Thursday, August 18, 2011

Texture and Location

There are a couple of things that are important to me when taking pictures:  Texture and Location.  I have been some places where you just can’t take a bad picture if you’ve got a reasonable camera and a little creativity.  Other times it’s not a particularly exciting place so I find a way to take a picture that still may interest others.  I am by no means a photographer in the sense that I know lots about the settings on my camera.  I do love to take pictures and find ones that either speak to me at the moment or might later.  Ireland is a place that I seldom find myself at a loss of things to take pictures of.  Even tree bark can grab my attention at timesother times it can be things like this stone wall alone a road we walked many times.  I found that almost every structure along this road had a personality that caught my attention.  This was an abandoned building that has quite a storythat I will relate later.  I’m not a real believer in ghosts but I captured something here that was very strange.  I will post it later.  I like the little things often enough and so this sign seemed to call out to be photographed…signs like this were all along the Tain Way showing where to walk.  I usually don’t believe in posing for shots but on occasion I do just that when it seems fitting…after all what would a trip to Ireland be without at least one clover shot?  There are times when a shot presents itself that is humorous and I love that.  There were some large clovers that the Irish bumblebees were visiting.  They were getting completely wasted at the clover lounge…just look at this and tell me you don’t think it looks like this is one drunk bee!  I love to take pictures of Gabby because she’s not old enough to get too annoyed with me if I only take one or two pictures.  She was gathering flowers for a bouquet for my mom here and I just couldn’t resist asking her to show me her treasury and click a quick shot before she got annoyed.  My camera has a feature that I’ve grown to really like lately.  It’s a panorama setting that doesn’t force me to go back and stitch shots together…it allows me to slowly pan from left to right and then makes the picture right then and there…I really like that!   I love green as a color and Ireland never has a shortage of that color !  Fact is I think it might have made my eyes just a little more green too!  Pictures of some of the roads really attracted me too.  I felt like it spoke also of the path God has us walking on.  Actually some of the countryside here reminded me of what there is on the Bear Tooth Pass here in montanaor maybe something you’d see in Glacier National Parkthough admittedly there was no snow and always there are old structures around that you don’t usually find in our national parks.  Let’s walk on and see what we can see.  I only wish I could have seen this place with my grandparents on my Mom’s side.  They knew and loved so many wild flowers…they always knew the names of them all…something which escapes me.  I relished the solitude on our walks…it was just us and the flowers and some sheep on occasion.  There weren’t all that many trees on this walk so this patch of forest stuck out to me.  It’s funny how you can take things for granted from your own neck of the woods until you leave it…where’s the pine?  Looking down on the valley gave a wonderful view…though I’m not sure the sheep here would have said the same thing.  This ram had seen better days.  Oh how I miss this view!  I come from a state that’s got lots of cows and sheep but these, these were Irish sheep!  It’s not easy to get the whole picture but take a slice of what I offer here and know that Ireland is beautiful indeed!  My next blog I’ll show the abandoned farm we explored and post the strange phenomenon we recorded…we weren’t looking for it but it found us!  Tune in next week!

13 comments:

  1. Joe, I love your posts about Ireland. The dialog and the photos are just perfect. After reading this post I want more than ever to visit Ireland.

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  2. I know what it isssss. :-))))

    Like the music by the way.

    Now..about texture and your photography..yes, I will attest to that about you. You truly have a gift that I wish I had and never will have. I can't see those myriad of photo opportunities that you do. My son has many times said when I complained about not finding anything to take a picture of. He said there are photos everywhere Mom..you just haven't found them. I have no imagination, Joe...none. My creativity is writing and fiction. None of which has appeared here in any of my blogs, but does occasionally appear in Flickr.

    You are gifted seeing possibilities and angles. I always meant it sincerely when I have complimented your photos. They are first rate. Always have been.

    I have stayed to hear your play list. My fave.

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  3. I love seeing Ireland through your camera. I can't wait til your next post. You have me guessing now. Have a great night.

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  4. Mind are very easy that without professional ways of photos and still enjoy to look at them.
    The Flowers and the natural scenery etc.
    The drunk bee is a fat ones..where she is going?
    Gabby is a nice age though awhile you can enjoy with your daughter...another couple of years..
    She will have a special friend:-)

    You might have your eyes a green color because
    if you watched TV all the time then your eyes going to be a square:-) That the mum said to their children.

    You know that I enjoyed your photos,
    You have a great weekend.

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  5. is that bee dead or she acts like one laying on her back hihi
    ohh those abandoned houses We saw so many..Its cos of the fact that there were no jobs and ppl travelled elswhere to find a way to stay alive But u heard noises????
    im so curious now..Waiting .....
    and ur lil lady is as always the showstopper lol
    she has the face of an angel..

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  6. THE BOSS is green with envy right now, Joe. One of these days she'll pack me up in a suitcase and haul me off to Ireland so she can cavort with the other little people.

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  7. You know I'm not one to travel much Joe, but your pictures sure can make one think about it. There are so many things that make a picture interesting and texture is one of them. Love this post.

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  8. Great walk through the Irish countryside!

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  9. I had such an easy time reading this with the large font. You have such a wonderful eye Joe for picking and framing your photos. You do always see the little details that so many people don't. Wonderful set of photos. Can't wait to see the next blog. As always thanks for the wonderful walk thru Irland. Have a great week. Hugs Carrie

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  10. Thank you for the trip here with you and Gabby. She is growing and is a doll. Loved each photo. I too love textures in all shapes sizes and they all have a different feel to them. I m behind once again.Were having our two hottest day of the summer , yesterday and maybe today. Things are growing and its so nice to be outside. Soon the snow will fly and I will be glad I did take sometime to be outside.
    Loved your blog as always Joe.
    Blessings.

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  11. I wanted to say I love the people crossings. I did notice in Hawaii they were called Ped Crossings. I laughed so hard at that. Not crosswalks.. Peds.
    Have a wonderful day.

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  12. I'll never see the lovely Ireland and I so appreciate how you captured its beauty. The little beauty with her bouquet of clover, just so cute. She is a good subject.Loved all the photos and look forward to your next blog. I'm intrigued now about seeing the ghost.

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  13. These are so lovely!

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