Category Archives: Film Photography

Fallen Tree Near The Dog Pond

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This is one of those occasions when I stood for a while pondering whether to take this photograph and decided it was worth it. I liked the scene but I just wasn’t sure if the tree would come out properly against the……….well let’s face tree lined background. I just wasn’t sure if a tree against a tree background would come out that well. This is one of the very few disadvantages of black and white photography, sometimes you get a scene with varying shades of green but obviously you can’t seen green in black and white. The problem then arises as to whether the entire shot will just blur into one big blob of the same colour. Thankfully the fallen tree in the foreground was almost completely without foliage and it’s almost brown like branches gave me just enough contrast in colour to the rather fluffy evergreens in the background.

I am so glad I took the time out to take this photo, I actually only took it two weeks ago but I went back there yesterday to show my three year old son and he was looking at me with a rather quizzical look on his face. Why?, well, it’s gone actually. I have no idea how long it had been there but lo and behold it’s all gone, not even an aul stump remains.

The tree was situated just at the back of the cricket pavilion and I have noticed a huge pile of earth and rubble in the car pack at the rear of the pavilion, if you don’t know where that is and you have ever been to the zoo then chances are you have parked there on many an occasion. Sometimes I write or tell people about places in the park that I just assume everybody knows about but alas many of you don’t. If you ever feel the need to explore the cricket pitches [yes there are two] then let me direct you there. When you enter the park through the main gates just keep going straight through the first roundabout. After that you need to look over to your left, don’t try this whilst driving though, you can drive up a little bit and you will see two very small little roads one after the other. Take either of these roads or even park on the main road and walk over. Once you have stopped you really can’t miss the cricket fields. You might also like a little trip into the beautifully secluded pond, for some reason named “The Dog Pond”. This is a great place to just sit for a while and basically think about a huge bunch of nothing.

Now, that’s the end of Dave’s mini tour of the cricket pitches and their environs.

(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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Tree Stump Or Medusa

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It’s a dead tree, yeah I know but it has been pestering me for ages now.
I have gone back to this particular tree stump three times now [or is that tree times].
Each time I go back either the lighting is all wrong or the results that come out of the camera are just not what I could see in real life.
In reality this stump kind of looks like either one or two people, wrapped around each other or just having a good old fashioned solo hug. Come on, we’ve all had an aul solo hug from time to time. I think I have finally managed to capture that feeling of twisted limbs and spiralling arms. Some people I show this picture to can see two entwined bodies, others can only see the one.

How about me?………..well, I can see only one person, she has her arm outstretched in the air and has long Medusa like hair. Actually now that I think of it, she is actually Medusa.

I have just had a quick re-read over the post and I have noticed that I mention this tree has been pestering me for ages now. I’m now thinking, what the hell have I become, I am now convinced that the trees are beginning to pester me. Not just any aul tree either, this one is actually a dead stump. Dead psychiatrist, please help me, I think I am being pestered by trees, dead and alive [and one of them looks like Medusa]

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 x 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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Guest Photographer on Photobotos

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I am truly honoured to say I am officially the guest photographer of the day on the rather wonderful Photobotos blog today. A huge thanks to blog owners Charlie and Tom for considering me and also for their kind and encouraging words about my photography.

Why not nip over to their blog and have a good look around.
Photobotos Blog

Ashtown Castle And A Gaslamp

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I must say I really love these old gas lamps, do they work, yes they do.
They are situated right through the main thoroughfare bisecting the park and in the main areas like the Visitor Centre and Farmleigh. To the best of my knowledge they are still running on gas but obviously they don’t need to be lit manually anymore, at some point in the past they were and I can only guess the amount of staff required to light up the park of an evenin’. I’m guessing the cast iron poles and fittings are all original, some are even dated with the year of manufacture and then others are simply dated with “Phoenix Park”. The lamps all along the main road in the park are all painted black but all the poles on the road up to the Visitor Centre are white, don’t know why they are different colours but I kinda prefer the white ones. My reason is purely selfish, they tend to photograph better with trees in the background.

This photo is also the last in my recent series of shots taken of Ashtown Castle in the Visitor Centre. Here’s an interesting fact before I head off, apparently Ashtown Castle is the oldest building in the Phoenix Park. Now, there’s a fact to store in your pub quiz trivia bank.

Some technical details about this photo.
The photograph was taken using a medium format Bronica camera loaded with Kodak Tri-x 120mm film. The 6cm x 6cm negative was then printed on Ilford Multigrade paper in the darkroom, by myself I should add. All recent photos on the blog have been made by my very own hands in a traditional old style wet darkroom.

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 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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Phoenix Park Trees, Visitor Centre

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Ok, so it’s the new year blah blah blah………I’ve set myself a wee target for the next month or two.
Some of you may be disappointed by this but I am going to challenge myself and see if I can get through at least a month without photographing any trees in the park. This will rule out any photographs featuring trees as their main focus. I will allow myself to have trees in the background so long as they are not the main feature of the photograph. Now, having set these new rules I should very quickly add that I have also set myself a challenge of photographing as many buildings in the park as is humanly possible in the next two months, so if some of these buildings are surrounded by trees then you will please forgive me the odd misdemeanour.
I know some of you love trees as much as I do so don’t go away, they will be back very soon and I still have a bit of a backlog from the last few months to post. I also have a lovely series of shots from Farmleigh House and its environs to share with you.

My least favourite job in the whole world is scanning photographs and that’s all that is delaying me at this stage. It’s time I taught my three year old son how to use my scanner. Can you just imagine the crazy stuff that would be appearing on the blog.

Taken on a Bronica medium format film camera, filled with Kodak Tri-x 400 120mm film. Printed by my very own hands in a darkroom.

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 x 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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More Visitor Centre Beauty

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Another shot for you today from the general region around the Visitor Centre.
I truly love these grounds, some of you have probably guessed that already but just in case you are new to this blog, may I mention that I love the grounds around the Visitor Centre.
The area features a collection of some of the finest trees that you will find anywhere in the Phoenix Park and as you probably know, trees are my kind of thing.
I particularly love this beast of a tree, if you approach it from a certain angle it almost looks like some great big monster has taken a chunk out of it. I have tried really hard to capture what I mean in this particular shot. If you look to the right hand side of the tree it looks considerably less populated than the left hand side. I’m beginning to think that whatever took away that side of the tree simply used the bench for extra elevation. Perhaps there is some kind of massive tree trimming instrument and the park warden got a little bit waylaid during a haircut.
The photograph was taken on a particularly sunny October morning with lots of low winter sunshine and a cloudless sky.

Thanks for dropping by.

Taken on a Bronica medium format film camera, filled with Kodak Tri-x 400 120mm film. Printed by my very own hands in a darkroom.

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 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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Door Of Ashtown Castle

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I love this door. There is something magical and mystical about it, well there was until I got to see what was behind it and then it just became even more so.
As a great lover of trees I am also a huge fan of all things wooden, my poor son is probably sick of the sight of wooden toys, I’m sure he craves a bit of good old fashioned tatty plastic. As a trained cabinetmaker I have a great respect for all forms of wooden craftsmanship and nothing is better than getting up close and personal with things as beautiful as this old door. A quick rub of the hand along the grain and off I can go on my travels again, it’s just something that needs to be done anytime I pass it by. I’m sure people see me doing it and think I suffer from some kind of compulsive disorder, trust me I don’t, really I don’t.
I have no idea how old the door is, not even sure if it is the original door but it certainly looks the part and that’s really all that matters in my world anyway.
The photo is another in my series of film shots. It was taken on a beautiful old Bronica camera filled with Kodak Tri-x black and white film. The film itself was developed by my good friends in the Camera Exchange in Georges Street. I then made the print with my very own hands in the darkroom in the Gallery Of Photography, a wonderful resource for amateur [poor] photographers like me. The staff in there are amazing and the darkroom facilities are second to none. They also always have wonderful exhibitions on upstairs along with a truly superb bookshop, be careful though, you will end up buying lots of stuff if you’re addicted to photography books like I am.

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 x 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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Ashtown Castle At Last

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It’s been my aim to capture this wonderful little castle for many years now but no matter how many times I try I just can’t seem to get it right.
I think I am finally close to being happy with it, all it needed was the square shape of medium format photography as I think it gives the photograph a lovely old world feel.

The purists will tell me it looks a little like the castle is falling over but you know what, the purists are not always right, in fact they are mostly wrong. I say “Pah” to converging verticals and hello to a picture that you find appealing.

The castle itself kind of reminds me of something out of a Brothers Grimm fairytale, it’s a real castle but very much in miniature. It’s also quite gothic in style [maybe all castles are] complete with tiny window openings and a giant wooden door. There is actually no glass in any of the windows, so that kind of just makes them openings rather than windows, doesn’t it.

Taken on a Bronica medium format film camera, filled with Kodak Tri-x 400 120mm film. Printed by my very own hands in a darkroom.

(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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Bank Of Trees, Visitor Centre.

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As you may have guessed from the last few posts I have spent a couple of days with a brand new camera in and around the region of the visitor centre in the Phoenix Park.
These shots were all taken about 6 weeks ago but they take a little bit longer to get up on the blog as they are all now printed by myself in the darkroom. I normally get one day a week to spend in the darkroom but if the weather permits then I have to abandon that plan and get my arse over to the park again instead. If you live in Ireland you will be more than familiar with our discordant weather patterns, if you don’t live here then take it from me, when you see sunshine during the winter you get out and enjoy it as much as possible. As a photographer I suppose it’s a good time to head in doors and do some studio work, but regular readers of this blog will well know that I am not an indoor studio kind of photographer. Apart from bonsai trees there is pretty much nothing indoors for me to photograph, that’s just the way I am. Trust me, you really don’t want to see hundreds of photographs of my three year old son, and even if you do, you’re still not going to [He’s all mine and I’m not sharing him].

In the time it has taken me to compile this post I had to take a break to spend the afternoon putting up all our Christmas decorations and guess what ?, we now have a Christmas tree in the house. Oh yes, a tree inside the house. Get ready for lots of arty black and white shots of a Christmas tree folks.

Taken on a Zenza Bronica SQ-A 120mm film camera using Ilford Xp2 Super
Printed by my very own hands in a darkroom

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 x 9 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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Close Up Of Tree Roots

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I’ll keep this post short, why ?

Well I have pretty much already covered this photograph in a previous post, it’s not the exact same photograph but one is a closer zoom and this one………isn’t.

I like both of them so I am letting you see both of them, I’m normally quite good at making my mind up about these things, sometimes you need to be callous and just pick one and dump the other.

This is also one of the first shots to be taken on my newly borrowed Bronica camera and is a fine example of why I love the square format of medium format photography.

Special thanks to Julie for helping me with the word callous. You know those moments when you have a word on the tip of your tongue but it just won’t make its way down to your fingertips. Well, I had one of those moments, so thanks Julie.

Taken on a Zenza Bronica SQ-A 120mm film camera using Ilford Xp2 Super
Printed by my very own hands in a darkroom

(Comments and opinions are greatly appreciated, please feel free to let me know what you think)

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To purchase a signed 10 x 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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