In Photos dot org

Expectation

Car drivers rev their engines in anticipation of the lights changing at a busy junction.

This is the junction of Bridge Street, Patrick’s Quay, and Patrick’s Bridge in Cork. This photo was taken from the far left of Yellow Boxes. Patrick’s Hill is visible in background as you follow the road up the incline.

Bloody dangerous junction too. Very busy one.

No sign of baby yet, I guess it’ll be tomorrow. Stand by your Twitter for updates!

The broom at 187

Walking through the urban environment the seemingly normal assortment of rubbish or objects can make an image that bit more interesting. This was taken in August, but guess who forgot to bring in the Christmas lights?

Oh yes, a small tip if you’re adding noise to an image. You’ll need to do it twice. Once for your full size image, and a second time when you resize. After resizing noise, it gets blurred and is nowhere near as effective.

PS. I really like An Incidental Shot - the photographer who’s quick off the mark will get the shot!

PPS. Micki has finished blogging on Shutterbug Underexposed and she’ll be missed. Many blogs have fallen by the wayside over the past 2 years, but it takes time and it’s not always easy to find that time.

Corrugated Prison Roof

Visitors to Alcatraz Island walk about on the broad path up to the main prison building.

Some of the buildings on the island are in a bad state of repair, lacking everything but the brick walls that stand like a whitewashed skeletons. This building is about halfway up the hill and in much better condition.

Cobh at sunset

The tide is out in Cobh, Co. Cork while the sun sets in the west casting an orange glow over the water and boats in the harbour.

Method
This required some work to expose properly. The sky is bright while the harbour, houses and landscape are in shadow. Out with the layers, top layer for the sky was darkened and the opposite was done for the ground.
Then it’s the simple task of adding a layer mask to the top layer and rubbing out the dark bits to expose the brightened landscape.
When using a layer mask, never paint with an opacity of 100%, try 30% or even 5%. Don’t be afraid to do a rough job of exposing the bottom layer because with a layer mask you can always reverse the procedure by swapping the colour of your brush with an opposite colour!

Thank you all for the comments on yesterday’s post, The Lonely Swan, it’s great to get feedback and I’m glad when people get something out of my methods when I describe them. See what you’ve done? I did it again!

The little red door

A small house is stuck between two larger buildings in Dingle, Co. Kerry. I’m not sure what caught my eye in the first place but I think it was the red door.

Shot on a wet morning that brightened up after an hour of intense rain.

White and Red

Tourists in the town of Dingle walk along a street in late September.

I love the contrast between white and red and yet the two houses mirror each other in other ways. This was another entry in the Mallow Camera Club’s Patterns Around Us competition.

The lone daisy

A solitary daisy grows in front of a small house in Fountainstown.

This was an interesting photo for me to take. I spotted the daisy while walking out the road but I didn’t stop to shoot it until returning. I’m glad I remembered it! I’m really happy with the way this came out.

Steps down to the river

Steps lead down to the River Lee in Cork City. Railing stops people going down them but in times past fishermen and other boat users hauled goods up these steps onto the quays.

This was taken a few yards up the quay from a previous shot.

Technique: To increase the dynamic range of this photo I made copies of the original layer. The bottom of the photo was quite dark and that had to be brightened and the sky was too bright so darkening that helped significantly. I used layer masks to isolate my changes to those areas of the photo that needed it.

The new Digital Journalist is out!

I like this: Ramadan in Beaumont. Love the second image here.

The Mills Inn

The Mills Inn, just outside Baile Bhuirne in the Gaeltacht of Mhúscraí, Co. Cork.
We stopped here for a meal on the way to Dingle and I must say, it was great! Their website has a lot more to say about what they offer and information about the beautiful surrounding countryside.
Baile Bhuirne is translated as Ballyvourney in English, but I think the Irish rolls off the tongue better. Many place names in Irish speaking areas had their names translated to the same sounding word in English but it’s never as nice.
How do you pronounce it? Bah-ill-ya Vurna is fairly close.

Tourquoise Doors

Turquoise doors in Courtmacsherry, Co. Cork, Ireland. The owners made some effort to grow plants in their front yard and I really love the doors!

Later .. Jacinta and I went to see the Midleton Food and Drink Festival and besides buying a few cakes and lovely hotdogs I went to see the gallery set up by the East Cork Camera Group. This year it was tucked away in the peace and quiet of a square off the main street where it was a pleasure to view their work. I spoke with Thomas Tattan there who was very happy with the weekend. Pictures tomorrow!