Category Archives: Ireland

Cobh – Stormy Skies

Morning all

pleased to be back from the beautiful but rather wet Ireland, we had some horrendous weather for the first 10 days then the next 10 were just too darn hot….you can’t win when you take huskies with you!

For the past three years I have tried to capture St Coleman’s Cathedral, Cobh bathed in sunlight and this trip would be the same, travelling there it was wonderful sunshine until we managed to park up on the hill opposite and then the skies darkened and it threw it down, in the distance at first but within a minute or two we were soaked. One day I’ll capture it as I intended but until then we’ll have to console ourselves with great storm clouds and that magnificent spire pointing heavenly to God.

 

List of filters if anyones interested

102mm Polariser slim

Sing Ray Reverse Grad 4st

Lee Blue Sky 6×4

Doolin Whoosh

 

whoosh-3Doolin Whoosh

The area around Doolin and towards The Cliffs of Moher are where the Atlantic shows us her strength by crashing down on the rocky coastline as if to destroy it. Certainly isn’t a place you’d go for a dip in the sea and the local ferry struggles in and out of the harbour on every trip, we saw a ferry go nearly vertical as it pulled out of Dollin Pier and the sea got hold of it, we could hear the passengers scream, fortunately no one was harmed but I’ll pass on taking a trip around the cliffs by one…….

St Colman Cathederal – Cobh

 

st-colman-cathederal-cobhSt Colman Cathederal, Cobh

The Cathedral Church of St Colman, usually known as Cobh Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cobh, Ireland. It is the cathederal church of the Diocese of Cloyne. It overlooks Cork Harbour from a prominent position. Construction began in 1867 and was not completed until over half a century later due to increases in costs and revisions of the original plans.

The cathedral contains the only church carillonwhich with 49 bells is one of the largest carillons in the Europe. An automated system strikes the hour and 15 minute intervals while it also rings the bells in appropriate form for Masses, funerals, weddings and events. The carillon is also played on special occasions and generally every Sunday afternoon by its current carillonneur Adrian Gebruers.

One of the major transatlantic Irish ports, the former Queenstown was the departure point for 2.5 million of the six million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. On 11 April 1912, Queenstown was famously the final port of call for the RMS Titanic when she set out across the Atlantic on her ill-fated maiden voyage. She was assisted by the PS America and the PS Ireland, two ageing White Star Line tenders, along with several other smaller boats delivering first-class luggage. Some sources and local lore suggest that a Titanic crew member, John Coffey, a native of Queenstown, left the ship at this time, and thereby escaped the sinking. At Queenstown 123 passengers boarded in all, only 44 survived the sinking.

Ross Castle – Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Ross Castle – Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

A beautiful place to visit especially if the weather plays fair as it did with this visit. Met a fabulous local photographer who gave me some great advise on local attractions including waterfalls and ruins. I’m a firm believer in always learning and striving to make the next shot better than the last, hope I’ve accomplished it…sales will tell.

The Irish images may not get a section of their own so sales will be by email only at this stage, thanks

Adrian

Ross Castle 2

Dún Chaoin Pier (Dunquin) Ireland

Dunquin PierFinally back from our Ireland trip and it didn’t disappoint apart from the odd heavy rain and gale force winds but that’s what you expect from the emerald isle isn’t it?

Loads of images to post so I’ll start with one of my fave places Dunquin Pier or (Dún Chaoin) as it’s pronounced and sign posted locally which means Caon’s stronghold.

Bit from Wiki below.

There is dramatic cliff scenery, with a view of the Blasket Islands, where Peig Sayers lived. A museum in the village tells the story of the Blaskets and the lives of the people who lived there including the well-known writers of the island, which includes Sayers, Tomás Ó Criomhthain, and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. In 1588, when the Spanish Armada returned via Ireland many ships sought shelter in the Blasket Sound — the area between Dún Chaoin and the Islands — and some were wrecked there. A memorial stands on the cliffs overlooking the site.

Scenes from the 1970 film Ryan’s Daughter were shot at Coumineole Beach and Ceathrú (Caharhoo) in Dún Chaoin. The town’s then-struggling economy was largely revived by the production of the film.

It was in Kruger’s bar in Dunquin that CAMRA was founded in 1971.

I had been to the site earlier in the day and did some test shots handheld to get a real feel for the place, it’s quite a height and you can see where the cliff top is eroding badly and is certainly dangerous. Extra care is needed where the final shot was taken as you can easily fall from three sides and I had my tripod tied down to a peg in case it slipped and fell.

I turned up a good hour early for this sunset shot primarily to prevent anyone else from taking the prime spot, I know it’s not good sportsmanship but I have come a long way to get this shot and with the conditions being perfect I wasn’t going to miss it for anything, as it happens only a couple of people came and went down the track and back up again then went away before sunset so mission accomplished I had the whole vista to myself.

Kit used

Canon 1DX

EF16-35mm f/2.8L USM 19mm

F18 for 3.2s

.6 ND glass

Reverse grad Singh Ray

UFO Doctor Doctor on my headset (always helps)

Loads more to follow though I’ll probably space them out as I have a fairly heavy work load on now plus a training schedule to maintain.

Adrian

 

Weight Loss Goal

Hi all

been a while since my last blog so I thought I’d better get back on the track as it were, been down a long road recently hence today’s image of The Dark Hedges in Ireland. My goal was to lose 2 stones initially and then move onto to losing another with full training. I’m pleased to say as of today I have lost 28.2lb so my 2 st goal in 6weeks 2 days. I have achieved this by no magical process other than eating less and doing more, walking a minimum of 15-20,000 steps a day, training 5 days a week and eating very healthily and NO cheating.

Do I feel any better, tough one but I guess pshycoligically yes I do and ever so slightly physically as I think my knees are certainly screaming “thanks big fella we needed that!”

So my next goal is an additional Stone before Ireland in April so 7 weeks, hopefully this again will be achievable with will power and support form my long suffering wife Jo, bless her x.

A word to those who think it’s impossible, IT ISN’T, I have done it and I am the worst at things like this, you just have to put one foot in front of the other and walk down that tree lined road, try it you ‘d be surprised.

 

Adrian

GOT

Wicklow Mountains

Wicklow-Mountains-ValleyHappy Monday morning all

certainly a little bit cooler this morning and a frost on the ground, so I thought we’d appreciate a warmer looking image for today’s upload. This one form my recent Ireland trip and is of Wicklow Mountain valley pass, an absolutely stunning location with a  little of everything for everyone.

The drive up there is as stunning as the summit view, i should have got Jo to drive as I nearly crashed HuMo (Husky Mobile) twice. It gets quite busy up there so we had to hang around a while while the hoards  dissipated a little.

Planning has started on next years Ireland trip West and South West is the plan, we’ll spend a little more time in one place this time until I get the required shots. This years trip was more a reccy so I had to take what I could weather wise and as we all know Ireland is very green and lush for a reason…..yup very wet too.

Here’s hoping for plenty of the white stuff this next few weeks

 

Adrian

The Battle of Curlew Pass

HorseThis will be my last update for a while while I get my workload down and complete my CAA license for the drone pilot so apologies if I don’t pick up on any of your posts for a while, I’ll try and check as and when I can.

Today’s image is the chieftain statue at Boyle, Co Roscommon ~ Unveiled in 1999, this ‘Chieftain’ is overlooking the site where the Battle of Curlew Pass was fought 15th August, 1599. The Battle of Curlew Pass was fought between an English force under Sir Conyers Clifford and a rebel Irish force led by Hugh Roe O’Donnell (Red Hugh O’Donnell). The English were ambushed and routed while marching through a pass in the Curlew Mountains near Boyle.

A magnificent and large piece of metalwork that’s well worth a visit, it’s sited right at the side of the road and has a large car park for visitors to come and enjoy the view out to sea whilst enjoying a picnic.

Adrian

Causeway Contemplations

Giants-Causeway-1It goes without saying the Giants Causeway is one of the most visited natural attractions in Norther Ireland and my visit was no exception, literally hundreds of tourists scrambling all over the place, we found people hammering coins into the cracks between them hoping for some mystical good fortune……good luck with that one then.

Anyway as I scrambled to get away from the crowds we attracted our own following of Chinese and Canadian tourists wanting shots with the dogs, after a ten minute obliging session I finally got away to do some shots myself. I came across this solitary figure of a young woman deep in contemplation ignoring all the hustle of the surrounding crowds and looking out to sea, that perfect moment caught on camera I thought.

Withing 2 minutes the crowds were round her and the moment was gone, she probably never realised I was taking her picture and probably never will but I now she was somewhere else thinking perhaps of lost ones or what she was going to have for lunch, who knows!

have a great weekend all

Adrian

Slieve League

Sleive-League-1-SKyWhat an amazing place this is, we were so glad we made the trek to the Atlantic Coast of Ireland.

It’s a fantastic walk from the lower car park up to the top car park where all the lazy people drive up for an ice cream, you get to see so much of the beautiful coastline along the way. This place must truly be on every photographer list of shots to have in their collection.

The cliffs are the highest in Europe and there is a great 5 hour walk all the way along the tops to be done, this is on our next trips list as this was a recce mission this time.

These are some of the highest cliffs in Europe and at 609m there’s a long drop into the Atlantic if you fancy it …NOT.

We were as usual swamped for pictures of the fur kids, I managed one or two myself, don’t worry Thunder isn’t being choked , well he is a bit but that’s his fault, 600m drop 3m away I wasn’t taking any chances with him!

Puppies-at-Slieve-LeagueIce cream on the way down was lovely, the pooches loved it.

Adrian