Every time I come out to California, I feel a need to travel down to the Pacific Coast Highway between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. It’s wonderful. The yellow cliffs, the long beaches, the sea fog close to the shore and the huge breakers. It’s a magical place. Here are some photos I took yesterday.
I travelled back to Singapore last week – a welcome change from the bitter cold of Cork in January. While it was mainly a work visit, I got a chance to do some sightseeing.
Singapore is a tiny island, not much bigger than metropolitan Dublin; but it packs a population of over 5 million people. Because land is not an option, people build upwards. Thousands of apartments dot the landscape. The racial mixture in each block is carefully managed to promote harmony amongst the resident ethnic populations.
There are a lot of tourist attractions, particularly around the Marina Bay area. The Gardens by the Bay, shown above, is particularly spectacular at night, with stunning colours and a laser light show illuminating the park.
We did not go to these gardens; instead we went to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It’s a gem. I’d love to have spent a few days there. The National Orchid Garden is a must-see. Here are a few examples of the flowers on display.
The Orchard Road area has some interesting street art and artistic gems. Here’s a piece that particularly impressed me. At a distance it looks like a large urn, but when you look closer, the whole vessel is made from just 4 letters. Very clever.
In this sometimes stressful year, I often let my eyes do the talking for me. Here are some of my favourite photos from 2014. I hope you like them. Click on any of them to get a better view.
January of 2014 was incredibly stormy, with high winds lashing the coast at least once a week. One compensation was the wonderful cloudscapes such as this one above, taken in Garryvoe, Co. Cork.
2014 was the Chinese New Year of the Horse. On my first ever trip to China in February I came across this wonderful display in the city of Shanghai.
The annual 19km Ballycotton Cliff Walk is one of my favourite hikes, as it marks the approach of spring and the end of winter. This photo was taken on March 16th.
The wonderful gardens of Garnish Island in West Cork are full of surprises. This photo, from April, was perhaps early in the year for full bloom, but the flowers of spring always have a special place in my heart.
John F. Kennedy Park in Co. Wexford holds plenty of surprises too. During our visit in April I came across this wonderful display as a rhododendron bush shed its flowers.
A quick walk up the hill gives me a wonderful view over south Munster, from the Celtic Sea all the way to the Knockmealdowns, the Comeraghs and even the Galtees in the far distance.
By July, we had finally accepted that this was going to be one of the great summers. That’s worth jumping around for.
Bumblebees were everywhere this year. They go about their business with no real interest in us – focused on one thing only: nectar. When they have too much, they fall asleep, putting up a leg if you come too close. Mad about them, I am.
Well, the Internet is all about cat photos, right? Right?
With the nights lengthening in October, I caught this morning sunrise in Glounthane, Co. Cork.
I took this during a day trip to Dublin in October. It captures many of its iconic structures quite well, I think.
I won’t forget the 26th of November too quickly. I had taken a few days off work and I rose early to discover a fog-shrouded landscape. What followed were some of my favourite photographs of the year. This one was taken from Belvelly Bridge near Fota Island.
After Cobh, I drove to Midleton, where I came across this scene. My parents had a painting at home that reminds me of this photo.
Then on to Castlemartyr Resort, where I took this photo as the sun was rising. Sometimes, you are just in the right place at the right time.
After buying a macro lens for my iPhone in late November, I came across this little fellow climbing around a dandelion clock.
This photo is from the 16th of December, taken during my morning commute. Though the sun had not yet risen, I just had to stop my car and start snapping.
I took this photo on Garryvoe beach just yesterday. It’s like the boys are running from a nuclear explosion.
Taken just this morning, this photo again saw me leaping out of my car. The sun was perfectly positioned over Ballycotton Island. Just glorious.
If any of you are interested, I post regularly to Instagram, and less often to Flickr. Maybe I’ll see you there.
We were treated to a wonderful morning a few days back. Fog and frost covered the fields, the rivers and the hedges. All was quiet. Armed only with an iPhone and Instagram, I visited a few beauty spots and took some photos. Some of them had a good reaction on the Internet, so I have reproduced them here, going back to the originals and seeing if I could improve on them.
View from Belvelly Bridge
Belvelly Castle, Great Island, Co. Cork.
Fortified House, Ballyannan, Midleton, Co. Cork.
Estuary, Ballyannan, Midleton, Co. Cork.
Midleton, Co. Cork.
Castlemartyr Resort, Co. Cork.
Castlemartyr Resort, Co. Cork.
Last Sunday, we went on a boat trip in West Cork. We were hoping to come up close and personal with a large pod of fin whales, but, despite excellent weather on the day, they were nowhere to be seen. Photos of these magnificent creatures will have to wait for another day.
The trip was remarkably uneventful. Not only did we not see fin whales, but we also failed to spot any sunfish, dolphins or minke whales either. Even the skipper couldn’t hide his frustration on the day, as the previous few days had been marvellous for spotting marine creatures.
We did manage to see seals, but this time of the year they’re not likely to go too far as the females are heavily pregnant. And no, we didn’t see any newborn seal pups either, in case you’re asking.
The upside is that I managed to take some nice photos. The coastline around Castletownshend is gloriously photogenic, even if its marine inhabitants were in hiding.
The Stags
Seal Rocks
One of the real attractions of Ireland (if we get the weather for it), is our long summers. The sun rises at 5 am and sets at 9 pm with darkness taking its time to arrive, if it does so at all. Our latitude is so high we don’t actually have a proper night for 2 months.
This year has been wonderful. The summer evenings have thrown up a variety of coloured skies and cloudscapes. I took a few photos close to home that give a sense of it all.
Flock of crows by Ballymacoda beach
Haystacks
Sign from the skies
Giant Haystacks
Eerie happenings in Shanagarry
The garden has been abuzz with insects over the past few weeks, going about their chores, unconcerned by the to-ings and fro-ings of us humans. I have been particularly taken by bumblebees. Industrious to a fault, full of variety and character, yet highly unlikely to lose their cool and sting. If you get too close to them, they’ll just fly off, or if they are particularly tired, out will come a leg to ward you off. Getting stung by one of them really is a last resort. Other visitors have included butterflies, moths, hover-flies and dragonflies, with the dreaded wasp conspicuous (so far) by its absence.
Here is a selection of shots, taken on my iPhone, which give a sense of the garden’s busy denizens this year.
Bumblebee on Ligularia Dentata
Bumblebees on Echinops
Common Blue on Lavender
Peacock Butterfly on Buddleia
Magpie Moth on Phormium
Ballywilling Beach, close to Garryvoe but far more isolated and deserted, is a marvellous place to go for walks, relaxation and photographs, particularly as sunset approaches. Here are some of the photos I have taken there over the past few weeks. I really like how many of these shots came out. I first shared a few of them on Instagram, but I’ve gone back and re-edited them from the originals to see what I can do with different software.
We took a quick trip to John F Kennedy Arboretum yesterday. This botanical park, resting on the slopes of Sliabh Coillte in Co. Wexford, is home to over 4,000 different species of trees.
Greeting us when we arrived was a a path, strewn in all directions by purple rhododendron flowers. I took an photo with Instagram that captures the moment very well.
John F Kennedy park was a regular place for us to go when I was a child. I think I was usually quite bored there, as trees and flowers did nothing for me. Over the past few years, I have gained an interest in trees, so every time I come back there now, I learn something new.
It’s a delightful, tastefully designed park that is becoming even more graceful with age. It is a wonderful amenity in Ireland’s South East. I’ll be back again soon.
Today I took a visit to Garinish Island in West Cork. This is a beautiful garden paradise a short boat trip away from the village of Glengarriff. The gardens are a wonderful fusion of exotic plants and beautiful buildings.
At the core are the Italian Gardens, purpose built for the Gardens by Annan Bryce and Harold Peto. The Caha Mountains in the background provide a delightful backdrop.
On a hill overlooking the island is a Martello Tower, an old watchtower built to warn of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. The view from the top affords a view of the bay across to Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff.
Garinish is a haven for different plants and trees that would not easily survive in Northern Europe. The climate in West Cork is almost completely frost free, giving sub-tropical plants a fighting chance. Some plants, particularly many species of Rhododendrons and Myrtles, have thrived. I took a few macro shots to explore this further.
I also took a few shots that I converted to Instagram. Prominent is the Roman Temple from which a fine view of the Beara peninsula can be seen.
We passed by a group of Common Seals on the way back. They were basking in the sun, relaxing. I knew well how they felt.
Passive Impressions 
