Tip of the day

Reflections in the Water

Watching the sunset is a sublime and magical experience, but it doesn’t last long and reminds you of the passage of time. There is another sight, equally mesmerizing, and limited only by your imagination: surface of water and reflections.

Water reflects everything and distorts everything. It blurs the boundaries between the real and surreal. Water is an enigma.

I want to share a video, a beautiful interpretation of Claude Debussy – Reflets dans l’eau – Reflections in the Water by an Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, one of the most enigmatic performers of the twentieth century.

There are a few images from a man-made lake in the Johnstown Castle grounds. All the images are created by light and shadows, weeds, reflections and ripples. Please click to enlarge them to appreciate the beauty of the Nature’s paintings.

Have you ever heard about Memory of water? A study supporting this controversial theory was published in 1988; it is when I first learned about it. I find this theory quite fascinating and hope that there is something beyond the simple chemical H2O.

You can also read about the surface tension to refresh your high school knowledge and reflect on the progress you have made since then 🙂

I have many more images of reflections and hope to share them in the future.

Photography tip of the day: to reduce glare and unwanted reflections, use a polarising filter. The size you want is the diameter of your lens.

Have a good, productive week!

Foggy Dew: Tribute to the people of Ukraine

The last time I was in Ukraine was in 1989. We took a flight to Simferopol and then a trolleybus to Yalta, a beautiful resort town on the North coast of the Black Sea.

Wikipedia says that Crimean Trolleybus Line is the longest trolleybus line in the world. It is a 86 km (53 mi) long, pollution-free, low cost, 2 hours long dream ride. The road passes through the Crimean Mountains across the Angarskyi Pass reaching 752 metres (2,500 ft) at the highest point, descends down to the coastal town of Alushta, and turns south winding along the sea for another 41 km.

I cannot share any decent images of Yalta here: on that trip I was using a reversal film, and the slides didn’t survive well. The first one I took from the cable car, clinging to dear life, and the other one from the balcony of the room we rented.

This beautiful place is almost desolated these days. The main source of income in Yalta is tourism. There are very little tourists visiting this summer…

I have never been to Donetsk, and it looks like I never will, but every week I am getting updates from a person who lives there. Russian Grad missiles bring death and destruction turning the area into a bloody nightmare. My heart goes out to you, my Ukrainian brothers and sisters. You only wanted to live your life by your own choice.

I went to University in Moscow, Russia. It was a happy and fun time, we did our best to visit all the museums and theatres; we listened to Vladimir Vysotsky and Mashina Vremeni and wrote satirical poems and songs about the Soviet reality. My dear Russian friends, what happened to you? Since when are you worshipping the Beast? It breaks my heart.

I want to share this video as a tribute to those who lost their lives in Ukraine. The song is The Foggy Dew ( by Sinead O’Connor), and the movie is The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006). Seeing violence makes my heart bleed. I know that there are the times… but still, unnecessary violence doesn’t do any good to anybody. Nevertheless, I am for freedom for every country and their citizens. May God bless those who defend their freedom.

These foggy images were taken walking along the water edge, in the times of peace. If your life is safe, secure and comfortable, send a word of prayer for the innocent victims in Ukraine.

Photography tip of the day: When taking pictures in the fog it is great to have at least some of your subjects close to the camera so that they come out darker and sharper. Also great if you subjects create layers.

Have a peaceful weekend!

Good old-fashioned sunset

“Nobody of any real culture, for instance, ever talks nowadays about the beauty of sunset. Sunsets are quite old fashioned. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on.”

Oscar Wilde

I am a fan of Oscar Wilde since age of 12, so I cannot tell for sure is it his hidden influence or my personal whim that I have never had a picture of a classic sunset on my wall. Nevertheless, the images I am going to share today prove that nothing human is alien to me, which is another quote 🙂 . Sunsets and quotes, hope you enjoy them.

“When the sun sets, who doth not look for night?”

Shakespeare

“Clouds come floating into my life no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”

Robindranath Tagore

“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To leave out beautiful sunsets is the secret of good taste.” 🙂

Dejan Stojanovic

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”

Chief Crowfoot

“When I admire the wonder of a sunset, or a beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator. “

Mahatma Gandhi

“You know – one loves the sunset when one is very very sad…”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

“If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty of the sunset.”

Jiddu Krishnamurti

“Don ‘t forget : beautiful sunsets need cloudy skies.”

Paulo Coelho

All the photographs are taken in different countries over the years.

Tip of the day: Just sit still and watch. You will know when to take out your camera.

Have a good week!

Irish summer

A newcomer to Ireland arrives on a rainy day. He gets up the next day and it is raining. It also rains the day after that, and the day after that.

He goes out to lunch and sees a young kid and asks out of despair, “Hey kid, does it ever stop raining around here?”

The kid says: How do I know? I’m only six!

This year we have got a proper summer, no jokes! 🙂 County Tipperary has been bathing in sun since June.

It was one of the hottest days when I went to Kilsheelan, and I thought I would walk a little bit by the river. The cows on the opposite bank enjoyed the shade of a giant Oak tree and drank from the river till they were full.

Then they laid down for a nap, black islands in the sea of grass.

What a pleasure to walk along a path lined with lush grasses and delicate wild flowers. My summer favorite is poppy flower.

Another favorite is crop field. I love to take pictures of them in any weather, morning or night, and at any stage of their growth and harvest. What a fascinating sight they make, waving in the wind!

Abundance of sunlight this summer makes the greenery richer and foliage ticker.

Sometimes it is nice to hide from the burning sun in the woods…

…or under the thick canopy of linden trees in the churchyard.

What the summer looks like where you live?

Photography tip of the day: When the sun is high shoot your portraits in the open shade.

Have a great weekend!

A trip up North : Dark Hedges

I guess that the Giant’s Causeway will always be there even if the wind and water change the surface of the rocks in the next million years. The rope bridge is also unlikely to disappear. But there is a place that won’t last long, and it fills my heart with sadness… The Dark Hedges, one of the most photographed locations in Northern Ireland.

Both beautiful and somewhat eerie stretch of the road was known only to the locals until the 1990s! The ancient Beech trees were planted by Stuart family in 1750. Since that time they reached up and across to each other and their entwined branches created a natural arched tunnel. There are about 150 trees left. The people who planted the trees never got to see them in their glory: Beech trees reach maturity at 150 to 200 years. The beautiful Dark Hedges trees are past maturity. They are dying.

Unfortunately I haven’t got to see all the lane, only its southern part. Even if I come another time, the place won’t be the same. There are some diseased trees that have to be felled, and also some dead branches have to be cut off for safety reasons.

There is a qualified tree surgeon appointed to preserve the archway and to meet the safety requirements, and the maintenance works will start in early September. The Bregagh road, home to the famous trees, will be closed for ten days, or for how long it takes. Also brown tourist signs are to be erected which is a great thing because at the moment there are no signs at all.

Their branches are entwined, their roots are entangled. They cannot be separated. It is one body, and if one tree dies, or it is cut down, the others will know.

The Dark Hedges came under threat a few years ago when Roads Service proposed to fell many of the trees for safety reasons. The avenue was taken over by the Dark Hedges Preservation Trust and they are probably doing a good job since the trees are still standing, but that infamous green fence they put up in 2011 has raised many critics. There are hundreds of critical comments and articles about the fence all over the internet, and the words “monstrosity” and “nuts” tell you lots about the Trust and their creation.

I have read these comments, but when I walked the road no ugly fences existed for me, only the serene beauty and the timeless magic of the place, and muted sounds and colors.

It was one hour before the sunset, my favorite time, and all the photographers were getting ready. Look at them in the picture below: they will be busy removing me from their pictures in Photoshop 🙂

Looking through Google images of Dark Hedges I noticed that it is in fashion to take a picture of one’s car or bike with the Dark Hedges in background, and we too witnessed such a photo session. It is all right, but something else really annoyed me. We took the trouble to park in the parking lot and walk down the lane with our gear and the baby. The other visitors parked right in the middle, in the most picturesque place. There was even a van!

Nevertheless I got some beautiful evening light and took pictures I am happy with. The only thing I did in Photoshop was removing cars and excess of joggers 🙂

We had been there about 40 minutes, and you can see the change in the light.

The iconic trees have been featured in a popular HBO’s Game Of Thrones series, Season 2, Episode 1, representing the King’s Road.

I so hope that new saplings will be planted and Dark Hedges will live. Otherwise where would the ghost of the Grey Lady go? I didn’t see the ghost. Too many photographers are hanging around at the dusk and dawn. It could be that the Grey Lady rescheduled her appearances to the worst time for photography – the midday.

This was the first picture I took when I turned around the bend…

…and these were taken when we were leaving.

To get to the Dark Hedges: From Belfast take the M2 north, toward the town of Antrim. Driving around Antrim, take A26 toward Ballymena. About 7 miles past Ballymena look for the A44 toward The Drones/ Armoy/ Ballycastle. After about another 7 miles you pass The Drones village ( just a couple of miles before Armoy) and turn left onto the Bregagh Road. Keep going until you see a lay-by parking lot where you can park. Walk around the bend and there it is! 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this virtual trip to Northern Ireland with me: crossed the bridge, climbed the basalt rocks and walked the avenue of beautiful ancient trees. Thank you for your company! 🙂

Click on the images to enlarge them : it will take a second, they are all resized.