Killaloe

Spent a couple of hours in Killaloe yesterday. Even in the dull weather it felt like a "Monte Carlo of the somewhere" The west, perhaps, or maybe just Clare. Yachts and fancy houses with their own marinas is the order of the day here, although from the following photos, you wouldn't guess it:











I didn't really intend to photography the more run-down aspect of the Killaloe waterfront, it's just what caught my interest. Age and decay is usually (not always!) more interesting than new and gleaming, in my experience.

Crack-ro

Anything I Can Muster Up That Isn't Macro

I did take some more Macro photos today, and as I've repeatedly sworn that I would take a break from it for a while, I'm going to finally excercise some restraint and post something else. So this brings me to Coco - the 'fetch' wunderkind, doing what she does best. These aren't exactly of much artistic value, but one of the things I like about photography is that sometimes that's ok. I can't think of another art form that gives so much joy from work so casually produced. Other art forms are hard: even self-mocking surrealist or post-modernist work is inpenetrable to simple, inartistic people like me. Perhaps the artistic equivalent to the photos below are the cheesy paintings of dogs playing poker, or maybe even the clichéd images of kittens playing with wool on a greeting card. I don't care though. They make me smile.











The weird claw thing holding the ball in the last photo is probably the world's greatest invention. It's a €2 piece of plastic with a claw at the end for picking up the ball. It means no more bending down to pick up the ball, no more hands covered in dog drool, and you can fling it miles with a flick of the wrist.

This week, I 'ave been mostly reading:

Martin Parr's Best Photography books of 2007
I'm always on the lookout for good photography books. Pity I never actually buy any.

Richard Ross photographs 'Architecture of Authority

Interview with Morgan Silk on the F Stop
With really good information on how he took some stunning photos of US Navy Seals.

10 Mighty Tips for Macro Photography
Actually 10 links to other sites, all in all a crapload of information about the subject.

Mediastorm.org
This isn't new or anything, but it is to me! The site is filled with photo stories about all sort of subjects, made by renowned photojournalists. And the site is beautiful in its own right - it is a stunning piece of web design.

That's about it for this week!

Standby for some photos of Anything I Can Muster Up That Isn't Macro!

Black and White Rose

I love having a macro lens and a couple of flashes. It means I have almost infinite crap to shoot when the weather is bad, or I'm too lazy to go outside.

Barney the Spartan

I love you

You love me

We're an ancient Greek city-state known for its military prowess and ruthless efficiency



It even sort of rhymes if you insert a pause just before the very last syllable.