Day 180

There's something quite beautiful about this photo I think. I took it while the car was moving very very slowly through traffic on the way home.

Day 179

Long day, long night, but a beautiful clear night, and a full moon to distract from the freezing cold.

Day 178

Beautiful day in Dublin, and almost at the last minute I made it in to Trinity to catch the last rays of sunset hitting the Campanile. I'd tryed a couple of times to get this sort of shot, so I was relieved to finally be successful.

Day 177

I had a pic that I took in the morning that I was reasonably happy with, but then I walked past Merrion Square and the sun was shining straight down past Government Buildings, and all thoughts of the cold wet morning were gone.

Day 176

Miserable day in Dingle today, but just at the death these rather interesting clouds made their appearance.

Day 175

Driving west this evening, and there was an amazing photo constantly out of reach. That's the problem with motorways: they're not great places to suddenly pull over and hop out to take pictures. I got off the motorway near Sallins, but the shot I was after proved too elusive. Instead I went up on the pedestrian bridge, and took this shot looking towards Dublin. I intentionally defocussed it and used a slower shutter speed, and I like the abstract quality it has as a result.

Day 174

A funny sort of day today as far as my blog is concerned: it felt a lot like I was tying up loose ends. I took more different pictures than usual: mainly things I'd missed, or shots that hadn't quite come off. I decided on this one in the end. The light pours through the blinds in my current office, but only for the first twenty minutes of the day. Today I was on the ball!

Day 173

Hard to write a long piece about today's photo: I went for a couple of pints after work, and that's about the strength of it!

Day 172

I love the shadows cast on this wall. I noticed them a few days ago, but it was a cloudy day, and in the thirty seconds it took to get out my camera they were gone. This morning I was more prepared.

Day 171

A bit of fresh air this afternoon, and a chance to wander as far as Trinity in search of a picture. A bit earlier and I've had been in time for the last sun of the day hitting the walls and windows, but it was almost dark by the time I got there. I did however catch the last glow of dusk in the window of the chemistry building.

Day 170

A walk along the canal to work this morning, and I stopped at the Patrick Kavanagh bench to take today's photo. There's a million photos of this piece of art, most of which focus on the whole thing, and few of which feature the amazing texture and detail. I opted for the road less travelled.

Day 169

A dark, cold, wet day, and a day that I'm not planning on leaving the house. I had an idea for a image in mind, but as often happens it didn't quite work, but then I saw one I preferred. It will now be clear that I like texture. Also, on closer inspection, that's a pretty shitty pointing job!

Day 168

First day off in a month today, and it is a beautiful, clear, cold winter's day. Funnily enough, because it is such a clear day, the big wide shots I took of the view over Dublin looked a bit boring: no clouds left the sky an amazing colour but without ant texture. This is a different take on the day.

Day 167

Once upon a time I judged the quality of an off-licence by how cheap the cans of Heineken were. That was a long time ago, and now my expectations are a lot higher. Not only does the offy near my current office have an excellent range of craft beers, it also does an amazing line in lunch too. Cheers to Probus wines!

Day 166

Another view of the Grand Canal today, only this time it's an early morning shot. In an attempt to differentiate it from Saturday's shot I turne din monochrome, with just the taste of a warm tint.

Day 165

One of my pet peeves, and I don't think I'm alone in this, is the incorrect use of the word "literally", so believe when I say that literally the second I pushed the shutter-release the lights on the Jeanie Johnston were turned off. So, I was forced to look east instead. Thankfully that view of the quays looks good at night, and the tide was nice and high which afforded some great reflections. I used a slow shutter speed which allowed me a narrower aperture as well as softening the reflections.

Day 164

Well, when the awards are handed out for "worst day of the year" I imagine that today will get quite a few gongs! I did however find that some slow shutter speed work on the way home helped my general demeanor. It's funny: I was thinking that this pic might be considered a bit boring, and then I remembered trying the same idea in 1989, and how exciting it was waiting for the often disappointing results. It's easy to forget that sometimes.

Day 163

Even though it was pitch dark on the way home the clouds over Foxrock looked mental, and so I decided on a long exposure looking over towards the racecourse.

Day 162

Early morning on the race course, and the sun shining through the leaves is a beautiful sight.

Day 161

For reasons as yet unknown I left my Leica at home today, so rushing home from work I had to use my iPhone to take this photo. All in all I'm pretty pleased with it: a bit of work in Photoshop brought out the colour and the detail in the shadows.

Day 160

The problem posed by the early darkness continues. Luckily, with the aid of my gorilla-pod and my bike handlebars I can indulge in some long exposures. This is Lad Lane in Dublin 2 in near darkness.

Day 159

With the days getting shorter, the opportunities to take photos get fewer. Thankfully there's always the National Gallery, with its fine selection of statues.

Day 158

I left it a bit this evening to get out with my camera, and the light was gone. Westland Row was amazingly busy with traffic and with people running for their trains. Next door to Pearse Street station is this enormous oasis of calm; St Andrew's Church. I'm always struck by how buildings like this are left open and unattended, but apart from the distressed poor-box out front, this church was none the worse for it.

Day 157

At the National Library tonight for a book launch, and rather wonderfully I was allowed into the Reading Room after hours. It is quite a beautiful room, and it was a real treat to have it to myself.

Day 156

Another day in South Cumberland Street, and there's rich pickings for a photographer. Just down the road is the back entrance to the Westland Row church, and it's an altogether grimmer proposition to the shiny colonnaded front entrance.

Day 155

Rain beading on my car, the last leaves of autumn falling, and only bare trees above. And it is COLD! Hello winter, it's been a while.

Day 154

Freezing cold night tonight. Sandyford Luas stop is surreally bright in the darkness.

Day 153

My affection for Westland Row yields another image: this time from behind. The sky turned an amazing colour just as the sun was setting, and I loved the silhouettes, and the two tone picture that the resulted.

Day 152

I've always liked Westland Row, so now that I'm working near it I can include it in my blog a lot more. This is the railway line as it passes into Trinity.