MACNAS HALLOWEEN PARADE IN DUBLIN

This event was not at all easy to photograph so I decided to have a bit of fun with some of the images. Hopefully the images will give you all a feel for the event.


VIEW THE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS ...


HALLOWEEN PARADE BY MACNAS - DUBLIN CITY CENTRE 2017

Macnas is a performance company based at the Fisheries Field in Galway, Ireland. Its public performances are noted for exuberance, colour and spectacle. The company has been influential in changing the nature of public entertainment in Ireland.

 Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of All Hallows' Evening), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

 It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianised as Halloween by the early Church.

Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration. SaveSave

MY SECOND DAY USING THE SONY RX0 [DUBLIN NORTH INNER CITY]

MY SECOND DAY USING THE SONY RX0 [DUBLIN NORTH INNER CITY]


This was my second day using the Sony RX0 and as a stand alone camera it is not easy to use especially if you have fat fingers or is your eyesight is not good . Based on my experience to date I would suggest that you really need to control the camera  using a smartphone and it needs to be mounted on a tripod which to some extent defeats the advantage of it size.

I should say that I actually like this camera.

One problem that I have noticed is that there are many online reviews of Sony products that are usually described as "Hands On Review" which actually means that the reviewer has attended a product launch and has used the camera under controlled conditions.

Unfortunately such reviews give you no idea as to what the camera is capable of and of course they never mention any problems other than trivial issues. Because of this there are now two camps
[1] people who love Sony products
[2] People who have nothing good to say about Sony.

In case you are wondering about me ... I spent about five years switching from Canon to Sony but that does not mean that I prefer one company rather than the other because in reality I had decided to switch from DSLT to Mirrorless and the company name had little to do with my decision. A few years ago when I arrived at an event with my Sony NEX-7 or A7RII I found that in general that DSLR users were very dismissive complaining about silly things such as battery life [which was an issue if you did not bring four five batteries with you].


EXAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHS:

SECOND DAY USING THE SONY RX0
FIRST BATCH OF IMAGES FROM MY NEW SONY RX0
SECRET GARDEN - A PUBLIC PARK THAT IS WELL HIDDEN
WALK AROUND THIS CHURCH AND THE DEVIL WILL STEAL YOUR SOUL
BIKE RENTAL DOCKING STATION IN DUBLIN

THE SAD STORY OF STONEVILLA IN PHIBSBORO [STILL NO HAPPY ENDING]

THE SAD STORY OF STONEVILLA IN PHIBSBORO [STILL NO HAPPY ENDING]

---

As you get older you begin to believe that old buildings and other things from the past have merit and as such should be preserved.

Maybe that view of life is not valid and maybe once something has served its purpose it should be replaced with something more appropriate. Anyway, all that I can say with any certainty is that it depresses me to see the gradual decline of this house and other similar buildings throughout the city. I last photographed this derelict building in May of this year and northing appears to have happened since then.

What I suspected would happen does appear to be happening. The building has been surrounded by a high fence in such a way that it has become invisible and as a result, over an extended period, people will forget that it ever existed.

At the very best the house will be demolished and replaced by a block of generic apartments any everyone will be surprised because they will not remember what was there. If you carry out a Google search you will notice that there has been few or no comments relating to Stonevilla since July 2014 but plenty of comment before then.

  MORE ...

 

The Calm Before The Storm [Hurricane Ophelia Is Due To Impact On The City Of Dublin]

The Calm Before The Storm [Hurricane Ophelia Is Due To Impact On The City Of Dublin]

---

At the time of posting my photographs local media outlets are reporting that three people have already dies because of the storm.

 Many years ago colleague was killed in a major storm as the result of being struck by a piece of debris while passing a building site. The really sad thing was that his manager insisted that he turn up for work or face suspension.

 Today I had planned to visit a number of locations but because of really high winds I had to abandon that idea almost immediately I left my apartment. I then decided to visit a local Chinese Restaurant and was surprised to discover that the staff were unaware of the approaching storm.

 I must admit that I was surprised by the fact that Bolton Street and Dorset street were more-or-less devoid of traffic. If you zoom in you may notice some plastic bags floating in the sky towards the top of my photographs. I had hoped to pay one last visit to the 'Sculpture In Context' exhibition in the Botanic Gardens as it closed on Wednesday.


PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED BY WILLIAM MURPHY ...