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where did the summer go?
This is one of my favourite flower photographs of the summer, taken on a rare hot day in Galway. There must be a miniature sun secreted in the folds of that rose to account for its Hollywood glow (no spray tan required). The image cheers me up as the days take on a duller, less L.A. sheen.
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first shrooms
One of the events I look forward to in August is the return of the mushroom. I love taking photographs of fungi, so I was delighted to discover this large colony of shrooms on a fallen tree in the forest today. Alas the light was not the best, but this is a decent shot of one of the clusters. Hopefully it will be the start of a fruitful season of autumn photos.
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slanted
An old post, slanted deep in summer foliage, against the changable sky. Summer in Ireland.
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sunset, then the lesbian aliens
I snapped this image late this evening down by the River Corrib in Galway city. The Film Fleadh kicked off tonight, so I passed a long line of people, some dressed up smartly, waiting to get into the Rowing Club. That’s the official after-movie venue for the Fleadh, and it has a lovely section at the back that overlooks the River. It’s a splendid spot to quaff a few drinks and take cinema if the weather is good. Those were the film buffs who’d been in to see the opening film, Parked (written by Ciaran Creagh and directed by Darragh Byrne). I was on my way to watch a black…
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shrouded
A cold, dank mist smothered Galway today. There were none of the usual markers of morning, noon and twilight, just a constant grey tone that collapsed suddenly to darkness in the evening. It was the kind of day that offered no incentive to venture outside, but the dog needed her walk, so in the afternoon I braved the woods. It was still, muffled. The thick mist suggested much and illuminated nothing. A rook cawed intermittently throughout my walk, there were occasional bangs – fireworks, or a gun – but otherwise it was utterly silent. The woods were eerie and mysterious, and I thought how easy it would be to conjure…
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the kindness of strangers
It’s the last Sunday before December 25th so Galway city was thrumming with people and vendors earlier. The above picture was taken of the Galway market by St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church with an almost-full moon adding illumination. Smoke from a wood-burning stove lends atmosphere to the shot. The mood in the city was upbeat, if a bit manic in some of the shops. I’ve finished my holiday preparations, and now it depends on the whims of the weather if I can make it to my parents’ house for Christmas. When I’m out and about I tend to attract oddball characters who decide to befriend me. Today, as I was slowly…
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iced in
Our severe cold snap (by Irish standards) continues. Tonight is supposed to be the coldest night we’ll experience during this period. Here in the West we’ve had two days of gorgeous sunshine, but the temperatures have not risen above freezing. All the snow that fell a few days ago is still on the ground. This means the roads in my area are dangerous to drive on, so we’ve doing as little of that as possible. Today I managed to get to the woods after a slow, careful drive. It was dazzlingly beautiful, although the tips of my fingers went numb as I tried to take photographs (I was using my…
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get it while it’s sparkly
I snapped the above picture nearly a week ago, on the last bright morning before we turned the corner into Winter and settled into November. It’s been grey wet days since then. It was a lovely surprise to stumble upon a variety of mushrooms in the woods on that occasion, as it’s somewhat late in the season for a lot of them. The photograph of this duo was a special delight, because I managed to capture the magical quality of a sunny late autumn morning. I like the extra shine in the image, even if it could be taken for a flaw. We’re heading into colder weather soon, with a…
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Samhain Abu
I caught this cheeky chappie tangled up in a net in a café door in Galway today. I love this time of the year, with all the ghoulish decorations. There’s even a festival going on in the city this weekend called ‘Galway Aboo‘ – which is a play upon the common Irish phrase Gaillimh Abú, which means ‘Up Galway’, and is usually used as encouragement during the county’s sports competitions. I hope you’re all planning a fun, frightful weekend. There are plenty of horror films on television so I’m spoiled for choice. I’ve seen most of them several times already, so I will have to root out something I haven’t…
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capturing the spirit
The weather in the West of Ireland could best be described as mercurial today. As I type the wind whips the trees in my back garden and stampedes piebald clouds. A sudden, violent deluge of rain has just ended. Looking out a window at the front of my house I see sunlight streaming through an aquamarine scrap of sky. It’s a day of squalls and sun linked by rainbows. Earlier, I found one of those favourable, magical periods in between the cloudbursts to walk my dog in the woods. As usual I was taking photographs. As much as I love woodlands they are one of the most difficult landscapes to…
