It's that time of year again .  Spring, my favourite season.   
I am a self confessed sufferer of that condition known as  S.A.D. Seasonally Affected Disorder....  I have been called many things over the years, but it is sad to be labelled Sad ' !  Living in Cork, Ireland there is no escape from the seasons. I am not complaining, I chose to live here. I merely comment on things as they are.  It is part of the human condition to have favourites and some not so favourites.  My not so ' happens to be winter ..  Autumn though,  I  like more, with its beautiful colours as the follage slowly changes from greens to wonderful reds, browns and Oranges.  It is a good time for a photographer , although tinged with the knowledge that Summer has passed and Winter on it's way........... Back to Spring .  A season of rebirth. Nature never fails to amaze me as everything around us slowly gathers momentum.  A wonder of nature indeed. As the evenings start to stretch', so does mother natures subjects . Without fail. Something as simple as seeing the buds and leafs on the trees start to shoot . Like some time lapse video, but a little slower.  If we blink though, we miss the spectacle . There are so many things going on though that it is easy to not to see it.  We all have busy lives, rushing from one schedule to the other. We seem to be watching the screen on our mobiles and iPads, ensconced in social media, sometimes, to miss Natures new offerings.  As a keen photographer I am continually looking at the light' . How it falls on our surroundings . Morning and evenings have very different looks',  when the light is low in the sky, either building or settling down in the horizon. Either I get up early, or head off later in the evening to capture that light . My preference is evening. The light at the end of day is mesmerising to me. 

The last light of the day as an Angler at Cobh harbour, Cork throws his line in one more time '  No-one is safe from my lens ( ! ) . Actually I did approach this subject and ask his consent, which although is not a necessity , but polite and can sometimes provide dividends .  For this shot I was using a wide angle lens on my Canon 5DSR digital camera. It required that I move in close to the angler to frame the shot .  I under exposed a little, shooting directly into the sun to produce that Silhouette effect that I think works well here.  No model release required here.!  the beauty of the Silhouette image. These sort of images do well in image Libraries as stock photography, which normally requires releases from subjects in shot.
I will end this post with reference to the Title .. Spring is winning the battle with winter, although I hear in Scotland they have significant snow .  Even normally moderate county Cork had showers of frozen hail stones yesterday. Temperatures dropped to about 5c for a short time, a  reminder that each season fights for its territory, eventually giving up to the next. As nature plays out it's survival of the fittest.  Thanks for reading...

Photography, apart from being a profession, also provides the soul with unending material to refresh and renew ones outlook on life  .  Living just outside Cork City, It never fails to surprise me with the numerous locations to find inspiration and images.  Take for example Cobh, just a fifteen minute drive from my location. Steeped in history, Cobh formerly known as Queenstown, is on the south side of Great island in Cork Harbour. Cobh is home to Irelands only dedicated cruise terminal attracting tourists from all over the world, its Maritime history a magnet with its association with the RMS Titanic. For AJ Photography and for my own personal work, I often find myself wandering the streets of the Harbour town with Camera in hand. Looking out across the Harbour ( the World's second largest natural Harbour ) it is easy to image the Titanic at anchor just outside the mouth to the harbour, as passengers were transported to the liner before its fateful journey. There is a memorial garden close to the Cork coastguard building, which carries the names of those lost at sea. Indeed there are several memorials to both the Titanic and the Lusitania . The Lusitania was a British ocean liner which was sunk by German submarines in World War 1, causing a major diplomatic uproar. She was also run by the Cunard line and was  based in Liverpool. Her wreck lies about 11 miles off the old head of Kinsale lighthouse. 1,198 souls were lost when the liner sank.
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THE NAVIGATOR'
This Sculpture by Mary Gregory is located on the Cobh waterfront . Created in bronze, the statue denotes a Christ like figure sitting in a boat shaped tub. He holds in his hands a small boat , looking out to sea . It is supposed to represent the guiding force of a benevolent Christ, helping weak and vulnerable human beings as they battle against the seas storms.. Whatever you believe in, .you cannot but be touched by the significance of this gesture taking into account the nearby sea and historical Maritime history of Cobh.

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Another image from Cobh shot by AJ Photography.  This is a bronze statue of Irish Olympic Hero Sonia O'Sullivan a native of Cobh. Commissioned by Cobh tourism , the statue is located in the centre of Cobh town, with the Iconic St. Coleman's Cathedral in the background.

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