Hallowe'en Walk

On the eve of Samhain, the dead spirits are said to revisit the mortal world, so be careful out there tonight, in case you meet a bad one. I took the hounds for a walk down the lane as darkness was falling this evening. It had been a beautiful afternoon, crisp and clear, with an intense quality of light that still persisted at dusk. On one side of the lane was a saturated orange and purple sunset, while across the road, the sky was darkening down towards a deep indigo.

When we were young, the Jack O'Lanterns around Leitrim were carved from turnips, but pumpkins have taken over now, and this handsome chap was sitting on a neighbour's gatepost. Back home, Pivo had just come in from the field, breathing steam everywhere. He reminded me of the horse on the best advert ever made, the Guinness Christmas ad. It won't be long now til we find it's back on our screens. If you can't wait, see it here.

Lynn & Oliver

Last Saturday was Lynne & Ollie's wedding in Carniska near Strokestown and on to The Shannon Keywest Hotel.

The weather was all over the place, bright sunshine one minute and lashing rain the next, as we so often get here at his time of year. These conditions certainly keep us on our toes ,as light is constantly changing. Any photographers reading this will spot the strongly backlit bridal party shot below and understand the trickery involved in balancing the sunlight and off-camera flash, underexposing in camera and ramping up the flashgun power to illuminate the faces.

Those images were taken in Dromod Harbour, where Ollie proposed to Lynne after a romantic meal in Harkin's Bistro. In fact, they were sitting on that very same bench when Ollie asked the big question, and got the right answer!

Sharon & Jason

Last week was mental - calendar launch, reprinting, publicising, merchandising, etc, as well as the usual editing, framing and album design duties and a wedding on Saturday. It all meant I'm only now getting around to posting pictures from Sharon & Jason's wedding in Sligo last Saturday week.

The Indian Summer meant this was probably the sunniest wedding of the year for me. We took a little trip out to Strandhill between the ceremony and the reception in The Sligo Park Hotel, to find the place was heaving with people. Surfers, strollers, tourists, local, drinkers and diners.... there were people everywhere. We even bumped into my other favourite photographer, Mark Capilitan, (see two posts back), but rather than carrying a camera, he had a surfboard under his arm as he emerged from the ocean.

Jason's grandfather's name is carved into the base of the cannon on the strand, though the sucessive coats of paint over the decades have made it harder to read. The sun was up and the mood was light, so there was a bit of horsing around after we'd done the serious stuff. Speaking of horses, Josh, Sharon and Jason's son is a serious horseman and is a bright young star of the showjumping world. That's him in the middle on top of the cake.

We had lots of time for everyone to chill out and relax before dinner back at The Sligo Park, and while the guests were being seated we grabbed five minutes in the gardens to take advantage of the beautiful Autumnal evening light.

www.legendscalendar.com

The Boyle Celtic "Legends Exposed!" Calendar will have its official launch on Saturday Night in Daly's Bar, Boyle, but online orders are already flooding in, and we are shipping copies today to USA, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, France, Germany, Belguim, Spain, UK as well as Ireland.

All proceeds from the Calendar go directly to The Brothers of Charity to support people with intellectual and learning disabilities. None of the individuals, companies or retailers involved have charged for their services and the cost of the printing materials were met by the sponsorship of local businesses, so every cent raised goes directly to the Charity.

Feel free to send friends, family and workmates to www.legendscalendar.com or www.johnreynoldsphoto.com for their copies!

For anyone who missed it, The Legends Late Late Show Appearance is on YouTube here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGbcdXW9PIk You can skip the first 2.45 minutes.

Yvonne & Matt

Well, it was quite a weekend, with two weddings either side of a Late Late Show appearance. It kicked off in Knock on Friday with the Yvonne & Matt show. I met them both back on New Year's Eve at Angela & Padraig's wedding, and knew this one was going to be fun. Anytime you have a dozen or more rugby-playing, kilt-wearing Scotsmen gathered in one place, you know it'll be lively. And this one certainly was.

Rain interrupted play on a couple of occasions, but we were fine between the showers. The day started in Ali's Turkish Barber Shop in Ballyhaunis where Matt, Stuart and Fraser were having some very close shaves indeed. After that, I headed straight for The Beauty Spot in Knock where the girls were having their make-up done. Yvonne and Aine got a sneak preview of the Calendar that's sweeping the nation there, and then we got down to the serious business of the day.

The ceremony was in the Church of St John the Baptist, Knock, and as usual, both before and afterwards streams of pilgrims wandered amongst the guests admiring the happy couple. I wonder what they made of Matt's Highland Fling in the Church doorway as Pat the piper blasted out Scotland the Brave? Speaking of which, I'm certain the lads in the kilts below were roaring "Remember Bannockburn!" as I clicked the shutter on that shot. Late Nite Radio rocked the joint, nearly taking the roof of with their AC/DC closing number. Yvonne and Matt are back in Aberdeen for a couple of days this week and then it's Mexico here they come.....

Second Shooting

A different experience this weekend, as I second-shot with Mark Capilitan on Donal & Arlene's wedding in Ballintubber Abbey and Mount Falcon Country House Hotel. Mark & I often refer people to each other if we're already booked for a date, and while we've sat down and talked photography at length, we'd never actually worked together on a wedding. So even though it was due to be my first Saturday off in three months, I didn't think twice when Mark asked me to tag along. Here he is in sniper mode, followed by one of Arlene & Donal. You can see more on Mark's site.

Maggie & Brian

I was back in The Landmark for the second time in three days with Maggie & Brian. First though, it was off to Rooskey for the ceremony in Whitehall Church. As you can see below, Maggie was gorgeous, while Brian looked just like James Bond (bridesmaids Fiona & Annmarie will get that reference). The four flowergirls, – Niamh, Caoimhe, Katelyn & Ciara added lots of excitement and enthusiasm to the event.

We stopped off in Drumsna en route to the hotel for some shots by the Shannon before going on for the usual warm Landmark welcome from Patricia and Daniel. With all the photos taken, everybody got to chill out and mingle until the bell for dinner. As the guests were being seated, we slipped upstairs to the Black Mint Bar for a couple of minutes of romance.