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Blarney from Above in 2016
Digging through the archive I found these two aerial photos of Blarney from September 2016, and the first one stopped me. See those fields that border the houses on 3 sides? They’re now Cluain Ard with houses, gardens, driveways, the lot. Back then it was still being farmed, with the older estates hugging the edges.…
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Horse, Dog and a Quiet Hour on Silver Strand
We visited Sherkin Island more than ten years ago and walked the narrow road to the other side of the island, to Cow Strand and then on to Silver Strand. I’ve been back a few times since but I think this is the only time I saw a horse on the beach. It was a…
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Sunset arrival, weeks before the world stopped
A Jet2 737 comes in low over the beach at Playa Honda, undercarriage down, engines glowing pink in the dying light. The approach-lighting pier marches out from the lava coast like an unfinished bridge, each platform waiting to flash its sequence and guide the next arrival onto runway 03 at Arrecife. I took this in…
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The wellness slogan and the whipped cream
I shot this on Princes Street in Cork back in 2016, and I had it filed in my head all this time as a Starbucks-versus-Starbucks gag. The wellness sermon in the window was contradicted by the Frappuccino in the hand. Turns out the window belongs to Rocket Man, a salad and juice bar, which means…
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Eye of the Eagle
I spent a few minutes watching this white-tailed eagle do absolutely nothing, and it was riveting. It sat on its branch at Fota Wildlife Park like it owned the place which, fair enough, when you’re the largest bird of prey in Ireland, you probably do. The dark backdrop did me a favour here, throwing all…
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Little Grebe, Smaller Grebe
I was visiting Fota Wildlife Park with Henry recently when he spotted these two in an enclosure and I genuinely cannot get over how small a little grebe chick is. It’s basically a wet pom-pom with an attitude. The adult, all chestnut throat and businesslike beak, was patrolling the surface and the chick paddled over,…
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Digging in the Shadow of NEMO
This part of Oosterdokseiland was a building site back in 2011, and I rather enjoyed picking my way around the fencing. NEMO’s great green copper hull sits across the water like a ship that has run aground on purpose and this afternoon it had a proper foil in the foreground: a battered Caterpillar 385B from…
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The Patient Hour at Santa Cruz
As I climbed up the rocks from the beach I spotted a lone fisherman in the distance. He hadn’t caught anything yet but in the bright sunshine I caught a nice silhouette. It was Santa Cruz in Portugal, and a lovely day to be beside the sea. Aperture ƒ/8 Camera ILCE-7RM5 Focal length 112mm ISO…
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A Leg-up at Dawstown
The man in the blue jacket has both hands on the jockey’s left boot, mid heave, and number 37 is halfway between earth and saddle. It’s neither one place nor the other. I love the awkward physics of a leg-up. It looks ungainly until you remember it’s the only sensible way to get a small,…
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The Hen Party in Full Stride
I caught this one on a warm Saturday night in Katowice a few years ago. Somewhere on the Mariacka strip where every other doorway is a bar and the pavement is essentially a parade route. Five women in a loose flying-V, the bride-to-be in white on the right with a tiara, a veil and a…
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Three on the Sand at Foz do Lizandro
Foz do Lizandro is one of those beaches where the Atlantic doesn’t let you forget it’s the Atlantic. Even on a bright spring day, the surf comes in heavy and the water is properly cold. I caught this little scene from up the beach: mum framing the wave on her phone, dad watching, holding a…