gay pride 08 via iced coffee words
Its fascinating to see such open and public acceptance of the gay, lesbian and bi community in Northern Ireland, so known for its segregation and conflict between communities. The streets of the City centre were lined with spectators who screamed, applauded and yelled as the parade and its participants walked along the route from Custom House Square around the City Hall and back to the Square where there was a stage and “gay” music (I can’t stand ABBA) and a lot of people.
There were thousands of people from all around showing their support and generally having a great time. This years parade was also so much bigger than last year. Many were also protesting the recent remarks from Strangford MP, Iris Robinson, who stated on an interview on the Stephen Nolan show that... future of photography? via iced coffee words
What does the future hold for photography?
The panel attempted to answer this question at the Waterfront Hall last Thursday as part of TransBelfast.
Adam Turkington was joined by two representatives from Belfast Exposed, Ciara Chambers (Archive Manager) and Pauline Hadaway (Director), who spent far too long talking about their super archive of photographs rather than contributing much to the topic at hand as well as trying to tell us about the benefits of the social internet for sharing photographs.
Alongside them Hugh Russell, former Olympic Boxer, now acting editor of the Irish Times who suddenly gave me all these great ideas that I can become a photojournalist, that it’s not hard to get into… [or not].
Moochin Photoman, AKA, John Baucher, a local photographer with his... add to set via iced coffee words
twelfth 2008 via iced coffee words
If a group of people want to celebrate an achievement, by parading through the streets in costumes and playing music that’s fine, to a point, however, problems arise when these celebrations get out of hand, preventing normality for everyone else.
I have no problem with it all - heck I get a couple of days off work. I do however have a problem being intimidated as I attempt to keep from being prisoner in my own home; kids walking by with their trolleys filled with beer, police beside them, smiling. Then they call it “peaceful”. From my experience it isn’t very peaceful. And if the police could cut out the biggest factor which makes it so intolerable; the alcohol intake, the level of intimidation could be reduced, made much less of a problem in fact.
Maybe the “Orangefest”... barcamp via iced coffee words
What is Barcamp?
BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.
Interested? Belfast Barcamp is being held tomorrow, Saturday 21st June at Queens University Belfast, Peter Froggatt Centre, from 9am-5pm.
To date 62 people have registered their attendance and 19 to give a talk on chosen subject ranging from coffee shop working, webcasting, open source trends, web design, networking, blogging, new music technology and hand gesture recognition.
For further details and to register your attendance check the Barcamp Belfast Wiki.
9:00 - 10:00 - Session-setup... boathouse ep launch via iced coffee words
Still racing of adrenaline from her solo performance at the 20/20 photographic exhibition, Amy McGarrigle will join her band-mates at the Empire Music Hall, Belfast, for the launch of their E.P. ‘What I Remember’.
The band, Boathouse, were formed in 2006 and through progressively gigging, their music as gotten better and fanbase, bigger. The EP contains 5 tracks of the highest quality music, my favourite track changes with each time I see them play.
1. Tinderbox West
2. It Was A River
3. The Johnnny & Ruth Story
4. Don’t Knock
5. What I Remember
I asked drummer Keir Hurley how it feels to finally release this long awaited CD.
“Finally having the recordings completed is great. I think after ‘Trail of Ghosts’ [the first E.P. recorded in 2006], a lot... belfast flickr meetup 25th may 2008 via iced coffee words
It was a great weekend. Mostly spent chilling out, listening to music, watching Pushing Daisies, which I really don’t like and must stop watching immediately, watching terrible movies including this one along with a very moderate amount of alcohol.
Saturday afternoon though, was the Belfast Flickr Meetup at the Continental Market at the City Hall, with a total of 9 people, we wanted around getting photographs of all the same things and people from slightly different angles. I tried to get some portraits of some of the sellers. The first, Leo, was so keen he gave me his email address to send him the photograph.
My next victim was a seller of olives. Maybe he could sense that I don’t actually like olives and just wanted to take a photograph of him, which no intention of making... reservoir cats via iced coffee words
‘LETS GO TO WORK!’
Directed by Lindsay Charrington
Produced by Adrian Cooke
Tonight is the opening of Reservoir Cats, the latest play by the Theatre Knights, a subsidiary of the Knights of the Round Table arts collective. A spin-off of the Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs, ‘Cats’ sports an all-female cast in this very unique, Northern Irish take.
The Knights of the Round Table was founded in 2005 by Thomas L Muinzer to “encourage the individual development of of all artistic genres, but also to encourage the idea of bringing separate genres together.”
In my mind this is a great version of the original film, the cast play the parts brilliantly, interacting with the audience and the auditorium as well as making the audience think about the male and... Maze Stadium “Doesn’t Stack Up” via Stadium For Belfast
Despite revelations that Edwin Poots’s Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has spent nearly £3.5 million on promoting a new stadium in his back yard, the press are hinting that the white elephant is edging ever-nearer to it’s ultimate demise after the DCAL Permanent Secretary Paul Sweeney refused to endorse the plans.
According to the Sunday Life, “The absence of support from key civil servants in the departments principally involved in the project … is likely to put the final nail in its coffin.”
Finance Minister Peter Robinson is due to make a recommendation to the Executive before he takes over the position of First Minister later this month, however he has recently hinted that the Maze could be redeveloped through other means that wouldn’t...
(bank) holiday in the sun via iced coffee words
As I approached the Ormeau Bridge this morning a very eggy smell made its way up my nostrils. Looking down, the bands of the were as low as I remember ever seeing them; muddy, dark and devoid of life, with a traffic cone or two and I’m sure a shopping trolley somewhere could be found somewhere down as the river meandered through the city.
As I walked across the bridge on my way to work I thought about the Lagan Weir and how it was designed to “keep the river at an artificially constant level” through “a series of massive steel barriers which are raised as the tide retreats.” Maybe they took the bank holiday off too.
The water quality of the river was poor due to several factors:
There was a large amount of “domestic” pollution entering the... kitty and the can openers! ep relaunch gig via iced coffee words
Tonight Kitty and the Can Openers subtly relaunch their self-titled EP at the Empire Music Hall, Belfast.
Recorded in Dec 07/Jan 08, the finely produced CD contains five superb tracks, which often find themselves slipped into the the set list whenever they grace the stage.
When the EP was first printed the band were unhappy with the album sleeve and so it was back to the drawing board. Now, 2 months later the newly printed sleeve and CD are ready for general sale at various gigs and events, and soon to be available from their website, which is in production.
So if you are free tonight get down to the Empire and get yourself a CD!... lets get drunk and dance via iced coffee words
It’s been a while since I went to a club and drank many alcoholic beverages into the early hours of the morning. Having had a taste of just that the other night, not so much in the alcohol consumption but in the atmosphere and drink consumed by the free spirits all around me - including the occasional fantastically attractive female.
Those nights are always nice. It’s fun to go a bit crazy every now and then, though right now it seems I’m not able to do it, or in the mood quite often. It feels great to be busy, sometimes it feels great to be tired, because it’s tiredness from doing what I love.
It’s the weekend. Go nuts!... what mob? via iced coffee words
That was no mob! A pitiful performance! You should be ashamed of yourselves - those who didn’t make the effort. Its a team effort people!
In this photo are a few of the mobsters.
Here is all the space available for potential mobsters
Those who were there were awesome! A small group, who gathered afterwards, including Duke Special who was just getting a Costa Coffee (seen below just leaving).
Next time will be better.... flash mob belfast via iced coffee words
TODAY Flash Mob gathering in Belfast
Victoria Square ground floor
1pm
Like this, only more people - hopefully.
It may not be quite so populated as London’s Flash Mob on Friday 11th April, but we can try.... ten to twenty via iced coffee words
It was like putting on a pair of glasses for the first time. I don’t wear glasses, so it was like putting on a pair of glasses when my eyesight is 20:20 and seeing everything totally distorted - only in reverse. In a good way.
A new lens. I got a nice pretty new lens. The weather has been amazing the last few days. Here are a few photographs from my first trip with pretty new lens....
office space exhibition via iced coffee words
This Thursday I have a very special photographic exhibition to mark the opening of Belfast City Office. This is an office space centre on Elmwood Avenue, close to Queens University and the Students Union.
Merging premium serviced-office space, top-notch in-house IT support from Xootec, administrative & business support and very smart facilities for meeting, greeting and networking, the BCO team have fashioned a fantastic alternative to the traditional rented office space.
“…We are a small and greatly motivated team here and we strive to ensure our clients receive top quality support. If asked, why BCO? We would answer because, We Care for Your Business.”
…[They] have successfully brought this period building bang up to date as beautiful Victorian architecture... look MOM! via iced coffee words
Recently I’ve been working with local promotion company Moving On Music, who specialise in classical, traditional, world, rock and jazz music.
MOM are putting on a mini-festival in the Black Box from today, 26th March, to Sunday 30th March, encompassing many great musicians, as well as film screenings before each show.
In the Café, however, a selection of my photographs, taken at Moving On Music events, are on display throughout the festival.
If you are in Belfast it would be great if you could stop by and have a look, maybe even get a bite to eat - they do a good lunch.
For full details on the festival programme click here... from the archives via iced coffee words
A random photo from the archives.
This photograph was taken on this day in 2006... saint patrick facts via iced coffee words
Well I live in Ireland so I can’t forget about St Patrick’s Day now can I.
I like to keep it pretty quiet - see last year’s rant for why. The plan was to take photographs of the parade as it made its way from the City Hall to to Custom House Square, but of course the two batteries I had with me quickly died. Thankfully I got a few shots of the parade - though I had other plans for the afternoon anyway.
Two friends from England were over for the weekend and so we went to Pizza Hut in Victoria Square (all-you-can-eat buffet for £6!) then to Roast Coffee (note to self: free wi-fi!) to chill.
Random Saint Patrick facts:
-There is no histrocal evidence St.Patrick ever went south of the border hence the name of Downpatrick which is abbreviated from its origianl Ulster... i ordered my mac via iced coffee words
This week went quite quickly, coming to an end that was well worth the wait.
After work on Friday I purchased a 15-inch Macbook Pro from the Apple Store. This I am very excited about. It will be an interesting transition period from XP to Mac though hopefully it will go smoothly. I have lots of questions, which Andy has answered for me recently, and I’m sure I will have many more when it arrives. So more on this then.
Later than evening I headed to the City Church hall above Common Grounds Café for an evening of Bollywood fund raising for a trip to India. On the bill were some Bollywood dancers, whose dancing skills were quite mesmerising, Kitty and the Can Openers and Captain Kennedy.
Kitty and the Can Openers
Captain Kennedy... victoria square via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
Like the majority of others in Belfast I was very excited about the opening of Victoria Square (official site is still in the future tense) having watch it grow over the last 3 years or so. Disappointingly, but also as expected, I wasn’t able to make it to the opening at 10am Thursday morning, though I did take some time to view it at lunchtime and again at 5:30pm. My first impressions were that of excitement - yes even after venturing inside. Excited to see something as architecturally beautiful as this in Belfast.
The centre/square (is a ’square’ ever really square shape) has no doors at its access points, leaving it open 24/7 as a walk-through, this part I like, though hope that it remains safe if I ever do take the chance at 3am.
The shops are plentiful, with many,... Taste the Bright Lights via Skin Flicks
fate awards after-party via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
Gary Lightbody doesn’t like bloggers.
He wasn’t too impressed with my ‘i’m blogging this’ t-shirt.
So he took my camera from my hands and took this photo of himself, Ian Archer and me:
Later Stuart Bailie, Terri Hooley, Gary Lightbody and Joe Echo sang Gloria by Van Morrison:
This was followed by a set by Iain Archer
This was my Friday night…... happy ‘feck-off-i’m-single’ day via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
That time of year once more. Lets ignore it.
Thankfully there is plenty going on in Belfast this evening to keep me occupied.
The Knights of the Round Table are holding their usual jam packed night of fun with music from Kitty and the Can Openers, Serpentine Smile and Autorun plus plenty of extras including light electronica, poetry, “groovy” art displays, a local film and rice krispie valentines delights for the first fifty people through the door.
The Winding Stair are headlining Gifted at the Empire along with Eoghan Colgan, Ursula Burns and Dolbro Dan. A great acoustic lineup..
If you head a little further into town Olympic Lifts are releasing their new single ‘I Am Cursed’ which is available now to download. Well worth checking out.
With a lot of choice of... daytrippin - cave hill and the zoo via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
That mountain over yonder always look appealing. I often stare at it from my work on the 9th floor, I stare at it when I’m walking in the street and on the bus. Its always there, just outside the city, looking all natural, vast and full of nature - yet I never get very close to it.
So on Wednesday afternoon, having left work early, I had enjoy the shining sun before heading home, and always in search of something different I decided to take a trip on the 1b bus along the Antrim Road.
First stop, Bellevue Arms. I always remember this bar as I pass it going along the motorway, generally on my way to Portstewart throughout my childhood, and I have always wanted to get up to where it is, as it is beside the bridge the road goes under. As I got closer to it I actually felt excited to... sardine-packt two step via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
I haven’t seen the limelight as packed for a local band as it was on Thursday night. 360 325 paying punters. Although I did hear the turnout with similar at Kowalski/And So I watch You From Afar/Cutaways gig in December. The lineup this time around was A Plastic Rose, Panama Kings and Fighting With Wire. The entire venue was filled with lots of kids screaming at each band out shear love and devotion.
At 22:05 A plastic Rose made their way to the stage. Gerry Norman began by calling everyone close to the stage - and they did. Filling every space. By 22:30 the venue was already full.
Singing/shouting along the crowd joined in in the ways the knew how, even shouting requests for the ‘classics’. This band know how to rock and rock they did. They have gone up 100 times in my... mary’s great idea on bbc2 via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
Tomorrow Belfast band Mary’s Great Idea will be on the new Irish language chat and music show from BBC Northern Ireland called Imeall Geal, which translates as ‘Bright Edge’. Last Sunday they performed in front of a live studio audience in Newry’s Sean Hollywood Art Centre along with Dublin band Director.
The idea being that each week two bands perform, one an unsigned band from Northern Ireland and the other a bigger name band from throughout Ireland. Other acts to perform in coming weeks include Ruby Colley, The Delawares, Olympic Lifts, Henry McCullough, Foy Vance, and The Winding Stair.
Click here to view a short interview with Mary’s Great Idea.
Imeall Geal is on BBC Two Northern Ireland each Thursday at 10pm... a bread roll with that funny, please via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
The plan worked! I am now going to every single event as part of the Out to Lunch festival - Official Photographer!
On Tuesday I saw Eilidh MacAskill - who was both very natural in her style and very funny. Only eight days after completing her daily ukulele ceilidh she is touring to tell the tale of the last year. Maybe next year she will tell the story of the year she told the story of the thing she did the year before that…
Of course the original thing she did last year was to “perform” her ukulele in some fashion, to somebody, every day for a whole year. She didn’t go into full detail, though by the sound of it she certainly had a good year. The uke seems to lend itself nicely to cheeky humour and Eilidh knows how to play and make everyone laugh.
I am always...