Yeah! Last night was the first time since I've been in lovely Listowel that I was able to capture a "wow" sunset. Thanks to Mary of Chic Boutique, whose shop is diagonally across from Olive Stack Gallery, I got this brilliant moment. Her intuition must have been in high gear yesterday. She popped in yesterday morning and again mid-afternoon offering to take me where ever I wanted to go after the gallery closed. How could I resist. Mary is representative of one of my favorite things about Listowel, it's people. Friendly, compassionate, warm, direct, helpful. For me it was a sense of oneness. More on the lovely folks of Listowel in another post. It's almost that time, Photo Edit O'clock, and want to send out this post.
My choice was Ballybunion. It's a beach town hugging the Atlantic Ocean that's known for the famous golf course and, of course, it's beaches. There are three main ones - Nuns Beach, Ladies Beach and Men's Beach. In parts where the cliffs meet the beach there are caves. There are others as well and I intend to visit them all from varying vantage points. It's also known for seaweed bath, which unfortunately for me are closed for the season, and the ruins of a castle. That photo is coming in a future post. Mary had perfect timing. At the gallery door promptly at 6pm, we drove off to Ballybunion, a 15-minute drive. Knowing that timing was of the essence, she must have been led. We found the perfect place to park as close as you could get to the perfect location for this photo session. With sunset pretty much over within 20 minutes of our arrival, it was meant to be. Pictured above is a view from the "cliff walk" at Ballybunion looking out over Nuns Beach and across to Co Claire in distance. Below are two more views of the spectacular sunset over Ballybunion.
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Bet you thought I was going to write about nightlife, pubs and the like. Well they are here in Listowel like in most towns, small and large. I even had a lovely time at John B. Keane's on Friday night along with Damian Stack and the 6 - 9 Club, a group of friends who have been celebrating each others for years. Perhaps you saw the photo posted on Facebook of me drinking my first ever Guinness there. As a nature and wildlife photography, after dark has a whole different meaning. So grateful that my host and founder of the Olive Stack Gallery artist residency was excited to learn more about photography. Although, she's preparing for her own exhibition in America later this month, when ever she can she takes a break from painting to share some of the sites of Listowel. One of the first things Olive asked when I arrived was what were my interests while here. In addition to the well know travel destinations along the Wild Atlantic Way, doing night photography was on the top of my list. Admittedly, I've never actually done much before. With Listowel being some 15-minutes from the west coast, facing directly towards the Atlantic Ocean, this trip seemed like the perfect time to explore it greater. Day 2 and 3 began my falling in love with Listowel and vicinity after dark. Enjoy my first two attempts of astrophotography in Ireland or anywhere else. More from Day 3 coming soon. Back to a little photo editing from yesterday's 12-hour photo tour of Dingle Peninsular with the tour director extraordinaire, Damian Stack. It's almost time to wrap up the gallery for today and go out for the night. Can you guess where? If you said night photography you're right. The sun finally came out later today. Lots of clouds in the sky. And, the lovely and gracious Mary of Chic Boutique has offered to take me where ever I want to catch the sunset. So far it's been elusive for me and perhaps tonight will be the night. We're headed to the Cliff Walk at Ballybunion.
Grateful to my friends and neighbors who protected my house in south Florida in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, a category 3-4 storm, while I'm exploring this incredibly beautiful and at times rugged land in southwest Ireland. Writing this I'm reminded of a description I first heard from Brendan, a surfer and construction worker, and then again by Damian Stack, my tour director extraordinaire. They both refer to the land and it's sites - cliffs, trees, mountains, ocean, ocean spray, waterfalls - as having either feminine or masculine energy. Thinking of Hurricane Matthew reminded me of one of the places I visited with Olive Stack (no relation to Damian), my creative host and provider of the artist residency at her gallery. I had mentioned that I had an interest in photographing lighthouses. Olive said there was one near by in Co Kerry. We were rushing to catch it at or near sunset.
Little Samphire Island Lighthouse, situated within Tralee Bay, Fenit, may appear feminine, yet the sky and ocean were definitely masculine energy when we visited. Sunny, happy clouds rapidly turned grey, the winds picked up and the ocean churned. All perfect photography weather adding to the drama. That late afternoon it lived-up to the name of this part of Ireland's western coastline, the Wild Atlantic Way. As the water crashed across the rocks at my feet and the winds raged, I had to hold myself and my tripod very steady until the time came when it was better to move on or risk losing one of us. It felt like the power of a hurricane or at least a powerful tropical storm, albeit without the rain, only ocean spray. It's Photo Edit O'Clock time (to paraphrase my friend and mixed media artist Jen Walls who lead the way for me to be here). And, there's much more to share. I was out last night for the sunset at Ballybunion and up early today for sunrise in Listowel. Today is day five in Listowel and I'm so conscious that the time seems to be flying by. I'm having that feeling that "there are so many things to see and people to visit". And, I'm loving it all. So grateful to all who have written that you look forward to the blog posts while I'm here. So writing with a few minutes to spare before hopefully taking a couple of hours spin around the vicinity with Damian, head of the Stack clan (don't know what that means yet and will surely find out), local personal tour coordinator and owner of Stack Furniture, right after closing the Olive Stack Gallery at 6pm tonight. Tonight's a good night and the rest of the week is expected to be clear skies. Yesterday I learned a new phrase, "soft day" Olive called it. Actually it's been the past two days. Grey, clouded-in sky and constant drizzle. It was good for editing photos. I'm on the lookout for perfect places near-by for sunrise photographs for my workshop later this month as well as sunset locations that I hope to visit over and over again while here. I never get tired of sunsets. It seems that every night we're given a new painting to inspire our soul.
Pictured above is the River Feale and Bridge taken in late afternoon my first full day here. I loved how the sun's light reflected off the arches. River Feale encircles Listowel's north-northwest boundaries. Off for a quick bite, close the gallery and photo tour time. To be continued, with Love! ~Phoenix The magical journey has started. Somehow getting myself together for the flight was an all night job. Yes, literally. I never went to sleep that night between packing, still completing entries for contests and fellowships and who knows what now. First leg of trip was a four day stay with good friend and my growing collector in New York. It was the perfect space between the rush of preparing (some three months) and leaving for the journey and arriving in Listowel. We had plenty of time to get caught-up, relax and play. I shared Lindsey with her childhood girlfriend and her husband who arrived from England the same day as I did. Lindsey made sure we had a brilliant time, between visiting the local Parrish Museum, Whaling Museum, sailing the Sag Harbor Sound at dusk, and throwing a wonderful gathering bringing together a number of local artists who have participated in the Endangered Exhibit, which she founded. Though invited, this Miami, warm-weather native, passed on swimming in the heated outdoor pool and preparing for the half-marathon she was running with her girlfriend on Saturday (they finished too). The flight to Shannon Airport left a little after 11pm. I thought for sure I would sleep through it all. Excitement must have been building and my inner radar on. As soon as the sun came up across the horizon I was awakened. As a nature photographer my favorite times are sunset and sunrise. Actually mostly sunset because there's a greater chance I'll be there. Though I've watched the sun rise many times, this one was extra special. I was viewing it from between 30,000 and 40,000 feet above sea level. It started as an ethereal golden-orange-red glow on a black background and gradually kept growing as the sky lightened and the colors melted to a shining white reflecting off the while clouds below. As we approached Ireland the plane dropped below the clouds and the emerald green that everyone talks about was revealed. It was instant love. However, what was not loving was the bus ride to Listowel. I knew it was two buses with a transfer in Limerick, a two-and-a-half commute. Normally a one-hour stop between buses at the terminal, when I arrived it was the one time of the day when there was a two-hour gap. Once boarded, it was the local all the way to Listowel. Lots of winding roads, many stops and some five plus hours after I landed, I arrived in Listowel. What stuck me immediately was all the helpful people. First at the bus terminal, two ladies insisted that I should wait inside the terminal and not outside. They carried my luggage there...one large piece, a smaller one with extra camera gear, my camera bag and large tote which held my laptop, extra camera, speakers and purse. Also, an older couple kept a look out for me on the bus to be sure that I got off at the correct exit. When Olive wasn't there to pick me up (simply because of the craziness with the bus times), they even called her from their phone. Although, they also share the same last name, though not related, they knew of Olive and her Olive Stack Gallery. Since then just about everywhere I go people know Olive and the gallery and smile as they acknowledge her. Arriving closer to 5pm than 1 pm, Olive and I spent a relaxing time sipping tea sitting on the living room/kitchen level on the little sofa overlooking the well-loved view from the second floor of what appears to be the second center of town, where Church Street meets William Street. Unfortunately, for my visit, they had just started a major street/water-line renovation. So the street is torn up and the view is not photo-perfect this trip. I was greeted with not one, but two "welcome baskets" with veggies and fruits from Olive's garden. (Can you guess what was for dinner tonight?) We ended the evening at one of Olive's favorite restaurants, Allo's, which just happens to be down the street. Loved everything about it from the old-world décor to the superb and classic dining to the gracious service. There we met friends of Olives, Liz and Jim, who promised to report back about their upcoming week in Iceland. As I write this day three has ended. Lots of wonderful photographs and stories to share. Promise. Thanks for following. ~Phoenix
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Phoenix-SpiritDiva
Intuitive Soul Photographer of nature, wildlife and people. Be inspired! Archives
March 2024
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