Be A Photographic Beachcomber
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Be A Photographic Beachcomber

Beachcomber, photography, Mulranny, Ireland
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

Every photographer should also be a beachcomber. Or a regular visitor to flea markets. Or a connoisseur of auction houses. Because everywhere, chance finds and hidden treasures are literally waiting to be discovered. My favourite example is this prehistoric implement, which I found washed up on an Irish beach.

And all you need to do is train your eye.

This approach can equally be applied to photography, where you recognise the exceptional rather than attempt to create it from scratch or through applying pre-existing expectations.  

It’s simply a case of you will know it when you find it… (more…)

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Sad Jesus and the Great Hunger
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Sad Jesus and the Great Hunger

Sad Jesus, Holy Well, Deserted Village, the Great Hunger, Achill, Mayo, Ireland
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

Sad Jesus by the holy well at the Deserted Village on Achill Island in Ireland. The Deserted Village consists of some 80 to 100 ruined stone cottages located along a mile long stretch of road on the southern slopes of the Slievemore mountain. Its atmosphere is unique: a feeling of almost intruding on those who lived there and the overall air of mystery of why did they leave? The answer is that the village was gradually abandoned during the mid-19th century because of the many evictions for non-payment of rent to the local landlord, the Great Hunger and the emigration throughout the successive years. (more…)

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Fossilised Colonial Coral
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Fossilised Colonial Coral

Fossilised colonial coral, Mulranny, County Mayo, Ireland
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

 

Fossilised colonial coral dating from up to 359 millennia ago when Ireland was still a tropical swamp. Later this region turned into an Arctic wasteland, before warming up enough to allow for the early hunter-gatherers. Nowadays, colonial coral fossils can be easily found in limestone areas such as Mulranny in County Mayo, where I found this example peeping through the pebbles.  (more…)

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The Sword of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland?

County Mayo, Fahy, Ireland
© Annie Wright Photography

Is this the sword of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland? Or just a particularly evocative beachcombing find?

The fact is that photography is all about looking and finding, and sometimes you come up with things that are totally unexpected.

Location: Fahy Beach, County Mayo, Ireland

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Leprechaun Mini Megalith
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Leprechaun Mini Megalith

megalith, fake, County Mayo, Ireland
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

A leprechaun mini megalith built for little people on an Irish beach.

I’ve seen full scale versions that haven’t been a patch on this one for style and presence.

Location: County Mayo, Ireland. Photo taken with Hipstamatic

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