Categories » ‘My Life’

Jedward Candy Bar

Categories: Ireland Music Sarcasm & Humor Uncategorized
December 16th, 2011 by

Things that make you go humm.

Folks, Jedward has come out with a candy bar. It just makes me want to cry, because it’s so painfully pop culture, punny, laughable and sad all at the same time. Someone else bought it for me as a gift, and my first thought was that I *Had* to blog about it and post pictures, because this is something that is lost in translation (and I’m sure didn’t make it across the pond). So here they are.

Jeward candy bar 4 (Jedward Twin Bars - Popping Chocolate Bars)
Jedward candy bar – twin “popping” chocolate bars

Jedward "popping" candy bar 3 (Full on, Crazy, Jeadly!)
(yes, it says that it’s FULL ON, Crazy, JEADLY)

Jeward "poppin" candy bar 2 (want to Meet Jedward?)
Want to Meet Jedward? Get the golden ticket! (Thank Goodness I didn’t get the ticket.)

For those of you who don’t know who Jedward is, let me explain (although I’m not sure there is any explanation for these two). They were twin contestants on “x factor”, which is basically the “American Idol” for Britain and Ireland. They’re 17 year old blonde teenagers who, for lack of a better word, are stupid – and famous for it. They can’t really sing, and they (like Bieber fever) are everywhere here in Ireland and one doesn’t really know why. You can’t get them gone. They’re on TV (doing ads for a local cell phone company), starring in Celeb Big Brother House, and earlier this year – were Ireland’s entry for the Eurovision song contest (please don’t get me started on the contest).

They’re voted one of the year 2011′s most annoying…

and deservedly so.

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Glendalough Ruins and Lakes

Categories: Ireland My Life Photography
December 15th, 2011 by

Back in March, and again the beginning of June, I decided that I needed to get out of the city and go see a bit more of Ireland. I had heard many lovely things about a place called “Glenda-lock”, which is situated in the Wicklow mountains. I have to say that after taking a friend there in March, I had to return in June (when the weather was better) and take my mom and a bunch of photographs.

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(Sunset at the Upper Lake at Glendalough)

Glendalough (Irish: Gleann Dá Loch, meaning “Glen of Two Lakes”) is one of the most visited places in Ireland. It’s located in the Wicklow Mountains National Park and has lots of walks and trails. The Glendalough Valley was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age and the two lakes, from which Glendalough gets its name, were formed when the ice eventually thawed.

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(House ruins with foggy mountain in the background)

It is also renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest (now in ruins). Kevin was born to one of the ruling families of Leinster, and studed under several early Christian leaders. During this time, he went to Glendalough and was enchanted by its beauty.

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(St. Kevin’s Cell)

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(Looking through the interior of St. Kevin’s Cell)

Shortly later, St. Kevin returned with several monks to found a monestary. As his fame spread, the settlement grew. Kevin died in 618, but the settlement continued for nearly 600 years – surviving through Viking Raids and deaths of many Abbots. In 1398, English troops finally invaded and destroyed the peaceful monestary for good.

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(Cemetery with 30 meter high Round tower to watch for raiders – Lower lake of Glendalough)

Since then, the place has remained one of pilgrimage, and I can see why as it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It’s mentioned in many manuscripts and there are remnants of cemeteries, workshops, guest houses, infirmaries, farm buildings and dwellings all over the upper and lower lakes. Most of the buildings that exist today are from the 10th and 12th centuries.

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(St. Kevin’s church)

For More information, please see http://www.glendalough.ie/heritage_of_glendalough.php

For more pictures of my trips there, please see my flickr set.

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DeVreeze Wedding

Categories: My Life Parties & Concerts Photography
December 2nd, 2011 by

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Earlier this year, some very wonderful friends of mine finally decided to tie the knot. Knowing that I enjoy photography, I talked things over with H & J and offered that instead of actually buying them a gift, I’d save them some money and do both their wedding portraits and the wedding event photography. I wanted to document the day from beginning to end – and make sure that their memories were saved – and also not based on a time limit. (Here in Dublin, for 5 hours of wedding event photography it costs about 600 Euros – and that doesn’t even include prints nor a cd/dvd of the images taken!)

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It’s not the first wedding that I’ve photographed – but it was the most intense and wonderfully gratifying experience that I’ve had in a long time. I got there at about 10 am, and left around midnight. Over the course of the day, there were some 1500 pictures taken – which were later parsed down to about 350 that were kept as good enough to put in the photo book of the event. I think they were delighted – because I managed to cover everything from the moments of the family getting ready together, through the bus to the registrar’s office, to the first kiss.

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I also remembered to get the decorations, the cake (which was decorated by a baker in the family), and then both the wedding brunch at the Crowne Plaza and the Barbeque in the backyard where the first dance, flower toss, and cake cutting ceremony was performed.

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I also found the opportunity to get the quirky things that perhaps another person would have missed, but that I really was able to pick up on because I know them as individuals and as a couple. Things like the two of them kissing – and their shadow merging into one, The bottom of H’s shoes as she went into the registrar’s office (she’d pasted stickers of hearts and the words I DO),

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The teasing that happened at the wedding brunch (balancing spoons on their noses)

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And the naturalness of them walking down the street, holding hands – J carrying the picnic blanket and H carrying the beautiful red cups – as if they were walking into the rest of their lives.

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Sure, I was exhausted when it was all over, but after 2 days of photo processing and then turning over the photos to them- I feel not only blessed to have been there, but also blessed to have been allowed to take the photographs of such an amazing event in their lives.

Congratulations, H & J.

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