Category: Photography

Lens Testing

I don’t get into Dublin city centre very often these days but on Monday night I made the trip in for a birthday party. On the way home I passed Conn’s Cameras and had to do a back track to lustfully gaze in the windows at all the pretty camera toys. Most camera shops I’ve seen in Dublin are the dingy variety and they never have quite what you’re looking for in stock. It’s always a case of them having to look it up in one of their giant catalogues and order it in for you. All I want to do is have a look though and if they had to order it in well then I’d feel like I had to buy it. So, the next day I made yet another trip into Dublin and made straight for Conn’s.

Christmas Morning Swimmers

Post author By Claire
Post date December 31, 2005
3 Comments on Christmas Morning Swimmers

Santa's swimmers

Christmas morning wasn’t the usual grey, cold affair this year so there were plenty of brave souls out for the traditional Christmas swim at the 40 foot in Dun Laoghaire. I spotted this group as we were heading down to the seafront…I’m sure it sounded like a great idea in the pub on Christmas Eve.

Scared Of Santa

Oh The Horror!

When I was a kid, the only Santa worth going to see was Switzer’s Santa on Grafton Street. My parents, my sister and I would stand in line with hundreds of other families in the freezing cold and the line would stretch around the building for what seemed like miles. Back then the windows of the shop would be full of wonderful mechanical scenes of elves in their workshops busily nailing together wooden toys, singing carols and feeding the reindeer. Nowadays Switzers is no more and Brown Thomas stands in it’s place. They did away with the Christmas windows in favour of glitzy mannikins wearing skimpy Santa lingerie and designer gowns. I guess there was no profit in the old Santa’s workshop ones.

Going to see Switzer’s Santa is one of my best Christmas memories because, of course, Switzer’s Santa was the real one. All the others were just Santa’s helpers and that, my mother assured me, is why I could see the stitching on their beards. This became my method of sorting out the real from the stand-ins and the beard on Switzer’s Santa was fluffy and white and seamless.

I don’t remember ever being scared of sitting on Santa’s knee but this webpage gave me a laugh. I can’t say I blame the kids in a lot of these photos…I bet they’ve just spotted the seams: Scared of Santa

Illustration Ireland Photography

Winter Sunset

Sunset

It’s been bitterly cold here in Ireland of late but it makes for some beautiful sunsets.

(A few more on Flickr)

Eve Illustration Photography

Happy Birthday Eve

presents, originally uploaded by gingerpixel.

Today Eve turns one and I can’t believe how ridiculously fast this year has gone. I’ve been thinking all day about what was happening this time last year and boy am I glad it’s not this time last year! Haha.

Happy Birthday Eve!