The reason I haven’t been blogging? Those two cuties right there.

My friend Aisling (their auntie) and I hatched this cunning plan to snap some pics and create a pretty photobook, which she is going present to their parents at Christmas. This involved lots of covert ‘taking the kids to the zoo’ planning, some last minute begging (Little Mr Mini Model didn’t want to go initially - although you wouldn’t know it from the way he made eyes at the camera!) and lots and lots of bubbles.

I took hundreds of shots and it took me AGES to whittle them down; every spare evening I’ve had (in between changing jobs that is - more on that later), I’ve been hooked to the mac and my painfully slow photoshop going through them and creating something that I hope shows how wonderful these two kiddos are.

Aisling, thank you so much for asking me to do this. This is my first proper photo job, and I had the two cutest models imaginable. I know Little Miss Sunshine had her tantrums, but I really, truly had pots of fun teasing some smiles out of her and I hope you and your family will enjoy the photobook. But for now, a few sneaky peeks:

I had this GIANT pot of bubbles from Hamley’s, and the kids had great fun messing with them.

This little cutie is only 2-years old so there was lots of chasing her around and trying to surprise her into looking at me:

Her big brother was a total pro, giving it loads:

I love the bokeh in these pics - it’s from all the fallen leaves at Phoenix Park:

Making faces:

And two of the last shots of the day, as the light was fading:

In the past few weeks, I’ve done something I hadn’t done in ages - twice. I went for a walk with the camera. I realised that almost every time I’ve taken it out recently, it’s been for something else - a gig, a holiday (San Sebastian pics on the way!), a party. But this means that I’m constantly stopping suddenly to snap something, holding everybody up, and all the while not giving this hobby the attention it deserves.

So just a few days ago I went for a walkabout around our office at lunch and shot these. And last week I went for an idle wander around our area and ended up at Windmill Lane, which is covered in graffiti. I loved the detail of the different colours on the many different textures - pebbledash, concrete, shutters, locks.

Think I might try to do a shoot here soon, it’s perfect for a couple or even a funky kid session! You can see a pic of the street here.

Taken during a lunchtime stroll around the Dundrum Road using my trusty 50mm 1.4.

I haven’t had a chance to shoot the gorgeous golds and browns that are doing the rounds, so here are the last of my summer flower shots.

And it’s all in how you mix the two

And it starts just where the light exists

It’s a feeling that you cannot miss

And it burns a hole

Through everyone that feels it

- The Used, Blue & Yellow.

I love the contrast between dark, indigo blue and bright yellow. I remember first time I saw the Coldplay video, I had a poster of that ubiqutous Van Gogh Starry Night painting on my wall, and I remember thinking it was really interesting that that the song was called ‘Yellow’ but the video started a very dark blue (Deep thoughts. I was doing Leaving Cert Art. Can you tell?!).

Anyway, I’ve always loved the contrast between the two colours and, very randomly, that memory popped back into my head vividly when I saw these. I know they almost look purple in the top pic, but that’s either the light, or my dodgy processing!

X-Ray photography on Wired. Really cool pics.

Natalie Norton continues her series of blog posts on moving towards manual settings. She has one on understanding ISO and another on understanding daylight exposure and equivalent exposure.

Epic edits list 16 inspirational photography techniques. Slightly odd that they start with Photoshop though!

Ryan Brenizer on the first DSLR with video capture.

Phil meets Cyril. A lovely post and a great story; a testament to how photography can get people talking.

There’s a new camera club starting in Dalkey.

US photographers Fred Egan and Melissa Jill were in Ireland recently (and separately) and captured some cool shots along with some funny commentary about near-death experiences on our country roads.

Make the most of the clouds (although some blue sky is needed!)

Love this pic from Gav and Ciara’s blog.

Magners League - Game 2

Leinster’s first home game of the season will take place in the RDS tomorrow (KO 1930).

Our exciting (!), limited edition (?!) Leinster blog banner will be up tomorrow with a match report to follow. If you’re very lucky you may even be treated to the photographic stylings of Nathalie Márquez Courtney.

Also, we hope to bring you SUPER EXTRA BONUS live twittering from the match. Feel every crunching hit, heave for every hard-won inch at twitter.com/leinsterfan.

On TV: Setanta Sports 2 (1900)

Leinster team to play Edinburgh

Backs
15: Girvan Dempsey
14: Luke Fitzgerald
13: Brian O’Driscoll
12: Felipe Contepomi
11: Rob Kearney
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Chris Whitaker (c)

Forwards
1: Ronan McCormack
2: Bernard Jackman
3: Stan Wright
4: Trevor Hogan
5: Malcolm O’Kelly
6: Cameron Jowitt
7: Shane Jennings
8: Jamie Heaslip

Replacements
16: Cian Healy
17: John Fogarty
18: Devin Toner
19: Sean O’Brien
20: Chris Keane
21: Shane Horgan
22: Isa Nacewa

More blue skies please.

I love my 50mm 1.4. Or ‘Fiddy’ as I call it.

It’s a brilliant lens. It’s a prime (meaning it has a fixed focal lenght) and its big 1.4 aperture means it can shoot even in really low light; seriously, practically in the dark. However, being a 1.4 means focusing is very important - I could take a picture of your face and while your eye would be in focus, your ear or you hairline may not, that’s how soft it is (if this is all gibberish, but if you would like to learn more about aperture, check out Natalie Norton’s great piece on the topic).

So yes - focusing is REALLY important. Canon’s auto focus feature is great - you can either let it decide on where to focus, or select a focus point. Most photographers stick to autofocus, unless the shot you’re after is a bit fiddly (for instance, on the below Ha’Penny Bridge shot, manual focus was needed to prevent the camera from focusing on the closer objects - the twinkly lights - and blurring out the bridge).

So this all leads me to the very sad news that Fiddy’s focus is broken. I press the shutter half way, and it makes this sad little sound, like it’s really TRYING to focus, but can’t. I have to stick it on manual focus, which means I have to constantly check the monitor to make sure the right bits are sharp and often end up with sharp noses and blurry eyes

It’s incredibly frustrating as none of my other lenses come close - I had to bring my kit lens (18-55mm, aperture of 3.5-5.6, boo!) to Castle Palooza, making taking night time gig shots a good bit tougher than usual. While I learned a lot and realised by kit lens wasn’t really as bad as I had thought, it also made me realise how much I appreciate Fiddy, and how much I want another prime - maybe an 85mm?!

Anyway, Fiddy has been brought to the hospital for sick lenses (i.e. the Canon offices in Sandyford) to get fixed. But, in honour of its awesomeness, here are a few shots that show the versatility of this great little lens - you really can take it anywhere and shoot anything:

Any body else got a favourite lens?