Declan Barron Hurleys

A Case Study

The Composition

I got a call from one of the Web Designers that I work with who told me he had a client looking for some imagery for his new website. I was told it was for a Hurley manufacturer based down in Wexford!


The Photoshoot

I won't lie, when I was told the gig was for a Hurley manufacturer, I got quite excited. As many of you know I have a love for the game of Hurling and it was a privilege to watch a master craftsman in action who produces these exceptional and unique pieces of sports equipment, Hurls or Hurleys, the end product is the same. My job was to try and capture the mood, the quality, the creativity and thought that goes into the product and, of course, the man himself. We needed some quality product shots too. It was important to get the angle of the hurl, showing the cut, as that is a key consideration for any hurler when picking his weapon of choice. Declan was making little stands as we went to hold the hurls in place and I looked after the rest. One thing that quickly became apparent was that this environment was dusty...very very dusty. It's always best to try to avoid changing lenses during a job but a definite no-no doing it here. I set up the lighting and backdrop. Space was at a premium but we managed to work within the constraints of the workshop to get the job done.

Studio set up on location

The rest of the shoot was focused on getting the lifestyle images for the rest of the website. Declan produces Hurls for some of the top Hurlers in the country. My love of the game came in handy as I spotted Hurls belonging to a variety of Inter-County stars including Wexford's Damien Reck and Limerick's Aaron Gillane and Kyle Hayes amongst others. The lighting in the workshop wasn't the best so I had to do a bit of white balance correction but the rest of the shots were fine. All in all a successful day's work.

Results from the Darkroom