Brian J. O'Reilly
MY JOURNEY
Brian J. O'Reilly
Born in Birmingham, England, a city with more canals than Venice, Italy, I learned my craft by walking these100 plus miles of canals with my very first film camera (Yashica Twin Lens Reflex). BIRMINGHAM KIDS (Image on the right ) is the sole survivor of this period. Entering the work force my first job was taking photos of Cadbury’s Chocolate, chocolate..chocolate..chocolate every day.
In 1973, I moved to California, put photography on the back burner, and after meeting the right woman many years later, Jill encouraged me to take up where I left off. Digital had now overtaken film, and not wanting computer technology to replace my imagination I was still wanting to get it right IN THE CAMERA which was my old mindset and my mantra to this day.
Since that first step into the digital world I have combined my knowledge of film and pixels in a way that preserves the best of both worlds. All the images on this website are Straight out of the Camera and the result of using the cameras menus to it's fullest potential. Shooting an old rusty ship in SEPIA (in camera Menu) adds to its character, the spot of color (BLACK & WHITE PLUS ONE tab) in a shirt pops out (Color Accent is in the camera Menu). The STUDIO shows a Phantom of the Opera mask....the paper eyeball was cut out of a magazine and taped to the back of a mask.....imagination is primary...its not the stove but the chef. When viewing LESSONS please note that the average student is 10 to 14 years old and the images they took are the result of their imagination.
If photography has a place in your life, start by getting comfortable with your camera's MENU, look at other people's work that inspires you and start shooting...shooting...shooting, then the inevitable delete...delete...delete.
During this process you will get comfortable with both your camera, its menu, and seeing a whole new world open up to you. You will start to see subject matter in all kinds of places that would otherwise be overlooked, and do your best to GET IT RIGHT IN THE CAMERA.
- Please feel free to contact me. mrbrianoreilly@gmail.com
- As an artist/teacher, I am faithful to staying true to this time honored art.
“Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.”
ALBERT EINSTEIN
