Kilmainham Gaol is a historic jail that features prominently in Irish history. Opened in 1796 just in time for the 1798 Rebellion it closed in 1924 just after the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Afterwards it was abandoned but former inmates later came together to renovate and restore the prison. In the 1980’s it was handed over to the OPW who now manage it on behalf of the State. Often full of tourists Kilmainham can provide lots of great photos but lots of frustration and ruined shots if you are ever taking photos there it helps to get ahead of the group or hang back behind but try not to get lost.

The Dublin Spire is the worlds tallest sculpture. It towers above the rest of the city including the 16 story Liberty Hall from which I took this photo. Some love the Spire, some hate it. I fall into the former camp. The Spire narrow and insignificant as it is on the Dublin skyline does finally give that skyline an icon that can be recognized as uniquely Dublin. I was lucky to get this shot, once a year Liberty Hall opens it’s roof top to the public and each group only gets a couple of minutes on the top to admire the view and take photos. I had to go to the back of the queue a few times to get some good shots but it was worth it in the end.

I saw a HDR photograph of one of the Guinness gates some years ago in a photo magazine and thought it looked spectacular. Now this isnt that gate, I’ve never found that gate but I’ve never really looked too hard. This is one of the other gates close to the visitor center. I love the brick work and cobble stones in the area around the Guinness Storehouse. Its probably the best managed tourist attraction in Ireland and since Guinness own the land around the storehouse they maintain a certain old style that would have been replaced with soulless apartments and glass fronted shops years ago. Thankfully the property crash came just as Guinness were thinking of moving away from the city center. Hopefully they will keep the old fashioned character of the area for another 250 years.

This photograph has acquired the name the House on the Hill simply through usage. Anytime I want to discuss it with people that is the name we use and everyone knows which one we are talking about. The hill in the title is actually a cliff if you examine the photograph. The photograph was taken in Trinity town on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada, the house sits on a little cliff overlooking the bay. I’d been to the town in previous years and I’d even taken photographs of the house before but as anyone who has been to Newfoundland knows fog or rain seem to make it into every photograph, a bit like Ireland really. This year when we visited Trinity the weather was perfect and I finally managed to get a shot of the house that  I liked.

I love the Newfoundland landscape and the Newfoundland buildings. Brightly painted wooden houses, docks and churches seem to dot the landscape but they frequently have a timeless old world charm. Trinity is a prime example of an old Newfoundland community. Maybe it is a little too well preserved at times and maybe a little too touristy but it is one of the prettiest little communities I’ve ever visited and it features in several of my photographs this year. The house on the hill is a prime example of those little houses, jutting out of the rock yet still part of the environment.

Over the next week or so I will post a little piece on each photo that I have selected for the Peoples Photography exhibition. It’s just a way to explain things like what is the subject of the photograph is, where and when it was taken and why I chose it for the exhibition. I’ll do them in the current order in which they appear in the album, starting with the House on the Hill and moving on from there. The order of the album might change later but it’s as good a way to get started as any.

I’ve selected the photos I will be putting into the Peoples Photography exhibition plus a couple of spares in case I dont like some on the day or in case I actually sell some and need to replace them. You can find the complete selection in the album here.