In Photos dot org

Haydn’s Gallery ICA launched with a party on Friday night. I wasn’t there but Haydn blogged it yesterday. Did you make it to the party Ryan? Jacinta and I were minding the baby and didn’t budge out of the house.

Haydn and myself have gone through a large part of my photo archive and we’ve selected 10 images I’ll be making limited edition fine-art prints from to display in the gallery. That was almost 2 months ago, but with the birth of my son Adam, other priorities came first.

Now I have to decide:

• What size should the prints be?
• Where do I get them printed?
• Where do I get them framed?
• Price? There will only ever be 10 prints of each image. The cost of a print must cover the expenses incurred in creating it. That includes the above printing and framing costs, time and effort, gallery costs such as insurance, running expenses, and more. I used to think that charging €400 for a painting was exorbitant but the costs quickly mount up. Pricing must reflect the exclusive nature of the print. This print could take pride of place in a living room for years to come. A small price to pay.

I’m heading to San Francisco at the end of July for WordCamp but hopefully my prints will be on display in the gallery long before then.

Co. Cork Cemetery

A graveyard in Co. Cork attracted my attention last summer while walking with Oscar down a small road. I didn’t go in but I got a few nice shots from over the cemetery gate.

This is a the result of sandwiching two versions of this image together. One is overexposed and the other underexposed. It’s difficult to get the bits around the trees right but I think I did a pretty good job!

The Cork County Hall and the web

Early one morning I visited the County Hall in Cork and took a few photos. In fact, this one is from the same shoot.

Webs covered a tree behind the building, and the early morning dew sparkled in the sun. I was hoping for an ominous feel to the photo but I failed, and instead I have something that mixes nature with our man made presence on this world.

I quite like the way the strands of the web stand out too!

Panoramic Traffic Lights

Traffic along the Mallow Road hurries past on a cold and foggy December night. This was taken from the bridge near Rathpeacon and Killeens.

The bridge itself as you can see from the map above is much wider than the one in this picture but I wasn’t going to stand in the middle of a dark road at risk of being knocked over for my art. At least not this time anyway!

Traffic from the right is coming from Cork, while traffic from the left is coming from the direction of Mallow or Blarney.

PS. Nominations for the Irish Blog Awards are now open. There are several categories and you can nominate your favourite Irish blog in whichever one fits. In Photos won Best Photoblog last year but this is the only time I’ll mention the awards here unlike last year when I did the dog on it a bit! (Not that I wouldn’t mind winning again of course!)

I like these: Snow Squalls! and Palm House - I wish more photoblog software understood trackbacks and pings. It’s hard to start a conversation with them.

Glistening Blackberries

Blackberries glisten in the bright sun of an August afternoon in Co. Cork.

I love blackberry jam, blackberry tarts, blackberry crumble. I don’t like picking the fruit, but I have many childhood memories of wandering country lanes with my family looking for the best fruit for my mother to make delicious jam.
Nowadays, you can buy a carton of blackberries in M&S cheaply. Oh how times have moved on.

The Stephen Pierce Gallery Cafe is open

A large sign outside the gallery and workshop of Stephen Pearce Pottery in Co. Cork proclaims that their cafe is open for business. I didn’t go into the cafe because I was walking around with Oscar while Jacinta was inside looking around. It was a beautiful day so I didn’t mind.

Stephen Pearce is very popular and most recently did a deal with a local supermarket chain, SuperValu, offering his products at a discount with stamps. I don’t care for his work much but a lot of people like it and he’s doing well!

Currykippane Cemetery

It’s Halloween, that time of year that the souls of the dead rise up, goblins and monsters are abroad and witches fly about. I’ve already had my barm brack and even got the ring, but tonight is when kids go “trick or treating” looking for treats and avoiding tricks!

I made this image a few weeks ago early one morning in Currykippane Cemetery near Kerrypike. It was the first time I was in the area and I couldn’t resist shooting a few images. In the background is the beautiful Lee Valley. There are a few other nice vantage points up on those hills so I’ll have to go up there some other morning.

November is known as Samhain in Irish, but in Celtic tradition it’s also the end of the Summer and is accompanied by a festival. In modern times this is continued by the tradition of Halloween and All Souls’ Day. This and a lot more are covered on the Wikipedia page on Samhain.

It’s a spooky time of the year!

Hehe. What The Duck today is brilliant, although you may not get the joke in the last frame if you haven’t got a Canon DSLR.

We had an interesting night - no kids called to the house but we went for a walk with Oscar down the road and bumped into several neighbours and spent almost an hour out in the cold talking to different people!

40th birthday party

Last night after attending BarCamp Ireland I went to a surprise 40th birthday party with Jacinta. It was a blast, great fun and I was able to have a few drinks because I wasn’t driving! (Thanks Sheila for taking care of that!)

There are lots more photos from the night but they’re going up somewhere private for the birthday girl and any of our friends who want to view them. Happy birthday Bobbi!

I just loved the way the shadows fell on the blind behind the hanging birthday decorations. This is a bit of an experiment for me because I added a thick black border around the image. Do you like it?

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.

The Sexy New County Hall

Grabs your attention doesn’t it? Exciting design isn’t it? Wonderful work of engineering eh? Well, ok, it’s only the Cork County Hall but it is the tallest storeyed building in the Republic of Ireland at 67m so that must count for something? No?

The County Hall has been renovated over the last few years and does look better than it used to. I saw someone walking around on it’s roof a week or so ago, bet you’d have a great view from up there. Anyone know how I’d do that?