The first time visiting Ireland was an epic experience, the weather couldn't have been better, and everyone I met was so friendly.
The purpose of this trip was to check out locations, and get some footage with several stonelifters who were on a stone tour. The first few days were relaxed, with sightseeing and location scouting. I had to get used to speed limit signs in kph, until I figured out how to change my speedo to match.
Two highlights of the trip were the island of Inishbofin, and visiting a stone on the site of a past shebeen, that was now being renovated into someone's home.
- Inishbofin was so good it features in issue 6 of Stones Magazine. It was a short journey to the island, and a nice walk to the stone's location. The stone is huge, and it has a hole through the middle. It's lifted onto a stone alter in the ruins of a chapel. The location is beautiful, especially on a sunny day like we had.
- The Shebeen site was really interesting, and the owner showed us around while explaing about the alcohol that was produced there. The view at this stone wasn't as epic as Inishbofin, but the surrounding area was, the stone was hidden away in the greenery.
The only real problems were the sun, and wanting to shoot with a large aperture. At the time the only solution, to the fast paced lifting, was a variable ND. This problem is hopefully solved, with a few upgrades, for the next trip to Ireland. The other problem involved spending a long time traveling to a stone location, only to find out it was on a live military site, and there was no access.
An amazing trip ended with a nice pint of Guinness...
