CULTURE St Patrick’s Day photo competition

Capture the spirit


St Patrick’s Day photo competition

The country will mark another St Patrick’s Day tomorrow with the usual – and, as usual, some downright unusual – celebrations. The sublime to the ridiculous will be on parade, with onlookers variously swelling with pride and doubling over with laughter.
This year, we’ve decided to mark the occasion with a photography competition. We’re looking for photographs that best capture the spirit of the day. They can be portraits, crowd shots, parade pictures or abstract – it’s up to you and your discerning eye.
And don’t feel that they have to be taken at a parade... Feel free to use your imagination to the full. Whether you’re an amateur photographer or an occasional snapper, why not have a go?
We’ll do our best to publish the best we get, but the winning shots in each category will definitely feature in next week’s paper (Tuesday, March 23). The overall winner will receive a Kodak digital camera (10.2 megapixels 3 x optical zoom) and case worth €150 from Ash-ling Crafts/Kodak Express, Westport.
The competition will be judged by Jay Meenan of J Meenan Photography Studios, Ballina – a professional photographer who is as experienced with portraits as he is with action shots. Check out Jay’s tips for an insight into what he’ll be looking for…
To enter, visit www.mayonews.ie/competitions, where you can upload your pics and contact details. You can enter as many times as you want.
Have a snap-happy St Patrick’s Day!

Jay Meenan’s tips
Portraits

• Eyes … If you are taking a photograph of one person in particular, make sure you get their eyes. Remember that old cliché – they’re the windows to the soul.
• When taking family shots, don’t miss their heads! Squeeze them up tightly. The tighter the shot the better the story.
• Try to capture a local person in a completely different light.

Crowd shots

• The main tip here is to get a little height if you can. Crowd shots from lower down only get you the first row!
• Choose the most colorful set of people you can.

Abstract photos

• Everything is worth a photograph … Sometimes the most insignificant can be the most eye catching afterwards.
• Subjects? A shamrock, a hat, an ice cream fallen to the ground…  You get the idea.

Parade pictures
These are the most difficult pictures to take. How do you get great parade photos that are not the same as everyone else’s?!

• In this case, go a bit lower than usual. Capture the depth of a float heading towards you.
• Try not to capture the shot as it passes by you as it will restrict your view.
• Again go for the colorful shot.