GRAND GARETH

LANDSCAPE SCHMANDSCAPE!

WHEN YOU THINK OF (Northern) Irish photography, where does your mind think of? Awk, are you thinking of wee landscapes? Aye, the typical agricultural natural beauty of the country. Spending the last 18 months learning photography, oh mummy, I’ve met an abundance of photographers from baby cake smashers, to horror to skateboarding. Now I’ve sort of added myself into queer umbrella of camera work. I say camera work because I am a videographer first. One of the local bars asked me to do a night doing photography for them and for the same night, a local drag haus, Haus of Falls, started up their own ball and wanted some sort of coverage for it.

Comparing those images, 18 months ago, to now? Flip me there’s a massive difference. So understanding that I have a unique perspective of this part of photography, I was able to expand into Brighton, UK to work with more drag artists there. Working with this nice variety of artists, I get to adapt of photography into my work, as I find it important to get creative, especially when I’m that stage of constant development and willing to take fresh ideas, increase my equipment and present a ...not a polish but a wax finish...yeah let’s’ go with that.

Obviously during this new age of Covid-19, wear a mask, stay distant, sanitise all that stuff is really important, however my style of directing is spontaneous and at a fair distance already, so not much has changed. I am the model that never was, so I end up posing as if I was the model and hope to get such a model to mimic me. It’s really cool when I see it work but I wish I modelled more...

Anyway, stay Covid-Free, and be grand!

Instagram: grandgareth

SHOOTING FOR ONYA BECK’S TRIBUTE MUSIC VIDEO FOR KYLIE MINOGUE’S SONG ‘SAY SOMETHING,’ I WAS PRACTICING TEST SHOTS OF ONYA LYING ON THE FLOOR. I HAD RECENTLY INVESTED IN STREAK AND STAR EFFECTS IN CAMERA AND THUS CAME THIS DREAM-LIKE IMAGE OF A QUEEN LYING ON THE FLOOR BESIDE A POLE.

DANIEL TOOK ME TO A WONDERFULLY DERELICT BACK STAIRCASE AND I LOVED IT. PRAYING THE SENSOR LIGHTS WON’T TURN ON FROM THE OTHER RESIDENTS AS I DIDN’T WANT THE MODEL TO HAVE A SHADOW UNDER THE CHIN. ADDING TO THAT GRIMEY DERELICT VIBE, WAS TO TONE UP GREEN SHADOWS IN CONTRAST TO HOW SMART THE MODEL IS NICELY DRESSED.

WITH LITERALLY 15 MINS ON THE CLOCK BEFORE THERA’S PERFORMANCE, WE WERE JUST RUNNING AROUND THE GROUNDS OF ULSTER UNIVERSITY BELFAST’S HOPING FOR A FEW SHOTS. THIS IS ONE OF THE FINAL SHOTS WHERE WE RAN TO MAVERICK AND STOPPED UNDER THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY AND TOLD HER TO LEAN BACK AND MAKE A FACE. DIRECTING AT IT’S FINEST.

EDITED BY NATHAN MAGEE (INSTAGRAM: PAPERTREEEES) WE HAD ACCESS TO A PRIVATE GARDEN AND FOUND THIS LANTERN LYING AROUND AND IMMEDIATELY I GOT THE IDEA OF A LOST DRAG WARRIOR WALKING THROUGH A MISTY FOREST WITH FIREFLIES SURROUNDING THE LIGHT EMANATING AROUND THE MODEL. ALSO I’M LOW KEY OBSESSED WITH ‘FIREFLIES’ BY OWL CITY.