2021 IN PICTURES – APRIL

April began with a four day weekend due to the Easter Holidays. Naturally, I was out with my camera.

On the Saturday, I headed to Belvoir Park Forest. Before Lockdown, I hadn’t been to Belvoir Park Forest in ages, so I rediscovered it, if you will.

I’d been a couple of times before, but the weather was usually too wet or too dull, so the photos weren’t great.

This time around, I had some early morning sunshine that I took advantage of.

I had planned to use my time off over Easter to do my monthly visit to Cavehill.

The plan was to go on Easter Tuesday as I assumed that Saturday, Sunday and Monday would be rammed, Tuesday would be a bit quieter. You know, the whole Trying Not To Get Covid Thing.

It turned out to be an inspired decision. Not only was there not a lot of people about, but it snowed. Yes, snow in April.

Cavehill in snow was photos I always wanted, and I was not disappointed by my trip to McArt’s Fort.

On my way up, I did ask myself what I was doing, but it was all worth it when I got to the top.

However, next time it snows like that, i’ll head to Lisnabreeny Hill, in the interest of balance.

Cregagh Glen and Lisnabreeny Hill was where I headed next the following weekend, not in snow but in sunshine.

April saw me get my first Street Art photos of the year, a trip up to Shankill Road to see some new pieces painted outside Spectrum Centre and a piece by Dan Kitchener at the top, near Woodvale Park.

Belvoir Park Forest

Belvoir Park Forest Photo Album

Cavehill

Cavehill Photo Album

Cregagh Glen/Lisnabreeny Hill

Cregagh Glen/Lisnabreeny Hill Photo Album

Shankill Street Art

Shankill Street Art Photo Album

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON : JANUARY

Fifteen hours into 2019, and it was a short trip to the Seaside to see Linfield beat Ards.

More wins came in the month, with Warrenpoint Town, Crusaders and Glentoran all taken care of.

The month ended with a trip to Old Trafford. Unfortunately, the one United match I went to didn’t result in a win, but a draw against Burnley, though I did manage to get some photos of Old Trafford in the snow the next morning.

Ards v Linfield

Linfield v Warrenpoint Town

Crusaders v Linfield

Linfield v Glentoran

Manchester United v Burnley

Manchester United v Burnley Photo Album

MANCHESTER SNOW

While I was in Manchester, I woke up to a snowstorm. So, I went out to get photos of it.

I didn’t have a lot of time to do so as I was heading to Sheffield, so I had to make the most of it.

It was the first time i’d been away somewhere when it was snowing since Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 2012.

As my hotel was near to Old Trafford, it was only natural I would be getting some photos of the snow covered exterior. I’m not even joking, while I was out getting photos, there were men at work clearing it driving Official Manchester United Snowplows. Probably in association with Mr Plow.

As I was walking past Old Trafford, the closest Metrolink stop was Old Trafford, so I got some photos en route.

When I arrived in Manchester City Centre, it was slush, there was nothing worth photographing.

I then headed to Sheffield by train with a window seat, and had some amazing views of the Peak District covered in snow. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any photos of that.

On the Thursday, I walked past Ordsall Hall and got some photos of it as it still had snow around it.

Photo Album

2018 IN PICTURES – MARCH

March 2018 began for me photographing snow. Yes, you read that right, the snow came down in the early days of March 2018.

That snow caused the postponement of Linfield’s Irish Cup tie against Cliftonville, so I had to wait a week for my first football match of the month, as Linfield took on Carrick Rangers.

That was then followed up the following midweek by Linfield’s Irish Cup tie against Cliftonville.

Two days later, I headed to The Odyssey to see Stereophonics in concert.

St Patrick’s Day was spent watching Linfield draw 1-1 at home to Glentoran.

The following Thursday, I headed to The Limelight to see Feeder in concert.

Off work the next day due to needing to use up excess Annual Leave, I made the long journey to Ballinamallard to see Linfield drop two points in the last minute.

That weekend, and the month, ended with me heading to East Belfast to get photos of some new murals that had appeared during the month.

Belfast Snow March 2018

Belfast Snow March 2018 Photo Album – Thursday 1st March

Belfast Snow March 2018 Photo Album – Saturday 3rd March

Linfield v Carrick Rangers

Linfield v Cliftonville

Stereophonics live at The Odyssey

Stereophonics live at The Odyssey Photo Album

Linfield v Glentoran

Feeder live at The Limelight

Feeder live at The Limelight Photo Album

Ballinamallard United v Linfield

Northern Ireland v South Korea

Northern Ireland v South Korea Photo Album

East Belfast Street Art

East Belfast Street Art Photo Album

BELFAST SNOW – MARCH 2018

Whenever I did my snow blog last December, I didn’t expect to be doing a follow-up so soon afterwards. Certainly not at the start of March.

When it comes to snow, I am such a big kid, and can’t get enough pictures of it.

Unfortunately, I was in work on Thursday, so I had to make the most of what opportunities I had.

So, I got up early on Thursday morning to get some photos of Belfast City Centre before work.

One advantage of it snowing in March, is that the mornings are a lot brighter than in December/January, which you can use to your advantage when taking photos.

I managed to get photos of Belfast City Hall and Victoria Square. Belfast City Hall is one of my “big three” when the snow comes down for getting photos, the others being Ormeau Park and Windsor Park. I would get photos of Ormeau Park on the Saturday. Unfortunately that was at the expense of Windsor Park. The snow had gone by Sunday morning, meaning I couldn’t get the photos I wanted.

Thursday lunchtime was spent at the upstairs part of the Fountain Centre, some of which was closed off, unfortunately, these were the areas I wanted to visit, and try and get some aerial photos.

I was out of work early on Thursday afternoon, but not substantially early to take advantage of it, though I did get some photos of Botanic Gardens on my way home.

By Friday morning, there wasn’t anything additional, and that looked like being that in terms of my snow adventures.

Or so I thought, as I woke up on Saturday morning and Belfast was covered in snow, and it was still coming down.

I headed out to get some photos, starting with Ormeau Park.

When it snowed in December, Ormeau Park offered some fantastic photo opportunities, so I headed out to make the most of it.

As a bonus, Ormeau Park was full of 13/10 doggies, though it is like that all year round.

By this point, Linfield’s match, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, was now postponed, so my snow adventures weren’t timebound any more.

I headed into the City Centre, which was mostly slush, before heading home through Stranmillis/University, which was a lot more photographable.

By Sunday morning, the thaw had arrived, and the opportunity for snow photos had gone.

Apologies for the lateness of this blog, I had some laptop issues to deal with.

I don’t anticipate having to write another snow blog anytime soon, but you never know.

Photo Album – Thursday 1st March 2018

Photo Album – Saturday 3rd March 2018

2017 IN PICTURES – DECEMBER (SO FAR …)

Here we are, the final photo round-up of 2017, looking back at my adventures in December. Well, December so far.

December began with a trip to Windsor Park to see Linfield take on Dungannon Swifts.

That was followed by a trip to Ulster Hall to see The Divine Comedy in concert.

I was hoping to follow that with a trip to Carrick to see Linfield play Carrick Rangers, but that was postponed due to snow.

I decided to make the most of a football free Saturday, by going out and getting pictures of the snow in Belfast.

There was one final concert for 2017, as I headed to The Limelight to see The Charlatans.

The following day, I flew to Manchester, to see United take on Bournemouth primarily, but I also managed to squeeze in some Street Art photos from Manchester and Salford Quays.

Upon my return, I headed to Windsor Park to see Linfield play Warrenpoint Town and draw 3-3.

The following Saturday, it was another visit to Windsor Park to see Linfield beat Cliftonville 2-0.

There’s still eight days left in December, i’ll be at The Oval on Boxing Day, and then back to Windsor Park next Saturday for more photo adventures.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series looking back at 2017 In Pictures. I’m already looking forward to see what 2018 will bring in terms of photo adventures.

Linfield v Dungannon Swifts

The Divine Comedy live at Ulster Hall

The Divine Comedy live at Ulster Hall Photo Album

Belfast Snow December 2017

Snow – Friday 8th December Photo Album

Snow – Saturday 9th December Photo Album

Snow – Sunday 10th December Photo Album

The Charlatans live at The Limelight

The Charlatans live at The Limelight Photo Album

Manchester Street Art

Manchester Street Art Photo Album

Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth

Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth Photo Album

Salford Quays Street Art

Salford Quays Street Art Photo Album

Linfield v Warrenpoint Town

Linfield v Cliftonville

BELFAST SNOW DECEMBER 2017

When it comes to snow, i’m a big kid. I love going out and photographing it.

When it arrived on Thursday night/Friday morning, I got as many snaps as I could during my walk to work, of Botanic Gardens and Botanic. Unfortunately, being in work on Friday denied me any more photos.

The snow was still there on Saturday morning, so I headed out to get some photos.

My number 1 target was Windsor Park. I wanted to get photos of the ground having got photos of it covered in snow in 2010, but unfortunately, the snow was cleared by the time I got there, denying me snow photos of the redeveloped ground.

As I headed back over the bridge, a steam train went past, so I tried to get some quick photos of that.

On the Saturday, I headed to Ormeau Park to get some arty photos of the snow.

On the Sunday, I headed to Botanic Gardens, getting photos now that I had daylight and time on my side.

Until the next snow day, enjoy

Friday Snow

Saturday Snow

Sunday Snow

2013 IN PICTURES – MARCH

March began for me with a trip to Dublin to see Linfield take on Shamrock Rovers in a Setanta Cup game. Unfortunately, I missed the first couple of minutes of the game, as I would have loved to have got the stadium in advance of kick-off to get some shots, and get a good shooting position.

The less said about the match, the better.

Three days later, I was at the Waterfront Hall (amazingly, it has been open since 1997, and this was my first concert attended at it) to see Stereophonics in concert.

Got a good shooting position and some good shots. An excellent concert as well.

That weekend, I went out and got some Street Art photos in Ormeau Park.

The following weekend, I was in Manchester to see United take on Reading. I didn’t know it then, but it would be the last time I would go to a United match managed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

On the Monday, I was at a freezing Seaview to see Linfield lose 3-0 to Crusaders. I should have just stayed in the house and watched it on TV.

The following Friday, I was hoping to go to Windsor Park to see Northern Ireland take on Russia. Unfortunately, it was postponed due to snow. In March.

I went out to try and get some snow photos. It wasn’t very photogenic snow. The photos of it weren’t particularly great.

The following Tuesday, I did get to see Northern Ireland play, against Israel, in a 2-0 defeat.

Shamrock Rovers v Linfield

Shamrock Rovers v Linfield Photo Album

Stereophonics Live At Waterfront Hall

Stereophonics Live At Waterfront Hall Photo Album

Anco

Manchester United v Reading

Manchester United v Reading Photo Album

Crusaders v Linfield

Snow

Snow Photo Album

Northern Ireland v Israel

Northern Ireland v Israel Photo Album

Niko

2013 IN PICTURES – FEBRUARY

February began for me in London, as I decided to go for my now traditional weekend away at the start of February. I went to London, and absolutely loved it.

I went to two football matches on the Saturday (Loftus Road and Craven Cottage) and then spent the Sunday in Camden, and got some photos of the Street Art in the area.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to do the London Street Art Tour, which I would have loved to have done.

Unsurprisingly, I was camera happy during my weekend in London.

Upon my return to Belfast, I was met by snow, so out with my camera I went.

Over the remaining three Saturdays, I went to Linfield matches, having mixed results with my phototaking, the most successful, was the trip to Dungannon on 9th February.

Towards the end of the month, I went to The Odyssey to see The Killers in concert. Absolutely fantastic concert, and managed to get some great shots.

Queens Park Rangers v Norwich City

QPR v Norwich City Photo Album

Fulham v Manchester United

Fulham v Manchester United Photo Album

Camden Street Art

Camden Street Art Photo Album

Snow

Snow Photo Album

Dungannon Swifts v Linfield

Glentoran v Linfield

The Killers Live At The Odyssey

The Killers Live At The Odyssey Photo Album

Linfield v Portadown

2013 IN PICTURES – JANUARY

2013 began for me by going to Windsor Park 15 hours into the first day of the year to see Linfield take on Cliftonville in an Irish League clash, which Linfield won 3-1.

Windsor Park was somewhere I spent a lot of the early weeks of 2013, going to see Linfield take on Coleraine the following Saturday, and then Crusaders in the Irish Cup the Saturday after that.

The usual arrangements with Windsor Park photos, some ok, nothing special. That said, I managed to get a well framed shot of a row of people, all wearing hats watching the game, which came about by fluke, as it was a test shot having moved to the South Stand from The Kop.

The following weekend, I had plans for a football match and a concert, but it was only the concert I got to see.

The snow put paid to me seeing Linfield take on Donegal Celtic away from home, and I was unable to get to the rearranged game.

On the Sunday night, I went to see Paloma Faith at Ulster Hall. She was fantastic. I wasn’t completely happy with the photos I got some ok photos.

Of course, with there being snow, I was out getting some photos. Little did I know, this would be a monthly activity for the first three months of 2013.

The following day, I was at Seaview to see Linfield exit the Irish Cup.

Linfield v Cliftonville

Linfield v Coleraine

Linfield v Crusaders

Paloma Faith Live At Ulster Hall

Paloma Faith Live At Ulster Hall Photo Album

Snow

Snow Photo Album

Crusaders v Linfield