I learned to read very early: the magic of putting the letters together opened the whole world to me. One of my first books was a photo anthology of European capitals. Very little text and a lot of pictures, but when you are four even very little text is too much, and architecture is not your idea of fun. The only worthy images in the book were those of Zoo animals.

I memorized their names. I hadn’t been taken to the Zoo yet, but living in the farm with my Grandparents, surrounded by forests and bogs and all sort of wildlife I appreciated the variety of species… I don’t remember seeing much of exotic animals on TV until the mid of the 60s, except some cartoons, so the photographs in that book were my only source of knowledge. The most beautiful of all the animals in the book was a peacock. In my imagination I pictured him walking in our back yard where my Granddad’s blue, green and brown beehives were sitting in the lush grass. My imagination painted the bird in pink, purple and gold: the pictures in that old book were black & white…

I want to share a few images from my recent visit of Johnstown Castle and Park, Co Wexford. If you want to go there some day, here you can find useful information about the tickets and directions.

As you can see, the weather was gradually getting better. Cranky grey morning turned into the perfect sunny afternoon. Photographers are wandering around the castle looking for a good composition.

Since the days I was four I learned to love architecture, but still I visit Johnstown castle mostly  because of the peacocks.

Their beautiful plumage  hasn’t fully grown yet at this time of the year, so I didn’t take any breathtaking images of a peacock in his full glory.  I was simply happy to be close and watch them.

A bold one came to me to check out if I had any snacks.

After getting some pieces of French toast he settled in front of me.

I don’t remember when I found out that peacocks are not pink and purple, but I was right about the gold.

There are two images of the trees taken into the sun.  I loved trees before I learned to read.

After that I went to the lake and took all the pictures I posted in REFLECTIONS. This is how the castle looks from the lake.

Thank you for visiting Johnstown Castle with me! Do you remember what animal or bird impressed your young mind? 🙂

Photography tip of the day: Horizontal means horizontal. Keep your camera straight. Of course you can straighten your images with the editing software, but sometimes it means losing the details that are important for your composition.

Have a great week!