Thomas likes to stay fairly quiet in these parts, but in the last few years he has become a much more active figure behind the scenes. However, he did agree to write one blog post last year highlighting his favorite pictures from 2017. It only took a small amount of coercion to get him to agree to do the same for 2018. So without further ado, Thomas's favorite pictures from the past year--in his own words.
10. When you fear for frostbite in your partners toes and have hot water bottles worth their weight in gold. Look at the lovely warm late afternoon light, oh and she is barefoot, it must be a dream. No; I’m in a thick coat behind the camera and it’s nippy for me. Not every shot can be how it looks--this one a prime example, but if Rebecca was wearing 10 layers running into the basking sun it might not be the kind of authentic feel we wanted either. Better to be creative than realistic sometimes.
9. Plums are probably one of the tastiest treats a tree can grow in my opinion :D. As you can see, my Dad lost his crop to this thief. I caught her in the act, if you know her, please let me know...It’s always a hard shoot in the plum trees area as there aren’t a whole pile of trees, sometimes a scarcity of plums too, and with a lot of distracting buildings in the background (being that it’s close to the farmyard), it’s very challenging. I really like Rebecca’s outfit in this one, maybe one of my favourite looks from the year. The tree branches help frame the story.
8. Swing all day long, let the palm tree take the heat. I love this purely because it looks polar opposite to Ireland and we are attracted to opposites as they say. Wild palm trees overhead, all kinds of exotic plant life engulfing every turn, beachside swings that last years and minimal clothing needed 24/7. Bring me back for a wee while.
7. Magic amongst a fading fir. Anything orange is magnetic for us. This fir looked like nothing special, kind of dead and lost its green coat on an autumn breeze. But we liked the spiky branch texture and went ahead with it. When we took it back to the edit room it came alive. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about this feels right with the theme and really complements the next Hogwarts recruit. The wand was actually photo-shopped in later as we didn’t have one at the time.
6. “Only God Forgives” is a very weird Ryan Gosling movie which I don’t recommend but some of the visuals with uncommon lighting colours are quite beautiful. I wanted to shoot something similar but places with such lighting setups are hard enough to find without ending up in a crowded nightclub. This was the best I found on our travels, down at the Strand Cinema in Belfast, along a narrow hall, just before you would take your seat. Rebecca’s movement adds a little extra to the shot and I like how the dress moves. The red tones dip in and out of the darkness in a constant power struggle.
5. Pink, pink and more pink! I’ve always really liked Rebecca wearing pink and I think it suits her, but she has never been too fond of it. But both us can agree that when this little row of cherry trees decides to sing--we want to be there to capture it. The wide shot helps capture the fullness of the trees and fills three quarters of the frame to make you feel like the pink just goes on forever.
4. Fly drone, fly, make us feel like it was worth dragging you thousands of miles! Hawaii was a special trip, with Rebecca and her family having some strong roots there. It was the first time I flew our drone and we somehow managed to capture this shot within a couple of lucky snaps. Great wardrobe colour selection and Hawaii did the rest. I’m still not sold on drones today, but a handy toy now and again.
3. Reach for that orange tree; we don’t get to do that every day. A long weekend which came together quite nicely, finding a tricky balance of working and downtime along the coast of Spain. Orange trees are incredibly alluring for an Irish lad, you know you’re far from home when one stands before you. This was a bit of a funny shot, Rebecca is actually quite far away from plucking an orange as the hedge hides the distance the tree actually sits back from it. Nevertheless “the feels” are strong, and warmer climes are forever smiling.
2. Enter the mist. A shot from January, normally the hardest month on our calendar to find inspiring. Nature sits silent, and the damp cold raises its ugly head, tempers can often flare up when things don’t go smoothly in unfavourable conditions. Misty days though are a lifeline in winter for us, and with only a handful of opportunities for not so early risers, we take what we can get. An excellent edit by Rebecca brings to life a stillness and sense of waiting for the mist to clear, and days of spring to return, but right now, winter is okay.
10. When you fear for frostbite in your partners toes and have hot water bottles worth their weight in gold. Look at the lovely warm late afternoon light, oh and she is barefoot, it must be a dream. No; I’m in a thick coat behind the camera and it’s nippy for me. Not every shot can be how it looks--this one a prime example, but if Rebecca was wearing 10 layers running into the basking sun it might not be the kind of authentic feel we wanted either. Better to be creative than realistic sometimes.
9. Plums are probably one of the tastiest treats a tree can grow in my opinion :D. As you can see, my Dad lost his crop to this thief. I caught her in the act, if you know her, please let me know...It’s always a hard shoot in the plum trees area as there aren’t a whole pile of trees, sometimes a scarcity of plums too, and with a lot of distracting buildings in the background (being that it’s close to the farmyard), it’s very challenging. I really like Rebecca’s outfit in this one, maybe one of my favourite looks from the year. The tree branches help frame the story.
8. Swing all day long, let the palm tree take the heat. I love this purely because it looks polar opposite to Ireland and we are attracted to opposites as they say. Wild palm trees overhead, all kinds of exotic plant life engulfing every turn, beachside swings that last years and minimal clothing needed 24/7. Bring me back for a wee while.
7. Magic amongst a fading fir. Anything orange is magnetic for us. This fir looked like nothing special, kind of dead and lost its green coat on an autumn breeze. But we liked the spiky branch texture and went ahead with it. When we took it back to the edit room it came alive. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about this feels right with the theme and really complements the next Hogwarts recruit. The wand was actually photo-shopped in later as we didn’t have one at the time.
6. “Only God Forgives” is a very weird Ryan Gosling movie which I don’t recommend but some of the visuals with uncommon lighting colours are quite beautiful. I wanted to shoot something similar but places with such lighting setups are hard enough to find without ending up in a crowded nightclub. This was the best I found on our travels, down at the Strand Cinema in Belfast, along a narrow hall, just before you would take your seat. Rebecca’s movement adds a little extra to the shot and I like how the dress moves. The red tones dip in and out of the darkness in a constant power struggle.
5. Pink, pink and more pink! I’ve always really liked Rebecca wearing pink and I think it suits her, but she has never been too fond of it. But both us can agree that when this little row of cherry trees decides to sing--we want to be there to capture it. The wide shot helps capture the fullness of the trees and fills three quarters of the frame to make you feel like the pink just goes on forever.
4. Fly drone, fly, make us feel like it was worth dragging you thousands of miles! Hawaii was a special trip, with Rebecca and her family having some strong roots there. It was the first time I flew our drone and we somehow managed to capture this shot within a couple of lucky snaps. Great wardrobe colour selection and Hawaii did the rest. I’m still not sold on drones today, but a handy toy now and again.
3. Reach for that orange tree; we don’t get to do that every day. A long weekend which came together quite nicely, finding a tricky balance of working and downtime along the coast of Spain. Orange trees are incredibly alluring for an Irish lad, you know you’re far from home when one stands before you. This was a bit of a funny shot, Rebecca is actually quite far away from plucking an orange as the hedge hides the distance the tree actually sits back from it. Nevertheless “the feels” are strong, and warmer climes are forever smiling.
2. Enter the mist. A shot from January, normally the hardest month on our calendar to find inspiring. Nature sits silent, and the damp cold raises its ugly head, tempers can often flare up when things don’t go smoothly in unfavourable conditions. Misty days though are a lifeline in winter for us, and with only a handful of opportunities for not so early risers, we take what we can get. An excellent edit by Rebecca brings to life a stillness and sense of waiting for the mist to clear, and days of spring to return, but right now, winter is okay.
1. An “unexpected delight”, when you seek something specific and somewhere along the way, something else steals the show. As we passed through the mountains on the Isle of Mull for the first time in the fading sunset, it was without doubt, the most beautiful drive of my life. Boulders like the one in the picture above lined the valleys as if dropped out of the sky. Rebecca’s red hair lights a fire amongst the shifting shadows of green.
CONVERSATION