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Sounds like I need to do some weight training to allow the ditching of the monopod for the long lens. I’m intending to do a dolphin watching boat trip locally sometime this summer as an almost dress rehearsal for using the camera on the whale watching in Alaska.

The pro pitchside photographers I’ve been alongside tend to have 2 cameras with lenses (a 400mm and a 70-200mm depending on the specific sport) mounted during a game and may have a third setup for portrait shots pre/post for players with mascots or MVP presentations. Wheeled pelican-cases are commonly used as a pitchside desk for a laptop if they’ll be sending images back to base during a match. When I got a pink pelicase the lads started laughing until I asked if they’d want to be seen running off with it… it’s pretty rare to see a pink pelicase anywhere let alone in the middle of a rugby venue so anyone wandering off with it would be spotted very rapidly. It also came in handy when I was doing photography in Virginia at the height of the summer on an artificial pitch.. the pink doesn’t heat up half as much as the black cases do.

Aww that’s unfortunate, I haven’t been a regular visitor to that site since I got laser eye correction which meant white text on a black background was a special form of torture but it was always where I checked for reviews on new kit even then.

I just got a new tripod with a detachable leg to use as a monopod. The only reason I’m contemplating bringing a tripod with me is for the chance of catching the northern lights as my sailing is in the middle of October. I’m planning on the monopod for the white pass train and possibly the whale watching boat. I am however considering switching out the head that came with the tripod as it’s quite heavy relative to the tripod itself. I’ve also gotten a more travel friendly backpack which includes a waterproof cover and fits the 100-400mm attached to a camera body. As well as the second camera body and 2 shorter lenses. I already have the gore-tex sports shield covers for the cameras in a couple of sizes. It sounds like I need to get my hands on at least one polarising filter…. I’ve not used any filters other than the UV or O-haze variety so if anyone has suggestions on a type that would work for potentially spotting the whales underwater I’d greatly appreciate it.

Going back to the original post… most airlines don’t require your passport info at booking. The airline will request it when doing online check-in, they may also send reminders for any specific border control requirements. E.g. when I travel to the USA I get a reminder to make sure my ESTA is up to date, and for my last trip there was all the extra covid certifications required.

I’m not sure about specific highlights of the french open but the bbc world news channel on the stateroom tv will probably show some brief highlights. If you want access to in depth coverage Eurosport is the main broadcaster for the tournament. There is an app for Eurosport and it’s also part of the discovery family of channels over here so you may have access through their app if you have a subscription.

I’ve always opted for the buffet when at port early, the main dining room service is just way too slow for me. There is a supplemental buffet out in the American diner (formerly margaritaville) for breakfast that’s usually quieter than the main buffet if that’s too busy for your taste. The hours of the various dining options are shown on the back page of the freestyle daily. So you’ll know the prior evening what the dining options will be.

snow was a bit of a novelty in most of Ireland for many years, we got snow on the coastline back in 1982 that caused complete havoc and my family had to move in with my grandmother as the house we were renting didn’t have central heating but her house had a fireplace in every room (200+ year old house). The next time was 2018 when I was away on a cruise and it lasted a few days, then we had 1 day of it this winter. I spent a winter in Massachusetts and it literally started snowing the day I got there and didn’t stop until after I was back in ireland. But I had a Malaysian colleague there who was totally fascinated at the first snowfall as he’d never seen snow before. When you’re from somewhere that experiences a wide variety of weather you don’t appreciate how novel it can be for those from areas that don’t get the full range.

I know for the sailing I’ve booked in October they are not offering the longer train ride options it’s only up to white pass and back.

Be glad to not to be paying premium phone line charges when you do call. trying to get a hold of an airline when their online tools don’t work is both tortuous and expensive. I spent 45mins on hold (while roaming) with my airline trying to do check-in when their app wasn’t working only for them to tell me to sort it at the airport.

Didn’t have any issues with the angle of the tv in any of the studios I stayed in, could be that one cabin had a fault with the bracket mount of the tv.

Check the Norwegian cruise forum, their first cruises of the season are this month. I know there’s going to be a live review on the April 22nd sailing of Norwegian Bliss which has Skagway on its itinerary.

The bar is just staffed during the meet-up 5-7pm ish. They have soda as well as alcohol during those hours. Apart from that you can get water, juice, coffee or tea self serve in the lounge along with some fruit and pastries.

But is there WiFi out there? The roaming charges are horrific for data from Ireland.

I’ll be flying in a couple of days early for my sailing in October so I booked The Belltown inn which is within (Irish standards) walking distance of the pier. So it’s just getting from the airport to the hotel, method of transport to be decided closer to the time.

I decided to book the later time for the lumberjack show as that should get me back to ward cove for 12:30pm, I just need to confirm with the excursion desk on the ship if I can meet at the show rather than at ward cove. If that’s possible then I’ll aim to catch the earliest shuttle into town to get a decent chance to wander and see the Totem poles around the town. With the excursion credit the lumberjack show is about as much as a taxi would likely cost.

That could have been Skagway

Newgrange predates the pyramids so if you’re interested in truly ancient history then the boyne valley area is a good spot. I’m on the west coast of Ireland so have made many visits to a dolmen up in the Burren and there are a few ring forts around my area in addition to Ailwee cave where Stone Age era remains were found. But there are these types of sites all over the country, check out the archeological website for Ireland. Reference website for archaeology in Ireland

Some info specific to Ireland.. AmEx cards are not widely accepted due to their outrageous processing fees. There is no limit on tap payments via android or apple, but for card tap the limit is €50. I’ve had an increasing number of American customers with Chip&pin cards as well as tap capable cards. One possible area that you may have trouble using a card in Ireland is taxis they’re supposed to accept card payments but “the machine is broken” is a regular refrain. There are no rideshare apps allowed here and AFAIK the main app used by taxi’s these days is FreeNow. Some retailers can offer a partial sales tax refund, the threshold changed last year to €75 minimum spend, sales tax in Ireland is 23% and already built into the prices, you can claim back a portion of it at the airport.

Ah now.. you can’t be sending the poor tourists to temple bar for a €10 pint. Better to stay away from that tourist trap.

At the moment the main unrest is from the Protestant/unionist side of affairs as they are rather upset about the Good Friday agreement meaning that they can’t be treated the same as the rest of the UK post-brexit. The “new/real/xyz IRA” are just criminals at this point. As @3Shelaghs mentioned the period around July 12th is a flashpoint for cross-community tensions. Just avoid anywhere with a parade scheduled and it’s safe enough. For the most part they tend to target police/army facilities or members, it’s been a long time since any of their actions have affected civilians.

So how many of us are sending the e-mail .. it’s honestly bonkers. I bring multiple electronic devices with me along with backup batteries and portable phone chargers. The Samsung wireless charger I have at home has a fan built into it to keep the phone from overheating. I don’t see how they can be sure every other electrical or electronic item brought onboard could be safer than a mini fan. Maybe require that everything has a CE/Kite/or equivalent quality mark. There was a big issue with hoverboards when they first came to market, they were in such demand that an awful lot of knock-offs without proper certification came into Ireland and caused a fair few house fires.

We had a B&B when I was a kid and we now have a surf shop so I’ve been around a lot of the coast working at various surf contests and I’ve cousins all over the country. We get a lot of North American tourists in the shop as we’re close to the Cliffs of Moher which is the most popular tourist attraction outside of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. One of my cousins was an archaeologist and now deals with historic buildings while her brother in law works at Epic Museum in Dublin which concentrates on the stories of the Irish diaspora and has won a few European tourism awards. As a nation we are a bit blasé about some of our historical structures, there are High Crosses in hundreds of churchyards and graveyards around the country as well as an abundance of Norman era castles, there was one in the field behind my primary school (grade school) which we climbed inside regularly but has since lost a lot of it’s structure so the current kids can’t go near it. meanwhile the house JP Holland (inventor of the modern submarine) grew up in was demolished about a hundred years ago, it’s former location is the football field for that same school. His father was a member of the royal coastguard back when Ireland was under British rule. the advent of drone technology has led to more historical sites being discovered when we get extended dry weather, they found a whole new complex in the Boyne valley leading to newgrange, a local drone operator found signs of a ring fort on the cliff edge in Lahinch that no one had ever suspected existed. There’s already a fairly obvious one on the inland side of the village, there’s a lot of superstition associated with those old structures so they tend to be overgrown with briars and other wild plants.

I normally bring a compact system camera (lumix GM1) with me and to be honest for landscape and people pictures there’s not a huge difference in picture quality between that and my phone (currently Samsung s21) even in print. I get A4 sized photo books printed and both work, it’s when you’re taking a picture where you’ve used the zoom that the difference in quality arises, e.g. getting pictures of neighbouring islands when I was in St Kitts. I’m going to test out the camera options on a dolphin watching excursion here locally to see if it’s just going to be too unwieldy on a crowded boat. The friend travelling with me keeps thinking about getting a camera so she’s going to try my usual travel kit while I try the sports kit (Canon 7D&7DII ) on the dolphin watching.

I’m hoping to get some wildlife pics and the zoom on a phone is never going to match the reach of a telephoto lens. I don’t usually bring the high end kit with me on vacation but for Alaska I’m hoping it will be worth the effort.