Duke Special is no stranger to the auditoriums of Northern Ireland and last night a packed Waterfront received a rare treat as Duke performed tracks from his upcoming ‘Oh Pioneer’ album accompanied by the amazing Ulster Orchestra. From start to finish Duke, the band and the orchestra excelled well beyond the audience’s expectations.

Peter’s live performances have a theatrical style inspired by music hall and Duke Special regular Chip Bailey was onstage with his usual phenomenal style of percussion and Stumpf fiddle.

As well songs from ‘Oh Pioneer’ the night also featured songs from ‘Under the Dark Cloth‘ an album inspired by the photography of Stieglitz, Steichen & Strand and a selection of songs by the great Ruby Murray.

Duke was joined on stage by Swedish support act Foreign Slippers for a breath taking performance of a final Ruby Murray track. Gabrielle Fröden has an absolutely amazing voice and the duet is well worth checking out. You can download a free Foreign Slippers EP over at Music Glue.

The new album ‘Oh Pioneer’ has an official release date of 18th June 2012.
You can download the single ‘Punch of a Friend’ (free) single and pre-order the album on the official Duke Special Website.

The Photographs

Photographing the event was a considerable challenge. There were strict rules on photography for the venue and as a result I had to photograph from a fixed position within the body of the audience. The aim was to be as subtle and unobtrusive as I could so I didn’t ignite a wave of camera phones and flashes.

I used both the Canon 5DMKII and the Fujifilm X-Pro1. I decided I would stick with the 18mm lens given my static position. Naturally the tighter shots are the 5D and the wider images are the X-Pro1. I tended to go between the Canon and the X-Pro1 but being locked in a set position meant the X-Pro1 photos tended to all look very similar.

About Duke Special

Duke Special is an artist aptly named. Dynamic, musically ambitious & bracingly eccentric, with his inimitable style and lush musicality. Hailing from Belfast with a sound that is self-confessed “hobo-chic”, Duke Special – AKA the endlessly inventive Peter Wilson – is once heard, never forgotten.

Blissfully at home in his own alluring genre of beautifully bruised romanticism, Duke Special inhabits a world unlike any other – a world filled with vaudeville- esque sensibility, sing-a-longs and addictive melodies.

His critically-acclaimed album ‘Songs From The Deep Forest’ achieved platinum status in Ireland and received plaudits across the board.

Duke Special is a fervent performer who harks back to a pre-rock ’n’ roll era, with dashes of Gershwin and orchestral swing, all tinged with a Northern Irish lilt and poetic lyrics that could feature in a modern-day fairytale; the perfect balance of old and new – boasting the appeal of a three-minute pop song with the incessant charm of an old-school music hall.

Links

The Duke Special Website
Duke Special on Twitter

Duke Special : Oh Pioneer is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

Lisburn hosted its 2012 Mayor’s Parade and Carnival today featuring an array of breathtaking carnival floats, hundreds of carnival performers and flamboyant dancers displaying a mixture of sport and culture themes igniting Lisburn’s streets. I wasn’t at all focused (excuse the pun) on taking photos.

The Mayor’s Parade is the largest free civic event hosted in the City. Lots of work go in to preparing floats, training children from around the city and managing the post parade carnival in Wallace Park. Click on a thumbnail to view large.

Just like the previous three years we were (un)fortunate enough to win three gold fish at the Carnival. Such living prizes are tears on a time delay trigger we just will them to live long enough to be forgotten.

I should apologise that the photos of this year’s event aren’t great, somedays it just doesn’t click and this was such a day. All photos taken with the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and 18mm lens. Click to view previous parades : Lisburn Mayor’s Parade 2011, Lisburn Mayor’s Parade 2010.

Lisburn Mayor’s Parade 2012 is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

I have to admit to being a bit of a slow starter when it comes to Instagram but once you start engaging it can be one of the best sources of inspiration for everyday photography.

Photographs you capture with Instagram don’t have to be limited to just the generic mobile app actually you can now easily display your instagram feed or photos directly on your wordpress posts, pages and sidebars.

Remember to follow @flixelpix on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

My FlixelPix Instagram Feed

Here is a the live feed for my latest 16 FlixelPix Instagram photos. You can follow me directly from the Instagram app by searching for the username flixelpix. You can control the size of the thumbnail images and they link directly to the full sized photo on the Instagram website.

Welcome : Instapress

To add this to your own blog all you need is the brilliant Instapress plugin for WordPress. It is probably best practice to install plugins from within your wordpress installation. Login to WordPress and click on ‘Plugins’, then ‘Add New’ and search for Instapress.

You can view the Plugin on WordPress here. Once you install and activate the plugin you need to authenticate with Instagram.

This is a once only action. You can revoke Instapress access at anytime by logging into your Instagram account then clicking on the ‘Manage Apps’ tab.

To add Instagram images to a page use the following short code in square brackets. You can add fields within the “” such as self to display your own photos, 10 to display 10 and 110 to set the image size to a 110×110 square.

As well as the ability to display your images on a page or post the plugin also adds a sidebar widget which you can drag over to any sidebar from within WordPress’s “Appearance” tab. Like the short code option the widget can be fully customised to suit the look of your website.

If you are displaying more than 20 photos on a single page it is recommended you put the cache time up as high as possible. I have set the cache to be 60 minutes.

The plugin also supports paging and fancy box, the only limits are your creativity. Check out the Guide to Running a Photoblog on WordPress or brush up on your photography knowledge with these brilliant photography ebooks.

WordPress your Instagram Photos is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

We impulsively ventured over to the old Maze / Long Kesh prison to visit two aircraft hangars erected in 1941 for use during World War II. The hangars house a collection of planes and helicopters owned and maintained by the Ulster Aviation Society.

I am happy to say I haven’t actually been on the Long Kesh site before, little is left of the original prison and it is hard to believe that such an infamous location could be the home of Heritage protected World War II hangars.

The museum is funded and run by a team of volunteers who source and look after the various aircraft. Ray Burrows gave us a tour of the site and explained how is currently rebuilding one plane that lay partly underwater for years and was actually used by fishermen to fish from before being rescued.

I wasn’t actively planning to take photos but brought the X-Pro1 and 18mm lens to grab a couple of ‘snaps’, to be honest I wasn’t expecting as many artefacts in a single hangar.

The visit was of historical interest rather than a photographic excursion but it was great to discover the hangar housed an old fire engine on which I may have travelled a number of times.

If it is the same engine it was previously owned by the late father of a good friend of mine. The fire engine would have its annual run out at Lisburn’s Lord Mayor’s Parade and we and a single mannequin got to act as firemen for the day.

The vehicle didn’t look any different, it was surrounded with aircraft spares so I couldn’t get a good photo of the vintage fire engine but it still look as well preserved and stunning as it was back in the early 1990s. It was great that this team of dedicated engineers are caring for these heritage pieces.

I discovered the location in Will Leitch’s piece on the BBC website in which Ray commented “We consider we’re Northern Ireland’s best-kept secret at the moment.” The media coverage is putting the society on the map and with the Balmoral Show moving to the site this year I would expect the hangars will be busy with visitors.

The Museum doesn’t receive any public funding so it is utterly remarkable the collection has grown to include so many valuable aircraft.

You can find more about the Ulster Aviation Society and how you can visit the hangar on their website here.

The Hidden Hangar of Long Kesh is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

The above image features a living pot by Hannah-Chloe Magee, the clay is infused with seeds that eventually take over the clay pot.

‘Things that fall in between’ is an exhibition of work from sixteen artists. The work on show ranges in scale and impact, such as the incidental but beautifully crafted bugs by maker Lotus De Wit, where individual hand crafted flies and cockroaches festoon a bathroom.

Alice Clark peeled layers of history within her hanging latex curtains and Sharon Adams’s ‘tools’, are shaped to clean the dust in the ornate mouldings and cornices.

The exhibition takes place in the RSpace Gallery in lisburn located in the Conservation area of Castle Street with the work infusing with the historic rectory.

My roll in the project was to create still and moving image pieces documenting the journey. There are a total of seventeen video pieces in the set that are all online at 720p HD you can view them in the Vimeo album.

The main gallery is turned into an ‘archive’ of the drawings, notes, sketches, images, sounds and stories about the artworks as they evolved.

Some of the artists from the exhibition will be giving a talk about their work on Saturday 16 June at 12pm, in the main gallery.

Most of the work involved moving image capture for which I shot at 50mm throughout and features a mix of location art and artist. As well as the film pieces there are a few supporting images in the flickr set taken with the X-Pro1 and X100 cameras.

There are a few additional posts and photos of the Castle Street area here and an introduction to the project here. There are also a few more photos on the Facebook page.

Fallen in Between is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

Castle Street sits in the heart of Lisburn’s historical quarter, many of the Georgian buildings remain but some are in an advanced state of disrepair, roofless and overgrown. Like a scene from a Tim Burton German Expressionist influenced film the roofs twist and turn.

The Castle and Cathedral date back to the 17th century but even in the last 30 years the area is been in a rapid state of transition. In the 1970s Castle street was home of the Technical College, Police Station and Council buildings all of which have expanded to new improved sites.

The Castle Arcade was home of Brenda’s hair stylist whose door even today advertises a 4 digit phone number. The Arcade was also home to Kismet, The Gear Box (Lisburn’s first guitar dedicated music shop), and Rainbow Coffee & Book shop.

As well as the ‘Electric Board’ and a busy Dunnes Stores Montgomery’s was one of the busiest sweet shops and cafes in the town providing a range of drinks such as malt shakes or ice cream floats that would likely be banned if they were on offer today.

It is interesting to see the skyline across the city from the vantage point of R-Space. It is hard to believe the view from this window is modern Lisburn and it is a good thing!

All photos were shot with the Fujifilm X100 with the exception of the last photo that was shot with a Canon 5D MKII 50mm lens that was set up for film making!. All mono conversion was via the flixelpix mono preset for Lightroom 4. There are a few more photos in the Lisburn Flickr Set.

The Twisted Roofs of Lisburn is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

When the sun comes out in Northern Ireland there is nothing like a visit to Coney Island beach and surrounding area. Home of the film The Shore and the famous song by Van Morrison the views are breathtaking set to the soundtrack of literally total silence. I am continuing to use my mono Lightroom 4 preset as a starting point to these black and white landscape images adjusting the levels of black where necessary.

The trip started in Downpatrick using the mono preset I was able to increase the definition of the building with the clarity slide and also bring out the blacks. The angle of the image isn’t as I would like but I was physically cropping out roadsigns and cars whilst trying to get the whole church in the frame. You can click on the images to view larger on flickr.

Following Downpatrick we headed to Ardglass harbour for some experimental long exposure images. Although there wasn’t that much water movement it still needed a 30 second exposure at f/16 to capture the detail of the area and at the same time smooth out the sea.

The remains of a castle or tower lie on the beach against the backdrop of the marina.

Looking across the marina I chanced to capture a long exposure of the fishing pier while shooting into the sun. I set the aperture at f/16, ISO 100 and a shutter speed of 30 seconds as I really wanted to catch the detail of the fishing boats.

Looking inland to the town it was difficult to frame a shot that didn’t have bouncing boats or buoys that would ended up a distraction in the final photograph as they would be out of focus due to their constant movement.

Following the visit to Ardglass we made our way to Coney Island and Killough. It was odd to consider the Oscar winning film The Shore was shot on the beach on which we were standing.

It was great shooting with the 18mm (27mm equiv), it is particularly tighter than the 17mm on full frame I am used to but I’ve got to the point of feeling 17mm is actually just too wide. At 17mm without specific foreground detail there can be too much to look at and thus the photo can end up rather uninteresting.

All of the photos were taken with the X-Pro1. I did have my 5DMKII on the trip as I expected I would have been yearning for some ultra wide shots but in reality I preferred the photos from the 18mm X-Pro1 lens.

Even shooting in JPG the X-Pro1 continues to amaze, I just can’t wait until Lightroom 4 supports the RAW files… roll on! You can view other X-Pro1 sample photos here.

Coney Island is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

I have created a customised Lightroom 4 preset that I use as a key starting point for mono / black and white conversion of X-Pro1 jpg captures. I am big fan of Silver Efex Pro but for quick conversion of jpg files I tend to stay in the confines of Lightroom 4.

I do prefer to shoot RAW but as the camera isn’t yet supported by Lightroom 4 I am living with the jpgs, that said they are surprisingly good.

The introductory photograph has been cropped significantly to fit with the FlixelPix webpage structure. You can view the photograph full size over on 500px here or Flickr here. I haven’t quite decided which of the two platforms I prefer.

This preset really is a starting point and it depends on the image how much tweaking is needed to get the overall black and white look you need.

For portrait images you may want to adjust the amount of “clarity” to bring out the detail around the eyes for that ultra sharp detailed look or alternatively reduce the clarity for a soft focus black and white.

[Peter Lynas, NI director of Evangelical Alliance]

There is a also a slight vignette on the preset that you may wish to adjust depending on personal taste. I tend to use a little vignette to hide background detail and draw focus to a particular area of the photograph.

A few people had asked about how I achieved the detail of the introductory photograph (shot on 35mm lens) so I thought I would share the Lightroom preset for others to enjoy and customise for their own work. I have a few more free lightroom presets here.

This preset is optimised for Lightroom 4 and customised for the Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera shooting in jpg mode. You can download the FlixelPix Mono X-Pro1 preset for Lightroom 4 here.

Lightroom 4 Preset : Mono for X-Pro1 is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

I have received a number of emails from people who are surprised that I am using the X-Pro1 for long exposure photography and asking for tips on getting started with this sort of photographic process.

To be honest I employ a range of techniques when capturing long exposure photographs but I thought I would post a quick guide is to enable photographers new to the process to get started.  To keep things simple I have avoided the bulb mode and cable releases so it really doesn’t get any easier than the following 4 step guide.

The easiest way to capture dramatic long exposure landscapes is to use an ND9 or ND10 filter. Basically an ND10 filter is like applying a pair of very dark sunglasses to your camera and thus it dramatically reduces the amount of light reaching the sensor.

If you are using the Fujifilm X100 you are firstly going to need to purchase the X100 filter holder and lens hood. If you are on a budget the good news is you can pick up a compatible hood for around £20 from Amazon.

So which ND filter should you purchase? I tend to purchase B+W filters as in my experience they are really well built and last for years.

For landscape photography  X-Pro1 users are going to be using the 18mm or at a push the 35mm lens and the good news is that both lenses have the same filter thread size of 52mm. Here are few 52mm filters that work, I went for the B+W ND10.

The X100 thread size is slightly smaller at 49mm so you will need to find a 49mm ND9 or 10 filter such as this one.

So now you have the camera and ND filter you will need somewhere steady to set your camera if you are not carrying a tripod the next step is to find a location to photograph. A Google search for waterfalls in your area will likely turn up places where you haven’t ventured before, I recently discovered the Gleno waterfall via a simple Google search.

Step 1:
Set your camera to the T Mode (Timed). The camera will default to an exposure of 2 seconds. I would suggest changing this initially to 5 seconds with an Aperture of f/8.

Step 2:
Focus the camera on your scene and switch the camera (carefully) to manual mode (front of camera). This a precaution as all cameras can find it difficult to focus with an ND filter attached.

Step 3:
Attach the ND filter to the front of your camera. Try and not move the camera or focus ring when attaching the filter.

Step 4 :
Take the shot. Preview it on the camera and then adjust the time as appropriate. You may want to try 10 seconds, 15 seconds etc.

Changing the aperture up to f/16 and adjust the time can create interesting effects with the water but f/8 s a great place to start moving from 5 up 20 seconds.

Things to look out for

When capturing long exposure photos on any camera any tiny speck of dust on the lens or sensor has the opportunity to make its mark. Don’t panic if you see small specs on your images, this is normal and there is nothing wrong with the camera.

Specks of dust can be easily removed in Lightroom before publishing the image. If you find the images are very “noisy” make sure you have the Long Exposure Noise Reduction option turned on.

If you use the technique why not post your images on flickr and post a link in the comments below.

You can view a few other X-Pro1 long exposure photographs or the full set of images on flickr.

How to take Long Exposure Photos using the X-Pro1 is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.

Silhouette is the vision of the unbelievably talented Shauna Tohill. Shauna and her band have appeared on the pages of FlixelPix in the past from small gigs in Portadown Town Hall to the Rams’ Pocket Radio Snow Patrol gigs at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena.

Today couldn’t have been further from appearing in front of thousands in a packed arena with Snow Patrol, in reality this was Lisburn’s Castle Gardens in the rain. This isn’t a slight on the great City of Lisburn but more the reliability of Northern Ireland weather.

From a photographic point of view it was odd having a digital SLR in my hand after five weeks shooting with just the Fujifilm X-Pro1 but given this gig was outdoors and the rain was heavy I wasn’t taking any risks with the beloved Fuji.

Despite the stark differences in venue and conditions Silhouette entertained the crowd to their regular amazingly high standard.

I must have heard “Can’t Keep Up” 1000 times thanks to the NI2012 television advertisement but it was even more remarkable live.

Like Duke Special, John Kyle Suckling and Rams’ Pocket Radio Shauna and co deserve success.

A unique sincerity, there is not a hint of arrogance, they are out there doing it purely for the love of music and great music it is too! Silhouette exude happiness, it is clear they enjoy what they do and it is this grounded sincerity that has us all willing them to succeed.

Silhouette’s music is definitely unique and a refreshing change to the expected. Combining different musical elements and instrumentation from Tohill’s eclectic taste and experiences it is high energy alternative pop laced with flavours of darkness, hope and desire.

The live line up is constantly in state of flux, in a good way, it ensures the live performances are even more interesting. Zarah Flemming, Connor Burnside and Eimhear Tohill are key regulars in the band.

You can find out more about Shauna Tohill and Silhouette over at http://silhouetteofficial.com

Silhouette : Northern Ireland 2012 is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

No related posts.