Shot no.46

Photos and video produced at Ticknock Forest, Dublin, Ireland in December 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm, Canon 77D with Canon lens 50mm f/1.8 and DJI Mavic Air.

A new place that I discovered in Dublin, Ticknock Forest at the Dublin Mountains. I heard about this place maybe 6 months ago but never had a chance to go there. This time, my motivation was to do the Tchikita Christmas Video. Basically is the video at the start of this post. If you follow me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vitor_mc_oliveira/) you probably saw my Tchikita videos where I dance that music in a place with a nice view (https://www.instagram.com/p/B11l2G2A1Uu/, https://www.instagram.com/p/B0gjQ1rgt8h/). 

It was a very cold day in December, late afternoon, the sun was nearly setting down so it was the perfect time to shoot the video. My idea was to shoot only the video but the landscape surrounding me was so, so, so beautiful that I had to take a few photos. Thank God because that gave me the motivation to create some content for the blog.

Ticknock is located in the Dublin Mountains, has good access with carpark if you are driving and the area is also served by the Dublin Bus 44B. Only about a half-hour from Dublin City Centre. Ticknock offers 10km of mountain and forest walks with an amazing view over Dublin City, Dublin Bay, Bray Head and the Wicklow Mountains. The park has mountain bike trails and a shop where you can also rent your bike and equipment with a little coffee shop! There are several marked trails and when you are tired you can stop for a picnic! This visit was very quick but was enough to make me plan the next visit! I will do the Fairy Castle Loop trail and I promise many photos!

See you in 2020 with many more adventures!

Have a happy Christmas and a wonderful 2020!

P.S.: Thank you to Marta who was a crucial help to produce the video!

Solo Shot 35

Photo taken at Cliff's of Moher, Co. Clare Ireland in September 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm.

I won't be talking much about this photo and about this trip because I have a huge amount of photos from the Cliffs. I'll, eventually, do a post about the Cliffs where I spent literally over 5h shooting. Unfortunately, I have no aerial shots because drones are not allowed and even if they were, it was extremely windy so (so windy that the water that would normally fall down the cliffs, was coming up!!!) I wouldn't be able to fly it.

This photo was only a macro experience and because you can't identify the location I decided to post it as a Solo Shot. Do you like it?

Solo Shot 34

Photo taken at Ireland's Eye, Dublin, Ireland in July 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm.

On my second visit to Ireland's Eye, I went on a mission to collect footage of an old church that there is on the island. The walk to that church is made between high bushes surrounded by those beautiful purple flowers and of course, nearly every flower had a bee and eventually, they got used to my presence and allowed me to get closer and take some of my first macro photos! This is the best one!

WTL Video 5

Footage captured with Lumix G9, DJI Osmo Action and DJI Mavic Air at Bective Abbey, County Meath, Ireland.

[EN]Hi guys! After being so long without editing a video, this one didn't make any easier for me! I had to edit the video from scratch 4 times!!! How frustrating! The first 2 times, I tried to edit on my laptop while I was in Portugal using the DaVinci Resolve editor. It didn't work because my laptop couldn't cope with so many heavy files so it was taking forever but I still tried a second time thinking that after a night of sleep the laptop would fill fit to edit silly me!

After returning to Ireland tried to edit on mine iMac still using the DaVinci Resolve... great piece of work unfortunately when it was finished, ready to save the DaVinci decided to crash and to delete all my work... I nearly cried!

At this stage, I had decided that I would just forget that footage and all my bad luck. However, I had to try one more time, now using the iMovie. I knew when I started that the final result wouldn't be the same as if I had done it on the DaVinci. So I started, I was quite happy with the job but when I uploaded it to YouTube I realized that iMovie created the project on 720p... I nearly broke the place!!! Grrrrrrrrr

Anyway, I uploaded like that. I think you can have an idea of the place.

Bective Abbey was founded in 1147 for the Cistercian Order by Murchad O'Maeil-Sheachlainn, King of Meath. It was Ireland's second Cistercian Abbey; a ‘daughter house' to nearby Mellifont. Bective became an important monastic settlement but was suppressed following the dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII in1543. The lands were then rented, and the monastery began to be used as a fortified house. The tower was constructed at this time, granting the structure an imposing appearance. The remains now visible at the Abbey date mainly from the 13th to 15th centuries. They include the church, chapter house, and cloister. The cloister ruins are particularly well-preserved and feature pointed, gothic arches typical of Cistercian architecture.

Now, the most important, did you know that the abbey was used as the film setting for Mel Gibson's "Braveheart"? Comment below if you recognize any of the film settings.

[PT] Oi pessoal! Depois de tanto tempo sem editar um vídeo, este não facilitou nada para mim! Eu tive que editar o vídeo do zero 4 vezes !!! Quão frustrante! Nas primeiras duas vezes, tentei editar no meu portátil enquanto estava em Portugal usando o editor DaVinci Resolve. Não funcionou porque o meu portátil não suportava tantos ficheiros pesados, pelo que demorava uma eternidade a concluir uma acção, mas ainda tentei uma segunda vez a pensar que, depois de uma noite de sono, o portátil recuperaria a energia e cumprisse com a performance, que enganado eu estava!
Depois de voltar para a Irlanda tentei editar no meu iMac ainda usando o DaVinci Resolve ... ficou um excelente trabalho mas, infelizmente quando ficou pronto, antes que eu pudesse salvar, o DaVinci crashou e eu perdi todo o meu trabalho ... quase chorei!
Nesta fase, eu tinha decidido que iria esquecer aquela filmagem e toda a minha má sorte. No entanto, eu tive que tentar mais uma vez, agora usando o iMovie. Eu sabia, quando eu comecei, que o resultado final não seria o mesmo que se eu tivesse editado com o DaVinci. Lá comecei e de facto, eu estava muito feliz com o trabalho, mas quando eu fiz o upload para o YouTube, percebi que o iMovie criou o projeto em 720p ... Eu quase quebrei o tudo!!! Grrrrrrrrr!!!
De qualquer forma, eu fiz o upload desse jeito mesmo. Eu acho que você pode ter uma ideia do lugar.
Bective Abbey foi fundada em 1147 para a Ordem Cisterciense por Murchad O'Maeil-Sheachlainn, Rei de Meath. Era a segunda abadia cisterciense da Irlanda; uma "casa filha" para a vizinha Mellifont. Bective tornou-se um importante assentamento monástico, mas foi suprimido após a dissolução dos mosteiros sob o rei Henrique VIII em 1543. As terras foram então alugadas e o mosteiro começou a ser usado como casa fortificada. A torre foi construída nessa altura, conferindo à estrutura uma aparência imponente. Os restos agora visíveis da abadia, datam principalmente a partir dos séculos 13 a 15. Eles incluem a igreja, a casa do capítulo e o claustro. As ruínas do claustro são particularmente bem preservadas e apresentam arcos góticos pontiagudos, típicos da arquitetura cisterciense.
Agora, o mais importante, você sabia que a abadia foi usada como cenário de filme para "Braveheart" de Mel Gibson? Comente abaixo se você reconhecer alguma das configurações do filme.

Shot no.44

Photo taken at East Pier, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland in June 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm.

I know that I have been absent for a long time, I'm sorry! Now I'm back with new gear and new motivation! 

I haven't been shooting at all, I was uniquely dedicated to studies and work. But that will change now! Studies are finished and I have extra motivation to go out and photograph!

This photo was taken immediately after finishing my final assignment! It was taken with my brand new Lumix G9, yes I'm back to mirrorless cameras! I made a little clip to introduce it in May that I posted on my personal Instagram and you can watch it above. However, I still have my Canon 77D, I like it too much to get rid of it. Actually, a few minutes after taking the first photos, when I was packing my gear, I had my 77D on my hands when I notice that some clouds were passing in front of the sun. I just had time to remove the lid and shoot, didn't even realized that I had the 50mm lens on! Couldn't miss that dramatic light over the clouds!
Let's see if having now two good cameras will increase my productivity! xD