You are currently browsing the Writing for Life category
§ December 1st, 2008
West Cork is a truly amazing place for getting up close and personal with some of the largest and most spectacular creatures on the planet. Every winter large baleen whales congregate off the South West coast – with a lot of activity focussed off the headlands of West Cork.
On Friday I was lucky enough to head out on a Whale Watching Trip with Colin Barnes out of Union Hall. We saw a total of five cetacean species on the trip: Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus), Minke Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena and more than a hundred Common Dolphins (Delphinus delphis).
A fin whale (Balaenoptera physilus) surfaces not far from the boat
A common dolphin ( appears, riding the bow-wave created by the large whale
… and behaves exactly as it would when bow-riding a boat, demonstrating, perhaps, the origins of this curious habit.
We had an amazing trip – the second best I’ve ever been on (my best whale watching trip ever was one four years ago, also with Colin Barnes off the West Cork coast). We saw literally dozens of fin whales blowing all around us, about half a dozen minke whales, four humpbacks, the occasional porpoise and a hundred or more common dolphins. One of the highlights was seeing three different species of whale swimming together – two fin whales, a humpback, and two minke whales in one place. Amazing!
A humpback whale and fin whale surface together just off Galley Head, West Cork
This is the best time of the year to see large baleen whales off the Irish coast… November, December and January are when you get peak whale activity. So if you want one of the most spectacular wildlife experiences on the planet, get in touch with Colin (who incidentally also does gift vouchers, if you’re looking for an unusual Christmas present).
Ireland really is a hotbed of cetacean activity at this time of year – but enough of my wittering, here are some more photos. Judge for yourself:
§ Read the rest of this entry...
§ November 24th, 2008
I
The Mullroy Bay II wallowing half submerged at high tide – lit with orange filters on an array of 5,000,000 candle power handheld lanterns.
I was invited by Marc Holden of Firehorse Imaging to attend and photograph an extremely unusual event on Saturday 15/11/08. Local artist Sheelagh Na Gig was inspired by the half submerged hulk of a disused trawler, The Mulroy Bay II, to highlight the plight of the local fishing industry, and the effect it’s having on West Cork’s coastal communities.
Sheelagh contacted Guerilla Lighting and together they hatched an intricately coordinated plan to light the stricken vessel from the water. They used two RIBs and an army of volunteers armed with 5,000,000 candle power handheld lanterns and filters to pick out the vessel in the darkness.
I’d been given a Manfrotto 055ProB tripod with the amazing 322RC2 trigger-grip ball-head for my birthday the day before, so jumped at the chance to put the combination to the test. Still, I was VERY wary of the poor low-light performance of my trusty old Nikon Coolpix 5700.
Focussing was a huge challenge, as was time between shots with 8 second long exposures – but a couple of the images came out OK – including the one they used (without acknowledgement… grrr!) in an article in the Southern Star.
… and the same vessel lit without the orange filters.
The view from the other side of the vessel.
Trying to use a tripod from a RIB moored to a buoy gives interesting results….
As an exercise in low light photography it was extremely challenging; as an experience it was wonderful… racing around Baltimore harbour to church strand on RIBs in the pitch black was invigorating… if a little chilly… and Sheelagh’s hospitality at the house before and after the event was fantastic.
§ October 15th, 2008
On a West Cork beach this Summer (during a brief respite in the soggy summer weather) I spotted this tiny piece of lustrous green glass worn perfectly smooth by the sea.
I couldn’t resist getting down on hands and knees and taking this snap – I love the juxtaposition of the manmade glass and the natural gravel. To give you a sense of scale the piece of glass is only about four or five millimetres across.
If you click to enlarge the image you’ll see what I think are salt crystals on the surface of the glass.
§ August 6th, 2008
This is the most popular image in our photo wedding invitation line up. It’s the photo that inspired the business, and the one that best captures what Image Invitations is all about.
Hanging out – a photograph that inspired a business
I know this isn’t a forum for commercial promotion, and that’s not the aim. I thought I’d share the image with you here on its own merit.
The teddies, which belong to my twin daughters, were hanging on my parents’ washing line in North Wales after a much needed “bath”. I took several images from a variety of angles… this was the one that stood out.
§ July 17th, 2008
When staying at the Glengarriff Lodge in April, these bizarre looking creatures were all over the place. Didn’t have a clue what they were until further investigation revealed that they were violet oil beetles (Meloe violaceus).
I keep meaning to upgrade from my aged Nikon Coolpix 5700 – but this dated 5 megapixel camera still manages to surprise and delight me with the quality of image it’s capable of producing.
I’ve been toying with getting a DSLR for ages now, but while the kids are young I’m loath to swap what is a very capable and compact package for the bulkier SLR and associated paraphernalia.
Naturally there are times when I miss the speed and responsiveness of an SLR… but much less often than you might think.
§ June 13th, 2008
Up in Dublin for a meeting last summer I found myself wandering near the canal when a scene on the bench opposite caught my eye.
I think this tourist was trying to photograph a map of Ireland, for some bizarre reason. The unintentional (or at least subconscious) similarity of his pose and that of the sculpture alongside him made for an interesting snap.
It’s a “grab” shot… like a lot of my photographs (I tend to have kids swinging off one arm while wielding the camera one-handed, hoping fervently for high enough shutter-speeds to compensate for the inevitable camera-shake) – and is perhaps technically challenged – but the curious juxtaposition rescues it.
§ June 13th, 2008
Here are a couple of shots taken in Sydney last time I was there – one of the Opera House, the other of the Harbour Bridge at night.
I like the pattern of the tiles in this shot. I contemplated having just the pattern in the composition, without the sliver of sky, but found that eliminating the sweeping curves of the dome detracted from the overall image. It rendered the iconic suddenly unrecognisable.
SHB by night… ‘nuf said! Have used this image for clients on wedding invitations… works very well!
§ June 4th, 2008
Here are a couple of other photographs illustrating how taking a different perspective can dramatically alter photographs of the same subject.
This Don Quixote sculpture stands outside a hotel in Toledo, Spain. It’s often photographed by tourists head-on… or with people standing next to it.
By moving in close, and silhouetting the head and spear against the sky and including the impressive building opposite the hotel it makes for what I think is a much more interesting image.
§ June 3rd, 2008
Heading out to sea from Reen Pier, Union Hall, West Cork, on Nic Slocum’s Whale Watch West Cork vessel in November 2007.
A Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), second largest creature ever to have lived on earth, feeding off the West Cork coast. An aggregation of seabirds over a patch of water is one sign that cetaceans could be feeding in the area.
The birds on these trips are almost as entertaining as the whales….
On this trip we saw about eight or nine fin whales, a couple of minke whales and a large school of common dolphins. Humpbacks are also regular visitors to West Cork over the winter – you’ll find more info and photos on whalewatching in West Cork on this article on my main website, originally published in the UK magazine, The Countryman.
Whalewatching trips are also operated by Colin Barnes – also out of Reen Pier, Union Hall – you’ll find details at Whales Dolphins Ireland.
§ June 3rd, 2008
Poplar Hawk Moth (Laothoe populi) photographed at the Biodiversity Day event at Manch Estate. (© 2008 Calvin Jones)
I’d just been listening to wildlife photographer Mike Brown giving a talk about how taking a different view can often make a very striking image of a relatively common subject — something I always try to do in my own photography. I think in this image I’ve managed to do that.
Here’s a more conventional view of the same animal — beautiful… no matter which way you look at it.
