Hibernian Cottage
Ok, so this is a recent film shot of a rather beautiful lodge in the park called Hibernian Cottage. The house is situated just at the entrance gates to St. Mary’s Hospital which was originally the Hibernian Asylum or the Royal Hibernian Military School as it was later renamed. The Hibernian Asylum was original built to help orphaned children of soldiers who had fallen during the war and was then extended to cover the needs of destitute families of soldiers leaving Ireland for services overseas.
This lodge has for many years given me so much trouble to photograph that any sane person would have given up at this stage. The big problem with trying to get a really good photograph of this lodge would be the fact that you can’t really see that much of it from across the road. Normally I would just get a little closer but that is not really a solution in this scenario. My only other option was to cut down all the hedges at the dead of night and hope that nobody caught me, but cutting down trees as you may well know is not really my style now is it. So I would try going back at different times of the day and even different times of the year to see what I could do to capture this really beautiful lodge on film.
Right, so there I am with some really lovely long shadows beginning to appear on an early summers morning, the branches above me making that lovely x like shape on the grass in the foreground. I must admit at this stage I was really beginning to feel good about this one. I spent a while walking around from side to side to just get the best angle of the lodge and the shadows. Once I had decided on an angle that I was happy with I got the camera all set up and made all my little adjustments. By the time I was all ready to go when this delivery van arrives and proceeds to stop right in the centre of my shot, to be honest I think the driver was on his phone but he sat there in my photograph for at least ten minutes. By the time he decided to move on and go on his way this scene you see in the photograph had pretty much miraculously appeared. The ladies in their wheelchairs and their carers had stopped off at the gates of the lodge to pick some flowers from around the gateway. I rattled off as many shots as the camera could handle before they all walked away and everything was back to normal. This was my favourite of them all. I really like the sense of movement that the girl in the middle conveys. I must admit that something as simple as the shadows on the wall really make me love this photo above the rest in the series.
The photograph was taken on a Bronica medium format film camera using Kodak Tri-x 400 speed film.
The print was made using my very own bare hands in a traditional darkroom.
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Exhibition Opening Photographs
Here’s a nice little slideshow of photos from the opening of my exhibition in the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre on the 13th of January.
Big thanks to James for all the hard work.
My New Website
I am thrilled to announce my new photography website is finally up and running after many months of hard work.
I don’t like to do things by half so whilst getting ready for my first really big exhibition I also decided to teach myself how to build a website in my spare time. It has been great fun learning how to do things like this, it’s very much more challenging than a blog but it’s close to being finished now.
If you have some free time I would love you all to have a look and maybe let me know here on the blog what you think of it. I am very much open to constructive criticism, or any type of criticism, it doesn’t really matter.
Anyway the site can be viewed at www.davekphotography.com.
Thanks
Dave
Cricket In The Park
Ok, so they play cricket in the Phoenix Park and I know absolutely nothing about cricket. They use a bat and a ball, both are included in this photograph. There is a man who hits the ball called the batsman, also included in this shot and finally a guy who throws the ball called the bowler, he is not in the photograph. That’s pretty much my knowledge of cricket and it’s participants [most of which was gleaned from the internet]. I must say though, in it’s defence, cricket is a splendidly good way to spend a summer’s afternoon regardless of my lack of understanding. My spectator sport of choice would be Gaelic football but there is no chance of being able to lie back in the grass and a get a shot like this at Croke Park. Firstly I would most likely be removed by the stewards and secondly I would be trampled by blood thirsty GAA men in search of a football that one of them may or may not have in his possession. If you attend modern GAA matches you will know what I mean by that.
Anyway, cricket makes for good photographs so therefore I now like cricket.
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The Tree Went Boom
There is something about this tree that always reminds me of the mushroom cloud following an atomic explosion. Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t actually have any first hand experience of atomic explosions and I don’t think there has ever been one in the Phoenix Park, but maybe this tree has seen some video footage of one such explosion and has since decided to grow up exactly like one. These are the present dangers of allowing trees to look over your shoulder as you wander around the park with your smartphone watching youtube. Next we are going to find trees taking on ridiculous Jackass like comedy stunts. Just make sure you watch yourself next time you go to the park, you may end up having elastic bands catapulted at your head, or the back of your legs if you’re really unlucky.
This shot was taken in the stunning surrounds of the Peoples Flower Garden, you can find them just on the right hand side as you come in the main gates of the park.
The photographic print was made in the old fashioned way by my very own hands in a darkroom. The picture was taken using a Bronica medium format camera on Kodak Tri-x film, possibly my all time favourite film at this stage.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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If you would like a bigger or smaller size please don’t hesitate to email me with your requests.
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Old Zoo Entrance
This blog is slowly turning into a miniature history lesson, that may have something to do with my new found obsession with photographing all the lodges and dwellings within the park. It came as a great surprise to me to find there were 35 such buildings in the park, ranging from small gate lodges to the likes of Aras An Uachtarain. I have decided to try and photograph as many of them as I am allowed to basically, so sit back and relax as this blog turns away from trees and takes a long look at lodges. You will notice directly behind this truly beautiful lodge sits an equally beautiful tree, I just can’t stop myself, sorry.
This is actually the original entrance to the zoo and was built somewhere around 1833. The building has been beautifully restored to its original state and is well worth a visit if you have ten minutes to spare before or after you visit the zoo. My memory tells me I used to enter the zoo via this entrance when I was a kid in the seventies, but in reality I can’t remember most things I did last week, never mind forty years ago. It would make an amazing addition to the zoo if they were to open it up to the public again. When you are up close you will realise just how very tiny it actually is.
The photo was taken on a Bronica medium format camera using Kodak Tri-x 120mm film. The print was made by my very own hands in a traditional darkroom
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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Gates Of The Walled Garden
These are the side gates into the wonderful walled garden on the grounds of Farmleigh in the park. These gates are located to the right of the main gates to the garden, almost directly behind the boat house café. If you are familiar with Farmleigh you will most likely know exactly where these gates are, if you don’t really know Farmleigh then I recommend you rectify that matter and get yourself down there sometime. I love this place in both Summer and Winter, both seasons have their charm. The staff who look after this place have an awful lot to be very proud of, parts of it are wonderfully wild but other sections look like they have been trimmed with a pair of small scissors, such is the care that goes into it. Some day I expect to arrive and find an army of gardeners down on their knees trimming each individual blade of grass to the exact height. I have been informed by staff in the house that these mysterious gardeners only work in the dead of night though, so no chance of a photograph to prove my theory.
(Sometimes I like to bend the truth on this blog, this could be one of those moments)
The photo was taken on a Bronica medium format camera using Kodak Tri-x 120mm film.
The print was made by my very own hands in a traditional wet darkroom.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. Don’t worry if you don’t have a Paypal account, you don’t actually need one to simply pay with your credit card.
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If you would like a bigger or smaller size please don’t hesitate to email me with your requests.
Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Another One Bites The Dust
Regular visitors will probably already know that apart from being dedicated to the world inside the Phoenix Park this website is also somewhat obsessed with trees, be they upright or fallen. Whilst I am always a bit sad to come across fallen trees, I do also love to photograph them in all their majestic [but dead] glory. This one has been sitting on the ground for so long at this stage that it was almost entirely covered in lovely soft fluffy moss.
I wish I could do a scratch and sniff feature with this photo as the smell in the area when I was taking it was just amazing. A friend of mine recently described it as the smell of slightly stale hummus, not sure I totally agree but I like it nonetheless.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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The Phoenix Park Dolmen
I have been on the lookout for this particular spot for many months now.
My interest was originally sparked when I happened to see a Neolithic Cist marked on an old map which featured in the truly wonderful book “An Illustrated History Of The Phoenix Park” written by park superintendent John McCullen. I wasn’t entirely sure of its exact location but I did know that is was somewhere just outside the perimeter of the park ranger’s lodge. So my first job was to find the park rangers lodge. Not that difficult in fairness.
My research has led me to believe that this particular cist [or Dolmen as I like to call it] was known as “Knockmary” deriving its name from “Cnoc-Maraidhe” meaning the hill of the mariners. The mound on which the cist sits was originally about 40m in width and was possibly up to 3m in height. The mound was excavated [I don’t know when] and three human remains were found along with several grave goods, including a shell necklace. Unfortunately the cist is the only original element to survive to this day, but still, it’s a wonderful place to just sit and wonder about the history of this particular spot. I must admit it’s a lot smaller than other dolmens that I have seen in this country in the past but it’s still a thing of real beauty.
Imagine having this kind of history just outside your front garden, lucky park ranger eh.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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May Be The Gates Of The Cheshire Home
This was actually the photo I was on my way to take when I happened to stumble upon the dead pigeon in the previous post [click here]
I really have no idea where these gates lead to but my educated guess would be an alternative entrance into the Cheshire Home. The gates are now quite rusted and chained up with a big padlock. As you can probably see from the overgrown trees the gates haven’t been opened in quite some time. The tree on the right hand side of the picture is what really caught my attention [as I nearly walked on a dead pigeon]. It looks like some creature from a sixties low budget horror movie. It was almost consuming the gatepost but was actually attacking it from above. The next scene in this movie features only one gate post and the viewer thinking about what is missing.
I decided to get really low down on the ground to take this one [what must the staff in the park think of me at this stage], by that I mean I actually lay down on the ground, I really wanted to make the place look like the entrance to Bates Motel from Psycho. I think the dead leaves scattered on the ground really add to the haunting feel of the scene.
After taking the photo, I then had to go straight home as I was all wet from lying on the ground. I’m a fool for my art
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Wellington Testimonial
Ok, I think we are finally at the end of my [slight] obsession with the Wellington Testimonial, to use it’s proper name. If you are reading this Conor, then look, I have finally used the official name.
Most people, including myself I should add, call this particular structure the Wellington Monument, well I have news for you now my friends, it’s actually called the Wellington Testimonial.
The Wellington Testimonial was designed by Robert Smirke as a testimonial to Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. It was completed in 1861 and is the tallest obelisk in Europe at just over 62 metres tall. I gather it was once the largest obelisk in the world, but alas no longer, that medal belongs to the Washington Monument in, er………………Washington.
There are lots of great stories attached to the building of the monument but I think my favourite has to be the poor butler who allegedly managed to get himself sealed up inside the plinth. The story goes he slipped inside with lots of dirty crockery after an al fresco opening party and nobody noticed he was inside when they laid the final few blocks to seal up the entire structure. The poor guy wasn’t noticed missing for a few days. I wonder did he stash any food inside on the sly.
See ya soon.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Fallen Tree
I am beginning to think I have developed some kind of subconscious love of fallen or broken trees. Not sure when this actually started but I have discovered four or five posts on such subjects at this stage. I suppose it is just the nature of photographing trees that I am obviously going to stumble across many of these things, but what makes me have to photograph them I just don’t know. I suppose there is some kind of obscure beauty to these trees, nature tries to defeat them but they just struggle on and slowly repair themselves.
The trees in the background have appeared on this blog before, they are becoming regulars at this stage but I had to explain to them on this particular day they would have to play second fiddle. They were very understanding about this scenario and behaved themselves very well indeed.
The little stone bridge on the left hand side has also been captured before, who knows I may just have it set up on wheels and I bring it everywhere with me.
Enjoy.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 12 x 12 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
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Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Another One Of The Dog Pond
Ok, I have actually published another shot of this particular little pond in the park before (see here) but this time I decided to get inside the cluster of trees and see what I could make of the outside world from within.
It’s kind of ironic as the previous post from outside the cluster of trees was captured on a digital camera and then processed to look like medium format film, whereas this one actually is medium format film. I’m still madly in love with the square format of the pictures that come of out my borrowed Bronica [thanks again Caroline] so I find myself revisiting many places to see just how differently I frame a shot within the same area.
It’s quite a simple photograph but hey, I kinda like it.
The photo was shot on a very old Bronica film camera using Kodak Tri-x 400 film.
The print was made by my very own hands in the darkroom in The Gallery Of Photography in Temple Bar.
Blast Off.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 12 x 12 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
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Broken Tree Stump In The Peoples Gardens
It’s a tree, I know that but it’s neither a full tree nor are there lots of them.
I know I said I was trying to challenge myself by moving away from trees, for a little while at least, but this is not my usual kind of view of life. I am not really one for getting up close and personal when it comes to photography, I do like to stand back from things a little bit. This shot, like many, came about completely accidentally. I am on a mission at the moment to try and photograph as many of the lodges in the park as I physically can, there are up to 35 in total so be patient with me on this one. Anyway, I was in the Peoples Garden one beautiful sunny day trying to get my hands on a decent shot of the lodge within the gardens. The lodge itself is completely surrounded by a five foot hedge so it was taking me a while trying to find a decent angle to allow the lodge rise above its surroundings. I found a rather large tree stump and after standing on it and setting up my camera discovered I could almost get the entire house into the shot from this elevated angle. By the time I had tripod set up, camera tested, light meter sorted, focus tested and retested, a crowd of about twenty teenage Italian students arrived on the scene. No problem there I thought, in fact they may just add something to the scene. Then they all started to practise some bizarre form of group dancing, you know the kind you see in really bad R’n’B videos. I’m not putting that in my photograph, sorry if I seem a bit snobbish about it but come on, group dancing in a black and white landscape photograph. So I waited……….and waited.
I sat down on the ground and held my head in my hands waiting on this to end.
Then I noticed this little fella looking straight at me with his “Please photograph me” stumpy branches. And so I did, and I ended up really liking the results.
By the way, I have absolutely nothing against Italian students, they just happened to be Italian students. In fact, I’m a part time Juve fan so you could say I have a love of all things Italian.
Arrivederci
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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Thank You
Thank You
I just want to say a really big thank you to everybody who came to my exhibition launch last night in the Workmans Club. I had a great night and I hope you all enjoyed it too. It was my first opportunity to display any of my pictures in public and I have to admit I got a real blast out of hearing peoples reactions to the photos and finding out all your favourites. To say I am happy is a huge understatement.
Here’s a photo of the Phoenix Park just to celebrate.
And for anybody who couldn’t make it last night, I know it’s hard getting out on a Tuesday night, the show will continue until the end of April. You can go and view the photos anytime until then. The bar itself opens every day from 5pm, so feel free to pop in and grab a quick pint, cocktail or just a coffee.
For anybody interested in buying one of the framed prints just email me at the address on the contact me page
Thanks again, and thank so much for all your kind words.
Dave
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To purchase a signed 12 x 8 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
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Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Outside The Phoenix Park School
This shot was taken in a tiny little fenced in area directly outside the Phoenix Park School. I have always been intrigued by the building itself and to my shame I only discovered it was a school last year when I was given a gift of a book called “The Hidden Park”. It’s a really beautiful book of photography taken by people either working or living in the Phoenix Park. The book was produced and published by Ordnance Survey Ireland and features a host of works by various amateur photographers. If you have any kind of interest in the park and the people who work there then I highly recommend the book to you. It can be purchased directly from the Ordnance Survey Ireland offices located in the park, if you go past the turn into Farmleigh House you will see their offices on the right hand side.
The original school building seems to have been built around about 1848 and was designed by Decimus Burton. The school was built to cater for the children of the numerous people who actually lived in the park even at this early stage of its existence. Don’t quote me on this just yet but by my mental count there are between 30 to 40 different lodges / houses within the park so I’m sure the school itself was pretty busy.
I’m planning on a full count of lodges and houses within the park in the coming weeks, obviously with photographs to come too, so be patient with me while I do a little bit more research on these things. I have never really photographed many buildings before so this is kind of an exciting challenge for me.
All I need now is a bit of sunshine, anybody got any to spare out there.
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To purchase a signed 12 x 8 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
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Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Cold Coffee And No Sunshine
This shot was taken at the very back of the visitor centre, I know I go there a lot these days but I will explain all of that in a minute. I am on a mission at the moment to try and stay away from photographing trees and I have a lovely new project on the way to share with you.
So, I’m in the park on a very lovely cold but sunny winter’s morning, one of the rare occasions when I also have the car in tow. With that luxury I can also bring both film and digital cameras with me. It’s such a beautiful morning that I decide to head to the coffee shop in the visitor centre to grab a takeaway coffee and then head about my business. By the time I have gone in to the coffee shop and waited literally two minutes for my coffee the sun has disappeared and its just started to rain. It’s not real rain, as we like to say in Ireland, it’s just kind of blowing around. It’s not really a wet kind of rain, just more of an annoyance if that makes sense. Still, it is raining so no chance of taking either camera out of the bag. I decide to give up on the thoughts of wasting lots of film on a day like today so I throw the digital yoke on my back, put up my hood and head out the back gates of the visitor centre. As soon as I walk out this scene grabs my attention and I start thinking about coming back some day when the weather is better to get a shot of these trees. As I stand and stare down the line of trees, I like to stand and stare, it’s much easier than walking all the time, the sun slowly starts to peak out from between the clouds. By the time I set up the camera and take the shot the sun disappears again, not to be seen for the rest of the day.
They do a nice coffee in the visitor centre by the way, just as well, I had to buy another one as the first one had gone cold by the time I took the photo. Really pleasant staff and they do great food at lunchtime.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 12 x 8 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
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The Boot Monument
Ok, this is officially the last one in my series of photos about the Wellington Monument.
I am going to keep this one short and sweet, I’m breaking the mould here with a lovely sugary sweet story about the funny things that little kids say sometimes. I tend to keep these kind of things out of the blog, everybody’s kids say funny things so it’s really nothing new for mine to do it.
So, here’s how the story goes.
We are down in IMMA playing in the gardens one day, that’s the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in case you are wondering. From the gardens you can see the Wellington Monument rising up into the sky. I was simply testing my three year olds memory and asked him what was the name of that giant thing over there amongst the trees. He replies “It’s the Boot Monument Daddy”, I must admit I was a tad disappointed that he didn’t remember what it was called, trust me I tell him enough times the poor little fella. We tend to visit the park quite a lot, I always feel I could be missing something if I don’t visit the place at least once a week. Anyway, back to the main story. So I don’t tell him he is actually wrong I just tell him “Good guess but it’s actually the Wellington Monument” and we move on. A few minutes later I ask him again, he pauses looks over at the big stone structure and informs me yet again “It’s the Boot Monument”. I simply have an internal sigh and we just move on with no more comments. A few minutes later I finally realise what he is doing, pat him on the head with one of those “I’m so proud of you son” looks on my face and tell him “You are right son, it is called the Boot Monument”.
I hope it doesn’t take you as long as I took to realise the crazy [but superb] logic that was going on in his head.
Now, that’s the fluffy feel good post out of the way for the year.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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My Name Is Wellington
The Wellington Monument, eh ?
It’s beginning to seem like a little personal dual between the two of us at this stage.
Ok, I am well aware that this very large inanimate object doesn’t purposely try to elude me but sometimes it just feels that way. All I am asking of this massive stone structure is to simply situate itself in one of my photographs so that I can finally be happy with it and then move on to something else. Every time I pass by I spot another opportunity to catch it unawares, set up my camera and quickly snap. Actually it never really happens like that, I usually spend about twenty minutes looking through the lens trying to get everything just right, there is nothing quick about setting up a huge medium format camera on a tripod and then measuring all the different sources of light.
I have to admit I really like this one. I think it almost looks like I managed to slowly sneak up on the gigantic pillar and press the shutter button before it ran away. Ok, I will repeat myself here, I know it can’t move or run away but I am taking no risks at this stage.
For those of you who have never been in the Phoenix Park, this thing is really huge. For those of you who have been in the Phoenix Park, it’s huge isn’t it. Tell the rest of them how big it is.
I should warn you, this is the beginning of a series of three new shots I have of the monument, so if you don’t like this one then I advice you stay away for a week or two.
Taken on a Bronica medium format camera filled with Kodak Tri-x 400 speed 120mm film. I printed the photo myself in a traditional darkroom [sorry, I like to boast from time to time]
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 11 x 11 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
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The Lonely Bench
I always find something very sad and lonely about park benches during the winter months. I often wonder if these benches had feelings then how would they feel during the winter when literally nobody wants to sit and spend a bit of time with them. I started to think this myself as I sat on this exact bench only a couple of minutes before taking this shot. I had just bought a coffee in the nearby boat house restaurant and decided against sitting inside on such a beautiful winters morning. Don’t get me wrong here it was actually bloody freezing but still I always think if the sun is shining then get out and enjoy it. When you live in a county like Ireland you really do tend to appreciate these kind of sunny winters days. When I open the curtains in the morning during the winter and see just a sliver of sunshine I usually make up my mind to get out and about in it.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 11×10 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
If you would like a bigger or smaller size please don’t hesitate to email me with your requests.
Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Silver Birch In The Peoples Garden
This shot was taken in The Peoples Garden located just on your right hand side as soon as you enter the park through the main gates at Parkgate Street. You probably pass it all the time as you go towards to middle of the park. To be honest it doesn’t really look like much from the road but if you have a bit of time to go and explore it then I highly recommend you do so. You can park up near the Zoo and just walk back down, if you are walking then just head straight in after the main gates, you will see lovely old cast iron gates into the gardens pretty much as soon as you walk in the main gates. It does however get very busy during the summer months but in Spring or Autumn you will have the place pretty much all to yourself. In the winter months you will be lucky to meet a lost dog even. The gardens have a wonderful small lake / pond, to be honest I have never really been sure what the difference is between a pond and a lake, is it something to do with size. Is a large pond a lake and a small lake a pond.
I was actually on a mission to take pictures of the Wellington Monument on this particular day but I think you will agree I just couldn’t walk away from this scene without at least taking one shot. This I literally did, I promise I only took one single shot and thankfully it worked out for me. The light was just amazing on the trees, it just didn’t seem to be hitting any other surface in the park. It was quite late on a beautiful sunny December afternoon and I was on my way back to the car at this stage. I thought I would unwind after a hard days shooting [don’t worry I’m not expecting any sympathy] and maybe just have a wee sit down on a bench in the Peoples Garden. Sometimes it’s hard to kick back and relax when you have a big camera strapped to your back.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 11 x 11 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
If you would like a bigger or smaller size please don’t hesitate to email me with your requests.
Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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The Phoenix Park Tea Rooms
There is something about the sight of the Tea Rooms in the Phoenix Park that always brings me back to my early childhood. I think it always reminds me of those highly memorable days when we were all brought on an exciting day out to the zoo.
We are going way back to the late seventies here and it was long before my parents even contemplated buying a car. We grew up in a quiet little village called Dundrum at the time, it’s not such a quiet little village anymore as I’m sure most of you know now but trust me, when I was only a little kid Dundrum was no more than a few shops and one tiny little street. I remember we used to have to walk across to Clonskeagh and get the number 10 bus to the side of the Phoenix Park. It all seemed like such an exciting adventure at the time, we would leave the house as early in the morning as possible, no mean feat when you think about the hassle of trying to get five kids ready and make a massive picnic at the same time. Little did I know at the time how much military like skill was involved on my parents behalf, I’ve only got one kid and even that is difficult enough, never mind trying to do it with five. Then try and add in the amount of ham and cheese sandwiches to be made prior to leaving the house.
We would arrive at the side of the park and then make our way through the Peoples Gardens before all standing in a line to cross the main road. Once we got across the first road then it was one big race down the hill to the grassy hollow with the bandstand sitting proudly in the centre. We made sure to run as fast as possible down to the bandstand so we could have a bit of a play here before our parents slowly made their own way down to catch up with us. Once they arrived we then had to make our way back up the opposite hill towards the gates of the Zoo. The first thing that we would catch sight of at the top of the hill was the very beautiful Tudor like structure that used to be known as The Kiosk when we were kids. This was when we really became excited, you knew you were close to the Zoo as soon as you could see The Kiosk. It has now been beautifully transformed into the Tea Rooms but I still get a little tinge of excitement every time I see it when I am in the park.
Oh, the memories eh !
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
11×11
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To purchase a signed 11 x 11 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
If you would like a bigger or smaller size please don’t hesitate to email me with your requests.
Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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Farmleigh House
It has been coming a for a long time but I think I have finally taken a picture of Farmleigh House that I actually really like. I’m not really a great photographer when it comes to buildings, I think my big problem with buildings is they tend to get in the way of trees I am trying to photograph. So to solve this little problem I have incorporated lots of trees into my shot of the house, it’s a very beautiful old building and can be quite difficult to get far enough away to capture the entire structure in just one frame. There is a stunning old arboretum to the right of the house, you can just about see it in the photograph.
The area around Farmleigh is so well looked after by all the staff working there, it really is a credit to every body involved. They used to have free concerts on the beautiful grounds at the back of the house during the summer, a perfect place to enjoy an outdoor concert, but unfortunately this country is rather broke now so the funds are no longer available for these things. I know from speaking to some of the staff from time to time that they are personally very disappointed that the funding is not there but what can they do about it.
Anyway, this is not going to be a rant about the economic situation in this country, I would need an entirely new blog to even contemplate starting on that one.
This is all about celebrating something that is very very beautiful and also still available to the general public for free. We should still be thankful for the wonderful things we still have in this city, you simply have to make your own fun and I for one think that’s perfectly fine.
(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)
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To purchase a signed 11 x 8 inch print of this photo, just click the button below.
You can either pay directly via paypal or with your own credit card. The Prints are €25.00 each and that includes shipping to anywhere in the world. Your print will be made to order and will ship out within 48 hours.
If you would like a bigger or smaller size please don’t hesitate to email me with your requests.
Alternatively you can purchase unsigned prints or postcards of this photo from the Redbubble site from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.
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