Saint Patrick's Day 2013

So, it was Saint Patrick's Day in Sydney and a fact-learning day for me personally.

One. Four leaf clover is not a symbol of Ireland. It's rather mythically associated with Ireland as St. Patrick used the three leaf which is commonly known as the shamrock, to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans.

Two. The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The story dates back more than 1000 years and you might find better place for details. Although the most obvious sign is the logo of the Guinness ale - even it's horizontally inverted, is the same harp as the official symbol of Ireland. Shame on my ignorance as Guinness has been my favourite beer for last 10 years and still I've never wondered about the meaning of the symbol. Honestly I didn't even know that it was actually a harp. I need to get a couple of bottles to give a good look at it now.

And Three. The green hat is originated from a mythical creature in Irish folklore called, 'Leprechaun' and it's not called, an elf. This is the dude chasing the gold at the end of the rainbow. Tough job it must be
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Huge thanks to Tony who told me all these valuable facts in a pleasant manner. You confirmed me again that a person like you with such in-depth knowledge can also be very pleasant to be accompanied. Having said that I do suffer from a person know only knows things on the daily basis …


I just screamed loud, "Hey Look! What's in the sky?" to get this shot ... of course kidding.

I saw this old gentleman on Australian Day this year. He was selling Australian flag at the time. His flexible business model quickly adapted the new market. It seems that he fascinated by the technique of the little customer's - wearing hat on top of hat.


Shooting under bright day light is indeed not easy task, especially when people are wearing a huge hat. I just have to wish that my camera will capture enough dynamic range for me.

Big happy family posed for me. I was wondering all of them are her children.

Thanks to the police woman for:

1. Maintaining the order at the event and providing the safety to general public.
2. Riding an attractive horse which is not shy in front of the lens.
3. Being so attractive yourself and showing me a gorgeous  smile. The uniform definitely does help :)

Lastly this Irish wolfhound was rather big for her :)

All the images were taken with X100.