”

The other part of this restaurant that they wanted us to capture was this area…

.. which leads through to this area…

.. which we shot back in 2009 during our very first shoot at this hotel. 

Anyway, as we could tell from this picture that they sent to us…

.. there now were tables on both sides – and so with that in mind, we made a start…

.. and this was the final result…

.. after everyone had done their thing – while I stood and watched 🙂 

Seriously though, because we were having to work around their schedule of when both people & areas would be available, as well as work around when the sun would shine to let us see the view, I was shattered by the end of the first day. In hindsight, I should have hired a second assistant, because I’m really starting to feel my age when it comes to this type of work –  but at least Ivan & Dianne were in good form, as were all the staff at the hotel too.

Anyway, next up: Trump’s bar & restaurant – which was ‘The Big One’ as far as I was concerned, for a number of reasons. 

White Horses Spa

Just before the whole COVID-19 thing happen back in 2020, we called with Niamh O’Shea, who was the Creative Director at the Trump International hotel near Doonbeg in County Clare, to talk about producing some new images for them to use in their advertising & marketing material. And so I took some quick pictures, like this one in the White Horses Spa… 

.. which was one of the areas that she felt they needed a few new images of – and then as usual, we put together a concept report for them, etc. 

But due to the whole COVID-19 thing happening, that was basically the end of it 😦

Until last year that is, when Niamh once again got in touch and then sent us through some images like this… 

.. of the various areas that they now wanted some new images of. 

I say ‘new images of’ because between 2009 and 2014 we actually did take lots of pictures for them, including an image of this area which they have used a lot over the years. But they feel it now looks different – and so basically wanted a new version of this image created…

.. which was produced back in 2010.

No problems I thought, until the first image that appeared on scene looked like this…  

.. and then I knew it wasn’t going to be as easy to recreate that image, especially as they wanted the curtains closed this time – which they usually are it seems. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this was the final result… 

.. which, I’m pleased to say, they will now be using for the next few years at least.

One of the other areas in the Spa that they asked us to look at was this Relaxation Room…

.. which started out looking like this on my screen…

.. but ended up looking like this…

.. after deciding a person wasn’t really needed in the end, as we felt it said “I want to be there” without one.

And finally they wanted an image to show someone getting a massage in one of their treatment rooms – but they didn’t want it to look as bright as this…

.. they wanted it to look more like this…

.. but not just as dark – and so this was the final result… 

.. after Dianne & Ivan had worked their magic once again, on both the styling and the lighting.

The Residents Bar, Ocean View Restaurant and the Trump’s bar & restaurant to follow – but for now I just want to thank everyone involved in helping us produce these images in the White Horses Spa… from Dianne, Ivan & me @ ampimage.com

A whiter shade of pale

Is the title of our latest work as seen in the November/December issue of House and Home magazine…

.. on pages 50 to 59.

“Marie and Alan channelled a New England vibe when remodelling their warm white Belfast home.”

Which we shot a few months ago…

.. after Marie had worked very hard to decorate it ahead of time…

.. so we took lots of detail shots…

.. as well as the normal room shots, which were all naturally styled to perfection.

As Ruth Bell, the writer, said at the start of the feature “Once you’ve spent a few moments in the home of Marie and Alan McMillen, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d washed up on the shores of New England…” which is very true.

A very good spread – nicely designed and well written too.

From Marie…

.. and me – helping to get you in the mood for a whiter Christmas this year.

A Real Character

Featuring Jamie Trimble…

..and Danny…

.. his German Pointer, in their two bedroom Georgian terrace house in the County Down town of Dromore.

Both real characters – hence the title of our latest published work, which can be seen in the April 2022 issue of Ireland’s Homes Interiors & Living magazine…

.. on pages 66 to 75.

“Thanks to his creative eye, photographer Jamie Trimble was able to turn a rundown property in Dromore into a stylist home.”

His first renovation project…

.. which he talks at length about…

.. which therefore just leaves me to say: Congratulations, Jamie…

.. for making it into Ireland’s largest selling interior magazine for 27 years – from Marie, Mandi & me.

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

Windows on the World.

Is the title of our latest published work in the March 2015 issue of Ireland’s Homes Interiors & Living magazine…

.. on pages 70 to 83, plus on the cover too – featuring Fiona and Brian Shiells’ architectural new build near Dungannon in County Tyrone.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! It took ten planning applications before planners accepted Brian and Jane’s contemporary design in the heart of County Tyrone’s countryside.”

Which we talked about shooting here: Little to do here.

Anyway, making the cover once again was Wow, as that’s now 3 in a row – but even more Wow, is how this home looks in this absolutely beautifully printed Irish glossy magazine… over all those pages too !!

So delighted to see this – and so would just like to say a big congratulations to Brian and his wife once again, for this time making it into the cover too – and a big thanks everyone else involved here as well.

From Marie, Mandi & me @ ampimage.com – smiling as we look through the windows on the World

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.

Belated Christmas.

Or Christmas comes early – depending which way you want to look at it – as we were shooting Amanda and Keith’s double fronted mid terrace house in Belfast last week…

.. for a magazine feature in future Christmas issues.

So with the tree still up, I set-up the camera while Amanda made some last minute changes…

.. before lots more changes were made, while I worked on the lighting…

.. to give it a much more bright & airy feel, even thought it was raining outside.

Still, with everything and everyone in place…

.. the first set of images were in the bag, one hour after we had arrived – which for us, is actually pretty good going

Lots of detail shots naturally – and then into the kitchen…

.. where the fun began again – as Marie & Amanda did their thing…

.. while I once again worked on the lighting – which didn’t actually take that long, as the outside light was already pretty much in place – so with just a touch of fill…

.. we had our second main room done, before stopping for a bit to eat.

Anyway, a great home for sure and there was naturally lots to shoot – but the room Amanda was most keen to have shot, was this one…

.. which she had just recently decorated – and so with little to do here but light it up…

.. we actually managed to get it all done in a relatively short space of time.

So one to look out for next Christmas.

From Marie & me @ ampimage.com – wishing you all, a belated Merry Christmas

The only constant is change.

After my last blog about A selfie – where I talked about how Ireland’s Homes Interiors & living magazine had opened up doors of opportunity and one of those was when I meet Marie – who I have now been working with over the past 10 years – I thought it would be interesting to show how not only Marie’s style has changed over the years but also how the style of my own photography has changed too.

So looking at this image…

.. which was the last one we created of this bedroom in 2008 – and then going back to the first images we produced of it in 1999, which was this…

..  which was part of a series of images which Marie use to launch her interior design business back then – and Ireland’s Homes Interiors & living magazine use them too in the February 2000 issue…

.. on pages 86 to 96, plus her kitchen made it on the cover too

You can see the framing is actually very similar in both and both have clearly been very well styled too – but what a difference 10 years can make – so is it any wonder I don’t charge for my time anymore

Anyway, to show the transformation over those years, here is the series of images produced in between. This being the second image which we created in 2004…

.. which was around the time when we both started working together – as part of a home feature, which was then used by a number of magazines, including House Beautiful magazine…

.. in their May 2005 issue on pages 32 to 39.

In 2006 we then produced this image…

.. as part of a Christmas home feature – which again was used by a number of magazines – both nationally as well as locally – including 25 Beautiful Homes magazine…

.. as the lead home in their December 2006 issue on pages 12 to 17.

Also in 2006, we produce this image for Ulster Carpets…

.. to show how their Delta Scroll carpet would look in this room – as well as in various other rooms of Marie’s house too – which they then use to help market their Anatolia Range …

.. in their product catalog – as well as on their website, etc, over the past 8 years.

In 2007 we produced this image…

.. as part of a ‘make-over’ editorial feature which Real Homes magazine ran within their November 2008 issue…

.. as well as this image…

.. which was one of my personal favourites – for this similar type of feature, which appeared  in the May 2008 issue of Northern Ireland Homes & Lifestyle magazine…

.. on how to create a ‘Summertime’ look.

And at the end of 2007, we produced this one for a Christmas home feature…

.. which appeared in Country Homes & Interiors magazine…

.. in their January 2009 issue on pages 32 to 38.

So there you have it, the changes in both our styles over the years, as seen in this one room – which no doubt would look totally different again today, as this last image…

.. was taken over 6 years ago – and now, of course, Marie is totally into white and bright…

.. as opposed to ‘Yella’, as she would often call it – which was naturally partly due how I lit it back then too

Over 2000 years ago, Heraclitus of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe, once said:

The only constant is change.

Boy was he right about that – from Marie & me at ampimage.com, who would appear to be constantly changing too

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