Sunrise at Trinity College
A stunning sunrise in Dublin, Ireland…
I first captured, edited and shared this photo several years ago - right after I returned home from the trip that I captured it on. It was one of those that I knew I had to edit right way, because I knew it was going to be pretty good. But sometimes I go back into the archives and edit a photo again. My intent in doing so is to come at it with fresh eyes and (hopefully) much improved photo editing skills. I generally always like my most recent edits the best, but that is probably obvious. Plus my style morphs a little over time and my tastes tend to change quite a bit as well. Regardless, that’s one of the great things about digital photography - you can go back to the well again and again and again, and come up with something different each time.
Oh yeah, this is Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Almost forgot to mention that part. :-)
Temple Bar nights
Night at the Temple Bar, in lovely Dublin, Ireland!
Ah, lovely Dublin - one of my favorite places! I have been 5 or 6 times over to Dublin, and enjoy it so much each time. It’s not a large city, which is part of what I like about it, and the core city center is fairly compact. So I can wander with my camera and cover it all pretty well without too much effort. This was shot outside the famous Temple Bar one evening. You can see the crowds are pretty thick, which is one reason I often will also get up at sunrise to shoot it. It’s completely empty then!
Sunset in Dublin
A lovely sunset in equally lovely Dublin, Ireland…
Don’t you just love it when you get great light AND reflections? It doesn’t always happen, but when it does the photos just come out great. Most people don’t wish for rain when they are going to shoot - and I don’t either, to be clear - but I will admit that if it rains for just a bit and then clears up, you can get some amazing light such as I had on this sunset shot from Dublin.
Sunrise in Dublin
Sunrise in lovely Dublin, Ireland…
It’s so rewarding to get up for sunrise and walk the streets in a foreign city. I try and do it at least once on every trip, and I am always rewarded with great photographs.
The thing is that everyone likes to sleep in a bit, so if you are up and out at sunrise you are pretty likely to be able to photograph popular spots when they are empty. That is exactly what happened for me in Dublin, Ireland. I wandered around in the Temple Bar district and had these usually crowded streets all to myself. Sunrise was pretty, too!
The Quays Bar
The Quays Bar in Temple Bar, Dublin all dressed up with a moody, vintage look
This bar sits in the Temple Bar section of Dublin, Ireland. I have walked by it many times, and taken photos of it in all sorts of light. I even went in one evening with some friends and had a beer. It's an interesting little spot.
Since this photo was taken during bright daylight, I opted to give it a moody, almost vintage feel when I edited it. It was just too bright and rather boring, so it needed a little kick!
Split-toning a Dublin sunrise
One fine morning in Dublin, I was out and about and happened upon a beautiful sunrise. I share those photos today, and talk a little about split-toning and HDR as well. Enjoy the pics and if you get a chance to visit Dublin, take it! It's a beautiful city.
I'm continuing to experiment with split-toning in Lightroom and really liking it! Have you tried it yet?
As I mentioned here a couple of previous times, I have started playing around with split toning in Lightroom, and I've come a good ways in understanding how and when to use it (though honestly, each application is different). It's a very simple yet powerful tool and I highly recommend you give it a whirl on some images, at least just for fun. You never know what you might learn, or what result you may get in the image (and I am working up a blog post about how I use it, along with my thoughts on it, and that will go live on Thursday, so come back and check it out!).
So that's what I did today...I tried a little split-toning and liked the results quite a bit!
I caught this beautiful sunrise one morning in Dublin, Ireland on my last trip there. It's always worth getting up and heading out early no matter where you are, but I find it especially productive in Europe. These tourist areas are always crowded, except at sunrise - so that's when I prefer to start my shooting.
The sunrise was pretty to start with, but split-toning gave me a little extra "oomph" in these images and really made them pop. If nothing else, it added a little extra drama to the already beautiful light.
All of these were shot with my old camera, the Olympus OMD EM-1, and shot with the Panasonic/Leica 15mm f/1.7 prime lens attached. While I have since sold all my Olympus gear and moved over to Sony, I did not wait long to pick up a comparable prime lens for the Sony camera. I am now using the Sony 28mm f/2 prime lens, and really loving it. You can see my recent review of it here. Let me know if you have any questions!
And in case you were wondering, all of these images are just single exposures - no HDR. While I still love HDR, I am only using that technique when I feel it will really help the image, or where it's just sorely needed. Especially with my Sony camera, I can capture so much in a single exposure that there isn't always a need to use HDR. Plus, I don't always want the light to be perfectly and evenly distributed (which is what I generally think of as the main benefit of HDR). In today's photos, I intentionally left deep shadows, which in my opinion helped the image, and there's nothing wrong with leaving a little to the imagination, right?
Another fabulous sunrise in Dublin
I love to shoot in Dublin, Ireland - it's a beautiful town. But my favorite thing to do there is wander the streets at sunrise. It's empty and more beautiful when you have it all to yourself. And if you get a stunning sunrise? Well that's just a bonus!
I just realized that my last 3 blog posts were all about sunset - so how about a sunrise? :-)
the ha'penny bridge looking all awesome at sunrise over the river liffey
Like all photographers, I prefer to shoot at the edges of the day - those moments when the light is soft and buttery, and the world just looks and feels like a quiet, peaceful place. Sunrise, sunset, blue hour, golden hour - those are the times we all prefer to be out shooting, and that's what we often aim for. While I will happily shoot any time of day, I do prefer the soft edges for all the obvious reasons.
On my last visit to Dublin - which is a GREAT city to visit, by the way - I got up for sunrise shooting at least once (I always get in at least one sunrise there) and headed out. The thing is, you can never tell what is going to happen - it's a total crapshoot. It's a risk, and you have to get up early to take it.
the temple bar is both that bar on the corner, and the name of the district it sits in - and it's usually super crowded. But at sunrise it's empty!
When you want to shoot sunset, you can look at the sky and see what's happening, which will usually give you some idea at to whether it could be great or not. But sunrise? No way, you are asleep and it's totally dark out. You literally have NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. You are just hoping, wishing and praying that you are rewarded for getting up early. And sometimes I have gotten up only to find it raining, and then I cannot go back to sleep.
But Luckily, I was rewarded on this morning.
I wandered around in The Temple Bar District and had it all to myself. That alone is worth the price of getting up, in my book. Being able to walk around a usually crowded tourist area and get clean shots of places? I'll take that every time, thank you very much. Then again, I tend to be a bit introverted so solitude is my friend.
So yep sunset is pretty awesome (though it can be impossible to shoot in places like this that are crowded that time of day), but don't ignore the opportunity to get up early and shoot a sunrise. You might just get some keepers!
And if you want to see my list of the best places to shoot in Dublin, you can find that here.
another view of the ha'penny bridge
a view down the river liffey during sunrise
A perfect day in Howth
If you ever find yourself in Dublin, Ireland and are looking for a quick escape from the city, consider taking a day trip out to the little fishing village of Howth. It's a short train ride away, but it feels like you went much further. Here are two dozen (!) photos from a trip I made out to Howth earlier this year. Enjoy!
Are you looking for a great side trip from Dublin? Try the fishing village of Howth! It's wonderful!
I have been to Dublin, Ireland many times, and always enjoy my visits there. It's a lovely city, and one of my favorite places to go. And even though I am very fond of it, on my last trip there I was looking for something to do that would get me out of town. Something new. Something different.
I found exactly what I needed in the little fishing village of Howth.
From the city center in Dublin, I hopped on the DART (local train) and it was about a 30 minute ride out to Howth. Once there, I walked everywhere I wanted to go. No need for a car in this town. The village itself is small and quaint, and the other big attraction is the hiking you can do.
(click any photo to enlarge)
From the DART station, you make the short walk in to town. Since I arrived around lunchtime, I stopped in a little cafe for a bite before taking off on my hike. I figured it would be good to do the hike first and then explore the village when I returned. So I fueled up.
I wandered through the village briskly, and at the end of it is where the trail begins. This trail takes you up into the hills a bit, and offers up some fabulous views over the Irish Sea and the island known as Ireland's Eye. The trail itself is steep in some parts, but I would rate the difficulty level overall as moderate. The trail winds it way around the peninsula that Howth occupies and is well worth the effort. All together, I spent a couple of hours on the trails before heading back into the village.
Once back in the village, I headed straight to the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey, because I just love shooting ruins and churches, and this was a two-for-one, so I was pretty excited. This church dates from the 1500's, although there were other structures here hundreds of years prior to that. I enjoyed this spot all to myself, which is great, photographically-speaking.
After plenty of photos of the abbey, I walked downhill to the village itself to wrap up my day. I wandered in and out of shops and took photos around the harbor and anything else that caught my eye. There were a lot of fishing boats coming in for the day and unloading their catches - it was rather interesting and fun to observe.
Then it was a short stroll back to the DART station, and a short ride back to Dublin. If you have plans to be in Dublin and are looking for something to do outside of the City Center, I would consider a half-day (or even a whole one) in Howth. It's a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Dublin.
And of course, if you are looking for things to do in Dublin, don't forget that I have a list here of all the best places to photograph in Dublin. It will keep you busy for a while!
Thanks for stopping by!
A big bunch of Dublin stuff!
There is just so much to shoot in Dublin, and so much to love about it. I really enjoy my visits there, and always come home happy (and with a few memory cards that are bursting at the seams!). Today I share 22 photos from my most recent trip to Dublin. Lots of street scenes and pubs in this one, so beware...you might want to hop on a plane after this!
I love Dublin, and love taking photos there - it's beautiful!
how can you not get fired up when you come across a street scene like this one?!
This isn't the first time I have said how much I love Dublin - and it certainly won't be the last time! It's honestly one of my favorite spots to visit. Clearly there is a lot of the world that I have yet to see, but with many cities and countries under my belt - and at least 5 different visits to Dublin over the last few years - this place just makes me happy every time I visit, and I don't get tired of going there. I feel like I smile a lot there. The Guinness helps. :-)
a tram coming down the street with sunset behind it
But seriously, apart from a gloriously delicious pint of beer, the city really offers up a lot of wonderful things to see and photograph. I love the churches, the pubs (there are a lot of pub photos in today's post), the people, the street scenes (lots of those today, too) and even the graffiti (I found some good stuff last time!). I need to process those graffiti shots, now that I mention it. Actually, there's a lot I need to process from all 5 trips - I have around 7000 images in total from Dublin. A quick look in Lightroom lets me know that number! (And yes, I dumped Aperture finally and moved over to Lightroom - and I love it.)
The brazen head - ireland's oldest pub, and one of my favorite spots to stop in for a pint!
i just love this entryway!
So today's post is a collection of shots from my most recent trip over there, which was in early April. Having so many shots to choose from in my library is great fun, but also a bit challenging, because I am always running fast and trying to find time to get more and more things processed - but it just keeps adding up (though I am not complaining!). And admittedly, I usually process recent shots for a little while and then when I end up going somewhere new and shooting again, I process some of those, and forget about all the older stuff. In fact, this is the first group of photos from that trip to Dublin that I have processed. I just haven't gotten to it. And the trip ended weeks ago. First world problems I guess. :-)
kegs lined up at the brazen head - yummy guinness!
the stag's head, just another pub on another street - they are literally everywhere!
Initially I processed two different sets of photos - one from an afternoon stroll around some streets I like (that led into some evening shots after dinner), and one from an outing one evening that was mostly around the Temple Bar district. And that's what I love to do in Dublin - wander around the streets, pretty much any hour of the day...especially in the Temple Bar District, where the cobblestone streets add an extra touch of character.
But then when I looked at all the photos, they seemed to all fit together in many ways, so I figured I would just combine them all into one big fat post and share them at the same time. So that's how you ended up getting 22 photos in today's post - instead of 2 posts of 11 pics each, separated by a week or so. Seems easier this way, no?
It's also a good way for me to hit one of my goals for this year, which is to publish more photos than ever before. I am rocking right along on the path to my goals, and getting real close to hitting them. So pretty soon I will make an update on that, and lift my goals for the year. I've been busy, and I hope you are enjoying seeing more photos here!
walking home from dinner, i just had to stop for a shot along the river liffey
I have walked past this so many times - finally stopped and shot it!
that's a lot of beer!
Now normally when I travel, I tend to take photos of places, instead of what I would call "street photography". But today's shots - at least in my opinion - fall more into the street photography camp than into my normal sort of shots. These are observational in nature. I would walk, and if I found something that caught my eye, then I would set up and shoot it. I find that my style keeps morphing a bit, moving away from the "I have to get a wicked HDR of that place" and instead moving towards "I found this interesting, and took a photo of it". In fact, I have not been processing any HDR photos in months, actually. I'm finding plenty to work with in most single exposures. Plus, my tastes have changed a bit. It happens, and I've enjoyed a break from HDR anyways.
the mural on the side of the Auld dubliner pub in the temple bar district
By the way, if you were curious about the best places to take photos in Dublin, well, I have a list for that right here on the blog. I do need to make a few additions that I discovered recently, which means I need to spend some time and process a bunch more Dublin photos. Darn. :-)
Temple Bar is normally crowded, but so beautiful during blue hour that it's worth going out anyways!
In fact, one thing I did on my recent trip is take a train out to the little seaside village of Howth. It's a short ride on the train, but well worth it. I spend half a day wandering around there and taking a hike along a seaside trail. It was very relaxing, and rather beautiful. Yeah, I better go process some pics. The photos from Howth alone could take up a few blog posts - I have hundreds from that afternoon that I need to go through. But, more on that later.
And by the way, many of today's shots were taken with my prime lens, which you can read about here. It gives me the flexibility to shoot wide open at f1.7, so it's great for wandering in the evening. I didn't use a tripod at all - in fact, I left it at home on this trip! Traveling light is nice!
Well that's all my rambling for today folks. I appreciate the visit, and do let me know if you have any questions. Oh yeah, and enjoy the pics! Feel free to share too! :-)
Thanks for stopping by today!
i could shoot street scenes like this one every day, just absolutely love them!
a couple meanders home through the back streets of temple bar...
this is one of my favorite streets in temple bar - there's just so much going here that it's fun to shoot!
4 weeks, 3 trips, 9000 photos
I have spent the last four weeks on the move, and in that time I fired about 9000 photos. It's been productive, amazing, fabulous, and a little tiring. I drove a long way, and flew even further. I have so much to share here that I fear I am already behind! So today's post is an iPhone summary of these 3 trips and all the fun that I had on them. Enjoy!
The last few weeks have been pretty crazy - in a good way!
As the title of this post implies, I have been a little busy over the last month or so. Ok, more than a little busy. I have been extremely busy. I drove about 1500 miles and flew over 20,000. I have hiked, climbed, walked, ridden in planes, trains and taxis, and generally been a whirlwind of activity. I have been to parks, pubs, museums, libraries, train stations, castles, palaces, 3 foreign countries, 1 vacation home, 5 hotels and more airports than I care to think about.
And I have taken photos. Lots of photos. And it has been great.
In this time, I fired almost 9000 photos with my Olympus mirrorless camera, which I am absolutely loving by the way. It's been about a year now that I have had it, and I have really gotten into a groove with it. It's perfect for where I am with my photography right now. It's becoming very well-traveled, which is good for a camera (especially one so small and light!).
But as I have done for years, I have also fired a LOT with my iPhone. I continue to share my iPhone pics in this set on Flickr, but I just don't really do much sharing of the iPhone goodness here on the blog anymore. I have sort of gotten away from doing iPhone posts here.
So I thought that today I would change that.
On these trips (which I will detail below), I also fired hundreds of iPhone shots and put my faves out there on Flickr. But since I have literally 9000 photos to go process - and knowing it will take me forever to get them ready and published here - I thought it would be fun to do a little recap of my recent travels as seen through my iPhone, and thus share some iPhone pics to illustrate everything I have been doing. Which has been a lot.
One thing to note: I just selected a few pics from each location, because honestly, it would take all day to get all the iPhone pics I have from all these spots into this blog post, and I am way too lazy for that! Plus it was kind of fun to pick a few that sort of summarized what each trip was about. But it's always hard to do that; it's sort of like being asked to pick your favorite child.
So here it goes...(and you can click on each pic to view larger in a lightbox)
Week 1: March 13-20, Abiquiu, NM (1800 photos)
It was Spring Break here in Texas, so as a family we decided it would be fun to head over to New Mexico and see some sights (and this was the driving I refer to above - it's a long way from Austin to New Mexico!). We have been there many times, as it's sort of the closest place to go if you want to see mountains and other interesting landscapes. But since most of the past trips have been to Santa Fe (which I do love), instead for this trip we decided to rent a house in the little town of Abiquiu, NM which is about an hour northwest of Santa Fe. It's best known as the former home of the famous American painter Georgia O'Keeffe, and the landscapes there are just incredible. Interesting, strange, beautiful - and incredible. So we hung out and relaxed, and hiked, and explored, and just had a great time. And I took a few pics (ahem). We even saw a few animal carcasses - fun!
Week 2: March 22-29, Copenhagen, Denmark (3200 photos)
Ah yes, lovely Copenhagen! I returned home from New Mexico, spent a day washing clothes and repacking my bags, and then hopped on a plane to lovely Denmark! Copenhagen is a beautiful city, and this was my 3rd visit there. I really do enjoy the place. It's just awesome. This was a business trip, but even so, I was able to squeeze in plenty of photo time in my off hours. I truly saw so much here that it is almost hard to remember. I shot all around Nyhavn, their historic harborfront area, and of course all through the city center too, with lots of architecture and street scenes and churches and palaces (all high on my list of things I love to shoot!). But I also made a visit out to the little town of HIllerod, where I spent the afternoon wandering around and shooting at Fredericksborg Castle, which was awesome. So plenty of great pics coming from this trip.
Week 3: March 30 -April 5 - home for a week of rest and to see the family! Yay! (0 photos)
Sleep. Must get sleep. Oh yeah, and the Easter Bunny came to town too! I devoured some Peeps. Yum.
Week 4: April 6-14 - Dublin, Ireland (1800 photos) and Glasgow, Scotland (2000 photos)
After a week at home (and some much needed rest), I was off again, back to Europe (oh darn). This was another business trip, and it started in Dublin, which is a place that is absolutely near and dear to me. I love that dang town! The Irish people are just wonderful and the Guinness honestly tastes better there. It's true! Ask anyone who's been, and they will tell you the same. So in my off hours in Dublin, I hit all the sights I intended to hit: churches, the University, lots of street scenes, a few pubs (you get thirsty with all that walking!) and even a little trip out to the seaside village of Howth, where I walked on high cliffs next to the Irish sea. Good times!
And so after about 5 nights in lovely Dublin, it was off to Glasgow for the last leg of this business trip (and the end of this crazy 4 week period). I arrived here on the Saturday, which gave me the full weekend to get out and shoot this awesome Scottish city. I also had the good fortune of meeting up with my good friend Mike Murphy, who came up from London for the weekend. We shot like crazy here, and it was excellent. On Saturday we hit a bunch of spots in the city, dodging a little rain here and there. On Sunday we headed out to the nearby town of Falkirk, where Mike's old friend Steve met us, and the 3 of us spent the day firing like crazy at the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies. This was a great day, both because of the company and the sights. You just don't get to see stuff this interesting very often. And it'a always nice to wrap up a good day of shooting by stopping in a pub for a couple of pints.
Mike took off back to London on Sunday evening, and I was left to my own devices that evening and Monday evening, and so both nights I hit the streets around dusk and blue hour with my favorite little toy, the Panasonic Leica Summilux 15mm f1.7 prime lens. It's great to walk around and fire that thing in low light - without a tripod, mind you - and get great results. I only wish I had a prime lens years ago! Where was I when that memo went out??
In fact, I went without using a tripod ON ALL 3 TRIPS. I actually brought it with me to New Mexico and Copenhagen, but never even got it out. So when I was packing for Dublin and Glasgow, I decided I may as well leave it at home. And guess what? I never missed it! (Though I will say, I do love my tripod, and have no plans to get rid of it.) Obviously there are some things you prevent yourself from being able to do without a tripod on hand, but I have found that for much of what I do, it isn't necessary. I may write up a future blog post about that, as I continue to evolve my style of shooting. It sure is great to travel light. I actually only had the camera and two lenses the whole time, so that all fit in a small backpack. It felt great!
And speaking of future blog posts, since I now have this collection of 9000 photos to process and share (really, isn't that a few years worth of work??), I also have a huge (or, huger than before) backlog of blog posts to write up. In fact, I was going through my folders for the images from these trips, and have counted - no exaggeration here - about 40 different blog posts that I want to do, covering different sites on these various trips. And yes, each post would contain a good 10-20 photos. So yeah, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?
Well, that's a little summary of the last few weeks of my life. It's been great, and it's been fun, and it's been productive. But it is nice to be back at home with the family, and I hope to find some time to process a lot of these photos, and to share them here. In fact, you'll see the first one in a few days, so please come back!
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed this post!
A bit of this and that from Dublin
Whiskey, bridges, a church and a jail - not your normal collection of shots! Today's post doesn't really follow a "theme" like many of mine do. This is rather just a group of shots from some of my trips to Dublin that I happened to have ready, but which don't necessarily all go together. But I think it does give you a nice tour of some cool spots around this lovely Irish town...so click on in and have a look!
There's just SO much to see and photograph in Dublin!
As you have read here before (and will surely read here again), I love Dublin. The Irish people are so kind, and the city itself is quite beautiful to my eyes. I seriously enjoy each of my visits there.
Christ church cathedral, which is pretty awesome if you ask me!
The only problem I have is that at some point I have to leave, before I have seen everything I want to see. And truthfully, it's not that large of a place, but I already have 10 or more spots on my list that I want to see next time, which I am hoping is sometime this Spring. Fingers crossed!
And if you haven't already seen it, I have a list here of the best spots to shoot in Dublin, should you be fortunate enough to get to go there. And yes, I would try hard if you are near! (And by near, I really mean London, or somewhere in Scotland.)
behind dublin castle you will find this place, the chester beatty library. I've never been inside, but sure like the outside!
kilmainham gaol, which is a historic jail-turned-museum, just a short cab ride from the historic district - and well worth the trip!
So far, I have been there 4 or 5 times (need to check my photo library to confirm that, since I set up a different project for each trip, and name it after the destination and the date - makes it easy for me), and each time I end up taking a LOT of photos. Many times I revisit the same places, so thus far the amount of photos I have of the Temple Bar, for example, has to number in the hundreds at a minimum. But that's ok, because the place is photogenic. I will shoot it again on my next visit. That's a guarantee.
down along the river liffey at some ungodly early hour when most of the town is asleep - peaceful.
the ha'penny bridge during blue hour one morning
a different view of the ha'penny bridge
and this is the entry to the ha'penny bridge
But this post is about other things I have found in lovely Dublin...and I have found a LOT of them. So here's a visual tour of "this and that" from Dublin. I like to write "themed" posts most of the time, with a group of photos tied to a particular spot within a city. It helps me feel organized, and as a fairly OCD type of person, I like organization. :-)
But today the only thing these pics all have in common is that they are from Dublin. Well, that's not entirely true. Several of these are of the Ha'Penny Bridge, which I took one morning when I got up early to wander and shoot. It's something I love to do, and always get rewarded for it, even if I tire out a bit earlier that evening.
So take this little tour with me, and if you can, hoist a Guinness while you do! Slainte!
the entry to the jameson distillery - i'm not a whisky drinker, but this was a great tour!
the mayor of dublin lives here - not sure if that's his car or not!
this section of the temple bar district has some great graffiti, so of course i had to stop by and shoot it!
Wandering the streets of Dublin
Do you ever get out and shoot at sunrise? You should! Especially when in a touristy area of a city, sunrise is great to shoot because all the tourists are still asleep. It's quiet and awesome.
Dublin is one of my favorite cities to travel to - it's just got so much personality.
I have said here many times that I love Dublin, and you will probably hear that a lot in the future. It's true - it's just a great little city. There's a lot to see, a lot to do, and of course my favorite - lots to photograph! (Oh, and the Guinness is tasty!)
One thing I really recommend when traveling is to get up early and wander the streets at sunrise. In my experience, that's the best time to get out and shoot, especially in busy, touristy cities.
Normally I stay in a hotel near the main things I want to photograph, and then get up early and head out. It's not always easy to get up, but when I am done, I always think that it was well worth it. All the tourists are usually sleeping in, and you frequently have the streets all to yourself.
So here's a few from one morning in Dublin while I was out and about, doing my thing. See any tourists? Me neither. :-)
5 Things I Love About Dublin
Some of my favorite things in that lovely Irish city...
Some thoughts (and photos!) about what to see in Dublin!
I’m a fan of Dublin, Ireland - in case you haven’t already guessed that from all my posts about that lovely city. It’s a real gem, and I really enjoy visiting there. I find the people to be super friendly, and the city is full of great things to photograph. Oh, and if you like to sit in a pub, well, this is your town.
Now I will readily admit that I am not an expert on Dublin (I live in Texas, after all!), but I’ve been there many times on business and at this point have a pretty good feel for the place, as well as having published here on the blog a list of the best things to shoot while you are there.
I am hoping to return again later this year, and have a few more spots to get to before I feel like my list is complete. Ok, that’s a lie. My lists are actually never complete. I’ll add more every chance I get. It’s something I love to do.
Anyways, I enjoyed writing my previous post about London (5 Things I Love about London) and thought I would do a similar post about Dublin. It’s a labor of love. So bear with me, k? This will be fun. I promise.
While there is quite a bit to see in Dublin, I have focused this list on 5 primary “things”, all pretty much in the central historic district (mostly): Temple Bar, Irish pubs, the Cathedrals, Trinity College, and the Guinness Brewery. This might be a “touristy” list to some, but I feel like seeing these places when in Dublin is a must. So, be a tourist if you have to - just bring the camera and be a photographer too!
And by the way, the city is very walkable. The only wildcard here is the Guinness Brewery. You can absolutely walk to it from the central historic district but it will take you a good 25-30 minutes. I took a cab out there, but the weather was so beautiful when I got out that I walked back along the River Liffey and took a bunch of photos along the way. So exploring on foot is a great thing to do here. Plus, you’ll need to stop and rehydrate - that’s what the pubs are for! :-)
So without further delay, here are the 5 things I love about Dublin, Ireland:
1) Temple Bar
Temple Bar is the name of two things: an awesome Irish pub, and the entire entertainment district surrounding the pub. The Temple Bar district is Dublin’s cultural headquarters and is an area full of great little pubs, shops, and restaurants. Everyone here is a tourist, and it’s totally ok. It’s a fun area, and at night it gets crowded and noisy, but that’s part of the fun.
The Temple Bar pub is the main hub of activity there, and it’s usually the first place I go to get a Guinness. It’s just cool. It was established in 1840 and, in my opinion, has a ton of character. It’s very photogenic. In fact, it’s a place I make a point of photographing on every visit. How can you resist, really? Charm factor 100.
The Temple Bar pub during a beautiful sunrise.
This is a street scene from the Temple Bar district - just so much character!
2) The Irish pubs
Irish pubs are just awesome. They are so fun, and the Irish people are so kind and welcoming. You immediately feel comfortable in one. Plus, they serve Guinness, which adds a lot to my enjoyment! But seriously, when people speak about visiting Ireland, it seems the idea of visiting an Irish pub comes up. (I think we like the accent, too.)
In Dublin, as you can imagine, you have a lot of choices. I’ve made it to several there in Dublin (ahem) and so far can conclude that I love them all. That’s not very conclusive, is it? Well, more research is required, I think. Did I mentioned how much character they have? Great spots for photography - just take the photos before you start on the Guinness. :-)
The Brazen Head - supposedly Ireland's oldest pub!
Another corner with another pub on it - ah, Dublin!
3) The beautiful cathedrals
As you may know from many of my previous posts, I have a serious thing for European churches. Aren’t they just awesome? I love few things more than wandering into an old European church and firing away. And here’s the good news, Dublin fans: there are some real gems in Dublin to visit!
Christ Church Cathedral is my favorite, and is a short 5 minute walk from the Temple Bar, so it’s very central. There’s a lot to see here (and you will want to shoot the outside as well) so leave yourself plenty of time to get it all done.
The next one to see in my opinion is St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It’s a little bit more of a walk, but well worth it. It’s actually the largest church in Ireland (according to Wikipedia at least). You can’t go wrong with a visit to either of these incredible churches. Just remember the tripod so you can get some awesome interior shots!
The exterior of Christ Church Cathedral - so lovely!
4) Trinity College
I definitely recommend that you visit the campus of any large university when you go to a new town, because in my experience they have great architecture which is just begging to be photographed! Trinity College in Dublin is no exception, but note that they do not allow tripods in the central courtyard. Seems like a dumb rule (and for the record, I didn’t know and didn’t see any signs), and I fired all my shots before the security guard found me, but it was sunrise so it was really early. I was the only person around for about a half hour. I definitely recommend a sunrise visit here.
The other thing to see here is the Library, which houses the ancient Book of Kells. This place is incredible, but again it’s a no-tripod zone. That’s actually ok because it does get crowded and it’s a small space. And whether you are there with a camera or not, it’s well worth the time and money to tour the Library. It’s just a beautiful sight! Fans of architecture (and bibliophiles) will be drooling.
The main courtyard at Trinity College during an incredible sunrise.
The ceiling inside the Library - what a place!
5) The Guinness Storehouse and Brewery
Did I mention that I like Guinness? Oh, I didn’t? Ok, well, I do kinda like it. It’s tasty, and truthfully, it tastes better in Dublin than anywhere else. It must be the fresh water. But whatever. The Guinness Brewery is quite a fun thing to see, even if you don’t like the drink (I readily admit that it is an acquired taste). You have a huge indoor waterfall, several floors of restaurants and exhibits, and a skybar at the top with a 360 degree view! Plus, you get a Guinness when you arrive at the skybar. It’s a good deal people! Get on over there! I spent half a day there, but I can move slow when I am having fun taking a lot of photos.
See? Isn't this waterfall awesome?
This is near the entrance - just thought the scene looked cool!
Well, that’s a quick little tour of my favorite spots in Dublin. It really is a culturally rich city, steeped in history and offering up a ton of interesting things to see and do (and photograph, naturally). Check it out, and don’t forget the camera. Oh, and lest I forget - stay thirsty my friends! :-)
Sunset in Dublin
Sunsets and Dublin - two of my very favorite things!
Do you ever feel like this is a blog about London and Dublin? LOL
I have been to both towns several times over the last few years (including being in London last week) and as such just have so many photos to share from these two excellent spots. In other words, I have a lot more to share from both cities, so hope you don't mind.
I tend to mix things up here and share photos from all my travels, but it seems those two cities rise to the top of the pile of shots I want to share more often than not! I just find them to be really photogenic places.
Today's post though is about a beautiful sunset I shot in Dublin earlier this year, when I was there back in February. I was out with my friend Mike Murphy (who came up from London to shoot there with me - what a nice chap!) and we could just tell the sunset was going to be pretty dang awesome - and it was!
These shots were taken on the Western end of town close to the Four Courts Building, if that helps anyone. All of these are HDR shots processed in Photomatix with additional editing in Color Efex Pro...if you are interested. It was a beautiful sunset!
Thanks for stopping by today!
Three pubs in Dublin
Warning! This post might make you thirsty.
I do love me some Irish pub. Of course I make the requisite visits inside when I can <ahem>, but most of the time I am shooting these from the exterior. But that's ok, as I find there is a lot of character among Irish pubs.
One of my favorites to shoot is the Oliver St. John Gogarty, which you see below. It's a short walk from The Temple Bar, which is the most famous (and most photographed, at least by me!) Irish pub in a town that's bursting with them. I love all those flags, and have shared many a photo of this place here in the past (and likely will do again).
Isn't this a fun looking Irish pub?
This next one is the Bison Bar, which from the outside is pretty easy to miss. So easy, in fact, that I have missed it many times though it is next door to my normal hotel there. But on my last visit we ended up there after some shooting (and while waiting for the light to change). I'm really glad we did! I thought this interior was really interesting.
I loved this wooden interior, and that light reflecting across the floor.
And lastly this is The Dame Tavern, which I have never been in (but there's always hope!). We were wandering around doing the photography thing and when I saw this scene with all the kegs stacked outside, I just really liked it...so here it is.
See? There's another pub just over there! LOL
Dublin is really a wonderful town which I immensely enjoy wandering in. I find there is a lot to aim the camera at, and there's always a pub to rehydrate and rest in. Good times!