In September 2014, I had the opportunity to go to Ireland for a week with my friend. This was a dream come true because I had once seen a photo of the Cliffs of Moher in a magazine and thought “I need to go there before I die.” It was the first time I left the country since 2005 when I went to Japan (another story I’ll share in the future!).
I was dreaming of misty green rolling hills and ocean fog. The kind of scenery you see in movies. We ended up with sunny, 75F degree weather almost the whole week! Not that we complained.
We were in Ireland.
I took my medium format film camera (not my digital) for this trip because I really wanted to soak in the experiences. When I use my digital camera, I can get distracted by what’s on the back of the LCD. With film, you take a shot and go (of course, you have to know how to properly expose, but is that part of the fun).
Camera details: Contax 645, 80mm f/2 Zeiss lens. Films: Kodak Portra 400 & 800, Fuji 400h, Kodak Tmax 400, Ilford Delta 3200.
We flew into Dublin, drove across the country to the west coast to see the Cliffs of Moher, stopping along the way in beautiful, quaint little towns, spending the week with a very loose itinerary (booking our B&B’s as we went), and experiencing the beauty that surrounded us.
When I travel, I prefer to do it spontaneously - planning as I go. UNLESS there is something specific I want to see (like a special landmark or something that requires pre-purchased tickets). Traveling in this carefree way is not everyone’s cup of tea. Luckily, my friend was in the same mindset. The week was perfect!
One of my favorite parts of the trip was renting a pub that was converted to a self-catering B&B! It was called Conroy's Bar in Aglish. It was a tiny, quiet town (I mean seriously... like 15 buildings). Perfect for relaxing and a great stop from East to West coast!
I hope to return to Ireland some day - it's such a beautiful country!
You can see my full set of images here.
I highly recommend going in September, it was glorious weather and everything was lush.