Architectural Photographer Ireland

HowthCastle
http://www.osheaphotography.com

Howth Castle has been the stronghold of the St. Lawrence family for hundreds of years. Initially a timber fort, which was built on Tower Hill in 1177 before a permanent stone-walled Norman castle was constructed in mid-fifteenth century at the present site.

Rhododendran Gardens Howth Castle www.osheaphotography.com

Rhododendran Gardens Howth Castle
http://www.osheaphotography.com

Rhododendran Gardens Howth. www.osheaphotography.com

Rhododendran Gardens Howth.
http://www.osheaphotography.com

Up on the Hill to the South of the Castle stands a 12-hectare (30-acre)garden which was first planted in 1875 and is best known for its 1,500 varieties of wild rhododendrons, one of the largest collections in Europe. In order to construct and plant the garden , earth and peat was carried up the cliff face and put into holes in the rocky surface. The original plants were mainly the common purple rhododendron “Ponticum”.

Nestled at the base of the Hill is an ancient dolmen known as Aideen’s Grave which was mythically flung by “Finn McCool” from the Bog of Allen.

Aideens Grave Howth Castle www.osheaphotography.com

Aideens Grave Howth Castle
http://www.osheaphotography.com

The Castle has much Literary References most notability James Joyce`s Book “Finnegan’s Wake” which is based around Howth Castle and the surrounding area. As for the Rhododendran Gardens, this is the location where Bloom proposed to Molly in Joyce’s Classic “Ulysses” –

Rhododendran Gardens Howth Castle
http://www.osheaphotography.com

I used two Cameras for this project- My Nikon D2x and my Nikon D3 – All the images were taken using three lenses

Rhododendran Gardens Howth Castle
http://www.osheaphotography.com

-A Nikon ED AF Nikkor 80-200mm 2.8 D Nikon AF A Nikkor 24-120mm 1:3.5-5.6 D and a Sigma DC 18-50mm 1:2.8 Ex Macro HSM .All digital files taken were in Camera raw format.

David O’Shea

http://www.osheaphotography.com

Rhododendran Gardens Howth Castle
http://www.osheaphotography.com

Development of the Point Theatre Dublin 1988 -David O'shea Architectural Photographer Dublin Ireland

The Point Theatre Dublin Docklands Dublin January 1988

The Point Theatre (also known as the Point Depot or simply “the Point”) was a concert and events venue in Ireland‘s Capital City Dublin, which was open from 1988–2007. Over the 19 years its Doors were open more than 2 million people attended its various Events . It was located in Dublin Docklands becide the River Liffey on the North Wall Quay. The Point was closed in the summer of 2007 for a major redevelopment and was rebranded as the O2 in July 2008.

The Point Depot was originally constructed as a goods warehouse for the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1878 at a cost of £308,000

Photograph taken in February 1988 of the Instigator of the Point Depot National Exhibition Centre Mr Harry Crosbie

. In 1987 Local Businessman Mr Harry Crosbie purchased the Derelict Building and the 7.3 acre site for £955,000. During that year it was used by Irish Rock Band U2 to recorded tracks for their 1988 album, “Rattle and Hum“, and footage from the building of performances of the songs “Van Diemen’s Land” and “Desire” appear in the accompanying “Rattle and Hum” movie.

In January 1988 work started on converting the former CIE Point Depot ,still retaining the Grandeur and Elegance of its 19th Century cut stone and red bricked Building, to a multi-purpose top Class exhibition and Conference Centre fitted with all the modern Amenities .

11 months later in November 1988 The Point Depot opened its doors for its first event – Irish Political Party “Fine Gael” had their annual Ard Fheis (Party Conference) at the Venue . Mr Crosbie had spent in excess of 3 million pounds and turned a derelict Building in Dublin Docklands into Ireland’s Largest exhibition and concert venue with a floor area of 138,000 sq.ft (12,821 sq Meters),Seating capacity of 8000, with full facilities, on site car parking ,and a selection of Bars and Restaurants .

I was lucky enough to meet Harry just after he Purchased the Site and expressed an interest in photographing the Transformation of the Building . He agreed to grant full access to undertake the project and as a result i have enjoyed a very strong working relationship with him and the building since .

U2’s Director of Sound Joe O’Herlihy undertakes the first Sound Check -November 1988

2013 Marks the 25th Anniversary of the venue and so for my first Blog to celebrate this, i am going to Post some of the early images i took of the original transformation . All of these images were shot with a 35mm Nikon FM 2 Analogue camera . Most were shot in Black & White . The films used were Kodak tri-x ,Ilford fp4 and Agfapan 100. I used three len’s to shoot most of the project A Nikkor 20mm f3.5 -A Nikkor 28mm f3.5 and a Nikkon 50mm f1.8 E series lens.

David O’shea

http://www.osheaphotography.com