From the rugged landscape of County Fermanagh to the film sets of The Martian, The Banshees of Inisherin and now, the new blockbuster Gladiator II, photographer Aidan Monaghan knows how to capture the perfect shot.
He took the official photographs for the hotly-anticipated sequel to Gladiator that now adorn billboards, magazine pages and posters across the globe.
The film, starring Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal, premiered in London, England on Wednesday, and has already been hailed as a visual spectacle.
Monaghan has been a stills photographer for over 15 years. He recently spoke to BBC News NI, explaining that working on the official stills for a huge production involves “capturing the essence of the actual movie that sells it to the public,” including set photos, as well as character portraits.
“No words can really describe it,” he said about his fourth time working with director Ridley Scott.
Talking about seeing his work on such a colossal scale, Monaghan said it was “surreal”.
The photographer has also spoken about how he was influenced in his career by former Irish News editor, Ann McManus, who hails from the same small Northern Irish village of Ederney.
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McManus started with the Irish News in 1984, leaving in 2020, and has won multiple awards for her work, in both news and sports photography.
According to the Irish News, McManus is known for her Gaelic football shots – which were at the forefront of Monaghan’s mind as he captured the gladiatorial battle shots.
Speaking of one of his favorite shots of Mescal and fellow actor Pedro Pascal fighting (below), he said, “It’s one of those images that you either get or you don’t get. It’s a split second… you blink and you’ve missed it. It goes back to the kind of fantastic sports photography shots like Ann McManus, who was my mentor, used to take.”
Despite being a lifelong film lover, Monaghan started his career as an architect, helping to design buildings such as The Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich center in West Belfast.
After shooting stills for local theatre companies, he realized that film photography was what he wanted to do. Aidan is due to start work on a new Apple series Death of Robin Hood starring Jodie Cromer.
Gladiator II is playing at cinemas in the UK and Australia now. It opens in the US on November 22. Head to the official website for more info.
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Aspire to shooting on-set stills? Take a look at the best mirrorless cameras with a silent shutter. More interested in filming on sets of your own? Check out the best cinema cameras and the best cine lenses.
