I've been a Sugababes fan since I first heard Overload way back in 2000. It was, and still is, a pop classic. Over the years, I managed to catch them live a couple of times. The first time I caught Sugababes live was way back at Creamfields 2002. Unfortunately Siobhan had left the band by then and been replaced by Heidi, so I never got to see the original lineup. Did it matter much at the time to me? No, not at all, I was just their to party! As a side note, post Sugababes, Siobhan went on to release two solo albums, Revolution in Me in 2003 and Ghosts in 2007. The next time I saw them was at Oxegen 2008, and by then Mutya had left the band and was replaced by Amelle, leaving Keisha as the only remaining original member. It was a tad strange seeing the band with only one remaining member, but again, it was a festival and all we were looking for was a good time, which we definitely got! Another side note, just like Siobhan, Mutya went on to release her own solo work, a gr
Ever since I heard about the Aurora Borealis as a child, I wanted to see it.
Over the years, many drunken, and some sober, plans were made to go to the Arctic to see it, but none ever came to fruition.
So, when a friend rang and asked if I fancied trying to see it from only a few miles out the road, I had to take that chance. Mind you, I thought we'd absolutely no chance of seeing it, who ever heard of an Aurora Borealis sighting here? Not me!
We hit the road and drove the short 20 minutes to Ballynafagh Church out past Prosperous (Christy Moore fans will know that place!) and parked down a dark, tight country lane.
No need to hop fences or climb over gates in the dark of night thankfully, as there was a small entrance into what used to be church grounds. Pretty soon my camera was set up on the tripod and we were ankle deep in mud! Only then did I come to the realisation, I hadn't a clue what I was doing!
Thankfully there were a few other photographers there on the night and, after explaining my predicament, one kindly set me straight on the settings I needed.
The Aurora was visible to the naked eye and looked stunning, but through the camera lens it was even more impressive. Mind you, the longer we stood there looking at it, the colder we got. So with that in mind, I wasted no time in taking photos.
In total, I only took 9 different photos, after which we stared at the glorious site for a few minutes more before the decision to leave was made.
Are my photos any good? Meh... not really. I wanted the church in focus, but I just couldn't make that work, more practice will help with that.
I did get one photo I'm relatively happy with, and that's below. All in all, even if I hadn't taken any photos, just seeing the Northern Lights, from the middle of the bog in the county of Kildare was an incredible thrill.
Hopefully I get the chance to do it again.
