Category Archives: Travel

Beautiful Ulster, Co. Down, Travel

The Fusion of Old and New: St Colmcille’s RC Church

Holywood, Co.Down is a (rather posh!) suburb in North Down, between Belfast and Bangor, and part of Northern Ireland’s gold coast, – the so called ’stockbroker belt.’  I happened to be driving through it on Monday 1st September 2025, en-route to Newtownards. As I drove past St Colmcille’s Catholic Church, I reminded myself that I’d promised to take a closer look at this remarkable building, set high on a hill on the approach to the town, a fusion of an old bell-tower and a modern circular building. So, on my return journey, I stopped for twenty minutes or so, armed with the Fujifilm X-T50.

St Colmcille’s RC Church, Holywood, Co.Down
Continue reading The Fusion of Old and New: St Colmcille’s RC Church →
Co. Antrim, Fun Shots, Travel

A Bloomin’ Skoda!

As a Skoda driver myself, when I enter Randalstown from the M2, I’m always intrigued by this vintage Skoda that’s seen better days—like, maybe during the disco era?

Now it’s living its best life as a floral display, proving that even rust can blossom! Who knew a decrepit old scrapper could be so… (ahem) ‘blooming beautiful?’ LOL. So, I walked (yes – WALKED) out towards the Ballygroobey Roundabout, armed with with the Leica C-Lux camera to get a quick snap, because even old Skodas deserve a moment in the spotlight!

Beautiful Ulster, Belfast, Landscapes, Travel

Exploring Squire’s Hill and Cave Hill Country Park

Squires Hill, Belfast, viewed from Cave Hill Country Park.

Today, Thursday 7th August 2025, I had a few minutes to snatch a packed lunch sandwich between appointments, and where better to stop en-route, than the Cave Hill Country Park.

After the quick lunch, I jumped out of the car to look at the stunning views across the city, and the surrounding countryside, a moment or two in a busy day, to soak in the stunning views of the Lagan estuary and the beautiful hills that cradle our city, from the Castlereagh and Holywood Hills in the south to the majestic Black Mountain range in the north It’s hard not to fall in love with this landscape. 

Continue reading Exploring Squire’s Hill and Cave Hill Country Park →
Belfast, Documentary, Photo-Essay, Reportage, Streetscapes, Travel

Belfast ‘Troubles Tourism.’

One of the growth sectors, it seems, in Northern Ireland, at least since the so-called ‘ceasefires’ of the 1990’s has been ‘Troubles Tourism,’ where visitors to the city are given guided tours of relics of the troubled past pf the region. You can book a ‘Troubles Taxi Tour’ from around £75. Hotels, travel and holiday companies and cruise ships are including Troubles Tourism in their itinerary offerings. Visitors take open-top buses, coaches, bicycles and walking tours, looking at the locations of riots, bombings and shooting, photographing political murals and of course visiting the infamous Belfast ‘PEACE LINES’

The Peace Line at Northumberland Street,,- a wall that has divided the unionist Shankill Road from the nationalist Falls Road for around 50 years. It’s still there and still needed 27 years after the ‘Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.’ The gates are closed during hours of darkness. 
Continue reading Belfast ‘Troubles Tourism.’ →
Beautiful Ulster, Belfast, Black & White, Documentary, Photo-Essay, Streetscapes, Travel

Exploring Belfast: A Day Trip Guide

July 29th 2005

It was a reasonably good day, meteorologically, warm and not raining for a change, so I suggested a trip to Belfast might be a good way to put in the day, – after all, I’m meant to be resting this week… And with me went Janette, my long suffering wife, and the Nikon FM3a.

So we caught a train at Antrim Station.  If you’ve visited here, and never used Northern Ireland Railways, you should put that right on your next visit. The trains are modern, clean, warm and safe, and best of all, they are mostly on time! Not bad from a state owned company! 

Antrim Railway Station
Continue reading Exploring Belfast: A Day Trip Guide →
Photo-Essay, Photo-Technique, Streetscapes, Training, Travel

Capturing a Sense of Place

It must have been around 2005 when I visited the home of Belfast artist Denis Johnston and viewed some of his paintings.  Denis lives in Belfast and was a member of the same church as me at that time, and so I would have visited him on occasions, but on this particular visit he showed me some of the art he had showed on display in an exhibition.  The imagery was stunning, with amazing technique and beautiful scenery.  Yet my eye was continually drawn to one particular painting, and I couldn’t resist expressing my admiration for it.  It wasn’t a beautiful landscape or an amazing sunset or mists rolling across a lake, – it was a small section of Regent Street in Newtownards, with a pedestrian crossing and a big dark shadow, and some old, and entirely unremarkable buildings.  Thousands of people must walk past it every week.  Yet I couldn’t take my eyes off it!  Why?  Just because it made me feel that I was right there!  It had a ‘sense of place!’  It told me about the place, gave me a sense of ‘belonging’ to it, drew my mind visually into the picture. 

Here it is:-

Continue reading Capturing a Sense of Place →
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 →
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.