Midnight down the Royal Canal!

AnimalRights

Was in work and my Nephew was out walking his dog at around 11 and phoned me to let me know about the pair of swans and the ice, so I by chance got a job about 3 minutes away and headed for the canal, I seen them about a third of the way up and took them handsfree with the only lens I had with me the 50mm.
After work I headed back down with the tripod and 70-200 but they had gone into a darker part further down the canal and were asleep.

All non flash.



Asleep when I headed back down!



Sliding on the ice!



Taking a break..



Ice Ice baby!

Few more here.
http://pix.ie/punkrock/album/332738

Rowley Birkin QC

Great shots.

I really need to start learning about photography. Was at the Cliffs of Moher at twilight on Tuesday and grabbed a few shots on a 5mp Cybershot, didn't really capture the moment!

Creamy Goodness

nice shots.

the last shot sums up Dublin superbly.

AnimalRights

Anyone know the name of that statue?
I also changed the version of the 2nd pic of the said statue, the 1st version was not straight, It's still in my pixie stream though.

smelltheglove

I really like them, I'd like a bit more contrast or saturation on the first and second. Wow what a great opportunity though.


3 does it for me though, is al;most looks like you greyscaled the foreground as the frost has wiped out all the colour, great angle.

r3nu4l

AnimalRights wrote: »

Anyone know the name of that statue?

I think it's Brendan Behan (...and the auld triangle, goes jingle jangle, all along the banks of the Royal Canal). Not sure.

I do love the photo, it's a great idea but why did you have to give him the Sun?? Also, it would have been good to have a hot coffee or water there so you could try to capture the steam rising from it. Just an idea.

EDIT: Yup, it's defo Brendan Behan alright

PaulieC

great stuff there AR, a real change from your usual. It really has been great weahter the last few nights for getting out and about. Fav is the Brendan Behan statue, the light is fantastic

superflyninja

Ive never seen this area. where about is it?
fantastic shots btw

Trojan911

Nice shots. I like #1, #3 & #4. The statue is a great shot, I like the coffee cup & tabloid effect.

r3nu4l

Trojan911 wrote: »

Nice shots. I like #1, #3 & #4. The statue is a great shot, I like the coffee cup & tabloid effect.

What bothers me about the 'tabloid', is that it's an English tabloid and when you know a bit about Brendan Behan you know that he fancied himself as a bit of a 'freedom fighter'.

Wikipedia wrote:

In 1937, the family moved to a new local authority housing scheme in Crumlin. Behan became a member of Fianna Éireann, the youth organization of the IRA. He published his first poems and prose in the organisation's magazine, Fianna: the Voice of Young Ireland. In 1931 he also became the youngest contributor to be published in the Irish Press with his poem "Reply of Young Boy to Pro-English verses".

At sixteen, Behan joined the IRA and embarked on an unauthorised solo mission to England to blow up the Liverpool docks. He was arrested and found in possession of explosives. Behan was sentenced to three years in a Borstal and did not return to Ireland until 1941. He wrote about these years in his autobiography, Borstal Boy. In 1942, during the timeframe leading to the IRA's Northern Campaign, Behan was tried for the attempted murder of two detectives in Dublin while at a commemoration ceremony for Wolfe Tone, the father of Irish Republicanism. Sentenced to fourteen years in prison, he was incarcerated in Mountjoy Prison and the Curragh. These experiences were relayed in "Confessions of an Irish Rebel." Released under a general amnesty for Republicans in 1946, his "military" career was over by the age of twenty-three. Aside from a short prison sentence he received in 1947 for his part in trying to break a fellow Republican out of a Manchester jail, he effectively left the IRA, though he remained great friends with the future Chief-Of-Staff Cathal Goulding.

Given the above, the idea that Behan would read the Sun (an English paper with a past history of anti-Irish sentiment) doesn't sit well with me although I imagine he would certainly have read a tabloid. The photo could perhaps be improved artistically by having him reading 'An Phoblacht' or 'Saoirse' perhaps? Also, Behan 'liked a drink' and we all know that's a quaint Irish euphamism for 'alcoholic'. Perhaps having a pint of guinness on the bench beside him could improve the photo further.

All of that said, I still think it's a great photo and my favourite of the four by far

Deacon Blues

superflyninja wrote: »

Ive never seen this area. where about is it?
fantastic shots btw

The Brendan Behan statue is at the junction of Dorset St/Drumcondra Road, and Whitworth Road, Dublin. The redbrick houses on the right are Whitworth Road, Dorset St. is behind the photographer. Up on the left, around where the mass of lights are, is Mountjoy Prison.

I live on Whitworth Road, facing the Joy, and never got out at all during the freeze, except for work. Didn't even realise that the canal had frozen. And now it's all over. Bugger.

Lovely shots AnimalRights. Very atmospheric, and a bit brave, though hopefully the cold kept the gougers under cover. Every lock along that stretch has enough aluminium beer cans in it to build an Airbus A380. We also had a young wan shouting to Johnny about how much she loved him and how she was waiting for him nearly every night for three months. Either she found someone else or he got released, but she's finally gone. Sleep at last !!

Eirebear

Love the statue shot AR.

Given the above, the idea that Behan would read the Sun (an English paper with a past history of anti-Irish sentiment) doesn't sit well with me although I imagine he would certainly have read a tabloid. The photo could perhaps be improved artistically by having him reading 'An Phoblacht' or 'Saoirse' perhaps? Also, Behan 'liked a drink' and we all know that's a quaint Irish euphamism for 'alcoholic'. Perhaps having a pint of guinness on the bench beside him could improve the photo further.

Considering the fact that the large majority of people won't know (or possibly wont even care) who the statue, or even Brendan Behan hmself is, or what it signifies.
I kind of lke the irony, unintentional as it may be.

AnimalRights

'Twas intentional, note the pp were I left the redtop sun logo highlighted more, I didn't know it was brendan behan but still knew a redtop would be outta place with a historical figure.

r3nu4l

Eirebear wrote: »

I kind of lke the irony, unintentional as it may be.

Indeed, the irony does makes it funny

AnimalRights wrote: »

'Twas intentional, note the pp were I left the redtop sun logo highlighted more, I didn't know it was brendan behan but still knew a redtop would be outta place with a historical figure.

Good point!

superflyninja

Deacon Blues wrote: »

The Brendan Behan statue is at the junction of Dorset St/Drumcondra Road, and Whitworth Road, Dublin. The redbrick houses on the right are Whitworth Road, Dorset St. is behind the photographer. Up on the left, around where the mass of lights are, is Mountjoy Prison.

I live on Whitworth Road, facing the Joy, and never got out at all during the freeze, except for work. Didn't even realise that the canal had frozen. And now it's all over. Bugger.

Lovely shots AnimalRights. Very atmospheric, and a bit brave, though hopefully the cold kept the gougers under cover. Every lock along that stretch has enough aluminium beer cans in it to build an Airbus A380. We also had a young wan shouting to Johnny about how much she loved him and how she was waiting for him nearly every night for three months. Either she found someone else or he got released, but she's finally gone. Sleep at last !!

ah cool thanks.now to look up location of the joy on google maps!

Eirebear

AnimalRights wrote: »

'Twas intentional, note the pp were I left the redtop sun logo highlighted more, I didn't know it was brendan behan but still knew a redtop would be outta place with a historical figure.

well in that case well done! :pac: