Normal service resumed

Well Missy has gone back to school and the rain is coming down like stair-rods (as they used to say round these parts) so things are getting back to normal.  Stair-rods are of course mostly a thing of the past - unless you have a very grand house, that is.

So where were we...oh yes, Rathlin, or Raghery if you prefer.  Seems like an age ago now.  Luckily I don't have too many of my wonderful B&W creations to show you - mostly 'cos they were pretty dull affairs.  Rathlin, in case you haven't been paying attention, is a wee island off the north coast of Northern Ireland and lies between us and Bonnie Scotland.  It's where Robert the Bruce lived in a cave for a year and saw his famous spider, before he returned to Scotland to become King, or something like that.  It's also where Richard Branson crash-landed his big balloon thingmy that he flew in across the Atlantic.  In gratitude he donated a few coins for an activity centre on the island which now bears his name - the centre, that is, not the island.

And it also has a place in world history, for it is here that a certain Guglielmo Marconi made the first wireless transmission - between Ballycastle on the mainland and the island.  Well, although Marconi was The Man, apart from an initial survey he left the actual experiment to his right-hand-man and his colleague.  And history, as they say, was made.

So...what to tell.  Well, the RSPB bird sanctuary is a place of wonder, where thousands of seabirds come to nest each summer - puffins, razorbills, guillemots, fulmars, kittiwakes, shags and gannets to name but a few.  Here's the sort of thing you can expect to see from a wee boat:

Birds

All those wee dots are in fact birds.  You'd have to be quite sociable to be a sea-bird on Rathlin in July.  Quite a noise they make too.

I apologise for the rather blurry snap here - but hey, you try standing on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic trying to get a shot off with a 20-year old film camera.  It ain't easy.  Plus I only had 100ASA film loaded, so me shutter speeds were too low.  Ah well, you get the gist...

Missy's Rathlin colour wrap-up

Before we start on the B&W images from Rathlin (Ed: do we have to?) I'll post the last few of Missy's colour snaps.  These were all taken on her Olympus OM-1 with a cheapish Zuiko 35-70 f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens.  To be quite honest it was a perfect combination.  I was armed to the teeth with the Nikon and a 180mm f/2.8 and most of the time it was just too long.

Nice wall

Same island, different wall

Smuggler's Cottage at sundown (seal's head just visible in foreground)

Kaci doing what she does best

All in all I think that's a pretty fine collection of photographs by Missy and makes for a very memorable trip to Rathlin.

Normal service will be resumed shortly.  For now, though, there will be short interlude while I visit an old friend that I used to do important work with - or so I told myself at the time.  I'll be taking a camera with me, so all being well you'll catch up with that story in a couple of week's time.

Changing conditions

As I've already mentioned, the weather as we arrived in Rathlin was poor - steady if unspectacular rain.   But true to form the conditions improved and as we found ourselves near the East Lighthouse there was an interesting cloud formation across towards the mainland.  So interesting that I pointed my camera at it...and Missy, who was behind me, pointed her camera at me.

Photographing the photographer

Unfortunately the weather lifted only briefly and we were soon enveloped in a rather cool breeze coming in from the West which brought a general murkiness to Rathlin again.

Inclement weather in Rathlin

Fair Head

Just opposite the South Lighthouse is Fair Head and it was beautifully lit in the setting sun - Missy captured it very nicely with her OM-1 and a cheapo Agfa film:

Fair Head in the distance, seals in the foreground

Those funny looking rocks in the foreground are in fact some of the seal colony which seems to live around this part of the south of Rathlin.  They let us get real close and some of the younger ones came swimming right up to us to see what the craic was.  The light was fading fast by this time so shutter speeds were getting longer - hence the almost impressionist look of this one, if you know what I mean...

The ruined Smuggler's Cottage was nearby, which made a decent subject for what I think was a rather impressive photography by Missy.  Composition-wise hard to fault, this one:

Smuggler's Cottage, Rathlin Island

I'll throw a few more shots in here for good measure, so you get a feel for just how lovely this part of the world is:

Lighthouses

Our most excellent host Alan offered us transport while on the island, which was very helpful, saying as my legs aren't the most reliable of things.

Rathlin is unique as an island in Ireland as it has 3 lighthouses.  The most visited one is at the place where the RSPB bird sanctuary is, to the west of the island.  This is also unique as it is upside-down - well, the light is at the bottom of the structure, if you see what I mean.

To the East of the island we have, um, the East Lighthouse.  Hilary reliably informed me it is well known to be haunted - and she herself has heard footsteps when inside once.  She also mentioned the strange lights which sometimes can be seen coming towards you on the single-track road which leads to it...apparently the lights never reach you.  Spooky...

East Lighthouse, Rathlin Island

Towards the other end of the island, the bit nearest Ballycastle, we have the South Lighthouse.  We drove over there in the evening, just as the sun was going down.

South Lighthouse, Knocklayde in the background

You can just about make out Knocklayde in the background with an interesting cloud formation on top.  It really is a beautiful place, very peaceful, with only a few seals for company.

Country roads and puddles

As we arrived the rain was settling in nicely, but we were assured by Hilary, our hostess, that the weather would pick up later in the day.  In the meantime she served us a hearty pick-me-up of home-made wheaten bread, cake and tea, which was just what the doctor ordered.  After a suitable period of hanging around waiting for a break in the weather we ventured out to take the air.

Two old men, Rathlin Island

Kaci was in her element.  She can't pass a puddle without stopping for a look and a splash.

Perfect - another puddle!

Missy Rules Rathlin

Missy's lovely little OM-1 was fully loaded on our trip and she snapped away.  And did a rather good job too, in my humble opinion.  She had a colour film loaded, of the £1 Agfa variety from Poundland and while SnappySnaps's prints were awfully washed out the negs were recoverable with a bit of Photoshop colour tweaking.

Rathlin is a really peaceful place and just perfect to relax for a couple of days.  The harbour/Church Bay is the centre of life, which Missy captured rather well for you:

Church Bay, 2015

All the time my mate Darryl and I were trying for some arty-type photographs, different angles, etc, while Missy, being new to the game, just snapped away at whatever she saw.  And of course she made a much better job of it than us (Ed: no surprise there, then).

Some wee boats in the harbour