The Street Where I Live
Photography / September 01, 2010

The Street Where I Live

Hi all, sorry, It’s been ages since I’ve had a chance to get out with the camera and take a few photos. I realised I’ve been neglecting the blog last week, so I asked the good folk of twitterland to set me a challenge. The first suggestion came from Tommie Lehane (Eyeblinks) –  “The Street Where I Live”. This is a tricky one, I live on a small Avenue. I was more than a bit embarassed taking photos of the neighbours houses, so I decided to approach it from another angle. I can’t say it was a success, I took most of the shots in three five minute sessions, so the execution is terrible – and the processing is worse. I’m rusty, very rusty. But I’m here to learn, so tough!

The Street Where I Live….

…has tasty apples on the trees….

…has old stone cottages with red brick chimneys…

… leads into Adare Manor…

… has beautifully kept gardens…

…but you just don’t know what happens there at night.

Thanks:
Síofra for posing with the knife
Tommie for the suggestion

Notes:
Shot 3. I’d really appreciate some advice on what to do with this one. The processing is a mess.
Shot 5. My flash is stuck on full power. I’ll get it right the next time!

Funderland
Photography / June 03, 2010

Funderland

Funderland is in Limerick this week. Kev and I decided to go along last night. I must say the second I got in the gate I got really uncomfortable trying to take photos in such a crowded place – I’m just not comfortable taking photos of people candid or otherwise. I’m happy to report that it didn’t take long to get over that problem – we were only there five minutes when two security guys were over asking what I was doing. After a short chat with the lads, they recommended a few of the rides that would be worth taking photos of. I was absolutely amazed by the amount of people that smiled, waved and posed for photos over the course of the night. I’ll be a little more comfortable the next time.

The Take Off ride looked like great fun.

I liked the paint job on the Safari Park truck – a Mack no less! Nevermind those ould Peterbuilts!

The clouds were amazing.

I got a few hilarious shots of terrified faces on some of the rides, but this one caught my eye – a load of feet pointing towards the sky.

The two girls below had a great laugh on the slingshot. Unlike everyone else that went before them, there was no swearing, just laughter.

Four out of five ain’t bad – one poor girl just didn’t really appreciate the “Take Off” ride.

A view up throughthe stalls towards the Ferris Wheel.

Closing time.

It was great to get out and about with the camera for a while – no pressure.

A day in the Burren
Photography / May 31, 2010

A day in the Burren

Sí and I went for a walk around Ballyvaughan yesterday. Normally when we are here, we are racing, so it was nice to take it easy and take a bit of time to look around. Here are a few shots from the day.

The now famous signs beside the aptly named “Tea Junction” cafe in Ballyvaughan.

I don’t normally take very many photos of flowers, but Summer has officialy kicked off here in Ireland and the place is just bursting with colour – they’re hard to avoid!

A group of Daisies – all slightly different. Some perfect, some trampled, some mutated…

I keep noticing this flower (below) – I’ve no idea what it is can anyone tell me? Or does anyone know any good sites for identifying flowers?

For Chris (the Aussie) – a rock field – with flowers in it!

More unidentified flowers in the shelter of rocks in the Burren.

A great view from the Bird Hide just outside Ballyvaughan

Travelling back towards Limerick, we passed the ruins of Carron Church. Below: a window behind the Alter (I think the Alter was at this end).

The wall of the church rolls away down the hill.

A rather boring shot of Poulnabron Dolmen.

Thanks to Sí for putting up with my constant stopping to take photos.

A walk around the Clare Glens
Photography / May 11, 2010

A walk around the Clare Glens

Welcome to my new site! I bought this domain name last Christmas and decided I was going to move my blog here. One thing I never liked about my old blog was that  I had nearly four hundred photos of completely disjointed subjects. It really was great for learning a bit about photography, but I don’t have anything that resembles a body of work that has my own stamp on it. For that matter, I don’t even have a style of my own. So after a lot of thought, I decided to go with more of a story telling approach. The idea being that I will shoot along a general theme or subject over an extended period of time (anything longer than an hour really) – this will give me a chance to make my own of it. Well, that’s the idea anyway!

I decided to get up early Saturday morning to go for a walk in the beautiful Clare Glens on the Limerick/Tipperary border. I had been here before, but usually got distracted with the camera and never made it very far along the walk. This time I was determined to get right up to the top of the loop. Here are a few shots I took along the way.

Click the images to see larger versions!

The river winds it’s way through the rocks – waiting for nobody.

A branch hangs over one of the smaller drops in the river.

A big old tree has come to rest at the top of one of the more spectacular falls in the Clare Glens.

It may sound like a silly thing to make a study out of, but as rocks go, this one was relatively pleasing to the eye. This involved getting into the river with camera tripod and the gear. I think it was worth it though.


It has taken thousands and thousands of years for the river to take it’s current shape.

Who says you can’t have Sun and Sand in Ireland? The sun manages to break through the canopy above. The light conditions change every few seconds – it’s hard to keep up with it.

All of the Pebbles on the side of the river have been polished smooth by years of movement along the river bed.

A Pine cone lies on a tiny sandy bank at the side of the river. I’ve no idea how it got there – the river, a dog or a child are the most likely suspects.

The water runs over and through the rocks. Not a great place for a Kayak – although I may be wrong, some people just love pain. 😉

I sat here, in the middle of the river, for about half an hour. I decided to have an Apple and cleaning my gear because of a Phantom scratch in one of my filters (it was a thread from the cloth I was cleaning it with). Not a soul around – all you could hear is the water crashing over the falls above and the birds singing. Hard to believe you are only fifteen minutes outside Limerick city, but that’s Ireland for you. It doesn’t get any more peaceful than this.

Two abstracts – I like them, not everybody’s cup of tea though.

 The near perfect angles of these rocks caught my eye.


Wildflowers soaking up the Sun on part of the upper bank.


Pebbels of all sizes and colours in the bed of the river.