About me..


Hi there!...
My name is David Kennedy and welcome to my photography blog.

My interest in photography was renewed with passion during an amazing trip which I undertook in 2007. I had purchased my first digital SLR camera in years while on a few days stop-over in Hong Kong en-route to Australia for a month.

I had left my "small steps first" policy at home and threw caution to the wind, jumped in at the deep end and purchased a Nikon D3 12 Megapixel camera. Since then I have become hooked on photography. Of course buying a camera does not stop here , being a tech/gadget must have victim, I succumbed early to the dreaded "NAS" disease (Nikon acquisition syndrome) and have... well let's say, spent waaaay too much money on Lens and stuff!!

To try and define my particular style of photography I would have to say that there is not any one specific element, just what my eye finds interesting and if there is a story behind the image.

So while I maintain a keen interest in photography, I also feel the need to improve my skills and understanding of the subject. Recently, with some nervous trepidation I have returned to education after a 31 year absence ...WOW!.. where did they go!.. that was way too fast for my liking. I am currently undertaking a Diploma/BA in photographic media at Griffith College Dublin. It has turned my opinions and understanding on photography upside down.
Photography now is more then taking a snapshot. I am now in search of the elusive artistic gene which I know is in me somewhere! One can learn a lot from photography's fascinating development down through it's history and of course the many famous photographers whose work continues to inspire the new photographers of today. Sometimes I have a tendency to think my photography is good and I am soon brought back down to earth by visiting the library to research some photographers that are on my reading list in college.

At least I getting the inspiration to improve!

My favorite at the moment is the remarkably talented and exceptional Mary Ellen Mark. Her style of black & white images recording many of the social issues faced by people who are left outside the borders of America's society are truly powerful and thought provoking. I look forward to this new learning experience ahead to improve my photographic ability and to find my inner artistry!

I hope you enjoy my "Random Image" from time to time

Thanks for stopping by.....

Sunday, 23 October 2011

To flickr or not to flickr?...


According to Flickr, these are some of my more "interesting" images hosted on the site.
Recently I have thought about Flickr and it's impact on my progression to improve my photography.


The conclusions are not good. It is difficult to accept criticism at anytime, but in photography it is essential. How else are you suppose to improve?


 This is one of the problems with Flickr, some of my contacts seem to always be happy with the image and post a "well done" "nice work" "fantastic shot!" etc...


When they are not impressed, no comments. I suppose this is  because over time you become friendly and do not wish to dampen anybody's "artistic" efforts. So the first conclusion I have reached is no critical analysis on my images hinders my development.  Being a successful photographer is really about getting exposure for your work. In Flickr this means adding lots of contacts to provide a reasonable amount of exposure to your images. Sounds good? Yes and no. Yes, it does mean your images receive more traffic,  but no it does not improve your photography. You are still trapped in the cycle of mediocre images receiving positive comments. A recent site i have discovered which appears to be a better approach is called 1X.com. This differs in some way from Flickr by only allowing a submission by you to be viewed by the gallery's curators to see if it is acceptable and reachs the criteria to be published on their site. Check it out for inspiration! And the good news does not stop there... eyerybody's favorite pastime... TUTORIALS!!!!


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