HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Weekly Photo Challenge – Silence
Posted on January 17, 2018
A derelict 400-year-old HX church and a bunch of graves in early-morning mist. It doesn’t get more silent than that!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Weathered
Posted on January 11, 2018
There’s the trunk of an old tree a few hundred meters from MB’s mom’s house in south-west Ireland. It looks very much the worst-for-wear, weathered to a bare totem pole-like stick figure on the edge of the grassy field. Even most of the bark is now stripped bare. Where once upon a time birds might have nested or sung from the denseness of its branches and leaves, that possibility is now no more unless mother nature performs one of her regrowth miracles. But no sign of that yet. The tree itself, or ninety percent of it at least, succumbed to a storm some years back leaving only the forlorn and desolate looking trunk as a memory of greater and greener days.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Growth
Posted on January 4, 2018
MB took his awesome ‘8 Ducks A-Swimming’ photo one early misty morning back in HX-land over the Christmas holiday.
And what has the shot got to do with this week’s challenge MB? ie – Growth.
Well, not a lot lads to tell you all the truth. It features eight ducks a-swimming, and one can see some rushes protruding through the lake surface, growing, as it were. And remember, Spring will soon be here, when the mammy and daddy ducks will produce cuddly little baby ducks who will all grow up and continue the cycle of duck life, ad infinitum, unless Trump presses his ‘my button is bigger than your button’ button. Then the ‘ad infinitum’ thingy will be no more. And anyway lads, we shouldn’t always be bound by rules!
It’s far too early in the year to be turning the Photo Challenge into some sort of political statement MB, don’t you think?
Ok, ok lads. Let’s leave sleeping ducks lie for the moment, and just let’s concentrate our brains on the truly awesome nature of the photo.
Agree MB, it’s truly a wonderous shot. Truly ‘awesome’, to use your own phraseology, which should please you no end!
It does. Thank lads. You are an awesome bunch of followers!
Happy 2018 to one and all.
Weekly Photo Challenge – 2017 Favourites
Posted on December 21, 2017
MB was in the Grange Stone Circle at 6am this morning, on account of the fact that it was Winter Solstice Morning. And where else would any self-respecting inhabitant of HX-land want to be at such a time on such a date? Correct – The Grange Stone Circle.
Go only knows how many photos MB took this year in Russia, Lebanon, Qatar and Ireland. So he is not going to tax his brain or work his index finger to the bone by flicking back through them all to pick a ‘2017 favourite’. He will, instead, give just one shot to this week’s photo challenge from his visit to the stone circle this morning.
As followers would expect, MB took many awesome shots at the circle. Any one of a dozen or more of them could easily win a NatGeo photo competition or a Pulitzer, if MB could be bothered winning such piffling awards. But MB is bigger than mere awards and is just humbly happy to share his general awesomeness with faithful followers, free gratis, without compensation, or medals or pats on the back. However, he just might review that ridiculous position in 2018, if he could figure out how to milk his followers monetize his blog site. But that’s another matter. For another day.
MBs favourite photo from this morning (one of), caught a lucky split second one might think if one did not know MB so well. MB managed, by his sheer general awesomeness, to capture another photographer at the exact moment he fired his flash next to a candle that was burning in a small jar on the ground (thanks to friend MR, for that great candle!).
And there you have it lads. A brief history of one of the most awesome photos that any of you will see in 2017. Or 2018.
Will you send it to Nat Geo MB? No way lads. It would be completely wasted on them.
So happy Christmas to all. Thanks for all the crack in 2017. Have a great 2018.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Ascend
Posted on December 13, 2017
Ascend.
MB has chosen a shot from his May 2017 visit to Moscow for this weeks challenge. The domed spires of the churches seem to ascend to the heavens at Cathedral Square, which lies within the Kremlin complex in Moscow’s historic city centre.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Cheeky
Posted on December 6, 2017
Weekly Photo Challenge – Serene
Posted on November 30, 2017
New Church graveyard at HX on the shore of Lough Gur lake. Live doesn’t much more serene than that!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Transformation
Posted on November 23, 2017
MB has selected a shot from his HX lake from December 2012. The day was dark and wintery. But as MB watched the dull skyline, the sun managed to find a porthole through the dark grey clouds and transform the entire scene.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Experimental
Posted on November 15, 2017
Weekly Photo Challenge – Temporary
Posted on November 9, 2017
Weekly Photo Challenge – Peek
Posted on November 1, 2017
MB’s a bit rushed on the photo challenge this evening. He has selected a shot that qualifies on two counts:
1. The crow looks like he is taking a peek at something in the distance.
2. We can see the crow’s beak – and beak rhymes with peek (you are totally hilarious MB!!!)
Weekly Photo Challenge – Rounded
Posted on October 25, 2017
Residents of the USA will be familiar with the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. In Dubai, the fountains of the Dubai Mall, next to the Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building), are similar, but bigger. The choreographed movements of the water to some great musical pieces are accompanied by flashing lights along the entire length of the Burj K. The fountains, music and light show is a spectacular sight as you dine in one of the many open-air cafes facing the fountain area, or just observe from the piazza.
This shot was taken by MB sometime in 2012 in early-evening. One must, however, see them in the darkness of night to fully appreciate the spectacle.
Weekly photo Challenge – Glow
Posted on October 19, 2017
MB attended a Red Bull Fighters event (motorbike stunt riders) in April 2012 in the JBR area of Dubai. The artificial lighting on the night caused much ‘glow’ and MB managed to capture a little of it. MB’s camera on the night wasn’t very high tech and it struggled to a large degree in the night light, as is evident in some of the pics. Read More
Weekly Photo Challenge – Scale
Posted on October 12, 2017
Weekly Photo Challenge – Pedestrian
Posted on October 4, 2017
The ruins of ancient Byblos look quite pedestrian today. The history of Byblos is far from pedestrian however and is worth a read and some research if you have the time.
The below shot was taken during MB’s recent trip to Lebanon when he attended a wedding next to the ancient ruins. The shot even features three pedestrians!
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