Last Sunday, on 28th of March, the weather encouraged everyone to go out and enjoy a beautiful spring day. I remembered a nice location that we visited last December - Ardgillan Castle in Co. Fingal, just north of Skerries. This time, the bright atmosphere, little to none wind, scattered clouds on a crisp blue sky were all in the right place at the right time for a fruitful photo session. Little I knew then what surprise was lying around the corner.
When I arrived on the lawns of the castle, the wind picked up speed and masses of clouds marched above. No surprise here, we are in Ireland. I quickly mounted up my gear, the camera on monopod, fixed 70mm lens with ND 0.6 gradient filter and I started going downhill towards the castle. The first image I took was OK for a warm-up. I am not fond of it , but I'll post it anyway to compare it with the next ones.
It was almost impossible to avoid having moving scenery and no clouds in the images as I took the photos for the panoramas. The Mourne Mountains welcomed me in the scene. They are the guardians of the northern counties. It almost feels like you can rich them.
I noticed the guarding trees in front of the castle as I'm approaching the bottom of the lawn and there's no way I can fit them in a shot from where I stand. I move to the right and I cross the alley to get in a better location. While I set up the camera I see one of the demesne security guard stopping his vehicle next to me to avoid wrecking my shot. I take the shot(s), thumbs up to him and we both smile as he goes away.
We sat down in the garden enjoying a cup of tea. Suddenly there was movement on the road coming down towards the castle. A row of vehicles started to descend the hill. I have a keen eye for cars, but not in a million years I would have thought that THESE cars will park right beside me, in this perfect weather condition while I have my camera with me. I quickly walked on the other side of the castle where the scene was portrayed as follows:
Believe it or not, almost 20 classic cars happened to be there! All of them Mercedes Benz. SL, SEL, CE, S, saloons and coupes, convertibles and hard tops, vintage classic and contemporary.
Mercedes Benz Leinster Branch went out for a ride in the country side. They were smiling, enjoying their experience, admiring their cars and especially the other cars. There was no spot of dust, no speckle or anything that can spoil the image I was witnessing.
Succesful trip that was! And it was the beginning of a different approach on this blog. I hope to get closer to the subject of everyday photography. I will enjoy taking photos the same way these two guys were sitting and reflecting on their great adventure.
Obvious there were many smiles and happy faces, me included. The same guy that gave me the thumbs up for doing what I'm doing, got a part in it too. He felt as important as I did just for being there and for holding a camera.
