It has been absolutely ages since my last post. I’ve uprooted my life and moved across the country to Dublin. Here is an image from my first photo walkabout. Normal service will now resume – oh how I’ve missed my Canon!

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This image is a 26-photo panorama stitch, made from atop Knockalla mountain and facing down onto Ballymastocker Bay, County Donegal.

This area is of great personal significance to me. Not only is it a spot of incredibly natural beauty, it is also the spot I spent countless Summers, each filled with many happy childhood memories. In addition to that, it is also the ancestral home of my grandmother’s family.

I love it.

My sister Laura on a recent family break to Donegal.

A photo from the annual Macnas Parade (for my non-Irish readers, that’s pronounced ‘mock-ness’). This a free parade held on the streets of Galway each year, as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Costumes, makeup, fire, noise and explosions galore!

A fisherman at Nimmo’s Pier, Galway. This isn’t the usual view of Galway – which is standing by the Claddagh, looking out. Instead, it was taken from a boat, looking in.

I was lucky enough to be invited out sailing at the weekend. For the photographer, the many lines and sails create beautiful symmetries and patterns to make images of. For my nose… sunburn!

A very opportune image, this. I was up in Donegal, driving along the road from Kerrykeel to Portsalon, with Mulroy Bay lying on my left-hand side, when the Sun began to set over the bay and present this beautiful landscape. I just had to pull over and make some images of it.. The little compact camera I composed this on wasn’t even mine (I think my own camera was out of batteries – or else it was the one day I decided I wouldn’t bring my camera along – lesson learned! ) Ironically enough, this beautiful scene of stillness preceded a very heavy storm.

This is an old one from the vaults – August 2007, I think. I’ll be heading back up there later next month and hope to indulge in more landscape photography. Can’t wait!

I’m interested in starting up in competitive karting so I went along to the IRL Plate meeting in Tynagh, Loughrea to talk to some folk and ask questions. There’s such a great community and clubman vibe about the group, they’re really welcoming and helpful. My interest was definitely piqued by the action, the noise, and the old familiar smell of petrol Although, why do I have such costly interests?

The action was fast and frantic and it was quite overcast, so queue a FAST shutter speed, high ISO, and a 300mm zoom to get close to the action.

It always rains in Ireland. Always. That’s an exaggeration. Met Éireann estimate that the west of Ireland gets 225 days of rainfall a year.