Entries by Robert

Funny how the man in red seems to have found his way in to every continent, culture and climate.

I have seen the man in red in driving a sleigh behind rain-dear above the arctic circle.
I have seen the man in red cruising the the beaches of Adelaide in a converted open top Ford Fairlane in forty degrees!
I have seen him at country fairs, city department stores, pageants and parades and workplace breakup days.

But until this day I can honestly say I've never been serenaded by the man in red and a piano accordion in the main street of Mallow, Ireland!

Well there will always for firsts for everything.

Wishing everybody a wonderful Christmas with family, friends or random 'men in red' and a sensational 2018.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Man in Red', 1/80s f/3.2 ISO320 50mm

With another extraordinary year racing towards the finishing line there is nothing more calming to me than looking out across the ocean to the distant horizon. Gazing out to sea washes away cares and worry and brings back to mind things that really matter.

The next few days will be fun and crazy and a little sad as well with Christmas almost upon us and loved ones gone. Still I love this time of year the way it brings focus back to family and friends.

And then there is the ocean again like some forgotten lover that in one moment I remember with nostalgic fondness and the next I want to wholeheartedly embrace.

I miss being under the water and for any resolutions I might make for the coming year the ocean will be a big part of them.

Gazing out to sea is lovely but being beneath those waves again is where I long to be.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Gazing Out To Sea', 20s f/11 ISO320 14mm

When I took this image outside of an Edinburgh pub the myths of ancient Greece could not have been further from my mind. Then I started reading the works of Homer.

A recurring theme in both Homer's 'The Iliad' and 'Odyssey' is the omen of a bird in flight. Even more powerful is where a bird of prey carries in its talons livestock or other quarry.

A bird seen on the right and the omen would be one of success but on the left such an omen would spell downfall or disaster.

In the Greek myths the bird of prey is always a great eagle carrying a sheep or pig or goat. If you squint a little and use your imagination this hawk could be that great eagle and the rat, a young pig.

Regardless, just make sure it stays on your right.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'An Omen on My Right', 1/200s f/2.8 ISO100 200mm

Another beautiful sunset unfolds casting its soft golden glow over Henley Square.

Up and down Henley Beach Jetty, on the beach and up along the foreshore most eyes were set to the west horizon as the sun dipped into sea.

As sunsets go it was beautiful but for those who thought to look behind it was extraordinary.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Remember To Look Behind You', 1/250s f/9 ISO100 14mm

Bands come and go year bye year, decade by decade. There are however some bands that live on decades later as anchors or focal points to significant periods of our lives.

They don't even have to be favorites or even liked but when we hear them we are instantly transported back years or decade as if no time had passed.

Tonight at the 'Thebby Theatre', Human League, the unmistakable voice of Phil Oakey and the rich layered synthesizer music of the 80's ticked those boxes for me.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Phil Oakey, Human League', 1/160s f/3.5 ISO800 200mm

This is a phase of the moon I rarely see and have never photographed before for reasons that will become obvious.

After an unsuccessful imaging night thwarted with intermittent high cloud and unwanted car headlights we finally gave up around 1:15am.

As we were packing up a very yellow half moon crept over the eastern horizon. It looked so odd seeing that strange inverted moon, so different from the waxing gibbous moons of sensible evening hours.

Later that morning when the moon had risen above our suburban landscape I decided to make the evening worthwhile after all.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Other Side of Midnight', 1/80s f/11 ISO100 600mm (best 12 of 36 frames)

Far away from the legendary Sargasso Sea this solitary clump of sargassum weed washes back and forth in the gentle surf of Henley Beach.

Unlike the huge floating rafts of the Atlantic Ocean, this form of sargassum lives a benthic life attached to the rocky reef off our local coast.

On any dive here 'bubble weed' is a sure sign there will be some interesting critters to photograph. Leafy seadragons, short head seahorses and pygmy leather jackets are just some who make this algae their home.

Here however on the sandy shore along side Henley Beach Jetty at sunset it presents a different photo opportunity.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Beached Sargassum', 2s f/20 ISO160 14mm

His last move was the first as he lept off the platform and into Galway Bay.

The rest soon followed with each exploring their very own last move between sky and water.

Finally the sun made its last move as yellow light rushed up the stairs and onto the platform before leaping into the clouds.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Last Moves', 1/640s f/2.8 ISO160 200mm

I partly decided on this title because it's the first thing (yes I know, how unkind) that came to mind and I'm curious about why people love dogs so much. Especially the ugly ones.

Perhaps there's a clue in a song written by Cat Stevens over 51 years ago, 'I Love My Dog'. A quick YouTube search will reveal countless versions. Many versions are personal and heartfelt tributes to lost friends.

Those who are dog lovers will show a devotion to their canine companions to rival the very best of soulmates. Those who are not just don't get it.

I photographed this guy with his owner snoozing on a bench outside of a cafe in Kinsale. I'm not sure if the dog wanted to say hello or scare me off. Either way I stand by my title.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Ugly Mutt', 1/30s f/4.5 ISO100 200mm

In the village of Drumcliffe, County Sligo, lies the final resting place of one of the worlds most beloved modern poets, William Butler Yeats.

Not far from his grave this memorial to his work celebrates the poet, his work and my favorite poem 'He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven'.

This sculpture created by artist Jackie McKenna depicts a man standing on the very words written by Yeats. Here are those words.


He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

William Butler Yeats


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Tread Softly Because You Tread On My Dreams', 1/640 f/4.0 ISO160 105mm

The other night I captured this image of the waxing moon and published a single (out of the camera) image taken at 1/160s, f/9 iso100.

On that same night I took a short sequence of 30 images at 1/160s, f/11 to try and avoid the highlight blowouts.
From these I picked the best 20, stacked them, drizzled them and performed some wavelet processing.

Here is the result. With three to four time more detail and the highlights mostly under control I think I have teased out as much detail as I can.

When the cloudy nights pass and we can see the moon again I'll try for more.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Teasing Out The Detail', 1/160 f/11 ISO100 600mm

I have noticed many strange and interesting marketing campaigns promoting being good urban citizens and binning our litter. This campaign is perhaps the oddest.

First of all I am not sure it is selling the right message. After all, is not the very thing we love about bad jokes is joking how bad they are? Is the message here, an undesired behavior brings reward in the form of entertainment?

Perhaps I am just getting too creative in my thinking and maybe Edinburgh's litter campaign is making a difference.

Regrdless, this joke's on me!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'This Joke's On Me', 1/1250 f/4 ISO320 80mm

Fixer upperer, renovator's delight, builder's hobby home. These are all common expressions for a place that needs an extra dose of something special to restore or keep it's original charm and glory.

Kylemore Abbey, county Galway, ticks all those boxes but keeping it splendid in all it's glory might just demand a little more effort that your average homemaker can muster.

Perhaps this is exactly how the wealthy industrialist Dr. Mitchell Henry felt when he abandoned the family home he built and headed back to his native England.

The Benedictine nuns nuns who purchased the residence in the early 1900's clearly have help from a higher power and to this day the abbey is being continually renewed.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Sacred Fixer Upperer', 1/125 f/8 ISO160 200mm

Below the boardwalk the sand is little bit cooler.

Below the boardwalk the sun is a little more bearable.

Below the boardwalk the shadows are a little less harsh.

Ablaze in the not so soft glow of twilight, Henley Beach Jetty is none of the above when camera turns evening into day.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Below The Boardwalk', 30s f/11 ISO160 15mm

Above Moll's Gap along the Ring of Kerry is a secret path leading up into the hills.

Certainly this way is known to the goats and sheep that roam these places but perhaps there is another race familiar with the hidden green dells and high craggy ridges.

Known as the 'Tuatha de Danan', there were once a people who were proud rulers of Eiru until they were defeated by the Milesians, banished into the hidden underground places of Ireland and henceforth called the 'Aes sidhe', 'the people of the mound'. Thus began the rule of the Celts.

To this day legend has it that 'the people of the mound' will make mischief or friendship or grief on any unsuspecting person wandering off the common path. Like little gods they rule these places and you enter and leave at their pleasure.

I guess I got lucky, ... or did I?


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Land of Small Gods', 1/125 f/18 ISO100 14mm

The only thing we generally see different from night to night when we look to the moon is its own shadow progressing across its face.

That familiar pock marked disk of craters and ridges never changes. As for the 'dark side of the moon', it is the Moon's dark side day of our tidal side's night.

So what have tides to do with the dark side of the moon? Gravitational times long ago locked the Moon and Earth into an embrace of unrequited affection with the moon forever staring at its hot and cold, day and night neighbor.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Unrequited Affection', 1/160 f/9 ISO100 600mm

No matter where I have traveled, as limited as that might be, the one common food theme that seems always present is bread.

Just like any other expression of our creativity it is not surprising to see beautiful creations of our imagination continually manifest in bread. In crusty whites or seeded whole grains. As loafs or toroids, cobs or buns there seem no end to the ways we are able to express our daily bread.

Perhaps this is what manner from heaven is really all about, our own creations!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Our Daily Bread', 1/200s f/4.5 ISO160 200mm

Just under two kilometers north east of Skellig Michael is the smaller of the Skelligs, 'Liittle Skellig'. What struck me as the biggest difference between the two is that here on Little Skellig the sea birds ruled.

Tens of thousands of ganets and other migratory birds clings to every usable surface of this barren rocky crag. Maybe Skellig Michael was also once such a haven and possibly eclipsing its little brother but human settlement has most like driven them away.

As we circumnavigated this city of birds the smell and sounds overwhelmed making as happy in our eventual retreat from the sensory onslaught.

I'm sure one or two of the citiy's guards were sent to escort us clear only to circle back again as we made our was back to Portmagee.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'City of the Birds', 1/8000s f/7.1 ISO100 17mm

A long time ago in a land far far away people found refuge in a sacred haven from the rest of the world.

For centuries the monks of Skellig Michael, so named after Saint Micheal the Archangel , endured or reveled here sharing company with the seabirds and their faith.

Today Skellig Michael has lost none of its mysticism becoming the focal point of a different kind of monk from a long time ago and a galaxy far far away.

May the force of Skellig be with you.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Skellig Michael', 1/1600s f/7.1 ISO100 200mm

These two beautiful gannets patrolling the waters off Little Skellig easily lived up to their reputation of Ireland’s most majestic seabird.

For a a few moments they flew in to hold perfect formation alongside our ungainly craft. With wings beating in unison and the and effortlessly glide they showed us up a thousand times over.

The gannet colony on Little Skellig has nearly 30,000 breading pairs making it the largest in all of Ireland. I wonder if any like Star Wars?


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Skellig Patrol', 2s f/18 ISO320 14mm

Busu and the Damask Drum was yet another Edinburgh Fringe performance inspired by classic Japanese theater combining ideas from two distinct and important plays from Japan's cultural history.

Exploring these two stories has given me glimpse into a world so alien to mine and yet so comfortingly similar. The 'Damask Drum' in particular explores unrequited love through a tragic ghost story, exploring the moral implications and perhaps the responsibilities of both protagonists.

Now I am wishing I had actually seen the performance rather than this brief moment on the street.

Next year?


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Busu & The Damask Drum', 1/160s f/3.2 ISO100 100mm

Wait a while after that sun has set on yet another day.

Wait a while and watch the colours change as the minutes pass.

Wait a while as the fading light retreats in pursuit of a westward sun.

Wait a while as blue turns to gold turns to grey.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Blue Turns to Gold Turns To Grey', 2s f/18 ISO320 14mm

If I were either an industrial designer or a biologist specializing in mycology I think I'd be drawn to beer taps.

Once they were just utilitarian mechanical pumps drawing on the bartender's strength to 'pull' ale from kegs. Now however these bright iconic taps sporting their manufacturer's logos seem to sprout from bars like mushrooms.

Just like the the fungal mycelium under the ground, under bars lies a complex network of nylon tubes leading off to hidden kegs, cylinders of carbon-dioxide gas and refrigeration systems.

Mushrooms and beer taps; I wonder who else has noticed the uncanny similarity. Now if only one or two would pop up on our back lawn!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Mushrooms and Beertaps', 1/100s f/3.2 ISO320 200mm

I've not been down to the beach much this winter. A combination of business, of travel and of lack of a beach habit had taken its toll resulting in, well, just not getting back to the beach.

Today I finally broke the fast, headed down to the beach at the end of my street and captured the evening spectacle.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Look at The Moon', 1/4s f/16 ISO160 14mm

'Look at the moon' you said as we headed out for the evening.

As the full moon rises above the horizon seeming larger than normal it's almost impossible to not notices its ancient glowing face. I've lost count of the times I've heard those words.

Later that evening, high in the night's sky, the moon seems almost hidden as city street lights mask its ethereal glow.

Almost forgotten, I remembered to look directly above me and there she was. 'Look at me' said the moon!


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Look at The Moon', 1/400s f/11 ISO160 600mm

In the beautiful green Irish landscape moments of sunshine need to savored and cherished for the way they lift both the land and the spirit.

Even the locals know to take a moment from their busy day to bask in the the sun's ephemeral glow.

In a land made so beautifully green by rain and gloomy skies, the chance to bask in the sunshine must never be ignored.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Basking In Sunshine', 1/2500s f/2.8 ISO100 200mm

I love watching the old puck violently purged over the grounds bin and the basket refilled with a fresh mound of ground coffee.

I love watching that twist of the of the wrist as the tamper is pressed then quickly withdrawn from a perfectly flat earthy brown disk.

I love watching those mice tails of espresso emerge from the portafilter, a sure sign the barrister knows their craft.

So much enjoyment and I've not yet taken my first sip. I love to watch my coffee being made.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'I Love To Watch', 1/40s f/2.8 ISO2500 200mm

Welcome November.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Oíche Shamhna', 1/1600s f/3.5 ISO100 125mm

What more is there to say!

These two adorable pups playing outside our delightful Kinsale accommodation had mischief written all over their cute faces.

Of course I was going to photograph them.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Mischief Makers', 1/400s f/3.5 ISO1000 200mm

For recent visitors to Ireland, Dún Chathail (Charles Fort) marks either the beginning or the end of the 'Wild Atlantic Way' depending on which end you begin.

For such an impressive stronghold it's hard to imagine it ever being captured. Taken it was though in 1690 during the Williamite–Jacobite War, a turning point in Irish History.

The fortress positioned to protect Kinsale from a seaward assault was designed with enough resilience to weather sustained canon fire. Sometime into its construction the unlikely possibility of a land based assault was considered and additional fortifications were designed accordingly. Unfortunately due to political turns the money needed by the Jacobites (supporters of the deposed King James II) to construct the new fortifications was never forthcoming and this combined with a cockiness on its impregnability meant the additional construction never eventuated.

In 1690 John Churchill (once a Jacobite but having shifted his allegiance to the William III) commanded a completely unexpected land based assault besieging the fortress for thirteen days before its outer walls were breached and the stronghold captured. The battle was one small victory for the Williamites during the wider European conflict known as the 'Nine Years' War' however it firmly propelled John Churchill towards becoming one of the most powerful and wealthiest generals in British history.

Visiting Charles Fort in Kinsale was initially just going to be another attraction along the 'Wild Atlantic Way', I left however with just a little bit more insight into Ireland's and Britain's tumultuous past.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Dún Chathail', 1/4000s f/5 ISO100 17mm