Welcome to my castle, a photo from Dublin, South

Photographer's Note

And welcome to my tour of Ireland! At the beginning of July I spent 2 weeks photo-touring Ireland, and after much primping and preening of my images (trust me they needed it), I have a few to share.

I chose to lead with this one since as photographers I understand your obsession with windows and doors but mainly as it's a good metaphor through which to invite you into my photographic memories of this great country.

The shot features the misty ivy-cloaked entry way to Malahide Castle, at Malahide in County Dublin. And this is also chronologically where my touring of Ireland began.

About an hour earlier I had arrived on an overnight flight via Toronto, and after picking up my rental at the airport in Swords, I boldly struck out on the roadways driving on the left side of the road for the first time in my life.

Now fast-forward an hour later. My rental now has several scrapes on the left-hand side wheels from all the curbs I hit along the way. To say that I arrived at Malahide totally frazzled by driving on the left, the numerous rotaries in suburban County Dublin, and the fatigue of just having traveled almost 24 hours straight, is extreme understatement. I was almost crying for my mommy, well maybe not that bad but it wasn't exactly sipping margaritas under coconut trees. So being able to escape the roadways and walk the grounds of Malahide Castle was instant relief.

Now mind you that the weather wasn't exactly cooperating either. It was raining (as it would just about everyday of my trip, no lie) and the sky was a whiteout, so it was time to focus on the details of this interesting place. While Malahide was the first castle I have photographed, I would have nearly 15 under my belt by the time I finished.

Malahide is a great introduction to castles as it has the classic shape you'd expect. See the photo at the Wikipedia to see what I mean. It's located about nine miles north of Dublin and is fairly convenient from the airport in Swords. The castle sits on 260 acres of adjacent estate parkland and with all the rain Ireland received this summer, the grounds were exceptionally green. Malahide also has the history you'd expect in a castle. It was established by Richard Talbot, a knight who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1174. It would be home to the Talbot family for 791 years! The castle now belongs to the Irish state.

All in all, my little excursion to Malahide helped ease me into vacation mode in Ireland. Hope to share more over the coming days and weeks.

Regards,
Doug

plimrn, robertosalguero, Hellas, pboehringer, DKarine, jwmunro, Cormac, gunbud, euryan, kmarscher, xuaxo, jmcl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Andro (4) 2007-08-20 23:13 [Comment]

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robertosalguero (292) 2007-08-20 23:45

Hello Doug. Not the type of image I am used to see in your gallery but I like it. Its simplicity is very effective and the red door create such a strong contrast with the grey walls. Good perspective and idea to compose this image. Thanks Doug.

Roberto

plimrn (21344) 2007-08-20 23:48

Hi Doug,
Welcome back!! You captured excellent detail; especially in the foliage. The open red door is the perfect invitation to a travelogue.

You took off driving o n the left side of the road after flyig for 24 hours???? Yikes!! My best effort is a dinner cruise of Copenhagen after a LOOOONG nap; usually we don't do anything the first day. I guess we're pikers. However, my grand-daughter has her heart set on an Irish trip next summer so I'll have to look at the weather patterns.
HLJ, Pat

[2]

maria (3288) 2007-08-20 23:53

Very well framed image with beautiful contrasting colours.
Tfs.
Regards,
Maria

Hellas (7123) 2007-08-21 0:31

Wonderful composition and nice colours Douglas. I like very much the opened red door that says 'Welcome'. A very good choice, indeed. Thanks for sharing.
My warmest regards,
Athanasios.

sacavem (18620) 2007-08-21 1:45

Fantastic shot here, Doug. The cloudiness has given you nice, rich colors in the greenery. Great detail in the door and ivy. Good composition as well. Nicely done.

Best regards and a good week
Filipe

drago (4832) 2007-08-21 6:43

Doug hi,i'm really jealous!A trip to Ireland is one of dreams!Welcome back and i hope you show us many different parts of this dreamy mysterious and unique place!
TFS
Panagiotis

pboehringer (770) 2007-08-21 8:13

Hi Doug, thanks for this warm and cordial invitation into your Ireland trip. I hope we will get to see many other shots that you did beyond this door. Wouldn't it be funny to have the pastor waiting at this door to welcome us to enter? I like your diagonal approach giving some details of the surrounding flora that contrasts so well with the deep red of the door.
Don't stop, keep posting!
Regards, Peter

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DKarine (3903) 2007-08-21 9:47

Magnique cette porte rouge-orang嶪 entour嶪 de cette verdure. Alors que se passe t il une fois qu'on est entr廥?

A bient矌
Karine

jwmunro (286) 2007-08-21 10:02

Welcome back Doug!

Well, that was a funny note to say the least as I can relate to almost every word of it. I always try to plan a city day or two when I arrive in Europe to get over to the jet lag portion of the trip before renting a car, especially in the UK/Ireland with that left hand driving thing they do.

This is a very good image and a great way to start your travelogue. I like the saturated colors and the bright red door. Now that I have said that I will try to refrain from it as all of your images are going to have saturated colors with rain and deep overcasts. All of the technical stuff is spot on.

Thank you for sharing your humorous entry into Ireland.

John

baba_flies (8829) 2007-08-21 12:00

Salut Doug! Driving on the left after crossing the big pond ... nix good, and I would be crying for mother too. You know what we did in Australia, we smashed a sidemirror within the first 10 minutes driving on the left. I now always take a shuttle to the next hotel just to get clear in my head and to minimze fights in the car looking for streets :) This is a beautiful shot and I espeically love the bright red of the door. It somehow shines within all the green. You were in Ireland ... it is called the green island, so it had to rain .. no way to go around it. Have a great day, it is close to 9 p.m. here. Barbara.

Cormac (26565) 2007-08-21 15:45

Nice shot on it's own, but it really is appropriate for the start of the tour. I like the contrast between the red/brown door and the grey stones. The lush greenery around the door is good too. Well done!

gunbud (34066) 2007-08-21 18:02

Hi Doug,
Beautiful capture of this ancient doorway surrounded by Ireland's plentiful lush greenery. Wonderful contrast to the grey stone and the lush green. Beautiful details to the old wooden door seen in the welcome position. I spent a month bicycle around Ireland on July long ago and I think there was two or three days where it didn't rain at all.
Regards, Tom

stevesieren (787) 2007-08-21 22:14

Hey Doug,

Welcome back. I'm sorry to hear it rained most of the trip. Very contrasty the red and green are almost complete opposites. The black frame makes the shadow in the doorway pop out and adds a feeling of mystery. Did you ring the doorbell just for fun?

-Steve S.

euryan (8442) 2007-08-22 18:10

Driving on the left side of the road? You are a braver man than I. As for the photo, I like the idea of the door inviting us into your Ireland trip memories. The green ivy and the red door complement each other and make for a photo that really jumps out at you. Nice work.
Regards,
Ryan

kmarscher (2887) 2007-08-24 7:26

Perfect start to your entry into castle-land. I'm LOL with your engaging note too. All considered, you adapted quite well once you got your camera in front of you. Fine shot with all the corners, colors, and lines adding to the presentation.

clic (76) 2007-08-26 10:54

Hello Douglas
Such lusty vines circling this ancient architecture make me imagine an armoured knight coming out of the door!!
A romantic mood is well depicted here by vivid colors that enlight so beautifully the grey stones.
Best regards.
Robert

xuaxo (6854) 2007-08-26 12:47

Hi Doug,
Great mix of beautiful colors and nice details.
Regards,
F

jmcl (14535) 2007-08-28 23:12

Hi Douglas,

Of course the combination of green and red is beautiful .. and the darkness beyond thoughtful .. but it is how you have angled this into the frame that I find most wonderful.

take care,

John