Today it is the stillest, sunniest spring morning. To the east the hill of gorse is in full flower and the exotic aroma of sweet coconut brushes against my jacket. Birdsong fills the fields as nest making and nest guarding goes on. In the distant sky the Coastguard helicopter is rumbling it's way out over the Copper . . .
Heavenly anenomes
Can I just go totally over the top here for 5 minutes? Can I share with you the exuberant joy of lying in these woodland anenomes at Zwartbles farm in Kilkenny on a spring afternoon in dappled shade? Can you soak up the colour and the light and the magic of it with me? If contemplative photography is about anything it is . . .
Gems of amethyst and gold
Always in the same spot under this large tree. Who planted them or when? In the morning light, their petals glow, sparkling gems of amethyst and gold. So climb over two strands of barbed wire. Get even closer. Any photographer would yearn for gritty urban street drama? But down in this dewy grass, in the sweet scent of crocuses . . .
Just one more time?
I had a lovely bunch of spring crocuses ready for this week's blog, then on Monday morning we woke up to snow. We were on our way to the National Concert Hall. The Gloaming a group of musical wizards led by Martin Hayes, were about to play to a packed house. It's like Irish traditional music, jazz and trance blended into a new . . .
On being alone
Sometimes aloneness is confused with loneliness. I know both and find that loneliness creates a heartache while solitude feels more like a salve to the soul. In some way loneliness and solitude are opposite states of being. In any visual practice solitude is key. Cutting out noise and taking yourself deeper into that world is a . . .
Studying light
I'm going to write more about contemplative photography and unravelling what it means. How it can enrich your life and your creative practice, no matter what that is. How it can help to infuse more soul into your work. How it can help to develop your visual sensibilities and enhance the quality of what you . . .
Photography as meditation
He is bursting with confidence. I am probably standing too close to his territory so there is an air show going on from the top of a pile of rubble to the rose tree in the farm yard. At one point he lands on the post in front of my nose. His face says.....YIKES and he takes off instantly. Robins are tiny but . . .
Photography tricks and treats for Halloween
It started with images of autumn leaves floating in the murky waters of the lake. Already layered and textured, I added the photo of myself standing, half turned in the archway. Then the little lantern plants and the meditating rabbit. Happy Halloween and there are lots more photography tricks and treats you can make here . . .
In their stillness
Every year I choose a word to guide me on my way. Last January I chose Pilgrimage and set out to undertake "a long journey especially one undertaken as a quest, or for a votive purpose, to pay homage." As an agnostic, sitting on the fence as to what it's all about, I am still drawn to the idea . . .
Always the people’s favourite
The sky is impossible to ignore. Here in rural Ireland we are mesmerised by it. Approaching weather systems come up from the Atlantic south west and we peer into the distance for information, comfort and possible impending doom. When I began to share my photography on line through the blog and on social media, it . . .
