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Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin

First, I was not sure where to post this photo. Architecture seemed the most fitting at the moment. If I knew more about it and could do it justice with discussion, I might have put it somewhere else, but for now, this is where it landed.

This was taken inside the Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin on the final day of our vacation. This is one of the most revered of monuments in all of Ireland. I only recently began learning some of what it stands for and what happened within its walls so I am in no position to really comment on that. If you do not know about it and its history, do yourself a favor and look into it. Its history is terrifying, sad, and triumphant all mixed together. I had a thousand different feelings walking through on our tour and learning some of the things that make it such a special place to the Irish people. I did come out feeling thankful for what I have and where I live and knowing that in order to achieve freedom for a nation, much pain, suffering, and sacrifice had to be laid down by those before us.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
First, I was not sure where to post this photo. Architecture seemed the most fitting at the moment. If I knew more about it and could do it justice with discussion, I might have put it somewhere else, but for now, this is where it landed.

This was taken inside the Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin on the final day of our vacation. This is one of the most revered of monuments in all of Ireland. I only recently began learning some of what it stands for and what happened within its walls so I am in no position to really comment on that. If you do not know about it and its history, do yourself a favor and look into it. Its history is terrifying, sad, and triumphant all mixed together. I had a thousand different feelings walking through on our tour and learning some of the things that make it such a special place to the Irish people. I did come out feeling thankful for what I have and where I live and knowing that in order to achieve freedom for a nation, much pain, suffering, and sacrifice had to be laid down by those before us.

[​
/QUOTE]

James,

Am impressed by this sight and how you managed to get it all in one frame. Is this stitched?

Asher
 
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Asher, no stitching. Just one image. This room is really large. I was using my 24-70mm.
I don't remember the setting. I'll have to check that.
James
 

Robert Watcher

Well-known member
Very nice image. Interesting place. I'd love to get my camera in there and exploit the possibilities lol.


------------
 
If you look closely on the right side of the floor you will see what looks like a manhole cover. Down below, through that hole, is unfortunately where the women and children were usually kept. The females made up the largest group in the prison during its day. The youngest prisoner on record there was a 7 year old boy who was imprisoned for begging for food. Not a nice place to be.

Also, the two vertical poles on the right side are what is left of the dumb waiter that was used to send food from down below up to the upper levels.
 
Asher,
At your request, this is what I did with this photo. It was shot during our tour of the prison. We were heading out of this area and continuing on so I waited to leave last when everyone else was gone and out of the image.

I was using my Nikon D3 camera and my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I shot in Aperture mode and it was at 31mm f/7.1 1/200s ISO 400.

It is a single image with no stitching. I have said many times that my post processing skills are basically horrible and I use all sorts of secondary software, not really very well, and I just usually play around until I get something that I like personally. I have been told in the past that my stuff "looks almost like a photograph" and I understand that thinking completely. My stuff usually ends up looking very different in the end than it did in just the original image. That is ok by me. I do what I can and hopefully end up with something I like.

I used Photomatix Pro and Photoshop to end up where I did. I started with the original image and then I created 6 more images from it, all with altered ev settings in Photoshop. So I ended up with 7 images with ev settings of -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, and +3, with the 0 image being the original. Then I processed these 7 "bracketed" exposures in Photomatix.
I use Photomatix sort of like I use Photoshop. Very basic and minimal knowledge of its full capability. The image I posted is how it ended up.

Just so you can see how I butchered my way to my final image from the original, I will post both.

This is the original.


Here is the final version.


So as you can see, it really isn't a true photograph afterall. It is a highly manipulated "creative" version that I like and will be printing and hanging in my office.
I hope this helps understand my "process". Haha. I really could use lessons.

James Newman
 
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Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, James,

So as you can see, it really isn't a true photograph afterall. It is a highly manipulated "creative" version that I like and will be printing and hanging in my office.

Well, yes it is a photograph (and yes, "sort of looks like one"), and a wonderful one at that. You may consider your process less-than-sophisticated, but ultimately it is the result (and that you presumably were not maimed or maddened by the work) that counts.

I hope this helps understand my "process". Haha. I really could use lessons.

Well, we can all always learn things, hopefully every day.

Again, kudos on an extraordinary image.

I always liked Chicagoland, and in fact that name. (I never lived there, but I used to travel there a lot on business.)

And I always loved WGN, "Chicago's very own", not just the station but the slogan as well. There was something very comforting about it. When they gave up the slogan, I wrote the General Manager a snotty letter.

I suppose you know the origin of that callsign.

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
.......

I always liked Chicagoland, and in fact that name. (I never lived there, but I used to travel there a lot on business.)

And I always loved WGN, "Chicago's very own", not just the station but the slogan as well. There was something very comforting about it. When they gave up the slogan, I wrote the General Manager a snotty letter.

I suppose you know the origin of that callsign.

Doug,

I was so lost for some time reading your comments! "Why on earth would Doug start reminiscing about Chicago, it's radio station?"

I searched for some definitive hook in the narrative on this Irish Jail! "What is it that diverted you so completely from the stark horror of the prison! Finally I discovered: "Chicagoland" in the signature! It caught your eye, much earlier. So are you far more alert and thorough than I am or more easily distracted ? ?

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Asher,
At your request, this is what I did with this photo. It was shot during our tour of the prison. We were heading out of this area and continuing on so I waited to leave last when everyone else was gone and out of the image.

I was using my Nikon D3 camera and my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I shot in Aperture mode and it was at 31mm f/7.1 1/200s ISO 400.

It is a single image with no stitching. I have said many times that my post processing skills are basically horrible and I use all sorts of secondary software, not really very well, and I just usually play around until I get something that I like personally. I have been told in the past that my stuff "looks almost like a photograph" and I understand that thinking completely. My stuff usually ends up looking very different in the end than it did in just the original image. That is ok by me. I do what I can and hopefully end up with something I like.

I used Photomatix Pro and Photoshop to end up where I did. I started with the original image and then I created 6 more images from it, all with altered ev settings in Photoshop. So I ended up with 7 images with ev settings of -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, and +3, with the 0 image being the original. Then I processed these 7 "bracketed" exposures in Photomatix.
I use Photomatix sort of like I use Photoshop. Very basic and minimal knowledge of its full capability. The image I posted is how it ended up.

Just so you can see how I butchered my way to my final image from the original, I will post both.

This is the original.


Here is the final version.


So as you can see, it really isn't a true photograph afterall. It is a highly manipulated "creative" version that I like and will be printing and hanging in my office.
I hope this helps understand my "process". Haha. I really could use lessons.

James,

Without your simple but apt and competent adjustmenta, you had a snap, a quick memento of a remarkable scene. Now you have delivered the necessary textures, detail and grittiness to represent a place of stark discipline and colonial horrors forced by one group on another.

This is now a photograph with gravitas and frankly, to me at least, it can stand next to the work of any famous photographer of any period of time and be nit her self-conscious nor lacking in merit!

I do hope that this wasn't the only picture you made!

Asher
 
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Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Asher,
Doug,

I was so lost for some time reading your comments! "Why on earth would Doug start reminiscing about Chicago, it's radio station?"

I searched for some definitive hook in the narrative on this Irish Jail! "What is it that diverted you so completely from the stark horror of the prison! Finally I discovered: "Chicagoland" in the signature! It caught your eye, much earlier. So are you far more alert and thorough than I am or more easily distracted ?

I just try to make a practice of reading the whole thing. It is often very beneficial. Sometimes the best peppermint is at the bottom of the jar.

Best regards,

Doug
 
Thank you very much for the kind words Robert, Doug, and Asher. You're much too kind. Just like everyplace else I shoot, once it's over and I am back at home looking at what I came away with, I always wish I had done more and done things differently. In the moment, I am usually not disciplined enough to think the way I should, and I don't see the way I should, and I end up fretting over all of the missed opportunities.

This gaol is one of those places. Before we even left the US on this trip, my wife and I had read many things and watched some documentary type shows on the Irish fight for their freedom from British rule. We have a certain kinship with them in those regards. The Kilmainham Gaol played a big part in those times. The leaders of the Republicans during the Easter Rising were probably some of the most known and famous prisoners. At least those were the ones most talked about and revered in the Republic. Most of them were executed behind the walls of this place. Their executions ended up being one of the catalysts that brought the people together in the fight for freedom and independence.

This photo shows the gate each of them was taken through in their final moments. The black cross is where they all stood before the firing squad. There is actually another black cross in a different location that marks where James Connolly, the main socialist labor leader, was executed while sitting in a chair. He had been badly wounded in the previous fighting and they say would probably have died anyway of his injuries in a few more hours, but was still setup and actually tied up to the chair because he could not sit on his own, and shot by the firing squad just like the others.






The following photos show a little more of the inside of the building. The lighting inside is pretty dim so I was shooting with ISO 3200 and it shows in some of the graininess of the images. It seems fitting to me however and I think I like the graininess and the way it sort of matches the things that must have gone on back then. The cell doors had small holes in them so that the guards could look in on the prisoners. They used to be covered but now are not. I do not know if this is just a result of vandalism or perhaps for the sake of visitors, giving them an opportunity to take a look inside. The Gaol did sit vacant and abandoned for decades before being opened again and put into its current condition as a National Museum.

This particular cell would have been one of the better ones as it actually had a window so the prisoners could actually see some light from time to time. It still had to be horrendous however to have been crammed into this tiny place with many others.



The door



Peep hole




I put my camera lens up to the peep hole and just clicked. I like this one better in B&W as I feel it gives more of a dark feeling from the past. I can almost see the poor fellows looking back at my lens.




So there you have it. Kilmainham Gaol is a place I would highly recommend if you ever get the chance to visit it. The history is so deep and important that it really adds emotions to the visit. It is important and makes you think. It is not your typical tourist attraction. At least to me it was not.

Thanks again for looking,

James Newman
 
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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Notice I centered the pictures, James as these deserve to be seen with white space all around.

Kudos!


Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Thank you Asher. I have forgotten how to center them it has been so long. What is the command again for this?
James

Then [/center)

But with all square brackets!

Above the dialog box when you preview or go to "advanced", you get the formatting options: left, center and right justified. Just select what you want to center and then click on the second of these 3 formatting icons.

Asher​
 
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