I’ve been chasing a good image of the completed N25 Bridge for quite a while now. People often call looking for an image and recently a good client requested one so I thought it was time to get the finger out. The best location to shoot the bridge (in my opinion) is on a stretch of bank facing west which is on private land so not only did I need to get permission to access the land, I also had to allow myself time to get in position. The recent volcanic ash cloud threw up a good chance for a spectacular sunset to use as a backdrop and with patience, I wasn’t disappointed. This image was captured just after sunset last Friday evening. The heron or herons in the frame were not a flock! Rather one bird that flew into the shot so I fired off a few frames as he passed through. I created a very simple composite to track his progress at the various stages throughout - I think it works quite well. Right, that’s another long term image to mark off the “to shoot” list. With thanks to Mitch for the assistance and Dan for the patience!

Interesting to see how my images are being used - in this case the result of a shoot of Mantra Bar & in Maynooth.

design by Zach Harpur @ Silvau

The idea for this shot has been around for a while, I just needed the time and a subject. Colm Dowling, an up and coming swimmer from WIT agreed to pose for this particular shot. The plan was to water-proof an SB-800 under the water and fire it with a radio control. At the same time, I decided (last minute) to include a backlight. There was so much to take into consideration with the shot that something unexpected had to happen. I needed to make sure the swimmer rose from the water at a precise location, the focus had to be nailed, the lights had to be balanced and positioned perfectly, would the background be too bright, what ISO to use etc. As it turned out the submerged flash would not trigger because of the density of the water. It would only work about 12 inches down so that meant aquiring a volunteer to hold it in position. The focus was extremly tricky too. I switched on the predictive focus and even that was too sensitive (instead it chose to focus on the water splashing in front of Colm). So this is what we ended up with ..    not a bad effort but not exactly what I wanted either. I have aquired a 10 mtr flash sync cable and an opaque lunchbox! That should do the trick, I’m going to try again next week. Watch this space.

(good luck to Colm on the 23^rd of July where is in qualifying for the European SC Championships 2009 which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey in December)

La Boheme is an award winning restaurant situated in Georges St in the heart Waterford City. Run by Chef Eric Théze and his wife Christine, the object of this shoot was to maintain the ambience which the premises is renowned for.

My friends at Passion for Creative. This in demand marketing firm based in Waterford are literally a one stop shop for everything from brand design, marketing strategy all the way through to copywriting and public relations.

This is a recent group shot I did for them ..

The Tannery Restaurant, located in Dungarvan, Co Waterford in the south east of Ireland has long been regarded as one of Ireland’s leading restaurants. The Tannery was opened in 1997 by leading chef Paul Flynn and his wife Máire and was followed in 2005 by the opening of the boutique style Tannery Townhouse. Recently they converted an area of urban wasteland adjacent to the Cookery School where they grow a lot of their won produce. A night in the Townhouse along with dinner is highly recommended.

images copyright shane o’neill

I recently photographed the new bridge under construction in Waterford City.

This shoot was commisioned by Waterford Corporation & used for Waterford Chamber of Commerce’s “Innovate to Compete” conference.

The already iconic bridge is ahead of schedule and is due for completion in late 2009. It will be one of Ireland’s tallest structure’s at over 110 mtrs and when built, will be the State’s longest cable-stayed bridge, running 465 metres long with a span of 230 metres.

images copyright shane o’neill - aspect photography