Dun Laoghaire Busker

A photo from our trip to Dun Laoghaire a couple of weeks ago. At the end of the pier there was a bitterly cold wind and this brave busker looking to earn a few euros from the walkers who made it as far as the end of the pier and lingered long enough to listen to his music. He was well used to having his photo taken and didnt mind when I asked if I could take some shots.

Lauren, my fiancee, insists that I have to start asking people if I can take their photo, I hate intruding. Also I think that when you ask someone if you can take their photo they act differently and the shot is ruined. I have to get over this as I’m taking photos at a wedding in a few weeks and will be at the grooms house in the morning with a list of photos I have to take. Maybe I’ll try a couple of tricks I’ve heard to get some more relaxed shots. If the couple agree and if I get any good ones I’ll post the results here.

St Patricks Parade 2011

A bit late but I thought I’d post some photos from last weeks St Patricks Day Parade in Dublin. I got there early and found a spot up near the grandstands up at Parnell Sq which is where the parade starts. The good thing about being up at the start is the crowd is smaller and the parade goes by earlier so there is still plenty of time to go walk around and see the rest of the city center.

That said this year even before the parade had gone by Temple Bar was full of drunk kids who thought the funniest thing in the world would be to have their photo taken none of which I want to post since they were kids and drunk so it’s just not worth the hassle. I headed over to Ranelagh for some food and a pint, of Guinness of course.

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St Patricks Day 2011

I spent yesterday in town at the St Patricks Day parade. I had hoped to get an official St Patricks Festival pass but didnt qualify, maybe next year. Still the good thing about St Patricks Day in Dublin is that most of the city center is given over to events and it’s still easy to get close to the action and take photos.

I’ll probably post some more of the parade itself and the participants over the next few days but to get started here is one of O’Connell St and the Spire before the parade started that I’ve been playing with.

Sea Shower

We spent this afternoon in Dun Laoghaire. It was a lovely Sunday Spring afternoon with lots of rain showers breaking up patches of blue sky and sunshine, which made for some dramatic photographs. Added to this there appears to be a small drill rig now out in the bay, I dont know what it is drilling for but as we walked along the pier another shower made its way towards the platform. I liked the scene with the rain clouds looming over the rig and making it look so small and insignificant. It was only later when I was processing the photo that I spotted the small sail boat between the rig and the shower, even smaller and frailer in the face of the rain and clouds.

Croke Park Morning

I was taking part in the DCU Careers Fair this week so my early morning bus brought me past Croke Park and over the canal. We were stopped at traffic lights so I took advantage of a break in the flow of cars to try and grab some shots of theĀ stadiumĀ and canal.

It would be nice to claim it was all planned but with an iPhone sometimes all you can do is take several shots and hope you get one that looks like you wanted. I was fortunate this time and got something kind of nice, at least I like it, with the train lines illuminated and the mother and child just walking into the light.

4 Years


Four years ago last week I met my fiancee at the Irish Blog Awards. We get married this August so it would have been nice to go to the awards again this year but unfortunately its not possible. Maybe we’ll go in 2012 after the wedding.

I picked up some flowers for her and after she put them in a vase I sneaked a couple of photos. The new 24-70 2.8 lens does produce a nice depth of field but when it’s that narrow it’s a real pain to keep the focus steady hand held. I’ll be taking photos at a wedding in a few weeks so I’ll have to develop a firm stance.

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