Photo. This

As photographers we have never had to work so hard. The advent of digital photography means that more people can produce high quality images with even the most basic compact camera. Many will never need or want to know how or why their images was captured in such a way, all they need to know is they like it, if they don't they delete & try again. It is getting harder & harder to make a living from photography as more & more enter the realm trying to make some extra money from something they love. That is exactly how I started,a hobby became an obsession & eventually I decided that as photography was the only thing that I was ever really good at I was going to give it a go. So I am not or could not have a go at anyone else, we all have to start somewhere, you love photography & you see potential to make some money great. I suppose all I can really ask is that you do not sell yourself short, put a real value on your work & try to do yourself justice every time. It is easy if you already  have a job to settle for a little extra, but remember by doing that you maybe depriving someone else who is depending totally on their photography part of their income. I have had to compete in the past for work with people who have a good salary every month, who naturally can afford to beat my price for a job, & the only winner is the company who can probably write the cost of against tax anyway. I have always encouraged peoples interest in photography, but at some stage we have to stop & ask the question where is photography going, will newspapers continue to pay for high quality images or will they start to settle for mobile uploads from who ever happens to be on the scene. Will the work be there in the future for the photographers who would risk life & limb in order to make sure that image of war is on the front of your paper as you have your morning coffee. I have probably forgotten more about photography, than some photographers will ever bother to learn, but when it comes down to it does anyone really care ???????.

Connemara.

I have been fortunate enough to visit most if not all of the counties of Ireland at this stage. There are aspects of every county that are stunningly beautiful & will keep any visitor en trawled.In recent years however I keep returning to Connemara & in particular to the area near Cleggan & Claddaghduff. These are small rural villages that rely heavily on tourism to supplement incomes. The nearest large town is Cliffden, a town that is picture postcard in its perfectness. The number of artists,from many artistic disciplines who live in this area give real testimony to the natural beauty. In short you would want to be dead not to appreciate what this area has to offer.  The beauty of the Sky road out of Cliffden would leave the most ardent traveler wondering if they have ever seen anything as beautiful.Looking out across the Atlantic towards some of the many Islands of the coast, it can hold your attention for long periods,as the light dances & flickers on the ocean.  You can also visit the some of the islands via the mail boat from Cleggan or if you do not fancy a boat trip you can drive across the strand to Omey Island at low tide. Park up the car & walk across to Omey, this island is truly magnificent. You can also take a trip to Letterfrack & visit the Connemara national park, walks & audiovisuals on Connemara for those that do not fancy walking. Continuing on to Lennane & the Majesty of Killary  Fjord, Irelands only Fjord.Again you can take a boat trip on the Fjord or just drive around & explore the area which has much more to offer. I have visited this area 7 times in the last 2 years & each time I leave it looking forward to my return, after that I cannot say more.