Colin O'Brien: Travellers' Children

With ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’, the Dale Farm eviction and the Stoke Newington Common fracas, travelers seem to be a relatively recent hot topic of discussion.  However, Colin O’Brien jumped on the gypsy wagon many years ago.  His new exhibition at the Genesis Cinema, ‘Travelers’ Children’ focuses on the children of an Irish traveling community 25 years ago, who settled in East London at a time when Hackney’s Victorian houses were being torn to the ground and its streets were poverty stricken and rubbish laden.  If the current spotlight around traveling communities has taught us anything about their lives, it is the insularity of their tight-knit communities and their attitudes towards outsiders.  Through gaining their trust and confidence, Colin O’Brien’s photographs give us unprecedented access to witness the highs and lows of traveling groups and their children against the backdrop of 80s Hackney.  The exhibition is on for the whole of October and is free - wahooo!

Marilyn

Getty Images

You only need to say ‘Marilyn’, and the world immediately knows exactly who you’re talking about.  We’ve all seen a million photos of Marilyn Monroe, from her iconic breezy white dress picture, to more sincere, sadder shots.  This month, Getty Images is providing us with more insight into the Hollywood star’s successes and downfalls through an exhibition commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the iconic beauty’s untimely death.  In addition to photos capturing intimate moments and behind the scenes video footage of the star, the exhibition displays David Gainsborough Roberts’ collections of original dresses and costumes worn by Marilyn. 

It’s free and finishes on 23^rd May, so there’s no excuse to miss out on seeing unique pics of the best blonde bombshell the world has ever seen.

Breathtaking.

Turn the lights off, turn on full screen and be amazed!

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Celebrating 50 years of The Sunday Times Magazine!

Talk about bad timing!  The Sunday Times Magazine's 50-year anniversary bumper edition fell on the one weekend that snow swept the nation.  Being the drama queens we are here in England, it meant that newspaper deliveries to homes and newsagents were scarce.  As a result, The Sunday Times Magazine's hard work and efforts were a tad wasted.  

But Hurrah!  Luckily, there are still some remnants of their 50 year celebrations as the Saatchi gallery is hosting a free exhibition, showcasing the work of some of the world-famous photographers who have contributed to The Sunday Times Magazine since its launch in 1962.  With a selection of the publication's best photos from the last half a century, there are sure to be some breath-takers!  Hurry though, as it's only on until Sunday (February 19th).

Get snap happy in the snow!!

 I always get a bit carried away with taking a million photos of the same thing when it snows.  However, I think it's hard to do snow scenes justice in photos.  Before I went skiing at New Year, I read a top tips article about taking cracking photos in the snow, so I thought I'd share the best ones with you:

• Firstly, if you're as bad at skiing as I am, don't take your camera out on the slopes.
• Apparently, you shouldn't use your camera as soon as you come out into the cold from the warmth.  The camera (and it's battery) need to acclimatise to the change in temperature
• Don't have your flash on while taking photos in falling snow - it accentuates the snowflakes closest to you and makes them blurry.
• Don't let snowflakes fall on the camera as water can cause damage.  The article suggested putting the camera in a clear plastic bag, and cutting a hole around the lens to allow you to take clear pictures.
• Due to the light reflecting qualities of the snow, the camera often underexposes photos which makes the snow appear grey.  You need to manually set the exposure compensation to either plus 1 and 2 or you can also change it on your computer, after the photo has been taken.
• Try and include some level of detail in snow pics, as it is easy for them to just become a wash of white.
  
  Enjoy the snow and happy snapping!!