IF YOU SPEND any time on TheJournal.ie, you may be familiar with the name Niall Carson.
Carson works for the Press Association news agency and his work in Ireland, and abroad, regularly features on the site.
The Belfast man says that he has “been punched by politicians, arrested by Gardai and even shot in the leg by dissident republicans while on assignments” but would recommend his job to anyone.
Recently, he was named the Press Association’s photographer of the year for 2014, with Pete Clifton, PA Editor in Chief saying:
“Niall Carson has had a brilliant year with pictures that ranged from Prince Harry and the Pope to devastating weather and a cheeky squirrel. He is a master of his craft and in addition to still photography he is also embracing video to effectively tell the stories that matter in print and online.”
We asked him to tell us about his favourite shots of the year. Here’s what he said:
Waves in Lahinch
In February, I got up in the early hours of the morning to travel to Lahinch in Co Clare as there was a red weather warning in place for high winds.While I was able to cover lots of flooding and storm damage in Cork and Clare over the next few days I think this picture captured the power of mother nature best.
Enda Kenny on the phone
Like most Taoisigh before him Enda Kenny never lets the photographers down and he provides us with plenty of comic moments when there is a good news story like a jobs announcement.I did, like the rest of the media pack, have a giggle when he lifted the telephone in phone in Michael O’Leary’s office at the opening of the new Ryanair head office in Swords in Dublin. I cant remember what he said but he had us in stitches.
Pope Francis in the Vatican
Its always been an ambition of mine to cover the Pope in St Peters Square.I was given the opportunity to cover the million strong crowd of faithful when Pope Francis carried out the canonisation of two popes, John Paul II and John the 23rd in April.Again, it was a 4am start with miles of walking and hours of queueing, but I felt like I got some great shots on the day and indeed this one featured on the front page of the London Independent.
A squirrel in the Phoenix Park
On quiet days an agency photographer will go in search of a stand alone picture. The Phoenix park is a goldmine for us with so many activities and beautiful surroundings to snap.On this particular day I had spent a few hours walking around in search of rutting deer, but for some reason they were quiet even though it was the season.I was just about to walk home defeated and heard a rustle of leaves and saw this Squirrel darting across a wall. He featured in many papers and weblogs around the world the following day.
Prince Harry in Brazil
I was fortunate enough to be selected by PA to cover Prince Harrys trip to Brazil and Chile in during the World Cup.This picture was taken on a visit to a very large leisure centre in Belo Horizonte Brazil on the day England were knocked out of the championship by Costa Rica.The little boy looked like he had won the world cup after scoring a goal against Prince Harry.
I cover lots of sport including golf, rugby, soccer and horse racing for the Press Association, but I really enjoyed this promotional event by Red Bull for their cliff diving championships at the Serpents Lair on Inis Mor.The divers were jumping off the Jeanie Johnston famine ship and I really like the symmetry between their bodies and the wires of the Samuel Beckett Bridge.
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