Wild Ponies

Posted on August 27, 2014 by endsleyphoto

While visiting my third cousin, Kayleigh, and her husband, Adam, in Plymouth, England a few weeks ago, one of my favorite things was seeing wild ponies. Kayleigh is one who contacted me and invited us to Ireland to meet the family. I was happy I got to spend another weekend with her and meet Adam. It was too bad that Evan had to work, as it is one of my favorite parts of the UK. On the last day of my visit, we had planned to go to see the Eden Project, a large indoor garden project, but instead we opted to hike around Dartmoor, and I am so glad we did.

Dartmoor is in south Devon, England. It is protected by National Park status and encompasses a massive amount of land- 954 kilometers. It is also used for training in the Royal Military, which Adam is in. We brought their dogs, Rolo and Lola, and hiked a small portion of it. The land is beautiful with terrain unlike anything I had ever seen.

The granite hilltops, or tors, allow many different types of wildlife to survive. Farmers have sheep and cattle in the area, but although the sheep we saw were marked, I have been told there are also wild sheep.

Of course, my goal when we began hiking was to find ponies. I felt like a little girl searching for wild ponies, but the concept is so foreign to me. I was told there are so many that there is no way we would miss them, and sure enough they were correct. They were everywhere and surprisingly let us get really close to them. Their manes are long, their bodies stalky and their fur is often matted, but I thought they were beautiful. We saw families and babies too.

The area is rather open and thus is subject to extreme weather conditions, making the animals hardy and ideal for working animals.

It was a wonderful visit and I will always remember watching the Dartmoor ponies. They really are magnificent creatures. They have declined in population from 25,800 to about 5,000 with an estimated 800 in the Dartmoor area as of 2004. These numbers are taken from Wikipedia after a quick online search, so I am unsure how accurate they are or what the numbers are today, but it does give you an idea. I hope these babies grow up to be strong and help continue the breed.

In Love with Paris

Posted on August 22, 2014 by endsleyphoto

Like many people before me, I fell in love with Paris the first time I visited on our honeymoon two years ago. It is a wonderful city to get lost in. Sure, the museums and monuments are impressive, but my favorite thing is wandering the streets, perusing the shops, relaxing in the cafes, drinking wine, eating amazing cheese and talking to the locals. Parisians get a bad reputation for being rude to tourists, but I have always found them to be very nice. I think they do probably get sick of tourists, but aren’t New Yorkers exactly the same and can you really blame them?

Evan and I are leaving today for Bordeaux, so I thought it would be appropriate to post the Paris photos. I was happy to get the chance to go back with my friend Sarah (Smiz) and show her the city. We stayed in an adorable hostel, met some wonderful people and explored the city of lights. First, we visited Notre Dame, which I hadn’t been inside before. It always feels a bit weird to be in a place of worship that is crawling with tourists, but it is an impressive structure.

Next we found some lunch at Rue Mouffetard, a street market I remembered fondly from my previous visit. We got some wonderful rotisserie chicken and potatoes covered in drippings.

We then hiked to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and took in stunning views. After climbing back down, we watched a ceremony take place underneath.

After resting at a cafe and grabbing some crepes (a must in Paris), we headed to the Eiffel Tower. This has to be one of the most photographed structures in the world. It is a symbol of love and lovers; families and close friends gathered to watch it light up and sparkle. We sat out on the lawn with people from around the world, drank wine and enjoyed the view. We met a sweet Italian family, shared wine and snacks with them and tried to communicate with each other. We even had handstand contests on the lawn. I am now Facebook friends with the mom and dad. I love keeping in touch with friends from around the world.

The next day we visited Versailles. we walked for miles around the grounds. Both times I have gone, I have loved the gardens more than the palace itself, but both are amazing to take in. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

We went out to a nice dinner that night. We found it in my friend Heather’s guide book and it lived up to the review. It was a magical night filled with good food and a unique atmosphere. The waiter was very personable. He even finished off his night by sitting down to drink wine with customers.

And last we went to the Pantheon. Cheers- France, here I come again!

Portraiture

Posted on August 14, 2014 by endsleyphoto

Portraiture is a unique area of photography. It is about observing people, getting to know them and then capturing their personality. I like to try to say something about a person when I photograph them. I had hoped to do some photo work outside of street photography and travel photos while over here. While I have not done as much portraiture yet as I had planned, I have done a few sessions.

While in Paris toward the beginning of my summer out here, I met two redheaded twins from Australia, Jared and Jacob. They were living in London for the summer as well, so we got together a few times.

Jared told me he was thinking about doing some modeling on the side and I offered to take head shots of him. I am always happy to help out a fellow ginger. It is nice that redheads are popular right now in modeling and media. Most of my portrait experience has been in wedding portraits, couples portraits, childhood portraits and family portraits. I have not done much in the way of modeling, but I was excited for the challenge and it is an area I have been wanting to experiment with.

I started out trying to put my subject at ease and make him feel comfortable as I waited for natural expressions. I used my favorite lens, my fixed 1.8 85 mm for all of the shots. It does a great job of separating the subject from the background, making it the perfect portrait lens.

The smallest changes in expression can make a big difference. This is something models need to be able to master and something photographers need to be able to direct. Subtle changes convey different emotions.

Sometimes being in a more public space can actually put a subject more at ease. I caught a few moments of him reacting to passersby, which felt more natural.

It was a pleasure spending the afternoon photographing Jared Borner, and I wish him all the best luck in his modeling and other prospects as he travels back to Australia.

The other two people I have done portraits of here were less formal and more spur of the moment. There is a market near us called Old Spitalfields Market. Dalia, shown below, is from Lebanon. She is interested in photography as well, but at the moment she is selling shoes to make ends meet. She hopes to save up enough money to invest in photography again. I only took a few quick portraits of her. I hope she is able to pursue her dreams here in London.

The second woman I met was a Londoner who had a very interesting look. She is a young clothing designer. She currently sells at the market and can be found on the web and instagram under the name “Kharis.” She hopes to eventually have a store front, but not a typical one. She wants it to be a place where artists can meet and share ideas. Each piece she designs, she only makes 2-3 copies of, so they are quite unique. The fun thing about this market is that it gives many creative people a place to sell their pieces. It is also a place where I can afford to invest in unique fashion-I bought a shirt from her for 15 pounds.

Models are successful not for being a pretty face, but for being interesting to look at, and I found her look beautiful in a very unique way. She obviously has some modeling experience and she let me do a quick photo shoot of her in front of her designs at the market. I enjoyed meeting and photographing her and wish her luck in her fashion and artistic enterprises.

We meet so many people in a day, and many of them we barely take notice of. With these three, I was able to make a human connection, strengthened by the photographer-model relationship. I will always remember the conversations I had with these three people and I am happy I was able meet them and document something about their lives and their personalities. Some people come into our lives for years, others for weeks and others for a brief moment in time, but these fleeting encounters can prove to be memorable and inspiring.

Discovering My Irish Roots

Posted on August 4, 2014 by endsleyphoto

Standing on the land where my great grandmother was born and raised was incredible and unforgettable. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and the memories of my Irish roots lives on in the relatives I met. Last weekend, Evan and I traveled to Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland to meet family members who I didn’t even know existed before, gathered from England, Canada and Ireland for Julia and Michael McAndrew’s 40th wedding anniversary. It was a surreal and magical weekend

I love how all the different fields are all divided by hedgerows. As we looked over the Irish landscape from the plane, Evan said he was reminded of looking at stained glass.

My 3rd cousin Kayleigh, who had been the one to contact me originally, picked us up from the airport with her mother’s partner, Martin. As we rode in to the B&B to drop off our bags, Kayleigh warned us to not expect to be home before 5 am. We had been warned by friends in the UK to “bring our drinking boots.” We walked into a pub to meet the whole gang shortly after checking into our room, we were met with applause, introductions and hugs. Everyone was more than welcoming and excited to meet us. It was really heart warming.

Below I am sitting with Julia, Eileen and Mary, my grandmother’s cousins. Julia lives in Ireland, Eileen in England and Mary in Canada.
Here I am with Kayleigh and Connie, third cousins of mine

After our first late night, we barely made it to breakfast at the B&B, which ends at 10 am. It was a traditional Irish breakfast: eggs, beans, toast, Irish soda bread, bacon, sausage and my favorite, black and white pudding. Black pudding I have had in the UK as well, it is made from pork blood and oatmeal. White pudding doesn’t contain blood, it is pork meat and fat, suet, bread and oatmeal. After breakfast, Raymond, my 2nd cousin once removed, offered to take us out to see where my great grandmother was born.

On the way, we hit some bizarre traffic on account of a large gypsy funeral. Unfortunately, and out of character for me, I do not have photos of the event, but perhaps some things are better if they are simply experienced and remembered. There were women in rather colorful outfits or wearing t-shirts that read “rest in peace Granny,” and men wearing casual attire. We had to fight through cars running red lights. The gypsies, or travelers, are not a group of people Evan and I are familiar with in the US, but they certainly have a reputation here. Many pubs in town actually closed their doors because they were in town. On the first night, the pub we started at was closed to them, but they let us in secretly. It was very strange. It is certainly a different culture that we know little about.

The old family plot is in Parke, Ireland, a small village near Castlebar.

First Ray showed us a cemetery where his uncle Tom McLynskey was buried. I have now seen this name spelled so many different ways, that it is no wonder we’ve had trouble with my genealogy in the past.

In the background of this one in the upper right corner is the last house in Parke that was in our family. It was built by John McKlynskey, father of Julia, Mary, Eileen, Padraic and Tom (who is buried here). John moved into the house around 1960 with his wife, Mary-Ellen, and Julia. The other children had been raised in the original family home on this same plot of land, the same home that my great grandmother was born in. All that is left of this building is now a cow shed. All of the children except Julia immigrated to England. Padriac eventually married and moved to Australia. Tom came back to Parke and moved into this house and maintained the farm until he died. He was buried here and the house was sold.

This is the church where Julia and Michael McAndrew were married 40 years ago.

This is one of the oldest houses in Parke. According to Ray, the house had for decades served as the local school headmaster’s home. The home was fairly sizable for its age, in light of the small community, and the fact that the school reportedly provided only primary education. Though there is a new school in Parke, the community is still small and primarily agricultural, as exemplified by the fact we, at one point, literally had to pull over to the side of the road to let a tractor pass.

This is the house from the earlier photo of Tom McKlynsky’s gravestone. It is now owned by another family, but it is where Raymond and his siblings spent much of their childhood in the summers. The decorative braid on the gate is, red and green, the colors of County Mayo, Ireland.

They still have cattle on this land. Raymond told us stories of herding cattle, working the land, picking raspberries and playing the fields.

We walked up the path to the old plot, where my grandmother Julia McKlynskey was born. This is the old house, which is now used for the cows. Evan and I looked at an old census and it seems the house was two rooms and slept Julia and her siblings Patrick, Thomas, Michael, James, Mary, Terrance and John as well as their parents Mary and Thomas McKlinskey. Julia immigrated to the US when she wasyoung, married, and had my grandmother, Mary, and her siblings. It was truly magical to see where exactly in Ireland my roots come from. Raymond put it right when he said it gave him goosebumps being back there.

We then hiked further back to see the rest of the land. We were told my family used to own everything to the right of there river.

Turlough is another tiny village in between Parke and Castlebar. It is home to Turlough Round Tower, an impressive structure from between 900 and 1200. A plaque in front said it was founded by St. Patrick, who baptized many people at a nearby well. Many structures across Ireland make a similar claim. There is a cemetery attached to it, where I have more relatives buried, including my second great-grandparents.

Turlough House is a victorian-gothic style house built in 1865 for the Fitzgerald family. It is now open to the public and is accompanied by a new museum on country life.

We continued our drive through Turlough, passing an adorable inn with a Guinness sign that Ray was kind enough to pull over for me to photograph.

And then it was back to Castlebar to meet family members at a pub. Pretty much the main thing we did while we were there was drink Guinness. It really does taste different in Ireland- it is creamier and delicious.

After a quick stop at the grocery store for drinks and pick-’n-mix (and where we discovered something called “Spirit of Louisiana” liquor), we headed back to the B&B for some tennis and cocktails before getting ready for the main event that night.

After a mass and photos, the party kicked off with drinking and food, shortly followed by a live band and dancing. It was so touching to see how much family meant to everyone there. They truly loved being with each other, and it made me feel at home.

Michael and Julia McAndrew, my grandma’s cousin

Center: Matthew Cardwardine, left: Matthew’s girlfriend, Rachel, right: Eileen Hughes

Eileen is my grandma’s cousin, Matthew is her grandson

Michael and Julia McAndrew with their daughters, Regina, Sharlene and Deborah

Michael and Julia with Julia’s sisters, Eileen and Mary, all cousins of my grandma.

Julia and Michael with their children, Julia’s siblings and nieces and nephews. In the back are Raymond, Nicola, Jacqueline and Angela, all Eileen’s children.

There is a photo of everyone, including Evan and I, that I will get a copy of.

Anna and Connie. Anna is one of Raymond’s daughters and Connie is one of Angela’s daughters

Part of the gang: Connie’s boyfriend Jay, Deborah, Anna, Martin, Angela, Connie, Regina, Kayleigh (Angela’s other daughter), Tom (Jacqueline’s son), Ray, Rachel, Matthew (Jacqueline’s son), myself and Joseph (Jacqueline’s son). Of the younger generation, this photo is missing Ray’s daughter Elizabeth, Sharlene and Deborah (pictured earlier)

Julia and her father John on her wedding day

Julia and Michael on their wedding day with their wedding party

Michael used to be in a band, and part way through the evening, he serenaded his wife.

As the night was winding down, people took turns singing traditional Irish songs. It was magical and lasted until after 4 am. Michael sang one to his wife and broke down at the end. It was so sweet.

Please click here to watch the video of Michael singing:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jumdn2smwj995qc/1I7A1312.MOV

At the very end, a bunch of the young people, including myself, sang the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That was surreal. Pictured here is Michael looking pretty confused as his family sings this song around him. We had all planned to then go back and play guitar and sing more, but when we reached the B&B it was 5 am and we ended up just crashing.

The next morning was a bit rough. We definitely did not make breakfast. Evan and I decided to take a bus to Westport. We caught the 2 pm bus and walked around in the nearby seaside town. It was apparently a special weekend while we were there, when people gather to climb Mt. Croagh Patrick in a pilgrimage. We definitely did not have the energy to do that. It was a very pretty town to walk around in though, especially with the mountain in the distance.

About a two minute walk from our B&B, pictured below, was Castlebar Lake and its beautiful views. I also made friends with a little Irish boy.

Our last evening was spent with most of the family at Julia and Michael’s house. They have a beautiful garden. Pictured below is an old pot that used to hang in front of the fire in the old McLynskey house. I love that they kept this piece in the family.

We sat in the sun room and drank more Guinness and looked at old photos.

Mary and Thomas McKlynskey, Julia’s parents, with one of their daughters, possibly Bridget

This was such a memorable, magical and life changing trip. I am so happy to have made contact with so many of my wonderful family members. I already have plans to try to see a few of them before we leave the UK and I hope we will all be getting to know each other better in the years to come. Here’s hoping for another family reunion in Ireland. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful experience and all the memories!