In The Spotlight – Ciara Drennan, A.I.P.F. Portlaoise Camera Club

Throughout 2013 we are hoping to interview a Photographer from clubs affiliated to the IPF to ask them ten questions about their photography, what inspires them and maybe a little about themselves. In the first of this series of interviews is Ciara Drennan a member of Portlaoise Camera Club. Please take the time to read what inspires Ciara, the type of photography she likes to concentrate on and how far she has come since taking up photography seriously in 2010. Ciara has her own Website, Flickr site and Facebook page,
Thank You Ciara,
 
Enjoy
Please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hmmmm I am a thirtysomething Sligowoman living in Portlaoise, married to one of the most patient men you could find with two wonderful boys (models!) aged 6 & 8. I am a Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disabilities and worked in this area for 20 years. In 2012 I decided it was time to take a career break to spend more time with my family. Somehow that time away from my ‘normal job’ has also turned into a year of developing my passion for photography and pushing myself to my photographic limits.
When did you discover your passion for photography?
I am a newcomer to photography, a lot of people are surprised to hear that I ‘discovered’ my passion for photography in August 2010 when I bought a Fuji Finepix s1600.I have always loved bringing a compact camera with me especially to family and music events and capturing those special moments, but I never delved further into photography. That changed when I bought the s1600, all of a sudden a new world was opened up to me and I embraced it head on.
As with a lot of us, my first love was landscape, I adore being out and about with the camera, it gives me a sense of reconnecting. The first landscape photo that I set out to take was at The Rock of Dunamase just outside Portlaoise, it is still one of my favourite photos even though there are a lot of technical faults and I set the camera to its B&W Jpeg setting (the horror!). The Rock remains ‘my place’ to escape to with the camera, and it has never let me down in terms of getting a shot.
What is the first piece of advice that comes to mind when thinking at beginner photographers?
Get out there and start taking photos! Don’t be one of these people that talks about taking photos and talks about learning about photography but never does. Go for a walk, get in the car, whatever just go out and take photos. The more you take photos the more you will want to take photos and the more you will want to learn.
Leave your camera on auto for a while, get used to the feel of your camera and how you & your camera take photos together. The time will come when you are ready to step away from auto.If you do have a camera club in your area link in with them, they can be a great leaning resource as well as a support network.
In January 2011 I started an evening photography course in Portlaoise and started wondering about camera clubs, at the same time I heard the local camera club might be starting back up and I went along to an informal meeting that was being held to see if there was an interest in it reforming.
I can hand on heart say that if it had not been for the support and encouragement (and sometimes that badly needed push) from some club members in Portlaoise I would not be where I am today in terms of my photography.
What kind of gear do you use?
I haven’t spent a fortune on the latest must have gear! I started out with a Fuji Bridge camera and it was only in March 2012 that I made the leap into a DSLR & at that I decided against going for one of the big guys. I was given some great advice about buying a body and spending on my glass. I bought a Canon 600D & 50mm 1.8 (which I love) and am currently saving for another lens.
Someone said to me two days ago those dreaded words…’your photos are fantastic, you must have a great camera’…seriously how do you respond to that? My camera & lens are my instruments through which my knowledge & my instinct can capture those moments.Of course I would love to go full frame and have the luxury of choosing from a few lens when on a shoot, & hopefully that day will come when it is meant to come.
 
What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
How addictive it is!
 
What inspires you?
Look I could be all pretentious and say Ansel Adams, Robert Doisneau or Eve Arnold…well ok they would all be photographers that I do admire greatly and enjoy going back looking at different works of theirs from time to time.However what truly inspires me to take photos is ‘the moment’, I have been given this wonderful gift of being able to capture moments in time. Whether that moment involves capturing nature’s glorious colours, the moment a mother receives a kiss from her 3 year old son, or a moment of connection between a musician and their audience. They are all moments in time to be captured and shared and enjoyed.
What makes the good picture stand out from the average?
Right the first thing I think we all need to remember is photography is subjective. I have seen people getting upset over judges’ comments on their images or being confused over how different people can give vastly differing feedback on an image. What I get out of an image is going to be totally different to what the person beside me gets out of it.
For me the image does not have to be technically flawless for it to have an impact, I like an image to tell me a story, to let me into that moment and tell me the secrets of what’s going on. Some of the most powerful images out there are the most flawed ones, but they are the ones that have captured the rawness of a moment in time, they have captured something that no one else will be able to capture.
 
What does photography mean to you?
Please see my response to question 6
 
What was your first camera?
The first digital camera I bought was circa 2002 and it was a little 1mp HP compact cameraFuji Finepix s1600!
 
What is your favorite kind of Photography?
Another tough one!
Perhaps it is because I am still new to photography that I cannot say I prefer one type of photography over another. I still enjoy being outdoors, and I also really enjoy being creative with some tabletop photography also.However over the last 6 months I have been slowly gravitating more towards photographing people. My successful IPF Associateship panel (November 2012) consisted of 15 B&W live music photos, with the focus on capturing the moment in music.
I am currently in the preparatory stages of a very exciting photography project, again it is ‘person centered’. On the 8^th March, in conjunction with KARE services, we will be unveiling a ‘one night only’ projected images event to coincide with International Women’s Day. The exhibition has a working title of ‘See Me as a Woman’, and we are all very excited to be part of something that is a little bit unique and has the power to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
 
www.ciaradrennan.com
www.facebook.com/CiaraDPhotography