I have seen seagulls before, but this little guy was like a cartoon. He followed me around for a few minutes, clearly trying to get a start on his model career. Annie was sad we forget to have him sign a model release but I said I'd use it anyway, I prefer not carrying bird poop around, thanks :)
Turns out Ireland in May is rainy (which I knew and came prepared with - my awesome REI raincoat) and cold. Much colder than I expected. But that's all part of the adventure, right? Shouldn't have packed my winter clothes away quite this early!
Everytime I do a photoshoot like this, I seem to find one obsession. One thing I can't take enough photos of, it's just perfect - from every angle, every lighting situation... Well, today it was my boat. The adorable little blue tug boat. Ok, I have no idea if it was a tug boat, but that sounds better for my story. Just soo... cute!
We finished the evening stopping in to a couple pubs with live music. I don't drink alcohol, so I got a great seafood chowder at the first place and awkwardly ordered CocaCola at the next pubs. That's not usually weird for me when I'm going for the music, but something about being in Ireland and not drinking just made me feel out of place... The people were so friendly though. The last pub we went to had a very talented blues-y group and we sat with the groupies. I met the wife of the drummer, the girlfriend of the singer, and several other friends. And everyone just wanted to sit and chat and most of them were musicians too. I got a quick lesson and a chance to play a bodhran, a traditional Irish drum, held sideways and played with one hand. Loved the energy and the passion they all had in life. One guy, Fred, was telling me why the English don't like the Irish. It's because the Irish are crazy, no one knows exactly what they are going to do next... And I think he might be right, but that's why I've loved the culture! Always something new.
