My entry for Tourism Ireland's Photo Competition:
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| Tourism Ireland, 2021. HP5+ on Ilford Classic fibre paper |
I think it captures the essence of a holiday in this part of the world - the space, accommodation which just oozes charm (big old sited caravans five feet from your neighbours) and, well, the guarantee of interesting weather. What's not to like, eh?
The whole area around us is awash with caravan parks like this - there are literally thousands of static caravans in a 10-mile stretch. I do think they deserve a serious photographic 'project' and if I ever get my act together that might happen. Mostly closed during winter, in the summer months they are full to bursting with families from Belfast and County Down - they come down en masse and stay all summer. Understandable, really, given we have mile upon mile of golden sandy beaches. What we don't have is the infrastructure designed to support such a number of visitors, so our restaurants are busy-busy and our roads congested, cars nose-to-tail all along the coastal routes. I think there must be a perverse sort of enjoyment to be had when you're stuck in a traffic jam on a Sunday evening as you try to drive from Portrush to Portstewart - after all, if everyone else is here then it must be the place to be, right?
Wrong.
Great photograph. I see the long lines of cars on the roads all trying to get to the same few spots here in Gangneung and I really can't understand it. Maybe there's something wrong with me.
ReplyDeleteI like this one too - it turned out unexpectedly dark and atmospheric.
DeleteLast time I found myself in a traffic jam going into Portstewart I was able to turn up a little-known single track road and got home quickly. The thing that got me was that people in the line weren't going anywhere - there's nowhere to go! They were, I think, just content to cruise (slowly - very, very slowly) along the road from Portrush to Portstewart and then, presumably, back. Beggars belief. I think it must be the photographer in me - trying to take an objective view of the strange things folk do.
That might be the next photographic breakthrough. A camera that makes a photo and then adds a line of text that explains what the devil was going on.
DeleteMy dad's work had a caravan at Juniper Hill. We used to go there every summer in the late 60s/early 70s. Happy memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Olli. The caravan parks are still enormously popular but the older vans are looking dated now. The park opposite Royal Portrush Golf Club are have started installing newer homes - very expensive-looking things I'm sure but they do look stunning.
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