Author: Robb Towns

As mentioned before, we had planned a Family and Photographic adventure to Ireland.

We left on Thursday, May 16th and arrived in Dublin mid day on the 17th. My wife and I booked a tour for the Book of Kells at Trinity College and then we had a nice dinner out at Flanagan’s on O’Connell Street. We stayed at the Harvey’s Guest House in the Drumcondra section of Dublin. It was only a short walk down to the center of Dublin and the room was great. We actually were able to stay up till our daughters arrived late in the evening (one of their flights was delayed.) Here are a few shots from our flight over and our afternoon and evening in Dublin.

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I had a couple of hours this weekend to my self. I went and checked out an Astronomy gathering at our local Chapters Book store. After that I headed back to Petrie Island to check out how the flooding here in Orleans is doing. I actually spent more time looking in the field beside the flooding. Snakes, Birds and Turtles galore. Tonight I did a couple of macro shots in front of the house.

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A very good friend of mine has created a signature file for my photos and the website.

I ordered a new lens for my camera. It’s a 50mm F1.8N Standard Prime Lens. The lens is made by YONGNUO. While looking for a prime lens, I did a lot of viewing of videos and reading of articles. So many opinions! While the 35mm offers a wider field of view, most people recommended the 50mm. So I went a head and ordered it.

After waiting a couple of weeks, it has finally arrived.

I have only played around with it a little bit, but so far I really like the results. It’s not as smooth to put on the camera, nor as quiet as a genuine Nikon lens, but for the money, I think it is just great. Here are a few pictures of the lens and some test shots I took with it.

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Exciting news – We are in the early stages of planning a new family adventure to Ireland! The plans are coming along to spend a few days with our daughters in Dublin and as an added bonus we are meeting my Pen-Pal and his wife for a few days in Killarney.

If you remember, I was taking a camera course called A Year With My Camera. I have finished the 52 week course and I am really please with the results from the course. Am I a better photographer? I think I am much better than when I started the course and that was the goal. I learned how to get off Automatic mode. Are all my photos perfect? Not even close. I do however take more of the better ones than I used to. So mission accomplished.

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After nearly a full month away it was time to say good bye to Orkney, but we had one more special night before we left. Although the weather was not supposed to be good, we discovered that the Northern Lights were out. My daughter and I made a quick run out to the Standing Stones of Stenness and we were able to capture a few photos of the Stones and the Northern Lights before the weather moved in.

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We were up fairly early as we had a full day of travel ahead of us. Kirkwall to Edinburgh to London Heathrow to Montreal. We overnight-ed in Montreal and took the bus back to Ottawa the next day. Our amazing family adventure was over for now.

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Today we took a run down through the southern islands that make up the mainland of Orkney. These islands were joined to the mainland through a public works effort by Italian Prisoners of World War 2. The work resulted in the Churchill Barriers – basically two lane bridges that connected all the southern islands to the mainland. These bridges also act as barriers to the entrance to Scapa Flow and so had a dual purpose of allowing the islands to be more accessible for the locals and keeping German Submarines out of the Flow. Scapa Flow is a huge natural Harbour and the British Fleet was often at anchor here.

In one of the prisoner of war camps, on the island of Lamb Holm, the Italians left behind a beautiful example of a chapel. They used whatever left over concrete they could find to make the front facade and a statue. They bartered with locals for paint and other items to finish the inside of the Chapel. This is a must visit if you go to Orkney. I am very please to say that I am friends with the daughter of the man who painted the interior of the Chapel. Truly a talented man.

We visited a beach below one of the barriers and searched for Groatie Buckies which are considered to be lucky. My kids found several, but I have yet to find one.

We then made our way over to the little picturesque village of St. Margaret’s Hope before we headed backed to our home in Orphir. The evening was so still that the local Loch was like a mirror. Then as we pulled into the drive way the moon was rising and I got a couple of shots of it. Truly a great day out.

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We had a some time to visit one of my favourite places to go in Kirkwall, the Highland Park Distillery. I have sampled almost every product they make and my favourite is the 18 year old Single Malt. I have 3 family members that are lucky enough to work for the Distillery.

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We took a drive around the West Mainland. Partly to take some photos of my wife’s Aunt’s Bed and Breakfast and rental Chalets for her website. I used this opportunity to capture the beauty of the West Mainland of Orkney where they are located.

We then drove towards Kirkwall and stopped at Waulkmill Bay. We were fortunate to arrive just as the tide was going out. The low sunlight was spectacular in mid December.

From Waulkmill Bay we drove up to the top of Wideford Hill where we had amazing panoramic 360 degree views of all of Orkney. It was so clear we could see all the way south and see Scotland across the Pentland Firth. It was so clear we could see all the way south and see Scotland across the Pentland Firth.

We then drove into Kirkwall to run some errands and I quickly walked around the harbour and captured some photos. The UK Cruise community has voted Kirkwall the Best Port of Call this past year.

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We have been to the Orkney’s several times, but never with a DSLR and some camera instruction on board.

The sights of Orkney are in abundance. They say there are more archeological sites per square kilometer than anywhere else in the world. The light in December, while in short supply, is amazing. We had several days of amazing light and so I will break the Orkney portion of our trip into sections of the island.

A trio of the main archeological sites to visit are all very close to each other. These being the Ring of Brodgar, The Barn House Village, and The Standing Stones of Stenness. These sites are located just of the main Stromness to Kirkwall road in the West Mainland. Stromness one of the main ferry points into Orkney from Scotland. Kirkwall is main town and the capital of Orkney. The airport is located just east of Kirkwall.

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