West Cork Photography Breaks - Young success

For many children, these past couple of weeks have been the school half-term holidays, with many kids either complaining of boredom or spending their whole time glued to assorted gaming or video screens. It was during a half-term last week, that I ran a special and early West Cork Photography Breaks workshop. No boredom encountered here and indeed, one student had reason to be extra happy. Why would that be? After only four days of beginning to learn the art of photography, this young lad became a published photographer!

At just 7 and three-quarters years old (yes, that three-quarters is important at his age although his birthday isn't far off) Sam was my youngest and most inexperienced photographer to come along and take in the new (to him) sights of West Cork. Indeed, so new was it, it was his first time to travel on a ferry, his first time to Ireland, his first time being able to visit beaches AND his first time to pick up a camera. To date, he had snapped a few selfies on his tablet he used to play games on but to start to understand what makes a picture began the day he arrived at WCPB HQ.

Without too much thought, he was snapping away on his tablet, taking pictures of those around him, until a passing suggestion was made.
"Do you focus on the eyes?"
He happened to be left to his own devices for a while and when I returned I was greeted with,
"Look! I have taken a picture of Bullseye* I set him up on the table and focused on his eyes"
(*Bullseye is his 15" tall soft toy of the horse from Toy Story, which currently travels everywhere with him)
Wow! this kid was quick and I had just the perfect camera I could offer him to use in his little hands, in the form of an Olympus E-M10 + 14-42mm pancake lens. He didn't take too much persuading, and with the camera set to auto, as it was his first experience, we set off to the beach in search of new things.

He soon learnt how to hold the camera and how to focus, and he snapped away on each new thing he saw - barnacles, limpets, seaweed...and we all encounter things for the first time at some point. At one end of the beach we came across a piece of driftwood, this flotsam covered in something I had myself, only encountered a few years before on a West Cork beach. Getting into the swing of things by now, I suggested Sam should get down to a lower viewpoint. With an air of confidence, he laid down and rattled off a couple of shots (whilst I snapped him at work!)

Returning back to the house, he was keen to look over my shoulder as I loaded the results of his snapping onto my laptop. I was impressed! Sam clearly had an eye for a picture and had captured a great shot of these strange creatures, which he identified himself by looking up and comparing pictures in a super book by Maya Plass - RSPB Handbook of the Seashore
We later used the same really comprehensive book to identify his other 'finds' too. (More of those in the next blog)

Gooseneck barnacles - Lepas anatifera (Yes, he learnt that living things also have Latin names too, even if he couldn't get his tongue around some of them!) These were what he had found, probably washed up a few days before as they were no longer alive, unlike the live examples I had found back in 2011.

As with all of my West Cork Photography Breaks workshops, I encourage the students to select a favourite image from the first two days, which, on the Monday morning, is prepared and sent to the local newspaper, The Southern Star. This is then considered for their 'Reader's Picture of the Week' slot, with the possible accolade of becoming published, and winning a canvas print too.
...Roll on to Thursday, publication day, and I dashed into the local shop to turn down the corner of the newspaper to reveal the picture on the back page.
'Fist pump'
My novice photographer had impressed the editor, and I was so delighted for him.
How many of his school friends could go back to school with such a great 'what I did in my holidays' story to tell!

West Cork Photography Breaks runs for 4 weekends in the spring** and again for four weekend in the autumn.

**Sadly due to unforseen circumstances, the spring series has had to be cancelled.
However, the autumn weekends are still going ahead as scheduled...with the autumn being peak season for whale watching (subject to weather conditions)

Risso's Dolphin encounter

The first window in the weather for a while for a trip out on the Holly Jo was yesterday afternoon, but as I was on the airport run with my West Cork Photography Breaks guests, it was disappointment all round that we couldn't take up a place on the boat. So, this morning I was able to hop on board with the promise I would let my guests have an insight into what they might have experienced. Such is the way of nature and weather, these trips can't unfortunately be guaranteed but here I was now, on a beautiful calm morning, heading out into West Cork waters.

Almost as soon as we turned east out of Castlehaven, there were shouts of 'Blow!' Observers on the cabin roof could see a huge mass of diving birds which in turn showed up the presence of at least two fin whales, which had been seen in a similar area yesterday afternoon. Promising!

Along the way, we paused briefly for a minke whale but our pot of gold would be to find the fin whale, so we pressed on towards Galley Head. We could still see the the seabird mass ahead of us and as we got closer, it was clear that the speed-merchants of the sea had motored off, leaving the birds to carry on forming a smaller baitball than the dolphins do, and which is just too small to be of interest the fin whales.

As we turned south through the gulls and gannets, it gave an opportunity to observe the guillemots who were resplendent in their winter plumage 'specatcles'.

Now the search was on for the fin whales once more but at the speed they travel, they could have been half way to Cork. We turned tack again and headed west and were soon joined by the ever delightful short beaked common dolphins, happy to bow ride.

As we were enjoying their antics, a shout came from the observation platform.

"What was that?! It's either a Risso's or an orca with a fin like that!"

We all trained our eyes on the sea ahead. An orca?! Now that would be something, as on the pre-sailing introduction, Colin always points out that we won't be finding orcas.

"Risso's - it's a Risso's!"

This seldom seen deep water dolphin was right there in front of us and we all looked out for 'that' fin with a taller and straighter profile which can be mistaken for an orca.

And there it was, not a fin whale today but instead a relative rarity in West Cork cetacean terms, and one that I hadn't yet ticked off my list. I was delighted. Not least because all of this was happening right on my home patch just east of the Stag Rocks.

We watched with excitement, and the original thought that there was just a solitary Risso's dolphin got updated to...there may be more than one.
And then...

...there were two - a Risso's mother and her calf.

How amazing!!



I will just have to wait until another time to tick off the orca but today, I was truly happy to have watched these rarities swim and breach - several times in the water around us.

Time was up - we had to head back to Reen Pier and just then, Colin got a phone call through

"We are watching fin whales lunge feeding off Galley Head...!!!"
Doh!



Thanks as always to Colin of Cork Whale Watch

Lusitania Centenary Commemoration, Cobh

Young Irish seaman stands silently in front of the
Lusitania Memorial

At 2.12pm on 7th May 1915 the RMS Lusitana sank off the coast of Ireland, after being hit by a torpedo from a German submarine, with the loss of 1,198 lives. Many of the survivors were brought ashore to what was then called Queenstown.

On Thursday 7th May 2015 a special day of commemoration was held in the town - now called Cobh, with the Irish President, Michael D. Higgins attending a special Commemoration Ceremony, centered around the Lusitania Memorial, and remembering the tragic events of 100 years ago.

The morning began with a Commemoration Mass in St Colman's Cathedral, where the ladies of the Cobh Animation Team were on hand to welcome and guide the visitors into the cathedral. Many of those attending this special mass were relatives of those who were lost in the tragedy.

This was followed by the unveiling of glass headstones at the graves of the Lusitania victims.

Meanwhile, down on the promenade, preparations were under way for the start of the main commemoration ceremony.

Large crowds had gathered, and all opportunities were taken to find a vantage point, whilst awaiting the arrival of Irish President Michael D. Higgins.

Following the raising of the standard, the President walked the inspection of the Guard of Honour.

With this part of the ceremony concluded, the official party moved to the main stage on the promenade, where the President went on to make his speech

Speeches were also made by officials from both the Port of Cork and Cunard, followed by a hymn and at 2.12pm the time that the Lusitania was hit by the torpedo, the Cunard, Queen Victoria sounded her whistle. She was alongside at Cobh having brought around 100 relatives of Lusitania victims to this special commemoration event.

Following the minutes silence, attention was brought back to the Lusitania Memorial, where wreath laying took place.

During the wreath laying ceremony, the President clearly had to contain his emotions for a moment. With the main ceremony now over, it was time for meeting the press for interviews and chatting to the gathered crowd before being whisked away in his official car.

*******

The Lusitania Memorial in Cobh, stands as a reminder to all those who lost their lives in this tragedy, and what was also a pivotal point of the First World War. With the loss of American lives, it was said to be the deciding factor for America to join the war.


As an aside to this whole event, I was contacted by my very first school friend, after having seen a couple of these images which I had posted on social media. She told me that her great grandfather, who came from North Wales, had been one of the fortunate ones to survive the sinking of the Lusitania. Story has it that he had tired of his merchant seaman role as a fireman at sea with Cunard, and went to join the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, only to die four months later at the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915.