Creepy Dolls

I was talking to a friend about a certain child singing sensation who reminds me of a creepy life-size doll.  It brought to mind these photos, taken in London and Ireland.  Why do some dolls look evil, or at least like they’re plotting against us?

Dolls in Donegal, Ireland

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, London

An Aztec Prayer

(These horses were near Clifden in Galway, Ireland.)

Tanya and Chloe

During a trip to Dublin in 1997, I was shooting black & white film around the city.  On the opposite side of the River Liffey, I saw a dramatic black column of smoke.  I decided to go to see what was burning.  Following the smoke took me to a part of the city I normally wouldn’t visit.  It was down Queen Street, and I got right to the fire.  After I took some photos of the blaze, I noticed the locals who were watching around me.  There was a whole gang of kids who hammed it up when I turned my camera on them.  They dragged me to the flats across the street where they lived.  I was particularly charmed by a little girl named Tanya, who stole my heart.  Her little face had flecks of soot from the fire, and she put it right up to the camera.  Her little sister Chloe was also adorable.  I didn’t learn the names of the other children.

Fire from the River Liffey

Chloe and Tanya are on the left

Chloe, Tanya and another little charmer

Two years later, I returned to Dublin.  I was eager to visit my kids to see how they’d grown.  Tanya had lost her some of her confidence, and she ran away when I tried to get close-ups of her.  She was still cheeky, though, and she’s sticking her tongue out in most of my photos.  Chloe was older and even cuter.  The kids were jumping on an old mattress outside, and the boys lifted it up and accidentally dropped it on Chloe.  She was okay, just a bump on the forehead, but I think my heart stopped when she disappeared under the mattress.

Tanya is the one sticking out her tongue (r)

Chloe

About two years later, I went back again.  The boys were a lot rowdier and tougher, and a boy I’d never seen before tried to run off with my camera bag.  One of the girls grabbed it back.  After I took a few shots, several of the girls escorted me back down Queen Street to the river.  They were obviously worried about me!  That was my last trip to Dublin.  The google street view of Dublin shows me that Smithfield Market, a shopping center, has now replaced the flats.  I wouldn’t find the kids there if I went back.

Queen Street kids, getting bigger and tougher

Tanya and Chloe, growing up fast

Happy Easter 2011

Easton Farm Park, Suffolk, England

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Here are more of my favorite photos of Ireland to commemorate the day!

The Sky Road near Clifden, Co. Galway

Clifden, Connemara, County Galway

Roadside Encounters in West Ireland

St Patrick’s Day is coming up, so it’s a good excuse to post more of my Ireland photos.  Here are some fellows in Galway and Donegal, taken from my car window.

Connemara, near one of the many loughs

Connemara, Co. Galway

Along the roadside in Donegal

The Patriots Inn, Kilmainham, Dublin

On the last day of my first trip to Ireland, in October 1995, I missed the ferry in Dublin and had to wait until the evening one.  I used the day to visit historic Kilmainham Gaol, and then I dragged my suitcase and my weary self into the nearest pub.   It was called The Patriots Inn.  I had already plunked down before I took a good look around.  I was the only female in the place.  I was on the bar side instead of the lounge, where women usually have their drinks.  The adorable old fellows made me feel welcome, once they got over their surprise.   I got out my camera, and that’s when the fun began.  Here are my favorites:

Yeah, that's a bar coaster on his forehead.

(Click on photos to see large and even larger versions.)

Feeling Sheepish

Sheep grazing rocky Connemara

Connemara, County Galway

County Wicklow, Ireland

I love to photograph sheep!  These are some characters I encountered in Ireland.  All images ©copyright M.S. Shaffer, 1995.

County Mayo, Ireland

North of Mulranny, Co. Mayo

Keem Bay, Achill, Co. Mayo

Megalithic tomb, Achill, Co. Mayo

I’m still playing with my Epson scanner, resurrecting old photos from negatives.  Here are more of my favorite images of Ireland.

New Beginnings

County Mayo, Ireland, 1996

One of my early Christmas presents was an Epson V300 scanner.  It does a brilliant job with prints, slides, and both color and B & W negatives.  I have been rediscovering favorite old photos, and discovering that images that didn’t turn out so well when I first developed them can be brought to new life with a little help from photoshop.  This photo was taken from the window of a rental car during a road trip along Ireland’s west coast.  We were just north of Achill Island in County Mayo.   It’s a good image to begin the new year—just pretend it’s a sunrise instead of a sunset.  I’m rarely awake early enough to capture the sunrise with my camera.  Maybe that should be a new resolution?