Daily Blog

Back from Cork, and its a cloudy and wet morning here in Kiltimagh. not unlike the day this picture was taken down at Doolough.

I am in Cork for a couple of days, the place seems very quite after last weeks defeat to Mayo !!
Today’s picture of Clare Island was taken during the week, it looked like there was going to be a very spectacular sunset . I took this picture from the side of the road and then moved to a spot where I could set up the tripod and watch things develop, but low cloud came in from the left hand side and there was no colour at all !

I received a lovely message from Mary Henry, who was my "student" for a one to one day on Wednesday. Mary got some great pictures but her favourite was this one. Interestingly enough this is a good example of why you should always pay attention to whats happening around you. We were actually photographing Aislegh waterfalls when this pony positioned itself perfectly behind us to allow such a great composition.

Here is what Mary said....". Thanks for a great day''s training on Wednesday. Even though the weather was against us I learned lots, you have a great way of explaining everything in a simple fashion, even the techi stuff. I am looking forward to putting everything you taught me into practice."................​. The picture "Connemara Pony " by Mary Henry is posted with her permission.


Connemara Pony by Mary Henry

Well as agreed , Mary who was with me for a day of training, and I , left Kiltimagh at 5am to chase a sunrise. We went to Old head Beach where we stood in the rain and watched as the sun did its very best but without success to break through. The light was still very interesting and we got some nice pictures, we explored some other areas around Doo lough and Aisleagh falls where Mary got some gre...at pictures and we watched an angler catch a salmon, before deciding to go in to a local pub in Leenane for lunch at 12.30, as we did, the sun came out!!
Early in the day I realised I was missing my phone ( an iphone) and assuming I must have left it at home ,I thought no more about it. But when we got home in the afternoon I discovered I had not left it there, but had in fact dropped it on Old Head Beach and a local man called John Joyce had picked it up and was keeping it for me!!! So in the evening I returned to the coast to be reunited with my phone, and took this picture on Accony Beach!

As planned we went to Keem Strand arriving for low tide at 1.30pm. However what we had not planned for was such good weather!! While it remained cloudy it was also sunny and very warm. This meant the beach was full of people and the sandy areas I hoped to photograph , which were normally so hard to get at were now fully accessible and covered in footprints, the rocks were dry and the light was too directional and too bright for my slow shutter speed pictures of water . I know, I am pure miserable!! To everybody else it sounds like a perfect day! Well I did get a few pictures and it was a lovely day at the beach. On the way home we went to the pictures in Castlebar and watched the Guard ,that was fun.
So here is one of the pictures from Keem Strand, I will just have to go back another day when the tide is low , early in the morning and its misty rain, shouldn’t take to long!!

It is another cloudy day in mayo today and light levels are very low, as it happens it suits me as my plan is to visit Keem Strand and get some more shell and seaweed pictures, but I have to wait for low tide which will be at 1.30 in the afternoon, the cloudy weather suits for that kind of photography as it should give nice even lighting, so lets hope it stays cloudy!
Todays picture of an "Old Nellie "bicycle was "found" in a garden in co Clare, it looks like the bicycle was just deserted many years ago, but infact is part of a very clever garden design.To see it for yourself visit the "Burren Perfumery in Carron Co Clare" Apart from the lovely perfumes there is a a great herb garden and some excellent photography of the Burren shown in a slide show that shows all day long, ....and its free, also we had superb lunch, all home made !It is another cloudy day in mayo today and light levels are very low, as it happens it suits me as my plan is to visit Keem Strand and get some more shell and seaweed pictures, but I have to wait for low tide which will be at 1.30 in the afternoon, the cloudy weather suits for that kind of photography as it should give nice even lighting, so lets hope it stays cloudy!
Todays picture of an "Old Nellie "bicycle was "found" in a garden in co Clare, it looks like the bicycle was just deserted many years ago, but infact is part of a very clever garden design.To see it for yourself visit the "Burren Perfumery in Carron Co Clare" Apart from the lovely perfumes there is a a great herb garden and some excellent photography of the Burren shown in a slide show that shows all day long, ....and its free, also we had superb lunch, all home made !

Beaches are great places for photographers, apart from the landscapes and water shots there are always also opportunities for close up and macro photography. I loved the pattern these limpits have created as they seem to have followed the very slight curves in this very smooth rock. I dont suppose Limpits are making patterns for my pleasure, but I was fascinated all the same, I can only assume it must be easier to get a foothold on the curves!

Todays picture was taken at the same location as yesterdays. Just by walking maybe 60 or 70 paces accross the beach you can get a completely different picture. Often when I visit locations like this before setting up the tripod I will just walk around and just look for all the possibilities. Watching for composition, but also for what the ...waves are doing, in todays picture for example I would have waited for the waves to break before pressing the shutter. Its amazing how often wave activity seems to stop just when you are ready to press the shutter, and how often it gets really active just when you take the camera off the tripod!!!

Stephen's hand had recovered sufficiently that he could hold a camera so we decided to go and get some of the pictures we missed on Monday.! We decided this time to stay off the slippy rocks ! This picture was taken on a tiny beach we visited on the Atlantic drive just outside Mulranny. This beach is only visible when the tide is out. It was fully out when we arrived , and as the tide turned the water began to reach different rocks which made for ever changing compositions. the island in the distance is Clare Island.

Back to Mayo, for todays picture, this picture of Keem strand was taken on Monday morning. Stephen, my companion for the morning and I decided to visit the rocky part of the beach seen in the lower right side of the picture. The tide was out but we still had to scrambe over some rocks to get to that corner of the beach. Stephen slipped and we spent the morning in casualty getting treatment for his damaged hand. Fortunatly all was well but no more pictures were taken.

Today’s picture is of the same location as yesterdays, but I am sure you will agree is a completely different picture. This was taken at 11.45pm over an hour after sunset. With the camera on a tripod the shutter was open for four minutes and I used my coat to cover the lens every time the lighthouse light came on so as to avoid that light getting too bright in the picture. The lights in the distance are Galway City,. In planning the picture earlier in the day I had imagined that the light from the lighthouse would be like a big spotlight and would shine across the bay, but in fact its just like a big round energy saving bulb.

I was out to Mulranny this morning and I spotted a scene worth photographing, so I stopped the car and took out the camera, the battery was flat, it would not even take one picture! No worries I thought just put in the spare battery . I searched the camera bag, the front of the car, the boot,my pockets etc I NEVER travel without a spare battery. When I got home there it was on the kitchen table , fully charged and ready to go!!. So I am posting another picture from "out of county" this is Blackhead Lighthouse near Fanore Co Clare taken on our break last week..

Here is another picture from yesterdays early morning trip to keem Bay on achill Island. the low mist has helped to isolate these rocks I think they look something like a dragon, or some other prehistoric monster in the water!!

Just back from the landscape weekend in Mulranny. Having not seen the sun all day yesterday, a couple of us got up early (4.45am!) to go to Achill for the sunrise, we knew there was a good chance we would not see one but decided we would travel anyway. We arrived to mist and low cloud and we could hardly see in front of us For those of you who know Keem Strand, we could not see the beach from the road above, that tells you how bad it was. Still we took the cameras out and got to work. Adrian worked on low shutter speeds and got some really moody shots with moving water . I photgraphed these amazing patterns on the sand and some other pictures I may share during the week. We went back for breakfast at 10am and then recapped on some photoshop work. The weekend was a great success and Cheryl at Essence of Mulranny who hosted us made us feel so welcome and as always was so generous that it was hard to leave ! As I left at about 3.30 the sun was shining!!!

I am very late posting today, and for a while thought it might be my first “break” in posting in 18months!! I am afraid of the first break because the second becomes easier!! I had difficulty getting internet today in Mulranny but have it now so I hope it lasts long enough to post!! I am in Mulranny teaching a landscape course, there are only two participants, and I nearly did not go ahead, but I am glad I did because we have had great fun so far!. The weather Has been a little disappointing very dull and overcast and it rained on us when we went out at 6.30 this morning. Due to the lack of sunshine we started by photographing waterfalls, trying different methods to a) freeze the water and b) blur the water. we then went to lough Fiach which had lovely reflections and despite the lack of sunshine was really beautiful. I took this picture in a bit of a hurry between helping the others with their pictures. We spent the afternoon doing photoshop. We are having another early rise tomorrow , hopefully we will get some nice light,, but even if we don’t it wont matter. It is great watching Felicity and Adrian using there cameras completely differently to how they did when we started on Friday afternoon!!

We are back in Mayo and I am preparing for the Weekend Landscape Course in Mulranny starting this evening. We had a great time in Co Clare. This picture of the sun setting on Fanore Beach signalled the end of our time there.

Another lovely day in the Burren, we went for a four hour walk along a green road and in the evening went to see the sunset on Fanore Beach. I still can’t get the pictures off my camera but Patricia took this one of me on her compact. You know what they say - behind every good man........!!


We are heading back to Mayo today.

Thanks for all the good wishes yesterday. We had a lovely day, I still have no way of getting the pictures off my camera so once again I am posting a picture taken on our last visit to Co Clare which was a few weeks ago. The Burren has an abundance of ancient sites, megalithic tombs and forts and holy wells. Yesterday we visited a couple of sites. On our last visit while on a walk we came upon a holy well, this well was miles from any road. Holy wells always fascinate me . I always feel drawn to them and I always feel a connection to the past, imagining the thoughts of people who came to them for cures or perhaps just for water. The wells of course predate Christian times but were “Christianised” and became associated with the early Irish saints like Saints Patrick , Kevin and Bridget and many people still visit holy wells looking for miracles or in thanksgiving, and will leave items of significance behind them. The little well we visited had a small collection of items left but the most poignant was this little childs shoe with a small statue of the Madonna and Child inside it, there so long now that the moss was growing on it. I prayed for the person who left it.

Today Is Patricia and my 27th wedding anniversary and we decided to come to Fanore Co Clare for a couple of days. Fanore is where we got married. We left mayo in the rain yesterday and just as we got to Blackhead just up the road from Fanore we saw a break in the clouds for the first time in days. We stopped at Blackhead lighthouse and took a few pictures. I later discovered that I forgot to bring a USB cable and have no way of downloading my pictures off the camera!! But I have one or two pictures on my laptop from our last visit to Clare.

This one is of Ballyryan on a very stormy day !!

Almost recovered from Saturday! I had intended to make a trip to Achill this morning but as I write it is raining and does not look great out so I decided to dip into the archive again!! The forecast is not great for the next few days but is promised good for next weekend’s Landscape Weekend Course. It will be based in Mulranny and will include a trip to Achill ,there are still some places available!!