Alex Sheridan (photographer) & Shaylyn Gilheaney (stylist) tell us about how Taking Flight, the fashion shoot in our current issue, came about.
Alex: “I love organising personal fashion shoots whenever I can fit them in, they’re a lovely way to reset from the super organised nature of commercial work and allows one a chance to create something for yourself. They are also a nice reminder of why I picked up a camera, in the first place. I’ve been working with Shaylyn for a few years now and always loved her styling as you can really see her own style in the clothes she picks out and how she styles models. Myself and Shaylyn had been talking about organising a shoot once restrictions eased a bit and she came to me with the idea of shooting at Alsaa after she had seen a series of photos I shot there on my Instagram.
Alsaa and the locations we shot at around Dublin airport are very nostalgic for me. I grew up 10 minutes from there, so, I went to countless bowling birthday parties at Alsaa as a child and spent numerous evenings and weekends sitting watching planes land and take off at the back of the airport with my dad, who is a plane lover turned pilot.
I used a range of cameras and mediums for this shoot, a 35mm film camera, digital mirrorless cameras and a Sony handycam from the early 2000s. It’s fun to mix and match these cameras from different eras, there’s always something about the film shots that the digital camera just can’t replicate, and on the other hand there’s always something with the digital camera that film can’t capture so well. The 35mm film and shaky handycam footage all feed that early 00’s nostalgia for me.
Shoots like this one are good for the photography soul.. And it’s even better when they end up in a lovely large printed format like Totally Dublin.”
“It’s fun to mix and match these cameras from different eras, there’s always something about the film shots that the digital camera just can’t replicate.”
Shaylyn: “Alex and I have worked together for years and were both eager to create something unique once restrictions began to lift. I had admired some photos that Alex had taken of Alsaa Bowling Alley and thought it would be the perfect location for the styling that I had in mind. Luckily, we were on the same page as he too was keen to create something based on that location as well as the airport.
Most of the clothes that I used were either my own or sourced from charity shops. Some of the pieces actually belonged to my mum in the ’90s/’00s which makes it even more special. I love that this adds to the overall sense of nostalgia that’s preeminent throughout the shoot. It’s a nod to both old and new Dublin as we welcome a new chapter with the return of international travel.”
“It’s a nod to both old and new Dublin as we welcome a new chapter with the return of international travel.”
Photographer – Alex Sheridan
Stylist – Shaylyn Gilheaney
Makeup artist and hair – Maria Whiting
Model – Elen D @ Not Another Agency
