Daily Blog

I am just back from Cork. The weather forecast for the evening was not good so I left early so that I could stop on the way to get my “photo for the day”. I was glad I did because I stopped at Ballybeg Abbey at Buttevant Co Cork. I pass this abbey every time I travel the road to and from Cork but never seem to get the time to stop. When I got there I took this picture from the road before going into the abbey.





Ballybeg abbey





In the grounds of the abbey is a small tower which I thought was a ruin of a round tower, until I saw there was an entrance at ground level.




I got a very pleasant surprise when I went inside and found the most amazingly designed interior . It turns out it was a high rise for pigeons !!


Apparently it is the best preserved medieval dovecot in Ireland !! I must take time to stop more often!

I am posting from Cork. This is a picture of the River Bandon just outside Inishshannon . As a child it was always one of my favourite views. As a child I lived outside of Ireland but whenever we came home there would always be a drive to Clonakilty to visit my Grandmothers, this view would always bring a mini geography lesson from the front of the car. “that is the river Bandan, famous for its salmon” to me it meant we would soon be in Clonakilty !

I am going to Cork today for the weekend for my nieces first Holy Communion.
I am posting a second picture from last night’s visit to Achill. I had arrived at the community hall at Keel but even though I was nearly late and still had to change out of my wet clothes I could not resist taking am extra minute to grab this picture of Keel Beach. And look there is a hint of a blue sky behind all that rain cloud!

Late posting this evening. I am just back from Achill were I had a lovely evening presenting the prizes in the St Colman’s calendar photo competition. All the winning photographs will feature in the 2012 calendar. I was teaching a one to one photographic lesson in Westport in the afternoon, so only got to Achill about one hour befor...e the event started. I always say that no matter what the weather Achill will always give something to the photographer. But today Achill played hard to get ! The weather was horrible, the rain was horizontal and I got absolutely soaked trying to get a couple of pictures. I had brought a spare pair of trousers just in case, and I needed to change before presenting the prizes!

I did get this picture of Granuaile’s Tower at Kildavnet.See more

Once again I did not get out today, no excuses really, I had planned to get out in the evening but the weather front promised for tomorrow arrived early and the sun disapeared early. the forecast is for rain all day tomorrow. I am on Achill Island in the evening to present prizes in a photographic competition so hopefully despite the weather if I get there early I might get something.
I am posting a picture taken on Achill some time ago.

I did not get out with the camera today. I spent most of the day glued to the television, watching the triumphant return of one of Ireland’s greatest sons ... Barack O’ Bama. !!

So I went back to the hard drive to find a picture for tonight. And found this one of Croagh Patrick taken last May.

I am just back from spending the morning photographing first Holy communions in Bekan Parish, the weather this morning was wild, and it rained all night. We did the photographs in the church but by the tme we finished the weather had completely changed. I took this picture of unusual clouds just outside the church.

It rained all day today, I took this picture yesterday between Knock and Ballyhaunis. This cottage is one of the last thatched cottages in the county still lived in. I have photographed it before, It was only as I put the camera to my eye that I noticed the sky, so I composed a wider picture then I originally intended.

Here is another picture from yesterdays trip to Mulranny. This View is a mile or two before Mulranny and is one of my favourite views of Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick. I cannot pass without stopping , I thought it looked well yesterday the light was lovely and the tide was out.

Seems like ages since I got to the coast. It isn't of course but even a few days absence makes the heart grow fonder. I was in Mulranny this morning where I met a guest in the hotel for two hours one to one photography class. I overran on time and had to rush back but still managed a few minutes detour to get a couple of pictures . this is one of the two beaches in Mulranny with Croagh Patrick in the background. Mulranny was last week awarded The European destination of excellence award for 2011 ( the only one in Ireland), many of my pictures were used in the presentation and application so I was delighted to be part of it.

Just back from Cork, got no photographs, (was there for a funeral) I took this picture of an old shed at the side of the road near Charlestown a couple of days ago.

I have to go to Cork for a couple of days so I am posting early today. I took this picture in Kiltimagh earlier in the week. I liked the position of the tree the great sky and the cows still waking up!

Very dull and windy today , but the heavy rain that was forecast has so stayed away.Today I am posting a picure taken two nights ago of the sunset from the top of Sleive Cairn , Kiltimagh.

I got no pictures today. I went to a charity car boot sale with Patricia and my daughter Grainne who was helping out at the sale in Ballycastle and I thought I might get some pictures at Dunbriste, but the weather was awful , misty rain' strong wind and very poor visability. Even the wind was blowing from the wrong direction so there were no waves.

I did come away from the car boot sale with an antique projector screen, I don’t know what I’ll use it for but it was just such a lovely thing its called a “Self Recta”from the 1950s I believe.

I am posting a picture taken during the week its another "Big Sky".

I had a really enjoyable day today. I had two one to one classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Bill who was here in the afternoon travelled all the way from Cork! While I really enjoy the teaching it’s amazing just how tired I am after it!

Today’s picture was taken last night half an hour or so after the sun set on the top of Sleive Cairn just outside Kiltimagh.

The Graduated neutral density filter is one of the most useful and essential pieces of equipment for the landscape photographer. I won’t even take my camera for a walk without one! Skies are a really important part of the picture and today the skies over Mayo were just fantastic. I was driving for most of the day and was truly frustrated because there were so many glorious skies but every time I stopped the sun went behind the clouds and the effect was lost. I did get a couple of pictures however on the Mayo /Roscommon border.
The sky in this picture was really bright and contrasted hugely with the trees in the foreground and without the filter would have been very difficult to capture.




I am posting a second picture taken a few minutes earlier as I calculated what exposure to set in the camera. You can see that the sky is almost overexposed and the foreground is almost silhouetted because it is under exposed, a three stop Neutral density filter has helped to balance them in the first picture.

I had a busy day today and did not get any real time for photography. But in the afternoon I had to collect my son from the railway station in Claremorris. On the way back we stopped at this little ruined church called Kilcolman Church and took this picture.

I did not get out with the camera today. I had hoped to in the afternoon , but started to put together a wedding album , these things always take hours, which is why I had put it off the last couple of days, but once you start you just have to stick with it till you finish!!

Todays picture is of Lough Fiach near Newport, I took it on Monday.

This is a lovely time of year. Sometimes things come and go without us really noticing. One of the advantages of being a landscape photographer is that you are always on the look out for changes in the scenery. I photographed this little hawthorn tree yesterday in full bloom, the countryside is decorated with these trees at the moment, often standing in the middle of fields because farmers often refuse to cut them down or disturb them in any way for fear of offending the fairy folk who live under the hawthorn trees !

I often work alongside my friend Paul Harmen who runs a tour business ;www.electric escapes .ie. Paul was hosting a group of international travel writers for the day for Board Failte and asked me to provide a photography lesson as part of the day. I was of course delighted and prepared a simple lesson on camera exposure. The forecast for the day was really bad, I mean really bad , heavy rain and strong winds. I spent most of the night listening to the rain pounding off the windows wondering how this was going to work. We had agreed to meet at Burrishoole Abbey , where the journalists would arrive by bus, have a tour of the Abbey, and a photography lesson before continuing their journey on Paul’s electric bikes. My daughter Grainne came with me and the closer we got to the abbey the worse the weather became, I was full sure I would have to do the photography lesson on the bus.

But just before the bus arrived the rain stopped and the sun came out ! I grabbed this picture of the Abbey just before people arrived. The photography lesson went really well, and the weather changed from persistent rain to short showers, and the electric bikes took care of the wind! Everybody seemed to have a great day and the Mayo countryside looked majestic in the showery light!