‘Last minute shots can sometimes be the best ones you get’
Few of us will remember 2020 with any great fondness, but for Maurice Allen it was a year in which he captured some of his favourite images in an ever-expanding collection. He discusses the work which went into five of those shots.
SHOT 1:
Donohoe’s of Curracloe, Co. Wexford lifting their 2020 crop of new potatoes. ‘I love this image as it shows all the team work required to get the work done and the blend of colours seen are really beautiful from the sky to the ground.’
ADMIRED FROM ABOVE:
John Deere 6930 ahead of a Grimme KSA 75-2 topper. GT 170 alongside a Fendt 720 and Smyth tandem axle trailer. Grimme Varitron 220 Platinum alongside a Fendt 720 and Smyth tandem axle trailer.
SHOT 2:
Donohoe’s of Curracloe, Co. Wexford. Harvesting Spring Barley in August 2020 after a heartbreaking year of tough weather conditions for tillage farmers.
MACHINERY ON SHOW:
Claas Lexion 570c unloading into a Fendt 724 and Smyth trailer alongside.
SHOT 3:
RC Baker spreading digestate from a local AD plant in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK.
OVERSEAS OUTFIT:
Vredo 32000Zs tanker. Alfie Byrne picking up silage on a long summer’s day outside Kildavin, Co. Carlow.
‘This was one of my favourite shots from the summer of 2020. It was taken just before the battery on my drone ran out and perhaps that is why I love it so much! It really emphasises how last minute shots can sometimes be the best ones you get.’
PERFECT PAIR:
Krone Big X 530 and broughan trailer.
SHOT 5:
Hughes Agri finishes a harvest of maize before the sun sets over Ballybar Upper, Carlow.
‘With over seven hours shooting in this field, we had the perfect ending to a long day. If I have learnt anything from my days behind the camera, it is that patience pays off and this was certainly the case here. As the harvest was almost finished in this field, the sun was also finishing up for the day. It was my last day out during the summer of 2020 as I headed back to University that weekend so this image really emphasises the summer’s end.’
CHASING DAYLIGHT:
Claas Jaguar 870 with a Valtra tractor and smyth trailer alongside.
(Photos taken of Maurice Allen were completed by David Lowsley, Dublin. Maurice and David are friends from secondary school and on this occasion, David was showing different camera settings and he showed Maurice several photography techniques.)