I first became interested in night Photography in April 2011 when myself & Marina signed up to a ‘free’ group that went out once a month to take photos of a particular subject.

Armed with my trusty Canon Compact IXUS980IS & a newly acquired tripod, we met the group on the steps of Barlow House. We headed down to the car park at the Garda station to take photos of the monument that is on the banks of the River Boyne. I soon found myself with a case of extreme ‘lens envy’ when I saw the equipment that was was being set up around me. Paul was over to me quickly to assuage my fears by telling me that ’size’ doesn’t matter. Its all about how you use your equipment.

With tips from Paul & a few other members, I became engrossed with shooting at night, the different exposures, aperture settings & ISO numbers and the countless possibilities of combining all three. Myself & Marina both knew that to improve, we would have to get some proper guidance so we signed up to a couple of Paul’s courses & we haven’t looked back.
We are both more confident with our cameras (& yes, I upgraded to a DSLR) and our interest in photography has blossomed.

I still love shooting at night & have discovered the phenomenon of ‘Steel Wool Spinning’ & enjoy trying that out with a few other like-minded individuals.
I discovered the spinning on Instagram, a photo sharing app, where you follow & get followed by people worldwide, comment & discuss photos that you like. I found this a great way to share information & techniques with people from different backgrounds & cultures.
Projects for the future are star trails & light painting. And whatever else comes my way through Instagram & the people we’ve met through the Society.

Regards,
Damian Smith