Enda Cavanagh Archives

The Guinness Storehouse, St. James’s Gate

Posted on November 4, 2014November 23, 2017 by Enda Cavanagh

Photos of the Guinness Storehouse

This summer I was commissioned by Diageo to photograph the Guinness Storehouse. Located at James’s Gate in Dublin City Centre, it’s one of the most iconic structures in Ireland. In fact it’s the most visited tourist destination in the country. Photographing the building was a dream come through. The lighting is very subdued in the building and shooting was quite challenging. The client required a full set of marketing photos encompassing architectural photos as well as photos of the visitor experience throughout the Site. Most shooting was carried out of opening hours to have the building free to myself. I used my architectural, fine art and commercial photography experience to produce images which capture the raw character of the building. The guys at Diageo have been amazing and supportive. A dream client. I enjoyed every minute of shooting the place.

Guinness of course is an institution in Ireland and the Storehouse is well worth a visit. Especially the Connoisseur Bar where you can get probably the best tasting Guinness on the planet! Here is a link to the Storehouse in case you want to find out more about it.

For the first time I used a 35mm camera system. Mainly a Sony A7r and Canon Tilt Shift lenses. I also occasionally used a Canon EOS 5D Mark iii when shooting hand held model shots. I must say the Sony A7r was a delight to use. The electronic viewfinder was a revelation coming from shooting with the Hasselblad H3D and it’s terrible screen. The quality of the sensor, the incredible dynamic range and the portability of this tiny camera (and I mean TINY) is amazing. Shooting with the Hasseblad on a view camera would not have been possible on this project, simply because of the short shooting windows I had to photograph the place. Speed and a view camera do not go hand in hand! Plus the subdued lighting suited the Sony better. I could use higher iso when required and the higher dynamic range really suited the subject. I did miss using the view camera shooting the project and was great to get to use it again recently.

Here you can see more photos of the project in my portfolio gallery

Photos of Retrospective 01 Exhibition launch

Posted on April 11, 2014November 23, 2017 by Enda Cavanagh

Well. The exhibition launch was a great success. There was a fantastic turnout and loads of interest. My good friend and fellow photographer Peter Gordon kindly photographed the launch. Here are some of his images. Copyright Peter Gordon

Photographic Art. Sometimes size really does matter!!

Posted on November 28, 2012January 28, 2022 by Enda Cavanagh

Wow. It has been a hectic and fantastic Autumn. Loads of interesting things have happened.

I was commissioned to photograph the Guinness Storehouse for an exclusive limited edition for all the Diageo Senior executives and the Lord Mayor of Dublin. This is the photo chosen for the edition..

I had my first solo exhibition in the Copperhouse Gallery, which proved to be a great sucess and is opening new doors to other amazing projects. I decided it was vital to have the exhibition printed large and I mean really large. The largest piece was 9ft wide! I am a huge fan of cinema and I shoot in panoramic format the majority of time because like in cinema that is how we see the world. Once your peripheral vision is filled with an image and all the distractions are removed, than you are engrossed with the image, whether it be a movie on a large screen in a darkened cinema or a piece of art in a large size. It allows the viewer to be transported to another place and to become in that moment, part of the scene. It is only than that the message of the image can be fully communicated.

Talking of large I was commissioned to photograph stunning locations all around the south of Ireland for huge vinyl wall coverings in Quest Software’s new offices in Cork. The largest 2 images are a massive 13m wide!! I had the added benefit of seeing them in the flesh because I did the architectural photography too. That was really exciting.

Recently I’ve had businesses buying large fine art limited edition prints on acrylic and polished birch plywood. They appreciate and understand that photographic art can dramatically improve the work space. This has benefits to the employer, in that happy staff make productive staff!! Of course what many business don’t know is because of these recognized benefits, most of the cost of the photos can be written off. You can read more about it here

Most of my clients buying my framed photos now buy the largest possible size, once they see the different sizes and how the photos come alive once the peripheral vision is taken up my the photo. Than the viewer becomes part of the scene and that is one of my main aims.

Of course budgets dictate what you can afford to buy and I am biased but from an emotional point of view I would always buy as big as possible, because sometimes size really does matter!

Below you can see a gallery of photos printed and mounted in various formats.

Invite to the launch of my exhibition Duality

Posted on October 20, 2012November 23, 2017 by Enda Cavanagh

Well folks. Here is an invitation to my exhibition Duality of 11 huge acrylic panoramic images of the old Dublin swimming baths and areas. All are welcome. Admission is free and it should be a great night.

The Copper House Gallery will launch Duality, a photographic exhibition of my work, from 6-8pm on Wednesday 24th October 2012. Duality is based on a series of large panoramic images celebrating the swimming areas and baths along the Dublin coast.

Senator John Crown will launch it and I’m donating a piece to cancer research which will be auctioned off at a charity event.

While living in Berlin, I developed a fascination for aging man made structures that feature in urban and rural landscapes. The series of images in my exhibition Duality reveals the unorthodox beauty and vulnerability of these manmade subjects. These structures are displayed as evolving and almost living entities with their own personalities: visible connections to our past. I illustrate how these transient structures may be an intrinsic part of the Irish landscape, yet in time become consumed by their surroundings, evoking a fragile beauty that beholds a sense of memory and of place.

Duality consists of images in a large panoramic format, shot using a Hasselblad H3D39 digital Back on a Cambo View Camera. Much influenced by the cinema, I use the panoramic format to add epic character and clarity to this series, resulting in wonderfully balanced images that draw the viewer into the scene.

Duality, runs at The Copper House Gallery from the 24th October to the 24th November 2012.

Here is a link to the Copper House Gallery website with the selected works in the exhibition.

http://www.thecopperhousegallery.com/exhibitions/26/works/

Tag: Enda Cavanagh