One of the suspension towers of the Golden Gate Bridge looms over traffic on a beautiful August afternoon.
Driving across the bridge was wonderful because the bridge is such an iconic part of the San Francisco and it’s simply enormous! Maybe next time I’ll walk across it’s 1.7 mile length. If you’re interested in finding out more, the Wikipedia page is a mine of information!
PS. Congrats Mel, Sharon and Alex on the new member of your family!
A girl dressed in a communion dress and veil walks with her mother through the crowds on St. Patrick’s Street Cork on Saturday. Dressed as she is, she looks almost lost but the crowd parted way for her and her parents.
I don’t know why she was dressed like that. First Communion ceremonies aren’t until next year. Is it a communion dress? Could she be a bridesmaid or flower girl at a wedding?
Two of my photos may be entered into the Irish Photographic Federation’s National Shield as part of the Mallow Camera Club entry. They need fairly large prints which is a bit of a problem but of they’re suitable I’ll link to them in a few days. The competition will be held in Portlaoise on the 12th of November so I’ll be eagerly waiting for the results! I’m not the only blogger entering. Jonathan Hill is entering too!
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!
When we parked in the garage we had to cover the car with this sheet. I dunno what the big deal is, it’s only a Ferrari after all!
But seriously folks, I’m joking, Matt doesn’t drive a Ferrari, yet! WordPress.com is being run like a proper business by Matt and everyone else who are scrupulous about money and doing things sensibly. We’re not going to crash and burn any time soon!
Toni lent us his car on the final Sunday in San Francisco. Andy drove while Podz and I alternated between riding shotgun and sitting in the back seat. Cameras were pointed out the window at every opportunity of course. We went downtown and found parking in a garage and this car was parked next to us in a reserved spot.
Tom asks, Would You Rather Have Sex With Marilyn Monroe or Take Photographs of Her?. “I’d rather …” You’ll have to read the post to find out!
A young girl in a buggy leans forward as her mother pushes her along St. Patrick’s Street, Cork. Looks like her mother was busy shopping in Penney’s and elsewhere so I’m sure she’ll look forward to getting home!
I like this: This Flight Tonight, and make sure you download the linked video tutorial. The statement that an “adjustment layer is a normal layer with a layer map on top” struck a chord with me. The GIMP doesn’t support adjustment layers and the technique he used, by rubbing out some of the map of an upper layer is one I’ve used in the GIMP previously.
An old oil drum stands on the quay at Ballycotton rusting away as the exposed metal is beaten down by the elements.
Technique: I increased the saturation of the reds to bring out the rust of the drum. I desaturated other colours so the drum would stand out.
I then duplicated the layer and darkened the top one to bring out the clouds and sky before using a layer mask to expose the ground on the bottom layer. After that a simple gradient at the top of the image provided a nice dark effect and finally, I dodge and burned the rust until I was happy. Was that useful?
I used CocoViewX to view my work directory from my Linux box on my Macbook. I was surprised that Finder didn’t display thumbnails and I didn’t want the iPhoto heavyweight when all I wanted was to know which image was which.
The Bay Bridge in San Francisco all lit up at night. The lighting on the bridge casts a golden glow over the water that is beautiful to watch and photograph. More on Wikipedia.
Niall Kennedy walked with myself and Bryan Veloso around the Ferry Building on the night before WordCamp and we got some great shots.
You can see the pier to the right of this image here in more detail with a super reflection.
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.
Rain drops on a flower pictured in Fountainstown, Co. Cork.
Looking down on a street in San Francisco. You wouldn’t want to be afraid of heights walking around on top of a building!
We all want to see what the neighbours are up to and living in a high building is the perfect opportunity of peeping-toms everywhere. You can see all sorts of things - a parasol with lounger across the street, garden furniture, a tree; all invisible from street level.
The postman has been and delivered 100 minicards from moo.com! I ordered 100 duplicates in the order as well so I hope they’re on the way too. I got in touch with their customer service people just in case and am waiting on a reply from them now. Later - I got my reply. The duplicate cards are a separate order and were shipped separately. Should be here in a day or two!
