I worked from home today, so took a walk in my lunch break to see if I could get a picture for today.
There should always be something to capture on your walk (to people who regularly peek at my pictures, there's no canal near my home !!), but I was struggling to find something original to shoot.
I then spotted a group of office workers coming out of one of the local pubs, obviously having had a pint of Guiness to celebrate St. Patrick's day.
I was hoping they would cross the road by the Liberal club (see link below), so I could get them crossing the road in an unorderly fashion, but they did not oblige !
My walk home actually followed the same route as the drinkers and I managed to grab this photo as they passed another local pub.
It is shot from across a main road, with a rather long zoom (exif data says 300mm for a 35mm equivalent).
I thought about a B/W conversion, but the image only works when you see the green of the big Guiness hats !!!
It's quite a busy image but I do like the movement as the men march back to their place of work.
For fear of being a little controversial, it seems to me that St. Patricks' day has been high jacked as a commercial venture in the UK and an excuse for people to drink rather too much alcohol. Oh dear should I have said that ?
Love the tall green hats. Definitely need that green for the proper effect. St. Patrick's Day seems to be getting more and more popular as a holiday for rowdy adults. I'd put it a close 2nd in the US to Halloween, which used to be almost exclusively a kids' festival.
I am sure this photo could be replicated in Milwaukee here in Wisconsin as St Patricks is the same here. Lots of green beer and corned beer as early as 7a.m. No thank you. I love them waling in their hats.
Good catch - didn't see any signs of St Patrick's Day here which was a bit sad despite the fact that I agree with you about commercialisation. It was nice to see a few people out in their nightwear for Comic Relief today though.
great shot Phil - the pub we were in last night for our team dinner was full of St Patrick's decor! I tend to agree with you - I think it's become commercial for everyone else in the UK - still it's a good excuse for a pint of Guinnes!
@allie912 Allison, thank you for commenting, it's not the best of images, but it captures a little moment in time in or community. As for Halloween , well the UK are fast catching up to the US in that area !
@gill Thanks Gill, you are right the suits and the Guiness hats are quite a contrast :). You used to live in New York , I bet you wished you were into photography then...just imagine all the missed photo opportunities that passed you bye !
@judithg Judith, Thank You. Red Nose day !! Did I miss a photo opportunity today ? Actually red nose day seems to have been quite understated here today
@sparkle Glad you like the shot Juliette . I think Imay have been a little too critical of the commercial side of St. Patricks day in my comments. An excuse for a pint of Guiness is OK :)
@phil_howcroft ha - looking at your other comments - it's interesting that pubs don't do more about red nose day - maybe it's cos it's so close to St Patricks that they can't be bothered to decorate the bar again!!
