Stalking the Cat

A year ago no one would have guessed that we would be locked at home, separated from our friends and family, struggling to keep our emotions and feelings in check.

On top of it all, the weather has been pretty dry and sunny for a while now, tempting people to leave their houses and break the confinement rules. While some of us are staying put and being good we read about others that go to the beaches, have fun, who knows how careful they are....

Not very fair is it!!

So to occupy myself the other day I stalked the cat in the garden with my camera...Why not..For me it was fun... Doing your hobbies and things you enjoy helps make the time pass faster and it is definitely more entertaining.

  

Just Chilling

 Looking for more cat images, find them in MY ADOBE CAT ALBUM

My Deepest Secret

Let me start with that. I walk a lot. About 10 km every day. I go to places at very early times of the day when there is no one around. Sometimes I see things that I am positive no one else does. I know that because I am the only one there every day, There is never anyone around to see what I see!

I have this gift, I can freeze a moment or a scene in my mind, as if I am looking at a photo already made before it is taken, I can see it the way it will be. I only have to press the shutter and voila.
That moment is captured in the camera forever. Well, sometimes it doesn't work out as it should have simply due to technical difficulties or my equipment limitations but most of the time I get what I want.

Doing this is what excites my mind the most, this is what photography is for me: capturing reality, catching the best light and the best colours to make the perfect moment in time and projecting it on paper or on the screens of your computers and phones. Simply Beautiful!!

Being able to share moments that others are not able to see this is what I love to do. I want to show you or remind you of all those amazing fleeting moments that sometimes disappear in a matter of seconds but are so amazingly stunning they deserve to be seen. Most of the time life just drifts us along and we have no time to look around so I want to remind everyone about the simple everyday things that I find around the corner or along the road, just out in the village or out in the woods next door. I never travel far. All my photography is local from the Galway area, this is why I call my latest project Connemara Stories.

My eyes are always distracted by fantastic scenes when I walk and if I am in a hurry believe me it is very difficult to get to my destination on time.


Let's say I get distracted easily.

Like from a bunch of cows for example (it's not my fault they even came to see me!!!) or an amazing Connemara pony just standing there looking at me peacefully and being so extraordinarily photogenic or simply a perfectly composed landscape that has to be taken because it sings to my soul and I just have to pause and take that shot!!

And well that's it really. I simply need to take photos to keep my mind clear and free, to have my soul happy and I need to be able to create something or I will slowly wither and die inside bit by bit..

In the meantime I really wish to spread the word, I wish to reveal the magnificence of the lands that people travel across oceans to visit, unveil the secrets of the wonderful villages, woods and hidden lanes and hope more new photographs will find their place into my Connemara Stories.  

Connemara pony grazing in the grasss

Entrance to Connemara National Park from direction of Recess

My Deepest Secret by Annie Japaud

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

Quite often I used to see sea gulls waiting patiently for lunch in front of the Fisherman 

@ the Galway Shopping Center, Headford road, Galway. 

Well, they might not have been the same ones every time but there was always an expectant audience camping on the cars and vans around. 

I wonder if the owners found it a nuisance and did they ever gave them anything

We Like it Fresh

Probably not, otherwise there will be no stopping them!!
Has anyone watched THE BIRDS?

Well, today we discovered that the Fisherman shop has closed at the shopping center, which is sad.
And guess what?! There wasn't a single sea gull around. 

"SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH" 

 I wonder, who would recognise that title?

It's from one of my favourite writers 

My New Friend

The First day I saw him, 

he was in the middle of the field, about 15- 20 meters away and he didn't even look at me, even though I paused and said hi. 

On my way back, nine hours later, he was still there. I said hi, he just glanced at me and continued grazing.

Second day, he saw me coming along the road, looked at me sideways and pretended he didn't care. I stopped, talked to him for a while and moved on.

Third day, he was by the gate, as if he just happened to be there on his way to somewhere else. I stopped and talked to him, introducing myself finally close and personal.
He didn't come near me and stayed just out of reach. 

Day four, he was at the gate obviously waiting for me, since I always pass at the same time and horses have such a great sense of time keeping. He knew when to expect me.
We greeted each other, I patted him on the neck and he eyed me suspiciously but did not move away.

In the afternoon I had a chance to pass by him again, he was in the field but came across all the way to greet me and was very curious for some reason. I was quite happy.

 

Day five, he was waiting for me with his rump stuck to the gate, batting his eyes at me so I had to stop and scratch his gorgeous behind.
After that  I said "Bye" and continued on my way.

I think, I definitely have a new friend. 

 

Here is another HORSE STORY 

The Gorgeous Green

By this time of the year I am starved for green and colour in my life. 

Finally, it is happening. No matter where you look it's like a jungle bushy, fluffy, exploding with life, textures, shapes and hundreds shades of green.

Honestly, I was walking the dogs early this morning, staring at the countryside around me and trying to differentiate all the nuances and hues of green . Well, it is simply impossible.

While working on my project, Walking Connemara, I recently discovered the Curra woods area just out of Moycullen, Co. Galway. It always amazes me how the most amazing places can be discovered just a few minutes away from a village or a own. And if you are not a local you wouldn't know about them, Or there is the other option, you could live on the other side of the village and just never go there ;-)

So here I have selected just a few images from the last few weeks, showing you the beautiful Curra area, lost in The Gorgeous Green

 

Curra Forest, Moycullen, Co Galway, Ireland  

Annie Japaud Photography 

If you like DAISIES have a look HERE

Snowy Ireland

I think it will take a while for Ireland to get back to normal after Storm Emma.  

The snow could be gone for now but it is still very cold and patches of dirty whiteness are still visible everywhere. A lot of people suffered in many ways, local businesses had to close, suppliers did not deliver, the country was literally at a standstill  for a few days.

Our water is not completely back even though we managed to have showers yesterday!! Believe me it is the best feeling in the world to be clean!!

One thing I noticed is that snowmen sprang up everywhere in every garden like an army, people managed to see the bright side of things to get through it all!!  Doesn't that show a great spirit and a wonderful sense of humor? Irish people a well know for that I believe.

So to finish on a brighter note, here are some snowy shots from Ireland, prettier and nicer than my previous post which was a bit sinister and had an end of the world feel to it. 

Enjoy Snowy Ireland ;-)

The Snow Monster Called Emma