Sunrise

Bridelveil fallls




Yosemite falls




Looking back from the base of Lower Yosemite falls, sunglight in the mist being thrown off it

Got up at half 5 this morning. Some would justifiably mad, but I think it was worth it!

first impressions of Yosemite

Sunset over Half Dome

Departures, Airports, Arrivals

Rays of the sun dipping out of the clouds

After the sun had dropped below the horizon

What I was cropping out by using the zoom lens... Also look for the window reflection on the tail of the plane in the foreground!

Arrived in Yosemite today, not had a chance to take any pictures yet though! Planning to head out in a couple of hours to try and catch the sunset. I'm happy to leave the humididty (70-90%) of Washington behind for the still very hot but more manageable California summer. To get here we flew via Denver, and here's a couple of shots I got of the sunset through the airport window! I used my 70-200mm zoom lens to get this as it cut out the airplanes in the foreground.

Arlington

Headed up the Arlington National Cemetery today. Although you've all seen pictures of it (or at least have now ;) Nothing can really give you an idea of how many graves there are. They just stretch out in front of you in every direction, accross beatifull rolling hills, draped in the shade by overhanging trees. A fittingly serene place for a graveyard. The picture of the soldier, in full dress uniform is a member of the honour gard at the tomb of the unkown soldier. It was incredibly hot (around 30 degress celcius) with humidity at around 80%, but he kept walking up and down, paying service. How he manages to do it without pausing to mop a brow, let along pass out from the heat and the heavy uniform is beyond me!

A couple more from last night

Roosevelt Memorial, beside the reflecting pool

Jefferson Memorial

The Monument from the WWII memorial

Here are a couple more from the series of night shots that I took last night.
The first shot is an intersting one, it's taken with my new lens' image stabilisation feature. It allowed me to take a shot at 1/3rd of a second without even having to use a tripod (which I did have with me at the time, but by the time I'd have set it up, there would have been lots of people in front of me again).

Pain = gain

Sunset dissapearing into the haze
What it's all about... 15 second exposure, iso 100, f12, tripod mounted.


So today I walked for 3 miles in the stifling heat, not entirely sure where I was going in order to try and get a good shot of sunset over the Potamac. With me I was lugging my camera, tripod, case, and two heavy lenses. Unfortunately the haze hanging around the edge of the sky decided to gobble up the sun before it got to the lowest point in the sky. So that was a bit annoying... However not one to be overly dettered, I had a back up plan ready and headed over to the Tidal Basin which is bordered by the Roosevelt monument and overlooked by the monument. About 40 minutes after sunset, the colours in the sky were just perfect. The aforementioned haze reflected the city lights to give a red glow, and the sky was a deep blue. Good things come to those who wait...

New lens!

I got my new lens today... safe to say it's amazing! :D Here are a couple of the first pics from it. Took the tour of Congress as well, which was interesting even if it was slightly dissapointing not to get to see either of the chambers.

Georgetown Sunset

Don't make me quote Ronseal ad's at you...

Memorial day

It was Memorial Day here today, so we went along to see the parade. All flags (and there are a lot of them around the city!) were flying at half mast until after 2 O'clock.

Rolling Thunder

Arrived safely in Washington yesterday evening, and had a good sleep to rid myself of most of the jet lag! Today I had a wander down Penn Avenue, took in the most obvious touristy sites of the White House and the Mall. However more interestingly, was the rolling thunder protest containing over 300,000 bikers from accross the country, asking people not to forget the POWs MIA. It was an amazing site to see so many bikes, they just kept coming and coming and coming! The shot to the left is of a large open space on the mall that was completely covered by bikes. To give some perspective on how large the parade was, they were the spectators!

Yosemite valley CA

I'm off to America in less than a week, can't wait. I'm going to be in Washington for the first week, and then heading over to Yosemite Valley in California. Here are some of the pictures I took last time I was there, got lots of plans for pictures this time around, I'm going to be picking up a new wide angle lens while I'm there.

Penalty points

It struck me today, with the recent introduction of more penalty point offences that there may be a better way of dettering bad drives. Similar to a learner driver being rightly singled out on the road with 'L' plates, why not have plates that let everyone know that somebody is a bad driver. A large purple square with the number of point they have in yellow ought to do the trick. The humiliation in public for an 18 month period would surely have just as much of a detterant effect as two points on the licence. It would certainly make pictures of certain TDs leaving the Dail more amusing! In doing this we would also have the happy coincidence of shifting the onus back on to personal responsibility as opposed to Garda enforcement.

Richard's quiz: how conservative am I?

Richard at Sicilian Notes has a quiz on whether or not you're an Irish Conservatice. Here are my answers.

1. Are taxes too high?
I don't think the overall burden of taxation is too high, but indirect taxes are distorting our perception of taxation, and by their nature are indiscriminate in how they work, so I'd rather see a lot of that burden tranferred towards income tax instead.

2. Should we worry about absolute poverty rather than relative poverty?
I don't agree with the presuposition of the question. I think we can worry about both relative, and absoloute poverty; Ireland is a well developed country, and absoloute poverty should always be the first thing to erradicate. However having come close to achieving that, I think we can rightly turn the focus to relative poverty, and trying to see to it that Irish Development does not leave people behind.

3. Do we need to scrap the state-run TV station?
No, for a few reasons. Mainly in terms of news, we can hold RTE to account in a way that we simply can't do in the private sector, there's a trust in them, and rightly so. Also, we are guaranetting the public service element in broadcasting that would not otherwise be provided by the private sector.

4. Was it a mistake to rule out nuclear power?
I'm right in the middle on this one, I've heard good arguments either side, and waste would remain one of my main concerns. I'm planning on doing some reading over the summer to try and decide properly either way.

5. Is the Irish military underfunded?
No, what do we really need them for. The fact that other neutral coutries such as Switzerland have strong armies doesn't lead me to conclude that we should follow.

6. Is gay marriage a bridge too far?
No, although I think there's a case for deminished tax rights, as they are designed to encourage a place for the rearing of children rather than to encourage loving union. However I don't see any reason why a gay marraige cannot be recognised in state terms, the church are free to keep up their position regardless.

7. Has the partnership model become a problem?
I think it's generally assuaged militant union activism, and created a stable and reliable enviroment into which foreign companies have invested. There are some problems with it , but not enough for me to feel there is a problem with the concept overall. It has massively contributed to Ireland's economic development in the past, and I think it's too easy to turn on it.

8. Are fees the solution to underfunding in universities?
Fees are effectively being reintroduced in much the same way as VRT, with the registration fee hitting around €1,000 so in some regards I think this is a slightly unrealistic question. I think some level of payment is ok, but only at arround current levels or slightly higher. Continuing initiatives to get industry to pay for University funding, given that they are the major benefitiaries makes sense.

9. Does neutrality prevent Ireland from acting responsibly internationally? I think it is used as an excuse, and can be seen to get in the way, but isn't by its nature an object to taking positions on international issues and being responsible.

10. Has the peace process failed to hold Sinn Fein to full democratic standards?

Definitely, it's effectively acted as an opt out clause for them.

11. Is religion and the Catholic Church in particular a force for good?

50/50; in the south, I think it certainly is, and brings about a sense of morality as well as bonding people into a community. However I think up North, secterianism cannot be discounted, and that religion in that case, in spite of being against the religious teachings, is still a cause of conflict.

12. Do we critise America too much?

People in Irealand have a propernsity to critcise America in ignorant or overly generalised ways. However I think there is certainly very valid criticism of specific American actions present. I guess the best way of putting that is that anti- Americanism in Ireland is bad, while specific policy crituqeus are perfectly acceptable and should be encouraged as democratic expression.

13. Are private health accounts with support for low earners the solution to the health system?

No, it should remain a governmental responsibility that individuals can supplement if they see fit, but treatment should in no way be compromised by a person's decision not to pay for VHI.

14. Would we be better off if the unions were less powerful?

I don't think unions in Ireland hold too much sway in the current climate, so no. They provide a vital role for workers in terms of representation.

15. Is Michael O'Leary an example of a good businessman?

Definitely, if you don't like them, don't fly with them. Lot's of people do, they don't want the frills, and that's their choice. He's hard working, pays his taxes and has helped show that through individual endevour one person can achieve enormously.

16. Should we be wary of supporting a more powerful EU?

No, definitely not. A strong EU is good for Ireland, and good for global relations. Diminished soverignty as a model is enormously helpfull in preventing international conflict. It's no coincidence that since its inception the major fights in Europe have been policy rather than army driven.

17. Should we trust the actions only, and not the words, of the IRA and Sinn Fein?

Actions, though I think the question is basically asking ''should you believe lies or what people actually do'', in which case there's really only one answer possible, which I don't think can really characterise one as Conservative, unless having some sense of logic is an inherently conservative trait.

18. Was the Aer Lingus partial privitization insufficient and overdue?

No, as the directors acting within the public sphere showed, it's entirely possible to run Aer Lingus within the public sphere as long as you give enough indipendence to the people who know what they're doing. Having a state airline for a small island country means that we are not beholden to anyone, and can guarantee an important service.

19. Do we need the death penalty for the worst crimes?

Absoloutely not, as a free nation you should positively define your morals rather than derive them from the negative. In this case we see killing as wrong, and I don't think a particular reactionary circumstance should ever be enough to bring about a change in that position. To be deprived of liberty for the rest of your life, certainly, to be deprived of life, certainly not.

20. Should the overall tax take fall by a third or more?
No, public services would have to suffer, and that's not something I'd find acceptable.

6/20 or 30%. Back to Sweden I go...

One from Dun Laoghaire

another couple of my older pics, don't have the time to be taking new ones at the moment. Rest assured though, when I get to America I'll be more than making up for that!

End of the year

Last day of lectures today, the warm evening sun and a beer at the forum bar... what more could one ask for?!

Smedias update

Playing with slow flash
4 generations of Observer Editors!
Paper of the year team!


Had a great night last night at the smedias, good company, good presenter as well! I didn't pick up the photography award, but not dissapointed at all, I was delighted to be nominated in the first place. We won paper of the year, which is very satisfying as that's our collective effort being better than everyone elses ;)

well done to Nathalie and Sorcha particularly, and thanks for all the work during the year.

One from the archives

I haven't had a chance to get the camera out in the last couple of days, so I decided to bring out one my favourite older ones. This could yet become a regular feature...

This particular one is looking out over a cliff in Kerry, just after I got my first digital camera. The writing reads 'ostramondra'. I am yet to find out what it means, if anyone out there knows, please to leave a comment!

The Smedia awards night is on this Wednesday, should be good fun! Here are the pictures that I entered for news photographer. I don't neccesarily think that they're the best pictures I had published this year, but they fall more clearly under the 'news' category than most of the others.

UCD Ball

The inaugural UCD ball was on last night. I managed to secure a press pass at the last minute which was great. We were able to go right up to the front between the crowd and the stage, which was an interesting experience. At first I found the lighting very tricky to get photos in, it changes very quickly, and part of a face for example can be much brighter than the other part, so you have to pick your moment carefully. Still as with most of these things it got easier as the night went on. Here are a couple of samples from the BellX1 set.

Nomination

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I got nominated for the student media news photographer of the year award. I'm really happy naturally! :)

NCAD Protest against possible move to Bellfield

pretty amusing... hopefully the pics speak for themselves!

Flyover

Amazing how close they can fly to each other!
Taken from work with a normal lens, they were flying very low too.

Sunset

Sometimes I see an interesting skyline, but annoyingly have no way of getting somewhere that it would really make look good. Yesterday was one of those days, with a beautiful sunset going on, but only my back garden to look out on it from!
Hopefully I'll get a few sunsets/ sunrises like this when I go to America at the start of the summer.

1916 commeoration should never have gone ahead

A version of this article will appear in tomorrow's editition of the University Observer.



This Easter the government have decided to commemorate the 1916 rising with a military parade for the first time in 40 years. It’s the wrong decision, being made for the wrong reasons. It bears all the signs of a Fianna Fail party struggling to come to terms with the threat posed to it by Sinn Fein, and in doing so abusing their position of power in government to impose a one sided reading of history on the Irish people. Anyone who doubts that this is a move spurred on by political motives need only look to where this new commemoration was announced; the Fianna Fail Árd Fheis. Party conferences are always designed in such a way as to garner as much attention and good publicity to the party as is possible for the year going forward. As such an announcement of the commemoration at the Árd Fheis can only be seen to be Fianna Fail putting themselves to the fore, and trying to use their position in government to associate themselves primarily with the legacy of 1916.

The problem with such a celebration is that it creates a hierarchy of historical remembrance. It is the government singling out one event, to the detriment of others and saying that this is the most important action in Irish History. Although there is no doubt that the actions of 1916, and the resulting executions, set in momentum the series of events that led to a (divided) Irish independence, there are others serious historical moments that cannot be remembered and celebrated if the government choose to honour 1916 in this way. In Ireland there are two opposing historical traditions that both sought to garner freedom for the Irish people. These are constitutional nationalism, and physical force nationalism. There is an exclusivity of commemoration pertaining to these movements. Although they shared a similar aim, they were diametrically opposed in method. We have been told in the lead up to the 1916 commemoration that all will be remembered, but this is a deceit.

Any attempt to argue that a commonality of end goal between the two, means that we can celebrate both, misses the historical reality of the situation. The methods that they chose to use were everything in dividing them. To say that we can celebrate both would be much like somebody in 60 years time honouring both the IRA, and the wider populous of Ireland who favoured reunification and a united Ireland during the troubles. Yes, the aim was a common one; a united Ireland, but the means used to try and bring this about are the important real world factor that clearly divided the wider populous from the actions of a few.

It is not, nor will it never be, possible to have an equal celebration of the others who died during the period of the 1916 rising, if the main focus of the celebration is the 1916 rising, and the reading of the proclamation. There is an intellectual deceit in saying that commemorating them at the same time ends a ‘commemorative apartheid‘, an opinion expressed recently by Liz Mc Manus. In fact it serves to emphasise the divisions that there are historically between the different sections of Irish History. By seeking to remember those who died in the Somme and those who fought constitutionally for Ireland under the banner of a 1916 commemoration, the government are clearly placing them as subservient events to the rising. That is a disservice to the Irish people; no government should seek to commemorate an event that will lead to a specific reading of history where it would be better to allow people to reach their own conclusions. The irony of having the 1916 commemoration march down O'Connell Street should not go un-noted. The rising cannot ever be commemorated (a word which associates itself not just with remembrance, but also with celebration) alongside the constitutional movement, and those who also fought and died for Ireland in their tens of thousands at the Somme. They are mutually exclusive historical entities, and celebrating one can only ever be done to the detriment of the other, unless one seeks to re-write history.

As an example of this, 1916 was a betrayal of those who fought and died in their tens of thousands in the Somme. The ‘Gallant allies in Europe’ alluded to in the proclamation were the Germans. At the time of the rising 300,000 young Irish men were fighting in the British army at the request of their freely elected leaders, Redmond at the fore. The fact that the leaders of 1916 attempted to get weapons from the Germans is now generally overlooked. However there is a clear argument to say that this betrayal means that one should not look favourably on the 1916 rising. That is a decision that should be left open to each individual to make, and a government organised commemoration of the rising naturally propagates one side of the argument, instead of facilitating debate. To say that we should commemorate both is an even greater mistake, you simply cannot marry to two in any way.

Some of the arguments surrounding the parade are that it is reclaiming nationalism, and making people revise their opinions on the situation. However this really will not be the case, the army march is something that people will see, as an endorsement of 1916 in its totality. In seeing that Sinn Fein and the IRA have for years used 1916 for their own ends, we need to look hard at why that is the case. There is certainly a strong argument to be made that they use it, not in a distorted way, but in one that was entirely consistent with the aims of the 1916 leaders. The basic premise of the 1916 action was that a small group of leaders are vindicated in taking a violent action, and then retrospectively allowing people to make of that what they will. This was exactly the logic of the IRA before they disarmed, and to say that they were distorting the legacy of 1916 is actually facetious. 1916’s legacy supports a small group of individuals taking an action that they feel to be in the national interest regardless of whether they have support at the time. That’s a very dangerous legacy for a government to associate itself with.

Pigeon House near sunset

I took a walk while on my tea break from work yesterday on Sandymount Strand. As normal the camera was with me. This was about the best I got, not amzing, but one of those photos that reminds me of a landmark that I intrinsically associate with being at home. Seeing the chimneys while flying back or on the HSS never fails to remind me that this is where I belong!

Publishing

Today I managed to track down a copy of Tuesday's Evening Herald. They ran the photo of Anthony being thrown in the lake. It's my first photo printed in the national press so I'm pretty happy! Annoyingly though they didn't credit me in spite of that being the condition upon which I gave the photos to the press officer from MCD so I shall be lodging my complaint with her about it.

Smedia awards

Nominations for the student media awards were sent in today. These are the three that I entred for the 'general photographer' category. I think that they're about the best photos I've taken around UCD, the aim was to try and show that there's a nicer side to the Bellfield Campus, as well as the dull grey buildings that most people would associate with it.

UCD Ball Photo shoot.

The promtional photo shoot for the UCD ball was on this afternoon, and featured a particularly daring Anthony throwing himself into the lake several times for the sake of the cameras, and then the assembled onlookers, no doubt attracted by some free lunch time entertainment.