photoBLOGraphy

Sheep in Fog

2011-11-17T22:11:00.001Z

To My Website HERE

Autumn Walker

2011-11-06T21:15:00.002Z

This was taken on a Polaroid Pronto-B camera with impossible PX680 Colour Shade.
It is over exposed a lot but again I like the effect.

To My Lo-Fi analogue Website HERE

2011-09-10T10:11:00.001+01:00

Took this with the Mamiya 645 Super + 55mm lens with a yellow filter - total accident but I like the effect.

To My Website HERE

Not Shaded Colour Shade

2011-08-30T23:45:00.000+01:00

Snapped these at the weekend in the Burren of County Clare where there were lots of tourists.
The sun was shining bright and it was nice and warm. It took me about 3 seconds to get the
Impossible film shaded so they are well exposed but I like the effect.
Taken with a Polaroid ProntoB with Impossible PX70 Colour Shade.

Late Evening Lake

2011-08-29T15:12:00.000+01:00

Snapped this last week in Connemara, it was late in the evening and quite dull. I think it makes for a simple landscape all the same. I used a Fujica GW690 camera

MOre BoTtoM LineS

2011-08-25T12:36:00.003+01:00

Roadside Ruin

2011-08-21T00:06:00.001+01:00

I didnt realise there were so many derelict petrol pumps until I decided to start a project on them.

I have been working on this project for the last year or two. These two I happened upon today.

These were shot with a polaroid land camera 250 on fuji fp100 peel apart film with the negatives bleached.

The extended set can be viewed HERE

A dabble into the imqossible . . .

2011-08-19T22:32:00.000+01:00

I recently splashed out and bought some old Polaroid cameras and some new impossible film. I just need to come up with a nice relative project to get me really into shooting instant photography . . .

Here is an impossible image of my other Polaroid cameras and film packs. This was taken with a Polaroid 600 camera on impossible PX680 colour shade Bottom Line film

New Face Lift

2011-01-24T13:33:00.001Z

I have updated, re-vamped and re-styled my website. I try to do this at least once per year.

Visit my web site HERE.

Black And White Infrared

2010-09-12T22:30:00.005+01:00

First run out with some Black and White Infrared film this year.
Shot through the Mamiya 645Super on Ilford SFX200 with an R72
style filter. I used a 6 stop compensation factor for this but could
really have done with a 5 stop one instead.

Visit my web site HERE.

Holgaville

2010-07-30T17:18:00.003+01:00

I have been listed and featured on Holgaville.com

About Holgaville..
April 2, 2010 by holgaville
A place to upload your HOLGA images..black & white, or color..
Share your holga images with the world..

tell us a bit about your photos and about you..

what you like about toycameras and holgas in particulair.

How long you have been shooting with your camera and

what inspired you to purchase it originally.
Just send your photo by email..please include your Name

and Website or blog url if desired and I will do the rest..

Bot

2010-07-27T23:16:00.000+01:00

Abandoned House

2010-05-19T13:29:00.002+01:00

I have been shooting a lot of digital infra red lately. its a great time of year for it as the foliage in the trees, grass and hedges is really starting to come out and with the combination on the nice bright days makes for good opportunities.

Galway Graffiti - Wall Art - Shop Street

2010-05-03T11:17:00.003+01:00

Visit my web site HERE.

Galway Graffiti - Wall Art - Yellow Stuff

2010-04-29T21:56:00.002+01:00

Galway Graffiti - Wall Art - Blockwork

2010-04-29T21:48:00.005+01:00

The pinhole camera has not moved on from a few precision cut pieces of MDF, im still waiting on some metalwork to be produced before I can start to assemble the unit.

I was out last week with my digital camera and captured some new Graffiti in Galway. The weather was great so the colours were nice and vibrant.

Pinhole Camera

2010-04-21T13:03:00.004+01:00

This the plan for my new Project . . . A 6x9 format pinhole camera.
The body is to be made from 6mm thick MDF and will take 120 size film.
The pinhole will be 0.29mm and in Brass. I plan to document the assembly and hopefully it will product a good first image . . . fingers crossed.

Holga Cars #2

2010-04-13T14:28:00.002+01:00

Visit my Film Blog HERE.

Holga Cars

2010-04-12T17:59:00.002+01:00

There was a vintage car rally last weekend in Claregalway, Co.Galway and took a trip over to see what was going on. I hav'nt been at one of these for a long time. I had the Holga and Mamiya with me and I have to say the first results from the Holga are really nice. The lens seems to suit the subject, giving a 'vintage' feel to the images.
I developed the film with the new Caffenol-C process I'm toying with.

Caffenol-C Processing . . .

2010-03-31T22:50:00.003+01:00

What happens when you mix Coffee, Vitamin C and Washing Soda in water . . . you get a terrible smell ! If you make a decision to develop your roll of black and white film in it you can with the right mix and time get a really nice negative . . .

This image was shot through a Holga 120 on Fomapan 400 and developed in my Caffenol-C developer for 12 minutes @ 20 degrees.

The mix I used was: 1. 500ml water, 2. Sodium Carbonate 27 gramms, 3. Vitamin-C 8 gramms, 4. Coffee 30 gramms.

I used pure ascorbic acid [vitamin-c], pure Sodium Carbonate powder and the cheapest nastiest coffee I could find . . . Lidl €2.99

Visit my Film Blog HERE.

Rocky Rocks

2010-03-16T23:59:00.003Z

Looking out towards Inis Turk in the distance overy a rocky beach . . .

Visit my Film Blog HERE.

Simple Reflection

2010-03-09T09:18:00.001Z

Taken on a beach near Tully in Connemara and looking out towards Inish Turk.

Snow on Mweelrea

2010-03-08T22:41:00.003Z

Despite the lovely clear weather of the last weekend there was still snow on Mweelrea in Connemara.

Calm over Galway Bay

2010-03-07T18:05:00.003Z

Yesterday Morning was very calm in the bay . . . the fog was slow to move. The hills of the Burren in County Clare were just popping their heads over the mist.

Visit my web site HERE.

Corrib Fog

2010-03-01T20:50:00.002Z

Taken last weekend at Ashford Castle, a lone Swan on Lough Corrib disturbing the calm flow of the inward river.

Misty Mountains

2010-02-21T23:58:00.005Z

Took a spin out today to Connemara. The fog was lifting quickly in the late afternoon breeze.

Mish Mash

2010-02-07T10:31:00.004Z

Well there is a first time for everything . . .
I have been meaning to try this concept for a while now and recently went at it.
Running 35mm film through a 120 format camera, I used some old expired Jessops Pan s
black and white film in my Balda baldixete camera. I attached the leading tab of the 35mm film
onto yhe used backing paper of some 120 film so I could use the frame number guides, It seemed to work well but I did get some film kinking mid roll!

Here is the first image from the roll . . .

Visit my Film Blog HERE.

Tranquil Lake

2010-01-24T20:45:00.006Z

Took a trip out to the Tully Cross area of Connemara yesterday, the day was so pleasant
that all the lakes were very still, even at the beach front there was little or no wind.

Hair Cut

2010-01-21T21:35:00.002Z

Visit my Film Blog HERE.

Frosty Ruin

2010-01-12T19:42:00.001Z

Well the frost is over in Galway for the time being, its back to the rain!
Here is an image I took last weekend . . .

Waiting for Food

2010-01-11T11:12:00.001Z

Frosty Horses

2010-01-11T09:51:00.003Z

Up early yesterday morning to catch some more of the frost and snow. I took a different route

than the morning before . . . these horses paid no attention to me while I was happing shooting them.

Freezing Fog Frost

2010-01-10T00:03:00.002Z

Had a lot of freezing fog lately, makes for delightful scenes the following morning!

London Bands Mandolin

2010-01-09T00:07:00.002Z

Decided to do a still life project and shoot my Mandolin!
This is a old Italian made Mandolin. It has a beautiful curved back
with the rising sun inlaid design.

A Light Dusting . . .

2010-01-06T17:03:00.003Z

While most of the country is experiencing a cold snap and having large falls of snow, here in parts Galway there is a light dusting of snow. This is the best I could do today.

Modular Mamiya

2010-01-05T16:26:00.003Z

Received the last two pieces to my modular medium format film camera today. Received the Back and insert to finish off the 645 super body, Lens and Prism finder.

Sheep and Ruin

2010-01-05T10:33:00.003Z

Went out over Christmas and shot some expired Kodak Plus X 125 through my Lubitel 166.
The film expired in 2006 but still produced ok images.

Burren Rocks part 3

2009-12-29T10:15:00.002Z

You can see more of my Black and White work HERE.

Burren Rocks part 2

2009-12-28T22:28:00.003Z

Burren Rocks part 1

2009-12-23T13:37:00.003Z

Visit my web site HERE.

2 Swans & 2 Signets

2009-12-14T20:30:00.002Z

This was taken late yesterday evening in Kinvara County Galway.
The day was clear bright and fresh with very little wind . . . perfect.

Visit my web site HERE.

Sunrise at Blackrock

2009-12-05T16:43:00.003Z

Jumped out of bed this morning at about 7 and headed in to the Salthill area
of Galway City to catch the sunrise . . .

Visit my web site HERE.

Moon on the Corrib

2009-12-04T09:15:00.005Z

Visited the river Corrib before work yesterday morning to catch the retreating moon,
it was a calm morning and cold.

Visit my web site HERE.

Swans on the Corrib

2009-12-01T21:07:00.004Z

Took these with my new piece of Glass . . . a Zuiko 21mm f3.5 a few days ago and only got around to processing them now.

Taken on the river Corrib just outsite Galway City and a few days after the worst of the latest flooding there is actually a pier here but covered by the river.

Visit my web site HERE.

Pentax 645D update . . .

2009-11-28T13:34:00.003Z

Following on from my previous post HERE, there seems to be a leaked
version of the cameras manual.

The Camera is reportedly going to be released in April 2010.

Pentax 645D Manual

Visit my web site HERE.

Corrib Rainbow

2009-11-26T20:53:00.003Z

Took a spin out to lough corrib today. The light was beautiful and changing quickly.

Visit my web site HERE.

Toy Camera Day from Rural Galway

2009-10-21T13:05:00.008+01:00

Took the dog out for a walk on Saturday last and managed to shoot a few pics through
the Balda Baldixette for World Toy Camera Day. [ http://www.toycamera.com/ ].

Visit my web site HERE.

Fully Loaded Fiat 500

2009-10-13T23:09:00.003+01:00

This was taken during the Summer shortly after IKEA opened in Dublin.
It was taken with the Balda Baldixette and Fuji Superia 400 film which was developed last weekend.

Visit my web site HERE.

Eyre Square through the Holga

2009-10-12T20:44:00.004+01:00

Well its been a while since I shot some film through the Holga 120. Fuji Neopan 400 developed in Ilfosol 3.

This image was taken last weekend, it was kind of dull so the 400 film was fast enough.

Visit my web site HERE.

Autumn fruit

2009-10-05T21:56:00.007+01:00

Blackberries hanging over dry stone walls line the country roads around Ireland . . . a feast for the birds.
Even now in early October the leaves on the trees are reluctant to turn their rich autumn colours.

Visit my web site HERE.

Is this the future of Visual Media?

2009-10-01T22:45:00.004+01:00

3D . . .

Fuji have just launched today a 3D compact camera,
some teething problems with the focusing but a big step in technology I think.

Peter Jackson the movie director announced or stated recently he will only be shooting
movies in 3D from now on! Is this soon to make your new LCD or Plasma TV obsolete?
Does it move Photography into a completly different realm?

A big plateful of food for thought, is the furute exciting?

Approaching Autumn #4

2009-10-01T10:22:00.003+01:00

Visit my web site HERE.

Approaching Autumn #3

2009-09-30T21:23:00.004+01:00

Visit my web site HERE.

Approaching Autumn #2

2009-09-29T22:17:00.003+01:00

Visit my web site HERE.

Approaching Autumn #1

2009-09-28T15:17:00.007+01:00

Not quite there yet with the Autumn colours but the light was soft yesterday evening.

Took a spin over to a public park to capture some "colours".

I used a slow shutter-speed to capture some of the movement in the lighter branches.

It is a very peaceful place just the wind throught the leaves was tobe heard.

Visit my web site HERE.

Another old one in Gallons

2009-09-28T00:09:00.004+01:00

Have been working on a project over the Summer to do with "Old Fuel Stations" or stops in Counties Galway and Mayo, and there are a lot I have managed to collect about 30 and there are parts of both Counties still to explore.

Before this project I have never noticed these relics, well maybe I did but they just never registered consciously with me. Its amazing how much we take for granted or choose to ignore until they are pointed out to us.

To view some more examples from the collection click HERE.

Master Bedroom

2009-09-23T23:07:00.006+01:00

This house interior is the latest since I started my Blog. Just finished processing the images for the designer. The shoot took place last Tuesday and I have been processing since then.

This is certainly a very welcome change from shooting landscapes so much over the last few months.

The interior design in this house was very elegant and stylish and we got to shoot this soon after the owners had moved in.

More of my Interior shots can be viewed here.

Dawn's Magic Light part 2

2009-09-15T22:16:00.004+01:00

Caught this on my way to THIS location . . .
It is about 1/2 a mile from my house so didnt have too travel far !

More of my Sunsets and Sunrises can be viewed here.

Dawn's Magic Light part 1

2009-09-15T22:00:00.004+01:00

Saturday morning last . . . woke up to a bright morning light 6.30am . . .
scrambled out of bed, dragged on the nearest clothes to me, didnt wash,
fed the Cat, Dog and Chickens and drove off down the road towards my
destination.

I caught this at about 7.00am, its a 6 shot stitch. The morning was absolutely
glorious as was the rest of the day, I have so much processing to do from last
saturday as the weather was glorious over the last week there was early starts
and late nights.

More of my Sunsets and Sunrises can be viewed here.

Dead Calm

2009-09-14T22:47:00.004+01:00

Coming back from Tully Cross in Connemara yesterday evening just before a beautiful sunset
there was an eerie calm in this valley.

There was a perfect reflection in the lake of the mountainside.

Spiddal Sunset

2009-09-11T00:44:00.006+01:00

Well we are getting more than a 24 hour Indian summer ! Headed out to Spiddal pier to catch the fading light this evening and I have just finished processing . . . a lot of dust busting was done.

The red flashing in the sky to the left appeared for about 5 minutes suddenly and guickly faded after I had captured it. This is a 3 shot vertical stitch.

More of my Sunsets and Sunrises can be viewed here.

Rusting

2009-09-10T23:58:00.003+01:00

Galway Bay Sunset revisit

2009-09-09T23:37:00.006+01:00

Finished processing the images from the trip out to Salthill last week. It was indeed a beautiful evening like this evening . . . looks like we are going to get out Indian summer.

There are plans to go out snapping tomorrow after work with some friends so hopefully the Indian summer is not a 24 hour affair !

The flowing Bowl

2009-09-08T16:45:00.012+01:00

Thank god for Wellies . . . had a day off work yesterday so fell out of the scratcher early in the morning and headed out to Connemara, again!

It was lashing rain on and off for the last week so there was a good flow of water cascading down the many streams of the mountains. This was taken on the side of the Partry Mountains.

I was able to wade right into the BOWL [Thanks to the Wellies] with I would say a 15 foot high face behind me part of which can be seen on the right of the image.

The sound of the water was amazing and that was the only sound to be heard.
This is a 6 shot stitch, approximately 5 second exposure with CPL.

More of my Panoramas can be viewed here.

Galway Bay Sunset again

2009-09-05T18:40:00.012+01:00

Travelled out towards Connemara yesterday evening and stopped just before Spiddal to capture the sun setting over Galway Bay.

Its a simple shot looking across towards the Aran Islands with Black head of the Burren in County Clare in the left of the frame.

It was a beautiful evening and just timed the stop off well. this was taken with CPL and ND8 filters on the 5D with Zeiss 24-85 Vario Sonnar lens.

More of my Sunsets and Sunrises can be viewed here.

Boxes from the Baldixette

2009-09-02T22:49:00.005+01:00

Shot a roll of Fuji NPS160 about a month ago and finally got round to getting it processed.

I ran the film through a Balda Baldixette. 6x6 folding camera and added a filter in Photoshop.

Visit my Lo-Fi website. for more images from the Balda along with the Lubitel and Holga.

Peaceful oxygen

2009-08-31T23:22:00.004+01:00

Colourful Connemara

2009-08-27T23:18:00.005+01:00

What a surprise the changing light of Connemara can create! Had my doubts yeaterday driving to this area as to whether it was going to be a waste of time or not, well you just never know what nature will throw at you.

The scene shows the Maumturk Mountains.

More of my Panoramas can be viewed here.

Black Head Lighthouse

2009-08-24T22:58:00.005+01:00

Looking north over Galway Bay, the lighthouse along the northern coast of the Burren towards Black Head has a magnificent view of Galway city and beyond.

I took this last week during the week, the evening was extremely blustery
especially at this height along the coast. Within 15 minutes of taking this the light had faded dramatically and the rain had rushed in to force us back to the car.

More of my seascapes can be seen here.

Ballyglunin Train Station

2009-08-16T09:38:00.004+01:00

It was a beautiful evening yesterday, lovely light and plenty of wind
so the 30 second exposure with this one whowed up some great movement.

The train station was opened in 1860 and is obviously not used today.
More information can be checked out here

O.P.L Foca Sport I

2009-08-15T13:31:00.009+01:00

A recent addition to the collection is this French 35mm camera dating to
around 1958.

The OPL [Optique et Précision de Levallois] company was started in 1919 [according to camerapedia] to produce optical instruments for aviation, marine, and military. In 1938 they sarted out to make a camera, based roughly on the very popular Leica rangefinder. The war and German occupation intervened with those plans, but by 1942 the Germans encouraged the release of the the FOCA rangefinder system. They produced cameras well up to the late 1950s, releasing the SLR FocaFlex in 1959, which featured innovative TTL metering.

This camera is a simple viewfinder camera with fixed 45mm neoplar f2.8 lens
which seems to be multicoated. Adjustable apertures f2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 to f16 and shutter speeds B, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 to 300.

Finavarra Martello Tower

2009-08-14T23:03:00.006+01:00

This Martello Tower at Ballyvaughan County Clare can be seen from the promenade at Salthill Galway.

Martello towers (or simply Martellos) are small defensive structures built in several countries of the during the 19th century, from the time of the onwards.

They stand up to 40 feet (12m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15-25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy Artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360° arc. A few towers had moats for extra defence. The Martello towers were used during the first half of the 19th century, but became obsolete with the introduction of powerful Rifled artillery. Many have survived to the present day, often preserved as historic monuments.

A History of County Clare - Original Manuscript.  (Se n Spelissy, 2003)
The author's original manuscript of A History of County Clare is
available for reference in Clare County Libraries (Local Studies
Branch in Ennis).  The book was shortened for publication.  The
complete version mentions both martello towers.
"New Quay ....... The martello tower at Finavarra was one of several
built between 1804 and 1807, in fear of another French invasion.  They
cost an average of  1800 (?2285) each and it took about six months to
complete a tower.  The usual garrison was about ten men or so who
would have lived in a nearby barracks, such as the ruined one
north-east of the tower."

Above text from http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/405433.html

More of my black and white photography can be viewed here.

Clare Island Lighthouse

2009-08-12T01:03:00.005+01:00

First time out to Clare Island Yesterday, weather was beautiful for here.
Sunny spells with some rolling clouds carrying small showers.

The image below is of the Lighthouse on the island looking north accross
Clew Bay.

The lighthouse was first established on Clare island in 1806, it built by the Marquis of Sligo and was then taken over by the Dublin Ballast Board in 1810 and was the subject
of a report by their Engineer, George Halpin Snr., in 1811.

The lighthouse functioned well for the following two years until a fire on 29th September 1813 destroyed part of the tower. it was found the fire was caused by the practice of throwing the snuffing of the used oil-lamp wicks into a tub, for disposal later. Some wicks, still smoldering, fell out of the tub and ignited the lantern. A temporary light was set up until a new tower and Keeper's dwelling were built; the new light being exhibited for the first time towards the end of 1818.

The lighthouse on Clare Island had a long, and relatively trouble-free, century and a half service. There were occasional incidents, like the tower being struck by lightning in 1834.

The Clare Island Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1965, after 159 years of unbroken service.

Lighthouse sells "from The Mayo News"

Tuesday, 06 May 2008

Clare Island lighthouse sells as unique ‘birthday present’

Áine Ryan

CLARE ISLAND business woman Ms Anna Wettergren has criticised the State’s failure to buy important heritage buildings, such as the island’s lighthouse, sold to a private buyer last week. She told The Mayo News that it was a shame the islanders – as a community – had not been in a position to buy the property and develop it as a quality niche tourism facility.
Islanders understand a German doctor bought the lighthouse for €1.05 million as a birthday present for his wife, at an auction in Dublin last week.
“The lighthouse is situated in an incredibly beautiful location on the edge of cliffs at the northern face of the island. It has lain largely empty for the last number of years, which is really a pity. There should have been some sort of Government facility which allows communities buy such properties that are integral to the history of an area,” said Ms Wettergren, a long-time resident, who operates a café at her cottage during the summer months.
Early last month The Mayo News revealed that the asking price for the lighthouse had dropped a staggering 75 per cent from €2.1 million to €500,000. However, it seems that the price-drop attracted a huge amount of interest and the vendors, Lady Georgina Forbes, decided to sell it at auction as a result.
Fr over 150 years, Clare Island Lighthouse provided a welcome beacon of light for weary sailors navigating the treacherous west coast. Built in 1806, it was decommissioned in 1965 because its beams were sometimes occluded by foggy conditions. An unmanned lighthouse on Achillbeg replaced it.
It has had two other private owners in the past, an Irish-American family, the Conlons, and Belgians, Robert and Monica Timmermanns. The Timmermanns spent substantial money on its renovation to an up-market guesthouse, which attracted Jean Kennedy Smith during her ambassadorship to Ireland, and television celebrity, Ray D’Arcy. They sold the lighthouse to Lady Forbes in the late 1990s.
For the last number of years though the beautifully-refurbished lighthouse has lain largely empty with visits from the owner becoming more infrequent. Two years ago, islanders called on Minister Éamon Ó Cuív to lobby for the State purchase of the buildings. However, at the time, he emphatically ruled out such a purchase observing that the State had already a huge portfolio of heritage properties and ‘is not in the business of buying privately-owned properties, so hard choices had to be made’.

Kylemore Abbey

2009-08-07T00:00:00.004+01:00

Kylemore Abbey in the heart of Connemara County Galway
was absolutely chock-a-block today. There were bus loads of sight-seers
and the weather was very pleasant, warm with a slight breeze, overcast
with bright sunny spells, good light for shooting landscapes.

I have been here many times but could not get a nice image with
good light, but today I like what I caught.

Moe info on Kylemore Abbey here

Ballyglunin Bridge

2009-08-06T00:18:00.004+01:00

Tried some more digital B+W IR photography over the weekend last.

I used an old Nikkor 35mm f2.8 prime lens on the Canon 5D with a
52mm R72 filter. Exposure was 30 seconds @ f16, ISO 200.

The day was overcast but bright, it had just rained and the
roads were wet and dark so I thought it could have been a nice contrast
with the bright foliage. This was taken at the crossroads near Ballyglunin
County Galway.

Castle Island, Lough Key

2009-08-02T22:22:00.005+01:00

Took a trip out today to visit Lough Key forest park in Boyle
County Roscommon. We left it a bit late to make the 2 hour trip
from Galway as it started to rain about 40 minutes after our
arrival. I tried some digital IR as there was brief sunny
well sunnier spells before the drizzle started.

Here is a sample looking out to Castle Island.

Oldies

2009-08-02T15:35:00.008+01:00

Weather was not good last week so I decided one afternoon to
have a mess around with the softbox to document me old style film
cameras.

Lubitel 166B, Holga 120N, O.P.L Foca Sport I and 2 Balda Baldixette's.
The results from some of these can be viewed on my Lo-Fi themed Site.

Galway Graffiti - Wall Art - around the car

2009-07-26T23:53:00.003+01:00

Was not expecting this today as I walked along the canal.

Great work, expecially the silver paint, that must have been expensive!

Galway Graffiti - Wall Art - VORG

2009-07-23T22:43:00.006+01:00

Following on my tour of documenting Galway Graffiti here is a section of wall
which I presume was commissioned for the Volvo Ocean Race Galway Leg.

This art is in a very prominent place on the docks in Galway and really stands out
in a nice way of course.

More to follow. . .

Galway Photo Walk

2009-07-20T23:28:00.009+01:00

Last Saturday the 19th was the annual worldwide Scott Kelby Photo Walk.
I attended the Galway leg of this and had a chance to meet some more
photographers from Galway.

The weather was'nt great with rain starting off the day but eased off
for the start at 3pm in Eyre Square.

I took along 3 cameras . . . The Holga 120n, an O.P.L Foca Sport I
and the 5D which came out of the bag once!

The image below was taken along the Corrib river with the Foca Sport
and Neopan 400.

Galway Bay Sunset

2009-07-16T00:06:00.004+01:00

Headed out this evening with my brother to capture a seascape sunset.

Pictured in the distance are the mountains of the Burren in County Clare.

I wasnt fully set up for the adventure as I didnt have any ND
filters just a polariser. I managed to get approximately 20 seconds
exposure on ISO50 with an aperture of f25.

Here is the result of my first attempt at this sort of photography.

Rural Galway in mono

2009-07-13T22:05:00.008+01:00

These are 3 images from rural Galway. Taken on a camera from the early 1950's,
an O.P.L Foca Sport I. The film used was Fuji Neopan 400 developed in Ilfosol 3.

The developing was a bit rushed after I have measured and mixed all my chemicals.
I had the developer in about 30 seconds when I remembered
"what temperature is it" !
I never checked the temperature, it was 19 degrees and I had set my timer
for a time relevant to 20, so I added 10% to the time. happy days. The stop and
were at 18 degrees so I added 10% onto the times there too.

The first picture was taken around the Abbeyknockmoy area of County Galway.
I recon it used to be a public house or a shop or both as was the case back in
the 40's, 50's & 60's.
The other 2 were taken on the shoreline of Lough Corrib where there are I
would say hundreds of little piers where one can rent a boat for the day and go fishing.

More of my black and white photography can be viewed here.

Lough Corrib Boats

2009-07-12T19:57:00.006+01:00

Took a trip out to Lough Corrib via Moycullen this morning and happened accross
this mooring point, the sun was pretty strong between the clouds and pretty windy.

There are lots of mooring points right arount the shore line of the Corrib
where boats can be rented on the day for finshin particulatly.

Beach Bums

2009-07-11T08:30:00.007+01:00

Well I was surprised to see this scene at Gorteen Bay out at Roundstone County Galway
a few weekends ago. They came down onto the beach after grazing on the grass further up.
One of the cows walked over to the sea and looked as if she would drink the salt water . . . but just took a snif and realised she couldnt drink it, clearly she was thirsty!

I have never seen this before, Cows on a beach. These will be going on the Seascape section of my Site.

Film Fun

2009-07-09T08:31:00.008+01:00

Decided after much pondering to finally put this together
with an idea to use it somehow on my Lo-Fi Photography site
but after spending a bit of time processing this I decided
against it.

Arriving in 2010 - Pentax 645D

2009-07-08T10:01:00.009+01:00

It is February 28th 2006 and Pentax have released a mockup of a digital medium format camera. The Pentax 645D digital medium format camera will use a CCD sensor from Kodak, with a 9-micron pitch, and a resolution tentatively pegged at 18 megapixels. It will be compatible with smc Pentax 645 auto focus lenses and It will be introduced by the end of 2006. . .

It is now 2009 and still no release, but there are movements on the horizon, the horizon being 2010. There is still at this time very little info on the specifics apart form . . .

The Pentax 645 Digital camera looks like it will finally arrive in 2010. An official press release on the Pentax Japan website provides a target release date for both the 645D and the smc PENTAX-D FA645 55mm F2.8 lens. It also reveals that the 645 Digital will feature an image sensor with at least 30 megapixels. The Pentax 645 Digital has been shown in prototype form at various photography shows over the last few years. [PhotographyBlog]

More info from the 2006 prototypes can be got HERE but how relevant it will be to the new release is another question.

Being a landscape photographer myself I would be very interested in this setup.

Photo Project - Old Fuel Stops

2009-07-07T09:25:00.014+01:00

I have been working on a photographic project over the last couple of months which has taken me to places in Counties Mayo and Galway I have never been before.

The subject is 'Old Fuel stops' or 'petrol stations'. Some like the image below are in a high eroded and weathered state others look like they could still be in operation.

At first I had planned to set a limit of 20 sites but I have passed that now with some areas still to visit. There are also possibilities to expand this from Mayo and Galway to the whole of the Connaught area.

A fellow photographer from Wexford mentioned to me that he could not find near as many as I have found in Wexford, Has there been more development in Wexford and the south east in general than in Connaught? possibly.

You can visit the page on my site HERE to view a further 10 samples. I tried to keep the images as much in a typology format as possible.

For more on Typology visit this site The Exposure Project

World Wide Photo Walk

2009-07-06T09:28:00.007+01:00

This is an annual event by Scott Kelby. This worldwide photo walk takes place on July 18th.
Here are the details for the Galway event . . .
_______________________________________________________________

A Message From The Walk Leader

Welcome to the Galway Photo Walk page. Our intended route of the walk is
down Shop Street. Next we’ll scoot around St Nicholas Cathedral, then down

by the river via the walkway at Jurys Inn. From there we’ll procede around

the Long Walk via Spanish Arch, onto the Docks, finishing up at Bar No 8.

Usually the weather is good at this time of the year! Fingers crossed!
A detour down into Claddagh to shoot across at Long Walk is more than

possible too if so you desire.
Saturday the 18th has the honourable position of being bang smack in the middle
of the Galway Arts Festival (13th-26th July). After checking the program, it looks
like there will be little happening street theatre wise. That said, there’s often an
influx of performers on the streets anyway, so all is not lost.
______________________________________________________________

This is a great excuse to meet up with other photographers in your area & explore your local area. If you are interested you can either join an existing photo walk or apply to lead your own photo walk. I plan to be there for the Galway Event.

Holgapolooza - Photo Competition

2009-07-06T08:36:00.010+01:00

Holgapolooza is an annual photo contest and celebration of the Holga camera.
Each year from July to September, photographers from around the world are
encouraged to participate in an international contest featuring Holga photography
hosted by Light Leaks Magazine and Toycamera.com.
Categories will be presented and submissions will be reviewed by well-respected and internationally renowned judges who will determine winners in each of the categories.
Winners will be rewarded with cash and prizes donated by our sponsors as well as have
their photos published in Light Leaks magazine.
Holgapalooza will continue to be a champion web site for the Holga camera and all of
the photographers around the world who embrace it.

New Camera - Blada Baldixette

2009-07-05T11:58:00.011+01:00

I took delivery of another camera during the week. It is a Balda Baldixette 6x6 medium format camera from the early 1950's. It uses 120 roll film.

This will fit nicely into my Lo-Fi photography gear. I have dedicated a page on my site for some image samples . . . eventually.

The workings of the camera very similar to the holga 120 plastic toy camera in so far as it only has 2 shutter speeds M [ 1/30 or 1/60 ?] and B, 2 apertures f9 and f16 but on the Holga there is effectively only 1 usable aperture.

The shutter like the Holga is a simple spring loaded lever and a rotating metal disc behind the lens which is again a simple glass affair of 3 elements.

The lens itself is a Baldar f7.2 [75mm] and seems to have some sort of coating.

The body is metal, aliminium I suspect and is quite compact in retalion to the Holga. The makers, Balda Werk Germany have kept the depth very slim at approximately 60mm while making the front lens adjustable so it extends about a further 26mm to gain the correct registery distance for 6x6 format. this camera will be easyier to carry around and the results should be better than the holga . . . results coming soon.

Some more reading here and here !

Film Development - how?

2009-07-04T00:09:00.008+01:00

Following on from the previous post on my first self processed
roll of film here is how I achieved the result.

First I needed to get the film from the canister to the developing tank with the
aid of a changing bag. This is a bit frustrating as you are working blind.

Preparing the film

1] Prise off the top of the canister and tease the film leader back out of the canister.

2] Cut the leader from the rest of the film.

3] Load the film onto the reel from the tank with the natural bend of the film curling
up. [I found it really easy to load the film this way]

4] Place the loaded reel into the tank [which was also in the changing bag] and click
the top section home to seal the reel below from light.

5] remove the tank from the bag and ready the chemicals . . .

Preparing the chemicals

I used all Ilford chamicals, Ilfosol 3 developer, Ilfostop & Ilford Rapid Fixer & water.

The Ilfosol 3 was diluted 1:9 with a volume of 290ml

The Ilfostop was diluted 1:19 again the volume was 290ml

The fixer was mixed at a ratio of 1:4 same volume as above.

I had to get the 3 chemicals to a temperature of 20 degrees so I left them in the fridge for about 15 minutes, I had the developer bang on at 20 but the other two were at 21 degrees.

Processing

Ok starting obviously wwith the developer, the developing time for the SFX 200 @ 20 degrees was 6 minutes and draining the chemical off 10 seconds before [5 mins 50 secs].

For the first 20-30 seconds I agitated/rotated the sealed tank twice and tapped theside of it to release any possible air bubbles which might have beed lodged on the film, i repeated this every minute or so until the 6 minutes was up.

I did a very quick rince and popped the stop in for about 15 seconds followed by another quick rince.

I then popped the Fixer in for 5 minutes rotating the sealed tank twice in that time.

After draining the tank of the fixer I then managed to rince off the residue from the film at 21 degrees also for about 10 minutes.

It is very important to have all three chemicals at an almost exact temperature or within 5 degrees and the same for the final rince. I managed 1 degree of difference.

After thought

It was a great buzz to finally remove the film from the reel and see the deatil of the images on the Neg.

I was definitely apprehensive asbout tackling the job but in the end looking back it was very easy. once the chemicals were mixed and at the right temperature it was just a matter of following a basic routine for an exact amount of time [ I used the countdown timer on my mobile phone! ]

Would recommend giving it a try at least once.

Film Development - result

2009-07-04T00:00:00.009+01:00

Well today I processed my first roll of film ever.

The film was Ilford SFX 200 Black and White whice I exposed
about 2 years ago but hadnt bothered to get it developed.

The camera used was a Canon AV-1 with a Sirius 28-200
Zoom with a deep red filter to give that mono Infra-Red look
especially to the landscape scenes.

More on the chemicals and technique used here,
for now here are some samples.

Wall Art - Skateboard Park

2009-07-03T20:22:00.008+01:00

As a follow on from the 'Wall Art' post I caught this yesterday in Westside, Galway.

All the ramps of the skatepark were decorated with Graffiti, nice and colourful.

Here are some samples . . .

Wall Art

2009-07-02T16:01:00.004+01:00

I have driven past these for quite a while now, so today I stopped to document them.
These were all taken in the Galway City area.
Coming from an Art background I can very much appreciate these.
I have always liked Graffiti and it reminds me of that film from the 1980's "Beat Street"
with all that Breakdancing and tagging.

1st Post

2009-07-02T15:57:00.004+01:00

This is my first post so I will mention two projects I am currently working on through different forms, Lo-Fi & Hi-Fi.

One with a HOLGA 120n and the second with a CANON 5D. More on those to follow to Follow. . .

Here are 2 sample images from . . .HOLGA Communications : A themed collection of images taken with the medium format plastic camera.

Old fuel stops : A collection of images taken in the Galway/Mayo counties of old unused petrol stations.