Cultures – Page 64 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Another Aspect

I prefer my “mysteries” wrapped in a bun with mustard, dill relish and sauerkraut.

January 19, 2021August 13, 2021 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

I present here one of my infrequent original witticisms with a touch of photographic mystery.

Beara peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Looking toward the heights from Classduff townland. Glacial striations of the Caha Mountains visible in the distance. Adrigole river foreground. Beara Peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Additional Reading: Learn about the area from this link to a “pdf” file from the Irish Republic government.

Down the valley

January 18, 2021January 22, 2021 MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

We lingered in this curve of Famine Road over Healy Pass, beauty in literally every direction.

Here we follow the modest flow of river Adrigole through its valley, the way we came. The road is just visible to the right. Beara peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Click to visit my Ireland offerings on Shutterstock.

A road of wide curves

January 17, 2021January 15, 2021 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

A similar landscape to yesterday’s post, in portrait mode. I lavished extra attention on the mounds of clouds.

A terrace fortifies the road just visible to the left. Beara peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Click to visit my Ireland offerings on Shutterstock.

Watered Terrace

January 16, 2021January 15, 2021 MichaelStephenWills

Beginnings of Adrigole river flow over a natural terrace. Caha mountains visible in the distance.

A terrace fortifies the road just visible to the left.

Click to visit my Ireland offerings on Shutterstock.

Glacial Claw Marks

January 15, 2021August 13, 2021 MichaelStephenWills

Looking toward the heights from Classduff townland. Glacial striations of the Caha Mountains visible in the distance.

A stream of the developing Adrigole river in the foreground. Beara Peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Additional Reading: Learn about the area from this link to a “pdf” file from the Irish Republic government.

Toward the Heights

January 14, 2021January 12, 2021 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Here the camera is turned toward the head of the valley across a wide sloping expanse. Clashduff townland comprises most this scene, we will remain in Clashduff until we breach the pass.

Sheep pasture in the foreground. Beara Peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Mass Mount from Clashduff

Mass Mount

January 13, 2021January 7, 2021 MichaelStephenWills

We packed a solid Manfrotto studio tripod into a tiny rental car for photographs such as this one. After the photograph of yesterday’s post, I swiveled the camera a few degrees, the steady mount retaining scene orientation otherwise.

The mountain in the middle distance, dappled with light, is Mass Mount, the townland is named for this landform. Kildromalive, in Irish Choill Droma Limh, translates to “Wood Ridge.”

Clashduff wide angle

Play of Clouds and Light

January 12, 2021January 6, 2021 MichaelStephenWills

Preparing for our tour of the island I acquired an “L” grade Canon lens, the 24mm f/1.4L USM. It is used to good effect here and in the following photographs from our traverse of Healy Pass, a “famine road.”

Here we are at the southern edge of the townland surmounting the pass, Clashduff, in English. In Irish, na Claise Duibhe translates to “Black Ravine.” There are ten Republic of Ireland townlands with this name including one in the middle of Cork City near Finbar Cathedral.

Looking down Healy Pass from Clashduff townland. In view are these townlands Kilcaskan, Canshanavoe, Glenlough and Kildromalive.. Caha Mountains, Beara Peninsula, County Cork, Republic of Ireland

I’ve used portrait mode here, with the “wide angle” capturing the clouds.

Late Autumn Ithaca 8

A Dangerous Game

January 3, 2021January 2, 2021 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

Hard on the Ithaca City Cemetery is our version of the crookedest street. Cascadilla Park road ascends East Hill as a series of switchbacks, charming homes cut into the hillside. A foot path overlooks the gorge, seen here.

Today, two young teens used the hill bottom for skateboarding. Taking turns on watch, each sped onto intersecting University Avenue. A dangerous game.

A brass plaque commemorates Daniel D Tompkins on eponymous Tompkins County courthouse. When the county was formed, 1817, Daniel Tompkins was a former governor of New York and Vice President to James Monroe. Tompkins never visited “his” county, there is no other connection between him. His family and life was rooted in eastern part of New York, around “The City.”

“Maternidad”, Seneca Street Garage, a mural by Nick Gilbert was the 2014 winner of 2014 @culturaithaca Latinx Mural Design Contest.

Mosaic Mural “Feels Like Ithaca” by Annamarie Zwack, Seneca Street Garage Also known as “Spirit of Ithaca”

I am not finding the attribution for this undersea idyll, also on the Seneca Street garage adjoining “Feels Like Ithaca.”

This completes my Sunday afternoon walk around Ithaca.

Late Autumn Ithaca 7

Hillside Rest

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021 MichaelStephenWills

We pick up this walk through Ithaca from the December 23rd post, next to a waterfall and the “Theory Center,” starting with the spiffed up rear façade of the Cornell Health Building, renamed from Gannett Health after a right wing newspaper publishing magnate. The building fronts “Ho Plaza” thus carries an address with unfortunate allusions, named for a distinguished Cornell alumna who’s family name is Ho. I included this building in appreciation to Cornell University and students for being good neighbors during this COVID-19 pandemic, controlling the virus.

Today, I avoided the views of the popular Lib Hill to minimize personal contact. Instead, descending the hill on footpaths, found myself on Stewart Avenue and the eastern side of City Cemetery.

Enjoying the solitude and long shadows of our northern afteroon.

Traversed a gate of hemlock branches….

Admired random monuments. By the way, George Washington Schuyler, whose family anecdote I shared in a previous post, rests here under an impressive stone. Not this one.