Blake Coverdale

-Panoramic Photographer-

 

Blake Coverdale, Artists CV:-

May 2007: Wide Angle Exhibition, Cork Vision Centre.
Large scale solo exhibition of panoramic photography and moving image
Opened by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Michael Ahern.
Featured on TG4 Television, Published in Cork Examiner newspaper

June - September, 2007: Wonderland Exhibition, Blue Haven Hotel, Kinsale.
Solo exhibition of panoramic photography

July 2007: Virtual Kinsale, Kinsale Arts Festival
Solo audio/visual extravaganza

August 2007: Expressit Aer Arann
Photographs published in in-flight magazine

August 2007: Project Planet, Sziget Arts Festival, Budapest
Solo representative of the Republic of Ireland at the largest panoramic / virtual reality event ever held on this planet. (Sponsored by MasterCard)

May 2008: Around Kinsale, film released
Ground breaking Kinsale panoramic-video and time lapse photography, film released.

June 2008: Celebration Exhibition, Cork Vision Centre
Group exhibition Celebrating the best of the last 10 years at the Cork Vision Centre.

 

Although I’ve been making photographs for over 20 years I first discovered panoramic photography in spring 2005 - since then I've been looking for the path to panoramic perfection.

Following the reverse of most photographers, I started with digital and moved to film.

I wish I could visit all the beautiful places on this wonderful planet and capture and preserve all the beauty that's here to be seen - whenever I get the chance to visit some beautiful magical place I'm doing my best to try and record the very essence of that location. I'd like to think my photographs capture more than just light - ideally when I stand in front of my photograph I'm transported back to that original location with some sense of those emotions I felt just before I opened the shutter.

I don't consider myself a great photographer, but I'd like to think I understand the principles of photography. Everything I know is self taught from books, the internet and trial-and-error. I'm learning as I go... I know what I want to achieve and I'm working hard to get there.. I'd like to think of my work as more than photography... what I'm trying to achieve is the actual capture of beauty, emotion and magic.

I generally print from 1 metre to 2 metres wide - the very low resolution scanned images displayed on this website are intended to give only a rough idea of my vision (and please allow for poor colour calibration on your computer system - the colours in my photographs are correct, the colours shown on your computer screen may not be).

Photographic equipment I use:

I've made great photographs with the smallest hand held compact camera. The most important factor in making a great photograph is the operator, not the camera. However don't expect to get truly professional results without professional equipment. Generally the bigger the photograph = the bigger the camera required.

Digitally stitched images bend perspective, and in most cases I'm not happy with the results printed on paper. I far prefer to use a dedicated panoramic film camera.

Cameras I use In order of preference:

• Large format panoramic camera. Film exposure size 6cm x 24cm. I use Rodenstock Grandagon 115mm and 180mm large format lenses. Totally manual operation.

• Medium format rotating lens camera. Film exposure size 6cm x 12cm. Totally manual operation.

• Canon 5D Digital SLR & L lenses.

I use: Sekonic Spot/Incident light metering, Graduated filters, Neutral density filters, Polarising filters, Manfrotto tripods. I prefer to capture images on Fuji Velvia slide film.