My friend Funatsu came back to Ireland this week for a few days of sightseeing, so I decided a little tour of Connemara was in order! I borrowed a camera and some nice glass from Neil Warner and took Funatsu and Hannae on a whistle-stop tour!

Route info

View Connemara Day Trip in a larger map

Original file available for download at : http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10685/For%20Savita.mp4 (right-click and hit ‘Save As’)

This is the hardest edit I’ve ever had to make. This video footage was recorded on the 17th of March 2011 as the Galway’s small Indian Community took part in the St Patrick’s Day Celebrations, and later as Ireland mourned the death of Savita Halappanavar; an outstanding ambassador for her home country and someone who will be sorely missed.

Never again.

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Savita in Galway, shot by Christopher Tierney : www.chrisdidthis.com

Baboró International Arts Festival for Children is the second-biggest arts festival in Galway behind the Galway Arts Festival. Each year thousands of children & adults are wowed by the theatre, dance, visual art and workshops hand picked by Festival Director Lali Morris. I developed the Baboró website and also voulnteer to produce Baboró TV for the team. These are some of the videos and photos I produced during the Festival this year.

Jason and the Argonauts

Children of the Black Skirt

A little Olympic Boxing celebration – right-click and save to your machine or hit ‘save as wallpaper’.

A walk in Barna Woods turned into a Bouzouki/Photo session when Yui and I brought along our favourite instruments.  I went super-experimental with the light and shadow, then with some split toning in post-production.

I was lucky enough to spend a very special weekend in Rome this year- when I was packing my bags there were warnings of severe weather on the news, and sure enough on my first full day in the Italian capital (during which I had a business meeting) the snow descended on the city.

Red Bull held the first Irish round of their Cliff Diving World Championships on the island of Inis Mór – I was invited along by the guys at Red Bull to capture some of the atmosphere!

The GKC Crew ventured into the teeth of some pretty nasty weather this weekend and emerged into the gleaming sunday morning light for a second day of paddling on Clew Bay. We managed to sneak up on the Seals this time!

The rain has been apocalyptic of late… here’s a reddit wallpaper.

Blackrock Diving from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

If the temperatures are anything to go by it would seem that Summer has arrived in Ireland. One of the principal Galwegian summer rituals is a swim at the diving board at Blackrock. One of the most popular municipal facilities (and probably the single most photographed object) in Galway, the diving tower hosts hundreds if not thousands of swimmers on days like these. I packed up my waterproof camera cover plus the Canon 550D and a Sigma 17-70 and finned my way into position using a pair of diving fins for extra maneuverability

Baboró TV : Priceless from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

Last year as part of the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children I produced Baboró TV! I single-handedly shot & produced one or two short videos for each day of the festival, here are the final videos!

Mr and Mrs Sommerflügel + Sotton un’altra Luce from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

Losha from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

On-Off from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

MISE Scéal Cailín from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

Y’a un Lapin dans la Lune from Christopher Tierney on Vimeo.

Due to a lack of footrest I found myself with Lahinch on a GKC surf trip with no boat to paddle… fortunately I had my bases covered and brought along a waterproof cover for my SLR…. this was my first time trying out the camera cover and it worked out absolutely perfectly- I really love these shots, hope you enjoy them!

Galway canoe Polo League came to a head in Leisureland last Saturday night, with 8 teams lining up to decide the final order… I was there to shoot some video & stills- these are the stills!

Every St Patrick’s day there is a parade that aims to show a cross section of Galway life and society- and this year was no different! Thousands of people marched and celebrated the diversity and nature of Irish life, culture and sport whilst being cheered on by thousands more.

My /r/ireland Reddit Alien rugby desktop…. enjoy!

Galwayfest 2012 was a Kayak Freestyle & Whitewater Boatercross competition based in Galway… I caught the action on Sunday on the Boluisce river in Spideal.

I decided to make a review video of my year 2011 – it turned out to be a much tougher and more arduous process than I first thought- I went through thousands of clips to condense everything into one three minute video. I’d like to thank everyone who tolerated my constant ducking behind a lens this last year- I hope to do even bigger and better things in 2012!

I went for a walk in Barna Woods with my flatmate Yui…. with the late afternoon light it turned into a photo session using the trees as the backdrop.

In September I was invited to spend a week in Basilicata, Italy with six other bloggers and filmmakers from the USA, France, Netherlands, South Africa and Italy. We set out to record our impressions of the region and make our own films about the experience.

Matera

Our journey started in Matera, where we were greeted warmly by the community who are rescuing the Sassi from abandomnent and ruin.

Matera seen from a cave across the gorge… this is 15s on the 10-20mm, with some LED glowsticks I brought from home for shots like this.

This is not a church! It’s one of a series of cisterns to which Matera and the Sassi owe their success- each cistern holds tens of millions of litres  and provided water in even the leanest times.

Opening night music!

 Barile

Winemakers of Barile! We stopped in Barile to sample some wines and have a look at the centuries-old processes used in winemaking- we were given a look at some cantina, the cellars where the wine is matured in carefully controlled conditions.  The wine I sampled was still fresh, sweet and cloudy- the wines produced here are usually only consumed locally, so if you want to taste some you’d better get going!

San Fele

San Fele, where the locals are volunteering to build walks through the lush mountain valley.

Pietrapertosa

 Pietrapertosa is famous for the Vollo del’angelo, a 120km/h, 400 meter high horizontal zipline that stretches across the valley. The food and hospitality were as spectacular as the views. This is a must-return part of the world for me!

Sunrise in Pietrapertosa

Locals are as proud of their traditions as anwyhere else in the world- oxen were a huge part of agriculture and remain part of village life.

Maratea

Maratea is a stunning, bustling Mediterranean port town that is overlooked by tall mountains- this is a sunset captured as part of my timelapse sequence.

The Digital Diary crew! Mark, Hailegh, Erica and Caspar standing, then Chris (me!), Matthew and Luca sitting.

Craco

Craco is a ghost town abandoned since 1963 because of dangerous subsidence in the clay soil. I shot this still as part of a timelapse sequence.

Clay from mudslides creates an almost martian landscape near Craco. Part of a timelapse.

Pisticci

In April 2011 a group of kayakers from Galway Kayak club set out to conquer the Soca Vallery; these are the stills!

Every year Macnas wow the crowds in Galway City with a colourful, spectacular parade that forms the centerpiece of the Galway Arts Festival. This year was no exception!

In April 2010  a brave motley crew of paddlers from Galway Kayak Club set out into the wild got on a plane and sought out the treacherous incredible Soca Valley in Slovenia…. here’s a 60 second trailer for the upcoming documentary trilogy taster!

Every year the Irish Sea Kayaking Association have a get-together at Streamstown near Clifden for a family-friendly weekend of sea kayaking, camping and fun. These are my shots from Saturday evening and Sunday.

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Whenever the tide is low and the Corrib River is running high it forms a series of rapids near the end of Nimmo’s Pier- it’s a world-class freestyle spot that only appears a few times every year.
This time, I was there.

Galway Kayak Club members down at the hole in Tuam; for more than one member this was their first time in a hole so it took a while to work up the courage :)

GKC take to the waves on the first day of 2011; Dermot Wall  and Colin Loan take advantage of the perfect conditions to show off.

The record breaking cold snap of December 2010 wasn’t without its perks… it provided more than a few photo ops… here are a few of my best images, starting off in the Maam Valley, heading back to my Apartment balcony, then on the way home to Tyrone via the train to Dublin & Belfast, and from there to Tyrone.

Dawn over Galway Bay, shortly after 9am on Dec.21st 2010 : the solstice did not mean any improvement in the weather, but at least the days are slowly getting longer again.

Impassable roads meant that the train was the best way to travel home…. it might have been -8 outside but the inside of the carriage was toasty :)

Nice to look at  if you weren’t stuck in it :)

A quick dash for tyre air and a sandwich stop netted this view of Belfast

I headed down to Knockmanny forest for a few hours on Christmas Day, however the day was short and I didn’t get much…..

… that said, the stunning skyline made up for the shortness of the day.

Some slowmo canine shenanigans in the park.

The City of the Tribes Kayak Race happens every year around the start of September and usually attracts kayakers from all over the country and of all abilities and ages…. this year I made a video in place of stills- hope you enjoy it!