Despite being in a somewhat alien and remote looking landscape, it's hard to escape people nowadays. I tried to be the first person out on the Giant's Causeway, but sadly somebody beat me to it. He had so much time in fact that he decided to make a phone call.
This small town happened to have a little carnival area. Everything was shut down as I was travelling during the off season. Somehow that made me like it more.
I was walking up the grassy hill pictured earlier when I saw these two ladies enjoying the view. Something about the way their hair was blowing and the way they were standing reminded me of an advertisement for something. I could even see it in B+W.
Just got back from a trip up the coast. As I drove along the ocean, a lot of the scenery reminded me of what I saw in Ireland. The colours, the smells, the sounds. It's hard to beat ocean air, great company and an open schedule.
As I started the first leg of my trip in Ireland, after dipping through hills and skirting the coast I came to a curious area where everything flattened out and the sky disappeared. After stopping my car, I looked forward and backwards and the view was identical.
I think this is the one looking back.
Normally one buys herbs at the supermarket as the meal dictates. If your salmon needs dill, you buy some. Ever since I bought this Aerogarden Pro though, I find myself desperately making foods that specifically require the herbs that are growing too fast. My purple basil and cilantro in particular need to be eaten.
Vietnamese food to the rescue. Pictures to follow.
Belfast was my first city stop on my short tour of northern Ireland. I'm assuming that Sunday church had something to do with the entire city being a barren wasteland. I found it somewhat comforting as I walked around the city, quite often meeting the same people many times. If you're walking around on a Sunday morning in Belfast, odds are you are a tourist. The people you keep seeing? Also tourists.
It's possible to O.D. on sandwiches, no matter how delicious. This was the last one that made it through:
Turkey 2 ways (deli style, oven roasted), pesto, and asiago cheese on sour dough
Perhaps making up for years of ignoring the noble sandwich. Recently I went on a sandwich-spree.
The accomplices:
Turkey arugula brie and cornichons in between two wonderful slices of pugliese. Pomegranate mojito courtesy of the girlfriend in the rear
One of the views near the Carrick-a-rede bridge in Northern Ireland. I got there late after a whole day of driving the coast and stopping too often to take pictures. The sun was setting when I left to find a place to stay the night.
I pulled the car off the road to take this one. As cloudy as it gets in Ireland, the sun always finds a way to peek through. I wish I could say the reverse of LA sometimes.
Like now.
My girlfriend got me a panini press for my birthday, so I am feel am obligated honoured to feed her sandwiches.
Eggs, Linguica (portuguese sausage), aged chedder, cremini mushroom, sliced pugliese bread.
Yum.
50mm@iso100 f7.1 1/200s
Having endured taking a picture the old way I decided to try a better method. Purchased a cheap radio triggered shutter release from ebay (Gadget Infinity)
All in all, they do what they're supposed to do. Unfortunately, though I also own the radio flash triggers and it seems like they don't like to work together. To get this image I had to set the camera on self-timer and wait patiently for 2 seconds before the shutter and flashes would fire. The price you pay for cheapness I suppose. A better system like the Pocket Wizards would cost you $300 instead of $80-90 but would do the job right. I don't plan on taking too many self-portraits so for now I'm happy.
EDIT: They do infact work together. I contacted Gadget Infinity and they instructed me that one needs to press the shutter release very briefly so as to not create any interference with the cactus v2s triggers. This seems to work, although I imagine it will take some practice to become consistent
Before leaving for Christmas, I decided to try to take a photo using my new 285H Vivitar flash. The problems with self portraits is that there's nobody there to take the picture for you. More important than that is of course focus. There are other ways to do this, but I tried the old school measure it and then dial it in method. Took several tries but it worked.
50mm@iso320 f4.5 1/125s
Flying back on New Year's day is generally a bad idea. At the very least one is bitter about the end of the holiday season. In most cases, that is compounded perhaps by a hangover or even worse, the sudden realization that one must go into work the next day. Most people might have been pissed then to wake up to a pile of snow on the roads and still more falling. Not me.
I am now officially back in LA
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