Category Archives: Co. Antrim

Beautiful Ulster, Black & White, Co. Antrim, Landscapes, Photo-Essay, Reportage, Scotland, Travel

Rathlin Island

On Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Janette and I visited (for the first time) the small island of Rathlin, just off the north coast of County Antrim. Rathlin is the only inhabited island on the coast of Northern Ireland, with a population of around 150, although it is reported that the population is steadily growing. I can understand why. We were quite taken with its tranquility, and its peacefulness. The island is very community focused, and a graphic near the Co-op lists the values that mark the community, – seeking to make Rathlin a welcoming place for everyone. 

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Beautiful Ulster, Co. Antrim, Landscapes, Travel

Dunluce Sunset

On Thursday, 25th July 2024, Janette and I were travelling along the road between Bushmills and Portrush, in Co.Antrim – the fabulous Causeway Coast, that makes our wee country one of the most scenic destinations in the world. As we approached the ruins of Dunluce Castle, – perched on top of a rocky outcrop, – I saw the possibility of a silhouette, and pulled over, parking the car on the white lines, and walked over to the side of the road,

The sun was setting over the Atlantic Ocean, away to my right, but the sky was red, and the castle mostly in shadow. I set the Fujifilm X-T5 to f/5 @ 1/100th second on ISO 250. I usually shoot on Acros Film Simulation, and RAW simultaneously, so I had the RAW file to colour process in Lightroom.

Black & White, Co. Antrim, Photo-Technique

Fujifilm Neopan Acros Black and White Film,

I’ve been trying out a new-to-me Nikkor lens on the Nikon D100, using Fujifilm Neopan Acros Black and White film, – old stock dated July 2013. I’ve never developed Acros myself before, (although Acros Film Simulation is one of my favourite shooting modes on the Fujifilm digital cameras).
I have to say, I really like this film. It has a beautifully soft grain, and gives great depths of contrast on the digital scanner.

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Black & White, Co. Antrim, Fun Shots, Photo-Essay, Reportage

Music at Randalstown Festival

I spent an hour at the annual Randalstown Community Festival, an event aimed at bringing the community together in the town centre, for a night of free open air entertainment and fun, with cuddly animals and funfair rides for the kids, a mini-market selling novelties and food, and a stage featuring local artists.

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Beautiful Ulster, Co. Antrim, Fun Shots, Photo-Essay

Lisburn, Co.Antrim, – and a strange encounter…

So, there was me, taking a stroll through the beautiful city centre of Lisburn (there’s a joke – boarded up shops and empty buildings – the place looks decrepit, a shadow of its former self). I got up to Castle Street, where once stood the Co-Op supermarket, and the big NIE electricity showroom, and Frederick Thomas Prams and Nursery Goods, and I noticed that amid the dereliction, there were ridiculous balls of some sort strung across the street. I decided to make an image – this is it – mediocre enough, like Lisburn itself.

All that makes it interesting is what happened next. 

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

Crosskeys Inn

The Crosskeys Inn is a traditional thatched building in Co.Antrim, sited between Randalstown and Portglenone, north of Lough Neagh.

Photographed here with a Fujifilm X-T30 camera, F= 21mm, f/4 @ 1/1250th sec on ISO640. If the shutter speed seems a little fast for a static building – I agree! I’d just managed to capture a shot of a motorcycle and sidecar roaring by!