The streets of Glasgow part two

A follow-up to my last post, these are the colour photographs from my brief time in Glasgow. Although my 'camera walk' only lasted about an hour, I was surprised at how little street art / graffiti there was. Once I got closer to the river Clyde there were a lot of disused buildings that had some amazing art on the boardings.

Sadly the traffic light below failed to persuade pedestrians to limbo across the road, that would have been a picture! :-)

Tom :)

The streets of Glasgow part one

I've probably been to Glasgow about a six or seven times in the last five years. At least half of those times I've brought my camera but the fates have conspired to prevent me using it. By fates I generally mean I was either too busy or rain, lots of rain. I'm not complaining of course, no Irishman can bemoan the rain, it's like being fed up the sky is blue.

Naturally, it was raining when I arrived, but once I'd checked into my hotel room and walked outside it had all but stopped. Perfect conditions for photography, a nice reflective ground and the sky like a big soft box.

I mentioned in my last post about Dublin that it's a clash of the old and new. When you walk around Glasgow and look at the buildings you can see the really ancient to the very modern. When I spotted the beautiful old building (below) that had been converted to apple store, I wasn't sure if I was horrified or impressed.

Like any city it's the people that make it and Glasgow is full of personality. Looking forward to my next visit.

They say you can't be right all of the time and for this clock that is definitely true. It was not 12 o'clock when I photographed it, but at least it's right twice a day. There are plenty of people I can think of that couldn't make that boast!

Tom :)

Visiting Home - Dublin City

I didn't get a whole lot of time to shoot while I was in Dublin last month. But here's the result of a couple of hours in 'town. As you've probably gathered I'm a big fan of street photography and while I'm no Cartier-Bresson the first picture below is definitely a decisive moment. The guy walking towards the camera is far from impressed by what another passer-by is wearing. As always Ireland is still the clash of old and new! :)

What we love, we find time to do - awesome (not sure about love football - hate Bremen though!?!). 

Hope you like them, Tom :)

Graffiti in Dublin

I think it's fair to say that after 10 years of living in the UK, I know more of Birmingham than I do of my birthplace Dublin.

It seems like every time I go back something new has opened, something old has closed and someone has put a random 'spike' in the middle of a busy street.

Even during my most recent visit I was surprised at the amount of building work that was taking place. Especially given the problems with the economy (not that Ireland is the only place experience that particular issue).

Birmingham has some incredible street art, a stroll around Digbeth is visiting an art exhibition. But beyond tags on a wall I don't remember seeing anything like it growing up in Ireland.

When I mentioned to my brother Paul that I wanted to photograph some street art in the city centre (which most Dubliners will refer to as "town"), he knew exactly where to go to find some amazing work. I'm beginning to think that next time I'm home I should jump on the tourist bus and 're-acquaint' myself with Dublin.

The genius of 'Zombie Monopoly'.

Beware the dog! :-)

Dublin Soul

Across the water in my hometown (city) of Dublin, my brother Paul has caught the camera bug. I seldom get time to catch up with my brothers by phone or skype let alone spend time with them.

So when I was in Ireland last week for some photography, Paul and I hit the streets with our cameras and tried to catch a bit of Dublin's soul.

And the best way to end an afternoon of photography. A burrito from Paul's latest discovery, Pablo Picanté Californian Burrito Bar. Very yum!

Tom :)

Back to the street

Despite short-changing us all by a day, February was kind enough to offer me a bit of time to take to the streets with my camera. Here's some shots taken around Birmingham city centre. 

Scotland's valiant performance against France in the rugby managed to momentarily grab my attention as it was playing on the big screen in Victoria Square. At least I wasn't the only one :-)

 Interesting menu . . . Sexy Juice and Irish Moss!?!

 

 

Mo Bhaile

Having settled across the water in England, the term 'home' is a strange one for me. Several times a year (as much as is possible) I find myself returning home having visited home. Perhaps I'm a child of two cities, it makes me wonder if my son will feel the same when he's older.

Each trip back to Dublin seems all too short and so often I get caught up in what's going on I forget to take my camera out of the bag.

Fortunately the last time, I remembered to take at least a few :-)