Working on Lists.

December 18, 2019 Norway, Touring, Travel

A camera pans around a small, messy room. Past a desk strewn with cameras, camera parts, empty coffee cups and notebooks full of hurriedly scribbled beer recipes, travel plans and other important things that need to be remembered. We see the figure of a disheveled man hunched over a computer, mumbling incomprehensibly. As the camera moves toward the subject, mumbling becomes swearing. The monitor of the computer now partially revealed, we see the sweaty, red-faced man pleading and bargaining withRead More

Around Sligo

November 13, 2019 Fuji X-T3, Landscape, Photowalk, Sligo

Way back in May, when the weather was nicer and night time didn’t begin at 5pm, we trekked our way north to Sligo for a momentous occasion, the first “old guard” photo walk to take place in quite a long time indeed. It is as it ever was, a flimsy excuse to meet up for dinner & drinks. But also to see some sights that I haven’t seen in quite a few years. First to Strandhill for that all importantRead More

That Lighthouse again.

September 23, 2019 Canon 24-70, Canon 5D, Landscape, Scotland

More of Neist Point lighthouse on Skye, this time from high above on the cliffs before the long walk downhill to see it up close. Like drinking yourself sober, my procrastination elevated to a sufficiently high level that for a brief moment, it turned into motivation. I assume everyone has photos in their respective queues that have sat for 12+ months, waiting for attention. This was shot with Julie’s 5D Mark 2 but I find since getting the Fuji X-T3Read More

Low Tide Meander

May 29, 2019 Cork, Fuji X-T3, Landscape

Fountainstown beach, Monday night. A walk on the beach to kick some stones and poke whatever washed up on the shore with a stick. Also an excuse to stroll around a bit with the X-T3. No, I’m not sure if that crab was dead or alive. I didn’t poke it with a stick.

Filth, Glorious Filth.

May 16, 2019 Cork, Fuji X-T3

You wouldn’t think it to look at me, but I’m a very big fan of filthy things. Dirty, grimy, covered in beastly mud and oomska. Oh yes. If I’m going to be particular about it, old filth is far superior to new filth. The older the better. Rust is a close second to filth. But if you give me rust and general decay in the same place as filth, I’m a happy man. Industrial filth wins over all other types.Read More

Fort Failure

May 8, 2019 Cork, Fuji X-T3

Saturday morning and with a brand new camera in hand, I worked my way through the list of locations I keep in my head for a place to go and test it out. Somehow, I settled on Charlesfort just outside Kinsale. Possibly because I’ve walked around the grounds every time I’ve visited there but never actually been inside. It was a strange day weather wise, with the previous nights storm still hanging around while the sun was doing its bestRead More

Shiny Side Up

April 26, 2019 Cork, Motorbike, X100

It’s been quite a number of years since I last went to a vintage car or bike show, but I quickly found that on visiting the show at the Cork airport hotel a couple of weeks ago, my unrealistic dream to own a late 1960’s Mustang Fastback is alive and well. The turnout at the show was impressive, both from the exhibitors and visitors. Although while strolling around, I did hear someone moaning about “low turnout”. Can’t please everyone. Anyway,Read More

Shameless self-promotion

April 8, 2019 Kerry, Landscape, X100

Again with the ‘photos unrelated to text’ thing. This is my second attempt to write this post, the first died a painfully irritating death in about four paragraphs of complete and utter nonsense. This photos unrelated to text blog post features Kerry. Specifically, a few from around Muckross House. I only realised after walking around the gardens that there is a pretty large garden at Muckross House. All the previous times I visited, I must have just strolled around theRead More

Inch deep / Mile wide

March 18, 2019 Cork, X100

I decided I needed some photos to illustrate a post, this being a supposed photo blog and all. So I grabbed the X100, a camera I have somewhat mixed feelings about and did something I haven’t done in quite a while. Many years ago (I’m not that old), I used to park in the city center and just pick a direction and walk. With or without a camera in hand. Then when it started to get dark, I’d turn 180Read More

Another lap around France

February 26, 2019 Belgium, France, Landscape, Nex 5N, Touring

If it seems I’ve only just written a blog entry about our 2015 trip to France, it’s because I have. The same thing that kicked me into motion to write that entry has prompted me to write this one about our 2016 trip (to mostly the same places). The 2019 trip will again be to many of the same locations, because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. July to see lavender in full bloom, then to retreat into theRead More

The Fairy Pools

February 18, 2019 Canon 24-70, Canon 5D, Landscape, Scotland

An interesting spot. Endlessly scenic (as is much of Scotland) and the kind of place you feel should be oozing peace and tranquility. It probably would, if not for the tens of thousands of tourists I had to somewhat skillfully avoid in order to get a photo that made it look like there wasn’t tens of thousands of tourists there with us. All the while getting a serious amount of stink-eye from someone trying to take selfies with her iphoneRead More

Work Resumes

January 20, 2019 Canon 5D, Canon 70-200, Landscape, Scotland

More ways than one. Getting back to work on the Lightroom catalog following a creative cloud update that synced my synced copies with syncs of syncs. Lightroom on the iPad was a mess, Lightroom classic on the computer was a mess. I gave up on it over Christmas in favour of eating and drinking too much. Did finally get it solved, at the expensive of losing all the edits I’d completed on the Scotland photos. That was irritating. Also backRead More

Gougane Barra Forest

December 29, 2018 Canon 24-70, Canon 60D, Cork, Landscape

Back at the end of November, we took a long overdue drive to the forest at Gougane Barra. Long overdue in comparison to how frequently I usually visited in winter during, lets call it, the height of my photographic journey. Visit frequency dropped off quite rapidly for a few reasons. The introduction of the barriers with the eye-watering entry fee (or at least what I’d consider eye-watering for a forest) added to my imaginary woes. My other standard rant wasRead More

The Post-Christmas Walk

December 26, 2018 Canon 24-70, Canon 60D, Cork

Normally applied as a digestive aid after consuming a significant amount of dinner on Christmas Day. This time (owing mostly to laziness) it had to wait until St. Stephen’s Day. Usually to some beach or forest, in this case Garrettstown. An unexpectedly energetic affair, taking the rocky route between the two beaches thanks to the low tide. Except not really, quit a little over half way due to increasingly slippy conditions and not wanting to face plant onto a rock.Read More

Around Dordogne

December 23, 2018 France, Touring

In (much the same) exactly the same way I started the first post recalling our 2015 trip to the Dordogne region, I start this one while thinking about booking 2019 holidays. In the spirit of eventually finishing what I began, here we go. So here we are in the Dordogne, in a sleepy but rather large town called Issigeac. A very French country town. Men sitting around outside bars smoking and having a laugh, people riding around on bikes withRead More

Neist Point Lighthouse

November 12, 2018 Canon 5D, Canon 70-200, Landscape, Scotland, UK

One of the destinations on Skye that I was going to get to, even if I had to crawl to it. After setting someone else’s photo of this location as my computer wallpaper many months ago, I needed to get here to take my own version. This isn’t it. It’ll be along shortly. The road to the lighthouse is very long, very single track and very full of animals. Also very full of tourists that randomly stop to take photosRead More

Part 8: The Beer Run

November 12, 2018 Belgium, France, Motorbike, Touring, UK

I had originally mapped this meandering waffly mess out as a 10 part saga. The kind of thing that’d keep on giving all the way to the end. As this is supposed to be a photoblog and not a repository of short stories, I’m going to squash all the final detail in this post. Parts 9 and 10 would just have been text anyway. I didn’t exactly take many photos once leaving mainland Europe. If you take any fantastical revelationRead More

Autumn in Fota

November 10, 2018 Canon 50, Canon 60D, Cork, Macro

Since moving back to Cork from Dublin in 2013, Fota Gardens has been like the replacement for IMMA, the Botanic Gardens and the War Memorial all in one. Something to look at all year round. If there’s one place in Cork that I’ve probably photographed to death at this point, this is it. Still manage to find something new or a new way at looking at something old. Most of the time anyway.

The Guardian

October 21, 2018 Canon 5D, Canon 70-200, Landscape, Scotland

Back to Skye briefly. To this herd in a field at the side of the road and this particularly suspicious hairy coo that kept watch on the dozen or so tourists that had slammed on their brakes, pulled onto the soft verge and began taking photos while their rental cars slowly sank into oblivion.

Flying visit to Airfield

October 15, 2018 Dublin, Macro, X100

A very brief visit to Airfield Farm/Estate/Gardens yesterday. First time there in ohh, probably about 6 or 7 years. The place has changed a lot. Nice even when it’s packed with people, you can still find a nice quiet spot or two.