Nov 14 2006

For many folks photography is nothing more than a hobby...but for others it's a passion. As I was looking through photos from my trip to Ireland I started thinking back on my "history" with photography and what would I consider my defining moment. When did I make the leap from taking snapshots to being someone who was passionate about photography.

I think it comes back to his moment. We had been in Dingle and were traveling along the western coast of Ireland on the way to Ballyvaughn. We had stopped at the Cliffs of Mohr, and while lovely it was a stormy and overcast day and a little disheartening, when you travel thousands of miles to visit something you have a picture in your mind of what it would look like...and when it doesn't, especially due to weather conditions, it can disappoint. So we headed on towards Ballyvaughn, but decided to make a quick detour to a small town, Doolin to grab a bite to eat. Doolin is a magical place and probably outside of Dingle defines Ireland the most in my mind, ranking in my top 5 of favorite places in the world. The rolling green hills come down to small cliffs and the Atlantic Ocean. On the right day, similar to the day we visited, the angry sea sends waves crashing against the cliff walls, forming small waterfalls as the ocean water makes it way back home.

I think it was at this moment, in this place, where I made the leap from being a hobbyist, to being someone who wanted to understand the art of photography and doing more than just clicking a shutter and moving on to the next spot. If nature could put on such a spectacle and build such a canvas than it deserved to be captured as such.

As for this shot, not the greatest photo. I should probably try and rescan the negative to get more detail. But it is one of my favorites because of what it stands for and the memories it brings back.

Scan from film negative

Doolin, Ireland
May 2003