Early Morning Tai Chi Chuan In Albir

Albir, Spain, March 2010
Pictures by http://www.brianhickeyphotography.com/
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Tai chi chuan is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for health reasons. It is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, and longevity. Consequently, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims. Some of tai chi chuan's training forms are well known to Westerners as the slow motion routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks and other open spaces around the world, particularly in China.

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Street Photography With Lumix GF1

Granada, Spain.
Pictures by http://www.brianhickeyphotography.com/
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

For many years now I have longed for a compact digital camera that is small enough to carry around at all times, has good optical image quality, has full manual overide and can be used in low light situations. Until now, in my opinion, there has been no camera in the compact range that can produce acceptable images up to A3 size. All of that has changed with the introduction of Micro Four Thirds cameras. There are not many cameras to choose from at the moment but I have taken the plunge and purchased the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 with 20mm pancake lens. On slow news days I have been shooting some street photography with the intention of producing a book and an exhibition. Using this camera has now enabled me to shoot un-obtrusively without having to hang an expensive and heavy camera/lens around my neck. As a bonus it can even shoot HD video with one click of  a button. The pictures on this page were taken on my first real outing with the camera and it performed well.

Granada, Spain.
It is not perfect and I have found that working without a viewfinder takes a bit of getting used to but I have been impressed with the results so far. 15 years ago the newspaper I was working for gave me my first digital camera.The Kodak NC 2000 cost around 15,000 pounds and produced a 1.3 megapixel image! It had no LCD screen and was notoriously difficult to use. You can now get the same image quality on your phone for 50 pounds or so. This camera will never replace my Nikon gear when I am on assignments but as a day to day camera that can be carried around in a coat pocket it is very hard to beat.


Granada, Spain

On Assignment: Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Shooting football personalities can prove to be difficult at the best of times. Footballing types have a special gift of always being late for a shoot or not turning up at all. Even when they do turn up the photographer is often greeted with the comment: "I can only spare 5 minutes" leaving thim or her hurriedly scrambling  atround the location with lights and reflectors in a paniced attempt to produce a usable image. 

I'm pleased to say there were no such problems with Sam Allardyce. He turned up at the shoot  on time and was happy to stay for around 30 minutes and  listen to my ideas and suggestions about the shoot.

His team, Blackburn Rovers, have come in for some criticism lately namely from Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard has accused Allardyce's team of using strong-arm tactics and Allardyce has responded by calling Liverpool the "new Bolton". All good fun if you are a football supporter and Allardyce admitted to me during the shoot that "Benitez was easy to wind up."

Read the Mail On Sunday story here

  

Surfers

Javea, March 2010
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

Driving past the pebble beach in Javea I noticed half a dozen surfers swimming out through the waves that were crashing in on the shoreline. It appeared to my inexperienced eyes  that the conditions were ideal for these guys to "catch a few waves". My day's  assignment had been postponed untill the next day so I took the opportunity of getting the camera gear out and shooting some images. Ideally I would have used the 400mm lens but on this occasion I stuck with the 200mm and I'm glad I did since I think going in too tight on this shot would have ruined the feeling and scale of  the surfer's battle against the wave. Sometimes capturing an image requires a bit of luck and good fortune and in this case the crosslike body shape of the surfer and the fact that his torso is alligned exactly with the horizon has turned what would have been an average image into something more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

On Assignment: Don't Bulldoze Our Home

Albox
Pictures by www.brianhickeyphotography.com
All of the images on this site are subject to copyright and cannot be copied or reproduced in any media without prior consent.

"If they come to bulldoze our villa, we'll chain ourselves inside and die with our Spanish dream."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243586/If-come-bulldoze-villa-chain-inside-die-Spanish-dream.html#ixzz0haL7yLvz