Monday 7 September 2015

Road trip

A few weeks ago I went off with my mate Dr C and his brother on a road trip to Donegal.  Donegal lies in the extreme North West of Ireland and is a grand place to go for a couple of days - it's about an hour and a bit's drive from The Liberties to get there.  Unfortunately we went in the summer, when the weather is, shall we say, somewhat unpredictable.  Every other time of year you kind of know what you're in for, but summer could bring anything.  Luckily I was well prepared, armed with FP4, HP5 and a couple of cameras of varying ages and negative size.  I think I even snuck some Velvia in as well - even though I'm not really a colour sort of dude.  You can tell that as the Velvia is still lying in a camera waiting to be finished, whereas the B&W stuff has long been dealt with.

There's a mountain behind that cloud
As you drive westwards, towards the Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking area) the roads get smaller, the sheep get friendlier and it's not long before you are lost in the splendour of the Derryveagh Mountains - well, that's if you can actually see them, that is.

Lovely weather for taking snaps, though, isn't it?  Particularly when an old church creeps into your viewfinder long enough to be captured on film.

Dunlewey, Donegal
I must admit I do like Donegal - it feels different.  Different but familiar at the same time, if that's not too Irish.  It reminds you of how things used to be (or how your memory lets you think it used to be).  People have a bit more time to talk to you, and there's generally a bit less fussing and rushing about - and that, in my eyes, is always a Good Thing.

6 comments:

  1. Obviously brilliant weather to take your snaps in for sure! I like these a lot, with the fog or the clouds hanging low in the mountain sides. Makes a great background for that church tower as well me thinks! Great photos Michael!

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    1. Oops - realised I hadn't replied to your comment, Roy! Mucho apologies my man - and thanks for the vote of confidence, appreciated :)

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    2. Oh my... I thought I just told you to have a great day and everything?! I was almost getting to the point where I had started to forget about the fact that you had forgot replying to this comment. After all it's only a couple of years old... must be my old head getting weaker by the day :))
      Have a really nice evening, my friend!

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    3. Haha love it, Roy - brilliant. You do realise only you and me are reading this stuff, right?!

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    4. Sure! Strange maybe, but this seem to be just as safe as any hi-tech crypted e-mail message :))
      Actually I was just thinking about starting reading your blog from the beginning again some day :)
      You might find out when that happens.

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    5. Brilliant, Roy - nail on head as per usual :)

      And Jeez Louise I would not advise wasting your time reading this drivel from the start, my friend. The only good thing is that the prints I do now are better than a couple of years ago. Mind you, I'm not sure the photograph-taking has moved on much. Why does everyone else's seem better (bigger) lol?!

      Still waiting for my style to emerge, chrysalis-like from the swamp of mediocre snaps. From the look of things, it could be a long wait...

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