The Munchkin's Notebook

Today we got up at 7:00 AM had breakfast, finished packing up, and then checked out of the hotel.  We took a taxi from our hotel to the rental car place to pick up our car, which is an Audi A5.  Thankfully it has Android Auto so we can easily get directions to our destinations.  The first destination of the day was the Irish National Stud and Gardens, about 45 minutes outside of Dublin.  We started with the self-guided tour of the Japanese gardens which had 15 marked spots associated with a life journey.  It was a nice garden. Then we went to the other side and looked at the other gardens and the retired racehorses.  We only saw two of them because they were out in their respective pastures, and we just didn’t feel like walking the whole length of the pasture.  We also saw the ruins of a small abbey that was on the property.  After a quick walk through the gift shop, we got back on the road headed to our next stop, The Rock of Cashel. Part of th...

Ha'penny Bridge After sleeping for 12 hours, we got up and headed down to breakfast.  Breakfast was a choice of ordering off the menu or doing the buffet which was a traditional Irish Breakfast. We ordered off the menu. We both had Belgian waffles with bacon; the bacon was sandwich between two waffles.  The waffles were good but a but sweeter than what we get in the US. The waffles were supposed to come with a berry compote but only came with syrup, disappointing.  After breakfast we went back to the room to get ready to head out for the day. Our first stop for the day was Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the long room of the library.   The ticket said it was a tour, but it really isn’t a tour, it is a self-paced walk through some information panels describing the history and making of the Book of Kells, then you walk into the room where the book is housed.   It is a book with fancy pages.   I saw it and can now check that off the list.  ...

June 3 started with us dropping Teddy off at the pet sitter and then stopping at Tysons on the way back for lunch, then REI to pick up a last-minute item.   Thankfully, we didn’t have to rush to get home or to the airport since our flight didn’t leave till 8:55PM.    We checked in for our flight around 5:30PM, we were flying first/business class on Aer Lingus, which gave access to the British Airways lounge.   The British Airways lounge felt classy and upscale. Compared to the Delta lounges we have previously been in; this lounge has table service (i.e., order from the menu and they bring it to you) as well as a very nice buffet.   The buffet had a sampling of Indian food, mini chicken wellingtons, finger sandwiches, meats, cheeses, and deserts.   The other main difference is the beer and wine are free, as compared to other places that only have free soft drinks, coffee, tea, and water.   We hung out in the lounge till 7:00PM.   We probably woul...

On May 27th, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet up at the Walker Nature Center in Reston, VA.   The Nature Center is part of a small park that has a pavilion and sever short wooded walking paths.  As well as a paved path that leads down to stream. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 1 Speed light Trigger Light stand 18-200mm lens Camera Settings: This was a completely outdoor event, in a wooded area that had a mix of sun and shade. The biggest hurdle here was green cast due to all the green leaves.   For this event I shot at ISO 100 and ISO 200.  I was trying to utilize the natural light, while just filling with my flash so my aperture was moving around quite a bit. My aperture ranged from F4.5 to F9 with most shots being taken at F6.3. I was running a delicate balance of light and depth of field, as I usually prefer to shoot closer to F9 for the increased depth of field/focus area.  My shutter speed ranged from 1/30 t...

City Skyline from ferry We went up New York City on May 11 th for a one day photography workshop on Ellis Island (see other blog post: Finding the Light on Ellis Island ) and decided if we were up there to just spend the weekend and take in the city.  We spent a mere day and half exploring the city, and only saw a few of the big attractions. We flew into LaGuardia, which was closer to our hotel then JFK. Our hotel was in lower Manhattan near the Financial District and Battery Park. We chose this area because it was the area the workshop recommended, we also found it was quieter section of the city. Arriving at the airport and grabbing a taxi was fairly easy. The taxi fare was a bit expensive, but I was expecting that, and it let us check NYC taxi experience off our bucket list. We had a nice view of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, from our hotel room on the 34 th floor.   We grabbed a light dinner at Bill’s Bar & Burgers after we dropped luggage in our room and ...

ISO 100, Aperture F9, Shutter 1/320s, Focal Length 60mm On May 12 th , my husband and I attended a photo workshop on Ellis Island hosted by Joe McNally and Ari Espay through Fancy Girl/Street Boy Productions . This was a one-day workshop and one of McNally’s more affordable workshops, at around $750 per person for the day.  It was worth the price as we had access to the closed side of Ellis Island, hands-on photo instruction, were able to talk one-on-one with Joe and Ari, a flash demo, a light breakfast, and lunch. The day started with a 5:45AM arrival at the Battery Park Pier, so we could take the employee ferry over to Ellis Island.   Once gathered at the pier we went through security, and boarded the 6:30AM ferry to the island. We were met at the Ellis Island pier by Joe McNally and members of the Save Ellis Island team.   Save Ellis Island is a non-profit that works in conjunction with the National Parks to maintain the hospital side of Ellis Island.   From ...

On April 22, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet up at Burleigh Manor Animal Sanctuary and Eco Retreat in Ellicott City, MD.   The Federal-style manor house was built by Colonel Rezin Hammond in 1802 as well as several other out buildings.   The sanctuary provides unwanted, neglected and abused farm animals a home to live out the rest of their days. The animals are well cared for and guest of the manor can interact with the animals. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 1 Speed light Small square soft box Trigger Light stand 18-200mm lens Camera Settings: For this shoot we had access to all the outdoor areas, to include a few of the animal pens.   We also had access to the wine cellar, guest cottage, and pool area, which I did not use for my mini sessions.   For this event I shot at ISO 100 and ISO 200.   There was a big storm rolling in that day and the lighting conditions where slowly changing throughout the course of the eve...