2011 was a great year for awards and contests for me and although the year is not technically over with these competitions it is nice to look back and see what has been achieved. I’m a member of the WPJA, AGWPJA, ISPWP and Fearless Photographers. All of these organisations represent the very best photographic talent from around the world and it is genuinely humbling to be in the mix with some well-renowned names.

The Artistic Guild of Wedding Photojournalists, one 1st place image, one 2nd and a 7th:

I was placed 4 times in the ISPWP contests:

Finally, I received 4 Awards with the Fearless Photographers:

…and finally, of the 850 Awards handed out to Fearless Photographer, 99 were given the “Most Memorable” distinction. This shot of Steve and Mia was one of those selected.

heres to 2012!

UPDATE 7th Jan 2012: Great news to add to the list of success in 2011. The very influential Junebug Weddings which each year hosts a hotly contested “Best of the Best Wedding Photography Contest”.It features “the most beautiful, masterful, touching and creative wedding photos of 2011, taken by talented photographers around the world” from about 5000 entries. Two of mine made it to the last round and were given an honourable mention:

(described as:  ”especially creative, innovative and brilliantly composed photos that are just too good not to be seen” )

UPDATE: Along with receiving a Fearless Award (my 4th this year!), this image was also named in the “99 Most Amazing Fearless Awards 2011″

Delighted with this one. “The Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association is a distinct division within the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA). The AG|WPJA focuses strictly on the artistic and “fine art” aspects of wedding photojournalism.” Ok, so this is not a documentary image. However I normally produce one or two artistic environmental portraits that compliment the documentary shots well. I use the AGWPJA as a platform to enter these very images into competition (leaving the WPJA strictly for documentary work).

This image was shot in Kerry this summer at the wedding of Mia & Steve. They encouraged me to push the boundaries so I owe them a lot and want to thank them for their enthusiasm and sense of adventure (Steve kindly blogged about me afterwards). The judges said: “It was difficult to resist such striking graphical symmetry compounded by an excellent juxtaposition of both color and texture.” Here is the shot. Earlier this year I finished 2nd in the same category.

Some images from a very recent wedding in Tipperary. Thanks to Annemarie & Niall for the great day.

Some images from Sam & Fay’s wedding at The Rectory, Glandore, Co. Cork this summer.

Caitlin & Nathaniel from Ontario came to Ireland this summer to get married. They were looking for a fairytale wedding and they found the ideal location at Cloghan Castle in Loughrea, Co. Galway. They brought 40 guests from Canada, most of them had never been to Ireland so it was a great to watch them immerse themselves in a place that is very Irish! Kate Deegan from Co-Me looked after all the planning.

Caitlin and Nathaniel said “we wanted to thank you for doing such a phenomenal job at the wedding. We really appreciated how professional, respectful, and helpful you were that day (even amongst all the chaos!), and we had an absolute blast hanging out with you!”

Here are some of my favourites:

thanks very much to Rodolphe from Best Day Productions who sent this clip to me. Its a behind-the-scenes look at a post wedding shoot with Sharon & Walter. I came across this strawberry growing facility near Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford before they covered the poly-tunnels and thought it would make an interesting shot. Here is the final result followed by the video. Thanks to Rodolphe, Sharon & Walter!

Shot in Castle Durrow, Co Laoise with their ceremony in Abbeyleix Church.

This was a really nice mail to receive from Anna:

“I have to say, you were nothing short of fantastic to hang with - seriously, you were the talk of the day. You impressed an awful lot of people! Not to say that I ever imagined you wouldn’t

We simply could not be more pleased with your relaxed, cool and yet super magic professionalism. You contributed so much to making the day a smash for the both of us and everyone who had any contact with you.

If I could find more words of praise, I’d sing em!

You are the best!

–
Anna”

The weather in Ireland is at best unpredictable. This uncertainty normally casts doubt over long term plans for outdoor activities no matter what time of year. Aoife & Chris however were adamant that nothing was going to prevent them from tying the knot in a forest at Inish Beg near Baltimore, Co. Cork, Ireland, not even the famous climate. So much so that they had sixty umbrellas at the ready for their guests in case the rain came. As it turned out they did not need the umbrellas. Their gamble on the weather payed off in spectacular fashion  with cloudless skies and unseasonably warm weather for April. This is their day …

Wedding Photographer: Shane O’Neill – Aspect Photography
Ceremony Location: Inish Beg, Baltimore, Co. Cork, Ireland
Reception Location: Inish Beg
Wedding Date: April 2011
Client Names: Aoife & Chris

More images can be seen at the Best of Wedding blog

congratulations to Val & Rob, married at Bellinter House Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland in March 2011. More images from this wedding can be seen on the Best of Wedding blog.