Tag Co.Down

Drumballyroney Church

George McNeill 6 Comments

Drumballyroney church sits on top of a hill with views across county Down into the Mourne mountains.

One view from the church carpark.

The church is also known as The Bronte church. Patrick was born in the parish of Drumballyroney and this was the family church. He was born in 1777 and died 1861. He was the father of the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte.

He was a teacher until 1802 when he won a scholarship to study theology at St John’s collage, Cambridge. It was here he changed his name from Brunty to Bronte, the Greek word for thunder.

He taught at the school beside the church for a short while before going to Cambridge after which he ordained as a Deacon of the Church of England in 1806 and entered the priesthood in 1807.

The school and a photo taken through the window. https://sevenov.com/patrick-bronte/?amp=1

Theres more history in the above link on the life of Patrick Bronte.

Next are some photos taken for around the graveyard in the evening till the sun started to set.

This church is the first stop on The Bronte Homeland trail.

Thank you for joining me on this visit to the Irish part on the Bronte story.

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Black & White Wednesday

George McNeill 2 Comments

Hello to my visitors, hope you are all keeping well where-ever you are in our crazy world. This week I would like to meet a home invader. Been caught in my living room, sitting on my sofa, in my kitchen. But is always welcome to come in and get petted. So the other morning I was going out to the coast to do some photography, it was sitting on the doorstep and the sun was reflecting off the white van. So I grabbed the camera and took three or four photos. I turned one into this weeks B & W image. It was only when I looked at the finished photo I thought this is a grumpy looking cat. But it a very friendly and adores getting attention. Did you notice it sits with a front paw up like you would see some dogs do. It always sits like this, at first I thought it might have a sore paw ( hence the grumpy look) but seems to walk and run ok.

Grumpy cat..

So this my house invader, always welcome to come in.

I used a Nikon D7200 fitted with a Tamron 70 – 200 mm SP lens.

Photo data: f/4, 1/60 sec shutter speed. ISO 100 and lens focal length 78 mm.

Thank you for visiting and be kind to all living things.

George.

Black & White Wednesday

George McNeill 2 Comments

Out early Sunday morning and went up to my local woods, Drumkerragh Forest. A misty view of the forest and Slieve Croob mountain greeted me. Has I set off with camera bag and monopod on my walk, I hoped the sun would burn off the mist. After three hours of walking and into my final mile the sun started to do its job.

This was taken with a Sigma 150-600 mm lens, shot at 240mm. I love the way a telephoto lens can give the appearance of compressed distance between distant objects in a scene.

This area has a large number of ravens around the woods at this time of the year. Walking towards some dead trees just of the trail. Two landed close by on one of the trees.

Missed the first one in but caught the second one landing has seen above.

This next shot is a silhouette shot edited in Silver efex pro, I use this to edit all my B&W images.

Again it contains a lone Raven sitting calling across the valley.

The start of the walk did not look promising from a photography point but I ended the morning with a few good shots to edit in the evening.

Thank you for visiting and stay safe.

George.

Black & White Wednesday

George McNeill Leave a comment

Another photograph from a trip to Castle Espie with my grandson Conor. This was taken where they have raised ponds planted out to suit different wildlife. Along the edges there are signage with drawings and the names of what lives in the ponds. So this is me getting a lesson on the newt tadpole that can be found in this pond.

Newt Tadpoles live in here.

Info: https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/castle-espie

Camera: Nikon D7200 with a Sigma 17 – 70 mm lens.

Data: Shot at f2.8, ISO 125 @ 1/1600 second and lens focal length 70 mm.

Thank you for visiting.

George.

Black & White Wednesday

George McNeill 5 Comments

This photograph was taken on one off my early morning walks in the Dromara hills. Shot using a Nikon D7200 with a Tamron SP 70 – 200mm len. Raw file edited in Lightroom and finished in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

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Looking across the Dromara hills to the Mourne mountains in the background.

Thank you for visiting.

George..

An evening on Slieve Croob.

George McNeill 12 Comments

It’s been a few years since i stood on the top of Slieve Croob, so with a warm dry evening I packed the camera and drove to the car park at the foot of the service road. This gives a short walk up a steep tarmac private road to the top just over a mile away.  Some things never change has the winds increase and the temperature drops on the climb upward. With the evening still bright I took my first photographs near the top with views across the Dromara hills with the Mourne mountains in the background.

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In the photograph above you can see the coastal town of Newcastle in County Down nested at the foot of the Mournes.

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With the evening rolling in you can see the start of an evening mist forming in the valley’s.

After a short climb up pass the communication masts you reach the top of Croob with it’s stone cairn and trig point.

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The remains of the Cairn on the right and the trig point on the left being lit with the warn light of a setting sun.

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I sat for a while in the lee of the cairn and enjoyed the silence and beauty has the sun set lower in the sky. Starting the walk back down I took a few more shots.

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Some more has I and the sun got lower..

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In this shot the dark line in the middle of the photo is the source of the River Lagan has it starts it’s journey to meet the sea at Belfast.

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My last shot of the evening has I was shooting hand held.

Thank you for joining me on my evening on Slieve Croob.

Black & White Wednesday

George McNeill Leave a comment

This weeks photograph was taken while taking photo’s of a Little Egret. On a bridge a photographer was photographing the same bird from a different spot. So my shot this week is of the lesser spotted photographer.

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Dear photographer, if you happen to read this please contact me, would love to see your shots of the little Egret.

Comment’s welcome and have a great Wednesday.

George.

Black and White Wednesday

George McNeill 6 Comments

We’re off to the roof tops this week. I noticed over the last few weeks a cat walking along the ridge line on the houses behind where I live. I got this shot when the cat decided to sit in the sun. I had only a small window through the trees to capture it. Just after I grab the shot it moved off.

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Thank you for visiting and feedback is always welcome.

George.