Up the Chanter!

This one I created just for fun.  If you’ve been reading my blog up to now you’ll probably know that a chanter is the part of the Irish uilleann (pronounced “ill-un” or “ill-en”) pipes that you play the melody with.  You might be wondering now what “up the chanter” means.  It is a bit hard for […]
14 years ago

Leap of Faith

This is a photo I actually took a couple years ago but never published or shared with anyone outside of fulfilling its immediate purpose.  This was taken when I started my Master’s program in 2008: my instructor for the very first course I took gave us the option of writing a paper or doing an […]
14 years ago

Full Set

This is a picture of a full set of uilleann pipes belonging to a fellow piper, taken at our recent AZUPS gathering. There are four common configurations for the Irish uilleann bagpipes: the practice set, half set, three-quarter set and full set.  The practice set, though the name can be misleading, does not mean that […]
14 years ago

Nice & Cozy

Today’s daily vision is not the photograph itself, but the subject in the photo. I wasn’t feeling so well yesterday so I stayed close to home most of the day to take it easy.  I began to feel restless and wanted to do something creative but didn’t have any ideas.  As I was making some tea […]
14 years ago

Reed Workshop

I am currently learning how to make my own reeds for the uilleann pipes.  The double reed needed to play the Irish uilleann pipes is not like any other reed in the world; unlike reeds for other instruments such as a saxophone, clarinet, or even other double reed instruments such as the oboe or bassoon, the uilleann pipe double […]
14 years ago

Two Pipers

Today I met together with members of the Arizona Uilleann Piper’s Society.  I shot a few pictures, played some tunes, learned more about making my own reeds and just had the craic with other local pipers.  The two pipers in this photo are both named Eric Wilson: What are the odds that two men with […]
14 years ago

You’d Never Guess…

…that this picture was taken in Arizona.  I was driving around old town Peoria and saw this rusted old farm equipment and thought it was a nice photo opportunity.  The first thing I thought when I looked through the viewfinder was “this scene looks nothing like Arizona”.  Well, not the Valley anyways.
14 years ago

Rhythm is Everywhere

Ever notice how rhythmic it can be to watch the lines rise and dip between telephone poles as you drive down the road? <– (Click to view the full version)
14 years ago

Set Dancers

All the talk in the last post about hooleys got me thinking of this.  Last September I took a trip to Seattle, WA as an AZ delegate for the Comhaltas Western Region Annual General Meeting and thinking back on the trip, this image is one that stands out in my mind.  Each Comhaltas branch, though connected to the […]
14 years ago

House Session

I didn’t get the chance to post yesterday because I was out playing music with some friends.  House sessions, or “hooleys” are a big part of traditional culture in Ireland.  Locals would gather together with their instruments, libations and perhaps a dish to share, and play tunes, sing, dance, recite verses, and tell stories well into […]
14 years ago