The Lockdown Logs
Dateline: May 29th 2020
Socially distanced at the Loughshore Park, Antrim.
The Lockdown Logs #57
Tag Archives: Co. Antrim
Party Food.
Of the feeding of children at a fourth birthday party there is no limit!
Shot on the Fujifilm X-T30 with 55-200mm lens, in Acros simulation mode, with simultaneous RAW back up -so if we need some colour shots the Raw files can be developed in Lightroom.
The Smoker’s Rest!
‘The Smoker’s Rest.’
A grubby chair at the back door of a Belfast restaurant, in a make-shift shelter and beside the ashtray. Fujufilm X-T30 F=18mm f/4.5 @ 1/60th sec on ISO400
Good Grief!
Traditional and Modern Ways to Remember.
I found these two memorials in Ballintoy.
A very traditional way to mark a life…
And a more humorous take on memory and commemoration…
Which would YOU prefer?
Ballintoy and White Park Bay
It’s back to the North Coast, one of my favourite parts of Northern Ireland! This time to spend an October day around Ballintoy, a picturesque harbour between the Giant’s Causeway and Ballycastle, Co. Antrim. I took the Fujifilm X-T30 and the Nikon F100.
Ballintoy (Baile an Tuaigh – the northern townland) village is less than a mile from the harbour, which is accessed by a narrow winding road. Even the journey to the harbour is visually rewarding.
The Templepatrick Mausoleum
A visit to the Mausoleum at Templepatrick (Co.Antrim) requires some diligence and persistence – just to find it! It is signposted from the road opposite the Templeton Hotel, and the passage to the site lies within the historic Castle Upton Estate. Nowadays the monument is owned by the National Trust. A visit is rewarding though, for the site is historic, including not only the Templetown Family mausoleum, but also the grave of the first Presbyterian Minister of Templepatrick, Rev John Welsh, the grandson of John Knox.
The approach to the graveyard is by way of a tree lined pathway, which lends itself to the ‘spooky fog’ treatment in photoshop! (Don’t worry, you can see the ‘untreated’ image in the next montage. Images were made with the Fujifilm X-T30 and a standard zoom, 18-55mm lens.
The Mausoleum was built by the Scottish architect Robert Adam for the Upton family in 1789. It contains memorials to some of the family members. On the day I visited the monument was open and access to the inside was certainly interesting.
Wall Plaque
Wall Plaque
Wall Plaque
Wall Plaque
Wall Plaque
The best shot of the Mausoleum is from the far side of the graveyard. Although the ground is uneven and the graves squashed close together, the graveyard can be crossed with care for a rewarding photograph.
Fujifilm X-T30, 18th August 2019, 6pm, overcast/patchy clouds – daylight. Average reading was f/5.6 @ 1/250th sec on ISO200,
Slemish Mountain
Slemish Mountain is in Co.Antrim, to the east of the town of Ballymena. Traditionally, it is said to be the first Irish home of St Patrick, who tended sheep as a slave boy on its slopes.Slemish (Slieve Mish) is around 1500 feet above the surrounding plain, and is visible for many miles around.
Portbradden and Dunseverick
Harbours!
The north coast of Ireland has a winding coastline with lots of quaint little harbours, many of which are picturesque and great for photography. On a recent visit to Portballentrae, I travelled along the coast to visit two of those harbours.
DUNSEVERICK.
Dunseverick is a Hamlet, just along the coast from the world famous tourist attraction that is the Giant’s Causeway. It’s little harbour lies down a long, narrow winding lane. Be careful – its just about wide enough for two vehicles to pass!
Antrim, Antrim…
Antrim is the county town of its eponymous county. It’s Antrim, Antrim! So good they named it twice! 22 miles from Belfast, Antrim lies along the banks of the ‘Six Mile Water’ and on the shores of Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles.
The town’s history goes right back to just 30 years after the dewath of St Patrick, when, in 495, a Gaelic – speaking settlement of monks grew around the presnt site of the Antrim Round Tower. Continue reading Antrim, Antrim…
The Frocess
The Frocess Trees
The famous ‘Frosses Trees’ (original spelling ‘Frocess’) on the road between Ballymena and Ballymoney. The road runs through boggy ground,
and the Pine trees were planted in 1840 on the instructions of Sir Charles Lanyon (architect and civil engineer) so that their roots would join under the road to provide support… Continue reading The Frocess
