Daily Blog

We had a wild and windy night last night that lasted well into today. I had hopped to get out to the sea for some pictures but time was against me and it just did not happen, so I am posting a picture taken at Roonagh on a similar day.

I had a really busy day today moving things , the day was one of sunshine with showers and i had the camera with me all day, it just seemed that every time I was out it was raining. I am just preparing now for an evening class and came upon some pictures that I have just stitched together to form a panorama.

I have a Camera skills day in Westport in Saturday, with a few places still abvailable, you can call or email if you would like to attend.

The forecast for today was particularly bad, so I went out first thing in the morning as it is often the best time. I could not see the sunrise due to the cloud but there were a few minutes of pink colour in the sky. When i say a few minutes I mean a few minutes. The pink lasted exactly four minutes ! The rest of the day was as forecast... miserable.


These trees are just outside Kiltimagh on the Claremorris road

A bit like yesterday , today started cloudy, so no sunrise, but it cleared up nicely, again I planned an evening photo shoot but thick cloud returned about two hours before sunset and the sun just could not be seen. So I am posting a picture taken last week when on a walk with Patricia in Kiltimagh. I brought the camera with just the 50mm lens, it is a lovely lens and I dont use it enough. It is a great discipline though to get into the habit of only using one lens because it can be a challenge to compose . This was a good example, there is a telegraph pole and wires just out of shot and I only just fitted the top of the tree into the frame. I was stood in a ditch of freezing cold water in a pair of trainers and could not go any further back from the trees, but even though this location is only five minutes walk from the house the light that day was really nice and if I had not stopped to photograph it I might not get the same result again, so wet feet was a small price to pay!!

The day started lovely and bright and I looked foreward to a trip out in the afternoon but it clouded over and was not a great afternoon for landscape.

It was lovely light for portraiture though......................

I only got out for a few minutes at lunch time today, I normally avoid shooting in the middle of the day. I knew the tide was in so went down to get this picture of Croagh Patrick. The mountain was quite hazy but I was pleased with how the picture turned out all the same.

I was right, the sun did come up again this morning, it was big and orange, and I was just too late to capture it. With digital photography it is best to capture the sunrise just before the sun comes up , or as it just breaks the horizon, it’s amazing just how quickly it does come up, but once up it’s too bright to photograph directly.
The low sun this morning lit this little horse beautifully, in a golden light, poor thing thought I was going to feed him but I had nothing with me.





I am starting a new evening class in Mulranny this evening, so i am really looking forward to it. it is being held in the EOM Studio ( EOM...Essence of Mulranny) I am hosting a residential landscape weekend there in April it is a wonderful location.

The grim reality of recession is taking its toll and none of us are immune. It is with sadness that I have to announce that Patricia and I have decided that we have to close the gallery in Westport. I will be looking for other outlets for my pictures and of course will keep up the website and have a number of classes set up already in different parts of the county. The costs of keeping the gallery were just too high and we could no longer afford the drain on our own finances.

A couple of people came into the gallery a few days ago while we were in the middle of making our decision. We did not discuss it with them but a remarkable thing happened. Firstly the lady asked "who took the photos", when I said I did she replied by saying “ gosh what fun you must have” a few minutes later the elderly man asked me how was business I told him it was quite, he had been in business himself and said he understood it must be very difficult, as the whole country is struggling, he then said he hoped business would get better but he also said “ remember whatever happens mind your health”

I don’t know these two people but they spoke such truth, I take photographs because I have so much fun doing it, I teach photography for the same reason and I don’t need the stress of trying to keep the Gallery open. So its time to let go. And you know what... the sun will come up again tomorrow, just as it did this morning. I witnessed a gorgeous sunrise at Bekan, near Knock.

I am posting this very late. Technology is great until it lets you down!! There was a problem with the internet connection last night and despite several attempts I was unable to post a picture. I also left the 2011 hard drive at the gallery so I am posting a picture of Doo lough taken last year !!

I was in the gallery all day today, i had planned a trip out in the afternoon, but twenty minutes before I was due to leave the rain started and it has rained all evening, with no sign of the sun. so I am posting this picture of a lovely winter sky, taken just outside Breaffy in Castlebar last week.

I had a busy day today. I had a one to one all day lesson with John. John uses a Nikon d700 and we spent the day learning about the camera , studio lighting and photoshop. We spent the whole day in the studio and did not finish until 7pm , so I got no pictures again today. I took this picture of a small lough at Woodfield just outside Kiltimagh last Monday morning at sunrise.

Another lovely day in Mayo, it was very cold but blue skies all day. I was in the gallery all day so I am posting a picture taken on a similar morning. This tree is situated on the road between Knock and Ballyhaunis I photographed it last Wednesday on my way to to a portrait session in somebody's home. I have photographed this tree on many occasions, it always fascinates me because it is so big and strong despite the big hollow at its base.

I was in the studio photographing leisure wear all day today so did not get out duting daylight. I am posting a photgraph from yesterday evening. Form this view Croagh Patrick looks like a big pyramid

This evening I went up Sleive Cairn , a short drive from my home in Kiltimagh, I was hoping to get a sunset picture, I got a couple, but also got what I thought was a better picture when I turned my back on the sunset. The sky was a lovely pink, it was quite dark and this was a one second exposure at f11.

Like yesterday, todays picture was not planned, Patricia and I spent the afternoon in the garden , we didnt do much work , but we did plan some! Anyway we decided a quick trip to the garden centre was called for so we headed to "Horkans" in Turlough. As we arrived just after sunset there was a full moon rising and I knew that it would be behind the church which is lit at nighttime. So we quickly had a look in the garden centre and managed to leave without spending anything ! Then quickly up the road and yes the moon was just in the right place !!

I was going to post a picture taken in Kiltimagh in the morning but this evening John a friend and “student” of mine called into the gallery. John arrived just after sunset and was hoping to book some time with me tomorrow. John visits Westport several times a year and when he does he usually books a one to one class with me. But I am not available tomorrow and John is gone the next day, so we chatted a while and I suddenly thought “why not go out now not for a class per say but just to see what we might capture”. The sun had already set but we might get some colour in the twilight I had decided not to photograph the sunset because there were no clouds and in my opinion it would be boring. But John was delighted so we headed out and because the tide was in we got a couple of nice pictures of Croagh Patrick in the twilight. This little encounter did make me think about how we take things for granted, I thought the scene would be boring because I see it so often, but John who doesn’t see it so often was thrilled, and I was delighted when John started to make adjustments on his camera “to bring up some colour” that he had learnt the last time we met.

I went out this evening to photograph the sunset, which looked very promising. I messed up however by going to the wrong location and then the skies were clear with low cloud on the horizon and the sunset did not really develop any colour at all, so I am cheating ! I am posting a panorama picture of a sunset from last week that I only "stitched together" this afternoon.

Yesterdays rain moved on before morning and I went out early to photograph the sunrise, however low cloud persisted and there was no no visible sunrise. I went home for breakfast and decided I would get the sunset instead. It was very windy this afternoon so I went to the top of Sleive Cairn beside Kiltimagh to include the windmills in my sunset picture. Unfortunatly thye sunset was abit like the sunrise, very disapointing, this was the only peice of colour in and otherwise overcast and grey sky.

It was very wet in Mayo today, rained all day with strong wind. I took this picture during yesterday's showery weather.

This morning we had sunshine and showers, my favourite kind of weather. Not that I had much time for photography but as I passed by Turlough Round Tower we had a few moments of sunshine. Within five minutes of this photograph being taken it was pouring rain though you'd never think it from the blue sky.