Donncha

The Dead Man Sleeps

Landscape photograph of An Fear Marbh (The Dead Man) rock formation viewed from the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland in December 2025. The distinctive island lies in the grey Atlantic waters, its silhouette resembling a human figure lying on their back. In the foreground, green and brown grass slopes down towards dark slate cliffs that drop to the sea. A rustic wooden post and wire fence runs along the hillside. To the left, a dark rocky headland frames the view, while smaller sea rocks break the surface of the calm water. The Blasket Islands are visible in the misty distance under an overcast grey sky. The scene is rendered in muted tones of grey, green and brown.

An Fear Marbh as seen from the nearby Dingle Peninsula on a cold December afternoon.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	126mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/640s

While the Haidilao facade throws everything it has at the pavement, all pandas and beer mugs and flashing Chinese characters competing for attention, this man just leans there in quiet command: blazer, open collar, white trousers, flat cap, phone in hand, utterly unbothered. He doesn’t need to compete with the lights because he’s already won.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	640
Shutter speed	1/500s

The Steel Wool Spirals

Spirals of sparks as steel wool burns in a long exposure of about 20 seconds.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	20s

Nollaig Shona Duit

“Nollaig Shona Duit” through the years, from 2022, 2024 and 2025. From one end of St. Patrick Street to the other.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/2s

Santa on Bass

A few more photos from the Cork Academy of Music night in Cyprus Avenue recently. They were so good!

videos to watch

Aperture	ƒ/1.8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	75mm
ISO	1600
Shutter speed	1/250s

Future Stars at Cyprus Avenue

The students of Cork Academy of Music took over the stage in Cyprus Avenue last week for a fabulous Christmas concert. For most of them, it was their first time on stage and it was electrifying. The crowd went wild supporting their friends and family and everyone was dancing and having a great time!

Aperture	ƒ/2.8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	6400
Shutter speed	1/500s

The Heart-Shaped Sunglasses Club

A McDonald’s in London was the restaurant of choice for 3 ladies wearing identical heart-shaped sunglasses on this July day earlier this year. They were sitting in the window, above the McDonald’s arches. I couldn’t resist photographing them.

McDonald’s restaurants in Europe, including the UK, use dark green exteriors rather than the bright red and yellow associated with the brand in the United States. This shift began around 2009 as part of a rebranding effort to appear more environmentally conscious and to blend better with European streetscapes, where planning regulations often require more muted commercial signage. The green is meant to evoke a commitment to sustainability though critics have called it “greenwashing.” Either way, it makes for a more photogenic backdrop than the garish American colour scheme, and those white arches pop beautifully against the forest green paint.

TBH, I hadn’t noticed until this picture.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	1250
Shutter speed	1/500s

December Light at Youghal

I love taking photos on the beach at Youghal, especially at sunset. This is from a few days ago when the sun was really low in the sky, and it was shining directly along the beach, rather than from behind the beach as it is during the summer!

Youghal (pronounced “Yawl”) has one of the longest sandy beaches in Ireland, stretching for about 5 kilometres along the east Cork coast. The town itself has a remarkable history. It was once one of the most important ports in Ireland and served as Sir Walter Raleigh’s home in the late 16th century. Legend has it that Raleigh planted the first potatoes in Ireland in his Youghal garden, though historians debate whether this is true. What’s certain is that the town’s beach has been a beloved destination for Cork families for generations, and those old wooden groynes dotting the strand are remnants of various attempts over the centuries to manage the ever-shifting sands.

Aperture	ƒ/36
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	83mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/2.5s

Spinning Light on Grand Parade

Long exposure photograph looking upward through bare winter tree branches at the Cork Christmas Ferris wheel at night in December 2017. The spinning wheel has created circular light trails in concentric rings of white, yellow, orange and red radiating from the bright centre. A leafless tree trunk rises through the centre of the frame, its delicate branches silhouetted against the glowing disc of light. The dark night sky forms the background above the tree canopy.

The Big Wheel or Ferris wheel, is back in the Grand Parade in Cork, but these photos are from December 2017! You’d hardly know, except for the posters on the buildings behind. This was before Ukraine was attacked by Russia and there is now a flag of Ukraine with the text, “We’re with you Ukraine” on one of the buildings to the left of this photo.

Aperture	ƒ/13
Camera	Canon EOS 6D
Focal length	24mm
ISO	50
Shutter speed	5s

Chasing Light Trails on South Mall

Long exposure night photograph showing a group of photographers with tripods spread along Grand Parade, Cork in December 2025. A bilingual "Ceantar Tosaíochta Coisithe / PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY ZONE" sign with bicycle and pedestrian symbol is visible on the left. Green and white light trails from a passing bus streak through the frame. The illuminated Cork Christmas ferris wheel and decorated Christmas trees are visible in the background near Bishop Lucey Park. One photographer stands alone on the left while a group of four cluster together on the right.

Long exposure night photograph featuring a large black bicycle-shaped bike rack sculpture in the foreground on Grand Parade, Cork in December 2025. Behind it, photographers with tripods are visible as slightly blurred figures, with a woman in a red puffer coat prominent among them. White bus light trails streak across the scene. The Cork Christmas ferris wheel is illuminated in the background, and Christmas tree lights are visible. The wet pavement reflects the city lights.

Long exposure night photograph of a black bicycle-shaped bike rack silhouetted against the lights of Grand Parade, Cork in December 2025. A Bus Éireann bus passes behind, creating horizontal red, cream and yellow light trails that reveal its livery through motion blur. The Cork Christmas ferris wheel is visible in the background. A blue pedestrian zone sign is partially visible on the left, and Christmas lights decorate buildings in the distance. Street lights create starburst effects in the dark sky.

You’re not waiting for a bus and suddenly four busses come along! We had fun with some long exposure photography on. Thursday night.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	4s

How are you?

I would like to say I knew the sign in the background said, “How are you?” but it’s more likely I did not. I’m glad it worked out, and it just proves that you have to be ready to take the photograph when you’re doing street photography or you’ll miss the moment.

In 2004, Ireland was in the midst of a mobile phone boom. The average Irish person was sending lots of text messages per month. The phones of the era were mostly Nokia models and early flip phones. The iPhone wouldn’t arrive for another three years. Making an actual voice call, as this woman is doing, was still the primary use of a mobile phone, rather than the app-launching, social-media-scrolling pocket computers we carry today.

Aperture	ƒ/2.4
Camera	CYBERSHOT
Focal length	28.5mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/1000s

A Life Well Lived

Portrait of a man outside a coffee shop on Daunt Square, Cork, in 2004.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	CYBERSHOT
Focal length	48.5mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/250s

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