Life at f22

Early Morning Tai Chi Chuan In Albir

2010-03-26T16:16:00.002+01:00

Albir, Spain, March 2010
Pictures by http://www.brianhickeyphotography.com/
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Tai chi chuan is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for health reasons. It is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, and longevity. Consequently, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims. Some of tai chi chuan's training forms are well known to Westerners as the slow motion routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks and other open spaces around the world, particularly in China.

Above text supplied under the GNU Free Documentation License:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"

Street Photography With Lumix GF1

2010-03-23T12:23:00.011+01:00

Granada, Spain.
Pictures by http://www.brianhickeyphotography.com/
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

For many years now I have longed for a compact digital camera that is small enough to carry around at all times, has good optical image quality, has full manual overide and can be used in low light situations. Until now, in my opinion, there has been no camera in the compact range that can produce acceptable images up to A3 size. All of that has changed with the introduction of Micro Four Thirds cameras. There are not many cameras to choose from at the moment but I have taken the plunge and purchased the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 with 20mm pancake lens. On slow news days I have been shooting some street photography with the intention of producing a book and an exhibition. Using this camera has now enabled me to shoot un-obtrusively without having to hang an expensive and heavy camera/lens around my neck. As a bonus it can even shoot HD video with one click of a button. The pictures on this page were taken on my first real outing with the camera and it performed well.

Granada, Spain.
It is not perfect and I have found that working without a viewfinder takes a bit of getting used to but I have been impressed with the results so far. 15 years ago the newspaper I was working for gave me my first digital camera.The Kodak NC 2000 cost around 15,000 pounds and produced a 1.3 megapixel image! It had no LCD screen and was notoriously difficult to use. You can now get the same image quality on your phone for 50 pounds or so. This camera will never replace my Nikon gear when I am on assignments but as a day to day camera that can be carried around in a coat pocket it is very hard to beat.

Granada, Spain

On Assignment: Sam Allardyce

2010-03-14T16:45:00.002+01:00

Sam Allardyce
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Shooting football personalities can prove to be difficult at the best of times. Footballing types have a special gift of always being late for a shoot or not turning up at all. Even when they do turn up the photographer is often greeted with the comment: "I can only spare 5 minutes" leaving thim or her hurriedly scrambling atround the location with lights and reflectors in a paniced attempt to produce a usable image.

I'm pleased to say there were no such problems with Sam Allardyce. He turned up at the shoot on time and was happy to stay for around 30 minutes and listen to my ideas and suggestions about the shoot.

His team, Blackburn Rovers, have come in for some criticism lately namely from Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard has accused Allardyce's team of using strong-arm tactics and Allardyce has responded by calling Liverpool the "new Bolton". All good fun if you are a football supporter and Allardyce admitted to me during the shoot that "Benitez was easy to wind up."

Read the Mail On Sunday story here

Surfers

2010-03-10T17:17:00.003+01:00

Javea, March 2010
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Driving past the pebble beach in Javea I noticed half a dozen surfers swimming out through the waves that were crashing in on the shoreline. It appeared to my inexperienced eyes that the conditions were ideal for these guys to "catch a few waves". My day's assignment had been postponed untill the next day so I took the opportunity of getting the camera gear out and shooting some images. Ideally I would have used the 400mm lens but on this occasion I stuck with the 200mm and I'm glad I did since I think going in too tight on this shot would have ruined the feeling and scale of the surfer's battle against the wave. Sometimes capturing an image requires a bit of luck and good fortune and in this case the crosslike body shape of the surfer and the fact that his torso is alligned exactly with the horizon has turned what would have been an average image into something more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

On Assignment: Don't Bulldoze Our Home

2010-03-08T12:52:00.001+01:00

Albox
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

"If they come to bulldoze our villa, we'll chain ourselves inside and die with our Spanish dream."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243586/If-come-bulldoze-villa-chain-inside-die-Spanish-dream.html#ixzz0haL7yLvz

Strike A Light

2009-08-12T16:09:00.004+02:00

La Nucia, 9th August 2009
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Anyone living within a 50 Km radius of Javea would have been treated to a spectacular lightening storm last Sunday evening. These storms are very common on the Costa Blanca around this time of year but this one was different. The storm appeared to be stationary for around an hour, the lightning was constant and there was absolutely no thunder.

(Technical notes: Nikon D300 Camera, 13secs @ f5.6, ISO 100, 27mm lens setting)

On Assingment: Farewell To The Spanish Dream

2009-08-12T15:53:00.004+02:00

The Guardian, 21st July 2009

Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com/Solarpix
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

The dreams of living in Spain have become nightmares for many ex-pats. You can read the full Guardian article here.

On Assingment: Setting Sail for a Better Life

2009-06-26T13:39:00.007+02:00

Daily Express, 16th June 2009
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com/Solarpix
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

For those of you who are contemplating giving up the "rat race" in search of a better way of life you may like to get yourself a copy of For Better For Worse, For Richer For Poorer by Siobhan and Damian Horner (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £12.99).
Damian and Siobhan Horner escaped the rat race by navigating their small houseboat across France with their two small children. You can read the full article here.

FC Chaplins In Action

2009-06-08T21:06:00.022+02:00

Mentesh goes in hard
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com

All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Well done FC Chaplins on your recent 5-1 victory agains FC Orange. I had a choice of watching England take on the mighty Khazakstan on TV or taking in a live local derby match and doing a bit of photo work on the side. No contest. Who wants to watch a bunch of overpaid losers punting the ball up the field when I can watch a bunch of unpaid winners doing the same thing only better!

Check out the full shoot at my website: www.brianhickephotography.com
or check out the "Gladatorial" slideshow at the Chaplins website.

On Assingment: Strachan In Search Of A Club

2009-05-28T11:17:00.008+02:00

Strachan's round of golf made the pages of four newspapers in Scotland
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com/Solarpix
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

One day after his resignation as manager of Glasgow Celtic FC Gordon Strachan was putting everything behind him as he enjoyed a round of golf at the La Manga Resort. He seemed to be in a fairly relaxed mood and was happy to have a chat between shots with myself and my assistant Laurie. We even had a short converstion about cameras and I was interested to hear that
he has taken up landscape photography in his spare time. As a lifelong Celtic fan. I find it hard to understand why a section of the Celtic support have had it in for the guy. In his four seasons at the club he has delivered 3 league titles, 2 League Cups, 1 Scottish FA Cup and also took the club to the last 16 in the Champions League on two occasions. All of this was acheived on a tight budget and with an arguably inferior squad to the one enjoyed under Martin O'Neill's previous stewardship. Job well done in my opinion.

On Assignment: The Milky Bars Were On Him

2009-05-27T13:11:00.008+02:00

The original Milky Bar Kid pictured at his home in Murcia

www.brianhickeyphotography.com

Are you old enough to remember the original Milky Bar Kid? Here he is and his name is Terry Brooks. I can certainly remember the advertisements way back in the days when the world was in black & white.
As soon as he opened his front door to greet me I could tell it was him. His face had not changed at all. It certainly took my me back to a time when a bar of chocolate was seen as a special treat. Mind you, I never did like Milky Bars!

On Assignment: José Luis Zapatero

2009-05-19T00:33:00.009+02:00

The Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero visited Alfaz Del Pi on 17th May 2009 to celebrate Norwegian Day alongside the President of Norway Jens Stoltenberg. Also present was the mayor of Alfaz, Vicente Arques Cortés. Full picture stream here.

Picture copyright of Brian Hickey Photography 2009

Images taken on Nikon D300 & Nikon D2X, Nikon 300mm lens and Nikon 80-200mm lens

On Assignment: Lyn Paul

2009-05-17T12:34:00.007+02:00

An never ending source of frustration for a photographer working in the newspaper industry is the final use of the photograph on the printed page. This hour long shoot with the very delightful Lyn Paul -ex member of the New Seekers- took place at her villa on the Costa Blanca. The final two page spread in the Daily Mail contained an old photograph of the band and, if you look very closely, one thumbnail size image from the shoot. Good story though!"

Follow This Blog

2009-05-08T01:27:00.002+02:00

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Red Sky At Night

2009-05-01T13:39:00.006+02:00

I've received a number of comments from friends asking if the above image, which is used on the front page of my website, has been "photo-shopped" in any way.
The answer is no. It's a straight exposure of 1/2 sec at f8. Taken with an 18mm lens and a Nikon D2X camera placed on a tripod. The location is near Villajoyosa, Spain and is taken looking out towards the mediterranean. I can see why people question the validity of the image but these sort of sunsets can be taken on a regular basis out here in Spain although you will need to put in a bit of forward planning to acheive these results on a regular basis. The deep colours of the sky only last for a very short time and you need to anticipate this by having your equipment set-up at least 20 mins beforehand. Take a few test exposures (you will need to underexpose slightly to avoid burning out the sky) and check your composition. Use a tripod. 1/2 second exposures require the camera to be rock steady. Happy snapping!

Intro...

2006-02-22T00:32:00.018+01:00

Having resisted all attempts at writing a blog over the past few years the time has now come to join the free speech revolution and make an attempt at portraying something of what I do to a wider audience. Obviously most of what you read or see on this blog will be of a photographic nature but I reserve the right to "go off on one" when something in this crazy world of ours irks me.

What do I do? Well I am a freelance editorial photographer with 22 years experience working for newspapers and magazines in the UK. For the past 6 years I have been plying my trade in Spain.