The mighty DAF, powering its way toward Short Strand in the shadow of the equally mighty Harland and Wolff Cranes that overlook the city of Belfast.
I shot this monster truck with the monster Fujifilm X-T4, F=55mm, f/10 @ 1/250th sec on ISO800, processed it in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Jennymount Mill is a relic of Belfast’s Industrial Past, situated beside the busy M2 Motorway in North Belfast. Needless to say, to attempt to photograph the Mill from the motorway angle would be both illegal, and dangerous, probably fatal. But when one is in the passenger seat of a passing vehicle, with a camera and a clean window, it’s probably ok to get a quick snap – but don’t distract the driver.
Photographed with the Fujifilm X-T4 mirrorless camera, F=55mm f/10 @ 1/30th sec on ISO200.
No. I wasn’t driving! The image was made from the passenger seat of Janette’s car.
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Continue reading GraduationsThis swan enjoys having a conversation with motorists. This lady was his second new friend while I was watching him and I suspect he may want to share her coffee.
I shot the swan using the Fujifilm X-T4 using the Acros film simulation.
Talk about the Ugly Duckling? Here’s the prototype, surely the ugliest egg in the world!
I photographed the egg over a saucepan, with the Fujifilm X-T4, and a Fujinon 16-80mm f/4 lens.
F=80mm, f/8, Q 1/30th sec, on ISO 3200.
Easy enough for me, I chose f/8 to get a decent depth of field for the close-up, but because the light was low at the time, I chose a slow shutter speed, and a high ISO. Neither of these extremes are a problem to the X-T4, – its in-body image stabilisation, lens stabilisation, and fantastic sensor make slow shutter speeds and high ISO’s as easy as boiling an egg.
Not so easy for the hen though! Passing this ugly spheroid must have brought screams of pain. The egg, however, was delicious!
Between Dundrum and Newcastle, Co.Down is this ancient Dolmen, a strange stone structure that stands out against the skyline.
It is generally supposed that these stone structures mark burial grounds, probably from around 3000-4000 BC. Who built them, or how they were built is a mystery, it seems, but they occur all over Western Europe. Notice how the heaven top rock seems to fit into ‘sockets’ on the supporting rocks, and marvel at ancient engineering skills! To visit the Dolmen take the A2 road from Dundrum to Newcastle, and on reaching Murlough Nature Reserve turn onto Old Road, The Dolmen is on the left. Be aware though, that the tomb is sited on private land, which often is sowed out in crops, and to cross over to the monument would be trespass. It’s wise to take a medium range zoom lens if you want to photograph the Dolmen, and work from the road verge.
I visited the Dolmen on a bright afternoon, so conditions for photography were not optimal. I had to overexpose by around 2 stops to bring out some detail in the stones, which left the sky overexposed. I’d no tripod with me, so no opportunity for a series of shots for HDR processing.
The images above was made with the Fujifilm X-T2, F=180mm, f/8 @ 1/250th sec on ISO250.
Between Carryduff and Lisburn, with views across Belfast and the Lagan Valley lies the hamlet of Drumbo, with its historic Round Tower, now situated the graveyard of the Drumbo Presbyterian Church.
The tower is one of the oldest monastic monuments in Ireland, dating from around the early medieval period. It was around in AD1130 when records show that it was plundered by one Connor McLochlin.
Continue reading Drumbo Round Tower
Part of the Belfast and County Down Railway line from Downpatrick to Ardglass opened in 1892 and closed 16th January 1950.
Now only sheep can wait on the ghostly platform, for trains that never come.
Why is Ardglass in a Jamjar? I’ve no idea! But I’ve heard that expression used by my late grandparents, back in the 1960’s. It was made famous by Van Morrison, the singer/sngwriter, who immortalised it in his song ‘Coney Island.’
…On and on, over the hill to Ardglass
Van Morrison
In the jam jar, autumn sunshine, magnificent
And all shining through Stop off at Ardglass for a couple of jars of
Mussels and some potted herrings in case
We get famished before dinner…
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