Category Archives: Press Cuttings

Twenty years ago today I got my first picture published.
This was taken with my Dad’s ancient Kodak Retinette rangefinder camera. So ancient I think it once belonged to Parnell.
What big brass balls I must have had to even appear in public with such a relic, let alone point it at human females.
But then big brass balls are not a problem when you’re young, are they?
I used to have a flash for it too but for some bizarre reason I never stuck it on the hotshoe. That would have been too straightforward.
Instead I got a long synch lead and held it up in the air to get weird lighting effects. Come to think of it I must’ve invented Strobism unbeknownst to myself. I used to even put coloured sweet wrappers (possibly from Cadbury’s Roses) on it for odd coloured lighting. Like in this pic taken at the Dublin Horse Show in 1992 where I used a goldie sweet paper on the flash to warm up this picture.

I think caramel creams were the goldie paper ones. I also bought gold card to bounce my flash off like in this picture.

All on film of course and all that printing costing me a fortune and me with no job just out of college. Reality soon kicked in however and I felt forced to leave Ireland and do something sensible with my life, try and please everyone. But I will always cherish 1992 as a time when things were exciting and hopeful. It was the best year of my life.