Eyes Open Ireland

This weeks Eyes Open Ireland are from Linda , Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim

I started taking photographs in December 2008 after receiving a digital camera as a gift. I started in a small way, taking pictures in the back garden to get used to the camera, the settings and really just to practice.

Eighteen months later, I still spend some time every day taking pictures in the back garden – preferably in dry weather, but I have been out in rain and snow! I spend this time because it’s a good way to wind down after work, but mainly because every day I can find something different.
It’s one of the reasons that I love taking photographs. You look around you at everything and see things that previously would have been missed completely.

I am not an avid gardener, but the garden is quite well established and there are a few lovely wild corners that always hold a surprise. The different stages that the plants go through have become a source of wonder to me and I revisit them frequently to try to document them.

The insects and bees that I would have been avoiding in the past are now followed as closely as possible. Birds, snails, my cat Alex – whatever turns up I’ll try to get a picture.

Rest assured that I do actually leave the garden sometimes and photograph many other places and other things! But the garden is still a source of real inspiration, a place where, by concentrating on what I’m photographing, I can slow down and relax.

It’s a place of peace.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/clickdecourcyni

http://toomuchatrandom.blogspot.com/

Eyes Open Ireland

This weeks Eyes Open Ireland comes from Carrie of Blossomtattoo from Carrickfergus in Co. Antrim

"The sea, I need it. I'm sitting here listening to the boats on it, if I stood on my tip toes I'd see it and if my nose wasn't so bunged up with the flu I'd probably smell it. I need the sea. I have always lived in Carrickfergus and can't bare to think about living somewhere where the sea isn't on my doorstep in one direction and the countryside right there in the other direction. Though I also LOVE Belfast and shopping and cafes etc too, I need water and greenery to inspire me, to make me feel calm and free, to allow me to express myself."

"Lucky then that I live in Northern Ireland eh? Plus I have a fabulous allotment which gives me plenty of subject matter and my hubby is an archaeologist so he loves driving around the countryside looking at old buildings and graveyards with me."

"My main reason for photography as my art medium is my double vision. Yep, I see 2 of everything, the real image and one that floats around it, all very confusing but makes life interesting. I think it is the reason why I concentrate so hard on the little details, the things other people miss, the beauty that gets looked over or taken for granted. When I am behind the lens, I close one eye (like everyone else) and the world is different, clearer, more in focus and I feel calm. I notice that rust is utterly breathtaking, that the ripples in the water are like light strips dancing, moss and a simple rock have so much texture and flowers - wow, they're little worlds of their own and so complex."

"I like to focus on one out of many, to cut that feeling of confusion I get from everyday life into a sharp, clear image. I appreciate the beauty everywhere that usually looks like a blur of lines and moving shapes and colours to me."

"Here are a few photographs of a recent day trip up the Antrim Coast, stopping in at Glenarm and our Allotment. xx"

http://forihavelivedtoday.blogspot.com/

http://growourown.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cherryblossomtattoo