John Mee
Welcome and thanks for having a look at my photography. My name is John Mee and I'm a self-taught photographer from the West of Ireland. I've had an interest in art for many years but only picked up a DSLR in 2007. While I enjoy shooting any subject, it was 2010 before I discovered my preference for capturing landscape, lakescape, woodland and wherever natural light occurs. Through my photography, I seek to document my own personal vision, to capture scenes as I see them and to share with others the beauty and diversity of the West of Ireland.
So like many photographers, I find myself on that eternal quest for Light. I'll leave it to you to decide if I have captured it. This is Ireland through my eyes.
NOTICE: The utmost care has been taken to accurately represent the photographs throughout this site. However due to web colour limitations and differences in individual user monitors, colours may differ slightly from the photographs viewed on this web-site.
First up, you all know how I like to shoot landscape and seascape photographs. And I do enjoy it - immensely! However, I try to shy away from the classic sunset/sunrise shot. I know people love them and it is hugely enjoyable to be out at those times and come home with an "orangey" image! :-)
Raced downstairs early this morning to answer the phone. Interestingly the incoming number was 0123456789. Watch out for that!
It turned out, it was my old Asian friend ringing from Microsoft to inform me that my computer was yet again, infected by some virus or other that was gonna wipe out my whole life, kill some cute, cuddly kittens and deplete the worlds wine supply. That got my attention!
The perfect photograph - what a bold statement! However, I am not talking about any of my images. I have indeed seen many perfect photographs and paintings and like many image takers/makers, I strive to capture as near as possible what I deem to be a "perfect photograph".
Whether you shoot ten or one thousand photos a week, sooner or later you will have to devise a method of organising them. There will be times when someone is looking for "that photo" or even better, someone wants to buy "that picture you took of me" two years ago. This is where an efficient photographic workflow will save your hours, stress and even money.
Now that the clocks have gone forward, we have an extra hour of light every evening. It makes capturing a landscape scene or a lovely Irish sunset a little bit easier - sometimes. The weather here in the west of Ireland has also improved drastically and there's a nice summery feel these days. We should all make the most of it because as you know, it will be short-lived.
A tree is a tree, is a tree? Well yes ... and no. You see, it all depends on the light. I've spoken on a few occasions before about the unique light in the west of Ireland. The light we have here comes in two flavours - bad light and good light. Some argue that there is no bad light, just undiscovered light, but that's another blog entry.
Chromatic Aberration or colour fringing is the bane of many digital photographers. We've all seen it at one time or another. It's especially noticable when viewing your photographs at 100%. It appears as a green or red halo or outline around dark objects that are shot in front of a bright sky. Indeed I have many photos
Urban exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities. Ballinfad college is only about 15 minutes drive from me but this is the first time that I have actually visited it. It was originally a large country house boasting 50 bedrooms and 50 bathrooms. It was built in 1827 and was sold to the African Missionary Brothers in 1908. They opened it as a secondary
The area around Connemara, Galway is about 60 - 90 minutes drive from me. Not a motorway drive either but a drive through some of the most beautiful Irish countryside. As soon as you get past Brackloon wood outside Westport, a new photographic treat lies around every corner.