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…
Van Morrison (who I understand had a significant birthday yesterday) wrote a song called ‘Coney Island’ in which he mentions ‘the Lecale District.’ It’s that broad area that stretches along the Co.Down coastline between Killyleagh and Killough, and includes towns like Downpatrick, Shrigley, Strangford, and Ardglass. locale is (like Strangford and the Ards Peninsula), a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.’ – so it’s no wonder that when Van Morrison made his meandering car journey through it, he would wish that it could be like this all the time!
One of those outstandingly beautiful areas is the little hamlet of Kilclief, perched right on the edge of ‘the Narrows’ that bottle-neck of unpredictable tidal water at the mouth of Strangford Lough. Kilclief has an old castle, (Caislean Cill Cléithe) a state supported monument, a ‘tower-house’ built around the years 1412-1441, by one John Sely, the Bishop of Down, later defrocked for living at this castle with a married woman who went by the unusual name of Lettice Savage!
Continue reading The Lecale District #1Newcastle Co.Down.
The recent storm (Ellen, I think) caused flooding in the seaside town of Newcastle as the Shimna River burst through its banks. The Shimna rises in the Mournes and meanders through forested areas on the sides of the hills. Wood swept down by the torrential currents ended up in the Irish Sea and washed up on the beach.
The dark hills in the background are the Mourne Mountains of Percy French fame, sweeping musically down to the sea. I like this image because of its contrasts, its light and shade, the textures of the driftwood and the deep shadow of the hills.
Fujifilm X-T2, F=18mm, f/6.4 @ 1/125th sec on ISO800.
The driftwood is quite bright – after all, it’s been washed clean by the sea, so I exposed for the wood, which cast the mountains into deep shadow, an effect I rather liked!
Angus Rock Lighthouse sited in the Narrows between Lecale and the Ards Peninnsula. Built as a day guide only, the light was added in 1980, and later became solar powered. It can be photographed from Kilclief, but you need a longish lens. This image was made with a 300mm Nikon lens on a Fujifilm X-T30, so probably the equivalent of approx 500mm on a full-frame/35mm camera.
The camera was supported on a monopod (My granddaughter Chloe calls it my ‘giant selfie stick’). Here’s the boring stuff: F=300mm, f/5.6 @ 1/180th sec on ISO400.
Personally, I like the ‘minimalist’ look of the image.
We walked through Portrush this afternoon, and then drove out through Bushmills to have afternoon coffee at the fabulous BOTHY COFFEE cafe at White Park Bay. Iv’e spent so much time with a camera in Portrush, so I wanted to get some different shots, something fresh and original from a familiar location. Here’s a few of my efforts…
I looked down this entry and noticed a Liverpool FC flag hanging from a window, giving a tiny splash colour to an otherwise bland scene.
Continue reading Same Portrush – Different PerspecTiveIt was a sky just like this that inspired the songwriter Jimmie Kennedy to write his famous lyric, “Red Sails in the Sunset.” This image was captured using the Fujifilm X-T2.
Red sails in the sunset
Way out on the sea
Oh, carry my loved one
Home safely to me
Flowers in a (Depth of) Field!
This flower is blooming along the side of the Moneyreagh Road and the traffic goes by at 69mph (or more) so even on the calmest if evenings, like this evening, these flowers sway with the tailwind of every vehicle that passes. Trying to keep them in focus on a manual focus lens was a real challenge, but I still liked the sense of perspective that the shallow depth of field gives.
On the computer screen the image almost looks three dimensional. Ballywalter today for work purposes, and while I waited for an appointment time, I went down to the harbour with the Fujifilm X-T2 fitted with a Nikkor 37-70mm f/3.5 lens, and a Nikkor 100-300mm lens. It was a strange day, windy and overcast, but with bright spots appearing through the threatening clouds.
First stop was to look at an old boat that I saw parked on the road down toward the slipway. Continue reading Ballywalter, Co.Down
Dateline: May 29th 2020
Socially distanced at the Loughshore Park, Antrim.
Dateline: May 18th 2020
These white Tulips are growing in a flower bed beside the post box at Crossnacreevy, so when I stopped to post some letters, I grabbed the camera and made a series of exposures of the flowers. I wanted to use a wide aperture to remove the distracting background, and it was good that I did, for the tulips were moving slightly in the wind, and I needed quite a fast shutter speed. The big tulip is in focus, but with so little actual texture in the flower itself, it was difficult to assess the focus in-camera, but in LightroomI was able to see the tiny specks of dust on the petals.
Fujifilm X-T30, F=200mm, f/4.8, 1/1000th sec on ISO1250
