Mark Goes To Burning Man 2023
Odyssey by Clayton Blake Art
I’ve learned over the years not to make too many plans at BM, so I only had one person I knew I was going to try and have on the podcast, the legendary Playa Pete. I knew where he was camping so I just had to catch him when he was home. He was making breakfast the second time I went over. He’s a brilliant storyteller so I knew I’d just have to press record and off he’d go, and he didn’t disappoint. He spoke about how he first heard about BM, his first trip out there and nearly leaving the next morning, starting the first Airport, what he learned about dealing with rude hecklers, a spontaneous art performance that nearly had him calling an ambulance, Larry’s T-Shirt and bringing his Mom to BM.
The other 3 people I bumped into were pure BM, “what are the chances” One was Stewart Harvey, who is Larry Harvey’s brother. Larry Harvey for those who don’t know, started BM, Stewart had amazing stories about Larry and the beginnings of Center Camp, The Man, Coffee, Costumes, laundering money and so much more.
After I’d talked to Stewart, I thought, you know it would be good to talk to some artists and I had two in particular in mind, Michael Garlington @michaelgarlington1 who brought Chapel Of Babel this year and Christopher Schardt @christopher.schardt who brought Mariposa.
But then the rain came and all plans of getting anyone else on the podcast went out the window. But when I went for a walk in the mud, on the Sunday, the day I should have been flying back to Ireland, but couldn’t because no-one was allowed to leave until the mud dried up, I bumped into Victoria Rose Enanoff, who had previously been in our camp, while she was helping to take down her new camp, Pink Heart. While we were chatting about Pink Heart, she spotted Christopher Schardt,
introduced us and he talked to me, there and then. Christopher talked about his previous Art pieces including everyones favourite, Parluna and his current masterpiece, Maraposa.
The next day, Monday, the rain stopped and it finally dried up, so I went for a spin on my bike and headed over to Chapel of Babel for one last look before they burned it later that night and I spotted Michael Garlington, busy getting it ready to burn. I asked him if I could talk to him sometime about his art and he said, let’s do it now. He spoke about how he started his art journey at BM, his earlier large scale pieces, Photo Chapel, Totem of Confession and of course Chapel of Babel.
After hearing Stewart and Pete talk about the exact same thing that happened 30 years ago, from completely different viewpoints, I thought rather than have each guest on, one after the other, I’d mix it up a little and go back and forward in the timeline.
Bill Hughes
Bill Hughes
My guest today is the writer, director and TV producer, Bill Hughes. Since 1985, he has made more than a thousand hours of music, arts, entertainment, performance, and documentary programming for R T E , I T V, B B C, P B S, C B C, and ABC in Australia. Many of his films have focused on social exclusion and sexuality, and he has been a leading advocate in the LGBTQ+ community.
Bill kindly invited me over to his beautiful apartment beside the Phoenix Park in Dublin for my very first location podcast, and it made for a very relaxed environment and luckily not too much background noise apart from the occasional siren and somebody cutting their grass. As you'll hear, Bill is a natural storyteller and is a voice you could listen to all day long.
We spoke about his parents and growing up with his 13 brothers and sisters above his mother's drapery shop in Athy. A surprise ending to his psychiatrist visit to cure him of being gay, Louis Walsh, pulling the poor mouth and making Boyzone's first five music videos for no money. Praying for a miracle with Martin Sheen, How he met his husband, Gary, and their intimate wedding day. The fun times he had with his late sister Eithne, his friendship and weekly phone calls with Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Upstaging the competition at the Provincetown Carnival and so much more. I usually have quite a bit of work to do, editing each podcast afterwards, but with Bill, everything just flowed and there was nothing to edit at all.
So please sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy the wonderful Bill Hughes.
The Art of Capturing Hollywood's Finest: A Chat with Art Streiber
Art Streiber, photo by Steven Spielberg
Imagine stepping into the world of iconic Hollywood photoshoots, capturing the essence of legendary stars like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio - sounds unreal, right? Well, that's the reality for my guest, Art Streiber, a top editorial, celebrity, and portrait photographer whose work has been featured in all the "V"'s, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Variety amongst countless magazines. In this fascinating conversation, Art shares his captivating journey into photography, starting from his grandfather's darkroom and his self-taught path that led him to become the Go-To photographer in Los Angeles and beyond.
We dive into the behind-the-scenes action of some of Art's most memorable photoshoots, such as the publicity campaign for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' featuring Pitt and DiCaprio. Art uncovers the challenges he faces on set, his approach to composition, and how he captures the perfect lighting and mood for each photograph. Plus, we explore his experiences with the "Morning After Oscar" franchise, including the inspiration for it, the famous Terry O'Neill photograph of Faye Dunaway at the Beverly Hills Hotel Pool.
But it's not just about the glitz and glamour - Art opens up about the responsibilities that come with being a director when shooting portraits, the importance of treating everyone with professionalism, and his process for working with both celebrities and everyday people. We also discuss the impact of imposter syndrome and Art's love for behind-the-scenes content, which he shares on his Instagram page as a way to document lighting setups and tell stories. So come along on this inspiring and insightful journey with Art Streiber and discover the magic of capturing the perfect moment.
Art’s Website ArtStreiber.Com
Art’s Instagram @aspictures
Episode #5 Nick Kelly
My guest today is Nick Kelly, singer songwriter, film director, copywriter, and advertising creative, all of which you can add award-winning to the front of and things like;
Best Solo male artist at the Irish Music Critics Award, Oscar Shortlisted filmmaker, Cleo Winning Creative, and to quote Hot Press Magazine. “A God, a songwriter of such passion and beauty as to transcend mortal.”
I first met Nick in the early nineties when the band I was in at the time were lucky enough to support The Fat Ladies. Sings on an Irish tour of clubs and colleges.
Since then, he's continued making music as a solo artist, with alter ego Alien Envoy and more recently with Sean Miller performing under the name Dogs. In this podcast, Nick talks about playing and touring with bands, cycling the Glastonbury, the potential millions to be made from his father's coin collection, forensic Lego archeology, his mother's anti photography photograph amongst many other things, all told with a sharp wit, and a dry sense of humor. I've included some of Nick's music at the end, including some gorgeous solo piano versions of Arclight and Dronning Maud Land, which he recorded on Facebook Live in a sitting room during lockdown. There's also a brilliant short track called Resolution by Alien Envoy, and one of his latest with Dogs called Old Dog, Young Dog, along with links his various creative outputs like that brilliant Guinness ad with Michael Fassbender and a Barry's Tea one, which I had no idea was one in Nick's. Below are Nick’s 6 Photographs.
If you would like to learn more about Nick, you will find it at
Nick Kelly World
Other Nick links.
His Facebook live performance
Guinness Ad “Quarrel”
Barry’s Tea Ad “Sisters”
The Song Cycle
Nick’s Instagram
Episode #4 Mark Goes To Burning Man 2022
Photo by Eleanor Preger
I’ve been going to Burning Man every year since 2013. It’s impossible to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been, so I thought I’d let some of my amazing campmates tell you some of their experiences.
You’ll learn a lot about Burning Man by listening to this and hear some very funny and inspiring stories told by the most awesome people you could ever hope to meet.
You’ll hear about Larry Harvey, Art Cars, Ships that don’t float on lakes that aren’t there. Getting lost in a dust storm, laughing at cancer and skydiving onto dead cats. Feeding 500 sparkle badgers and giant octopuses that can singe your hair off. And so much more!
Running Order and Time Markers
Intro: 00.00 - 02.27
Patsy: 02.28 - 10.42
Al: 10.42 - 18.24
Patrick: 18.25 - 45.32
Kim: 45.32 - 58.56
Iain: 58.56 - 1.00.05 - 1.08.00
Bike Ride: 1.08.00 - 1.31.00
Greg: 1.31.00 - 1.47.00
Kirsten: 1.47.55 - 2.00.55
Duane: 2.00.56 - 2.19.15
People and photos that are mentioned during the pod, mostly in order of appearance.
Episode #3 Roddy Doyle
My guest today is the writer Roddy Doyle. Roddy has written lots of books. Every time I tried to count them, those little thumbnails on Google, I got a different number, but I think I'm safe enough to say over 50, since he first published The Commitments in 1987, including the Booker prize winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
As well as the books, he's written screenplays for the films of The Snapper, The Van, Family and When Brendan met Trudy and he co-wrote the screenplay for The Commitments movie, he's also written for the stage and as plays include. Brownbread and guess who's coming for the dinner.
And he wrote the stage adaptation for the musical of The Commitments which coincidentally starts turning in Ireland and the UK next week,
Roddy took the title of this podcast to heart and only sent me six photographs. But those six photographs led to a kaleidoscope of stories and memories about his Dad who among other things wore a Cape, which in my book makes him a real life superhero, The Commitments including the book, the film and stage musical. Winning the Booker prize and the story of the photo of that book cover, an early job as a copy boy, Seagulls and pigeons. His school days, both as a pupil and as a teacher known as Punk Doyle, having a pee with theatrical mice and how Desperate Dan reminds him of his mother! All told with that trademark sense of humor and a twinkle in the eye.
Episode #2 Donal Skehan
I haven’t laughed so much in ages. Donal is a hoot! So if you need cheering up, have a listen to this. We talk about our first shoot together when he was a style icon, dogs biting things they really shouldn’t, one of his food heroes, a not very nice celebrity, kids food, his granny, Sweden & Burning Man (that was me, I told him not to ask!) typewriters and loads of other things, but pretty much laughing, all the time!
Donal’s Instagram @donalskehan and website
One of his food heroes Donna Hay
Where he buys his hipster typewriters Vintage Typewriters Ireland
Episode #1: Diarmuid Gavin
Someone had to be first and Diarmuid was brilliant for stepping up. He will always have a special place in my heart for saying Yes!
Welcome to the very first episode of 6 Photographs.
My guest today is Diarmuid Gavin. Diarmuid is a garden designer, a TV personality, and a podcaster. He's created nine gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show between 1995 and 2016, as well as presenting it on several occasions. and he is also written our co-written over 20 gardening books with the latest one Gardening Together, going to number one in the bestseller chart, we started with a quick photo shoot, and then we sat down to talk.
Diarmuid talked about a lot of things including; The Chelsea Flower Show, Terence Conran, Alan Titchmarsh, John Major, Monie Begley, Noelle Campbell-Sharp, Terry Keane, Stephen O'Leary, and more.
Photograph #1. Dad 01:29
Photograph #2. Terence Conran 04:47
Photograph #3. Monie Begley 10:25
Photograph #4. Chelsea Gold 14:11
Photograph #5. Noelle Campbell-Sharp 21:24
Photograph #6. Diarmuid's Garden 26:17
You can see the photographs we're talking about by clicking on this link:
6 Photographs Podcast
Diarmuid's Instagram page is @diarmuidgavin
His current best selling book, with my lovely cover photograph (and more inside) is Gardening Together
The potter he speaks of is Stephen O'Leary at Fermoyle Pottery
The Artist Retreat he speaks about is Cil Rialaig Arts Centre
6 Photographs
My new podcast is called 6 Photographs. It will be a conversation with my guests about the 6 photographs they have chosen to bring with them. The photographs could be of anything! They could be personal, professional, about people, places, a new project, whatever they want to talk about.
There’s the trailer, 1st episode coming very soon!
Glendalough. Hiking with comedian Ed Byrne
Had a nice day out of the studio recently, hiking with comedian Ed Byrne in Glendalough for The Sunday Times UK and Discover Ireland.
They needed a cover shot and other images an advertorial to run in the Sunday Times Culture Magazine (UK version). I really enjoyed watching the making of the film promoting hiking trails in Ireland.
Drones, steady cams and lots of equipment, all carried up and down the mountain by a very good-natured and enthusiastic crew, stopping to shoot at various points along the way.
They used this shot of Ed at Poulanass Waterfall for the cover and the panoramic shot of the 2 lakes near the top, plus a few other shots like the red deer, which was so well camouflaged I was wonder why some of the others were taking photos of some rocks on the side of the mountain, until I spotted it. :)
Here's a link to the promo film. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/static/ed-byrne-spinc-walk-glendalough-wicklow-tourism-ireland/
Lara McDonnell - Holly Short -Artemis Fowl
I first photographed Lara McDonnell at the tender age of 2. She’s been back a few times over the years, for communion and family photos and then some headshots as she was getting into acting.
The last set of these her mum Hazel told me excitedly she'd just got a part in a Disney movie, with Judy Dench and directed by Kenneth Branagh.
The movie was Artemis Fowl and Lara plays Holly Short. Unfortunately it was due to premiere just as the first lockdown hit, so was released on Disney Plus. They needed new publicity shots of Lara and she kindly thought if me.
It was one of the most fun shoots I've done, all thanks to a amazing Hollywood photographer called Art Strieber, www.artstreiber.com who I became friends with after I met him a few years ago at a class he gave in Palm Springs. I contacted Art to get a few pointers for this kind of shoot and he was so generous with his knowledge. As he's talking to me, he's peppering the conversation with lines like, "when I did the shoot with Leo & Brad for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood..." like it was the most normal thing in the world hahaha.
We shot two half days on location and in my studio. I was nervous, Lara was nervous, it was fine, but tiring. I was a little deflated after the first day, although I got some good shots, I just felt there was something missing. I sent the images to Art to see what he thought and he gave me such a great pep talk, told me to just have fun, go for it, break the rules, play! and sent me a link to another amazing photographer's website who's intro alone is mind-blowing.
Which all had the affect of totally depressing me, how the hell am I going to do that! I went home and slept on it and when I woke up I knew what I was going to do.
I was going to treat this like a shoot I'd do with kids, mess around, blast out some music, just make it fun and it worked! Lara opened up, the energy was so positive and we just had a laugh. The time flew and we could have just kept going. It was a real lesson.
When I showed Art the results, he said "you nailed it!" Which made me so happy, I really didn't want to let him down. Originally they wanted 4 images and ended up buying 37. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and to my limits but you need that sometimes. I don't know how Art does it every week! Here are just a few images from the shoot and some from earlier times.
Images are Copyright Mark Nixon, all rights reserved.
MuchLoved Exhibition, Hong Kong
As unbelievable as it sounds, my first major exhibition of MuchLoved opened last night in Hong Kong!
One of the few places in the world not in lockdown.
I would love to have been there, but can't complain. From the photos and video I've seen, it looks amazing and the prints are stunning.
A massive thank you to Guy Rusha, director of Over The Influence Gallery for finding me and his belief in my MuchLoved series.
I wish him and the gallery all the best for the exhibition and hope it is a huge success.
Video credit and big thank you to @Iamswc & @Hong Kong Art Blogger
A Drawing by Shane Gillen, based on my photograph of Gay Byrne.
Delighted with this beautiful drawing of Gay Byrne, which is based on my photograph of Gay, by Shane Gillen, who is spending the lockdown brushing up on his drawing skills. It took him about 14 hours to create this. You can watch the process here on the video Shane made.
For those doing anything similar, please note, if you are copying someone else's photograph, you need to get the photographer's permission and pay an agreed fee if you're hoping to sell copies of the drawing.
Shane will be making a donation to Temple Street Foundation Children's Charity on my behalf with every copy he sells.
Gay's family are very happy with it and told Shane that the drawing and the video of the process had moved them to tears.
If you'd like a copy, or to see more of Shane’s art, the link is here. Shane Gillen Art
St Patrick's Day 2020
I went into Dublin town yesterday, St Patrick's Day, to see what it would be like with everything cancelled and the pubs closed due to coronavirus. Some dazed tourists wandering aimlessly around in silly outfits and face-paint, most of the shops open on Grafton St, but eerily no-one in them apart from the staff. Would love to have photographed that, but Burger King kicked me out before I could focus and in Brown Thomas a security guy followed me around. Pity, there was a great shot of a face mask wearing girl standing behind the counter surrounded by lots of Gucci bags and empty space.For those who don't know, these areas below are some of the busiest streets in Europe, usually.
The Portrait Box
With our new Portrait Box, you can keep all your favourite portraits from your photoshoot without having to hang them all on the wall. It’s a real family heirloom!
Smaller Groups
As part of your family photoshoot experience, we can include smaller groups like this lovely mother and daughter combination.
Part of the Family.
Dogs are part of the family too and they are very welcome here in our studio. So before the kids fly the nest, or when they're home from abroad. Give us a call to book your own Family Photoshoot Experience.
