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BELFAST CITY 2022

Now expanded to include previous visits the the City of Belfast.

VISIT THE 2023 PHOTO BLOG

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BELFAST PHOTO BLOG

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EXTENDED SCOPE TO INCLUDE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM EARLIER VISITS TO BELFAST

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This was my most intense visit to Belfast but unfortunately I had a very bad fall on my second day at 9am so it was not because I had too much wine. I was in a lot of pain for about two days but I was more worried about my camera and my new Sony 20mm lens. Initially, after the fall, I could not get the camera to work but after shutting down by removing the batteries everything returned to normal.

In order to reduce weight I limited myself to three lenses. My new Sony 20mm G, a Zeiss Batis 85mm lens and my new Voigtlander 60mm and I was very pleased by the performance of all of them but I am convinced that the Batis produced the best results. I should also mention that I also used an iPhone 12 Pro Max and the results were impressive.

I have visited the city once every year for the last fifteen years with the exception of 2019 because of Covid-19 restrictions and every time I visited it rained. This year I visited I took a gamble and visited in March and much to my surprise the weather was beautiful but I was somewhat limited by the fact that sunset was at 18:30 [that caught me by surprise].

Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest on the island of Ireland. It had a population of 343,542 in 2019. Belfast suffered greatly during the violence that accompanied the partition of Ireland, and especially during the more recent conflict known as the Troubles.

By the early 19th century, Belfast was a major port. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, becoming briefly the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname "Linenopolis". By the time it was granted city status in 1888, it was a major centre of Irish linen production, tobacco-processing and rope-making. Shipbuilding was also a key industry; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the RMS Titanic, was the world's largest shipyard. Belfast as of 2019 has a major aerospace and missiles industry. Industrialisation, and the inward migration it brought, made Belfast Northern Ireland's biggest city. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, Belfast became the seat of government for Northern Ireland. Belfast's status as a global industrial centre ended in the decades after the Second World War.

Belfast is still a port with commercial and industrial docks, including the Harland and Wolff shipyard, dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline. It is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport, 3 miles (5 kilometres) from the city centre, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of the city. The Globalisation and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) listed Belfast as a Gamma + global city in 2020.

A PAWN VISITS BELFAST IS THIS A BOLLARD ON DONEGALL STREET

Ever since I was about four years old I really liked visiting Belfast and I now still visit at once a year to spend a week photographing the built environment. One thing that I have noticed about Belfast is that there are many once attractive buildings in the city but many of them are unoccupied or could even be described as derelict and this is especially true in and around Donegall Street.

To make things worse, about six or seven months after I last visited the area there was a major fire which resulted in a report by an engineer indicating that repairs following a major fire in the Cathedral Quarter are likely to take years and that a cordon may need to remain around the listed Old Cathedral Building on Donegall Street, restricting access for several business owners, pedestrians and traffic.
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A TRIP ALONG DONEGALL STREET IN BELFASTURBAN DEPRESSION AND SOME URBAN EXPRESSION

Ever since I was about four years old I really liked visiting Belfast and I now still visit at once a year to spend a week photographing the built environment. One thing that I have noticed about Belfast is that there are many once attractive buildings in the city but many of them are unoccupied or could even be described as derelict and this is especially true in and around Donegall Street.

To make things worse, about six or seven months after I last visited the area there was a major fire which resulted in a report by an engineer indicating that repairs following a major fire in the Cathedral Quarter are likely to take years and that a cordon may need to remain around the listed Old Cathedral Building on Donegall Street, restricting access for several business owners, pedestrians and traffic.
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ST MALACHY'S CHURCH ALFRED STREET - RUSSELL STREET IN BELFAST

Saint Malachy's Church is a Catholic Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located in Alfred Street, a short distance from Belfast City Hall , though it precedes that building by over 60 years. The Church is the focal point of the local parish community, also Saint Malachy's, one of the 88 parishes in the Diocese of Down and Connor. It is third oldest Catholic Church in the city of Belfast.
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I REALLY LIKE ECO BY MARK DIDOUTHE McCLAY LIBRARY QUEENS UNIVERSITY 24 JUNE 2014

This unusual sculpture, by French artist Marc Didou, was acquired by the university in 2008 to both mark the centenary of Queen's as well as the opening of the library.

Marc Didou is a Breton sculptor, winner of the Michetti Prize in 2005, with many solo and group exhibitions in Europe and elsewhere. Since the 1990s he has used MRI scanning as a new medium for sculpture.
I REALLY LIKE ECO BY MARK DIDOU

THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICAPHOTOGRAPHED JUNE 2014 PUBLISHED 16 DECEMBER 2022

Rowan Fergus Meredith Gillespie is an Irish bronze casting sculptor of international renown. Born in Dublin to Irish parents, Gillespie spent his formative years in Cyprus. From conception to creation, he works alone in his purpose-built bronze casting foundry at Clonlea, in Blackrock
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RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAMPHOTOGRAPHED JUNE 2014 PUBLISHED 16 DECEMBER 2022

When I photographed this in June 2014 I was unable to locate any information relating to this sculpture but a few years I came across the following information:

This Reclining Figure by Frederick Edward McWilliam (1909-92) was relocated from the quadrangle at the David Keir building to the main Quadrangle at the Lanyon Building Queen's University in 2013 and it took me five years to find any information relating to this interesting bronze sculpture.
RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM

THE UNKNOWN WOMAN WORKERPHOTOGRAPHED IN 2018 BUT PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2022

The Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker is a 1992 sculpture by Louise Walsh in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

I first photographed this sculpture in June 2014 and again in May 2018 and I must admit that I like it.

The sculpture is located on the city's Great Victoria Street adjacent to the Europa Hotel. It is cast in bronze and features two working-class women with symbols of women's work embedded on the surfaces. Domestic items such as colanders, a shopping basket and clothes pegs are part of the sculpture.

The Department of the Environment's original commission, in the late 1980s, was for an artwork to reflect the nearby Amelia Street's history as a red-light district. Walsh's design "Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker" was accepted by the project's landscape architect and the Art in Public Spaces Research Group, however the Belfast Development Office and the Belfast City Council opposed the project and the selected design, and the project was dropped in 1989. A few years later a private developer recommissioned the work and it was erected in 1992 (30 years ago).

Walsh was born in County Cork, and received her MA in sculpture from the University of Ulster.
THE UNKNOWN WOMAN WORKER

BBC NORTHERN IRELAND PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2018 BUT PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2022

2BE, the Belfast station of the British Broadcasting Company, went on the air on 15 September, 1924 at a small studio in Linenhall Street in Belfast. It became part of the newly established British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927 and its services continued to grow.

By the mid-1930s the limitations of the Linenhall Street studios had become apparent, and preparations began to create a new home for local broadcasting in Northern Ireland. James Miller, a Scottish architect, was asked to undertake the building's design.

By mid-1937 it had been confirmed that the BBC had acquired a city centre site on Ormeau Avenue and that it intended construct a "Broadcasting House in its main characteristics similar to the headquarters of the Corporation in London".

Substantive building work on the BBC's "new Northern Ireland headquarters" began in 1939 and continued despite the outbreak of World War II. It was completed in 1941 at a time when regional broadcasting was largely in abeyance.

Services resumed in 1945 and received fresh editorial impetus with the BBC's new emphasis on regional voices and experiences. The Troubles had a profound effect across Northern Ireland and on the BBC itself. This period marked a transition in the BBC's role in Northern Ireland, and its coverage of the conflict sometimes excited fierce audience and political reaction; Broadcasting House (like many other city centre buildings) suffered from bomb damage.

Broadcasting House itself grew with the addition of an administration block in 1975 and a new suite of studio and editing facilities in 1984.

The future of the Grade B2 listed building has been assured by the announcement of a £77 million investment in the site by the BBC to improve its infrastructure, efficiency and accessibility, the work which is expected to take place between 2018 and 2023.
BBC HQ IN BELFAST MAY 2018

BELFAST CITY HALLPHOTOGRAPHED IN 2018 BUT PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2022

Every time I am in Belfast I visit Belfast City Hall but unfortunately, with one exception, access has been limited because of a Royal event or even a strike by public sector workers. In May 2018 I was harassed by a really annoying gentleman who object to me photographing the symbols of the British Empire. I cannot determine why I was selected for abuse.
BELFAST CITY HALL

THE CATHEDRAL AND WRITERS SQUARE BELFAST MARCH 2022

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DOCK STREET AND PRINCES DOCK STREET SAILORTOWN AREA OF BELFAST MARCH 2022

SAILORTOWN AREA OF BELFAST MARCH 2022

BLINKS ON QUEENS ROAD IN BELFAST BELFAST MARCH 2022

THE BLINKS SCULPTURE ON QUEENS ROAD IN BELFAST
Street Photography and the associate websites and blogs are the elements of my main hobby. I say main, as I do have other hobbies.

Over the years I have experiments with different forms of hosting and software but as I have progressed I have found must hosting service to be very restrictive and constraining so I have tended towards self hosting solutions. I have tried many software solutions but eventually settled of Rapidweaver however I do operate a number of Wordpress Sites which I will discontinue over the next two years.

One problem that I have had is that according to Google my sites failed to meet their strict requirements for mobile sites [Core Web Vitals]. I have tried multiple solutions but the changes have been minor. At best my rating was about 37%

Recently things at Rapidweaver have become complicated and as a result I may not be able to depend on their software going forward so I have had to examine other solutions and one that I investigated is Sparkle which performs very well if Google Core Web Vitals is the gold standard. I should mention that I do intend to remain with Rapidweaver and I will employ their new solutions going forward but I will also employ other solutions. I am also testing Blocs 4.

Web Vitals is an initiative by Google to provide unified guidance for quality signals that are essential to delivering a great user experience on the web.
Google has provided a number of tools over the years to measure and report on performance. Some developers are experts at using these tools, while others have found the abundance of both tools and metrics challenging to keep up with.
Site owners should not have to be performance gurus in order to understand the quality of experience they are delivering to their users. The Web Vitals initiative aims to simplify the landscape, and help sites focus on the metrics that matter most, the Core Web Vitals.

Core Web Vitals are the subset of Web Vitals that apply to all web pages, should be measured by all site owners, and will be surfaced across all Google tools. Each of the Core Web Vitals represents a distinct facet of the user experience, is measurable in the field, and reflects the real-world experience of a critical user-centric outcome.
The metrics that make up Core Web Vitals will evolve over time. The current set for 2020 focuses on three aspects of the user experience—loading, interactivity, and visual stability—and includes the following metrics (and their respective thresholds).

CITY QUAYS AND CLARENDON DOCK AREA BELFAST MARCH 2022

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THE DECLINE OF A RED K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK PHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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THE DECLINE OF A RED K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK PHOTOGRAPHED SEPTEMBER 2021 - WEEDKILLER HAS BEEN APPLIED

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THE DECLINE OF A RED K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK PHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2019 - NO DOCKING STATION

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THE DECLINE OF A RED K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2018 - DOCKING STATION STILL THERE

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THE DECLINE OF A RED K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK PHOTOGRAPHS FROM 2016 AND 2017 VISITS

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NEW DOCKING STATION AND OLD KIOSK MAY 2015

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BANKMORE SQUARE MARCH 2022 HAS THE PROJECT STALLED

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THE ETAP HOTEL MARCH 2022 WHY ARE THERE NO STREET FACING WINDOWS

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ONE END OF GREAT VICTORIA STREET PHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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FILTHY McNASTYS PUB AND NIGHTCLUB PHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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FLYING FIGURES SCULPTURE PHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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ART DECO BUILDING ROYAL AVENUE BELFAST MARCH 2022

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NEAR LANYON PLACE TRAIN STATION MARCH 2022

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THE GASWORKS AND CROMAC PLACE IN BELFAST MARCH 2022

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GAELTACHT QUARTER ST JOHN'S CHURCH ON THE FALLS ROAD AND NEARBY

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THE TITANIC KITBY TONY STALLARD

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ELMWOOD AVENUEPHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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ELMWOOD HALLPHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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EXPLORING LISBURN ROADPHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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UPPER NEWTOWNARDS ROADPHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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CRESCENT CHURCHPHOTOGRAPHED MARCH 2022

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BELFAST WHEELKING WILLIAM PARK MARCH 2022

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DIVIDERS BY VIVIEN BURNSIDECLARENDON DOCK MARCH 2022

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THE MARITIME MILEIS ACTUALLY TEN MILES LONG

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SAMMY THE SEALLAGAN WEIR MARCH 2022

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ALL SOULS CHURCHELMWOOD AVENUE BELFAST MARCH 2022

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BLOOMFIELD AREANEAR THE CONNSWATER SHOPPING CENTRE AND CS LEWIS SQUARE

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WAR MEMORIAL AT QUEEN'S UNIVERSITYMARCH 2022

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LAGANVALE GOSPEL HALLSTRANMILLIS AREA OF BELFAST MARCH 2022

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STRAMILLIS ROAD AREA OF BELFASTMARCH 2022

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CATALYST SCIENCE PARK MARCH 2022

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STORMONT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH UPPER NEWTOWNARDS ROAD

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THE SEARCHER BY ROSS WILSON CS LEWIS SQUARE AT CONNSWATER IN BELFAST

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LAGANSIDE WALKWAY FROM ALBERT BRIDGE TO CROMAC PLACE

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LANNISTER WINDOW AT HMS CAROLINE GLASS OF THRONES 6

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GLASS OF THRONES 4 WHITE WALKERS LOCATED AT THE SS NOMADIC

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THE IRON THRONE AT THE TITANIC SLIPWAYS IN BELFAST

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GLASS OF THRONES 4 WHITE WALKERS LOCATED AT THE SS NOMADIC

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GLASS OF THRONES 2 THE RED WOMAN MELISANDRE LOCATED AT THE LAGAN WEIR

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GLASS OF THRONES 3HOUSE OF TARGARYEN - LOCATED AT THE ODYSSEY

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GLASS OF THRONES 1LOCATED AT THE AC HOTEL

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SAMSON AND GOLIATH MASSIVE GANTRY CRANES

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SNAX IN THE CITYBELFAST MARCH 2022

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As I know nothing about the business based in Belfast I have decided to use their own description:

"Our awarding winning Gourmet Sandwich Bar began in the heart of Belfast in 2003 and has been serving great tasting, freshly made and locally sourced food ever since; we offer you healthy and oh so tasty range of food that is hand-crafted in-house and ready to eat, take away or even have delivered to your desk."

SAINT MOLUA'S CHURCHCHURCH OF IRELAND

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CUT IN TO CORTEN OR WEATHERING STEEL THE TITANIC SIGN

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TITANICA BY RENOWNED IRISH SCULPTOR ROWAN GILLESPIE

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SCULPTURE BY LUCY GLENDINNINGAT SAINT ANNE'S SQUARE

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ROYAL MAILTOMB STREET

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LAGANSIDE WALKQUEEN'S BRIDGE TO ALBERT BRIDGE

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NO PUBLIC ACCESS TO BELFAST CITY HALLBECAUSE OF A TRADE DISPUTE

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FLYING ANGEL BY MAURICE HARRON [] DEDICATED TO SEAFARERS []

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KIRKPATRICK MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH UPPER NEWTOWNARDS ROAD BELFAST

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THE GREAT LIGHTON THE RIVER LAGAN

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RANDOM EXAMPLES OF STREET ARTMARCH 2022

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DEEP LOVEA MURAL FEATURED IN BELFAST TO MOVIE

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ASLAN THE LION AT CONNSWATER

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THE UPPER CRESCENTNO MORE DIRELECT BUILDINGS

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RECLINING FIGUREBY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM

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URBAN EXPRESSIONBALLYHACKAMORE MURALS

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ECO BY MARK DIDOUAT QUEENS UNIVERSITY

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SWEET WATER ARCH BY DENIS O’CONNOR AND BERNIE RUTTER

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STENA FERRY TURNSREVERSES UP THE RIVER LAGAN

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AN OPEN BOOK AT STORMONTSPELLS - MYTHS - WISHES

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WOOD SCULPTURESTHROUGHOUT THE STORMONT ESTATE

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WHEN IT RAINS LOOK FOR RAINBOWSWHEN IT'S DARK LOOK FOR STARS

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ANOTHER VISIT TO STORMONTMARCH 2022

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BOMB CRATERTHE BELFAST BLITZ

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THE BOTANIC GARDENSWELL WORTH A VISIT

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THE LAGAN WEIR AND NEARBYI USED AN iPHONE 12 PRO MAX

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NEW PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE AT STRANMILLISACROSS THE RIVER LAGAN

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BELFAST CITY CEMETERY140 PHOTOGRAPHS

RED METAL SCULPTUREBY BOB SLOAN

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ZEISS BATIS 85mm LENS
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