Wednesday 26 December 2012

Happy Boxing Day!


Hey everyone, Happy Boxing Day!
I normally don't tend to write blog posts right after Christmas, but I just couldn't stop myself from working today. If you didn't already know (...I have mentioned it a few times on Twitter, haha) I received a new Manfrotto Tripod as part of my Christmas presents yesterday. It's completely amazing and definitely worth the extra bit of money! It's a piece of equipment that I have been wanting to add to my kit for a long time now but never fully felt the justify of the purchase.
I was really over the moon so to speak...yeah fairly bad little pun there I know, but amazingly enough I noticed there was an *almost* full moon last night, which is a great opportunity to test out the tripod. Of course I didn't exactly have the appropriate lenses for the occasion, however the one I decided to use did the job and I'm surprised it worked!
Anyway before I go off on an excited tangent, I hope you are all enjoying the festive season and the sales today. I myself managed to pick up a new pair of Dr. Martens for a very cheap price, and a navy velvet skirt that I have been longing after for a while now! So to be honest, it's a plus all around.
Also, there's still many more photos to be uploaded from recent adventures, so as always stay tuned...
Nicola. x

Saturday 22 December 2012

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for 2013!

Hey everyone, I hope you are all having an awesome holiday! Even though it's still a couple of days before Christmas, I thought I would post this now...at the end of every year I create a video to summarize my photography, and I have finally managed to finish 2012's video. I hope you all enjoy watching it, go check it out!

Also, I want to say a massive thanks to everyone that views my blog regularly, the numbers on my stats keep getting bigger and bigger and it means a lot that you're all viewing my work every day!
Thanks again,
Nicola. x

Thursday 20 December 2012

A Recap Of 2012.

It's that time of the year again everyone, we have reached christmas and it will officially be 2013 in a few days time...crazy isn't it?! So I thought it was only right to make a blog post recap with my photography of 2012, I love looking through and reading other photographer's recap posts, so I hope you enjoy mine aswell (it will be a long one so sit back and relax with a cup of tea).

Starting off 2012, I photographed All Time Low at the 02 Academy in January. It was my first shoot at a larger venue so the amount of energy and buzz I received from the crowd and the band was incredible, everyone was really into the music and it was such an extraordinary experience...the whole time I was photographing during the first three songs I wasn't even managing to stand still due to the crowd bouncing up and down behind me, it was literally crazy!...Overall, I have to say that All Time Low have definitely been one of my favourite bands to photograph this year.


Next, I photographed Panic At The Disco, only a few days after at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. I must admit, it's not one of my favourite venues for shooting due to the weird scaffolding in the photo pit that I guess is either holding the stage together or railings back for the crowd, not sure but it's definitely a hard place to get moving in! However aside from that it was a pretty fun gig to shoot. The band are great entertainers so it made for some awesome photos.

For a long time I have wanted to go to a Mystery Jets gig, so finally in April I managed to photograph them at their Electric Circus show in Edinburgh, which is also one of my favourite venues in the capital. Once again, another great show to shoot and I definitely loved the Southern vibe they were supporting. I was also pretty happy that I managed to get a direct eye contact photo with their drummer Kapil, those type of candid moments are normally quite hard to catch at a show.

At the start of June, I went along to the 02 ABC2 in Glasgow to photograph Fearless Vampire Killers who were supporting William Control, I'd never actually seen FVK before so I was totally blown away by how incredible they were live. I also took a couple of shots of WC himself, and I thought his set was absolutely amazing, I had previously seen WiL before when he was with his band Aiden however I hadn't seen him perform as William Control, so it was really good to see the contrast of both groups.


Next up was Combichrist's show at the Arches in Glasgow later in June, as you may already know I never managed to hang around and catch their set that night...however I did manage to photograph a couple of the support bands so it was all good. Xavia were the first act and then Surgyn who are from my hometown in Dundee! They both put on equally amazing sets.


A band I have always wanted to photograph since I heard their music for the first time in 2003 were Billy Talent. I luckily managed to photograph them at The Liquid Room in Edinburgh, the show was part of the Rock n' Roll Damnation tour in August. The lighting was absolutely incredible and perfect for photographing the band, the shots I photographed at this show are actually among my all time favourites that I have ever taken.


A few days later I photographed Fearless Vampire Killers again, this time the gig was at King Tuts in Glasgow and was also a part of the Rock n' Roll Damnation tour. I had the whole photo pit to myself at this show, which rarely happens these days so it was pretty good to be able to move freely without feeling like you might bump into anyone whether it may be crew or photographers. Once again the band's set was amazing, and I can imagine that these guys are going to be huge very soon!

In October I went along to photograph Young Guns at the 02 ABC in Glasgow, which was part of the Vans Off The Wall Music Night tour. I only managed to photograph two songs as there were too many crowdsurfers by the third and the security had to tell us to leave, therefore I never got as much shots as I would have liked, but safety has to come first in the pit! However, Young Guns put on an awesome show so I was more than chuffed by the end of the night.


The last band I photographed of 2012 were the wonderful Billy Talent, I had the amazing opportunity of photographing the group again at their 02 ABC show in Glasgow on the Rock Sound Riot tour. I deeply love this band so it was really incredible to take some shots of them again when they came back to Scotland. I look forward to seeing them the next time they visit here. It was a fun gig to shoot, and I brought my new equipment with me, and I'm really happy with the results.

So here's to 2013...I can't wait to take more photos with my new camera set-up! I definitely want to try out some new ideas and generally get a little bit more creative with my work, whether it be in music photography or even landscape shots...2013 is the year to be creative I say!
Nicola. x

Tuesday 18 December 2012

My 21st Birthday.

Hey everyone, If you didn't already know my 21st Birthday was on the 10th December, last Monday to be exact...and to be honest I still can't actually believe I'm 21 already but sadly it's true.
So I was treated to a day away in Edinburgh on my birthday (and if anyone remembers I also had a weekend away in Glasgow back in October which you can view photos of here). I also wanted to take some photos whilst I was in Edinburgh aswell so I have quite a few shots of the Christmas Markets, plus views over Princes Street in the gorgeous winter sun and even some of the wonderful gifts I received.
The first place we visited is actually one of my favourite stores in Edinburgh, and that is Harvey Nichols! They have some of the best beauty counters in the city and you should all know by now that I love cosmetics. As usual, I checked out MAC, Tom Ford and Space NK and I must admit I did buy a couple of things from each! After a little look around the shops in the area, I then headed over to Princes Street gardens where the annual Winter Wonderland takes place, it's the main reason I love visiting Edinburgh at Christmas.
First, we had a look around the carnival area which includes the Highland Village Christmas market, and since it is traditional we tried some roasted chestnuts for the first time, I love the little carts they sell them from so I obviously had to take a picture of that aswell.
The other end of the Winter Wonderland is the German Christmas market, which I absolutely LOVE! I had a good look around all the stalls, and I bought another Nutcracker and a little cute Elf ornament. We then headed over to the pretzel stall, which was another first time try and I can safely conclude that they are amazing! Try one, you won't be disappointed.
Also, yes that is a picture of myself with a Nutcracker below, I wanted to keep him!
After we went around the rest of the surrounding shops in Princes Street we decided to go to the Cowgate/Grassmarket area and check out some of the cute little places and their not so cute little prices ;)
Of course a visit to Edinburgh is never complete without a tourist shot of the Castle, this was taken towards the end of the day so it was slightly clouded over by this point.
So as you could probably imagine by the time I was home the night was followed in with lots of glasses of Champagne and birthday cake, which was specially made by my Auntie and features an awesome handmade camera, which looks amazing! I have a picture of it below, and I love how the camera has that marbled effect icing, it looks slightly vintage with an 80's/90's esque vibe.
I also received one of the most beautiful gifts from my family which was an Alexander McQueen double-skull ring! I absolutely love it and haven't taken it off since, it's completely the definition of me, I love all things gothic.
Anyway I hope you have all enjoyed looking at the photos, and I'll be posting another blog post very soon with a re-cap of this year's work!
As always stay tuned...
Nicola. x

Saturday 24 November 2012

Billy Talent, 02 ABC Glasgow, Live Photos.

Hey everyone, a couple of weeks ago I photographed Billy Talent at one of their shows again, this time around it was at their 02 ABC Glasgow gig. The show was actually a part of the Rock Sound Riot Tour 2012, so I think Don Broco and Awolnation were both supporting, but by the time I arrived in Glasgow I only managed to catch Awolnation's set before Billy Talent came on.
I brought my new kit with me so it was actually the first time I had used this newer setup for photographing a gig, and even though I had already tested out the settings on a couple of location shoots, I was still a little bit worried of how it would work out especially when I'm so used to my old kit, however I had tried out all of the possible settings well before the show and luckily everything worked out fine!
So onto photo pit time, photographer's were offered the opportunity of shooting with flash for Billy Talent's set, which is completely amazing and not something that often happens at gigs and as many photographer's know it's always good to be able to use flash as a back-up plan. However, consequently in the end I didn't even need to use it, so it was all good either way. After the three songs I photographed were over, I watched Billy Talent's whole set and it was absolutely amazing! They put on a hell of an awesome show, and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to see these guys to go and check them out. It was without a doubt, one of the best concerts I have seen for a long time. If anyone would like to view the entire photo set of the show then go over to my Flickr page, www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasharkeyphotography
Thanks to Dara for the photo pass for this gig!
Nicola. x

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Road To Nowhere.

Hey everyone, It's another one of those super quick blog posts...well in comparison to my last couple of entries anyway. If anyone has been following my Twitter page, you'll all know that I have been trying to sell one of my camera kits, and in exchange with the money I have bought some new gear which I am really excited about...so I went on another little adventure as I normally do whenever I buy new pieces for my kit, and I specifically chose a non-significant area to test the ability, and I'm really happy with the outcome! Can't wait to shoot with this setup more! Stay tuned...

Nicola. x

Sunday 11 November 2012

Autumn Leaves In Glasgow.

Hey everyone, So I'm back with part 2 of the Glasgow photos from my weekend away. These shots are from the daytime and all combined from over the few days I was there. I decided to go to the Templeton factory late in the afternoon of the first day I arrived. The building was originally built in the 1890's and was designed by one of my favourite architects...as you can see it looks pretty amazing and apparently the Doge's Palace in Venice was part of the inspiration!
When I was leaving Glasgow on the last day, I decided to re-visit the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery at the University. Back in 2005 I went with my art class, so it was really good to check it out again. I also wanted to go to the Mackintosh House, but it was queue only for the guided tour so I decided to go over to the Museum instead which is in the other part of the University across the road.
Both the Museum and University are literally astounding for photos and definitely a photographer's dream! I didn't take any photos inside the Museum but I did take some shots of the grounds outside because it looked gorgeous in the autumn, aswell as some quick photos of the stairway that leads to the Hunterian Museum which you can see nearer the end of this post. The cloisters are my favourite part about the Universities architecture, it reminds me of the Harry Potter films for some reason, now that I think of it...I guess even the stairway to the Museum could look like the moving staircase scene aswell, all we need now are some talking paintings...



Anyway that happens to be all of my photos from my stay in Glasgow, I hope you all enjoyed looking  through them. I had an absolutely amazing time and I wish I could go back again, the holiday apartment that I stayed in, which was in the centre of Glasgow was literally (as Chandler Bing would say) perfection!
I've also just received some new photography gear so I will definitely be taking more photos soon, in the mean time make sure to follow my Twitter page for lots more updates, www.twitter.com/NicolaSharkey
Nicola. x

Monday 29 October 2012

Glasgow In The Night...

Hey everyone, the next few blog posts are going to be a series of photos from the weekend of 13th October. I stayed in Glasgow in a holiday apartment for a few days as part of an early celebration for my 21st birthday (the actual date is away in December but I decided to go in Autumn as I love that time of the year...and it also coincided with the Young Guns gig that I was photographing on the 14th). So I managed to fit in lots of must-see things that I had planned out for the few days I was staying there...who knew there was so much to do in Glasgow! Aside from the obvious shopping, going out at night and gigs, I am a total architecture fanatic and I wanted to check out some of my favourite spots for photos, some of which you are probably already looking at right now.
The first place on my list was a little lane in the West end of Glasgow called Ashton Lane, if anyone remembers last year in September I went there to photograph Kai Fish at his gig at the Brel Bar. I decided to go back and take some photos of the lane itself as it looks so amazing, especially at night which is when we went, plus they have lots of good bars, restaurants and an adorable little 1920's-esque cinema.

The picture below is actually where the gigs at Brel Bar take place, it's at the back of the bar in a conservatory area and the space is apparently an 80 capacity, I'm not sure about that though as it looks very tiny once inside and especially with the chairs in rows instead of the table area for meals. Anyway, the left side is actually where the stage is set up and it's so beautiful, the whole look of the gig area has a French vibe, even though I believe the place is actually a Belgian bar/restaurant.
So we left Ashton Lane, and on our way 'home' to the holiday apartment after getting totally lost in the west end, I photographed some awesome spots in the centre of Glasgow which were literally on our doorstep. First up is the GoMA which is the Gallery of Modern Art, I never actually had time to check this out inside but got some lovely photos of its exterior at night, next time I visit Glasgow I will go there for sure.

Then I noticed how gorgeous the City Chambers looked at night which is across the road from the GoMA, so obviously it was my next place to photograph, I believe it was built in the 1880's! Look at how beautiful it is...the black and white photo below shows exactly how much detail went into the building, the sculptures are actually protected with a metal wire which is why the picture looks a little grainy, and slightly newspaper-esque.


Anyway, that's all for now, stay tuned for the next post which will include daytime photos.
Nicola. x

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