Beginnings & Transitions, a photo from Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Photographer's Note

This is one side of the Janus Figures located in Caldragh Cemetery on Boa Island, County Fermanagh.

Janus was the Roman god of beginnings and transitions. He usually has two facets, the female and the male, the past and the future. The west side of the figure is female, the east side is male. The Romans devoted the month of January to worship this god. I've not been able to find out how Roman idols have ended up in the land of Celts, but the cross-over of the two pagan cultures is fascinating.

Poet Seamus Heaney wrote a beautiful poem about these figures called January God:

"Then I found a two faced stone
On burial ground,
God-eyed, sex-mouthed, it’s brain
A watery wound.
In the wet gap of the year,
Daubed with fresh lake mud,
I faltered near his power —-
January God.
Who broke the water, the hymen
With his great antlers —-
There reigned upon each ghost tine
His familiars,
The mothering earth, the stones
Taken by each wave,
The fleshy aftergrass, the bones
Subsoil in each grave".

mirosu, pajaran, Silvio1953, cornejo, danos, Cricri, ChrisJ, alvaraalto, Fis2, abmdsudi heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

snunney (130967) 2016-07-11 5:06

Ciao Lisa,
An ancient sculpture well put in evidence in this nicely framed composition. Very good colours and excellent rendering of the textural detail.

Sergiom (117241) 2016-07-11 5:09

Ciao Lisa,

J'aime beaucoup la construction de cette image ainsi que le choix de la profondeur de champs qui porte toute l'attention sur le sujet principal à l'avant plan. Très jolies textures.

Amicalement

Serge

mkamionka (73290) 2016-07-11 5:40

Ciao Lisa,
this is such an extraordinary place. I had the satisfaction to visit this island a while ago as well.
Carved stones don't usually make great first impressions and this photo may not become the most popular on TE. One need to take a moment to think about the history behind it -only then the view like this will impress or even shock the viewer.
Nice composition with the great use of the shallow depth of the field.
Very well thought through frame.
Excellent work!
M

mirosu (16313) 2016-07-11 6:21

Hi Lisa,
very interesting photo, and also interesting note. Very nice details, but I would leave a bit more space at the left and top side.
Nicely done.
Greetings
Miro

pajaran (114845) 2016-07-11 6:32

Dobar dan.
Lep pogled, dobar tekst, lepa pesma Seamus Heaney ...
Dobar rad, kontrast i ostrina, lepe boje, lepo pokazano.
Lepa stara skulptura.
Imajte lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela, srecno.
Paja.

Good day.
Beautiful view, good text, a beautiful poem by Seamus Heaney ...
Good work, contrast and sharpness, beautiful colors, nice shown.
Beautiful old sculptures.
Have a nice and successful day, all the best for the new week, which began, good luck.
Paja.

holmertz (101946) 2016-07-11 7:15

Hello Lisa,
Regardless how this sculpture got there it has an eternal simple beauty that goes beyond any cultural borders. Figures like this could be found in a cave used at the dawn of humanhood or in a modern art gallery. This is also a well balanced composition with pleasant mild colours.
Kind regards,
Gert

BennyV (34734) 2016-07-11 8:26

A fine close shot, Lisa. Good stoney textures. And the poem in the note is a plus too.

Benny

lousat (138561) 2016-07-11 8:52

Ciao Lisa,la galleria che ho pubblicato è la galleria Umberto.Tu invece fai un salto molto piu' lungo nel passato,con questo idolo romanico nella terra del Celti,bella composizione decentrata e di ottima qualita',interessante anche il poema! Buon Martedi',Luciano

Silvio1953 (220525) 2016-07-11 9:33

Ciao cara Lisa, due facce le hanno anche tanti uomini, mica solo il Dio Giano, bella e interessante l'antica scultura, ottimi dettagli e splendida nitidezza, brava, un abbraccio Silvio

cornejo (61504) 2016-07-11 10:21

Hello dear Lisa, good photograph of this interesting ancient rock carvings. Very well captured in this interesting image with good sharpness, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting work perfectly realized, my congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good morning and happy start to the week.
Warm greetings from southern Spain.
Angel.

danos (110407) 2016-07-11 10:29

Ciao Lisa,
nice the view of the Janus figure with the two facets, that dominating the scene,located in Caldragh cemetery.The focusing on it enhance even more the details as the clarity of the image.

Se xereto,Danos

Tue (91526) 2016-07-11 12:52

Hello Lisa,
Excellent close-up of this ancient sculpture. Interesting indeed how this Roman god found his way to Northern Ireland. I find the composition really good here.
Lars

Cricri (176) 2016-07-11 13:06

Hi dear Lisa
Houlà incroyable sculpture accompagner d'une note intéressante et d'un joli poème
bon cadrage serré, texture bien rendue de la pierre, belle réalisation
bisous
cricri

carlo62 (81265) 2016-07-11 15:11

Ciao Lisuccia
i romani sono arrivati in luoghi che neanche immaginiamo.
Molto bello e interessante questo sito, bella anche la foto che hai confezionato per noi, una vera chicca.
Qui puoi trovare qualche notizia sulla storia dei romani in Irlanda: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernia_e_impero_romano

Un bacione
Carlo

ChrisJ (171172) 2016-07-11 17:01

Ciao Lisa,

It reminds me of the William Ricketts Sanctuary outside Melbourne. Good tight framing and sharpness on the sculpture. Tfs!

alvaraalto (42804) 2016-07-12 3:09

Hello Lisa
Excellent cultural contribution. Great portrait of the “Januskop”. Good use of the distance of field and a lovely poem as bonus. What can we wish more?
Well done.
Groet Rob

Fis2 (169659) 2016-07-12 12:19

Witaj Lisa!
A very interesting stone carving.
I like frame and colors.
Nice light and depth.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

abmdsudi (95869) 2016-07-12 20:08

Hi Lisa
Big strong centre-piece that you manage to add a sense of the mystical to the stone plus a powerful spiritual essence to it. I like the space you have left to his left, a good close take and angle highlighting the fascinating carving in context that has got a powerful feel to it. I guess getting the natural colour as close to the 'real life is ideal here, and this image for me ticks all the right photographic boxes. Superb shot, Congrats
Best wishes

Meglodon (353) 2016-07-13 3:39

Good morning Lisa,
Another good shot, great composition & love the colors of the statue. The green moss on the edge actually gives the impression of hair.

Regards,
Fred

gervaso (28177) 2016-09-24 6:58

Hello, Lisa!

Interesting statue of what seems to be an old man with a beard, captured with very nice texture and perfect sharpness! The depth of field is also great here! Wonderful composition! Well done!