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Poll an tSéideáin, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Ireland 2010
Your camera is the least important element in the success or failure of your photography.
That flies in the face of the emphasis we all place on equipment. However, it's very true. Of course, the camera is a vital tool. When it comes to making prints of your images, a good quality camera and lens can add significantly to the quality of your image. But it is YOU, the photographer, who is the most vital part of the process. You determine the composition of the photograph. Without good composition, the image will fail. As Ansel Adams said, "There's no worse thing than a sharp picture of a fuzzy concept".
What is composition? At its most basic, it's where you point the camera and when. In this essay, I'll try to distill what I know about composition into a useful form.
To understand how important composition is, you need to think about what happens when you see a really good (or bad) photograph. You react positively or negatively ...

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I have had a lifelong love of imagery, particularly photography. I have been fascinated by the possibilities of imagemaking from the time I first held a camera as a child. My enthusiasm for photography had increased steadily over many years, including ten years spent in America becoming expert in the field of computer systems. But my heart remained with photography. I experimented constantly and read voraciously. I was introduced to the works of master photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston; they opened my eyes to the possibilities of photography as art. Over time, my mastery of the technical aspects of photography matured. I applied myself more closely to the artistic elements of composition, light, colour and tone, the essential components of any great image. It is a study that I find intensely rewarding. My wife, Ann, and I made the decision to move back to Dublin where I threw myself into the business of making and selling my fine art prints. I have recently moved to rural West Cork, and am busy making new images, as well as conducting my photographic workshops. As Ireland is my home, it is my primary focus. I have many images from Dublin, Cork, Connemara and elsewhere. I also have many beautiful images from Scotland, Iceland and America. Please contact me if you don’t see an image from your favourite location. My portfolio is continuously growing, and your favourite haunt may well be my next destination.
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