Off the Beaten Path
October/13/2007 Ireland Journal
If you've seen the film adaptation of Maeve Bench’s wonderful novel, "A Circle of Friends," you might remember its captivating countryside and charming village settings. The film was shot in and around the tiny village of Inistioge, which is only a few miles from Cullintra House. We spent part of yesterday driving the narrow roads to photograph the magnificent countryside, ending the day at in the village so that Jim could enjoy his pint of Guinness. I know it will take me a while to prepare a slideshow of these images, but in the meantime, here’s one of my favorites, right out of the camera: It was shot in the late afternoon from a narrow bridge across the River Nore, a few miles from Inistioge. It’s my favorite image of the trip so far. There are lots of cropping possibilities, but I’ll worry about that later.
Because the scenery in Ireland is so abundant, I decided to challenge myself to improve my digital skills, since I would have plenty of practice over the next few days. Moving from medium format to a 35mm body has not been easy for me, and like most digital shooters, I’ve been relying entirely too much on the “idiot box” and “P for professional.” I used to use a light meter for every photograph; but before I pointed it, I had to decide what I wanted to accomplish in the photograph. That meant using my brain. Well I've decided that its time to start thinking again, so I’ve issued three challeneges to myself: 1. Look for interesting lighting situations that involve dramatic highlights and shadows. 2. Work more in aperture priority mode. 3. Pay special attention to leading lines. Oh yes . . . nail those histograms, but make certain they make sense, given what I’m trying to create, which definitely means using the brain once again.
Here’s a late-afternoon shot from the side of a narrow road. I loved the low sun angle that gave depth to what otherwise would be an ordinary shot. Thanks to Jim for shading my lens to prevent the inevitable flare.
For most of the days that remain on our trip, we'll be off the beaten path, looking for the beautiful scenes and interesting adventures that so often in Ireland lie just around the bend.
Because the scenery in Ireland is so abundant, I decided to challenge myself to improve my digital skills, since I would have plenty of practice over the next few days. Moving from medium format to a 35mm body has not been easy for me, and like most digital shooters, I’ve been relying entirely too much on the “idiot box” and “P for professional.” I used to use a light meter for every photograph; but before I pointed it, I had to decide what I wanted to accomplish in the photograph. That meant using my brain. Well I've decided that its time to start thinking again, so I’ve issued three challeneges to myself: 1. Look for interesting lighting situations that involve dramatic highlights and shadows. 2. Work more in aperture priority mode. 3. Pay special attention to leading lines. Oh yes . . . nail those histograms, but make certain they make sense, given what I’m trying to create, which definitely means using the brain once again.
Here’s a late-afternoon shot from the side of a narrow road. I loved the low sun angle that gave depth to what otherwise would be an ordinary shot. Thanks to Jim for shading my lens to prevent the inevitable flare.
For most of the days that remain on our trip, we'll be off the beaten path, looking for the beautiful scenes and interesting adventures that so often in Ireland lie just around the bend.