A crazy thick fog settled over Dublin today. It lay over the city all morning and right through to late afternoon. If the fog stayed until later in the evening I thought it would make for perfect conditions to take some lovely night shots when the crowds died down and sky got just a little darker. So I waited for a bit before heading into town with my camera and tripod.
Of course – it wasn’t to be – the fog had lifted and I didn’t get the shots I had in mind.
‘Mist’ opportunity…. haha…. get it….. mist…haha……oh never mind….
Fog’et it….. oh okay I’ll stop.
Still, I setup the camera in the middle of O’Connell street to try and get some nice long exposures and I got a couple that I’m pretty happy with.
I took a little walk along the Liffey before sunrise this morning and it’s just gorgeous out. A real proper crisp winter (someone told me it’s not officially winter until December..) morning.
I didn’t take a whole lot, but I’m happy with what I got during the hour or so when the light was just perfect.
I recently purchased a new lens. It’s a Sigma 12-24mm. It’s beautiful. Apart from my little compact camera, the lovely little Panasonic Lumix LX3, this Sigma lens is the first non-Canon piece of equipment I’ve owned. I hummed and hawed for quite some time before buying it but I have to say, I love it. It provides some mentally wide angle shots (see Kilmainham post below for examples) and I really can’t wait to test it out properly – I’m just waiting for the right night as I want to take some more Dublin night time city shots when the Liffey is just right.
Until that day arrives, I thought I’d have another crack at that bike ride but this time with the new lens fitted. With the lens at 12mm the world looks like a dangerous and scary place with traffic and people seeminly much closer than they really are.
Mind you, I did nearly crash into another cyclist (although I think she nearly crashed into me in all honesty) and later on nearly came off the bike when my rear tyre couldn’t mount a kerb and decided to slide along it instead. You’ll hear a faint “Jeeeeeeeesssh!” at around 3:37 which translates as “That was flipping close! I nearly came off just then. Oh my goodness the mess I would have made to not only the camera but to my face! Awweeeoooo”. Yeah, my jeeeesssh’s are very elaborate.
I don’t know what is is about the Kilmainham Gaol that I love so much but recently it seems that anytime someone comes to visit me in Dublin and asks “So, what’ll we do today?” the answer is usually always “Oh I know, we should go to the Kilmainham Gaol”. My brother came to Dublin last week and that’s exactly what happened.
This was my fourth visit but the difference this time was that for once I brought my camera with me.
It’s a great place to photograph and I’d love to go back some time and just hang back from the tour crowd to get the shots I really want. That little mission will have to wait for another day.
By the way – if you haven’t done the tour I’d highly recommend it. There are constant guided tours so you never have to wait too long before yours begins. The tour guides always know their stuff, are very patient and let you take time to ask questions, poke about a bit and take plenty of photos – if that’s what you’re into. It’s cheap too.
Christmas at the GPO
