Patterns on a decorative stone cross at Monasterboice. Slowly getting through the acres of photos taken at the latest of the boards meetups. Monasterboice was alot smaller than I was expecting, but no less amazing. It remains an active/working graveyard to this day. A few of the graves and other bits & pieces up there date back to the 1700’s! “Written in Stone”, quite literally!
As expected, posting is going to be light until Sunday evening. I’m heading off tomorrow afternoon to begin the weekend’s festivities for the 2008 Irish Blog Awards in Dublin. Looking forward to seeing all the regulars again.
And I haven’t forgotten the deal I made with myself some weeks back; I’ll be treating myself to a pint if my prediction comes up trumps.
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One from a recent trip around Meath. Last stop of the evening; Slane Hill. More coming soon, or as soon as I get a big processing job out of the way.
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For some reason, while the photos were exporting from Lightroom I began to think of this song. Anyway, here are the rest of a few from the train station at Mogeely. I had thought about doing them as an all black & white set but when I started fiddling around with sliders in lightroom I couldn’t contain myself.
The madness is about to begin. So many trips to Dublin I might as well be living there… Anyway, one for the road.
Few more of these on flickr.
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Probably needs to be viewed at full size.
The last new bit of kit for a while arrived today, a 24-70 f2.8L. I had grave concerns about quality control after reading all the forums where numerous users complained about back focusing problems and general errors in manufacture. So I ordered it on Monday and kept the fingers crossed until today that I’d get a decent lens.
So a box was waiting for me earlier on when I got home from college, wrapped in tape that said ‘opened by customs’. After the cold sweat dried up and the shakes wore off (and a considerable amount of swearing had been done) I opened it. As soon as Sandy got home, I ambushed her and stuck her in front of a softbox. The above is a 100% crop of a 50 iso image, more or less direct from the camera.
I can live with that sharpness. Now I just have to live in fear, waiting a couple of months to see if a letter from FedEx drops through the letterbox. Hopefully not.
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A few miles outside Skibbereen, in the general direction of Castletownshend (and down a back road somewhere on the way back to the main road from Tragumna beach) theres a graveyard that save for a few headstones erected in the last 20 years, looks deserted. Most of the graves are marked by simple flat stones, devoid of markings or descriptions. It’s an eerily serene place to be. Standing in the middle of the graveyard half concentrating on taking a photo, all I could hear (apart from Trilo running around) was the sound of the waves breaking off the rocks some fifty yards away.
Castletownshend was, as I thought it might be, deserted. Probably a place I’d go back to when the inclination strikes though. I’m trying to compile a list of places for a whistle-stop photo tour of west Cork during the summer. I’ve got a few so far, but I want to make at least a day of it. Possibly two days. One more before I go, but there are a couple more of them on flickr.
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I entertained Sandy somewhat while taking these two. Crouched down, waited for the wave to surround the crate before making a mad dash so my socks would stay someway dry. I can’t decide if I like the colour or black & white version better. First I preferred the b&w, now the colour. Not too sure though…
Took these on a trip around Skibbereen after taking the suggestion of ‘ooh take that road’. Proof once more (as if you ever needed it) that every trip to west Cork can yield a new experience.
On a somewhat related note (and in perfect timing) I ordered my sparkly new Canon 24-70L today after successfully selling my Sigma 24-70 last week. I reckon it’s currently about 30,000 feet over Asia, making it’s way to me. Should be picking it up on Wednesday.
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I was given this fairly decent condition Halina 35X some years ago by an elderly neighbour but what with all the moves and messing around, it’s sat in the oddly clean part of my car (just behind the drivers seat) for the last two years or so. I’ll admit to not knowing much about the camera, other than what I’ve just read in the wiki link above. I certainly didn’t think it was almost 50 years old!
At the moment I’m going through another one of those phases where I’d like to get an old manual camera (although possibly not as old as this one) and shoot a few rolls of black & white. Was thinking of a cheap Canon AE-1; There seems to be an abundance of them on eBay. Or, I could just get a roll or two and see if the light seals on this old thing are still intact.
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I originally liked this photo after processing it. But now, the more I look at it, the more I dislike it. I suppose I should stop looking at it so.
Walking back down the hill in Knockomagh Woods at Lough Hyne (Ine?) near Skibbereen in west Cork. Haven’t done that climb for a while so thankfully it was a hell of a lot easier this time. Although I did have significantly less camera gear with me than before. The view from the top is wonderful but not so much during this climb because of the thick layer of fog and mist that sat just on top of the hill. Still, it was nice to get out and get some fresh air I suppose…
Oh.. and to all my readers, enjoy the rest of “lovin’ day”. I know I quite possibly might somehow manage to do so after the last exam tonight.
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Some of the old signal switchgear removed from the tracks at the abandoned train station in Mogeely, east Cork. It’s somewhere I’ve been meaning to stop for a while so the added incentive of roadworks on the main Cork - Waterford road and the handy diversion sealed the deal. It’s an odd spot. Not exactly what you’d think of when you imagine the term ‘abandoned’. After all, the station is in the middle of the town. Sandy made the comment that it’d probably be a decent place to shoot some portraits. I’ll have to keep this one in mind…
Now, less of this distraction. I’ve got about half a dozen chapters of various Cisco routing twaddle to look at before exams tonight. Oh how I love theory. Mmmm Hmm!
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Given that I’ve got a few sets of images taken over the weekend to process, I decided that instead of doing one set at once, I’d do one image from each and finish up later in the week. This was taken in a small graveyard outside Skibbereen in west Cork. An easy place to find (although granted we weren’t looking for it at the time) so I’ll easily be able to find my way back there should the desire strike me. It’s overgrown, old and the kind of place where many of the graves are marked simply by a large flat stone. No identifiable engravings, no fancy marble or limestone, just big flat rocks.
So, shortlists are out for the blog awards and I’m pleased to see I’m on it along with a few fellow boardsies. The short list is in fact a very long list if you look down through it. I’m not terribly pushed about who gets through to the final list but I think I’ll stay quiet on the subject of who I’m tipping to win at the moment. If I’m right, I’ll buy myself a pint on the night of the awards to celebrate!
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