Co. Antrim

The Ballymena Birds

I’ve shot a couple of birds in the Ballymena area recently.

I spotted this goose on Sat 8th February 2025 when I was helping with the photos at the Parkrun held weekly at Ecos Park. Try clicking this link to see the Parkrun photos:

https://www.facebook.com/100064392203516/posts/pfbid0CgwSJiuiR9kBHoXGjjypcuNsDg82EJWzyM7MrZqmHjhhcmSyf5FeRE7TiVm8WSNJl/?app=fbl

On a smaller scale,

This wily old bird sits on the barrier at Tannaghmore Service area, on the A26 road between Antrim and Ballymena, and stares at motorists eating in their cars, knowing that eventually someone will cave in and give it a morsel or two.
(Ok, I’m not an ornithologist, so I’ve been informed it’s a Rook, or whatever!)

But I do know it was photographed with the Fujifilm X-T5, F=300mm, f/5 @ 1/500th sec on ISO400/

Beautiful Ulster, Co. Antrim

The Tannaghmore Crow

The Tannaghmore Crow

This wily old bird sits on the barrier at Tannaghmore Service area, on the A26 road between Antrim and Ballymena, and stares at motorists eating in their cars, knowing that eventually someone will cave in and give it a morsel or two. 

(Ok, I’m not an ornithologist, so I don’t know if it’s a crow, or a Jackdaw, or a Rook, or whatever!)

But I do know it was photographed with the Fujifilm X-T5, F=300mm, f/5 @ 1/500th sec on ISO400

Beautiful Ulster, Black & White, Co. Antrim, Co.Londonderry, Photo-Essay, Photo-Technique, Travel

Kodak T-Max 100

Iv’e run my first roll of Kodak T-Max 100 film through my Nikon F100 camera, on a recent two night break on the North Coast of Northern Ireland – the world renowned ‘Causeway Coast.’ The scenery in this area is spectacular, but on a rainy November weekend, with a strong wind blowing in from the sea, cheesy tourism like images are scarce! But I managed a few black and white…

Atlantic Circle, Portstewart.
Continue reading Kodak T-Max 100 →
Beautiful Ulster, Black & White, Co.Londonderry, Ireland, Travel

River Bann at Coleraine

Well, we’ve been having a November break at the Royal Court Hotel, in Portrush, Co.Antrim – if you’ve never stayed there, make it a bucket-list destination! Right on the North Coast of N.Ireland, across the road from the majestic White Rocks Beach and a short drive from the world famous Giant’s Causeway – and they do a fantastic buffet at reasonable prices… along with an a la carte menu for the foodies..

Needless to say I had a camera to hand – the Nikon F100. loaded with Kodak T-Max 100, a film I’ve never used before. I developed the road for 9 minutes at 20 degrees in FD10. More photos to follow, but for now, here’s a couple of shots from Coleraine (Janette likes to visit the nearby major town for the superb shopping).

R. Bann, Kodak T-Max 100, Nikon F100, f/11 @ 1/60th sec.
Continue reading River Bann at Coleraine →
Black & White, Fun Shots, Pets

Dougal…

Look! It’s Dougal the Old English Sheepdog from the Magic Roundabout, trotting along the forest path and getting himself all dirty. I shot him with a Fujifilm X-T5.

Old English Sheepdog

(Don’t worry – Florence and Mr Zebedee weren’t around, so they didn’t see it happening. I think I’ve got away with it.)

I realise most of you are too young to know what I’m on about! lol

Photo-Technique

ADOX ISO100 Film

I’ve just run a roll of ADOX Black and White film (ISO100) through my Nikon F100 camera. I’ve never used Adox film before, in fact I’ve never even heard of it! I ordered two rolls, one rated at ISO100, and one at ISO50 from Stuck in Film.

German precision and style in the shadow of Belfast’s famous heavy industry, the old Harland and Wolff cranes that overlook the city. Photographed with the Nikon F100 on Adox ISO100 and developed in Atomal for 10 minutes.
Continue reading ADOX ISO100 Film →
Beautiful Ulster, Belfast, Black & White, Co. Down, Landscapes, Travel

Carrowreagh Road, Dundonald

Summer fell on a Friday in Northern Ireland this year (2024). It was Friday the 30th August, – just at the very end of what the Met Office call “Meteorological Summer.” The rest of ‘Meteorological Summer’ was a complete wash-out, more or less. But today, the sun was shining, the wind had absented itself, and little fluffy white clouds drifted lazily across an azure sky. Why can’t it always be like this?

I was in Newtownards, Co.Down for the morning, and driving over Carrowreagh Hill from Dundonald to Holywood, – to access the M2 thus avoiding the traffic jams on the Newtownards Road, Belfast. I stopped in a small lay-by to place something in the boot of the car, when I noticed this small, twisted bush across the road. Taking my camera from the car, and my life in my hands as I avoided the would-be rally drivers, I managed to get a few exposures, with our historic Scrabo Tower in the distant background.

Carrowreagh Road, Dundonald – with Scrabo in the background. Photographed in glorious sunshine with the Fujifilm X-T5 camera and a f/2 7Artisans manual focus lens. Acros film simulation with digital red filter.

Belfast, Black & White, Co. Down, Reportage, Streetscapes

St Matthew’s RC Church

St Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church, Bryson Street, – situated just off the Newtownards Road, in loyalist Ballymacarret, –  East Belfast. 

I deliberately picked out the flag in colour. (I’d followed my usual practice of shooting in RAW/B&W Jpeg) 

The Ulster flag, flying outside the church, and the wire fence between the road and the grounds perfectly illustrate the divisions and tensions that exist between the two communities that live in the area. 

Fun Shots

Two Double Espressos Please

I’ve been photographing so much black and white material recently, and experimenting with various film stocks and developing solutions, that I thought I might have been neglecting my lovely Fujifilm X-T5 a little. So, in case it was feeling a little neglected, I made it two nice measures of espresso.

Needless to say, after I’d showed the coffee to the camera, and made a few images, I felt compelled to drink the stuff. It would be rude not to. Or, as I remarked to my Much Better Half, when she asked me what on earth I was doing, “One cannot simply MAKE coffee, – one MUST photograph it!”

Commercial and Family Photographer