Castle Espie Wide Angle

I’ve written about Castle Espie before. It is a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centre on the shores of Strangford Lough about 10 miles from my home. I try to visit a couple of times a month and while I go mainly to take photographs as do many others, a lot of people come to simply walk in the grounds and see the wildfowl and the views over the lough.

It’s a popular place to see the Brent Geese as thousands of them winter on the lough and the Trust has The Brent Discovery Hide right on the shore where you can watch them in reasonable comfort.

The Centre is good for photography. When you enter there are large ponds where you can feed the ducks and geese. This area is separated from the main reserve and the birds are used to being fed so you can get fairly close.

I’ve tried before to photograph the ducks and geese using a wide angle lens and it didn’t work out well for me. The birds had been fed and my attempts to coax them to come close with grain I had bought didn’t work.

This was my second attempt. These photographs were taken using a Canon 17-40 lens at the short end. Since I took these images I’ve thought of a few ways to make improvements. I need to get the camera lower and closer for a start and I need more birds in the frame. I know I could clone some of the birds from elsewhere in the photograph but I’d prefer to get it right in camera if possible.

I’ll try again and call this work in progress

Wildfowl, Castle Espie WWT Centre
Wildfowl, Castle Espie WWT Centre

Wildfowl, Castle Espie WWT Centre
Wildfowl, Castle Espie WWT Centre

Wildfowl, Castle Espie WWT Centre
Wildfowl, Castle Espie WWT Centre

The Antrim Coast

Antrim Coast Road at Ardclinis Church between Carnlough and Waterfoot MG_6845-Pano.jpg

The Antrim Coast or Causeway Coast is famous for its rugged beauty, ruined castles, picturesque towns and villages, friendly people and The Giants Causeway. All are made gloriously accessible by the Antrim Coast Road, considered by many to be one of the great drives of the world.


The Coast Road traces the coastline. It is a dramatic drive often with the road just feet from the sea on one side, while cliffs tower on the other side. Sometimes it is closed because of rock falls.

White Park Bay, North Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland 20190817_6401_jorr-Pano.jpg

North Antrim Coast 20190817_6372_jorr-Pano.jpg

Loughareema, the vanishing lake, is a few miles from Ballycastle. The road past the lake sits high enough now to avoid flooding but originally was lower and often under water when the lake flooded. It is said that the engineers building it were possibly unaware of the vanishing lake.

In 1898 the occupants of a coach were drowned while travelling the road when they misjudged how deep the water was.

Loughareema the vanishing lake is on the Coast Road a few miles from Ballycastle. The lake sits on a leaky chalk-bed with a “plug hole” that often becomes jammed with peat. This causes Loughareema to fill during heavy rain. When the plug clears, the lake drains rapidly MG_6923-Pano.jpg

These photographs show the lake partly filled. I think I may have seen water in it once before but it was a dull grey day. This time I was fortunate to get a nice blue sky.

Loughareema the vanishing lake is on the Coast Road a few miles from Ballycastle. The lake sits on a leaky chalk-bed with a “plug hole” that often becomes jammed with peat. This causes Loughareema to fill during heavy rain. When the plug clears, the lake drains rapidly MG_6897-Pano.jpg

The Church at Ballintoy

The Church of Ireland church at Ballintoy was completed in 1813. It was a replacement for an older structure that is believed was built in the first quarter of the seventeenth century.

Extensive renovations were made in 1883 and further repairs after a hurricane in 1894.

The church makes for striking photographs

Ballintoy Church, Antrim Coast and Glens 20190703_3088_jorr

Ballintoy Church, Antrim Coast and Glens 20190703_3081_jorr

Ballintoy Church, Antrim Coast and Glens 20190703_3097_jorr.jpg

Prints of these images, along with others from the Antrim Coast and Glens can be purchased here.

Festival of Flight 2019

The annual Festival of Flight, sponsored by Collins Aerospace, Kilkeel and held at Newcastle Co. Down is an ever popular event usually attracting in excess of 100,000 visitors. This year, with a day of nearly unbroken sunshine, the show was probably more popular than ever, evidenced by the size of queues outside the ice-cream shops.

The festival is usually held in early August but the organisers decided to bring it forward to June this year because the main attraction, the RAF Red Arrows display team, is off on an American Tour in August and September.

The Red Arrows appearing attract people to the show that perhaps wouldn’t go and the organisers being prepared to bring the event forward to facilitate their appearance demonstrates this popularity.

The decision however turned out to be inspired as the show fell on one of the best days of the summer so far and with little or no cloud the Red Arrows were able to go full on, enthralling the crowd.

Newcastle, Co. Down, Northern Ireland – June 22, 2019: The annual Festival of Flight attracts over 100,000 visitors to the seaside town.

Also popular with spectators were the AeroSuperBatics wing walkers. They seemed completely at ease moving around on the wings of the small planes as they flew over the bay. Impressive to watch.

Newcastle, Co. Down, Northern Ireland – June 22, 2019: The annual Festival of Flight attracts over 100,000 visitors to the seaside town.

The Irish Coast Guard, Garda Cósta na hÉireann helicopter along with the RNLI gave a rescue demonstration. The helicopter crew winched someone up from the moving lifeboat.

These guys save many lives every year by risking their own and in 2017 an Irish Coast Guard helicopter crashed into the sea off County Mayo during a rescue and the crew of four lost their lives.

Also appearing were the Team Raven aerobatic display team, a CASA Maritime patrol aircraft from the Irish Air Corps, a Douglas Dakota, The Global Stars and The Blades and probably some that I’ve missed.

You can see more images here

Purchase a licence here

Glenariff

I said in the previous post I hoped to make some panoramic images on the Antrim Coast and a couple of recent trips in that direction could be classed, at best, as just partially successful.

I had been hoping for some time to get some photographs in Glenariff Country Park. There is a wooden walkway that follows the river and in places, given the right conditions, I was confident it would make for some worthwhile images.

On both occasions I set off intending to stop and photograph some likely places on the Antrim coast on my way to the Glens.

I had photographed Glenariff before but it had been in summer and I had only limited success. I didn’t have a tripod – a near necessity when photographing moving water and the trees form a canopy blocking much of the light. A further complication in summer is the number of visitors and the aggravation erecting a tripod in the middle of the walkway would cause.

On my visit this time I did have a tripod and being early spring there were few visitors for me to obstruct.

The downside was the thick foliage and deep green lustre of summer I remembered hadn’t developed yet and the trees look a bit bare.

Glenariff Country Park, Antrim, Northern ireland. Glenariff is one of the Nine Glens of Antrim
Glenariff Country Park, Antrim, Northern ireland. Glenariff is one of the Nine Glens of Antrim

This image is a panoramic, combining two photographs. As can be seen the trees are bare. I’ll visit again in a month or two and go early when its not so busy

Antrim Coast Road
Antrim Coast Road

Ballintoy Parish Church is a short distance from the town. Completed in 1813 it was a replacement for an older church
Ballintoy Parish Church is a short distance from the town. Completed in 1813 it was a replacement for an older church

Cyclists on the Antrim Coast Road
Cyclists on the Antrim Coast Road

I’m told that I shouldn’t combine black and white and colour photographs in the same post so I’ve kept this one till last.

This image was taken with the intention of using it for stock. Normally with such a photograph I would follow the cyclists with the camera, keeping them sharp while blurring the background to show movement. Here I kept the camera stationary and used a slow shutter speed to blur the cyclists making them unidentifiable, while keeping the background sharp. Ideally I would’ve used a slower shutter speed but then I would’ve needed that tripod agiain.

The Big Picture

There’s something about a big photograph. It draws the eye, it has presence, it can fascinate, it can impress.

I’ve rediscovered panoramas.

These images are from Castle Espie, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre in County Down and were taken over the last week or so.

Castle Espie Wetlands, County Down, Northern Ireland
Castle Espie Wetlands, County Down, Northern Ireland


I’m enjoying doing something different. Most of the images I produce are destined for stock while panoramic photographs are meant to be printed big and hung on walls.

I’m also getting to use my Canon 5D2 rather than the little Panasonics. The Panasonics are great when you have to carry a camera for hours shooting general stock. The Canon is more suited to this work and it’s like working with an old friend again.

Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, Down Northern Ireland with Strangford Lough in foreground
Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, Down Northern Ireland with Strangford Lough in foreground

The Antrim Coast is next on the list.

Castle Espie
Castle Espie

A Well Fed Robin

A recent foray into the woods at Castle Espie WWT Centre threw up an unexpected result. I had been there to shoot some video of Brent Geese feeding on Strangford Lough and afterwards went for a walk into the woods.

I stopped at the viewpoint that overlooks the centre when a Robin landed on the fence a few feet away. My cameras were in my bag and I thought if I reached for one it would take flight so I stood watching. It watched me back. After what seemed a long time, although it was probably less than a minute, I risked it and grabbed for my camera. The Robin hopped around on the fence, happy to be photographed. Things were going so well I even thought of erecting my tripod and trying for some video but I that would have been a step too far.

Later when I was processing the photographs I realised that the Robin probably expected me to give it food. Often when you stop to photograph wildfowl in Castle Espie they come close expecting food. Why would a Robin be different?

Indeed to my untrained eye this Robin does look fairly well fed.

Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula)
Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula)

Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula)
Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula) sitting on a fence

Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula)
Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula) sitting on a fence

Belfast 2018

This is the time of the year when you publish some of your best or favourite photographs taken in the previous year.

I didn’t travel around the country as much as usual in 2018, mainly because of illness over the summer, so I’ve limited myself to Belfast. These are some of the photographs that jumped out at me for various reasons.

I found it more difficult than expected to select images but right or wrong these are what I’ve decided on. They’re not in any particular order.

 

Porringer's Entry - The Morning Star
Porringer’s Entry – The Morning Star

 

Pottinger’s Entry, Belfast

 

Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, 4 August 2018. Thousands turn out for the annual Pride Day Parade.If I had been able to back up another few feet I would’ve got the full ‘Pride’ shadow on the road. Unfortunately there were too many people behind me.

 

HMS Caroline
HMS Caroline

 

Spirit of Belfast

 

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

 

Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK – August, 8, 2018: The Big Fish or Salmon of Knowledge with one of the Harland and Wolff shipyard cranes in the background

 

Rotterdam Bar, Belfast

 

Belfast Rickshaw
Belfast Rickshaw with The Obel Building to the right

 

McHughs Bar, Belfast
McHughs Bar and Restaurant. Built around 1711 McHughs is believed to be the oldest surviving building in Belfast

 

Welcome Ambassador in the rain, Donegall Place
Welcome Ambassador in the rain, Donegall Place

 

Titanic Belfast
Titanic Belfast

 

Botanic Gardens
Botanic Gardens

 

Musicians playing outdoors, Botanic Gardens
Musicians playing outdoors, Botanic Gardens