Ireland: Thru Ellen’s Lens

05 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

Tags

Ballynavinch Castle, Ballyvaughn, Baltimore, Beara Peninsula, Cape Clear Island, Cliffs of Moher, Coiunty Limerick, Connemara, Connemara National Forest, Cork, Count, County, County Clare, County Cork, County Galway, County Kerry, David P. Stang, Dingle Peninsula, Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller Photos, Ireland, Kenmare, Kerry Peninusula, Kinsale, neolithich molnuments, Southwest Ireland, stone circles, The Burren, Tralee, Western Ireland

We recently had the good fortune to spend two weeks driving in Southwest and Western Ireland. The trip included a few days in County Cork with overnights in Cork, Baltimore and on Cape Clear Island. Then we had five wonderful days with our good ireland_map-2 friend David Stang who has spent four or five months a year for the last 30 years at his home in Kenmare, County Kerry. Dave introduced us to both the historical richness of (Southwest) Ireland and to its geographic beauty. We spent most of four days driving with him on the Beara and Dingle Peninsulas and also had the good fortune to visit a diverse number of his Irish friends who gave us insights into their lives and their country.

Back on our own, we spent another week driving and wandering through Counties Limerick, Clare, Galway, and Mayo, including two nights at Gregan’s Castle in The Burren at Ballyvaughn and part of a day at the Cliffs of Moher. We spent another two nights at Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara, County Galway, where we also marveled at the small towns, the National Forest, and our personal interests in stone circles and neolithic remains.

The pictures below and the slide show that accompanies this post are Ellen’s choice of some of her favorite photos from the trip. Not meant as a travelogue — though the slide show is in chronological order of where we went — the photos are Ellen’s selection of what she saw through her lens of Southwest and Western Ireland.

And for those of you who might want more ‘written’ details, you can click here to see the multiple-choice quiz we made up near the end of our wonderful two weeks on the Emerald Isle.

I.16

I.24

I.18

I.26.

I.5

I.4

I.7

I.23

I.9

I.12

I.10

I.21

I.13

I.14

I.2

To see Ellen’s entire slide show (88 photos), use this link: Ireland: Thru Ellen’s Lens.

For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show. If the slide show appears to start in the middle, scroll to the top of the page where you’ll see the little arrow in a box.

See all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either). They are much sharper and better presented than in this (above) post.

Ellen: “At Least We Won’t Have to Worry About an August Slump”

11 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Baltimore Orioles, baseball, Boston Red Sox, Camden Yards, Ellen Miller Photos, Fenway, Os, Sox

Mostly it’s bad news for Red Sox fans, and it doesn’t seem as if it’s going to get too much better. Other than having a few young players who could be future stars — Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Eduardo Rodriquez — there’s not much to like about this season.

However, there is one bit of good news: Ellen Miller is getting interested in sports’ photography. At least baseball photography.

We (foolishly) went to a Sox vs Orioles game the other night, with the usual result. But Ellen brought her camera and long lens, and here are a few examples of her first serious baseball pictures.

Grind: Extra Fine (Small Circles & Effect: High Contrast), Brew: Color Gels (1/2 Pic & Full Blended Circles), Serve: Stirred (Flash Burn Tone & Brown Bag Texture)

Through Ellen’s Lens: A Weekend of Babysitting

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Ellen Miller Photos, Grandchildren, Grandparents. Ellen's Lens

When Ellen and I agreed to ‘watch’ the three grandchildren (6, 4, & 2) for a weekend while their parents attended a wedding out of town, I thought, “Well, at least I’ll get a good MillersTime post out of it.”

You know, one where I ‘gently’ chide the parents, ‘herald’ the wonderful grandparents, and feature the antics of the three young ones. As the weekend started, I jotted down some events that I knew would bring smiles (to readers, if not to the parents).

But then a ‘funny’ thing happened. All three kids somehow ‘performed’ well and were a joy. Plus, we didn’t even lose the youngest, as we have in the past. So rather than my expected post, I thought simply featuring Ellen’s photos would be the best way to ‘memorialize’ the weekend and entertain those of you who enjoy such things.

3 cropped

Ellen’s Pix from Brasilia

10 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Brasilia, Ellen Miller Photos, Oscar Niemeyer

Brasilia and Oscar Niemeyer

by Ellen Miller

One of the 20th century’s most influential architects — Oscar Niemeyer – died last week at the age of 104.

I felt lucky that just about 3 weeks prior I got a first hand introduction to his work when I was in Brasilia, a city for which he designed nearly every major building. As one architect said on his passing, “Brasilia is not simply designed, it is choreographed.”

That’s a perfect summary of my experience — not only did the buildings and the plazas hang together, but they were nearly picture perfect. (Though I found it hard to do justice to them.)

I was in Brasilia – my first trip there, but second to Brazil within six months – to speak at Transparency International’s conference – a gathering of nearly 2,000 from nearly every country in the world. Whenever possible on these speaking trips I try to sneak away for an afternoon when I am not needed, and hire a guide to learn something I couldn’t pick up from a guidebook.