Drive By Shootings

I have to say that in spite of the amazing scenery and uncharacteristically fabulous weather on the southwest coast of Ireland – the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, Killarney National Park, the Cliffs of Moher – I enjoyed my photography a lot less than I did in Scotland, even in some of the so-called “less scenic” places. In large part, it had to do with the pace. We had such a full itinerary and so many things to see that I’m not sure that I saw anything with real depth or clear vision. I’m finding that for photography to really be a meditative way of prayer for me, it must be unhurried. Occasionally you can glimpse the holy on the fly, but more often, I think the sacred is more fully experienced in the lingering, in the savoring, in the waiting for the scene to present itself instead of slapping a frame on whatever is in front of you at the moment. Far too many of my pictures felt like drive by shootings (pun intended) even when we were out of the car.

I would have loved to have had the luxury of two weeks in Ireland, not so I could see more but so I could see more slowly. What I wouldn’t give for a full two hours to explore the rocky climb we took at the end of the Dingle Peninsula, or the really exquisite views we had along the Ring of Kerry. If I could have just lingered in three or four of our stops – not all of them -- I would have felt so much more centered. Now mind you, I’m not complaining. Our week in Ireland was full and rich in every way: we visited universities and small towns, magnificent churches and breathtaking coasts, took in theater and history, kissed the Blarney Stone and toured the Guinness plant. Maybe I’ll just have to let this be a reverse process this time around – perhaps the savoring, lingering, joyful appreciation will come in the post-picture-making, in the cataloging and sorting, the sifting and reflecting. I have a lot of holy editing to do.