A small waterfall runs through the forest in the Wicklow Mountains near Glenmalure in Ireland

As I discussed in a recent post I took my maps of Dublin and Wicklow out last week to scan for possible new locations to shoot. I came across what appeared, on paper at least, to be a viable Waterfall near Glenmalure named Ess. Unfortunately a 45min drive and a 3k hike proved to be fruitless as the waterfall itself was inaccessible.

Undeterred though I hunted around for other opportunities, as you know already I broke out my 100mm Macro to shoot some Flora and Fauna. However I also came across a small falls feeding into the main Ess Waterfall that was much more accessible. While this was not the grand scale I had planned for I was still happy with this image.

I had to practically step in to the water to take this image. The tripod was setup low in the water positioning the moss covered rock in the foreground. I used a polarizer to remove the reflections from the waters surface and provide a sense of depth in the water. I also used a 3-stop Neutral Density filter to slow the shutter speed to 6 seconds which helped to smooth the rushing water.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: anon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Exposure: 6 secs
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 20mm
ISO Speed: 50

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne

The sun falls across a hover fly taking a rest on the petal of a black eyed susan yellow flower

I talked on Tuesday about my recent visit to the Japanese Gardens when I posted the first image from that trip, a yellow flower which I now know is called a “Black Eyed Susan” thanks to @ShebaJo over on Twitter.

I mentioned during that last post that there was a riot of colour with many flowers in bloom, as well as many Bee’s and Butterflies busying themselves also. What I forgot to mention was there were also a few hover flys buzzing about too.  And here we have one of those Hover Flies resting on a Black Eyed Susan.

For this image I managed to crank the aperature up to f/8 which gave me a whoping 3.1mm of depth of field at macro distances. Trying to use auto-focus at these distances with fast moving objects is pointless. Instead I will switch to manual focus, get my composition right and fire off a series of shots. I’ll then check the LCD to see if any of the series are acceptably sharp. Then recompose and start again until I am happy I have the image I am looking for, or the subject has moved on. This is the polar opposite to my aproach to landscapes which is far more restrained and methodical. For instance I returned home from this day out, about 4 hours with 179 images while for a typical landscape shoot I would have taken just 20 images for the same period of time.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Exposure: 1/160
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 100mm
ISO Speed: 200

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne

Close up of the large stamen of a yellow flower with a background of the same flowers.

I took a trip up to our Japanese Gardens based in Kildare last Friday. It has been over two years since I last visited the gardens so it was high-time for a return visit. Along with the gardens the site houses our National Stud and Saint Fiachra’s Garden which offers woodland and lakeside walks.

I ended up spending very little time in the Japanese Gardens as there was little in flower, and the sun was far to harsh to shoot any of the nice architectural features. I instead occupied myself around the woodlands and lake in Saint Fiachra’s Garden. I was in my element here as there was so much still left in bloom, offering a riot of colour with many bees and butterflies flutering about.

This is the 1st in a serious of images I captured on the day showing just one of the colours on display, a very vibrant yellow. You can also see from the background that this was no lonesome flower. Shooting handheld with my 100mm Macro is always fun given the limited depth-of-field. On this occasion it was bright enough to open the aperture to f/7.1 albeit with the ISO set to 200. Opening up the aperture by this much allowed me to capture the complete stamen and some of the petals within the range of acceptable focus while still allowing a fast enough shutter speed for handholding.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Exposure: 1/120
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 100mm
ISO Speed: 200

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne

Wow that went by fast! Hard to believe its over for another year. Another thoroughly enjoyable weekend and I just wanted to say a big thanks to all those who popped by to say hello over the last couple of days.

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne

Hard to believe a full year has gone by since the last Peoples Photography Exhibition. This will be my 3rd year exhibiting (2008 & 2009) and it is a weekend I thoroughly enjoy. Once I have made it through the busy week running up to it I find it a weekend of complete relaxation. It offers a rare opportunity to sit back, with my display laid out in front of me, and simply watch the world walk by. And while it’s great when someone stops by and purchases a print that is not my primary reason for doing it every year. Its a chance to meet up with other like minded people and talk shop, as it were for two whole days.

I will have a number of prints from my 2010 collection along with a selection from previous years on display. There will be a full range of prints, mounted prints & framed prints, as well as a selection of sizes available from 10×8 upto 20×16 to choose from.

So if you do find yourself in Dublin city either Saturday or Sunday I would love to see you. I will be in my usual spot at the Dawson Street side of Stephens Green.

Hope to see you there!

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne

A wild yellow flower from the Dublin Mountains in Ireland.

I took my maps of Dublin and Wicklow out yesterday morning to scan for possible new locations to shoot. I came across what appeared, on paper at least, to be a viable Waterfall near Glenmalure named Ess. So I packed my gear and headed out there. An hour later I was pulling into the closest car park. The fall itself was about a 3k hike from there.

When I eventually got to the falls I was reminded of the phrase “don’t believe everything you read”. The waterfall itself was rather nice but unfortunately inaccessible. The path that took me to the falls took me up the opposite side of the valley by the time it meandered its way to the falls.

Undeterred I decided to break out my 100mm Macro and see what kind of wild flora & fauna I could find, and there was plenty.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 100mm
ISO Speed: 400

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne

A view of the shapes in the sand of Dollymount strand while the sun sets on the coast of Dublin, Ireland

An image from a visit last year to Dollymount Strand and Bull Island. I have already posted some of dusk images I captured on the evening but thought it worthwhile to also post this sunset image.

I was fascinated by the patterns the channels made in the sand during low tide. I walked around the beach for a while trying to find the right vantage point when I came across these shells. They were far too ordered to be a natural occurrence so I presumed one of the many children around had arranged them in that manner. They did however provide a nice focal point for the image. The light was very low at this point as you can probably tell from the 1.3 second exposure so it was time to setup the tripod. I chose to position the camera fairly close to the ground and pointed it a little downwards. This viewpoint in combination with a very wide angle of 24mm, remember I am on a full frame so that is equivalent to about 15mm on an APS-C body, really helps to elongate the beach and accentuate and add dimension to the patterns in the sand.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Exposure: 1.3 sec
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO Speed: 100

© John Dunne 2007 ~ 2010 ~ All Rights Reserved
No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of John Dunne