Slievemore

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, July 25-29)

On Ireland's largest island - Achill Island - at the southern slope of Slievemore Mountain, lies the "Deserted Village at Slievemore." Comprised of 80-100 unmortared stone cottages, running for about a mile on a lonely country road, they are thought to have originally served as seasonal dwellings (following the cattle grazing and pasture cycles). However, shortly after the Great Famine (Irish: an Gorta Mór, meaning "The Great Hunger") of 1845-1852, the village was deemed deserted, its history frozen in time . . .

Image Copyright Tim Baskerville

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

More Travel Tips

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, July 25-29)

Caution:
I thought I had figured out a clever way to deal with the charging of multiple electronic devices while in Ireland, using your basic power strip (with or without surge protector) and an Adaptor Plug for Ireland. Well, it seems, not so fast . . . the general wisdom on the internets leans toward NOT using  power strips that have surge protection, on/off LEDs, etc. - with a number of respondents recommending not using any kind of power strip, unless they are visibly rated as Dual Voltage - "120/240v, 50/60Hz" - don't even know where you'd find such things!

An aside here:
I swear that I used basic U.S. power strips plugged into an Irish Adaptor back in the mid 1980s, for lighting (1000w Lowels!) on a video shoot, without any problems. Still, I don't want to chance it this time.
Also, I thought about bringing a rechargeable Ryobi flashlight - turns out the AP8400 charge is listed as 120V/60Hz - so I guess that is out, too! No problem - I've got Surefires, with plenty of 123A 3-volt batteries in tow!

Lesson: check the dual voltage status on all items you are plugging into the three pronged Irish electrical Adaptor (See earlier post) and forget about the power strip - devote ONE Adaptor per device, if planning to charge simultaneously.

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

Time Travel Tips - 1973

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, July 25-29)

"Only Our Rivers" by Planxty, with vocals by Christy Moore, 1973


From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

Travel Tips

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, July 25-29)

Wow! In three weeks time, we'll be in Ireland! Lots of planning has went into the trip - lots of excitement, too! - soon, all we (as a group of like-minded travellers) have to do is just land in Shannon and just BE . . . in Ireland!

Here are a few more tips on what to pack, what to expect, etc., some of which you may already know - if so, let's review:

What time is it?
Ireland is 8 hours ahead of us (Greenwich Mean Time + 1 for summer time) - so, when it's 7pm on the west coast of U.S., it is 3am in the morning in Ireland.

What about the "coin of the realm?"
The euro is the currency of the Republic of Ireland. 
One euro consists of 100 cent. 
Notes are €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500. 
Coins are 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1 and €2.

As of this writing 1.00 EUR = 1.31060 USD
Credit and Debit cards with Visa/MC/AmEx logo are widely accepted. Don't pack Travelers Checks or $100 dollar bills - they won't be accepted.

How do we power up?
Ireland's power supply is 230v 50hz and uses different plugs and sockets (like those used in the UK). If the equipment you need to plug in is dual voltage AND dual frequency it will be marked as such - "120/240v, 50/60Hz" near the UL listing - and all you need is an adaptor like the one shown.

There are some at Hillcrest, but it might not be a bad idea to have your own (don't forget the "cheater plug") - as well - especially if you're staying on after the tour, as we are.

What about weather?
July is the warmest of the year in Ireland - up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, on warmest days.  Temperature readings in Ireland are noted as Degree Celsius. There's an elaborate formula to convert that figure to degrees Fahrenheit; an any number of smart phones apps to convert it automatically; but all you really need to know is that 10° Celsius is about 50° Fahrenheit; 15° Celsius is approx. 60° Fahrenheit; and 20° Celsius is very close to 70° Fahrenheit. And, that should do it!

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

Ephemeris

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, up in County Mayo, July 25-29)

While not an essential tool for each and everyone of you, on our trip to Ireland (I'll have the mobile app with me); The Photographer's Ephemeris most definitely worth a shout-out! TPE is a mapping app that helps landscape photographers plan their photo shoots in advance. Sunrise and set, moonrise and set, phase of the moon, as well as direction of these bodies, as they move across the sky, are clearly indicated on topographical maps.

Note that TPE for the Desktop (both Windows and MAC) is FREE! - the mobile app is available on the App Store for iOS for $8.99 (an Android vers. is $4.99).

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

(Map and data above are for Kilmeena - location of Hillcrest House - for July 21st, full moon waxing)

The Letter

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, up in County Mayo, July 25-29)

Here we have - along the lines of "Kilkelly" (the letter that became a heart-wrenching song of emigration, blogged here) - a document that's a little bit "closer to home" and my own ancestors - a transcript of a letter from Michael Meers (son of Michael, senior) to Agnes Meers Reddington, from Ballina, County Mayo. All the life-events so matter-of-factly listed, and the language - and the honesty and emotion contained therein, I find moving, connected in some way . . .
_____________
"Behey Ballina
9th March 1931

"Dear Sister,

"My first letter to you in all my life and I am sorry to say it's not good news. Daddy died  the 1st [of] February after 10 days illness but he was not keeping good for the last year. (May the Lord have mercy on him.) He died on Sunday [at] 12:30; he was waked in the house Sunday night and he was taken to the cathedral Monday evening [at] 4:30. There was high mass Tuesday morning 10 o'clock and the funeral left the cathedral [at] 11:30 for Leigue. There was two good funerals, the one from the house and the one from the cathedral. He was buried over Mother's grave and side by side of Catherine's and my little son Patrick, so it's a nice plot now, I must try and put a wall round it sometime as there are a great many of the graves walled in. It keeps other people from keeping too near and it's often the cause of making graves too narrow. I got the very best coffin I could Clem [? sic] and it was paneled and the best silver mounting I could. It cost £22 including the hearse, the high mass cost £7*10 and the rest of the burial cost me £17*20, so you can see I done everything I could, in fact more than I could, but I would not like to hear at any time that I did not bury him decent. I must say he died grand, no pain for the 10 days but always a kind of a sleep. He was annointed Tuesday before he died; he was annointed three times within the year. So he got a grand chance. The priest said that he was quite happy we were all at home when he died. He had no talk since Friday night, he just looked up at us just before he died as if to try and speak and then he passed quietly away. I would like if you would come home sometime so you would see the grave. Leigue is a nice cemetery, it's not like Kilgarvin, there are no stones? - it's very nice soil.

"Well, Sister, I suppose Daddy told you all about us. I have six in family and I buried two boys. One was only a baby but the other was a fine little boy?seven years?he died after an operation. I was very lonely after him but I suppose it's the best time he could die. He does not see all the trouble of this world and he has a better chance before God. Never the less, people are very selfish and they would sooner keep a child from God and risk the world. I suppose Daddy told you I got a room built since I came out here I did. As you know, the little room we had was very small and it was very hard to bring up a family. I got it slated, it's kind of big, it's 10 feet square inside. I might be able to get the kitchen and the other room slated sometime, so then the house would not be so bad. But things are not so good in Ireland, we had better times when England was looking out for us. I hope you do not think I am Pro-English when I say this, but I am saying what I think. It was easier to get money when England was in charge than it is now.

"It's more the big man's government now than ever and the working man is not as well paid. I see by the papers America is not very good. I hope that it will soon improve. Some parts of America must be all right, as there was a great lot of money came to Ireland last Christmas, just as much as when America was good. I would nearly know as I am [a] postman or what you call them over there: mail carriers.

"Well, Sister, no more to say this time and I am very sorry my first letter is not better news, but I think he got a nice age and I am sure he died a happy death, so we should be very thankful to God for the fine chance he got.

"Remain
Your fond brother
Michael

"Good bye
xxxxxxxxxx "

The Graduate

(A series of posts leading up to/including The Nocturnes Photo Tour in the West of Ireland, July 15-25, 2013; with a personal Genealogical Research Extension, in and around Ballina, up in County Mayo, July 25-29)
 
As many of you know, I'm not much of a "gear-head" - in terms of the THINGS I need to make a photograph that is more-or-less in line with my vision of, and what I see, in the world around me. That said - there are a few exceptions: see the recent post ("Illuminati") below re: Flashlights; and one I'd like to mention here, now - Graduated ND (Neutral Density) filters, Grads for short.

Just a heads-up here - I believe Grads are an essential part of a landscape photographer's toolkit, especially for our upcoming Ireland trek! Sure, you might be able to pull out 2 f-stops of detail in a blown-out sky, from your RAW file, but I'm a firm believer in getting it right (or as close as one can) in-camera - before you even download the files. Years of shooting transparency films (both 35mm and Medium and Large Format) have burned in that work ethic. You can stil fine-tune that RAW file, after utililzing a Grad in the field! These handy little devices (the best ones, made of glass) help tame very contrasty scenes, from overcast bright grey-to-white skies, to brilliant sunsets from Western shores . . .

Highly recommended - maybe one in the largest thread size of your lenses and stepping rings to adapt for smaller lens/filter sizes! The 0.6 Designation for 2 stops difference between the dark (upper) portions of the filter and the clear area (bottom) should work for most situations. $20-40 at B+H.

From The [not so] Daily Nocturne

(I have one word, for the Graduate . . . Plastics)