Fern somewhere around Clan Donald Skye

Shot with iPhone 6.  Somewhere at Clan Donald Skye, Armadale, Scotland.

People sometimes asked me what kind of a photographer I am.  I tell them that I'm really an artist who happens to know how to use a camera.  I will shoot images of almost anything.  My preference is to shoot portraits of people.  If I can capture something beautiful inside a person, I know it would be special.  It's almost seeing the person's soul.  I've heard that Native Indians were wary of having their photos taken because the process could steal their souls.  Not sure if this is true or not.  But I digress.  Yes, I will take photos of anything - anything that I like at that moment.  Why do I do it?  Perhaps, because I may never pass that way again.

Hope your day is going well.

#ClanDonaldSkye #Armadale #Scotland #fern #iPhone #TrafalgarInsider #simplyTrafalgar

Please don't step on the dead leaves

Autumn leaves at Blarney.

I take pictures of almost anything.  Silly things like pencils, and dried leaves.  Such as this one.  I shot it while trying to get lost on our way inside the compounds of Blarney.  Earlier, Rose and I climbed up the Blarney Castle so she could kiss the rock, which was known to give one the gift of gab.  I don't think it worked because she couldn't convince me to kiss the rock. The kiss, however, is not casually achieved. To touch the stone with one's lips, the participant must ascend to the castle's peak, then lean over backwards on the parapet's edge. Hence, half of your body is dangling.  At least you don't see what is below.

#SimplyTrafalgar #TrafalgarInsider #BlarneyCastle #Blarney #AutumnLeaves

Call me Ishmael

In 1954, film director John Huston filmed part of Moby-Dick in a small town in Ireland called Youghal (pronounced like a Texan "y'all'), with the town standing in for New Bedford. The town of Youghal provided the perfect backdrop to the original story, written by Herman Melville in 1851.  The town also provided ample supply of  booze such as Guinness beer and Irish whiskey to the crew working on the film.  It has been rumored that the actor Gregory Peck who played Captain Ahab always had a problem deciding which leg required walking with the wooden prosthetic as he was always drunk on the set.  That obviously made him irritated, which one cannot help but  notice in the movie.  As of this writing, our tour group is waiting for Moby Dick to show up.  Oh wait, rainbow alert!

#simplytrafalgar #trafalgarinsider #Ireland #HiglightsOfIreland

The Dolomites

Had a tour and quick lunch at the trilingual town of Bolzano, and then head to Dolomite Mountains.  This image shows a spectacular view of the famous mountain plateau.  Afterwards, we had apple strudel and drinks at the top of the Renon.  Rose had coffee (or was it soda?) and I tried the local white wine (the folks in Northern Italy prefer white wine to red).  We took some pictures of the Alps and that was where I accidentally burned my camera strap with my cigar.

#Simplytrafalgar #TrafalgarInsider

Goodnight Cardiff

Viewed from our hotel room in Cardiff.

Our last night in Cardiff.  Not much going going on here.  It is the capital and largest city in Wales.  I thought of just heading down to the bar and chat with the bartender.  I then remember that there is no bar in our hotel.  We are holed in this small hotel and there is nothing much to do.  I'll try to count how many street lights are out there.

#Cardiff #England #iPhone6 #urbanism #architecture #SimplyTrafalgar #bokeh

The secret of good tasting Guinness - it's in the water

Man made lake in St Stephen's Green in Dublin.  In 1916, the Irish Citizen Army took over the park and dug defensive positions against the British army.  A short time later, gunfire was temporarily halted to allow the park's groundsmen to feed the local ducks.  Awww.

#Simplytrafalgar #Ireland #StStepensGreen #duck #park #Dublin

Alice in Denver Wonderland

Off with their heads!

According to Wikipedia, Alice in Wonderland is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.  But who cares?  We love it.  First published in 1865, the book has never been out of print.  The book has been translated into 174 different languages, including Neumaptsian, Esbotenian and 327Mxyzmptlok languages that nobody seem to know where they came from.  

Taken at Downtown Denver.

#travel #xpro1 #35mm #Denver #poster #NothingIsRealAndThereIsNothingToGetHungAbout