Interest and Incongruity

Until the advent of digital technology I'd only used cameras for holiday snaps; then I got myself a Canon Sureshot, which although now only nine years old, is already a museum piece, with it's 64MB memory card and the four AA batteries needed to power it up. By the time I bought my Ixus 850 I'd discovered Picasa and was also bringing my dormant Photoshop skills into play.

When you have the ability to take a hundred photos a day (yes, I've done that!) it's easy to lose track of them, and useful sometimes to look back through the archive; you unearth all sorts of forgotten bits and pieces which deserve a bit of an airing. I've dug three out to share on today's blog; not the most scenic, or the prettiest, but ones where something unusual caught my eye.
















The Ballroom of Imagination and Desire, Waterville, Co Kerry
© Teresa Kirkpatrick, 2005

The first was taken on a holiday in County Kerry; we were taking a walk around Waterville when I spotted this doorway up an alley. It refers to an art exhibition held four years previously; there was something haunting and at the same time incongruous about it. It's still one of my favourite Ireland photos.


















Arnemetia's, Buxton
© Teresa Kirkpatrick, 2005

The next photo is the window of Arnemetia's the Purple Shop in Market Street, Buxton. We were staying just around the corner for the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival; every time we passed this window I had to stop and look! When I took the photo I knew that the houses opposite would be reflected in the glass but I hadn't realised how successful the effect would be. Again, it was the incongruity of finding a lovely little New Age shop in a side street of Buxton which first grabbed my attention - although, when I think about it, why not?

Shed, Ballinskelligs Pier

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2008

The final photo is a more recent shot of a shed near Ballinskelligs Pier in Co Kerry. It's a lovely area with beautiful scenery, so why this, you may ask? I liked the colours and textures of the paint, and the stone, and the bits and bobs lying about. The shed itself isn't incongruous - it fits perfectly well in its own surroundings - but perhaps my choice of subject is!

We are all photographers now; the digital age has seen to that. Long may it continue!