Urban Dublin #7
Walkers are ‘practitioners of the city’ for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities. Just as language limits what can be said, architecture limits where one can walk, but the walker invents other ways to go.
Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
Guess the missing letters!
It seems that the sculpture of the lady climbing up the wall of the Treasury Building was originally intended to be a man. It had to undergo a sex-change because a developer billionaire was not too keen on the idea of having a naked man just outside his office window.
And after all that walking I enjoyed a well deserved rest at 3FE. A place where you can drink a fantastic coffee while flipping through the pages of architecture and design magazines is a winner!
Camera: Canon EOS 550D
Location: Dublin
May Day Greetings
Whatever may be your dreams for this Summer*, hope they will come true!
Whether you’re celebrating Summer or International Workers’ Day, May Day greetings!
Camera: Canon EOS 550D
Location: Herbert Park, Dublin
* According to the Irish calendar Summer begins today. I’m still wearing boots but this is a little thing, isn’t it?
Week 17 | 52 rolls project
Today you just have to sit back, relax and breathe.
No animals were harmed in the making of this photograph! The octopus below was in fact in top shape and between him moving towards the sea and the waves coming in, I did struggle so much to get the subject in focus!
Could you believe that part of this building used to be a tea room in the 1950s?
That’s Dalkey Island, which is just off shore from Dalkey. You can also clearly see the Martello Tower.
Love that golden-yellow bush! Its name is Gorse and it gives off a very distinctive smell of coconut. It’s true, I swear.
Can you spot the girl climbing the rock?
I’m so glad I took this long needed walk on Killiney Beach, even though within one hour or so it started raining.
Oh Fujichrome Velvia 50! I knew this film would be able to provide extremely fine grain but I was literally taken aback by its colour tones. I shot during a bright cloudy afternoon and I must say colour reproduction is perfect! If only E-6 processing wasn’t that pricey!
PS: If you are not ready to leave this beach yet, there are more photos here.
Camera: Yashica Mat-124G
Film: Fujichrome Velvia 50
Location: Killiney Beach – Dalkey, Co. Dublin
Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]
If you have looked at the photos I posted on Monday, you already know that the match between my Voigtlander Vitoret DR and Kodak T-Max 400 was not one made in Heaven. Although this second batch of photos is as overexposed as the first one, I think I’ll use this film again (just on another camera) and here’s why.
Taking into account my previous experience with (my) Voigtlander Vitoret DR and the fact that I can never be sure (here in Dublin) about what I’m going to get in terms of lighting on a particular day, I usually tend to go for a 400 speed film. Unfortunately Kodak T-Max 400 proved to be too slow for my fifty-year-old camera or at least critical in exposure as I had to shoot without the aid of a light meter. Nevertheless, I do love its range of tones and old film look. Don’t you?
If you’re wondering what caused the scratches on some of the shots, from what I’ve read on the Internet I think I got the fixing time wrong.
Love that scaffolding which, along the church architectural style, made me think of a giant bird’s nest in a Gothic horror film!
![16th roll 11 404x616 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_11-404x616.jpg "16th roll 11 404x616 photo")
OK, let me put you out of your misery right now. The shot below is none other than the tiled bottom of a fountain in the Garden of Remembrance.
![16th roll 12 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_12.jpg "16th roll 12 photo")
Windows galore.
![16th roll 15 404x616 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_15-404x616.jpg "16th roll 15 404x616 photo")
![16th roll 20 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_20.jpg "16th roll 20 photo")
![16th roll 21 404x616 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_21-404x616.jpg "16th roll 21 404x616 photo")
Love having lunch date with Roberto because that means I get the opportunity to walk along the Grand Canal. You can’t actually see that much from the dark photos below but, trust me, is one of the best walks in Dublin city centre ever!
![16th roll 22 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_22.jpg "16th roll 22 photo")
![16th roll 23 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_23.jpg "16th roll 23 photo")
![16th roll 24 404x616 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_24-404x616.jpg "16th roll 24 404x616 photo")
![16th roll 26 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_26.jpg "16th roll 26 photo")
![16th roll 28 404x616 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_28-404x616.jpg "16th roll 28 404x616 photo")
I love looking at fleeing clouds reflected on glass buildings on windy days.
![16th roll 27 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_27.jpg "16th roll 27 photo")
And yes, we had some very windy days (or better nights) last week!
![16th roll 29 Week 16 | 52 rolls project [Part 2]](http://www.antorra.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/16th_roll_29.jpg "16th roll 29 photo")
Camera: Voigtlander Vitoret DR
Film: Kodak T-Max 400 (developed in Ilfosol 3, 1+9, 6 min, 20°C)
Location: Dublin
Week 16 | 52 rolls project
Retracing steps I’ve walked a hundred times before, though I can count on the fingers of one hand the times it was sunny!
I’ve been noticing a strong vertical trend in my shots lately.
Samuel Becket Bridge, my favourite in Dublin.
More to come soon.
Camera: Voigtlander Vitoret DR
Film: Kodak T-Max 400 (developed in Ilfosol 3, 1+9, 6 min, 20°C)
Location: Dublin
Bridging the gap
Hope unusual things will catch your eye this weekend!
Camera: Canon EOS 300
Film: Fomapan Action 400 (developed in Ilfosol 3, 1+9, 8.5 min, 20°C)
Location: Derry or Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Week 15 | 52 rolls project
Do you remember my yen to explore how each camera I use is affecting the way I see? Well, soon after I realised that when I’m about to visit an historic garden nine times out of ten I reach for my medium format camera, I decided to put myself to a test and bring a 35mm camera to the beloved Powerscourt Gardens.
But it didn’t go that well and I don’t know why. What I do know is that the inspiration wasn’t really there and that all along I was composing shots with no visual impact.
The calm pond below is Julia’s Memorial built in honour of the 7th Viscount’s mother.
The Bamberg Gate came from the Cathedral at Bamberg in Germany.
Few things can beat the peacefulness of sitting around Dolphin Pond
and taking a stroll along the beautiful Rhododendron walk.
Beyond Triton Lake, a peek at the Italian Garden and Powerscourt House.
I looked for (and found some) sure signs of spring.
Before heading to Avoca Café to treat my sweet tooth to a scrumptious slice of cake, I paused just a second to cast my eye towards the Sugar Loaf Mountain. Attractive view, isn’t it?
Camera: Canon EOS 300
Film: Lomography CN 400
Location: Powerscourt Gardens – Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow
Carnations
Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.
Have a calm weekend, mes amis!
Camera: Canon EOS 300
Film: Lomography CN 400
Location: At home