A Connemara pony walking along a hill on the Sky Road in Connemara, West of Ireland, with the sea and coastline in the background

April Update

Spring time in Ireland is four seasons in one day, but what I don’t normally expect is to get four seasons all at the same time. I’ve just returned from a few days in one of my favourite places in Ireland, Connemara County Galway and it would be fair to say that this time around I had all four seasons all at once. Stormy winds, hailstones, rain showers, and bright sunshine making shooting pretty tricky. At one point I could hardly stand with the camera in my hand as the wind was blowing me over, a second later I was running for cover from a torrential downpour, and 30 seconds after that there was perfect sunshine (insert shrugging shoulder emoji ;-) It was a good exercise in patience because I knew that if I just waited a little the scene would completely change in a matter of minutes. There was also a flip side because if I wasn’t ready to take advantage, the lovely conditions would change back again just as quickly.

Below are a couple of photographs from my recent visit that are great examples of how the weather and light conditions change very quickly.

Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park barley visible through the rain

The above photograph of Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park taken from the Renvyle side of Letter Hill (a.k.a. Tully mountain) as the rain shower came in.

Diamond Hill and the 12 Bens in Connemara on a sunny spring day as seen from the Derryinver side of Tully Mountain

And here’s a photograph (above) of the same Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park taken from the Derryinver side of Letter Hill (a.k.a. Tully Mountain) about 30 minutes later.

But spring time is not only about the weather. It’s a wonderful time of year. After months of cold weather and barren landscapes, spring brings new growth and life, including the baby lamb in the photograph below running across the field on a farm close to where I stayed.

a baby lamb runs across a field in Cleggan, Connemara

As with all my trips there is always mixed emotions on my return to Dublin. Sadness that the trip is over way too soon and that I’ve had to return to the city (already planning my next escape in my head) but also joy as I get to start working on the fruits of my labour. I really look forward to sharing the photographs of the trip with you very soon and also adding a few to my Irish Lanscape Collection.

I’m happy to say that it’s been pretty busy on the commercial front as well. Shooting a number of events for some regular clients including the Castleknock College Union annual business lunch with special guest, Irish soccer legend Niall Quinn. See below photograph.

Irish soccer legend Niall Quinn presenting at the Castleknock College Union Annual Business Lunch 2024

I also managed to get a photograph with Niall after the event that was kindly taken by my client who was only too happy to get his hands on my camera. I think he did a great job! See below photograph.

Photographer John Austin with Irish soccer legend Niall Quinn at the Castleknock College Union Annual Business Lunch 2024

Delighted too to work with the team from Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) so soon again to cover the national final of their Think Languages team competition at the Department of Education. The below photograph is of the teachers and students of Our Lady of Mercy from Waterford, one of the three teams in the final.

Students and teachers of Our Lady of Mercy Waterford pose for a photo at the Department of Education before competing in the national final of the Think Languages competion

It’s not every event you also get to photograph government ministers, which in this case was Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD as she speaks to the finalists in the below photograph.

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD speaking to students at the national final of the Think Language competition in the Clock Tower room at the Department of Education

That’s it for this update. I’ll be posting again soon with new additions to my Fine Art Collection and other news. If you want to be the first to know, please subscribe to my newsletter below.

 

Cheers

handrwitten name of John
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