Author: Donncha

  • The Sherkin Boat

    If you walk over to Cow Strand on Sherkin Island, you’ll come across this boat, maybe. At least in 2015 you would have. It might be gone by now.

    Take a look at Google Maps. I think that’s this boat.


    Apertureƒ/8
    CameraCanon EOS 6D
    Focal length80mm
    ISO250
    Shutter speed1/250s

  • The Llafranc Cat

    When I was collecting the keys to our apartment near Llafranc in Spain a few years ago, I was being carefully watched by a feline guard.

    No doubt waiting for treats.


    Apertureƒ/2.4
    CameraSM-G998B
    Focal length9mm
    ISO50
    Shutter speed1/440s

  • Horses on Sherkin Island

    We were visiting Sherkin Island in 2015 when I saw a rider pulling another horse along with him. This was on Cow Strand, but I’d seen him riding on Silver Strand earlier in the day. A lovely, warm, August day just before school was about to start again.


    Apertureƒ/8
    CameraCanon EOS 6D
    Focal length24mm
    ISO160
    Shutter speed1/250s

  • A Stag and his hinds

    I visited the National Park in Killarney, Co Kerry, today to photograph the deer with other members of Blarney Photography Club, and a few friends.

    A stag looks on at a horse and trap full of tourists in the background

    There weren’t many stags or deer to be seen, apart from in a field up a hill beyond the Castlerosse Park Resort golf course. We found this stag near the Torc Waterfall side of Muckross House. No other stags nearby, they were all calm and relaxed. I think the stag was slightly worried about the silly humans pointing long lenses at him from some 300m away. He needn’t have worried.


    Apertureƒ/8
    CameraILCE-7RM5
    Focal length600mm
    ISO1000
    Shutter speed1/1000s

  • The movement of sunset

    On a day when there’s a storm blowing outside and the sky is a white sheet covering the land, I like to look at the beautiful colours of the sunset.


    Apertureƒ/18
    CameraILCE-7M3
    Focal length175mm
    ISO100
    Shutter speed1/2.5s

  • The Deer of the Rut

    A few photos of the deer in Killarney National Park a year ago when I visited there with Blarney Photography Club. These have been sitting in my “Unpublished” collection since then, so I might as well make them public.


    Apertureƒ/6.3
    CameraILCE-7M3
    Focal length600mm
    ISO3200
    Shutter speed1/1000s

  • For a crust

    A European Starling plays with a crust of toast in Dún Laoghaire a few weeks ago. This one might even be the same bird I photographed recently, but the local café was open again and so there was food on the menu for the birds. 🙂


    Apertureƒ/6.3
    CameraILCE-7RM5
    Focal length240mm
    ISO200
    Shutter speed1/500s

  • Recycling Cardboard

    Someone struggles with a trolley full of cardboard. It looks like it may be about to fall over!


    Apertureƒ/2.8
    CameraILCE-7RM5
    Focal length24mm
    ISO250
    Shutter speed1/500s

  • A bovine family by the sea

    A cow and its calf in a field on the Dingle Peninsula as the sun sets behind them. A beautiful April evening in 2022, when the first signs of Spring were showing.


    Apertureƒ/10
    CameraILCE-7M3
    Focal length35mm
    ISO400
    Shutter speed1/80s

  • Brian May in the Spotlight

    Queen + Adam Lambert played in the O2 in London as part of their 2022 Rhapsody Tour, and I was there in the middle of June.

    I love Queen’s music. I wanted to go see them for a long time but left it late to book tickets for one of their London shows. The only seats left were away up in the rafters, to the side of the stage. (and then they announced a Belfast show a few weeks later, but we had paid for concert tickets, plane tickets and a family hotel room. Ah, well.)

    One of the highlights of the gigs was when the late Freddie Mercury was shown on the big screen singing Love of My Life with Brian May. Guess who didn’t see any of it because of where he was sitting? A beautiful moment, and I knew what was happening when the crowd cheered. And I missed it all. I was crushed.

    Earlier in the day, on the way to the concert, in the taxi, I took my phone out of my pocket to check Google Maps. To my horror, my phone screen remained blank. I figured the phone was still on because I heard a WhatsApp notification, but the screen remained stubbornly black. Disaster! The tickets were on my phone! Luckily, we had installed the O2 app on my family’s phones, so I consoled myself that one of those phones would work. I couldn’t be more wrong. They were logged out and because the password manager was on my phone, we had no way to log in. I remember wishing I had my laptop, which was back in the hotel. However, we weren’t the only ones in that situation, but customer support at the O2 are used to it and got us physical replacement tickets. The following morning, my phone worked fine again.

    So, It wasn’t an ideal experience. Yes, you can say it was my own fault for not booking earlier, but they still offered those sections of the arena for sale, and every seat was taken. I didn’t post this or any other photo from the concert as I was so disappointed by everything that happened, but time has dulled my feelings about it. I still love Queen music, and I even love their 80s and 90s output. Despite my experience, it was spectacular to see Brian May and Roger Taylor perform.


    Apertureƒ/2.8
    CameraDSC-RX100M4
    Focal length25.7mm
    ISO12800
    Shutter speed1/500s

  • A view from the tram

    A few photos of a few seconds as the tram drove past a crowd of people waiting for another tram in Lisbon.

    Some people stand still, some are animated.


    Apertureƒ/2.8
    CameraILCE-7M3
    Focal length24mm
    ISO1250
    Shutter speed1/500s

  • Lisbon sunset

    The sun sets over Lisbon.


    Apertureƒ/8
    CameraILCE-7M3
    Focal length160mm
    ISO100
    Shutter speed1/500s