HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Around the Neighbourhood
Posted on March 11, 2019
Thanks to Tina for this week’s ‘neighbourhood‘ challenge. MB certainly has his work cut out to match Tina’s shots from her spectacular Kiawah Island home!
Below are ten shots MB took when he was home a few months ago for Christmas break. The lake, located in MB’s Irish HX neighbourhood and around which the shots were taken, is called Lough Gur. Followers can check out loughgur.com if they are of a mind to do so. MB readily admits that it’s hard to take a bad shot in his neighbourhood, given nature’s spectacular canvas.
Lens-Artists Challenge – Shadows
Posted on February 10, 2019
Thanks to Tina for the ‘Shadows’ challenge.
Don’t you just freak when you appear, ghost-like, in your own shot?!!!
Scenes from the homeland – 2
Posted on September 26, 2018
There’s a relatively little-visited hill next to the lake in MB’s HX homeland called Carraig Aile. Read More
Foto Friday – The bull in the field
Posted on July 21, 2017
For all MB’s Arab friends in particular, who like to see Irish greenery.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Evanescent
Posted on May 26, 2017
For all the thickos like MB out there who do not understand the meaning of the word ‘evanescent’ – it means: soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing. Ergo, a moment in time, sort of thingy!
MB was around the Lough Derg area of his homeland in recent days and captured a number of shots of the locality. The below, in particular, seems to capture a moment in time for the two individuals in question. A minute or so after taking the shot, the guy at the back of the boat gunned the engine into life and the boat purred off into the distance, the moment in time gone forever.
Foto Friday – Limerick
Posted on May 5, 2017
MB’s home city Limerick, had it’s Great Limerick Run last weekend with some 12,500 participants. Lots of nice pics appeared on facebook, for those of us on distant shores.
The following is an MB ‘Limerick’ shot of St John’s Castle, taken from Patrick St.
Foto Friday – Landscape
Posted on April 28, 2017
The Arabian gulf is primarily flat desert landscape. So on trips elsewhere, anything other than ‘flat’ tends to be a visual assault on the brain of MB.
During a work trip to Switzerland in 2015, MB took a train trip to Montreaux to take in the sights. Switzerland is anything but flat, and some of the scenery is quite spectacular.
The below shot shows one of Switzerland’s most visited attractions; Chateaux De Chillon, which is walking distance from Montreaux town centre, some 45 minutes along the shore of Lake Geneva.
Green – Follow-up post
Posted on March 23, 2017
MB was chuffed with the reaction to yesterday’s ‘green’ photo challenge post. So he has decided to give followers some extra ‘green’. Thanks, MB, you’re a lege. Don’t mention guys.
The time is 5.30am. The date is 08 August 2013.
MB could no longer lie on the sheet-of-plywood that constituted a ‘bed’ in the sleeping carriage of the British-rule era train en route to Haputale. Bleary-eyed from lack of sleep in the preceding 24 hours, hungry as hell, and with serious back ache from the previously referred 1/2″ thick plywood ‘bed’, MB arose to face the day.
The rickety train continued to chu chu its way through the high hill country of central Sri Lanka, winding around acute bends, climbing inexorably towards destination Haputale.
The darkness had now lifted, enabling MB to take in the views from the train corridor outside his badly misnamed ‘sleeping carriage’. MB could immediately see that he had entered God’s country, with stunning vistas around every corner. He grabbed his Canon 7D and framed his shots. Click, click, click………..
Some shots from the moving train:
Weekly Photo Challenge – Shadow
Posted on February 10, 2017
Ok, Ok! MB knows that he has used this pic previously in the photo challenges, so quit your moaning. The theme is ‘Shadow’, and as MB is in possession (with full copyright) of the greatest shadow photo in the entire history of Shadow Photography, there was just no way he would not use his awesome shadow shot for this week’s photo challenge.
So, Ansel Adams (RIP – alas), Gregory Hysler, Steve McCurry and other MB Wannabees, eat your photo hearts out and gaze in wonderment at MB’s s**t-hot shadow shot (MB is also a poet!):
Evening of June 20th, 2015. Summer Solstice eve. Grange Stone Circle at HX, Limerick, Ireland. The setting sun throws a great tree shadow slap bang in the centre of the circle as a few suck-calves (Irish farming expression) laze in the evening sunshine.
Awesome or what?!
Wicked MB!!!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Local
Posted on October 14, 2016
Weekly Photo Challenge – Mirror
Posted on September 2, 2016
Followers of the HX Report will have seen this one before. It’s a shot taken on solstice morning, 21 June 2014, of Knockfennel Hill, which overlooks Lough Gur lake in MB’s HX homeland. MB took the shot in perfect early-morning calm, when there wasn’t a whisper of wind in the air.
The perfectly still lake surface was like clear glass, which provided the perfect mirror for the adjacent hill and the sky overhead. At left of pic, one can see a small white cloud in the sky and its mirror reflection on the surface of the water. The dark tree and its reflection provide some additional contrast to the shot and a point of interest. MBs perfect mirror!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Landscape
Posted on April 1, 2016
This weeks photo challenge from Cheri is Landscape.
As part of the Summer Solstice Festival back home in HX every June, the festival organisers host a ‘Long walk for the Long Day’ on 21 June, the solstice day. It’s generally around the lake area, with the permission of local farmers. The scenery is stunning; although ten-a-penny in Ireland. When you live in the Middle East desert for a number of years, you more fully appreciate just how stunning it actually is.
MB took this shot on a rainy 21 June evening last year, 2015. Awesome shot MB. Thanks lads.
Trip Home – The End!
Posted on March 21, 2016
MB is well & truly done with the trip home photos after this one. Read More
Trip Home – Cattlescape
Posted on March 19, 2016
On seeing the cattle in front of the cottage, MB stopped his car in the middle of a quiet country road not far from his own house, hit the handbrake and left the engine running as abandoned his vehicle for a few moments – camera in hand. Read More
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