Day 59

The weather really is taking the piss now! Try as I might I can't face another rain photo, so where would I rather be? Why inside, with a cup of tea and a good book of course.

P.S. For the benefit of those curious, especially my Russian readers, the book is Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.

Day 58

The rain is back, but on the plus side it's made the wildflowers nice and photogenic.

Day 57

A couple of false starts this evening, and I was starting to regret my earlier ignoring of cloudscapes and sunsets. And as I was also strating to regret taking the Inch road as I sat behind the world's slowest driver, but as I came around the corner I saw this vista; a welcome opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Day 56

Gotta be honest, not one of my best, but a funny awkward day that never went to plan conspired against me. It's a box ticking exercise for once.

Day 55

Driving to Galway on this beautiful evening, and I just had to pull over to capture this sunset. It took a mile to find the right sort of silhouette, but these trees were worth the wait.

Day 54

An opportunity to duck out of work for an hour today, so I drove as far as Ballydavid pier. The sound from this river was amazing as it ran under the bridge and into the sea. After some clambouring and some leaping I ended up dopwn at these rapids. I tried some slow exposure, but nice and all as they looked, they did sterilise the scene somewhat. A fast shutter was more in keeping with the scene.

Day 53

I took a trip north again this evening, and discovered a little ruin of a church. The ruin itself was pretty unremarkable, but just off it were these steps down to a well (undoubtedly a holy well). I love the overgrown nature of them, and the texture of the stone, all accentuated by the rather overcast light, the kind of light that makes everything look that bit lusher.

Day 52

Another mixed bag in Dingle, weather wise. As I left work it was raining with blue skies. I headed north from Milltown, and took this: it's the view from An Bothar pub looking towards the Three Sisters. I took it in colour, but converted it to B&W in post.

Day 51

It's been a wet miserable day in Dingle today. On leaving work I was confronted with a cloud that rolled over the hills like cotton wool and lay heavily on the slopes. In search of a good shot I ended up on a small back road, and then around the next corner I saw this tractor, the only colour in an otherwise flat landscape. A little touching up in post, a bit of texture in the cloud, that's all I added. The rest is as rendered by nature.

Day 50

Back to Dingle today, and as I drove through the midlands the weather looked increasingly foreboding. I stopped to take this around Roscrea, and just as well, as visibility was zerop by the time I finished my journey.

Day 49

There is an old water pump on the Enniskerry road that I pass regularly. I stopped today, as it always fascinated me, but sadly it is in a very decrepit state. The wood is rotten, the paint is peeling, and it is secured to the wall by a rusty chain. Appropriately it seems to be held together by this nameplate. To be fair it is well over a century old, so all credit to Mr Grace.

Day 48

I've always loved graveyards, and in particular, protestant graveyards. They're always more elaborate, more ornate, more gothic. The graveyard in Enniskerry has quite a mix of old and new, but this angel stood out from quite a way off.

Day 47

I know that you should really use Instagram if you're going to starting posting pictures of your food, but I think that this happy tableau of halloumi warrants a posting here. They don't mind the heat, they're just happy to be here.

Day 46

Rain, sun, rain, sun. The weather today is turning on a sixpence. I walked across the road in the sunshine, and then spent ten minutes under a tree sheltering from the rain. The only positive was the dramatic sky, and as stated before I am a sucker for a dramatic sky.

Day 45

Back in Dublin today, and an unexpected ticket for Bruce Springsteen meant I left home without my camera. A stunning evening in Dublin, and this was the scene in Herbert Park at seven pm, as rendered on camera phone. A short four hours later and the heavens had opened,; the rain has returned. It was nice while it lasted.

Day 44

Quicker out of the blocks is definitely the way forward. And seeing as I am unexpectedly heading home tonight I thought it only fitting to make an extra effort for today's pic. Sometimes you have an idea of what a photograph will look like in advance, but it rarely works out so well. However, today on Ventry Beach I got almost exactly the image I wanted, and now I can go home happy.

Day 43

I've been leaving it too late in the evening to take pictures this week. It doesn't make a lot of difference when the sun is out because it's bright here until ten o'clock, but on an overcast day like today it makes life more difficult. A long day at work, and anxious to get home, I grabbed this in the field next to the office. As you can see, there is a heavy cloud hanging over Dingle. Tomorrow I'll try and get out a bit earlier.

Day 42

I've passed this doorway a few times now, and it appeals to me every time. You can see these types of ruins all over the countryside, and I have to admit they always appeal to the Romantic in me. I knew the first time I took an image of this it'd be a B&W: I may be back with my chroma box yet.

Day 41

A beautiful day in Dingle today, and I didn't have to go far to get this image: about a hundred yards up to road in fact. Some work done in post, but not much: All the colour was already there, so it just needed a burn here and a dodge there. I'm pleased with this!

Day 40

There's a lot of amazing photographs to be had in Dingle, but this isn't necessarily one of them. An overcast flat day, coupled with the settling in process has hampered my attempts, and I'm not overjoyed with this effort. Still, it has an appeal for me, otherwise I wouldn't post it at all. There's better ahead!

Day 39

One job ends, and almost immediately another starts. I've packed up the plantation, and now Puss and I are ensconced in our new digs in Dingle. And nature is right at the door. What better way to celebrate than with a splash of deadly poisonous colour.

Day 38

Jesus, what a day! But, we are picture locked on our Olympics series, It's not the taking part, and that is a huge relief. It's been a long, tough, emotional process,  and now it's done, and in a few hours I'll be off to start another series. So, here is the view of my desk in the last few moments of work, with footage of the Olympic torch being lit on the screens.

Day 37

For two years the patch of wasteground beside my apartment building was just that: waste. It was ignored for years; the only thing that grew on it was a green mould that gave the surface a sickly pallor. It was a constant reminder of the situation our development was in: unfinished, abandoned, and bereft of anyone taking some responsibility. Three months ago I finally had enough of it: it annoyed me every time I passed it, and so I decided that it was time to something about it. I bought a garden fork and a rake. I dug the whole area. I picked stones until my back ached. I bought compost and grass seed. I picked ever more stones. Soon there were green shoots, tiny blades of grass poking through the surface. Every time I passed there was more colour, and then, today.

Today.

Today, baby had her first haircut.

Day 36

Sometimes it's difficult, it's challenging, it's work. And then some days you see the world's crappiest company nameplate and it's easy peasy! This makes me laugh every time I see it: tippex on brick doesn't really scream "corporate headquarters" does it?!

Day 35

Late night Luas can be a very interesting place. But it isn't a place for photographing people, so instead I used a long shutter exposure to render anyone unrecognisable, and give a nice sense of movement through the window. My new gorilla pod helped keep the camera steady yet pretty inconspicuous.

Day 34

Today was a day best spent inside listening to vinyl, so that's what I did. "Nuff said!

Day 33

Going straight from work to a concert in the Phoenix Park is not an ideal way to conduct a photoblog. The risk of having your camera confiscated by a cretin in a hi-vis jacket is reason enough to leave it at home, and so I am relying on phone cam tonight. This is my view as I wait for the three lads that still haven't arrived from Galway.

Day 32

There is a secret garden in Donnybrook: a very surprising little corner with a locked gate and a plaque out front. It's overgrown with trees, and I've passed it a thousand times without paying it any attention. Until today that is!

Day 31

A trip through the hills today meant that I had a choice of shots for this post, but there's a problem. It is a flat wet day, and in the better shots the sky is just textureless and white. So, in search of blue skies I elected to "fix it in post". I converted this from a rather drab colour, and I think the B&W with the tint adds a lot to it as an image.

*In the interest of full disclosure, I posted this, and then thought it could be a lot better, so I had another go at it. This is the second attempt, and I think it's an improvement.

Day 30

Finally home after quite the weekend in Manchester. In the course of my day in Heaton Park I did put my boots through some terrible ordeals, so now they look as relieved to be home as I am. In time the mud will fall off, but the memories, and traumas, will last forever.

Day 29

I am unashamedly phoning it in today. Heaton Park in the sunshine, the Wailers on stage and the merch on my back. If I don't post now I won't do it later, so here it is! This is the one!