back in Belfast

Tags

Belfast, northern ireland, photography, photos, travel

A few weeks ago my mother came for a visit and we took a trip up to Belfast. Sadly the weather wasn’t great (wet and windy all day Saturday) and a little to cold for my mums liking. But all in all it was a lovely trip filled with interesting sights.

graphic door

a slender pub

inside City Hall, the decor was the inspiration for the Titanic

the wonderful St George Market

Queens University

Botanic Gardens in belfast

the Grand Opera is much smaller than the name lets one believe

Advertisements

waiting in Dublin

Tags

building, chnages, Dublin, photography, photos, waiting, waiting in Dublin

Yesterday i spent the day waiting for things to happen – a phone call, a meeting, at an appointment, on the bus, and in the end on a friend, who never showed. Waiting in Dublin isn’t uncommon – after all we are a land of queuing – but yesterday my waiting just wasn’t really rewarded.

As I sat in the cafe, waiting for my friend to show, I sipped a double espresso and watched strangers arrive in groups of twos and threes, one eye on my book one one the door I couldn’t help but feel hopeful every-time the door pinged open.  After a few chapters my cup was empty and I decided it was time to go. I swung my bag over my shoulder and began the walk home.

Currently Dublin is one big building site, the roads are waiting for the Luas to be finally finished, empty plots lie in wait for workmen to build houses on them, old building hold up signs of notification waiting for renovations to begin. It feels  as if the whole city is waiting on the brink of some sort of new beginning.

So while I walked through a waiting Dublin I couldn’t help but smile and think how well I fit in.

while waiting for some coffee I took a trip around the world

an empty lot waiting for some workmen

a window waiting to be done up

Weekly Photo Challenge: It’s easy being green

Tags

Ireland, It’s easy being green, photography, photos, recycling, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: It’s easy being green

Ireland is, as most of you will already know, the Emerald Isle. The fields are lush and green as they enjoy fresh rain and a mild climate.

What many may not necessarily know is that these are also the reasons for the varied plant-life that inhabits Ireland, many of which are even tropical. Palm trees grow really well, fuchsias turn into trees and monkey puzzle trees delight the children in the parks.

This means for Ireland it truly is ‘easy being green’ but what the island now needs is the willingness of its people to keep it that way. Sadly recycling still isn’t as big a deal as it should be on our shores and the lack of good cycling paths,and a varied public transport system that allows for easy access across the city and country  means people still rely to much on their cars.

So the Emerald Isle needs a little more support from the people it houses and maybe, just maybe, it will be able to stay as beautifully green as it should.

a weird looking green plant

challenging portrait

Tags

#jjcommunity, Aisling, Galway, Ireland, photo, photo challenge, photography, portrait, portrait challange

Meeting new people and connecting through creativity is one of the #jjcommunitys aims, to help with that they offer support and advice in how to perfect your Instagram and use the tools available to you.

So on Saturday, on the mystery tour, we lernt about some of the challenges a street photographer has: light, movement, unknown territory, spotting the moment before it passes and sometimes, with the help of a smile, asking for a strangers permission to photograph them.

The CEO of #jjcommunity Kevin Kuster led the group I was in through the drizzle of Galway and gave us a few challenges along the way. One challenge was to approach a stranger and take their portrait.

Never one to shy away from the unknown I took the challenge on and began to look for someone a little bit special. I saw a stunning woman across the road and drawn in by her colourful clothes and true Irish complexion I stopped her in her tracks. She was in a bit of a hurry but agreed to my proposal and I was rewarded with theses lovely portraits on a beautiful woman from Galway – Aisling: a full-time nurse and part-time model.

Aisling

the windows in Galway

Tags

#jjcommunity, dreams, Galway, imagine, Ireland, Mystery Tour, photography, photos, travel, windows

Galway is one of those wonderfully colorful cities that attracts locals and tourists alike.  On my recent trip my gaze was often drawn upwards at the eclectic selection of windows that adorned the houses I walked passed. Like people, they seemed to have individual personalities and I enjoyed looking for them as I walked by.

In doing so I couldn’t help but think about how people say ‘that eyes are the windows to your soul’ and wondered if it then follows that windows are the eyes into a houses soul- if such a thing exists. And if so what would the windows of the houses I was photographing say about the home they hid behind their glass.

Still musing these thoughts on the train ride home my eyes caught glimpses of strangers lives lit up in the dark from within. And I remembered how, as I child, I often made up stories about the people I saw, imagining why they were doing what they did and what they would be doing afterwards.

Again my mind drifted, this time to one of my all time favourite fairy tales: The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. I loved the way, with the strike of a match, the wall to the house she sat huddled up to would turn into a see-through veil and display a life that she so longed for and dreamt of.

So maybe windows aren’t just the eyes to the soul of a home, but maybe they can also be an aperture into a world of fantasy and dreams, one that inspires to create and imagine – even if only for one’s own enjoyment

mystery tour in miserable weather

Tags

Galway, Ireland, meeting people, Mystery Trip, photography, photos, St Patrick's Day

Come join us on a mystery tour – how could that not catch my eye. So yesterday morning I headed out – much earlier than I would have liked – to Heuston Station, my camera bag hanging from my shoulder and no idea where I was  going. Once there a gaggle of people was receiving bright green wristbands, so I joined the queue and followed some stranger wearing green jackets onto a waiting train.

I didn’t know anyone there, but I wasn’t the only one and I soon became part of a lovely – very lively – group of soon to be friends. After a long train ride, filled with laughs and lots of chats, we arrived in Galway – our mystery destination!

Sadly the weather hadn’t changed and we were greeted by gray skies and lots of drizzle. Not wanting the weather to dictate how the day would go we set off – ten groups in all – to invade the lovely city of Galway and discover a few hidden gems along the way. As we grew wetter and our memory cards fuller, hours passed by as the day waned.

After a long up hill hike we ended up in Ardilaun Hotel – a lovely place but a long walk away from were we started – especially in the rain. Never have I longed more for a hot cup of tea and was rewarded with a hot brew served in a lovely cup. As we waited for dinner to be served all eyes drifted towards their phones as everyone instegrammed, liked and hashtagged. Sadly the dinner was not very good (small portions, no flavour and too expensive for what we got – cheap rolls and stew that was more like watery soup) but at least the company was great and we all had fun, found friends and new followers and followees.

Back on the train the laughter continued and once we set foot back on Dublin ground everyone was tired and happy. So even if the weather was miserable, it was a wonderful day – a mystery tour with marvelous people – and all thanks to the ever expanding #jjcommunity,  Josh Johnson and Kevin Kuster.

arriving at Galway train station

a bright pink square distracting me from the miserable gray skies

ribbons on a bridge

vendor selling his wares at the Galway market

dripping umbrella

hatseller enjoying a few quite moments

dry underneath a sunny yellow umbrella

flower seller

colourful tarps

not so securely tightened

a new friends shoes

another bridge

red catching my eye

a few lit candles

Galway cathedral turned its dome green for the occasion

steps up to the alter

looks to me like across between a monkey and a fish

more friendly shoes

water everywhere

even the pigeons looked for shelter on windowsills

changed meaning

some of the group

Weekly Photo Challenge: Atop

Tags

Atop, climbing, clouds, photography, photos, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Atop

As I child I loved climbing trees and rocks, I liked the feeling of being higher up, just looking down instead of up for a change.

When eleven or so I then discovered how much I enjoyed the solitude of being atop a tree, hidden between branches, tucked away with a book, reading my way into fantasy worlds. One tree in particular was my ‘go to’ perch, but sadly it didn’t last when the next door neighbors thought I was spying on their nudist activities and chased me away.

In my twenties I did some rock-climbing in the Pyrenees. On one of the days I remember clambering to the top, secured from below, and turning around to the view behind of a valley behind me. It was breathtaking, even more so than the effort it took to get atop.

And while I may no longer be the climbing type I can’t help but look up at the clouds and wonder what it would be like to be up there looking down.

new year- old haunts

Tags

Bavaria, Bmaberg, Franconia, Germany, melancholy, photography, photos, travel, unknown, wondering

It’s day two of the new year and it stretches out before me like a blank page, encouraging me to dream and plan, make changes and find a few new adventures. And while saying good-bye to 2016 was easy – it wasn’t a great year for me – I can’t help feel a little melancholy about the past.

This has possibly mainly to do with the fact that I spent the last days of the old year wandering around some old haunts of mine in Bamberg, a baroque town in Bavaria (Franconia) I lived in as a student.

It was a little odd to rediscover a place I once knew so well and reconnect with people I use to see nearly every day – odd, but good and a little sad. As I rambled through the tiny cobblestone alleys and clambered up the hills I couldn’t help but wonder about all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘could ofs’.

But since you can’t turn back time and I don’t even think I really want to now is the perfect time to close a chapter and begin a new one. So as I sit on the train and with those thoughts in my mind I think I will take one last look at the photos I took and begin planning the months that lie ahead of me. After all there is nothing more exciting than the unknown.

some bright berries coated with frost

garden still life

nature & man-made

where I lived as a a student

some pears left out on the sill

too cold to sit

stars

I finished my Masters after a few detours

walked through this door countless times

picturesque Regnitz

water levels not too high

pillars at the Dom

the main steeples are under restauration

well worn steps

the sun came out to show off the view

a colourful ending as I walked back down

Weekly Photo Challenge: Relax

Tags

beach, photography, photos, relax, sand, sea, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Relax

It may be winter and it may be wet and cold and windy outside but when I think about relaxation I always think of the beach.

Just sitting on a bench or the sand, my bare feet tucked into the sand listing to the lapping of waves, tasting taste the sea salt on my lips,feeling the wind ruffle my hair and the sun on my face. Or maybe walking with my feet in the cold ocean my eyes on the horizon or looking for shells hidden in the sand.

But at this time of year my walks on the beach are brisk, my shoes water tight and my scarf is pulled up above my ears. So for now I will just smile at the knowledge that there will be warmer days again and look forward to my first day relaxing on the beach again.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Magic

Tags

Egypt, magic, photography, photos, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Magic

A few years ago a friend and I went on a spontaneous trip to Egypt, we literally booked it on Monday and flew out on Thursday. No preparation, no idea what was in store for us and no time to make any plans.

We landed in the middle of the night in Luxor and were herded off to our waiting boat in a flurry of hand-gestures. But as soon as we set foot on board a magical trip began. The trip took us from Luxor to Aswan, docking along the way to allow us to visit all the ancient temples.

We dipped in and out of history, our wonderful guide telling us about the stories of old and explaining the magic of the ancient Egyptian world, and experienced modern Egyptian life on the banks and bazaars. But for the most magical moments were all spent on board the boats, the cruise ship we slept on (we were upgraded to a wonderful suite with french windows opening out onto the Nile) and the Felucca (a small sailing boat) that took us to the beach were we swam in the Nile.

Maybe it was the hot sun shimmering on the Nile and the light breeze you could only feel while on the water, or maybe it was the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the boat or maybe it was just the sense of otherness that seemed to open up a door into a truly magical world.

But what ever it was when ever I think of Egypt and all the Pharaohs and temples I can’t help but but feel a little bit nostalgic about the trip my friend and I took. It was a break, in the truest sense of the word, from our everyday life, a break from reality, a break from what you’ve come to expect, a break from looking at the clock and a break from who you think you are. A truly magical journey.

the Nile is a magical place – old and new melt into one and something magical is in the air – especially on board a felucca