I can't believe it, but we leave today!
Ireland awaits us!
Ok....well, Ireland is not waiting for us by any means but I have been waiting for it ever since I knew it existed. Rolling green hills dotted with fluffy sheep, old broken stone walls and abandoned castles, all along craggy cliffs high above the rough Atlantic waters. In my personal opinion...what's not to love?
Travel and adventure burn deep in my heart, for I just can't seem to get enough of it. Nothing helps make me feel where I truly belong more then hitting open, desolate roads while finding the true natural beauty our world holds within.
When I go out and photograph places like this, I try my hardest to capture these places in their true essence, for their raw beauty, for what they really are. Nothing is ever changed or falsely added in my photographs. It is my goal to go out and capture what is still real, especially because it seems we are living in a world that is becoming increasingly fake.
So our bags are packed up and my camera gear is ready. My batteries are charged and my memory cards are clear. I am ready...
Aside from my photography, this trip is for my boys too. They are still a bit young to really appreciate it. My little boy is four, and is excited to go on the airplane again, and says he's 'going to Ireland', yet in the grand scheme of things, he has no idea the magnitude of any of this. My older boy, who is now eleven, battles holding onto his childhood yet at the same time feeling those strange preteen vibes of seeing how his friends act and finding how he fits into this world.
Homeschooling my boys has given us the chance to take trips like this off season, has given them the chance to hold onto their childhood, and has given them the chance to grow up without the influence of social media and a flood of screen time. I try my best to show them the beauty of the real world, whether it be magical or painful truths.
So we are packed up and ready to go and I know for a fact I will find things that have been left behind for hundreds of years...things I will still find a flood of beauty in, even though all other backs were turned.
I hope this trip will have an impact on my boys, perhaps it might not now but one day when they look back I hope it shapes them to become closer to their own true self, to help them learn how to find their way and true passion in a world that seems to pull so many the other way.
And for you?
I hope I can grab some images that will captivate you as well. Images that take you away for a moment. Take you away from the busyness and rushed way life has become, to a calm, slow, pace where you can find some peace and beauty and truth for yourself as well.
Until next time...