a. Galway Archives - Patrick Dinneen Photography

08 Jul

Galway Fringe Festival 2016

In a. Galway by admin / July 8, 2016 / 0 Comments

Galway Fringe Festival 2016

The Galway Fringe Festival kicks off on Saturday, 9th of July. It runs for just over 2 weeks, closing on the 25th of July. The Galway Fringe Festival is a boutique multidisciplinary Arts Festival based in Galway City and encompasses visual art, music, theatre, dance, literature, cabaret and exciting street spectacles. And I’m proud to announce that I have a photography exhibition in this year’s Fringe Festival, entitled Beautiful Galway.

Galway landscape photo from my exhibition

One of the main differences between The Galway Fringe Festival and the Galway International Arts Festival is that the Fringe Festival offers more of a platform for home-grown artists than the Galway International Arts Festival. The Galway International Arts Festival also has an astronomically bigger budget compared to the Fringe Festival and events cost more than the Fringe Festival. You could call the Fringe Festival The Arts Festival’s little sister.

My exhibition takes a slight departure from my abstract photography; it features landscapes, a pub scene and a colourful window of a thatched cottage. My exhibition is located in Columban Hall (the old church), which is on Sea Road (near Kia restaurant). I hope you find the time to call in for a browse and enjoy my photos and the other exhibitions on display.

10 May

Loughrea Lake photo in Loughrea restaurant

In a. Galway by admin / May 10, 2016 / 0 Comments

Last year, driving home from the Galway International Rally I was passing Loughrea Lake which had a blanket of fog over it. So I parked and captured some photos of the fog and sky reflecting on Loughrea Lake. Sometime later I found out that Taste Matters restaurant in Loughrea exhibit photos from the public on their walls.

I contacted the owner and, low and behold, my photo is now exhibiting (and for sale) in Taste Matters restaurant. It’s the center piece photo of the exhibition and I have to admit that I’m extremely proud of it. If you’re in Loughrea or passing you now have an extra excuse to visit a fabulous restaurant.

Photo exhibition Taste Matters

Loughrea Lake

06 Apr

Claregalway Friary

In a. Galway by admin / April 6, 2016 / 0 Comments

On my drive/cycle to work each day I pass through Claregalway and the ruins of Claregalway Friary. On this clear blue sky morning I pulled in, walked downstream to this viewpoint. I’ve taken several photos of Claregalway Friary before but none from this angle; I like how the tree branches frame the friary and it’s a slightly different angle from where I’ve taken photos before.

Galway Church

18 Sep

Galway Strong Man Challenge

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals by admin / September 18, 2015 / 0 Comments

Hang on for dear life! Galway Strong Man Challenge
This Strong Man Challenge has been on Shop Street, Galway for a few weeks and is attracting large crowds. People can win €200 if they can hold onto the bar for 2 minutes without falling off, and it costs €10 to try your luck. This unfortunate man was just a mere seconds away from winning but eventually fell. There was a large, enthusiastic crowd gathered and you can see their encouragement and cheering as they though he was going to win. The con or trick is that the bar you hold onto has an inner bar and if you relax your grip the outer bar begins to slowly rotate.

Galway street challenge

08 Sep

Galway Minor Hurling- All Ireland Champions

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals,h. Sport by admin / September 8, 2015 / 1 Comment

Visit to Turloughmore GAA

The Galway minor hurling team won the 2015 GAA hurling minor championship, beating Tipperary 4-13 to 1-16 in Croke Park in the final. The team arrived back in Galway with the Irish Press cup and visited some clubs around Galway county to large crowds of fans.

Manager Geoff Lynskey of Liam Mellows, captain Seán Loftus and others gave speeches to a great crowd of fans in Turloughmore GAA club. The players made time to sign autographs, hurleys, jerseys and have their photos taken with the admiring kids.

Galway Minor Hurling (12)

Galway Minor Hurling (2)

Galway Minor Hurling (3)

Galway Minor Hurling (4)

Galway Minor Hurling (5)

Galway Minor Hurling (6)

Galway Minor Hurling (7)

Galway Minor Hurling (1)

Galway Minor Hurling (9)

Galway Minor Hurling (10)

Galway Minor Hurling (11)

21 Aug

Athenry Mart

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals by admin / August 21, 2015 / 0 Comments

Athenry Mart

An artist and neighbour of mine, Kathy Ross has some of her work in a very unique exhibition by Athenry M Artists Group-local artists. The art features the mart (the cattle, people and the mart building itself) and is on display in one of the mart rings. It’s the perfect environment to house the exhibition as the mart is an integral part of Athenry town. Visitors can associate to the art more as there’s cattle, farmers around them and they are in the buildings featured in the art.

I visited the exhibition recently and experienced my first cattle mart as well. What can I say about it? It’s an experience & a man’s world; the musical, almost singing voice of the auctioneer, the farmers, cattle and surprisingly quick sales.

Athenry Mart (2)

Athenry Mart (4)

Athenry Mart (3)

Athenry Mart (5)

Athenry Mart (7) Athenry Mart (6)

18 Aug

Got Milk?

In a. Galway by admin / August 18, 2015 / 0 Comments

Got Milk?

14 Aug

John Grant, Galway Arts Festival

In a. Galway,j. Music concerts by admin / August 14, 2015 / 0 Comments

John Grant, Galway Arts Festival

John Grant played The Big Top tent at the 2015 Galway Arts Festival; he was bumped up to the main act when Sinead O Connor had to cancel. I’m a big fan of John Grant so was delighted to be lucky enough to obtain a Press Pass for his concert. The only downside was the all photographers have to leave the pit after 3 songs; for 2 of the 3 songs John Grant sat at a piano!

The first photo is one my favourite I’ve taken in a long time. John Grant isn’t your shiny, polished musician; he’s endured many tough times including hardship, illness, homophobia, addiction and heartbreak. To me this photo represents John Grant laid bare, pure blackness around him (could be the hardships that he’s endured) opening his soul.

John Grant Galway

John Grant Galway Arts Festival

This photo I took from the back of The Big Top (the venue) and the crowd in the foreground make the photo for me.

John Grant at Galway Arts Festival

The last photo is one I couldn’t resist adding; he has a song called Outer Space this photo fits it perfectly I think!

John Grant Outer Space

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the great works of John Grant he’s a song of his, the lyrics are an example of his sharp,dry wit.

10 Jul

Galway Fringe Festival

In a. Galway by admin / July 10, 2015 / 0 Comments

Galway City is in the running to be the European City of Culture in 2020 and would be a wordy winner I think. In the summer Galway really comes to life with multiple festivals; The Galway Races, Galway Arts Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, the Galway Fringe Festival and more.
The Galway Fringe Festival is a multidisciplinary Arts Festival encompassing visual art, music, theatre, dance, literature, cabaret and events and runs from July 11th to 27th inclusive. The beauty of the Fringe Festival is that it’s an open access festival, meaning that everyone is welcome to participate and perform.

I’m proud to announce that I have an exhibition in this years’ festival. Seeing as Galway is in the running for the European City of Culture I decided that Galway would be my theme. As abstract is my favourite style of photography I couldn’t leave it out so there’s a mix of Galway and abstract in my photos. My exhibiton
will be on display in Galway Shopping Centre, Headford Road.

11 Apr

Galway United, Eamonn Deacy Park

In a. Galway,b. Abstract/Arty,h. Sport by admin / April 11, 2015 / 1 Comment

Eamonn Deacy Park is home to Galway United F.C in Galway. I was passing Eamonn Deacy Park stadium today, had my camera in the car so stopped at the stadium. The kind staff didn’t mind me taking some photos (thanks!). The seats are maroon and white as Galway’s traditional colours are maroon and white. Pearse Stadium, home to Galway G.A.A also has the same seating colouring (link to my photos of Pearse Stadium are below these photos.)

eamonn deacy park

Galway United (2)

eamonn deacy park stand

Galway United (1)

Galway United (3)

Galway United (4)

Galway United eamonn deacy park

Galway United (7)

20 Jan

Galway Bay Seascape abstract

In a. Galway,b. Abstract/Arty by admin / January 20, 2015 / 0 Comments

This seascape abstract photo mightn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I’m guessing that a lot of people will think it’s dull and drab. But some people might really like it; I do anyway. It’s a slightly long exposure (1/40 second) photo of a small wave, the water in Galway Bay and an overcast sky. I was hoping for a sunny day so I’d have a bright blue sky, blue water and capture a bright photo; this is the opposite.

So, why do I like this seascape abstract photo? The simplicity and serenity; I find it extremely calming as there’s nothing to grab your eye’s attention. The straight line near the top of the photo and the line of the crest of the small wave create a pattern of kinds. It reminds me, very vaguely of Rhein II by Andreas Gursky (which at $4.3 million, was the world’s most expensive photo for a period of time). You can own Galway Bay Seascape Abstract for over 1/100,000 the cost!

seascape abstract

17 Jul

Room 303 by Enda Walsh- Galway Arts Festival

In a. Galway by admin / July 17, 2014 / 0 Comments

As part of Galway International Arts Festival. A new text by Enda Walsh presented as instillation in a gallery setting, voiced by Niall Buggy. It’s an interesting idea; a hotel room created in this white cube, the entire audience (4 people) sit on the chairs and bed and listen to the audio of a dying man in the bed.

I shot a long exposure photograph to give the illusion of the man’s spirit leaving this world.

Room 303 by Enda Walsh

02 Jul

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!! Photography Exhibition

In a. Galway by admin / July 2, 2014 / 0 Comments

I’m proud to announce that I’m going to have a photo exhibition, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!! in this year’s Galway Fringe Festival.

The Galway Fringe Festival is a multidisciplinary Arts Festival encompassing visual art, music, theatre, dance, literature, cabaret, street spectacle and events and runs from July 12th to July 28th. My exhibition is an ‘integrated’ exhibition, meaning that my photographs are in different locations (or ‘scattered’ around) Oslo bar and not on display in a row. My logic behind this is that with a standard exhibition you view one photo and move on immediately to the next photo, giving you not enough time to fully absorb the photo.

In today’s modern world most people seem to be in a rush and taking a moment to see the beauty in everyday life seems to be a lost art.In this eclectic photography exhibition I hope to re-kindle our appreciation of the world around us and remind us that EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!! A row of houses, a sculpture, an airplane and even beer bubbles, all photographed in Galway, are transformed into lasting memories.

My exhibition will be held in Oslo Bar, Salthill, from July 3rd until July 28th. My exhibition is running from July 3rd as I will be on holidays when the Galway Fringe Festival begins so I’m setting up early.

So if you’re in Galway please drop into Oslo Bar to view my exhibition and why not enjoy a pint of Oslo’s many craft beers.

exhibition

22 Jun

Galway Man

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals by admin / June 22, 2014 / 0 Comments

I walked past this man sitting on a wall in Galway. I had my camera with me, turned around to talk to him and ask if he minded if I took his photo. He said he it was okay; most people tend to once you ask them.

Galway Man

21 May

Photo of The Day at Pix.ie

In a. Galway,f. Nature & Sky by admin / May 21, 2014 / 1 Comment

galway_landscape

I’m happy to say that my landscape photo of trees in Galway got nominated photo of the day at Pix.ie, the Irish Photo website.

pixie

27 Apr

Old Houses around Galway

In a. Galway,k.Buildings & Architecture by admin / April 27, 2014 / 2 Comments

Driving around Galway I’ve noticed a large amount of old, abandoned houses. Many of them are on the same grounds where the owners have built newer homes. Some appear to be in the middle of nowhere, hidden from the road behind a veil of overgrown trees.

As a project I decided to photograph a selection of the old, abandoned houses nearby Lackagh, where I live. This is the collage that I created; the first five houses are between Turloughmore and Abbeyknockmoy, the sixth on the N17 near Claregalway, the next two near Carnmore Cross and the last in Lackagh.

12 Mar

Claregalway Friary

In a. Galway,k.Buildings & Architecture by admin / March 12, 2014 / 1 Comment

Claregalway Friary

Yesterday I cycled to work instead of driving. As always I try to bring a camera with me whereever I go so I threw my compact into my rucksack. Everyday I drive past this ruined Friary in Claregalway and think to myself I should try to photograph it in the morning. But normally I’m driving on my way to work so don’t stop.

As the weather was perfect (blue sky, no shadows) and it was easier for me to pull I spent a few minutes and am very happy with the result.

The Claregalway Friary is a medieval Franciscan abbey. Today, the abbey buildings and grounds are open to the public free of charge.
In 1538, forces under the command of Lord Leonard Gray ransacked and looted the abbey while on march to Galway. In 1570, Queen Elizabeth I granted possession of the monastery to Sir Richard de Burgo. In 1589, the monastery buildings were turned into a barracks under the administration of the English provincial governor, Sir Richard Bingham.

During the reign of King James, Claregalway Friary was given to the Earl of Clanrickarde. By 1641, the Franciscans had reoccupied the abbey, but the building was in poor repair and the community lacked the ability to renovate it. The burial grounds surrounding the building are maintained and still in use.

09 Mar

Horses on Galway Beach

In a. Galway,i. Black&White by admin / March 9, 2014 / 0 Comments

Horses having some exercise on Renmore Beach in Galway. I wish I could have stayed for longer and gotten closer but I was on my way to playing football. There’s something majestic about watching horses running I find.

15 Feb

Comparing 10mm wide angle lens with 17mm

In a. Galway by admin / February 15, 2014 / 0 Comments

Someone was kind enough to give me a loan of a Sigma 10-20mm lens for over a week. This is a proper wide angle lens.

I presume there’s many other like me that would like to see how much more you actually capture with a wide angle. So here are some photos comparing 10mm with 17mm. As you can see it captures a whole more into the photo.
My thoughts are it’s a ‘nice to have’ lens but I don’t know how much I’d use it.

wide

24 Jan

The Birds- Starling Birds Starlings murmuration in Galway

In f. Nature & Sky by admin / January 24, 2014 / 2 Comments

Every year thousands of starlings fly in patterns above Lackagh, Galway. This is called murmation and is amazing to watch.
I tried to capture the spirit and fear from Alfred Hitchcocks classic film The Birds. The birds look almost like an invasion of fighter planes in the sky.

The Birds was the title of a 1960’s popular rhythm and blues band from the UK that contained the (in)famous Ronnie Wood.

22 Nov

Merry Christmas- Galway Christmas Market

In a. Galway by admin / November 22, 2013 / 0 Comments

The Galway Christmas Market opens again this weekend and runs from Friday 22nd November until Sunday 22nd December 2013 in Eyre Square. It promises to be a great day out for the family.
This is a video I made of photographs of mine from the past few years Galway Christmas Markets

Merry Christmas is a song title by Bryan Adams

20 Aug

The Party’s Over

In a. Galway by admin / August 20, 2013 / 0 Comments

Not every photograph has to or can be a “Wow, look at that!”. Sometimes a good photograph is the opposite, a snapshot of a mundane everyday scene. There mightn’t be anything stunning that captures your eye but if you let your mind absorb the photograph it makes you think or feels like it’s from a story; this for me is a good photograph.

The Party’s Over is a song title by Willie Nelson.

13 Aug

Galway Races start of a race (Bring on the Dancing Horses)

In a. Galway,h. Sport by admin / August 13, 2013 / 0 Comments

Galway Races

A series of photographs taken in quick succession at the start of a horse race at The Galway Races.

Bring on the Dancing Horses is a song from Echo and The Bunnymen

06 Aug

Galway Races (Look away, look away, look away)

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals by admin / August 6, 2013 / 2 Comments

One of the things I love about the Galway Races is the mixed crowds; loads of country farmers and thousands upon thousands of young people dressed up to the nines. I like the old gentleman looking away as the two women walk past.

After I posted this someone said it’d look good in black and white so I’ve added it after the colour.
Which do you prefer?

Black and White

Look away, look away, look away are lyrics taken from the song ‘Look Away’ by Big Country.

19 Jul

The Galway Races- BallyBrit racecourse (Running On Empty)

In a. Galway,h. Sport by admin / July 19, 2013 / 0 Comments

The Galway Races

Galway in the summertime equals festivals. And the biggest is festival is The Galway Races which over 132,000 people attended in 2012. It’s a mammoth of a horse racing festival that spans 7 days of racing and 7 days and nights of partying & drinking all around Galway. In the past many large companies in Galway used to close for the week of the races. “It’s not about the racing” is a commonly heard saying around town.

This photograph shows an empty and silent racecourse, the total opposite of what the Ballybrit race track will be like very soon. I’ll try to take another photography from the exact same location during the races.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW FULL SIZE.

Running On Empty is a song by Jackson Browne

05 Jul

My Photography Exhibition in The Galway Fringe Festival

In a. Galway,l. Text by admin / July 5, 2013 / 1 Comment

Seduced by Light at Gawlay Fringe Festival

I’m delighted to announce that I have my first solo photography exhibition in this year’s Galway Fringe Festival.

My exhibition, Seduced By Light will display 8 photography in Goyas cafe, Kirwans Lane from July 13th to July 30th.
Goyas cafe is located in a small square directly behind McDonaghs chipper, also behind Busker Brown’s pub.
If you’re in Galway during The Galway Fringe Festival dates please drop into Goyas for a look. (Goyas do one of the best hot chocolates in Galway).

This is my exhibition information in the Galway Fringe Festival guide:

Seduced By Light, a photography exhibition by Patrick Dinneen
The camera never lies. But it can distort the truth and present us with a different view of the world around us. We see the world around us through our eyes; a photographer sees the world through his camera. This instrument can be used to manipulate what we see by applying various techniques, including long shutter speeds, intentional camera movement, defocusing and many more.

In this series of beautiful photographs Patrick Dinneen invites you on an abstract journey through a dreamlike world of images bursting with colour.
Patrick Dinneen is a Cork born, Galway based photographer. He has no one preferred style of photography, instead enjoys photographing anything that captures his eyes’ attention.

He proudest achievement is date is having his work featured in the LA Times. When he isn’t behind his camera he enjoys spending time with his family, playing or watching football, cycling or reading. He also has a passion for music and has linked music with photography by giving every photo blog post a related music title in his website. You can view more of his work at http://www.photoblog.ie

23 May

Connacht Rugby Players (Men At Work)

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals,h. Sport by admin / May 23, 2013 / 0 Comments

A big thanks to Connacht Rugby Club who gave me a Press Pass for the last Rabo Direct Pro 12 league of the season. Connacht lost to Glasgow Warrior 20-3 on a wet night at The Sportsground in Galway.

Players in the photograph are (left to right) Eoin McKeon, Ronan Loughney, Brett Wilkinson, Kieran Marmion and Michael Swift

Men At Work is the title of an Australian band, who had ‘that’ hit song ‘Down Under. They are the only Australian artist to have a simultaneous No. 1 album and No. 1 single in the United States

12 May

Galway vs Glasgow Warriors (Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals,h. Sport by admin / May 12, 2013 / 1 Comment

Connacht rugby club played their last game of the Rabo Direct Pro 12 season at The Sportsground in Galway against The Glasgow Warriors. Glasgow Warriors won the rugby match 20-3. DTH van der Merwe and Sean Mullins scored the tries for Glasgow Warriors
It was Eric Elwood’s last game as manager and over 6,000 spectators turned up on a wet evening.

Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants is an album title from Oasis.

12 Mar

Hit The Parade (Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, Galway)

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals by admin / March 12, 2013 / 1 Comment

Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, Galway

This post is from last year but it’s one of my facourite photographs from 2012 and Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up again soon so I’m reposting it.

I know I’m a bit late with posting this but better late than never with my photo from Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. I was at the parade with my family so could only manage a hopeful snap here and there (not easy with an almost 2 year old on my shoulders…)
Luckily for me I had perfect timing with this photo and captured a nice reflection of the crowd in the musician’s trumpet.

Post title taken from the song ‘Hit The Parade’, from the album Bedlam a Go-Go by Something Happens, an Irish band from the late 1980s – early 1990s. I remember seeing them at Lark By The Lee in 1984 or 1985, a free music festival in Cork. Lead singer Tom Dunne had a very successful radio show on Today FM but unfortunately has now moved to a weekday morning slot on Newstalk. With Donal Dineen and Tom Dunne gone from music shows the Irish airwaves are a lot poorer for quality music

20 Feb

Galway Hooker Sculpture Abstract (Blackbird Fly)

In a. Galway,b. Abstract/Arty by admin / February 20, 2013 / 1 Comment

I’m always drawn to the Galway Hooker sculpture in Eyre Square, Galway. I like the rustic look of it and the straight lines and very sharp angles. These are two abstract photographs of the Eyre Square sculpture with a crow resting on it.

Blackbird Fly is a song by The Beatles, taken from the album The Beatles, a.k.a. The White Album

06 Feb

My favourite photographs from 2012 (Hall Of Fame)

In d. People & Animals by admin / February 6, 2013 / 1 Comment

My favourite photographs from 2012

I know it’s February so this is a bit old but here’s a video I created showcasing some of my favourite photographs from 2012.

My two highlights of the year were
1. I shot two weddings last year (some photos included in the video).

2. I was suprised and delighted to have a photograph of a man outside The Crane bar in Galway featured in the L.A. Times Travel section.

Anyway, I hope you had a great 2012 and enjoyed my photographs. Thanks for looking.

Hall Of Fame is a song title from The Script Featuring will.i.am

02 Feb

Galway International Rally (It Just Feeds My Need For Speed)

In a. Galway,i. Black&White by admin / February 2, 2013 / 0 Comments

the Galway International Rally was the first international rally to be run from the Republic of Ireland. Throughout its history it has attracted star drivers from all over the world. These photos are from the day before the rally, when rally cars register and fans mill around adoring the cars

It Just Feeds My Need For Speed are lyrics taken from the song 1320 by Megadeath

24 Jan

Cava Restaurant, Galway Closing (Food, Glorious Food)

In a. Galway by admin / January 24, 2013 / 1 Comment

Cava Restaurant in Galway to close

Cava Restaurant is closing on the weekend of 25th/26th January, 2013Jp McMahon, the owner said “It is with deep regret and sadness that Drigin and I must announce that Cava will close in 11 days. We hope the next week will be a happy reflection on our last five years rather than a mourning on our closing ”.

Cava was an extremely popular tapas restaurant in Galway, which had won many awards and it’s closure is a great pity. It was my favourite restaurant in Galway. They will be bringing their top 5 tapas dishes onto their menu at Eat@Massimo, where the same people do a lunch menu.

Click here for an article in the Galway Independent that features an interview and a slight insight into some of the reasons why it closed.

Food, Glorious Food is a song from the musical Oliver!

15 Jan

Galway Cathedral (Push The Sky Away)

In a. Galway,k.Buildings & Architecture by admin / January 15, 2013 / 1 Comment

An old photo of mine of Galway Cathedral, with a simple filter applied (in Flickr’s built in photo editor). I really have to start using Adobe Lightroom and learn how to make little changes, such as ‘remove’ the light in the bottom-right-corner which is distracting.

Push The Sky Away is the album title of the new album from Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, to be released in February 2013.

29 Nov

Galway sunrise (Sun It Rises)

In a. Galway,f. Nature & Sky by admin / November 29, 2012 / 0 Comments

A beautiful red and orange Galway sunrise over fields in Galway lights up the sky with great colours.
Galway has really stunning sunsets over Galway Bay and offers lovely views for the people strolling on the Salthill Prom. The Galway sunrises are equally brilliant and turn the fields from black darkness into a lovely blend of colours.

Sun It Rises is a song title from Fleet Foxes album Fleet Foxes.

17 Nov

Galway Beach Abstract (Sand and Sand)

In a. Galway,b. Abstract/Arty by admin / November 17, 2012 / 0 Comments

I was walking on Renmore/Ballyloughane Beach in Galway today and brought my camera along with me. I ended up taking some photos of the ripples in the sand which looked quiet nice I thought.

I noted that PetaPixel website have an article featuring ‘Seascape’ photos by Jakob Wagner, which are very similar to mine.
Sea and Sand is a song title by The Who.

04 Nov

The Wedding Present Seamonsters,Róisín Dubh

In d. People & Animals by admin / November 4, 2012 / 4 Comments

The great, great band that are The Wedding Present played their Seamonsters album live at Róisín Dubh in Galway tonight. A very entertaining night for the packed house.

12 Oct

Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop (Read The Blessed Pages)

In d. People & Animals,i. Black&White by admin / October 12, 2012 / 0 Comments

A man browses through some of the 2nd hand books on sale in Charlie Byrne’s Bookstore, Galway. This photograh sat on my hard drive for a long while. I always liked it but didn’t love it until I converted it to black and white.
Charlie Byrne’s is a famous bookstore in Galway and a lovely place to loose yourself and browse for a while.

Post title is a song title by Belle and Sebastian

02 Oct

LA is The Place (The Crane Bar, Galway)

In a. Galway by admin / October 2, 2012 / 1 Comment

I’m delighted to tell you that I had a photo published in the LA Times!
The LA Times contacted me through Flickr asking if they could use my photo of a man outside The Crane Bar in Galway in a travel feature on Galway for their travel section of The LA Times newspaper. They posted me some clippings of the page, I kept one, gave one to the pub and one to the person in the photo.

Post title is a song by the American hip hop group N.W.A.

09 Jul

Fitter. Happier (Cope Galway Traithlon 2012)

In d. People & Animals,h. Sport by admin / July 9, 2012 / 1 Comment

The Cope Galway Triathlon took place on Sunday, 8th of July in Salthill, Galway. Geraghty Ruaidhri, pictured below, won with a time of 1 hour and 6 minutes

Post title is the song title of a stunning song by Radiohead, taken from their amazingly great album “OK Computer”.

17 May

See Your Name in Neon, It’s a Dream, 15 Minutes of Fame (Occupy Galway)

In a. Galway by admin / May 17, 2012 / 0 Comments

My blog post yesterday was my most viewed blog post to date, with over 1,000 page views yesterday alone.
It really was a case of lucky timing and a bit of work as well.

On Tuesday I had a day off work and was wandering around Galway. I was strolling through Eyre Square, decided to visit the Occupy Galway camp and document it through photographs. Little did I know that the gardaí would raid/’dismantle’ the camp that very night. I was also lucky that I posted the photos here the same evening, if I had left it for a day or two the Occupy Galway camp would have been yesterdays news.

When I found out the next morning that the camp had been dismantled I tweeted my photographs & also tweeted several media organisations saying that I had possibly the last photographs of the camp. Several replied asking if they could use my photographs and many people retweeted my tweet of the photographs. My photographs were used by The Irish Examiner (online), Breakingnews.ie, Thejournal.ie, The Galway Advertiser.ie Facebook page and more. I was even trending on Twitter(!).

Below is some of the coverage my photographs in the media:

Post title are lyrics taken from the song ’15 minutes’ by the band Sheep On Drugs (great band name).

01 Apr

Reflection (Galway Bay Golf course)

In f. Nature & Sky,i. Black&White by admin / April 1, 2012 / 2 Comments

I recently played Galway Bay Golf course, a very pleasant course even if tough. I played the best golf of my life with 9 pars(!) and 40 points (playing off a handicap of 18). It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky and summer weather even though it was only March.
The air was so still that there wasn’t a ripple in the lake and the trees were reflected perfectly. This was shot with a standard compact (Samsung WB2000). I included two photos but personally I prefer the first one.

Post title is taken from the song titled ‘Reflection’ from the album Inertia Creeps.

16 Mar

Won’t Be Back

In a. Galway,i. Black&White,k.Buildings & Architecture by admin / March 16, 2012 / 3 Comments

Three boarded up houses on Bohermore, Galway City. I prefer the black and white photo but posted up the colour version as well, which one do you prefer?

This for me is a good example of finding a photograph in something mundane, a scene most would just walk past and not give it a second glance. Some boarded up houses, not very interesting? But looking and thinking as a photographer it’s a different world. Here I saw a reflection of the economy, a pattern in the houses and like the lines (straight lines rock!).

Post title ‘Won’t Be Back’ is a song title from ‘Recovery’ album by Eminem (Marshall Mathers). I think it fits very nicely to this photo as it portrays a broken home and poverty.

05 Mar

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

In a. Galway,h. Sport by admin / March 5, 2012 / 1 Comment

The last set of photographs in my series from Pearse stadium home to Galway GAA hurling and football.
I particularly like the ‘Sales Office’ photo.

Post title Let’s Get Ready To Rumble taken from the song ‘Lets Get Ready To Rumble’ by Ant and Dec and also used in many sports, mainly boxing before big fights.

02 Mar

Maroon 5 ( Galway GAA Pearse Stadium stand )

In a. Galway,b. Abstract/Arty,g.Colourful by admin / March 2, 2012 / 4 Comments

This is the second set of photographs from my wander around Pearse Stadium, Salthill home to Galway GAA hurling and football. In this set I’m posting patterns and strong colours seen in the empty stand which wouldn’t be seen on match day.

…and an ‘abstract’ one thrown in for good measure

My first set of photographs from Pearse Stadium can be found here

Title taken from the American Pop Rock band named ‘Maroon 5’. I know I have more than 5 maroon photographs in the post but couldn’t resist adding this title

01 Mar

Play It Low Into Joe ( Pearse Stadium Galway GAA )

In a. Galway,h. Sport by admin / March 1, 2012 / 4 Comments

Last summer I wandered into Pairc Ui Caoimh, Cork GAA stadium when it was empty and took photographs of the empty stadium. So I called into Pearse Stadium, Salthill, home to Galway GAA. The stadium manager kindly allowed me to walk around taking photographs . Here’s the first set of photos, more to follow soon.

Not Men But Fír

The changing rooms were surprisingly extremely large, there was even a physio room and warm up room. Compare this to the changing rooms that Cork GAA have-

My second set of photographs from Pearse Stadium can be found here

Title taken from the song ‘Play It Low Into Joe’ by The Cash Strapped Johns

24 Feb

Galway Girl ( Galway Ghost )

In a. Galway,i. Black&White by admin / February 24, 2012 / 0 Comments

You might or might not have read about the spotting a ghost in Galway, Ireland recenlty-

Well, here’s not one, but two that I spotted a good while back on Shop Street, Galway.

Post title taken from the simply exquisite, haunting song ‘Your Ghost’ from the album Hips and Makers by Kristin Hersh,

24 Jan

Build High, Build High, I said Build High, Yeah, Build High

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals,k.Buildings & Architecture by admin / January 24, 2012 / 0 Comments

Part two of my photo series from a building site in Parkmore Business Park East, Galway City.

Part one can be found here

Blog title taken from the great Pixies song ‘Build High’.

08 Dec

Galway Chirstmas Market (It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year)

In a. Galway,d. People & Animals by admin / December 8, 2011 / 0 Comments

Galway Christmas Market 2011

2010 was the first year that The Galway Christmas Market were hosted and were a roaring success for Galway. Trade increased, it added an festive event to Galway’s event calendar. These photos show some of the workers who brace the cold every night for a month.