Photographers – Think Differently..
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.
Looking across the Dromara hills to the Mourne mountains in the background.
Thank you for visiting.
George..
My how life has changed for most of us, restrictions, work closures and social distancing to name a few. So for the last six weeks I’ve been at home, fuel prices are down the weather is great but I can’t go anywhere. Travel restrictions are in force so traveling to the coast is not going to happen. I have been walking in my local area and get out for sunrise most morning. I walk in a local wood for a few hours and explore trails that take me away from the beaten path. I don’t carry my camera every morning but will use my mobile/cell to photograph sunrise’s and landscapes in the woods. I post to Instagram most days, link at the bottom of the page. So any photos on this blog are taken with my Nikon DSLR. The following where taken over a period of time.
This shot is across County Down with the Mourne mountains in the back ground.
The remains of a small hill farm for days long gone.
Been trying to find out more about this Cross on a distance hill. (most of this photos are shot with a telephoto lens which creates a compressed perspective). I have been told it was a site of a Mass rock. Link: Mass rock
Will be finding out more about this cross and I have to find if there is public access to it.
A cool frosty morning in this shot with frost lying on the fields in the foreground and the hills on the other side of Belfast in the background. A view around 25 miles away. The next shot is to the west and is of Scrabo Tower above the town of Newtownards in County Down. Again this would be around 25 mile away. Link: Scrabo
Given the warm weather we have been having and the cold nights we get the valley’s full with mist early morning and late evening.
Where I grew up in Ireland these mists were known has ghost mists due to the distortion effect on objects around you. If you saw somebody walk into the mist you would understand why….
Going to finish the landscape side with another old hill farm shot, this you can just see through a gap in the trees.
Next a few of the wild life I have managed to photograph on my walks.
A one legged Mistle Thrush. Link : Mistle Thrush
Dunnock: Dunnock
Chaffinch: Link Chaffinch
A young buck and doe deer.
These photographs are of Roe deer. I was lucky to get these shots has the first sight or smell of humans and they disappear . I still had my camera in hand has I make my out of the woods, just rounding a bend I spotted them feeding. I slowly pushed into the foliage beside me and stood still. Having a 150 – 600mm lens on the camera helped me get these shots.
I have a list of the birds and animals still to photograph, so my early morning walks will continue while work is suspended.
Thank you for joining me on my walk.
Stay safe and well.
George.
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.
In the photograph above you can see the coastal town of Newcastle in County Down nested at the foot of the Mournes.
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.
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.
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.
Some more has I and the sun got lower..
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.
My last shot of the evening has I was shooting hand held.
Thank you for joining me on my evening on Slieve Croob.
This is the first post in a short series on my motorcycle tour of North Wales. I include a couple of links on the history of Portmeirion and the filming of the Prisoner, a cult 1960’s television series filmed there.
My Photo essay a walk through Portmeirion.
Parking the motorcycle in the car park and entering a place I recall from television. It was a little overcast but warm has I start my photo essay.
Lets enter, notice the painted ceiling in the archway.
One of the bikers I was travelling with.
Tides out, the following photos off a young blackbird are taken at the railings on top of the round platform in the photograph.
Moving on.
Up into the village.
Through the archway and into the gardens.
I liked the scale this child gives to the chest pieces.
A short climb back up into the village.
A short stop to play my respects to the Buddha.
He had a great view across the gardens from his lofty perch.
some little teasers of the garden has I make my way around the village.
The garden from another view.
It ‘s down hill from here, with a steep decline to the shore.
Things aren’t always what they seem.
With the last shot looking at the climb back up to the motorcycle, but not before a coffee and a short chat with other visitors.
Thank you for company on the walk around Portmeirion, Hope you enjoyed it and I’ll spare you the walk back up that hill. There are some longer walk in the grounds around Portmeirion, but walking in motorcycle gear is not recommended. Well that’s my excuse…
Feel free to comment, good or bad let me know, have a good weekend.
George.
I have a love for black and white images so this week, yep it’s like the weather here. Not much colour with a mix of snow, mist and the never to far away RAIN. So the first image is another misty lough shot.
This was taken last week, I enlarged the grain a little to soften the image to get the effect of B&W film I shot some years ago.
This next shot was taken with a telephoto lens and edited in Silver Efex Pro2 which is part of the Nik Collection.
This was taken in the afternoon before sunset with the light coming in from the right and the clouds acting like a large light modifier on the landscape. Also giving a nice rim light to the clouds. This is the Mourne mountains in County Down, Ireland with the cloud covering Slieve Donard the highest mountain in Northern Ireland.
And my last shot I took was of some woods near my daughters home. It was the play of light and shadow on the texture and into the trees that drew me to this shot.
I edit all my raw images in Lightroom before finishing with Silver Efex Pro2 for any monochrome shots. I hoped you enjoyed the blog, please feel free to leave a comments. What you like or dislike, what software you use for B&W editing or for colour.
Thank you for visiting, liking and your comments. Have a good weekend.
George.
So the first skiff of snow covered the ground when I woke up this morning. Sitting looking out at it with a hot cup of coffee in my hand it was where will I go to today. With the sun breaking through I headed for Dundrum inner bay. A quick look at the tide tables lot me know the tide would be out. With the mud flats clear you never know what will be about. This morning was going to be about landscape shots and some close ups. I love walking the shore and looking for any interesting subjects, the feel of the sea breeze on my face. I reality it was a biting wind that chilled you and the sun that looked great lying low in the sky but gave no warmth.
Dundrum bay with the Mourne mountains in the background.
The stone embankment on the left is the remains of an old railway line which is now a short walking trail running along the shore of the bay. A place I have walked many times over the years.
One of the stone and brick bridges that the railway run over.
Spotted this shell on a rock and loved the contrast in the white against the green on the rock. the shell was about the size of my thumb nail. I shot this with a Sigma 105 mm macro lens.
I sat down on the stone embankment to just watch the bay with the sound of the birds on the flats and a buzzard calling somewhere behind me. I spotted not one but three White Egrets feeding in the river that run across the flats when the tide is out.
This were still a fair distant away and has I watched one flew off. While looking else where I discovered another one had gone. Scanning the area I soon spotted it, there around 50 feet away feeding. Right in front of me, these birds will usually flee not come closer to humans. So very slowly I put a mono pod on my camera and was rewarded with some of my best Little Egret shots to date.
Leaving the flats and climbing up onto the trail I got this shot.
A Trush feeding on the trail which is grass cover most of the way.
From here I drove into the Dromara Hills which lay north of the Mourne mountains. I was hoping to get a few more bird shots but it was not to be. Where it was cold on the shore it was freezing here in the hills. the winds stronger and a storm front making its way in. I took a few images from a view point called the Windy Gap which believe me was living up to its name today. These are all looking into the Mourne mountains. Most taken at 150 mm using the car door has a tripod.
this last one taken on a 24 mm lens.
So thank you again for joining me here in the north of Ireland. Take care.
George.
At this point I’m back home in Ireland, sorry for the delay in posting. There’s no internet connection in the tent. Right lets travel a little more up the east coast of Scotland. This was a long day in the saddle. With shower’s and some bright spells, it was a day for the road. I travelled away from the coast on a route that took me into the highlands moors and mountains. These roads where all single track and covered around 60 mile before I returned to the coast. And turned south for 20 mile to my bed for the night.
The route in red is the roads covered. I finished the day at a Bed & Breakfast in the town of Dornock. A word about my B & B, Amalfi B&B in Dornoch. The greeting when I arrived was one of the warmest I have ever received. Marelle and Edward helping with my luggage , supplying a metal plate so the motorcycle was supported on the gravel parking area. Great advice on where to eat in the town, beautiful rooms and large en suite meant I was well catered for. If you are ever in this part of Scotland here is the link. Amalfi.
Thank you Marelle and Edward.
I’m going to leave you with a few Photograph’s from this leg of the trim. Thank you for visiting.
Thank you for your support.
George.
Welcome back to another update on doing the 2017 Irish photo rally . More info about it and a map with the photo rally points is here. This one is number 21 on the map and is in County Sligo and is called The Scenically Set Ruin in Gleniff. I was lucky to get these photo’s has the rain was just starting and with in a few minutes it was a very wet ride home. Here is the photo of the point 21.
Yes the bike must be in there, part of the rules.. And now the scenic part, this next shot was taken from the other side of the bike.
At this point the rain was starting to fall, so camera away and followed the wet road through Gleniff.
Thank you for visiting and for your comments and likes.
Water Logged
What a day here, with the low winter sun it looks beautiful outside. Until you step out and the gale force winds would chill you to the bone. So I went up through the Dromara Hills and on through the Mourne mountains. Stopped off at Spelga dam where the water level was high and with strong winds whipping white tops on the water. Hand holding and braced against a grass bank I got this shot.
Thank you for viewing
More photographs from today on Flickr.
George McNeill Photography 
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