Got a little treat for ya. A hillwalk, but at night.
I’d planned on making the most of the three day weekend by doing a hat-trick of Cavehill, Blackhead Path and Lisnabreeny Hill ,as I hadn’t been to either of them for a while.
It was dull on Monday morning, so I headed out for a cycle instead.
Naturally, as I was out, it started to brighten up.
I was thinking to myself that this is good weather for photography.
On a weekday, I wouldn’t usually go out for a hillwalk in the evening.
In the Summer, i’d be out on the bike after work and in the Winter, i’d just go for a local walk. I’m not walking up a hill in the dark.
However, it was a Bank Holiday Monday, so I decided to take advantage of not being in work.
I had a check beforehand and the Sunset was scheduled for 8.22pm.
So, I left the house after 7pm, arriving at the shops at Four Winds around 7.35pm to park my car.
It turned out I had underestimated the walk from Four Winds to the start of Lisnabreeny Hill, getting there around 7.50pm.
By then, the Sunset was already in full swing.
I managed to get some nice photos at ground level, but I did have a sense of frustration that I had missed the best of it.
My plan was to go the the halfway point where there is a bench.
I wasn’t planning to sit down there, but it is the point where the best views of Belfast are.
In the end, I had mixed results.
I’m not usually out to get Sunset photos, so it was all trial and error.
Unfortunately, it was more error.
A lesson learnt, the next time I head to Lisnabreeny Hill to get Sunset photos, i’ll pop out a bit earlier.
Elsewhere, i’ve been informed that the bridge in Cregagh Glen has been fixed.
That means when i’m doing non Sunset related adventures in this area, I can cover the whole trail.
November began with a day trip to Dublin. Naturally, while I was there, I took the opportunity to check out Street Art. Might as well, seeing as it was my first time there in two years.
Later that week, I did something else I hadn’t done for a long time. Not as long, just over eighteen months. I am of course referring to going to a concert, in this case, Lightning Seeds at The Limelight.
That was then followed by two road trips for Linfield away games, to Portadown and Crusaders.
Sandwiched inbetween that was another road trip, this time to Ards to get some Street Art photos, with a recent event having taken place.
It was a month of doing things I hadn’t done for a while. This time, going on a flight.
The destination was Gatwick, but not to go to London, but Brighton instead.
So many photo adventures, where to start?
Street Art in Brighton, of course. Also, a walk along Beachy Head, OMD in concert, and some sunsets while I was in Brighton.
Back home, a return to Windsor Park to see Linfield beat Cliftonville.
Two days later, I headed to The Limelight to see The Charlatans in concert.
The month ended with Linfield matches against Glenavon and Carrick Rangers.
A busy month full of travel began in the most glamourous of settings of a rainstorm in Lurgan, as Linfield travelled to Glenavon on the opening day of the 2011-2012 Irish League season.
It literally rained throughout the whole match, and I wasn’t in a brave enough mood to move from my seat to get photos.
I did get a nice portrait shot of Mourneview Park at the end of the game though.
The following Saturday, I was in Edinburgh. The weather wasn’t much better though.
I was over for the festival, but with Edinburgh having two SPL teams, I decided to take in a match as well.
That day, Hearts were playing Aberdeen, and I managed to get into a good shooting position.
The following Thursday, as a bonus, Hearts played Tottenham Hotspur in a UEFA Cup tie, and I managed to blag a ticket, and get some good shots.
I also managed to get a lovely shot of Princes Street Gardens on the Sunday teatime between the two games.
Managed to stumble across some excellent graffiti in the University area of the city.
There are no pictures from the festival, but a full write up can be found here
From Edinburgh, I headed to Brighton for the weekend, and loved it, a fantastic city.
Managed to get some fantastic sunset shots and some street art pictures as well.
I’d hoped to get to a match at The Amex but couldn’t get a ticket unfortunately, but I did manage to get some nice shots of the exterior of the ground.
July isn’t traditionally a football month, but this round-up appears to be dominated by football photos.
I spent my Saturday afternoons going on bike rides, but I managed to head in to Windsor Park for the second-half of Linfield’s match against Carrick for some nice shots, as well as getting a sunset shot of Windsor Park earlier that week.
I’d been up at the Shore Road branch of ASDA to get some camera equipment, and chanced my arm on getting a ticket for the Crusaders v Fulham match, taking place that night. I had no such luck, but I did manage to get some photos of the ground.
At the end of the month, I visited Seycon Park forthe friendly between Derriaghy CC FC and Linfield. It was a lovely evening perfect for photography and watching football. Unfortunately, due to Deriaghy not having floodlights, the match was reduced to 40 minutes each way.
I also managed to get some sunset shots as well around Belfast. Enjoy.
Busy month as the Irish League season reached it’s finale and Beady Eye rolled into town.
The first day of the month saw me visit Seaview for a clash between Crusaders and Linfield. Earlier in the season, i’d left Seaview happy with the photos but disappointed with the result. That night, I left the other way around.
I did manage to get one good one, of Jim Ervin waiting to take a throw. Artistic.
My next Linfield away trip was at The Oval, and for once, I managed to get some good photos, especially at the end when Linfield were pushing for a winner, which eventually came.
Managed to get some OK photos of Beady Eye, but the month is mainly dominated by photos of Linfield matches and sunsets.
Was in Brighton over the weekend just past for a short break and managed to catch some excellent sunsets, which I got photos of from the pier and the beach.
A fantastic city worth visiting. The only downside was that I was unable to get a ticket for the match at The Amex.
Analogue Boy In A Digital World 