Besides shooting and editing as usual, I have been very busy lately moving my Fine Art Print business on the net. The development of my new, dedicated website is almost done - I am now at the point of uploading galleries, so forgive me for not posting as much lately and... stay tuned, I'll have are some very exciting news coming real soon. In the meantime, enjoy the beginning of the winter and the crisp fresh air outside!
Just a couple of examples to show you how my framed prints look like:
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Here it is, the fourth and last instalment of this Irish portfolio (click here for part 1: IRELAND: A WONDERFUL LANDSCAPE, part 2: THE WONDERS OF MEGALITHIC IRELAND and part 3: IRELAND'S HISTORICAL CHRISTIAN REMAINS.), dedicated this time to landscapes which, whether willingly or unwillingly, have been heavily modified and defined by the intervention of man. Of course, it can be argued that except perhaps for very remote locations, man always influence the landscapes around him; here, I will show how this happened either by men willingly building something or by leaving something unwillingly, wrecked and ruined, behind. I'll show you some of what seems to be millions of castles that you can see touring around the island: some have been kept and repaired and are still lived in today, most of them are in ruins (some better preserved than others), while some have unfortunately been reduced to one last-standing wall or to a mound of stones. Besides castles, lighthouses and forts, Ireland's coasts hosts (quite understandably, given its island status!) a lot of shipwrecks as well; to my eye, all these ruined buildings, wrecks and other man-made artefacts are very beautiful in their decay, perhaps more so than in their original form.
Wrecked, Ireland 2012
Take the wrecks caused by the strength of the rough northern seas, or take ships abandoned because of being of no more use, add time and weather, and you'll inevitably get crumbling, colourful, majestic landmarks, constantly changing in time. Some of them are slowly disappearing back into nature, as the wooden wreck in Bunbeg:
Bunbeg's shipwreck, Ireland 2012
Some other, being metal giants, are destined to stay a bit longer, as the Plassey:
Shipwreck, Ireland 2012
Assonances, Ireland 2012
One more wreck, this time at Rosses point:
Rosses Point, Ireland 2012
Here is Rathmelton, a beautiful old sea-channel port and village:
Rathmelton at dawn, Ireland 2012
Following the channel towards the sea, one find this wreck first:
Wreck at Rathmelton, Ireland 2012
Followed by this one, so old that the hull is all that is left of what was once a boat:
Hull, Ireland 2012
Lighthouses like this one, while neither wrecked nor ruined, are always photogenic:
Fanad Head's lighthouse, Ireland 2012
Now, let's leave the sea behind for a while and let's check out some castles!
Doonagore Castle, Ireland 2012
Inish Oirr's O'Brien's castle, Ireland 2012
Trim's Castle at dusk, Ireland 2012
Parke's Castle, Ireland 2012
In the middle of Ireland, not mentioned by guides or road signs, stands Fethard: not just a castle, a medieval walled town which stayed still enclosed by its walls, remaining pretty much as it was:
Fethard, Ireland 2012
This is Charles Fort:
Charles Fort at sunset, Ireland 2012
To end this long series of Irish photographs, what can be better than a couple of moody black & whites? First, an abandoned old mill:
Old Mill, Ireland 2012
Then, last but not least, as they say:
Stairway to nowhere, Ireland 2012
OK, this last instalment has come to an end as well, and with it the Ireland series - I hope you enjoyed it!
Plug: if you like beautiful Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, look no further: artwork featuring Fine Art prints of my Ireland images are available for sale HERE!
Following up to my previous instalments on Ireland (see here for part 1: IRELAND: A WONDERFUL LANDSCAPE and part 2: THE WONDERS OF MEGALITHIC IRELAND), I decided to dedicate this third post to one of the things that defined the country throughout its history, for good and - unfortunately - at times for worse: religion, and specifically Christianity. However, I didn't take a reporter's approach, nor did I want to delve into the Troubles; while I am fully aware of the religious controversies and wars that happened in Ireland during the last centuries, and of the pain and scars they left on the island and its people, I was off to depict the beauty of the country as best as I could, and so I did. Early Christian settlements, ruins of what once have been mighty churches and abbeys that fulfilled such an important role in the diffusion of religion all over Europe, impressively decorated High Crosses, Holy Wells and so on, most of which placed in really beautiful natural settings; Ireland offers a wealth of photographic opportunity following the trails and paths that early Christians walked many centuries ago.
Jerpoint Abbey, Ireland 2012
Jerpoint abbey, above, is one of the best preserved abbeys' ruins in Ireland; so are the Rock of Cashel and Athanassey abbey, below: in this case, shooting after a storm provided me with intense, dramatic skies that enhanced the atmosphere of the places.
Storm over Athassel, Ireland 2012
Extremely important for the diffusion of Christianity, but not as well preserved as some of the others, is Mellifont Abbey:
Mellifont Abbey, Ireland 2012
Despite being very scant, the remains give us a pretty good idea of the importance of the setting; the particularly elegant double-colomned cloister's remains and what is left of the lavabo are impressive, and so is the size of the abbey's grounds. Despite its actual state, and no matter how difficult it is to imagine it while there, secular and religious history has been made at Mellifont, synods held, treaties signed; during its heydays, hundreds of people lived in and around the abbey.
Out of the most traveled touristic paths, one can meet with very interesting finds, such as the huge and well preserved Franciscan friary in Adare, now hidden in the middle of a golf course:
Adare's Franciscan friary, Ireland 2012
Or Killonaghan church, in the Burren:
Storm over Killonaghan, Ireland 2012
and the more modern chapel at Gougane Barra, on a foggy day:
Gougane Barra, II, Ireland 2012
Going back in time, Gallarus oratory is not to be missed: its construction is a feat of engineering, its walls still not letting in rain nor wind after so many centuries:
Gallarus Oratory at dusk, Ireland 2012
Just close by stands the small, Romanesque church of Kilmakedar, shot at dusk; on the left you can see an Ogham stone, while on the right stands an early cross:
Kilmakedar, Ireland 2012
Early Christians in Ireland started by carving crosses in wood, moving subsequently to carving stone crosses of amazing beauty; these so called High Crosses stand tall (in the literal sense of the word) today, after centuries, still amazing us with their magnificent carvings. Here comes a series of some of the most impressive high crosses I found and photographed last summer in Ireland. First, the high crosses at Ahenny, starting with the North Cross:
North Cross, Ahenny, Ireland 2012
Ahenny's North Cross at sunset, Ireland 2012
Followed by the South Cross:
South Cross, Ahenny, Ireland 2012
Ahenny's South Cross at sunset, Ireland 2012
Then the High Cross at Drumcliff, in the yard of the same church where W.B. Yeats' tomb is:
Drumcliff's High Cross, Ireland 2012
Following, also shot at dusk, you'll see two of the Clonmacnoise crosses; unfortunately, these are modern copies, the originals are stored in the museum on site (the amazingly informative display is very recommended!) to preserve them from the elements:
Cross of the Scriptures, Clonmacnoise, Ireland 2012
South Cross, Clonmacnoise, Ireland 2012
Less known and in a worse state of preservation, but nevertheless still quite impressive, is the High Cross at Termonfecking:
Probably the most known of all, and certainly one of the most impressive both for its size and for its wonderful decorations, is Muiredach's Cross at Monasterboice:
Muiredach's Cross, Ireland 2012
Kells is the location of four crosses, out of which the beautiful Cross of St. Patrick & St. Columba and the East cross (here photographed with Kells' round tower behind) are the most interesting, photographically speaking:
Cross of St. Patrick & St. Columba, Ireland 2012
Kells' East Cross, Ireland 2012
Duleek's High Cross is actually not so high, but its decorations are worth a stop:
Very interesting is also a second Cross' head, laying in the church's remains at Duleek; judging from the size of both the head and the base, it should have been pretty impressive as well:
To end this tour into early Christian Ireland, here is the remote, paleo-Christian Cross of St. Brendan, marking his grave:
And the monastery at Glendalough, very impressive in its valley setting, photographed at dusk:
Glendalough at sunset, Ireland 2012
and in the early hours of the morning:
Glendalough, Ireland 2012
Ok, this is the end of the third instalment of photographs from Ireland: I hope you enjoyed them!
Plug: if you like beautiful Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, look no further: amazing artwork featuring Fine Art prints of my Ireland images are available for sale HERE, HERE and HERE!
Ireland, beside its wonderful landscapes (see part 1: IRELAND: A WONDERFUL LANDSCAPE), is - for those interested in history - one of the richest countries in Europe; from megalithic monuments to medieval churches, abbeys and castles, Ireland has it all. Of course, most of them are in very photogenic locations as well; however, what is even more appealing to me is that the majority of the sites are very little visited, and most of them are freely open to visitors day and night. Some are very organised, featuring visitor centres and such, but the majority lies in the middle of nowhere; these are very hard to find, but no matter how remote they are, once you get there you'll find an informative panel telling you (unobtrusively) about the place and its history. Bravo!
This post is dedicated to the megalithic remains that are prominent all around the island; between their beauty and the beauty of their settings, besides their historic interest they often make wonderful subjects for fine arts photography. Let's start with this "dolmen on fire":
Prehistoric fires, Ireland 2012
The photo above shows the Poulnabrone dolmen, probably one of the best known dolmen in Ireland and all over the world. Just to share a little about my working process, here it is in daylight during my preliminary exploration of the site; in daytime it looks like this:
Poulnabrone Dolmen, Ireland 2012
During the day, the sun kept playing hide and seek with the clouds, making me hopeful for some interesting configuration of clouds and sun at sunset. When possible, I like to make time and exploring the sites I want to photograph in daytime; here at Poulnabrone, I spent some time walked around, taking a few photographs to get ideas about angles and compositions and to decide how to set up. Then, I came back to the site a while before sunset; having set my camera up for the shot I wanted, I waited and hoped for a moment when the sun stroke just the clouds above the dolmen, and not the sky around; very often, when waiting in such a way for natural phenomena to collide for a shot, it might not happen for days or - well - sometimes even forever. However, in this instance I was lucky and the sun & clouds gave me the "Prehistoric fire" light over the dolmen: despite looking very still in the photograph above, in the real world that combination of light & clouds lasted for about 30 seconds. After that, the sky offered what was a peacefully beautiful sunset still, but with much much less drama; after a change of lens, I got this last image for the day:
Poulnabrone, Ireland 2012
As you probably know, dolmen & other megalithic monuments are present all over Europe; after seeing a lot of the ones in Italy, England and France, I can say that the Irish dolmen - while not always the biggest or the largest - are among the most elegant I have seen:
Dolmen at Killclooney, Ireland 2012
But also some of the strongest looking:
Old giant, Ireland 2012
Browne's Hill sunset, Ireland 2012
Browne's Hill dolmen, above, has a very large capstone: it is the largest & heaviest in Europe at about 150 tons! As you can see, it is now half toppled over (probably because of its own weight), and to me it looks like an old giant kneeling...
The site at Carrowmore offers a high concentration of monuments, out of which I choose this one, a portal tomb (dolmen) enclosed in a stone circle:
Carrowmore Dolmen, I, Ireland 2012
On a funnier note, very often you can see sheep grazing between the monuments as well:
Sheep at Carrowmore, Ireland 2012
Besides dolmen, there are various megalithic monuments, the stone circle and the tumulus being among the most commonly found. Stone circles aren't unfortunately all as impressive as the huge one at Stonehenge in England (see HERE and HERE); the Irish ones often are large in diameter (even larger than Stonehenge) but the stones that make the enclosure aren't as tall - therefore, photographing them is not easy when at ground level, from where they lose much of their visual impact:
Drombeg's Stone Circle, Ireland 2012
However, light, clouds, the sky, they all can help us in creating some drama:
Beltany at sunset, Ireland 2012
Beltany at dusk, Ireland 2012
Other prehistoric remains in Ireland include forts such as Dunbeag fort, sitting on a beautiful spot on a cliff side on the Dingle peninsula:
Last, I would strongly recommend to visit the monuments at Loughcrew: while much less impressive in size and in worse conservation that the one at Newgrange, the Loughcrew tombs are definitely less crowded (actually, there was just two other people the whole time I was there), not so easy to reach but once you are there you can stay all the time you want and take all the photographs you want of the beautiful petroglyphs inside the tombs:
Loughcrew, before history, Ireland 2012
Despite the absence of warnings against the use of flash, in order both to help preserving the monument and to get a softer, less harsh light on the graffiti, this last two images have been shot with the camera on a tripod and painted with light using a LED flashlight.
OK, this second instalment has come to an end as well - I hope you enjoyed it!
Plug: if you like beautiful Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, look no further: artwork featuring Fine Art prints of my Ireland images are available for sale HERE and HERE!
