Robert’s Ramblings

In Ireland now it’s winter, it’s cold, the light is low and the ocean’s grey scorn has about as much appeal as hiking in mud. Still I miss her.

On some dives the visibility is poor to the point of blindness. On some dives the green haze of plankton is disorients like deep fog. On some dives it’s so dark it is hard to believe the sun even exists. Still I miss her.

Some dives are like exploring caverns that have never seen daylight even thought the surface still exists somewhere above. Still I miss her.

It’s lovely when the water is clear, the sky is blue and the sun shines with a vengeance but only a diver really gets it down here and feels how amazing this dark and gloomy world really is.


#scuba #diving #kerry #portmagee #kerrysubaquaclub #gloom #dark #deep #monochrome

Back in September we found ourselves in Kilkenny and unexpectedly in the middle of the final stage of the of the 2024 Rás na mBan.

Here at the start I found a moment and a place that really captures the feel of the event. It’s no surprise that none of the visible riders placed at the finish line but in my image at least they have pride of place.

#action #cycling #ireland #kilkenny #racing #roadcycling #sports #womenscycling

Something old, something new, something borrowed and a hint of blue. So what has any of this got to do with a dropped pin? Nothing actually.

Some time back a friend and I set ourselves a little project. Drop a pin somewhere on the map, go there and be creative with a camera while taking inspiration from a photographic master of the past.

Our first attempts at a random dropped pin led to impossible places, like the roofs of factories or inaccessible private property. My final attempt, a little more forgiving, consisted of dropping a random sized circle on the map and then allowing the choice of anywhere on that circle.

My random circle luckily intersected with a cool and quirky cafe in Cork called Lab82 where I found a porcelain skull in the window. My muse for the project was the 20th century visual artist Man Ray, who with his partner Lee Miller accidentally developed the photographic technique of solarization. Finally I had my subject, my muse and my vision.

Rather than using any photo editing tool I came up with my own interpretation of the style. From there I’ll let you decide what’s old, what’s new, what I’ve borrowed and if there really is any blue.


#Droppedpin #abstract #art #lab82 #cork #manray #solarisation #surrealism

If there ever was any doubt of winter’s coming, then Wednesday’s snowfall across half of Ireland put that to rest. I never got to see how the early flurry affected towns and cities or even the south western coast. We got our own personal show rendering us snowbound and going nowhere.

Soon the images started to appear, from the icing topping of the Cliffs of Moher to country towns rendered silent white. For some of us lucky (or not so lucky) to be able to work remotely it was pretty much business as usual. Even so, I still managed to sneak out for a little white winter bliss.

#abstract #aerial #dji #snow #winter #ireland #christmas #tinyplanet

Yesterday we had our first decent snowfall for the year and it’s not even winter yet.

With a good 10 cm covering the surrounds it was easy to imagine we had gone to sleep in one country and woken in another.

Once the snow had finally stopped falling it was time to go out and play!


#abstract #circle #footprints #snow #winter

Rossnowlagh beach is famous for its kilometers of open sand, walking, surfing, swimming and a popular driving beach for doing donuts or simply enjoying the novelty of driving on sand.

It’s also a great big open space for flying a drone and capturing coastal scenery. Except this time the camera was pointing the other way just in time to capture the few moments of sunset and an opportunistic flyby.


#Aerial #dji #rossnowlagh #sunset #goldenhour #portrait #flyby #drone

There’s a hidden spot on the western side of Doulus Head, County Kerry, that you could easily sail or motor past without a second glance. Like much of this rugged coastline, the jagged cliffs and seawalls don’t exactly invite closer inspection – getting too near could mean being dashed to pieces on the rocks.

So it was with a mix of surprise and apprehension that I found us heading straight toward a fissure in the rock, into shadow and then darkness. Darkness, that is, until our eyes adjusted to these unexpected surroundings.

A little way in, the rocky ceiling rose dramatically, expanding into a high, vaulted roof. We had entered the inner sanctum of what locals call ‘The Cathedral.’


#Ireland #doulushead #boating #scuba #diving #InbhearSceineKerrySubAquaClub #caves #seacaves #thecathedral #kerry

A visit to an old church always demands reverences but here in Youghal, St. Mary’s Collegiate Church held a deep magic that almost brought us to tears.

At over 800 years old, the care with which it has been maintained tells everything about its importance as a place of worship, ceremony and social cohesion for the people of Youghal and its surrounds.

We lingered here for a few hours trying to get a sense of all that had taken place here. As the expression goes, ‘if only these walls could talk’.


#Youghal #StMarysCollegiateChurch #churches #architecture #ireland #travel #cork #sacred #churchofireland

It’s not often that such an opportunity to admire a backside as beautiful as this presents itself out on the streets, Kilkenny or otherwise.

The purists would say that if it has no cylinders then it’s not worth their time but I disagree, sometimes I am happy to judge a book by its cover, or its backside.


#Ireland #bmw #kilkenny #i8 #coupe #automobile #bmwi8 #car #eyecandy

Credit to the Dubliners for the title but this jar of whiskey is in the cellars of Midleton, county Cork
And just to confuse you even more, it’s a jar of Redbreast!

The story of whiskey in Ireland is fascinating, and Midleton’s story even more, so I invite you to research Ireland’s Uisce beatha (water of life) in any responsible way you see fit.

As for me, …

Musha-ring dumma-do-damma-da
Whack for the daddy-o
Whack for the daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar


#Ireland #midleton #whiskey #readbreats #cellar #cork #whiskeyinthejar #dubliners