The story is about Fiona Hurley, a former Miss Northern Ireland who is now the new Agony Aunt for the Sunday Life. Very early on in the piece readers are informed she is a qualified hypnotherapist and psychology graduate who in her past had battled depression and low self esteem -  a seemingly perfect person to turn to for advice.  Whilst at times the story is showbiz in tone, it is clear that it was written to demonstrate Fiona’s credibility as a professional in the mental health care industry – someone worthy of being taken seriously as the new advice columnist.

I wonder, at what point did the picture editor think that it was appropriate to accompany the article with a photograph of Fiona modelling lingerie?  This picture undermines the premise of the entire article and worse, Fiona’s credibility. Classy work Sunday Life, quality all the way.

Having a 6 day working week over the past 7 months has seen my time divided between contemporary photography magazine SOURCE and Belfast Exposed Photography Gallery. Grateful as I am in being gainfully employed, and especially so being cushioned in the photography industry, my marketing career has invariably led to my own photography practice taking a back seat.

Until of course this week, where a seemingly innocent ear infection has forced me to slam the brakes on work life to take time to recover. This stillness has actually afforded me something invaluable – headspace to think about my own work.  Initially it felt like a guilty, self indulgent pleasure, but as the days have passed the creative cogs began churning and this time not for an organisation, but for my own project.  I’ve started tweeting again and I have started the  necessary preparations required for a new project – which I guess you could say I’ve embarked on as of this week!

So I am strangely grateful for the ear infection and penicillin in tow, as I am reminded of my pledge:  for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ’till death do us part. I pledge to you, photography, my faithfulness….

Folk singer Julie Fowlis is from North Uist, a small island in the Outer Hebrides, who sings in her native tongue, Scottish Gaelic. An accomplished musician, playing Highland bagpipes, smallpipes, whistle, and oboe, Julie brings ancient songs from the Hebridean Islands to new audiences around the world.

A mix of powerful yet sweet and expressive vocals intertwined with the driving rhythms of ‘Puirt-a-beul’ (music of the mouth), a traditional singing style native to Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia, makes for enchanting music sets.

Multi award winning, Julie was publicly voted Gaelic Singer of the Year 2007 at the Scots Trad Music Awards and her album “cuilidh”, produced with husband Eamon Doorley, was voted “Album of the Year” at the same awards. Other awards include BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award 2006 for Best Emerging Artist and she was also voted Gaelic Singer of the Year 2005 at the Scots Trad Music Awards.

Julie presents two flagship music programmes on BBC Scotland – the traditional music programme “Travelling Folk” and the world music show “Global Gathering”.

Julie perfomed at cultural centre An Droichead in Belfast in April 2008 with her husband Eamon Doorley and guitarist Tony Byrne.

Along with obvious technical skill, a musician needs to be acutely aware of an instruments range and limitations, and be able to tap into their own emotional range to use it as a form of expression. This is gained from hours of time familiarising with the anatomy of the instrument to understand its response to each caress.

This body of work is a ‘work in progress’ which will feature instruments on their own and being played by a musician. This work aims to capture the closeness between musician and their instrument. The tight, intimate close ups in the imagery is not dissimilar to what a curious inamorata would see when playfully exploring her lovers body.

What adds depth to this project is the inherent belief that the camera is also an instrument and the imagery is an emotional response to the music. There is a seductive dynamic between musician, instrument, photographer and camera that it is almost as complicated as a love triangle.

Double Bass
Harp

There’s a reason why I don’t like doing PR and to a lesser extent, press photography – deadlines and pressure kill my creativity. When it comes to my photography I’ve got to create at my own pace.

I was recently asked to join an award winning press photographer to photograph the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, just as an opportunity to build upon and refresh my technical skills in a different photographic context.

President McAleese was opening a new building for PIPS a suicide awareness/support centre in North Belfast. A charismatic woman, she spoke with conviction and sincerity about the impact of suicide on both individuals and the wider community.

I actually got to meet President McAleese a number of years ago when she visited Tasmania at a state reception the our local government had put on for her. She was very warm and it was very charming chatting to her. I was actually asked to be the official photographer for her visit to Tasmania, but declined, partially due to the fear of getting it wrong, and at the time I was engaging in more fine art studio work and not experienced enough in PR photography.

But as life swings in roundabouts, I got to photograph her again in 2009, and this time without any deadlines or pressures.

I recently got to see upcoming Dublin band,  The Script, who won Best Irish Band in the 2009 Meteor Awards, play in Belfast.  The gig was organised by a local bank interested in raising its profile to a younger target market by running a competition through a local radio station to win free tickets to see the band.

I didn’t want to pass the opportunity of doing more music photography and took my camera along. I painstakingly worked through the surging crowd and made my way to the front of the stage and hadn’t anticipated that when I got there I’d be told to ‘put the camera away official photographers only’ by security.

As I retreated into the crowd I noticed how a third of the crowd were holding up mobile phones and digital compact cameras, yes they too were photographing the band! Why weren’t they told to stop? Well for starters there would have been a riot! And secondly, because it was obvious they were taking photos for their own personal use. However so was I, but I was discriminated against because of the type of gear I use.

If only I was a given a script before going to the gig, I would have known about the different rules for different camera users…