|
 |
 |
Ireland - The Emerald IsleHaving just returned from the Emerald Isle, I thought I might impart some of the wisdom I gained while getting nice and wet to the masses so as to better prepare them should they decide to journey there as well. First, let's discuss camera equipment. This is, after all, a photography
related site. I ended up going with the following: Overall, too much stuff. Had I been travelling on a photographic expedition, that may have been one thing, but given that I was on vacation, you've got to restrain yourself a bit. Plus, you've got significant others along with you a lot of the time, and even if they're photographers as well, as in my case, they're still only going to be patient with your setting up a tripod every five minutes for a short while. My suggestion? Buy an SLR. Get a single decent zoom lens. I heartily recommend the 28-135mm IS lens from Canon. Lots of versatility, despite not being very fast glass. Probably the single greatest annoyance I faced while travelling and shooting was having to switch lenses. Normally, when I'm out shooting in the city, I have time to relax, change lenses here or there, and continue on my merry way. But when you're on vacation, you're trying to enjoy a place as well as photograph it, and if you're busy worrying about equipment, your enjoyment level drops significantly. If you're worried about not having a fast lens along, add the 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, and you've got a one camera, two lens setup with lots of versatility. The other thing I really missed while travelling was not having any range beyond 50mm. This hurt in a number of situations. Typically I don't miss this in my shooting, but it was painfully obvious on this trip. One thing I am very glad I brought along was my tripod. It sat in the car the entire trip, only coming out to hold one camera or another as my girlfriend and I posed in front of various monuments, castles and waterfalls. Very handy to have along, and it precludes the need to ask strangers to take a picture of you with your camera. Now that you've got your limited amount of gear ready, let's get to Ireland itself. We flew into Dublin and stayed two days in the city. My recommendation: unless you're going to do some street shooting, save yourself some money and go to Boston instead. The cities look like mirrors of each other, although I'm pretty sure there are more Irish in Boston than in Dublin. Oh, and before I forget, bring a rain coat. Something warm and weather proof is a must! The rain comes and goes all day every day, so be ready. The upside is that things have that nice wet, saturated look all day long. After renting a car, we made our way south to the hills surrounding the Vale of Avoca where we had rented a small cottage for the week. Driving on the wrong side of the road isn't a big deal once you get used to it, although if you're not very good at driving a stick, I suggest you ask for an automatic, as you'll have one less thing to worry about. Personally, cars are my biggest passion next to photography. If you love to drive tight curvy roads, Ireland's a good place to do it. Which brings me to my next suggestion: have a navigator along with a good map. You concentrate on driving, and your co-pilot can direct you. The road signs in Ireland, like Italy, leave a little to be desired until you figure them out. They typically direct you to towns that may be around the bend or as many as 100 klicks away, so you drive more by direction than by any given route. However, there aren't a whole lot of roads to get lost on, and there are signs pretty much everywhere. My one big complaint is that the signs appear at, rather than before, the turn you always need to make. Expect to be making quite a few U-turns. One of the problems with photographing while you travel is that you tend to be out during the day, when the light is at its most harsh and unflattering. For this reason, unless you're shooting in the city, I suggest shooting color film. My co-pilot, who had along with her a Canon Elan IIe and a 28-135IS lens, did a far better job at capturing the rolling hills and lush landscapes than I did while flopping around changing lenses and wasting B&W film shooting in bad light. Normally I wouldn't have been so foolish, but like I said, your mind wanders when you're in a new place. As far as places to visit, there are many. We stayed mainly in the southeast, venturing as far as Cork in the west, which is a bit of a drive, but worth it to get out to the coastal towns south of the city. Glendalough, near the Vale of Avoca, is an absolutely astounding area, nestled in a vale. There are ruins, lakes, rolling hills, and plenty of beautiful walking trails. It's a tourist area, but compared to most touristy spots I've been to, there were actually very few people. We spent most of our time touring the countryside and enjoying the views and the sheep... there are lots of sheep. Want to read some of my other Technical Articles? |