A walk in the woods

We had been talking about going to Balrath Woods near Kenstown for quite some time now so on Sunday morning we loaded the boys into the car and headed off.  The boys were on the look out for Gruffalos and hairy pigs but unfortunately they must have been off having breakfast somewhere else.  Better luck next time. :-)

Here are some pics from our morning......

The Shortest Day

It is an annual tradition in my camera club to do a sunrise photoshoot as close as possible to the shortest day of the year.  In our case it was Sun 18th (one week before Christmas).  The venue was Loughshinny, a tiny fishing village north of Dublin and not far from where I live.

I met up with the guys at 7.15am on that dark, cold Sunday and equipped with my camera bag goodies and thermals we headed for the coast.

Apart from a few clouds the sky was perfect with the dark blues turning to purple and eventually to orange until it was daylight.  We were only there for a couple of hours but it was a sight to behold.

Little did I know my father would leave this earth three days later on the official shortest day of the year.  These images are dedicated to you Dad.

Crabbing

I remember going to Portmarnock beach as a child, picking periwinkles off the rocks, collecting shells and trying to catch the crabs as they scurried along sideways.

When we visited Mersea Island in June and my husband suggested we bring the boys crabbing it brought back memories of those days on Portmarnock beach and how easily kids could be entertained for the price of some petrol and an icecream.  In this case it was for the price of a few slices of bacon, a couple of buckets, a bit of fishing line and a couple of nets (all of which (minus the bacon) can be used again and again).

Here are some images

The crabs just loved the bacon and between the boys they caught 111.  Paul and I then had the task of throwing the angry crabs back in the water.  I gave up after a few (they were vicious!), so Paul bravely continued until they were all back in the water.  Thankfully he didn't lose any fingers but he did get a couple of nips.....ouch!!!

An afternoon in Temple Bar

Last Saturday I met up with fellow photographers for the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk 2010 outside the Custom House, Dublin. From there we headed west towards Temple Bar. Temple Bar was buzzing with lots of people, markets and musicians. Here are some of my pics from the afternoon.

RED HOT IN TEMPLE BAR

FASHION

GET YOUR CHERRIES AND TOMATOES!


I can't remember the last time I was in the city centre for a stroll so it was nice to revisit and capture it's essence. I can see why it's popular with tourists and fellow Irish(wo)men. Will plan another visit soon!

Oh and thanks to my fellow photowalkers for making it an enjoyable afternoon.

Everything's smelling of roses

The roses are blooming in the garden at the moment. So much so a lot of them will need pruning this winter. It's an array of colour.

Holidays

Just been in sunny Greece. A week in Glyfada, Athens and a week on Naxos Island. It was hot, hot, hot. The boys had a great time on Prokopios beach in Naxos.

The Garden

Having lived at Fairhaven nearly two years now I'm delighted to see all the different flowers blooming throughout that time. At the moment the Clematis Montana is in full bloom. Here are some pics I took recently.

Beach Huts

In the UK the concept of the Beach Hut is about 250 years old. They started life as bathing machines on wheels. They were rented for a set period of time by bathers. The bathers changed in them and whilst that was going on the huts were pulled by horse down to the waterside where the bather would step from the hut straight into the sea.

Nowadays the wheels and horses have disappeared and they are not only used for changing in but also for holding all the things needed for a day at the beach.

Here are some pics I took in West Mersea, Essex last weekend.

More from Bulgaria

From mountains - taken from the top of Sinite Kamani (the Blue Rocks).



To beautiful beaches - Sozopol beach

Bulgaria

Spent a few days in Bulgaria over the May bank holiday. Little did we know that our holiday would be extended two days due to the ash cloud hitting Ireland but I'm glad it did. What a beautiful country!!


More to come.....

Photoshop CS4 - Before and After

Before

After

I've been using Photoshop CS4 for only a few weeks now and I am amazed by it's editing ability. There are just so many possibilities. Here I sharpened the eyes a bit and used Florabella Vintage Summer II action.

At the skatepark

Went to skatepark last Friday to photograph the boys. The boys loved it so much that they ran off in opposite directions and I spent most of the time chasing after them. I did manage to catch Sean for a couple of snaps but he got bored after a while. :-)