|
That evening back in Killarney, we got to savor two defining aspects of Irish
culture — a singing pub and Guinness stout, that rich, dark, frothy brew
from Dublin with a distinctive taste that can't be described but must be experienced.
The entire group was in attendance, and we were treated to good, solid Irish
home cooking, an excellent troupe of Irish girl dancers, soulful guitar and
keyboard playing, and the masterful singing of traditional Irish ballads by
the pub manager, who doubled as the emcee. (He is, of course, an Irish tenor!)
Once we had consumed a few pints of Guinness, we all joined in the singing,
and a few of us soloed, notably American Photo publisher Richard Rabinowitz,
who did himself proud with a mellifluous rendition of that ancient Irish ballad,
Hava Nagilah. Later on, one brave trekker stood before the microphone and lip-synced
a naughty song to the uproarious accompaniment of the emcee, who turned out
to be a world class mimic and barnyard-sound ventriloquist. There was much raising
and clinking of glasses, plenty of boisterous raillery, and a prodigious amount
of picture taking during all these festivities. None of us was feeling any pain
as we bid adieu to Laurel's Pub and staggered through the nearly deserted streets
of Killarney back to our hotel.
The next day we had to rise bright and early to board the Tarbert Ferry over
the Mouth of the Shannon before continuing north to Galway. Partly as a consequence
of last night's revelry, we left about 15 minutes late and the bus driver explained
that the drive north through Tralee and Listowel could not be taken at a break-neck
pace. Nevertheless, despite some hand wringing and dire predictions, we made
the ferry with 10 minutes to spare. After a bracing crossing in a light mist,
our poncho-covered crowd reboarded the buses and spent the rest of the day in
a leisurely drive north along the coastline, stopping frequently along the way
to shoot pictures of spectacular scenery, ruins, inquisitive cows, and standoffish
sheep. Included in our informal itinerary were Moore Bay at Kilkee, Spanish
Point, the Cliffs of Moher and O'Brien's Tower, ancient megalithic tombs, and
Black Head, a pretty point of land on Galway Bay opposite the city of Galway.
The roads were often narrow and we couldn't always pull our great lumbering
coach off the road to stop at all the picturesque places en route, but our bus
driver was accommodating and did stop for impromptu photo opportunities at the
request of trekkers whenever he could. In this way, many of us were able to
get unique photographs the average tourist would have missed. It rained on and
off."It's typical Irish weather," noted our driver. "lots of
liquid sunshine, but just wait 15 minutes and it'll change."
He was right, and by the time we checked into the Galway Bay Hotel around
6PM, weak sunshine was breaking through the overcast. Our new digs were "modern
traditional" rather than Victorian (elevators instead of winding staircases)
but quite lovely in their own way. Our room was ample and well appointed, and
the huge dining room overlooking the bay was positively elegant.
After an almost sumptuous dinner, we had film reviews in the cavernous conference
room downstairs. Maybe they should call them "image reviews" in this
film-plus-digital age, but these sessions are where you really learn something
about your photography, namely what you're doing right and wrong, and how you
can improve your pictures. Basically, you bring a handful of your best images
to be critiqued, mostly by the mentors, but also by fellow trekkers. There are
also spirited general discussions on various photographic techniques, both film-based
and digital, and a lot of back-and-forth debate on everything from cameras and
lenses to films and digital image-processing software. It's a great learning
experience.
Obviously, these image-evaluation events depend on having an efficient method
of dealing with film processing (as well as printing or slide projection), and
the downloading and display of digital images. Well, I must say, the organizers
did a fantastic job in providing these services—hardly an easy task given
over 80 photographers shooting color print , black-and-white, and slide film
in 35mm and roll film formats, plus the digital devotees using everything from
point-and-shoots to high-end digital SLRs. Things got a little hairy on the
digital side (meaning the process took a bit longer than expected until the
kinks got ironed out), but for color print film shooters, it was a breeze—film
was picked up at the end of the day and top quality prints were delivered the
next morning. To do this, the processing guys had to drive to Dublin every night—my
new Irish tweed cap is off to them! Black-and-white, slide and 120 roll film
took a bit longer. Many digital shooters brought laptops and downloaded and
even enhanced their own images, which were then shown by video projection. The
sheer number of computers and other high-tech electronic gear the trek staff
shleppped to Ireland was impressive indeed.
|
