Spring Morning

A nice morning for a walk through the garden. sun is shining over Kerry, birds are singing and the mountain are still white on top. The camelia flower is in full blossom now. I hear the sea in the distance, no car, no planes. Good day for photos and Outdoor adventures. Have a good day.

First Outing with the South Kerry Camera Club at Valentia Lighthouses

Trish and Eileen at the harbour beacon

Richard showing the new light

Richard climbing from the beacon

Cromwell Point Lighthouse behind bars

Old canon outside the lighthouse

View from the balcony

The light from outside....

and from inside

Stairwell leading up

Lens detail

Lens detail

Lens detail

 Today was the first outing with the South Kerry Camera Club in 2013. We went to Valentia Lighthouse at Cromwell Point.
This time we visited the harbour beacon near Glenleam first. Our member Richard Foran, lighthouse keeper on Skellig Michael showed us all the new technology at the beacon. The light comes from New Zealand and is very efficient. During the night the beam is so bright that it needs to be filtered to a lower brightness grade. The paint on the beacon tower is special daylight fluorescent paint that is seen for miles. The harbour entrance to Knightstown is a challenge to any skipper due to rocks and those signals have safed many lives of fisherman and tourists.
The second part was a visit to the lighthouse at Cromwell point. The building, the light and the lens are very interesting and a dream location for any photographer. I love photographing lighthouses and lucky enough I have 4 of them nearby.
A big thank you to Richard for making this wonderful experience happen again.

Good Morning Kerry

My neighbor Pat

Ballycarbery Castle

Fisherman leaving the harbour

On my way to the Community Centre in Ballinskelligs this morning I met my neighbor Pat just feeding his cows. Pat lives alone and owns a goat and a dozen cows. Once a week he walks for one hour to Rosie´s Pub for a pint. He has no car and sometimes I give him a lift home. Pat is a gentle quiet man. I asked him this morning if I could take a photo as the cows were just munching away.

 In the office in Ballinskelligs I was greeted by Karen with a friendly"How are you" and some exchange about the nice morning we have. A lovely lady,Karen.
 I drove to Cahersiveen to do a bit of shopping.Most shops were still closed. I started in the french coffee shop "Petite delice". I got three different type of freshly baked baguette and a coffee and a croissant. The bakers little boy stood in the shop and played with a paper stapler. I ask him if he liked to staple my bread bag and he smiled happy and clipped the bag together. Finishing my shopping I stopped at the marina to have a look at the water. It was very calm and the Old Barracks reflected in the water. I took a couple photos when a man arrived and we started chatting. He used to work for Lufthansa in Shannon. His name is Dermot. As we talked I noticed a small boat coming from the marina going towards the bridge. I took some more photos. The boat turned and approached us standing on the pier. A man popped his head out and asked if we would like to come for a spin in the harbour, to the bridge or to Ballycarbery Castle. As I have only photographed the castle from the mainland I was wondering what it would look like from the sea on a fine morning like this. Our skipper Pat( no.2 this morning for me) had a dog and introduced himself and the dog. We jumped into the boat and drove slowly and relaxed over to the castle. I took some photos but due to low tide we could not get to close to the shore. I had only the 50mm lens with me. I looked down and saw the sandy ground in the clear water. The sky just started to get a bit of colour when we drove back to the pier. A fishing vessel left the habour. Just as we approached the marina a big seal turned up and the  head  glanced at our boat.
 We said thank you and good bye to Pat and me and the other man called Dermot parted too. I had a great smile on my face when driving home. What a great place to be. What a wonderful world today. Long may it last.
©Michael Herrmann 2013

Walking near Dolus Head and Blow Hole.

Walking and taking photos . One of the best things you can do Kerry. I hope the shots from my Sunday walk will prove it.
All photos ©Michael Herrmann 2013