J Orr – Page 15 – Riccarpics

Bangor Boats

Bangor Marina is situated on the south shore of Belfast Lough and its like a magnet for photographers. I’ve photographed it many times and I went today intending to shoot some video clips. It was a bright, sunny Spring day with a mild breeze and I hoped to get some footage of boats, preferably yachts, entering or leaving the marina. As luck would have it as I walked towards where I intended to set up a small motorboat entered the marina from the lough. I wasn’t in position so gave it a miss. I wasn’t worried, it was a good day and I expected there would be others. Half an hour later and still no boats entering or leaving I decided to leave it for another day.

Not wanting to go away empty handed I shot some still images. I had expected there would be people working on boats to get them ready for the season. I like to get people doing things in my photographs but there was nobody around. People in an image add interest.

I’ve read that a photographer needs to develop the ability to make photographs where it first appears to many that there are no photograph to be made. I don’t think I’ve quite pulled that off on this occasion. In an attempt to create something even slightly different from the other thousands of photographs of the marina I used mainly a 45mm lens on my Panasonic camera, giving a field of view of a 90mm lens on a full frame camera. Most photographs I’ve seen of the marina are taken using a wider lens so these look a bit different.

I’ve submitted these and a few others to a microstock agency. We’ll see what happens.

The Old Days

The weather remains cold and wet, to cap it I’ve now picked up a cold and yesterday was the annual Horse Ploughing and Country Skills Day at the Folk Museum in Holywood. I try to go every year and I’ve made it for the last five or six but yesterday I couldn’t face standing in the cold in a mucky field sniffing and coughing and trying to take photographs.

Anyway with the Folk Museum in mind I continued organising my images and came across these photographs taken in the printers shop in the museum. They show printing frames with type. I have an interest in such things because many years ago I trained to be a Compositor or Typesetter and used similar tools, albeit not as old as these. I moved on to other employment and the memories faded until about ten years ago walking past the Belfast Telegraph I glanced in the window and saw a Linotype machine on display. A Linotype machine was a machine for casting type from molten metal. I know that sounds really dangerous but things were different then – not less dangerous just different. It was displayed in the window like some kind of ancient artefact with a mannequin sitting at it as if operating it. I had used one of these machines and seeing it on display like a museum piece made me feel a bit, well, uncomfortable. I suppose its part of getting not old, but older.

Castle Espie

Castle Espie is a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centre on the shores of Strangford Lough about 12 miles from my home. It is probably best known for being where nearly all the Brent Geese spend the winter months.

As well as being a relaxing place to simply walk around the centre is an educational resource for everyone, especially children, to experience the natural world at close quarters. There is a Duckery for hatchlings, ducks and geese are plentiful along with sea and shore birds and hides to watch them from. There’s even a cafe!

More images here.

Castle Espie WWT Centre with a view over Strangford Lough. Scrabo Tower can be seen in the far distance.

First Church

Back to my Lightroom catalogue. I took these images of Saul Church in Downpatrick in 2016 and for some reason I can’t remember, processed them in colour. They look fine (I’ve even sold prints) but I can’t figure out why I haven’t processed them to black and white before now.

Saul Church is built on the site of St. Patrick’s first church in Ireland. It is said that when he came to Ireland in 432 the local chieftain gave him a barn, where the church now stands, to hold services in. Patrick is believed to have died at Saul and his reputed grave is in the grounds of Down Cathedral, Downpatrick. Flowers are laid there on St. Patrick’s Day each year.

Services are still held in the Church at Saul.

Open Bible in Saul Church, Downpatrick, County Down

Getting to 2018

Past work has featured in the last few posts and although I’m still working at cleaning up my Lightroom catalogue and organising images I thought I should move into 2018.

January, this year, has been unusually dull and wet and his image of St. Anne’s was taken during a rare sunny few hours.

Belfast Cathedral, St. Anne's — Belfast Cathedral, St. Anne’s

Forgotten images

As I mentioned before I’m using the winter weather as an opportunity to clean up my Lightroom catalogue.

Working through images from previous years is a walk down memory lane and while doing it I’ve found photographs that should’ve been sent for stock but were missed at the time.

There are also many personal images that I meant to get printed and never got round to it.

These photographs are a find from the personal folder. I took them at a wedding reception on a little Sony RX100 that I no longer have. From memory I think it had a setting for fireworks that has worked pretty well.

Clarendon Dock

In recent years Clarendon Dock has been rejuvenated and is one of Belfast’s premium business areas.

City Quays 1 and 2 have been completed and have attracted some prestigious tenants. Plans are under way for the construction of City Quays 3 and 4. The AC Marriott Hotel nearby is nearing completion and is to open early this year.

While the new offices house mostly young computer literate people working in the digital, world the two original Clarendon Graving Docks remain. The first was completed in 1800 and the second in 1826. They contrast with the modern buildings and offer a reminder of how previous generations earned their living when life, although simpler, was much harder than than it is now.

Spirit of Belfast

The Spirit of Belfast is a sculpture by Dan George in Arthur Square, Belfast. Arthur Square is what I always knew as Cornmarket.

Harking back to Belfast’s industrial heritage the artwork represents the delicate woven fabric of linen and the strength of steel used in shipbuilding. Unveiled in 2009 it was quickly christened ‘The Onion Rings’.

Although I’ve never heard anyone express strong opinions on the sculpture locals will be happy to forget the fountain that didn’t work well and the bandstand that bands didn’t play from that occupied the space previously.