St. Patrick’s Day

I was only there for two days, so I didn’t want to bring too much gear with me, because I knew I would spend most of my time on the street.

At the same time, I wanted to create a video for my YouTube channel and also take photographs, so I ended up carrying a bit more than I planned.

I had my Sony A7C as my main video camera, paired with a Rode VideoMic Go II.

I also had a Sony ZV1 for digital photos and my Leica M4 with a 28mm f/5.6 from TTArtisan.

The A7C is my main camera for video and it does the job really well.

I had a 16–35mm F4 with it, which I like because it’s wide enough for talking to camera, but I can also go to 35mm when I want something a bit tighter.

The Rode VideoMic Go II has really good audio, but sometimes I hear a small rattling sound when I’m walking. It’s something I might change in the future.

The Sony ZV1 is a very simple camera, but it does the job for street photos.

It’s small, quiet, and most people don’t even notice it. I use it as an option to take more photos without spending film.

The Leica M4 is still the camera I trust the most.

I’ve had it for about a year now and I really enjoy working with a rangefinder.

The 28mm from TTArtisan is not the sharpest lens, but I think it’s an incredible lens for its size, price and honestly, it’s more than enough for the kind of work I’m doing.

First day in Dublin

My first day in Dublin was the day before the parade.

When I arrived, the city was lively and sunny, already full of tourists

I decided to shoot mostly with the ZV1 because I wanted to save film for the day of the parade.

Sometimes I get stuck thinking that I need better or newer gear to produce good work, but I’m not going to lie, I really enjoyed shooting with that camera on that day.

I ended up producing some photos that I liked, and it proved to me that sometimes the problem is not the camera, it’s me.

Meeting Peter

On that first day I met a photographer called Peter Erickson.

He is one of my favourite photographers in Ireland at the moment.

We had a conversation about gear and also about slowing down.

He told me he was using a Leica 50mm pre-spherical lens that he bought for around €800, which is cheap for a Leica lens.

He said he prefers that lens because the newer versions are too sharp, and that’s not what he is looking for. He just wants a good image.

That made me think a lot about my own setup.

I was using a ZV1, which is very digital but simple, and also a very simple lens from TTArtisan, for the work I was doing, that was enough.

It’s something that is hard to remember sometimes, but it’s something we should always think about as photographers.

The second thing we talked about was slowing down.

I asked Peter if I could follow him for a bit and watch him shooting, but he said no.

He doesn’t like people around when he is creating work, which is fair, we are all different in the end.

But he told me something that stayed with me.

He walks slowly, stands still, and looks for frames.

Later, when I saw him on the street, he was literally standing there doing nothing, just observing and I realised something. If you stay in the same place for long enough, people stop paying attention to you, you become part of the scene.

That’s something I don’t do enough, I’m always moving, always trying to find something. But maybe I should stay more, take my time, and think more about the photograph instead of just shooting and hoping.

Second day – the parade

On my second day I woke up very early and went to Dublin city centre to collect my press pass.

This helps a lot on a day like this because you can access places that other people can’t.

I got this pass through work, but if you are starting, I would always recommend reaching out to event organisers or people working with media, you can offer your photos or videos in return, and sometimes that opens doors.

After that, I met two creators from Brazil that I met for the first time on that day. I was really excited to meet other people that work with YouTube.

I don’t know many people doing this, and it can feel quite lonely sometimes.

I also think it’s important to be around people doing similar work, you can always learn something just by watching.

We started walking towards the start of the parade.

Because we were early, it was easier to move around, which is very important when you are covering something like this.

Before the parade

The start of the parade is always very lively.

Everyone is waiting, the children are warming up, and there is something in the air that I can’t really explain, but it always puts me in a good mood.

I was trying to get as close as I could to create some shots. I’m the type of person that believes you should keep photographing until someone tells you not to.

I was looking for tight frames and some symmetry, I had Wes Anderson in my head. I will never be able to reproduce similar work, but I had him in my head while shooting.

At the same time, I was trying to film for YouTube, it’s really hard to do both. It always feels like you have to choose one or the other.

But somehow I still managed to get some shots that I was happy with before the parade even started.

Moving away from the parade

After a while, we decided to move.

We didn’t want to stay only with the parade, we wanted to be closer to the people watching.

I had a feeling that a lot of photographers were already getting those parade shots, and I already had what I needed from that, so I became more interested in the crowd.

As a photographer, I try to cover everything, wide shots, tight shots, the event, the people, and the atmosphere.

Some photographers stay too focused on one thing.

They think St Patrick’s Day is only about the parade, but that’s not the only thing happening. There is a lot more going on in the city.

The point is not just the parade.