Northern Rockies

Ireland - Travel Photography Recap

I don't feel qualified to write anything about photographing Ireland. We were only there for a week and saw such a small portion of it, but alas - here are some photos and some thoughts.

Here's where we stayed along our route:

Dublin

Kinsale

Kenmare (just south of Killarney National Park)

Ventry (near Dingle)

Dublin

-Neal

First of all, you’re gonna need a car.

This is Sharon, she was very kind to us and deserves all of our thanks for helping us learn how to drive on the left side of the road.

Be sure to have a credit card with a huuuuuge limit though - the morning we left for the trip I franticly called our provider and asked if they could change it (totally didn’t work, I ended up having to pay an extra $300 bucks or so for better insurance)

I’ve heard of people taking buses to the bigger tourist spots, but it seems like that is the only viable option for public transit - we didn’t see a single train while we were there, but maybe weren’t looking hard enough.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 30 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Big Stopper, Circular Polarizing Filter

The Rock of Cashel was first constructed in 1100 and they let you walk around inside (8 Euro entrance fee if I remember correctly). Full of tourist though, even with a 30 second exposure I had to take out some humans with Photoshop.

It’s was not too far off the road we took from Dublin to Cork area (M8 motorway)

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | .25 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

Killarney National Park is probably a 2-3 day size of park that we did in 1.

There is some good history (Ross Castle), insane gardens, and obviously great views.

This is Torc Waterfall. It was a 5 minute walk up to here, but there’s a loop that you can continue on for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f10 | 4 | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | 1/80 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

The Southern side of the park was full of crazy vistas and a few sheep on the road.

This image is available for print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 175 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Big Stopper, Circular Polarizing Filter

This is a composite image, one of the water and sky from the frame using the Big Stopper, and the other from one without for the land portions.

I was super excited about this composition and location (Lough Leane, accessed by car park in the Southern portion of the park) but the light just didn’t come through the way that I had hoped

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 1.6 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

Dunquin Harbour

This image is available for print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | .8 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

This image is available for print here.

Sony a7rii | 400mm 5.6 | f6.3 | 1/80 sec | ISO 200

From Dingle onward the weather was almost entirely rainy and windy, so even though there were a lot of good opportunities for compressed landscapes with the 400mm, they weren’t an option because of shake.

Here’s one of the few that wasn’t blurry near Dingle.

Sony a7rii | 85mm 1.8 | f11 | .4 sec | ISO 50 | Sony Smooth Reflections App

Western Coast of the Dingle Peninsula

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f13 | 1/30 sec | ISO 50 | Circular Polarizing Filter

Taken from a beach near Cloghane on the Northern coast, looking South towards Conner Pass.

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | .6 sec | ISO 50 | Circular Polarizing Filter

This image was taken from the car at a lookout point on Conner Pass, as the wind was coming up over the crest of the mountain way too fast for a tripod.

Sony a7rii | 85mm 1.8| f4 | 1/125 sec | ISO 50

Dingle Harbour at (misty) sunrise.

This image is available for print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f10 | 1/13 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

The Cliffs of Moher are definitely a thing. The road there is tiny and far from straight, and it was almost 10 Euros per person to park (apparently you can make a 2 hour walk and get in free though)

Sadly we missed prime Puffin time.

Moo boye.

I have very few things to say about Dublin.

1. My food related recommendations happen very rarely, so this is a big deal for me to type - Brother Hubbard is somewhere you should consume food into your body. 13/10 recommended.

2. Trinity Library is worth the moneys.

3. I have zero photography recommendations, whoops.

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Moab - Travel Photography Recap

Courtney Susan and I went to Moab with some pals for spring break this year.

I hadn't been to any desert regions of the US since before I was taking photos, so it was cool to get to experience it with a camera this time.

There's 2 National Parks in the Moab area:

1. Arches - Well known and well attended, if you wait too long into the day the entrance line really got big. It was about 30 minutes of driving one way to get to the farthest trailheads or landmark spots. 
2. Canyonlands - Split up into 3 sections with 3 separate entrances, this one sees less than half the traffic of Arches per year but is amazing in a completely different way (and we only were there for a day and just saw the uppermost section called Island in the Sky, the other sections apparently are different kind of landscapes all-together)

Cool. Let's look at some photos.

-Neal

Sony a7rii | 15mm 4.5 | f10 | .5 sec | ISO 50 | Smooth Reflection Sony App

Double Arch. One of the well known arches (pretty much all that we saw were), only a 5 minute walk from the parking lot. It would be a cool location for astrophotographers.

Sony a7rii | 15mm 4.5 | f10 | 1/30 sec | ISO 25

This scene was on the way back from Double Arch. I am bummed I didn't set up and take a proper photo, because it's one of my favorite compositions from the trip but I took it handheld at f/4.5 so the background is a bit out of focus. Life is hard. 

Sony a7rii | 85mm 1.8 | f2.8 | 1/320 sec | ISO 250

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 1/13 sec | ISO 50

Turret Arch, on the other side of the parking lot as Double Arch.

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | 8 sec | ISO 50 | Sony Smooth Reflections App

Ta-da, it's sunrise now. In about an hour this rock formation gets lit up by the sun and is the subject of many a photo.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f7.1 | 30 sec | ISO 400 | 5 image stitched panoramic

This is looking the opposite direction than the last photo of turret arch. The rock face at the very left is where you climb up to to get the next image's viewpoint (but you'll most likely have to get lucky or Photoshop out some tourists + photographers who are standing where I am) 

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f14 | 1/6 sec | ISO 50 | 5 image stitched panoramic

While I was up here I heard a lady yell at someone on the other side "it's just rocks, like everything else we've seen this week", so that's a thing.

Sony a7rii | 15mm 4.5 | f13 | 1/10 sec | ISO 50 | Composite of 2 images for sky/foreground + humans are Photoshopped out

Be warned that if you are hoping to get this angle at sunset you may get yelled at by angry photographers on the opposite side of the bowl. Also, be warned if you're an angry landscape photographer that it seems like an unhappy way to enjoy a view.

The hike up is not necessarily difficult, but if you are bringing photo gear up know that it isn't the easiest of hikes.

This image is available as a print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 400mm 5.6 | f9 | 1/1250 sec | ISO 1000

This area is prime time for telephoto abstract lines and shapes (notice the bikers on the first curve) 

Sony a7rii | 85mm 1.8 | f11 | 1/60 sec | ISO 400

Green River Overlook. This is another super accessible vista, not very far from the entrance of Canyonlands NP. 

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | .5 sec | ISO 1000 | 10 image stitched panoramic

This is the biggest pano that I've ever stitched, and the computer hated everything about it.

The storm in the distance was pushing in some crazy strong wind, and the tripod wouldn't stand up very well on it's own so I had to handhold these, resulting in a higher ISO.

This image is available as a print, click here to order.

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Thanks for reading/looking with your eyeballs! If you enjoyed this format and think it would be helpful for other people wanting to get images in Moab, sharing it on the interwebs and social media is always encouraged.

Washington D.C.

Last November we had a two day layover in D.C. and ever since we have been itching to get back. We took advantage of a few free days over spring break to visit some family & get back to one of our favorite places. We wouldn't consider ourselves "big city people,", but man has D.C. stolen our hearts in many a ways. 

I went into our three-day trip with bigs hopes to see all the things, but soon realized that it will take years for me to fully see all the sights, learn all the history, try all the local eateries, and admire all the beauty of our nation's capitol. It's not a place you can rush through and I think thats the thing that has allowed D.C. to win a top spot on my list of places I love. It makes you slow down, reflect, question, give thanks for your past, & hope for what's to come. 

Our three days spent in D.C. were just enough to remind me of those things. Take a peak at our quick trip through the lens of our good 'ol trusty film camera. We hope these photos encourage you to plan a trip to D.C., grab a history book, or seek out the history in your own backyard. 

Our days were filled with lots of riding, walking, reading, and learning. I love the fact that there is a place to reflect & learn around every corner. This trip's highlights included a tour of the Supreme Court building & the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument. My gratefulness grew right along with my understanding. 

We were lucky enough to arrive to lots of blooms. D.C. is famous for their cherry blossoms & I now understand why! As if those beauties weren't enough, we stumbled upon the U.S. Botanical Gardens as well. This place is full of beauty- from a cacao tree to more succulents than you could dream of.  It was a quick trip through some of what I would consider the wonders of the world. What beauty we are surrounded by. 

Exploring the different neighborhoods in D.C. made me love the city that much more. Colored buildings, a coffee shop with a story, & the local eateries are all it took. 

Here are a few places we were big fans of:

Ebenezer's Coffeehouse, a coffeehouse owned & operated by National Community Church. They brew fair-trade coffee & their profits go towards community outreach projects.

We, The Pizza, a pizza place that focuses on community while serving up one mean slice of pizza.

Good Stuff Eatery, a classic American restaurant with high quality burgers & fries. Oh, and don't forget the handspun milk shakes.

What a place. Hope to see you again soon, D.C.!