52 Weeks on the Lough

Week 18.... 23 April 2012....
A Blue Notion..

I now live in the townland of Ballinacraig in the town of Newry... I didn't grow up in there but often heard of the famous 'Blue Motion' Quarry in Ballinacraig that my parents used to swim in... My understanding is that the Blue Motion was filled in many years ago but around home there are plenty of other abandoned quarries in the townland of Ballinacraig, (the townland of the crags)

After my journey home from Belfast on the train I suspected we might get some nice colours in the sky - so after a quick change I headed out for an hour... I found myself on top of an old abandoned quarry on the Moorhil Rd looking towards Camlough Mountain....

Sunset over Camlough Mountain - no filters

Sunset over Camlough Mountain - Hoya NDX400 filter

Sunset over Camlough Mountain - no filters

Sunset over Camlough Mountain - Hoya NDX400 filter

I wasn't happy with the results even with a 9 stop filter on the camera!! so I decided to change my perspective... there was a dead thistle growing among the gorse undergrowth which I thought would work well as a silhouette against the red sky....

After deciding there was nothing further to be gained from hanging around on the top of a deep quarry in the dark I decided to head into town to capture the town at night under a fantastically clear deep blue sky.... and a tiny sliver of a crescent moon... Jonathan Swift is reputed to have said 'High Church, Low Steeple; Dirty Streets, Proud People' on a visit to Newry.... the church he referred to was St Patrick's COI located on hill above the town. The church is supposed to have been built in 1578 and is considered to be the first protestant church in Ireland.