Tip of the day

Cultural phenomenon of yard sales

Being on holidays in America gives me a chance to share some thoughts about my experience with the cultural phenomenon of yard sales. I asked permission to take some photos of the goods for illustration, and bought a few bits and pieces myself. Not that it is my first experience with yard sales: I got a brand new Michelin map of Ireland for 25 cents a few years ago at one…

For those who live outside the USA, here is an extract from a Wikipedia article.

"A garage sale (also known as an attic sale, garbage sale, junk sale, lawn sale, moving sale, patio sale, rummage sale, tag sale, thrift sale, or yard sale) is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals, in which sellers are not required to obtain business licenses or collect sales tax...

Typically the goods in a garage sale are unwanted items from the household with the home owners conducting the sale. The goods are sometimes new, like-new, or just usable. Some of these items are offered for sale because the owner does not want or need the item to minimize their possessions or to raise funds. Popular motivations for a garage sale are "spring cleaning", moving, or earn extra money."

This soulless description won’t give you any idea as to why the yard sale culture beats eBay and Craigslist. A good few books have been written on the subject, which include social studies of yard sales, stories and tips. Selling, buying, collecting, refurbishing, reselling… For many this has become a way of life (Bargain Hunters and Yard Sale Queens are some characters!) Yard sale culture is complex and fascinating, full of resourceful spirit, joyful discoveries and unique experiences for both the buyers and the sellers.

I can see myself easily hooked, but going to yard sales once a year only gives me a glimpse of the magic. I can also see a prudent, environmentalist attitude resulting from the yard sale culture. People accumulate things, buy more materials than they use, get unwanted gifts, change their hobbies, etc. However, when bought by another person this stuff won’t become litter, it won’t contaminate the Earth, it will have another life, and may be even one more… And it doesn’t matter if that is a tiny souvenir or a huge piece of furniture.

If you are lucky you might find a treasure. Like this photograph of Charlie Chaplin with his autograph…

Picking through other people’s stuff is like going through their lives. A yard sale says lots about people’s lives. Both, the buyers and the sellers.

Have a great day!

Photography: May 2003-2014

A challenge for the readers: Go through your photographs and choose one that was taken in May and has a story.

There are my pictures.

May 2003. Waterville, The Ring of Kerry. Two friends and I went for a drive, and it was a very fun trip, great seafood and stunning scenery. Almost all my pictures from this trip are gone. My friends are gone too… It seems like it was a thousand years ago…

May 2004. Lisdowney, Co Kilkenny. The story behind this picture is so sad that I won’t write it. Not now.

May 2005. Waterford, Old bridge. I used to hike two hours every day, and very often I discovered something stunning. The middle part of this old bridge was dismounted, but it still looked magnificent. I took many pictures, and was about to get off the bridge when I heard voices beneath. It is a remote place, and I didn’t feel safe, plus it was actually prohibited to walk on the bridge… So I just sat there and waited. It came out that two guys were looking for a place to drink their beer and have a chat. When they settled, I sneaked off the bridge and quietly left. Got some adrenalin:)

May 2006. Waterford. Stoney Steps. This was my favorite place when living in Waterford, and I took a lot of pictures here. I got a hard drive crash in May 2006, it is why I have just a few pictures left from this months, mostly streets and buildings.

May 2007. Moab, Delicate Arch. Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law I finally visited this beauty. Moab is a marvelous place, and I have hundreds of photographs, but if I have to choose one, let it be the Delicate Arch:)

May 2008. Lake Powell, AZ. Rainbow bridge. This was my daughter’s graduation trip. We traveled five days and covered a large area with the most beautiful scenery ever. Why I have chosen this particular picture? When we hiked to the Rainbow bridge my daughter made us stop and said that now she’s going to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. And she sang…

May 2009. Comeragh Mountains, Clonmel. This is my favorite spot. Every time I hike I stop here to have a lunch and rest my feet. There is actually a bog all around, but this place is unusually dry and quiet. I have discovered the shortest way how to get there, and I have never run into anybody on my path hidden in rhododendron growth (people usually struggle their way up to the Holy Cross).

May 2010. I have many pictures taken that May, but I want to share this one of the most beautiful creature, Filip, my sweetheart whom I knew since he was as big as a pencil. Last time I saw him in Reptile Village, Co Kilkenny, but he might be already in Dublin Zoo.

May 2011. That May my daughter gave birth to a beautiful girl. Love my sunshine!

May 2012. It was a very exciting month, my kids came over and we did some traveling together. In this picture my big girl is exploring the old church at St Patrick’s Well, Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

May 2013. Inistioge bridge, Co Kilkenny. This is a classic image. Everybody who has been to the Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge has this image. When you drive up the hill it is easy to see the spot even if nobody is parked there: all the grass is gone on this side of the road. It is the only sign, otherwise you can miss the spot easy, it is not marked. I looked forward to visiting the famous Monkey Puzzle alley, but unfortunately since my last visit in 2005 half of the trees had fallen, probably because of their old age…

May 2014. Next week:)

Photography tip of the day: don’t be afraid to crop your pictures for different effects, but always retain your original.

Have a great day!

Bluebell day in Jenkinstown woods

My Grand Canyon memory trip worked very well. In spite of the bad forecast I woke up early and boldly went off to Jenkinstown. To my surprise, the weather started getting better, and by the time I arrived, there was summer.

Jenkinstown Park is a gem. At any season. It is sad to see that so many trees are cut down, home for the owls, pine martens, stouts and squirrels… I didn’t see any animals, but crossing a tiny path I felt a strong odor of a small carnivore. Might be a weasel…

Today I came to Jenkinstown Park for a special purpose. Early May is a season for bluebells, and this is the place!

A breathtaking carpet of blue overtakes the forest floor and glorious smell fills the air. Photographers of all kinds make their annual pilgrimage. Like today. The sun is shining through the leaves ( the sun and the copper beech tree have special relationships); a little robin is singing his simple fluting song… I wish I had time to stay here all the day, walk all the trails, catch a glimpse of a badger, find a sleeping owl or watch baby foxes playing… I only have two hours: one hour for photography, the other hour for having a marvellous time while walking back to the car park…

This year the bluebell season started late. I could come here next week and get a brighter blue, but I think that this delicate hazy shade is lovely.

I met a good few photographers, and even took a picture of a couple by request. Young and old, they came here because people need beauty. It is so wonderful that there are places like this one where you can come and fill yourself with beauty and peace.

Heraclitus said that no man ever steps in the same river twice. I got caught twice in the same rain today – does it count? First time it showered me after I left the woods, on the way to Freshford, and then it got me when I was leaving Clonmel. Fresh, aggressive, dedicated to wet you to the bone… My bluebell season is over for this year, but I will visit Jenkinstown later in summer again.

Photography tip of the day: When taking pictures of bluebells try to either get down low to the ground or position your camera as high as you can.

Have a great weekend!

Way of living

A few days ago I went to the Kilsheelan woods to check out the bluebells. Reckon I have to wait another week or two… Nevertheless, I had a pleasant photo shoot and lots of reflecting that wasn’t too pleasant though.

I took this photograph because the old tree root looks like a threshold: one step over it and you are in the magic world. I was ready for the magic:).

I made a stop to take a picture of the winding road. The air was full of the bird songs and gurgling of a stream below the road – all the sounds of Nature that invite tranquillity and purify the mind. I walked towards the stream and started to set up my tripod. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes and just stood there, staring. Right in the middle of the beautiful stream there was an old sofa rotting away, covered with algae and dirt. I didn’t take a picture of it because the sight of this sofa was too insulting… Why people tend to litter water???

I have met many people who changed their ways of life to become a happier person. People give up smoking and overcome drug and alcohol bondage; they stop eating junk food and pick up a hobby; they go back to education, reconcile with their family and kids, book a skydive, do some voluntary work – everything! But I have never met someone who said : I have littered the Earth, I have dumped my crap in the clear water, I didn’t bother to recycle, I had been a pig, but I want to be a happy man from now, so I will litter no more!

I took another picture of the stream next to the Woods gate. I wonder if people who dumped those tires read the information on the stand before they did it? Just out of curiosity, to educate themselves?

Is the civilization evil or it is only some individuals finding delight in their dark side? I don’t know…

Anyway, there are a few photographs to enjoy. I didn’t go to the woods, will wait for the bluebells to come up.

I wonder, does the Nature still wants more humans?

Photography tip of the day: If you are taking pictures of your children running, ask them to run toward you. The pictures will come out clearer.

Have a great day!

Gentle teachings

Taking advantage of the unusually sunny weather I got up early Monday morning and went to the river to catch some beautiful fog. A pair of swans floated by as i walked towards the river bend to get a nicer view.

I set up a composition, ready to press the shutter button. I completely forgot about the swans, but suddenly they just floated into my frame! Making it through the fog they looked so mysterious, almost ghostly. I got a few shots of them, and when they were gone I just knew it was the time to go back home because I wouldn’t get anything better today.

I was thinking about the days when I was very young. My Dad and I would go to the woods, and he would show and explain me everything he knew about the wild life and survival. And he knew a lot. My Dad spent many weeks hiding in the woods and running for his life during the World War II. I remember mushroom and berry picking with him. Being very young I didn’t understand the limits of things, and I wanted more and more of those mushrooms because it was fun to find them. My Dad taught me to never be greedy. He taught me to know where to stop. If I need many, fair enough, but I have to decide how many, exactly, and stop when I am done. And this applies to everything. I cannot tell that I have been following his teachings all my life; definitely not. But still, it is nice to know that your Dad was right, and that he, actually, did exactly what he taught.

Photography tip of the day: Ask yourself these questions: What is my subject? How can I give emphasis to my subject? How can I simplify my photograph?

Have a great day!