It was now Thursday, two days after the wedding and I was preparing for a return to Dublin. I had said all my goodbyes to Kieran and Aileen the night before. I was traveling back with Kieran’s nephew Patrick and his partner Emma. Emma’s dad would bring us into the neighboring town of Arklow for the bus.
Even though Kieran and I have one of those relationships that can be picked back up after a long absence, it’s always hard to leave with no solid plan to return. The time I spent with both of them exceeded my expectations so I had to be happy with my lot for now. Besides, I still had time to see my family. I had also arranged to see my friend Laura Fitzsimons while I was in Dublin. She was the singer in my first band many moons ago and she had contacted me via Facebook a while back. Unfortunately she had suffered an injury and was confined to bed and would be unable to see me. She lives quite a distance away (outside Dublin), which made a visit to her home impossible given the limited time I had left.
The trip from Arklow was fast and uneventful. When I got to Dublin, I grabbed a taxi and was home by 2pm. I was exhausted and the prospect of doing anything else for the day was overwhelming so I just planned on resting and having dinner at home with my parents that night.
The fact that I don’t remember sleeping is probably a good thing. More importantly, I don’t remember waking at least until around 5:30am which is my normal wake up time. In a fit of energy and inspiration the night before, I thought I might head over to the West of Ireland to the Aran Islands for the day but that idea quickly petered out when I saw the weather was going to be rainy all day long while, in Dublin, it would be partly cloudy. I opted for the latter and decided to go down to the docks for a photographic change of pace.
At swim two birds. The Customs House and Liberty Hall, once the tallest building in Dublin.
Walking through Dublin this time around was an eye opener. The current economic situation has hit this city really hard. In some cases, entire blocks of stores have been boarded up. As I walked down towards the docks, I remembered a vibrant city with money to burn not more than five years ago. But the recession also reminded me of when I left Dublin in 1987. At that point, Ireland was in a similar situation, as was the rest of the world.
O2 and the gigantic ferris wheel.
The dock area contains a relatively new complex called O2. It's a concert venue for all the big acts that come to Dublin, from U2 to Tom Jones (not sure if the latter has actually been there but it sounded good). Beside it is a huge ferris wheel and I found some interesting juxtapositions between this looming structure and the dilapidated buildings it was sandwiched in between.
Scenes along the docs of the River Liffey.
I walked and walked all around and it began to rain. I headed back to my favorite Starbucks but when I got there it was packed. I knew another smaller one so I made my way there. As I observed last time, it's funny to see all the familiar drinks in Starbucks with a few uniquely Irish ones like one of the syrup choices is Irish Creme.
After my break, I found myself on Grafton Street again and I began to feel like I was wandering aimlessly, just hoping for a photo opp to appear. My dad had mentioned an exhibit he had gone to see of some drawings by Matisse so I decided to check that out.
Endless entertainment of all sorts as seen on Grafton Street.
The rain was now a steady drizzle so I kept my camera under wraps. I couldn't figure out where the exhibit was, exactly and there was no one in sight to ask so I abandoned that idea. On my way back, a couple passed me. She was in a wheelchair and he was pushing her. She had a hood over her head but I still managed to see her face. Her eyes were amazing and I wanted to take a photograph of her. Damn, I hate approaching strangers in the street because I don't want to come across as weird, some kind of salesperson, a swindler, a scammer....well, you get the picture but I was suddenly possessed with the notion that I had to take her photograph. I spun around and stayed a little distance from them. My first objective was to establish if they spoke English. She looked a little exotic, like she might be middle-eastern or something, I just couldn't tell. I needed to establish the language thing so that, if I did work up the courage to talk to them, I would not come off like a complete foreign speaking idiot. While waiting to cross the street, her partner said something to her and he had an Irish accent so at least I knew they would understand me. I overheard him saying they were going to Trinity College, which was just at the end of this particular street. Great, I would approach them there and get a nice shot.
I was tempted to stop them midway on the sidewalk but the rain was a deterrent. I didn't want her sitting still and getting wet. A crowd gathered at the traffic light to cross the road over to the Trinity entrance. The couple were near me. When the light turned green, the throng moved in unison. At the Trinity entrance, I stopped and looked around. I couldn't see them anywhere and then I spotted them still on the other side of the street. Crap, was my cover blown? Did they figure out that I was some weirdo stalking them? They didn't seem to notice me and were talking and then crossed the street with the next green light. I let them pass until they arrived at the arch leading into the main grounds of Trinity College. They paid for tickets for the Trinity tour. Cool, I would get the shot while they were waiting for the tour to start. Unfortunately there was no waiting time, the tour began immediately. I was kicking myself because I felt like I was procrastinating so much that I was now making this a much bigger deal than it needed to be and I should have just approached them initially to get the damn photo and be done with it. Now they were off on a tour and I had no access to them. Disappointed, I walked out of Trinity and back up to Grafton Street to see if there was any new activity.
The niggling feeling had engulfed me. The void of not getting that shot I had now elevated to a top priority in my mind consumed me. Should I go back and see if I can catch them on the way out? Should I just forget it and mark it down to a silly notion and that it really wasn't important at all? I headed back to Trinity immediately and tried to get a sense of how long the tour was. I figured out it was about 40 minutes so, at this point, that left about 15 minutes to go. The rain had stopped so I decided to sit in wait on one of the gigantic steps to one of the gigantic trinity buildings. They wouldn't be all that hard to spot because a wheelchair would stand out amongst the many tourists. I kept my eyes peeled. Just then a stretch limo drove into the grounds and some bridesmaids emerged from one of the giant doors across the courtyard. I walked over to where, by now, there were lots of tourists snapping away. The bride got out of the limo and quickly disappeared behind the doors to the inside of the building. Wow, that was a little surreal, I didn't realize they had weddings in Trinity.
Such an unusual spectacle. A wedding at Trinity College.
Back on my step I was getting tired waiting around. It was now 2pm and I had been going for almost six hours. I was eager to go home. I'm always on the look out for people who have an interesting profile and are wearing clothes that are timeless. You know, like a long trenchcoat or a suit or a dress that is devoid of pattern or a style that would identify it as being modern. I like to have people like that in my street shots so I can show scale but also add interest to an otherwise flat shot of a building or landscape. A woman walked by and she was pushing what looked like an antique bicycle. Cool, this would look great against the old stained walls of Trinity, I thought. Just as I got up, I caught the couple I was waiting for out of the corner of my eye. Okay, this is it, I thought, no more screwing around. I figured out the most efficient way of telling them what I wanted and I hoped they would be amenable to my request.
I took out my camera and tried not to look like a complete psycho. I figured I would address the man first. "Hi, can I ask you a question?" Already, I could feel like he probably thought I was trying to sell him something. He had a mildly skeptical look in his eye. "I'm a photographer based in Seattle in the United States and I'm taking photographs of street life in Dublin. I'm really interested in doing portraits of people I find interesting...." He seemed kinda perked up and smiled in a confused way. At this point I looked down at the woman in the wheelchair and I continued... "and I was wondering if you would mind if I took a photograph of you?" She seemed surprised, put her hands on her chest and smiled, "Me?". "Yes please", I said and then asked the man if he had an email. He said yes and I gave him my newly printed business card and told him if he sent me an email, I would gladly send him a copy of the photograph. The weirdness disappeared and I guess he figured I was genuine so I squatted down and she looked at me and smiled. Ooh, that's not what I wanted, I just wanted her to be herself. "No smile" I said and then she looked into the camera exactly as I wanted. One of the things you need to have together is all your camera settings when you ask someone for a photograph. You don't want to be fumbling around. I had already set the exposure of my camera before I approached them so it was ready to go. When I took the first photograph, the focus was a tiny bit off so I asked for one more. She obliged and I captured her soul for that brief moment. I thanked them and headed out the entrance towards my bus.
The lady I pursued...
I was happy I didn't give up. Doing this sort of thing becomes easier with practice. I think what most photographers doing this kind of street portraiture fear the most is rejection. It's just plain embarrassing to approach a stranger and ask if they mind having their photograph taken and then they flat out say no. That's when you do kind of feel like a weirdo. I can't explain why there are certain faces that appeal to me more than others. It's quite possible that anyone else looking at the photograph I took would not see what I do but the point is that I feel it. When I take portraits of people whether it's in a studio setting or on the street, the thrill I feel is indescribable. It truly is like possessing someone's soul because that's the magic of photography for me. Capturing fleeting light in a landscape gives me the same feeling. To see magic before my eyes and then be able to reproduce it and own it forever is something I will never become complacent about. It's why I do what I do.
When I got home, my parents and I had a lovely dinner together and then my mom pulled out some old photographs and we had a good laugh about "the good old days" together. It has definitely been tough on my mother in particular, having me leave home at a relatively young age and then continuing on all of those family experiences without me. We've seen each other many times, of course, with me visiting Ireland and my parents coming to visit me in the States but it's just not the same as slowly experiencing all the things we do in life that define us. My mom said that sometimes she feels like I'm more of a friend she knows than a son. I understand exactly what she means.
With one full day left before heading back home, I wanted to make sure I saw Philip and Deirdre one more time. I planned to go to a local park in the morning with my parents to see Philip running a 10k in preparation for the marathon and then I was going to visit with Deirdre and her daughter Emily at the stables where they co-own a horse.
Having walked for over six hours in the city earlier in the day, I could feel my legs aching so I headed to bed.
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